Thursday Thirteen #5 (ed. 118)--Thirteen Farm Chores

13 Farm Chores we do at Browncoat Acres...

1. Groom donkeys (currying and hoof cleaning)

2. weed garden (well, what's left of it)

3. clear cedar (where cedar grows, grass doesn't)

4. collect and scrub eggs (the hens are on sabbatical, so haven't actually done this in a while)

5. shear sheep (this is only twice a year, and we're down to 3 from the original 8)

6. relocate rocks for landscaping/soil control (we're pulling most from the back of the property so we can establish the bigger garden/orchard there)

7. trim back rosemary bushes (we have 3, and they encroach pretty quickly. We'll have plenty for wreaths this year)

8. fetch grain and hay for animals (we have a choice between 3 feed stores, and I want to find a cheaper source for hay)

9. vaccinations (for 3 donkeys, 3 sheep, one dog, and 4 cats)

10. clean guns (DH does deer hunting in season, and we also have them around for the "varmints")

11. fence maintenance/repair (not done often, but crucial when necessary)

12. feed and water animals (we still don't have a great system, but it will be pretty moot in a little while)

13. clean out chicken coop/shred paper for nests (I think we're down to about 10 chickens now. The poop still builds up pretty fast, and we use paper instead of expensive hay)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Halloween night at the farm, or not...

Out here in South Henly, the farms are pretty spread out, and it can be hard to meet the neighbors (or it could be my social-idiot tendencies). It also makes it difficult, if not impossible, to do any trick-or-treating (locked gates, guard dogs, and so on). Most of the "big" churches (the one that burned down a few months ago has only 200 parishoners) have some sort of "Fall" or "Harvest" Festival (gotta take the night back from those pagans *eyeroll*), and a few of the local businesses had parties over the weekend (at least one of them was charging $5/ghoul). The occasional neighbor will throw a party, but out here, it's mostly for the grown-ups.

As with last year, I wanted our son to get a better idea of what the secular aspect of this holiday is about (well that, and the photo-op that the grandparents demand), so DH and I drove up to the north end of Austin to trick-or-treat with some friends of ours (actually, our birth-attenders, they were the first to see Anthony when he was tiny and slimy) who have two little girls (one each slightly older and younger than Anthony--both redheads--whom their own father has dubbed "heartbreakers"). They live on a long cul-de-sac, which turned out to be the perfect number of houses to visit for 3 3-and-unders. At one house near the end of our route, there was a skeleton by the front door, and as I was walking up with Anthony IT MOVED. Gah! Took a few years off me right there. It didn't faze him, though (either he's too young to be creeped out, or we've done a good job of showing him what's natural in the world, so to speak), and he looked at all the decorations that she pointed out, and waved "bye" like the polite little Texan he is (no laughing from those who know better!). Oh, he was a purple-caped bat this year. He wore that cape well, and knew it, too. That's my little Leo ;)

In other, miscellaneous news, we lost one of our ewes (the friendlier one, too) to a predator last week. I guess Sombrea was concentrating on protecting Firefly (not that I am complaining--he's the higher priority), and wasn't available to drive the canines off. Last Sunday, DH and I sheared the remaining sheep, but were not able to get a really good pelt from any of them. DH bagged some of what might still be salvageable for, I don't know exactly what, carding practice, maybe? Our hens are still on laying strike, and I've no idea when the eggs will come back. They seem to have recovered from their molt, and I changed out their nest bedding, but am still seeing nada.

My main focus this month will be on my other blog; I'm participating in NaBloPoMo, but I will make an effort to check in here more often, even if it is a lot of memeage and lists.

Thursday 13 #4--Things I found while cleaning out my closet

Yes, I know it's Friday, but I'm sick of being too busy to post these, and this blog needed a little something...



My mother's been here for nearly two weeks, helping us by watching Anthony and enabling us to have a few nights out, and to catch up on some of our chores. Yesterday, I decided to make a preliminary pass at one of the closets in my office--moving things to a more ideal placement, writing up a rough inventory, and throwing out two bags worth of garbage plus 7 or 8 redundant boxes for the burn pile. Near the end of my day, I'd emptied all 5 of the north shelves (I have 3 walls worth, sort of a "U" pattern), and I could start filling those with various homeless things that have been sleeping on the floor for the past few months. Here are 13 (of many) things that I found during this first purge:

1. Afro Celt Sound System cd (v.3:Further in Time)-- it had somehow become separated from its case, and was in one of those free AOL tins. I popped it into my MacBook and had me some good cleaning music. While it was in there, I also imported it to my iTunes.

