Q: What does one do on Mother’s Day, when their Mother passed away two months ago?
A: Get busy. Stay busy. Try not to think about it. 😉
Just kidding … sorta. I did indeed think about my Mom today. Fond, pleasant memories. I miss her so much already … and it’s only been weeks since she passed.
In today’s video, you will find a good contrast to the “coyote incident” the other day. Got to save a life today … instead of take one.
Picked up a new Cub Cadet ST 100string trimmer (ah HA, that’s what you call it!) that was on sale today and put it through its paces. Impressed. Like it. Glad I got it. Plan to use it A LOT.
Deuce was sort of a loose cannon today … but what’s new. While I may come across a little cavalier about his personal safety today … I’m glad Luna didn’t crack his skull or knock his teeth out for being a punk-ass puppy.
New project … install about 500 feet of 2x4x60″ welded-wire fencing around the garden pasture.
Used a new tractor implement … County Line Fence Stretcher. Overall, very happy with the results.
Got 200 feet installed today, will likely finish it tomorrow … weather permitting.
Sadly … I had to put a coyote down yesterday because it was attacking my bird flock, and going after my boy (duck) DJ. Historically, I’ve tried NOT to shoot coyotes, and have even not pulled the trigger with the crosshairs center-of-mass on a trespassing coyote. But, in this case, the coyote was essentially an “active shooter” going after my birds. THAT … I can not allow, not right in front of me anyways.
There is a moral to the story here: country living involves both the taking of life, and the making of life. That’s just the way it is. Putting predators down isn’t fun and games, it’s just part of the dynamics of raising livestock in an area (over-) populated with predators. I love dogs, and coyotes are essentially just wild dogs, so it is a joyless thing to have to take one’s life. Sad actually. BUT … it would have been even SADDER if this bitch would have gotten a hold of DJ the duck, or even one of my hens. If the coyote was going after one of my roosters, I might have turned the other cheek, because I could stand to lose a roo or two for having a few more than needed. But, alas, that’s not the way it played out.
However, as pointed out in the video, while I had to take one life, I also intervened in another way to create about 5 to 8 new lives by putting the duck eggs in the incubator. If I didn’t … they would have just been coyote snacks. Life. Give and take. Country living. Plain. Simple. 😉
Deuce started the day off in knuckle-head mode, trying to drag a 30+ foot “stick” (tree) around the property on our morning walk. But, later in the afternoon, he stepped up his game and was all business … clearing a path through the chicken flock for the tractor to pass … repeatedly. He has almost ZERO formal training, but you can see his herding and protective instincts are just amazing. Sir Shitzalot Deuce (his formal AKC registered name) has seemingly endless energy, and is “very talkative” according to the folks that I kenneled him with this last weekend. Talkative … indeed.
Spent some time today finishing the sweeping up of all the crimson clover mulch from the “clover patch” (aka: park) in the neighboring field, and transporting it to the “donkey pasture” that I’m in the process of renovating.
A lot of trial and error involved in figuring out how to spread the mulch evenly around the pasture, before eventually tilling it in.
My biggest lesson learned was I should have let the freshly cut mulch sit idle in the sun for a few days to shed up to 50% of its inherent “green” moisture, which makes it much easier to sweep up and spread. Had a HELLUVA time trying to spread huge, wet piles of mulch … and eventually cried “UNCLE” and just gave up. I’ll till everything in today or tomorrow.
Feels good to have at least finished harvesting the winter cover crop of clover. I figure about 80% (by volume) of the above ground clover (which was between 2 and 3 feet tall!) was mulched and moved to the donkey pasture.
The remaining 20%, and all underground structure (e.g. roots) will be tilled under in the “park” lot. So, one cover crop will benefit two pastures, or roughly 2.5 acres.
I haven’t posted a FCL DITL video in some months. Not sure why … just didn’t.
For awhile now, I’ve had the itch to start blogging again.
Here’s my first foray back into video composition and publication. It’s a bit clunky, because my post-processing “saw” got a little rusty over the last few months of non-use.
In any event, I spent the weekend mulching about an acre and a half of crimson clover with a pair of Husqvarna mowers, a 54″ zero-turn for the first pass down to 3.5 inches, then a regular 54″ ride-on mower to take it down to 2″.
We’re now in the process of sweeping up all the mulch to move most of it into the large donkey pasture that I’m renovating, which desperately needs the additional nutrients and nitrogen from the clover “green manure.”
It’s a lot of work, but thankfully the mowers and tractor do most of the heavy lifting … I’m just along for the ride.
Deuce and Hooey did their part too … keeping the bees off me and fending off any snakes (zero observed). I was actually amazed that I didn’t get stung by a bee (or three). When I started mowing, there were 1000’s of bees out there. The smaller the patch got, the higher the bee density. Spooky near the end.
Total of 4 new baby ducklings hatched by end of day.
I spent most of the day out hand tossing hay over the 1.8 acre ‘park’ pasture to protect the newly seeded winter cover crop (red clover, crimson clover, Austrian winter peas) from Hurricane Michael, which is due to arrive tomorrow or Friday.
It isn’t hard work (per se), but tedious. That said, by the end of the day I was completely bushed, ready to jump into the massage chair and/or jacuzzi. Did neither … fell asleep on the couch with the pup laying on my chest. Yeah, that kind of day.
