rachels.haven's Journal

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss @rachels.haven,

Whatever happened to the tree whose top got broken out, that you mentioned in this post? https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/rachels-havens-journal.37330/page-34#post-611004
Also, have you gotten out the tree limb from your pond?

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[rachels.haven]

Nope, haven't gotten the tree top out of the pond. Law says we're supposed to leave the pond alone. Nobody's going to enforce the law (I think?), but treetop is not hurting anything so I'm leaving it. The pond is also coming and going. It was dry for about a week, then it rained for two days and has water in it again. Tree it fell off of is "headless".

Partially knocked over tree is still there. I've been ignoring and avoiding it, letting it get pushed down in priority after sickness came in, then family, and now something else. After we get a certain "mice in the walls baking" issue I haven't mentioned resolved priority will go back to finding someone to take care of that tree. It shouldn't be too expensive. They just have to knock it over. It does not need to be cleaned up or ground down unless they want the wood.

The tree leaning towards the house may just be leaning out of shade and not going to fall. It is a pine. The ones that have been suffering are the deciduous guys, so I'm hoping all will be fine but when we get an arborist out here I will ask their opinion. It's also the tree the hawk perches in and screams at the chicken run from.

 

[rachels.haven]

@CntryBoy777
I was thinking of the fence keeping the LGD in. Not sure I need one.

The chickens are temporarily protected from everything but underground and through the netting attacks. I may do something more permanent and attractive later. I wouldn't keep ducks with chickens though. I did that before and it resulted in having to worm a lot or have thin, bony birds. The ducks would need their own place.

For the ducks to do their best work I'd probably want them on and around the pond and in the trees and brush free ranging. We are not ready for that, but someday we might be. The goats are working on it.

 

[Bruce]

and probably a tractor

Rachel, that is how you justify buying a tractor!!!

"mice in the walls baking"

Oh, what are they baking? And is it any good?

 

[rachels.haven]

COOKIES.
Oh, I wish, I wish that was true.

Anyway, DH was walking around in the woods and where my goats have been working last night and let me know that if I wanted to I should feel free to go build another 100' pen somewhere on the property next year to clean out. The fact he could walk around in there at all is the amazing thing. It was completely bittersweeted over but the goats have been working. I brought up that as soon as we got the house paid off I should just get all of it fenced to run the goats on and clean out all of it. He didn't seem to want to wait another 4 or so years. I'd rather kill the debt on our over-priced house, but clearing brush is part of lyme disease prevention, so we'll negotiate over the next few months. If I win, I just build another square 96' or whatever cattle panel pen next year. If he wins, I also win, and I get the property fenced in.

Wiping out debt is the key to financial stability (which I don't really need to say), and when you're boring, low expense people with middle to highish income it's within our grasp if we budget and stay boring, but lyme disease prevention is a serious health thing, with potential irreversible effects and fencing in our property would make it easier to keep the kids and animals safe in general.

Anyway, that was exciting. I did a good job!

BUT I still don't want to go out and take pictures because of the hordes of deer and horse flies waiting to bomb everything in swarms. One of these days I will go shower myself and my clothing in bug spray and just do it.

I did take this picture this morning, for there are no flies inside. We boring people living in the tick infested woods like to play a game. It's called, put your dirty pants on the white tile of the bathroom overnight and see what crawls out by the next morning. We find a lot of ticks. This is from DH's pants. He found two more walking around on himself before bed after his walk in the woods. You just don't do that here without copious, deep woods, high deet bug spray. Pretty sure this is just a dog tick.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Fence the place in, get several kakhi campbell ducks and let the ducks and goats go earn their keep.....pretty soon your ticks, flies and othe pests that have taken over will be without a home ..........and the fencing will add to your property value

 

[CntryBoy777]

It doesn't have to be a "winner take all" situation....why not extend the time a yr or 2 and meet in the "middle" for ya both?....if ya plan on staying there, then relax a bit and enjoy what ya got already....ya will appreciate it later....something that will help with the ticks is sevin dust....get and old athletic sock and put the powder inside the sock....tie the end of the sock in a loop-thru knot....go out into the infested area and put it on the ground and kick it around....or wear gloves and hold the knot and shake it around....low, around the ground....it needs to be dry for application, ticks overwinter in soil, they will stay in the dirt and then climb the plants to "catch a ride"....if they are in trees they will let go and fall on ya, too....I have dealt with some heavily infested situations, so I sure hope ya can get a hold of that there....I hate ticks!!!.....also, some rubbing alcohol in a pint jar makes an instant death to a tick dropped into it.....

 

[Bruce]

I'd rather kill the debt on our over-priced house, but clearing brush is part of lyme disease prevention, so we'll negotiate over the next few months.

I understand that but given you are talking only about 4 years to pay it off, I would prioritize the tick reduction if not removal. I've heard too much bad about Lyme disease even when it is caught early. Fencing won't set back paying the house off too much.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss @rachels.haven,

To help with the flies, consider buying the protective netting that GP Outdoors in Ontario wears:

In the comments section he called them "big shirts". He said that he got them at Home Hardware for about $22 CD. I don't know if that is a Canadian store or if they are also in the New England area. He said "They have worked great so far - black flies, deer flies and mosquitoes all kept at bay. The only drawback is it gets hot in there!" So maybe you can get a few of those and then go out and put up the fencing for the goats, or put out the Sevin dust that Mr. @CntryBoy777 recommended. Please continue to keep us all informed of your progress, and don't forget -- we like pictures!

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[Bruce]

It is a Canadian chain. Don't know it they ship outside Canada or not.