2. 2 BookCrossing books-- Drawing Blood, and Sixteen Pleasures. Not that I'll be able to read them anytime soon, but it's good to have them where they belong.

3. Anthony's baby book-- Needless to say, that's another pending project, maybe I'll find time for it this winter.

4. Calculator-- Yes, I still use the one I had to buy for 8th grade pre-Algebra. The one on my Dashboard is nice, but sometimes you really need to have the numbers in sight at all times.

5. 3 pairs of sunglasses-- Don't ask me how they wound up in the closet! Well, now I can have a pair in each car, one in my purse, and one to use at home. Overkill? You betcha!

6. Thank You cards-- Bought these before Anthony was born, and didn't get around to witing them. This is still a running fight between me and DH, and one of the reasons Anthony will probably never celebrate another birthday while he lives here. I think I'll send them to my younger sister, who's having her boy in December.

7. Corner cutter-- Bought this a few years ago for my new scrapbooking hobby. Will put it to good use one of these days.

8. Pet hair remover (brush)-- With 3 cats, not a good thing to go missing. Need to add this "ToDo" to my chore list, to help me remember to keep up.

9. Sonic coupon-- It's still valid! DH can save his usual $4 and still have a good breakfast.

10. Birth certificate-- This needs to go into the firesafe, along with my great-grandmother's cookbook. It looks like the copy that my mother needed to register me for kindergarten.

11. Free meal certificate for Buffet Palace-- There's no expiration date, but I know it's at least 5 years old, so who knows if they'll still honor it? I don't like the restaurant itself as much as I did back when I got the certificate, but it will do if I'm desperate and in the neighborhood.

12. Christmas ornament-- My mom gave us this one a few years ago; has both our names engraved on it, so it needs to be on the tree.

13. Two screwdrivers and my hammer-- My toolbox is looking a lot better now, and yes, I have labeled my hammer.

I still have some shelves to fill, but I think that will have to wait until Sunday (at the earliest, who knows what kind of energy I will have left after spending Saturday at Maker Faire?). I also did some shelf-shifting, and I was able to get some more books off the floor. Save for the NE corner of my office, I can nearly make an unobstructed circuit around the workspace behemoth. I'm also working on clearing the mass next to the door so that I can close it when necessary. After all that, I'll start working on the action items in the closet (decide on giveaways, put some boxes in the attic, file paperwork, go through magazines). Finishing all of those should halve what's taking up space, and I might even be able to start stage 2: move more of the office supplies to the closet, swap out the big "desk" for something else, and start creating a homier space that might double as an occasional guest room. Ah, pipe dreams...

He's Here!

And I missed the whole thing... DH had been getting his things ready to leave for work and saw this:



Yep, that would be the ass of my sparkly white ass.

OK, he isn't sparkly (I did not grab the glitter on the way out the door)--yet--he's a mudball; we got about an inch and a third of rain yesterday, mostly last night.

Here's Sombrea and son:



He doesn't seem to have figured where to get his next meal, so I may need to intervene. Right now, I have to get my own kid fed and situated safely so I can get a better handle on the next step. Yes, DH still had to go to work; I could have used another pair of hands, but I was not swift enough upon waking this morning to beg for help.

Here's a better view:



More news and pictures as I can get them... my son is being recalcitrant about these last few spoonfuls of yogurt.

ETA: His future owner, my good friend Phelan, has a poll going on her site to choose his full name; he'll be Firefly [something] of Browncoat Acres. Go here to vote!

Hardware failure

I'm awaiting the arrival of a serviceman from the wastewater company we've a contract with for quarterly maintenance. According to DH, the compressor to our system has gone out. I'm not sure yet [update: about $250] how much thhis will set us back, but I think it's safe to say that it will be another month before I can replace my old dresser (which my son is using now); I'm sure that DH is looking forward to having the other half of his available again.

Update: The serviceman is here now with his son (looks to be about 5). He's rebuilding the compressor (glad that's an option--a brand new one would cost a lot more), and should be done in about a half hour. I gave the boy carrots to feed to the donkeys, and he's very excited about doing that. Assuming the sheep will stick close by (I did throw some hay out as motivation--do you think that will work?), he should also be able to get a good look at them.