As I described in the opening segment … I was on my first cup of coffee, doing my morning situational awareness review (SAR) (news, weather, etc.) when it dawned on me that I was hearing something … a bird of some sort … that struck me as … different. I thought, hmmm, sounds like a baby chicken. DOAH! I forgot about the duck eggs in the incubator in the window sill behind me!
Sure enough … first baby duckling had hatched! As you may recall, I found a clutch of duck eggs in a next next to my duck pond, and couldn’t find the mother duck. Thinking perhaps a coyote got her, I moved all 20 of the eggs into an incubator. I’ve incubated over a 100 chicken eggs, but never any duck eggs (until NOW!). I did some research, and estimated their hatch date to be the 10th of October. Obviously, I was only 2 days off. We ended up with three newborn ducklings by the end of the day, and there is still about 7 eggs in the incubator, with one showing signs of hatching now.
Also found that one of my mamma rabbits dropped a litter of 10 to 12 new rabbit kits into a nest box over night.
Then, I found a free-ranging rabbit of mine with a whole nest of maggot larvae in an open wound in her neck. GROSS!
Spent some quality time with the pupperino (Deuce). He and Hooey helped me unfurl a big ol’ hay roll in the freshly seeded ‘park’ next door, which we’ll need to distribute over 1.8 acres today (Tuesday).
Long day … but a good day. Country living at it’s best.
The pup (Deuce) is doing well, and Hooey hasn’t torn his face off yet. 😉
I spent most of the day yesterday doing final prep work and then seeding the 1.8 acre ‘park’ with about 150 pounds of lime, 100 pounds of clover seed, and 50 pounds of Austrian winter peas. Winter cover crop that will add nitrogen to the soil, AND feed the local deer. Win/Win.
After I got the seed spread, my tractor wouldn’t start. I find the positive battery lug completely corroded through. Hmmmmm. I wasn’t about to leave all that seed just sitting on the surface to feed all the #$%^ crows, so I hitched up the drag harrow behind my truck, aired down the tires, and got to it. Worked out pretty well. If my truck wasn’t dirty before (it was!), it certainly needs a bath now. Thankfully, rain clouds are forming!
What an exciting update! My Mother, bless her heart, decided she wanted buy Hunter and new playmate. So, yesterday Hooey and I drove to a local breeder of German Shepherds (GSD) and Belgian Malinois. They are an AKC registered breeder, and provide a lot of dogs to law enforcement agencies.
They had 3 male GSDs pups available. Interestingly enough, I chose the runt of the litter, as she (the breeder) had given him a lot of personalized attention and segregation from the rest of the litter so he could bulk up in size and weight to match his litter mates. In doing so, she warned that he was a little spoiled vis-a-vis attention, and a tad ‘vocal.’ PERFECT! That’s just what Hooey and this farm need!
She asked if I had a name picked out. I told her that I tend to like to spend some time with my animals, to get to know them and observe their personality … to come up with a name that ‘matches.’
I brought Hunter to the kennel with me, thinking we might let her help pick out her own puppy, but with about 25 dogs barking in the kennel, there was NO WAY I was letting her out of the truck. She just had the look on her face. WTF??? LET’S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!
So, I loaded up the new pup into a crate in the back seat next to Hunter and headed for home (45 min drive). Didn’t get to the end of the breeder’s driveway before I get a nose full of what was OBVIOUSLY puppy poop. He crapped in the crate in less than 100 feet of travel.
With our eyes watering from the stench, and the puppy screaming in poor Hooey’s face … all of this AFTER sitting in my truck for 30+ minutes surrounded by an entire army of GSD and Malinois killers barking their heads off … poor Hooey just turned inside out. She wears a seatbelt in the truck (THANK GOD), and first tried to climb into the front seat with me. No go. Then, I looked back and she was literally climbing out the back window while I was doing 55 MPH down a country road. Yeah, THAT stressed out.
By the time I got home, the whole side of my truck was covered in her slobber. She held her head out the window most of the way home, and was drooling from all the stress and anxiety. Poor girl.
About halfway home, I thought … AHA! I think I’ll name him DEUCE! No, not after Deuce Bigalow … but because he dropped a ‘deuce’ in his crate. 😉 Not sure if the name is going to stick, but for now, that’s what we’re calling him.
As I hope you can see in these first few of what I’m sure will be a million videos of him … he’s cute, sweet, smart, funny, loving, curious and adventurous. And, he has quite the lungs on him. Vocal indeed.
Interestingly enough, Hunter isn’t doing as well with him as I expected. I always thought she would be an amazing mom. She still may, but with just over 24 hours under our belts, she’s just now starting to play with him a little.
The three of us played on the floor together for awhile, and I could tell her prey drive was seriously engaged. I could almost HEAR her subconscious yelling at her “IT’S A SKUNK, KILL IT!” No unsupervised play time for them until I see that prey drive vacate.
I wish I would have gotten some video of our opening the barn and chicken coops this morning. He stuck his face right into each door that I opened, and you should have seen the chickens reactions! Comical.
At the end of the video, I demonstrate how you can convert your AR rifle (or pistol, in my case) into a ‘can launcher’ by swapping out the upper, then use the launcher to deploy an arborists throw line by launching a 16 oz throw line weight WAY down range. To me, a can launcher isn’t very practical, BUT using it to shoot an arborists throw line up and over a tree? Now that’s practical!
