Larsen Poultry Ranch - homesteading journey

[Ridgetop]

I should be able to try to dig up the figs and get them moved. The deer don't seem to chomp them though,

Could be the milky sap they exude when leaves or twigs are broken. Think venison. With beef prices on the rise, you can have the entire thing turned into ground meat or some made into sausage. Making it into ground meat or sausage works for those older tougher carcasses. Youngsters can be made into strip steaks and roasts.

Potatoes and tomatoes belong to the same family. The foliage is poisonous as is the green fruit. You would think if you have critters eating tomato and potato bushes, then you would have dead woodchucks. (Or at least very sick.) Although I think those rodents are immune to it since we lost all our green tomatoes last year and found no ground squirrels writhing in death throes.

 

[Baymule]

If you have a meat grinder, make your own hamburger. Since venison is so lean, but a fatty whole brisket and grind up with the venison.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Hubby says the bow hunting season starts tomorrow. He has a buddy coming over at the crack of dawn to hopefully get a buck. If he gets one, I'm tempted to make him catch the blood when he bleeds it out so I can spread it around the fence line.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Went out late to turn the misters off and feed the rabbits, turned around after turning off the water switch on the ground and THERE'S A RATTLESNAKE FOUR FEET FROM ME. I text hubby to come out asap and try to give it more space. It was curled up and I probably walked within 1-2 feet of it to reach the water switch. It was about 6" across curled up, maybe 2+ feet long?

It slithered off under the shed by the time hubby came outside. I finished up with the rabbits and hubby has now forbidden me from doing rabbit stuff after dark. I didn't finish watering the garden either, I'll do that tomorrow morning in the light. I found the root breaking shovel and will be carrying that around for a bit as a security blanket. If I'd had it earlier the snake would be dead, or injured and pissed off.

 

[Baymule]

You could buy king snakes and turn them loose. They eat other snakes. @Ridgetop says there are no rattlesnakes in her area because someone in the neighborhood got king snakes and turned them loose.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Hubby's buddy didn't get a deer. Dang. Haven't checked on garden yet or done animal chores. Waiting for coffeecake to come out of the oven.

 

[SageHill]

Went out late to turn the misters off and feed the rabbits, turned around after turning off the water switch on the ground and THERE'S A RATTLESNAKE FOUR FEET FROM ME. I text hubby to come out asap and try to give it more space. It was curled up and I probably walked within 1-2 feet of it to reach the water switch. It was about 6" across curled up, maybe 2+ feet long?

It slithered off under the shed by the time hubby came outside. I finished up with the rabbits and hubby has now forbidden me from doing rabbit stuff after dark. I didn't finish watering the garden either, I'll do that tomorrow morning in the light. I found the root breaking shovel and will be carrying that around for a bit as a security blanket. If I'd had it earlier the snake would be dead, or injured and pissed off.

YIKE. That's Cali for ya'. Too bad they won't slither to Hollywood. When we come across them we call the other of us to 'bring the stuff' (snake stick and shovel) and keep an eye on it so it doesn't slither off. They don't seem to like the flashlight on the phone - it does a good job of keeping them coiled up. That's how I kept the big one "coiled up" while we waited for the fire department to come and take care of it. It was getting dark and we didn't have strong enough lights to see exactly where to "grab" it.

 

[Mini Horses]

Grab it????? Not me!

 

[SageHill]

Grab it????? Not me!

With the snake stick (tongs/grabber thingie - on like a 4 ft pole)!

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Went back and checked the spot where the snake was and found it had made an indentation. Took a picture with a sponge for scale.

Did all the yard chores and rabbit stuff during the daylight today. Got a few more plants moved this morning and rearranged things so I'm less likely to walk through areas with spots where snakes can hide. I tried to count the plants that still need to be moved but kept losing count, there's at least 40. Need to bring a notepad next time. There's at least 7 figs that need to be moved and repotted.