Further update: The compressor is all fixed, and we're good to go! I'm glad we didn't have to wait very long to continue with our normal water-use... routine.

This post has nothing to do with the homestead...

except perhaps the audiobook (Stone Work, by John Jerome) I'd finished on the way to and from Castroville for my son's birthday celebration.

My boy turned 2 on Saturday! He isn't getting all that big, but he is definitely growing up. I have to look at old pictures to see my baby again. Just this morning, as I read through my email, I saw that BabyCenter sent my first Pre-schooler Bulletin. He may have a new label, but he's still in toddler mode in many ways: he still has to master language, toilet-training, mealtime manners, and the social dance. It's time for me to get with the program(s) so he can come out of this stage happy, healthy, and acceptable to others.

We spent most of Saturday preparing and packing for our trip, so of course everyone was stressed out and tired before we had to be "on" for the party. Right after we checked in to the Landmark Inn and settled the larger items of aforementioned package into our room, we drove over to Oma's for dinner (burgers and beans), cake (chocolate), and presents for Himself.

Grandparents S gave him two outfits and a signing activity book. Oma gave him a plush ABC caterpillar (with which DH helped Anthony show off a little bit--have I mentioned that he knows his letters, and is getting pretty good with numbers?), a clothing-fastener practice dog (a Dapper Dan knockoff), several board books, and more clothes. G-UncleD and G-AuntL gave him a riding toy (with cupholder and basket) and a Cheerful Chimp (anyone remember Zippy?). DH and I gave him 2 handpuppets (a pirate and a dragon), a Pirate PotatoHead, a pair of sandals (that are very similar to Daddy's, and yes, he noticed), and a box of crayons (of course they're washable, I'm not crazy). We also bought him a Lego baseplate which we'll attach to a free endtable I'd found, so he'll have a Lego table for tres cheap. My sister and BIL sent a pirate backpack, and my parents sent a check for a DYR storage unit.

I'll post pictures later, after I've had them developed and digitized. We don't have any video, as Daddy was too busy wrangling presents, and we don't have any of the candle-blowing, as Anthony still doesn't "get" blowing. Note to self: practice for next year, at least a few months out.

We spent Sunday celebrating St. Louis Day at Koenig Park and at Oma's. Because of sleep issues, all of us were wiped out by the time we got home that evening. I for one am glad that I'd planned on frozen dinners for everyone.

And that, my friends, was our long, very tiring, very full weekend. For the sake of my sanity [go ahead, laugh, you might as well], I am not even going to try to imagine what future birthday events are going to be like when they start involving his peer group.

Birthing Donkeys? Me?

[originally posted to The Modern Homestead]

There’s an impending birth here at Browncoat acres; it will be the farm’s first in 2 years (my son and the 2 surviving chickens were born, and hatched (respectively) in mid-August of 2005). Sombrea (a Standard donkey) came to us pregnant, but her previous owner couldn’t tell us when she’d been bred--we think this one hadn’t been planned or authorized--especially so soon after giving birth to Serenity. So, at this point, it’s a guessing game as to when we’ll be hearing the clippity-clop of a new set of hooves around here. This will be my first midwivery, and I am pretty nervous, but I have to get over that before I get near Big Momma--she'll smell that straight off.

According to Morris (Looking After a Donkey), there are a few signs that we should be looking for: udder swelling, teat swelling, and teat waxing. After all this, Sombrea will actually begin dripping milk; that is when we need to start monitoring her every two hours, day and night. If I’m brave enough, I can also squeeze the base of her tail gently (obviously, that is the danger zone after all) to test for softness. Soft=get your coffee brewing things ready.

Her next bodily preparation will be to eliminate everything from her lower g.i. tract. From here, she’ll start having contractions within a few hours, and we’re to be checking for those every half hour or so. I should make time in the next few days to call Sombrea’s former owner to ask about her foaling history--how many she’s had, if she’s had any complications in the past, and what her last labor (with Serenity) was like in duration. Hopefully, this one won't travel like a shot cannonball.

I’ll post part 2 of this article to TMH this week (and copy it here), before I leave for Kansas, which will discuss the theoretical labor process. Part 3 will be my writeup (and pictures, if we’re lucky) of the birth after it’s happened, hopefully not while I'm gone.

