Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[greybeard]

Don't forget to tie a boat out for the goats and one for the chickens!

Not a bad idea.........
btdt and was dang glad I did.

3 days later

 

[MiniSilkys]

Soo sorry for you. Every time it rains a lot here my chicken house gets ankle deep water in it, but the ducks don't mind. I hope we don't get that much water. What y'all get comes toward us most of the time.

 

[greybeard]

That, has happened once in my lifetime. Most around here call it a 500yr flood..the rest, a thousand year flood. No one alive in this area has ever seen it happen...or ever heard of their forebearers say it has.
(I hope the're right)

 

[Baymule]

All this rain sure makes me appreciate our beach sand soil. What a relief from Black gumbo clay! But when it’s dry and my soil is blowing around like a Sahara sandstorm, maybe not so much.... You know it’s wet when our place puddles up.

 

[Latestarter]

Just got back inside from goat chores & property assessment. 2.5" of rain since I would guess around midnight when it started. The "dry" creek is full (~8' deep x 15' across) and over the bank in one spot. I have several streams running across my property, the largest of which is behind the house, running around the corral & horse run in shelter then down across below the goat pen. I've caught trout in streams this size. This is the main drainage for the southern property line and collects water from up near the road, all the way down the property line and dumps out back behind the out buildings, near the existing corral.

Just looked at the radar and it appears that I may be coming into a break for a while. On the other hand, it appears that @AClark is about to get some of the rain that she so badly wants. It also appears that the southern edge of this thousand mile long aerial river has spread far enough south that Fred (I'm sure) is enjoying the benefits of liquid sunshine as well. Further to the east, Mike is a couple of hours away from the river moving over him. No weather guesser here (probably as good at the televised prognosticators ), but I do believe that both of their totals when this is all done will be substantially more than mine. Glad they are both housed on high ground. This is going to cause some serious flooding issues across a very large area.

And for the lighter side of the news... my goats are unhappy. Go figure, right? Well, I can complain as well seeing as their chief complaint was brought on by their own stupidity. Previous to the real cold spell we had, I closed in the back of their shelter leaving them an "escape" opening so they could go in and out, but no wind or rain could get in. I also filled the shelter with wood shavings so they had a nice dry/warm area to bed down in. Well, being goats, and therefore the epitomy of destructiveness, they put their natural inquisitive nature to work and did what goats do... they "tested" that back wall for any weakness, and of course since it was a tarp and not stainless steel, they tore it apart. It is now a "1/2 wall" with the bottom 1/2 torn off & the top half flapping in the breeze, and of course allowing wind & rain into their previously nice dry, warm shelter.

Since they also prefer to stand up and go to the bathroom inside, coupled with 2"+ of rain, the inside (Picture goats stomping grapes in a 1/2 wine barrel) has been turned into a pulpy mush of rain, crap, and pee soaked sponge. (had they NOT destroyed the back wall, it would NOT be) Since the ground outside surrounding their shelter is basically a puddle of mud & run off, and since this weather is expected to last for the foreseeable future, I expect they will not be doing much laying down for a while. To fix it I would have to partially remove the roof tarp covering. They should be very happy that I oblige to take their food to them inside the shelter so they don't have to go "out" in the rain. Luckily, it's not going to be all that cold while this weather persists. I have to get the dirt work done and a proper barn put up. Sure wish I was made of money. (I don't need anyone bashing me for animal cruelty, or explaining how cheap it is with waste wood, thank you )

<sigh> Mike, do your sheep destroy perfectly good tarps on your shelters? I'm beginning to think destructive nature is just a goat thing... Maybe that's why the devil is portrayed as one?

 

[CntryBoy777]

We are sitting at .7" right now, but the ground is so wet it is all run-off. I understand the frustration with your handi-work being destroyed and unappreciated....I have experienced the same results with mine....Comet even ripped one of the doors to their house off the hinges and they have broken several tables made from 2x6s up too. Something that may work for ya inside their shelter is pallets...just make sure the top boards aren't spaced too far apart that a leg or hoof can't get thru it or ya will be dealing with broken legs....but, it would get them up off the ground or wet bedding.....

 

[Mike CHS]

The sheep haven't damaged anything but Thor makes up for it. They rarely go in the hoop house shelters unless it's raining real hard.

