Drstratton - My Backyard Journey Journal

[drstratton]

Time for a lunch break, we ordered take out and my husband is picking it up, so I can be lazy and post a little update!

We pounded the posts in the back section yesterday and attached the upper section of wire today!

This pic shows the difference in height of the old fence on the right & the addition.

Looking down the fence line!

Tying into the enclosed pen!

Far end finished!

 

[drstratton]

The reason for all of this work! These little cuties...if they could get one more on this branch, they would be sitting on the ground...

 

[SA Farm]

The reason for all of this work! These little cuties...if they could get one more on this branch, they would be sitting on the ground...

View attachment 72946

Probably why the blond one is on the ground

 

[Baymule]

Isn't farming fun? It is a lot of work, but it keeps you in good physical shape and healthier for it. A woman who came out to buy lamb last week couldn't believe that we are 65 and 75 years old and work the way we do. Hard work, good food and a good attitude will carry you far.

 

[drstratton]

Isn't farming fun? It is a lot of work, but it keeps you in good physical shape and healthier for it. A woman who came out to buy lamb last week couldn't believe that we are 65 and 75 years old and work the way we do. Hard work, good food and a good attitude will carry you far.

I totally agree! We're definitely not strangers to hard work, we've always had big projects, we are total DIY'ers and we've been at it for 35 years. Some years the projects are more physically demanding than others. The animals definitely kick it up a notch and I have been enjoying them.
You & your husband are truly a testimony to how fulfilling a self sustaining life can be.
This is not how we planned to spend our retirement, but that's okay. I'm so thankful that we have the ability & the resources right now to become more self sustaining for ourselves as well as for our children and their families! I'm also thankful for the encouragement I've received here, it's helped me adjust much better to our changed plans! I also realize that we are not the only ones whose lives have changed direction. We are truly blessed!

 

[drstratton]

Today was another long one, not as physically hard for me as it was for Dale! He dug 3 2' deep holes for the gate posts! He had one in place before I even made it outside this morning! We didn't string any fence today, but we did get a lot of other projects done! We sprayed the Blackberries that started sprouting after Dale mowed them down, it will take a while to eradicate them, so today was spray #1! We also had to sledge hammer some rocks out there so that we could get the rider through with the spray tank on behind, I caught a projectile on my chin, so fortunate that all it did was skin my chin up! Then we used up the rest of the spray along our driveway...we will never eradicate all of the weeds, but we keep on trying! We planted potatoes and I put a Basil plant and 1/2 of my Garlic Chives that I keep in my kitchen window in my raised herb bed, I have seed for more herbs, but I might just buy plants this year, we'll see! We also purchased some Comfrey and have them planted in the pots that you can see by the herb bed! It will take about 5 weeks for them to start growing, we will eventually transplant them along the free range fence! I still have a patch of weeds to dig out on the other side of the raised planters, but that can wait for another day!

Potatoes

Raised Herb bed!

 

[drstratton]

I'm so mad this morning! My husband saw a Rottweiler in our yard yesterday morning, so he chased him off! Well he was back this morning and this is what I found! He dug out under our rabbit tractor. Thank goodness all of the rabbits didn't escape or we'd have a real problem on our hands. I found one dead and one is missing! I have a trap that I can set out with pellets in it, but I don't know if we will be able to catch it, there's a lot of green stuff for it to eat around here! This is why we can't let our chickens free range!

 

[thistlebloom]

That dog will be back.But now you know and can be prepared to deal with it. Sorry about the dead rabbit and the loose one. Hope you are able to capture it.

 

[drstratton]

That dog will be back.But now you know and can be prepared to deal with it. Sorry about the dead rabbit and the loose one. Hope you are able to capture it.

Yeah, I know he'll be back and if seen, he will be taken care of! I called the sheriffs office and they basically told me to let them know if I find out who owns the dog...we're in the middle of a pandemic, I can't go door to door asking! Thank you...I hope we can catch it too!

 

[drstratton]

Well I saw our escapee, he's under our Blue Spruce tree! We have the tractor under the Deodar Cedar on the right! I saw him over by the tractor and then he went back under the Spruce! I have the animal trap under the edge of the Spruce tree, hopefully he will get curious and check it out!