Thursday 13 #2--13 Things I Have Learned Since Moving to Texas

Thirteen Things about Marina After giving up on having a teaching career in California [as it turns out, I was off by only a few days, but that is another story], I packed a Ryder truck with the necessaries and my dog (my cat would be flown out later), and headed for Austin, a town that my therapist had recommended ("the Capitol Building has a great big goddess on top, how can you go wrong?"). I arrived just before Labor Day in 1996, and have not once regretted the move. Here are some things that I've managed to figure out in the past (nearly) 11 years (YMMV). 1. It's a good idea to "ma'am" or "sir" anyone in a position of authority, people in the service sector, and anyone older than yourself. Playing by their rules of politeness makes the exchange much more pleasant, and makes oneself less of a "rude Californian [in my case, obviously]. 2. During the "summer" (which extends well beyond mid-June to mid-September, in both directions) months: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. As good as it is for your skin and hair, the humidity won't replenish your insides. 3. Unless you live in the Panhandle, cull any sweater collection you've brought to 3: one black, one cream, and one of your favorite/most flattering color. You might need to wear each one once in any particular winter. 4. You really can brand yourself with your seatbelt latch in the summertime. Attach an icepack to that dangerous metal part while out doing errands. 5. Chiggers are pure evil, followed closely by fire ants, West Nile-carrying mosquitoes, and scorpions. 6. Mexican-style food is very different from the kind I had back home, and it is absolutely necessary to tell the server "no jalapenos", even though the menu may not mention them as an ingredient in your dish. 7. In Chinese restaurants, if you ask for "tea," they'll serve it to you iced. If you want it hot, say so. 8. If you tell a UT (Longhorn) graduate that you're an Aggie, it is in your best interest of bodily safety to quickly qualify "Davis Aggie--from California--not BCS sweartogod." The Longhorn may ask for proof, so it's a good idea to wear your ring, or carry an alumni card. Avoid wearing maroon, especially during football season. Don't believe me? Let me show you this seatbelt branding... *wink* 9. Use "y'all" properly--as a plural. 10. If you didn't learn real dance steps in your earlier years, figure them out ASAP; that "freestyle" you've been using since junior high looks like a seizure, and will be treated accordingly. 11. You can visit whatever ecosystem you're in the mood for--forest, beach, desert, etc.--without leaving the state. 12. 2 proper pairs of boots (work and dress) are essential. Stetson hat and leather duster are optional, but an exceptionally nice bonus. 13. Time spent finding the perfect BBQ sauce is well worth the effort. Attend as many competitions as your waistline can handle. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Andi posts 13 cool pictures. 2. Gal tells us about her 3 cats. 3. Frigga goes interactive with movies. 4. Nicole's getting ready for the new school year. 5. Carolan shares some very cool Celtic websites. 6. Amy remembers her college days. 7. tommiea lists 13 things sh'es done to her home since her husband deployed. 8. gattina shares 13 things one should never say during sex. 9. Janet gives us 13 of her favorite things that begin with the letter "W." 10. Linda shares 13 things she's learned about the blogosphere.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen #1--13 Things I Did Today

Thirteen Things about Marina 1. Woke up late, but still in time to unlock the gate for the sitter and get the garbage can to the curb in time. 2. Wrote out this week's menu and grocery list. 3. Brought Boudreaux in from the storm, from which we received .8" of rain. 4. Responded to as many other Thursday Thirteeners as I could. 5. Watched 3 episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, season 2. 6. Cooked dinner--chicken mole burritos. 7. Updated my 360 blog with an action shot of Anthony chowing down on a rib. 8. Restocked my Hipster PDA. 9. Made a trip to Sun Harvest, which carries the soy cheese macaroni that Anthony loves, and I also found granulated fructose in bulk (so now I don't have to buy it at the scary HEB) 10. Loaded, unloaded, and reloaded the dishwasher. 11. Fed Boudreaux and Strut. 12. Rocked Anthony with his bottle before naptime. 13. Assembled Anthony's newly washed diapers. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

I am SO doing this next year:

Blogathon

But for now, two of my very dear friends (both of whom just happen to be biker-chick/authors) continue to blog through the night until 8 AM Central time.