The only thing the sheep are hard on is fences where they use it for scratching the shedding hair off but low electric stopped that. I left scrub trees up and they have several back scratching posts out and about so they get some relief.

 

[greybeard]

Well, being goats, and therefore the epitomy of destructiveness, they put their natural inquisitive nature to work and did what goats do... they "tested" that back wall for any weakness, and of course since it was a tarp and not stainless steel, they tore it apart. It is now a "1/2 wall" with the bottom 1/2 torn off & the top half flapping in the breeze, and of course allowing wind & rain into their previously nice dry, warm shelter.

Joe, we didn't get over there by my 'junkpile' to see it, but I have rolls (and rolls) of heavy nylon reinforced matting. Different sizes, most 8' square or longer..some long rectangles. 1/8" thickness or thicker, maybe 3/16". It's black, ain't pretty and it IS HEAVY. (you may have seen some of it on the outside of my chain link garden fence...I have farm implements sitting on some of it so the grass and weeds don't grow up around the implements. May send you a pic of it when the rain abates......I usually cut it with a chainsaw or skillsaw..a knife ain't going to do it.

 

[MiniSilkys]

Just got back inside from goat chores & property assessment. 2.5" of rain since I would guess around midnight when it started. The "dry" creek is full (~8' deep x 15' across) and over the bank in one spot. I have several streams running across my property, the largest of which is behind the house, running around the corral & horse run in shelter then down across below the goat pen. I've caught trout in streams this size. This is the main drainage for the southern property line and collects water from up near the road, all the way down the property line and dumps out back behind the out buildings, near the existing corral.

Just looked at the radar and it appears that I may be coming into a break for a while. On the other hand, it appears that @AClark is about to get some of the rain that she so badly wants. It also appears that the southern edge of this thousand mile long aerial river has spread far enough south that Fred (I'm sure) is enjoying the benefits of liquid sunshine as well. Further to the east, Mike is a couple of hours away from the river moving over him. No weather guesser here (probably as good at the televised prognosticators ), but I do believe that both of their totals when this is all done will be substantially more than mine. Glad they are both housed on high ground. This is going to cause some serious flooding issues across a very large area.

And for the lighter side of the news... my goats are unhappy. Go figure, right? Well, I can complain as well seeing as their chief complaint was brought on by their own stupidity. Previous to the real cold spell we had, I closed in the back of their shelter leaving them an "escape" opening so they could go in and out, but no wind or rain could get in. I also filled the shelter with wood shavings so they had a nice dry/warm area to bed down in. Well, being goats, and therefore the epitomy of destructiveness, they put their natural inquisitive nature to work and did what goats do... they "tested" that back wall for any weakness, and of course since it was a tarp and not stainless steel, they tore it apart. It is now a "1/2 wall" with the bottom 1/2 torn off & the top half flapping in the breeze, and of course allowing wind & rain into their previously nice dry, warm shelter.

Since they also prefer to stand up and go to the bathroom inside, coupled with 2"+ of rain, the inside (Picture goats stomping grapes in a 1/2 wine barrel) has been turned into a pulpy mush of rain, crap, and pee soaked sponge. (had they NOT destroyed the back wall, it would NOT be) Since the ground outside surrounding their shelter is basically a puddle of mud & run off, and since this weather is expected to last for the foreseeable future, I expect they will not be doing much laying down for a while. To fix it I would have to partially remove the roof tarp covering. They should be very happy that I oblige to take their food to them inside the shelter so they don't have to go "out" in the rain. Luckily, it's not going to be all that cold while this weather persists. I have to get the dirt work done and a proper barn put up. Sure wish I was made of money. (I don't need anyone bashing me for animal cruelty, or explaining how cheap it is with waste wood, thank you )

<sigh> Mike, do your sheep destroy perfectly good tarps on your shelters? I'm beginning to think destructive nature is just a goat thing... Maybe that's why the devil is portrayed as one?

My buck messed up the hinges on the goathouse door so now it won't shut all the way. So now when it rains hard the water goes through the crack. Soaking everything.

 

[Latestarter]

Some of that matting might be great for floor covering over pallets allowing drainage but keeping them up off the ground. I didn't notice it when I was there.