Linda's primary theme at Raven's Roads consists of places she's been, or wants to visit. To fill in the gaps, she's written some pretty interesting "7 Things..." blurbs. Aside from the blogathon, she's currently focusing on travel and history, but she's also written a fantasy novel. Her charity is Christian Children's Fund. And RIGHT NOW she's hosting the following contest:

[the prizes]
A Matchbox HeroCity playset–a garage with a little dump truck.
A Fisher-Price bathtime book. It is vinyl and made for little kids to take into the tub.

Here’s what you have to to win them. (Two prizes.)
Blog about this site one more time (or for the first time.)
Tell people about the contest.
Come back here and post the link to the plug.
Say why you think one of these two prizes would be great and, if you want, who’s getting the prize.


Phelan at Homesteading Neophyte is focusing on food and blogging for Farm Aid. In her efforts to be published, she's written horror, dark fantasy, and poetry.

Both of them have some pretty cool contests going; some are for sponsorships, others for contest entries. Linda has a copy of her book "A Little Twist of Texas" and Phelan has Willie shwag (yes, THAT Willie).

You don't need to tell them I sent you (there's no contest for referrals, as far as I know), but do introduce yourself. They're exceptionally cool women.

Not much excitement, more than a little discouraged

We’ve plans to buy a pen for the grazers so what little grass we have has a chance to grow. Unfortunately, that's looking at about $1000 for a 60' round. Paying $130 for a round bale of hay (which lasts just less than a month) is getting old, and is seriously thwarting our ability to pay down our credit card debt. DH wants to hire someone to mulch our cedar piles, but I want to postpone it until we can pay off another card and/or do a transfer of our high-interest one.

We aren’t getting much out of our chickens, enough for us to eat, and a few dozen to sell each week, but not enough to cover the feed we buy (layer pellets, corn, and oats). Maybe we’ll back off on the grains, now that there’s more insect life for them to find. Must consult my experts [Phelan]. There’s one hen who’s been rejected by the flock, so we protect her at night in the old rabbit hutch. I think we’ve pretty much missed the window on expanding the flock, as we still don’t have a safe place for any chicks—a new coop, with a hover, is yet another project we don’t have the money (or time) to build.

We’ve also missed out on our spring garden, so we’ll have to see what we can do in the fall (a.k.a. growing season #2 in TX). All we have now is the oregano that survivied the icing we got back in January, and of course the rosemary, which will probably survive fallout from any nuke attack on Austin.

Dang, but it is hard to make this place a working farm that will qualify us for agricultural status, and the following property tax break. It seems like we need to win a big enough lottery to hire full-time people.

In Memoriam, Persephone 1994-2007

I suppose I’ve been off-planet long enough; here’s my attempt to make sense of the last few weeks...

My Dearest Beloved Grrl



died in my arms on 5/15, 13 days shy of her 13th birthday. The story of how I found her, and her last hours, aren’t pretty. I’ve told a few people, but I don’t think there’s anyone who wants to see it in “print.”

Deep down, I’d known that she’d been making the transition, but her journey to the Summerlands (where there are no fleas, fireworks, or thunderstorms, yet chaseable bunnies and fresh deer legs are plentiful) still hit me hard. I also know that I could have easily lost her to breast cancer in 2001, so these past 6 years have, technically, been bonus time. I wish they’d been better for her. Let me explain...

When I first took Persephone home, we (the ex-sociopath and I) had no fencing at our rental. At first, our restraint system was chains. We tried an electric fence (with the zap collars), but she broke “through” it more times than my sanity could handle. So, we contrived an overhead run which gave her some room to, well, run. The relationship fell through, and I made my way out here, with herself riding shotgun (I’d made a nest on the floor, but she insisted on watching the road). Our first week here, I boarded her at a vet’s; when I’d found an affordable apartment, the best yard I could offer her was a 12’x6’ patio. At least she was off the tether, and we walked the neighborhood every weekday, and one park or another on the weekends. We saw our first fireflies together on the Town Lake trails.

The next few residences had adequate backyards--one with grass and another dog to play with, another with wild onions in lieu of a lawn, another that was rocky, but on a hill (excellent for surveillance, or so she told me), and the one before our current residence (Browncoat Acres), which had grass and a concrete slab to dig under--in theory, anyway. Hopefully, I have made the point that I was almost never happy with her living arrangements. I wanted her to be unfettered, to have shade and sun and grass at will, and to have space in which to gallop, like she used to do on the beach in her puppyhood. Can’t go back again, indeed.

We moved into this house over the 4th of July weekend in 2003. I remember being adamant that she be out of Austin and away from Nemesis#2. Finally, I’d found her a home where she was free to explore off-leash, switch locations at will, and make her own favorite spots. Within a few years, however, she became incontinent, and we weren’t able to treat it adequately. Her favorite spot was on the front porch, in front of the door ("take a hint, Mom"), so she was eventually confined to a run (cobbled together from cattle panels) in the backyard, which essentially put her back to where we’d started. The difference this time was in my ability to exercise her--I was pregnant with my son. At one point, I was nearly put on bed rest, and soon after that I was big enough to be uncomfortable exerting myself in the summer heat--two of our chickens exist purely because I didn’t set foot in the backyard to collect eggs for the 3 weeks prior to giving birth.

Could I make this story longer? I know I can’t justify or excuse the attentional neglect. I feel horrible for allowing myself to be coerced into banishing her from our home--I wanted her inside more often, I wanted her to be more comfortable in her later years, and I didn’t make it happen. I know (in my head) that I should focus on all the wonderful times we’ve had over the years and quit wasting energy on guilt-tripping.

Persephone had a wonderful smile.
She was beautiful.
She’d throw herself *wham* onto her back for a belly rub.
She’d also stick her butt up in the air to have it spanked--I swear she did not learn that from me.
I could feed her biscuits from my mouth.
She loved children, especially those with special needs.
She was so hurt when DH took her baby rabbit away.
Watching her take off down the beach, ears back, paws churning, made my heart sing.
She hated to swim, but did it for me anyway (what trust! what love!).
She was my best friend for nearly 13 years--that is the longest non-blood-family relationship I’ve had.
She loved to go camping; if it rained, I’d bring her into the tent with me.
She bore our rings at our handfasting.
She tolerated Anthony’s attempts at petting with grace.
She held her own when Boudreaux was in the mood to wrestle.
She behaved well in Circle.
She was the first of our animals to greet Anthony when we brought him home.
She’d howl at fire engine sirens, and at me if I sang “Blue” to her.
Of course she had a middle name: Ann.
She was always, always happy, nay, thrilled to see me.

I miss:
our walks down to the gate to get the mail
sleeping back-to-back with her
her kisses
the wag of her tail
her prance and bounce as I’d come near
her howl, and her “roo-roo-roo”
her sweet face
her deep brown eyes
playing tag, spins and play-bows included
the churn of her leg (sometimes two) as I scratched her belly
her, just her.

As far as the practical aftermath goes, her body is currently in our upright freezer (yes, it is almost impossible for me to go in there ). Neighbors run a business for which they own a backhoe; they will be coming over in the next few weeks to dig her grave (next to Kimmy’s), and I think DH will be building her coffin (if not, I have some phone calls to make). I’m considering a simple funeral, but I’m not sure what form it would take. I can’t find my copy of “I’ll Always Love You,” and it’s bothering me.

So, while I haven’t been dwelling specifically on losing Persephone, I’ve been in a self-absorbed funk. I’ve been reading, but not writing; the writing has got to get underway soon, or I will lose the best parts of my reviews to brainfade.

[crossposted to my lj account, and to Momma Writes About Books]

Found out tonight what a wall cloud looks like

One went right over our house around 8. When I saw the little bit of rotation, I told it to "just keep moving, nothing here to see." Considering emailing the info to the local weather station. Of course, it was too dark to get any decent pictures.

DH was on his way home (he drove into the storm), and he was able to watch tendrils of the cloud come down. I imagine he made pretty good time once he saw the potential for worry.

We're all fine, didn't even get that much rain (.8").

Hope all my Texan peeps are safe and well.

For Phelan's Readers

I'm deeply sorry that I didn't get a chance to be on my computer long enough to tell you of our weekend.

I spent most of Saturday cleaning house (inside and out); P&D rolled in just as it was getting dark. We sped off with them to the New Orleans-style restaurant while their kitchen was still open. Dinner was delicious, but since Anthony hadn't napped that afternoon, we had to do a lot of juggling and appeasing.

When we got back, we put them to bed asap, as they'd had only 3 hours of sleep since Kansas. P and I woke up before the men got going, and by the time DH had made breakfast (while Dan installed their trailer lights) , it was an hour away from their departure time.

We had several delays, some due to the animals, others to trip logistics. They left here around 2:30. I will let Phelan tell you all about what they've brought back to KS.

[I'll update this after she's published her story--it's going to be a doozy]

Quick donkey update

Sombrea's all current with her vaccinations (rabies, west nile, flu) and the vet got the blood draw for the Coggins test. Would you believe she was the perfect little angel? Stood still for all the poking, didn't drag me all around the pen, no one got kicked. Yes, she's still holding a grudge against Steve, and he graciously bowed out of sight while I handled her.

There's hope for her yet.

We'll pick up her traveling papers on Friday, and have it all foldered up for Phelan and Dan to take with them.

Oh, and she is carrying "a little someone." The vet was able to nudge her side enough for the jack or jenny to nudge back. So, watch the skies for a really big stork to show up as early as late July.

Looking After a Donkey, by Dorothy Morris

We didn't have much time to prepare for our donkeys; we'd been losing the sheep to predators, and had mentioned needing some sort of guard animal to keep our herd safe. My MIL took this on as a mission (this was one of her more rational ones), and found us not one, but two. DH knew he wouldn't have the time to spend with them (training or standard status checks), and I have little to no equine experience (early readers may remember the one about Hercules the Thumb-Bandit). If we'd had a chance to wait, and to prepare better, I might have chosen another title.

Anyway, I was a good little consumer and dutifully kneeled at the altar (my laptop) to beseech the dieties (at Amazon) for words of salvation (this book). I read this out of necessity (I desperately needed to know how to cope with our donkeys) about a month ago. I found it to be moderately helpful. It was published about 20 years ago, and it is U.K.-centric, so the donkey organization information is only relevant in the sense that I can now go find their website in hope of more detailed health and care information. Some of the advice given assumes that the reader has some (what I would consider advanced-intermediate) knowledge on how to handle equines. Morrison tries to cover everything in 140+ pages, and I'm sure there's so much more that the new owner needs to know. A good third of the book is devoted to breeding and foaling, which to me seems heavy, but I realize that the author is writing from that standpoint and has good advice in those aspects. So, I’ll be searching for another book, and I’ll be begging for handling lessons from my neighbor or one of DH’s college buddies.

I did it

I have 10+ pages of handwritten material for my DayDiary submission. I can't publish any of it until after the book comes out, and then only 500 words worth (assuming that any of it makes the cut). I will check in later to write about the writing, the day, and how I'm getting by with no sleep. That kid had better take a nap today so help me...

I told Steve last night that I might could be book-published next year. He was surpised and happy. I haven't slept since 6:57 yesterday morning. I have to walk away from the writing so I can breathe and figure out how to clean it up for submission. I have a lot of chronicle and only a little depth and humor. Did not get to bake bread last night, so must go fix big salad and coffee for husband, hope it gets him through the day.

These donkeys just won't quit picking on the chickens

We have a chicken (one of the Barred Rocks) who isn't getting along too well--she doesn't seem sick, but she's got a hitch in her get-along, and it's freaking the others out enough that they've pecked away nearly half her comb. So, we put her in the semi-obvious place: the old rabbit hutch GranR had given us. Not 3 hours later, I looked out the sliding glass door into the backyard and found that the hutch had rotated 90 degrees. The theory is that the donkeys shoved it around in order to eat the grain I'd put in there. When DH gets a chance, he will move the hutch into Boudeaux's pen (I'll try to help, but I'm not the buff 19 I used to be).

Yesterday, while my husband was out checking the viability of said hutch move, he discovered a huge stash of eggs under one of our brush piles. Since we've no way of knowing how long they've been there, we can't sell them. And, color me wimpy, but I'm not brave enough to try using them ourselves. We've tried candling before, and we aren't very good at it (we lost 2 chicks that way). So, since we have a chicken that was isolated anyway (and I'll assume she has nothing better to do), I built a nest with shredded newspaper (hay is $8.50 a bale here, and too expensive to use for nesting), and moved the eggs in. There's 26, and I don't think she'll be able to hatch all of them, but we'll give it a try.

The lesson here is that I need to get out more, and scope out chicken-friendly egg-hiding places so this doesn't happen again.

DestructoDonkey

A few weeks back, the donkeys busted through one side of the chicken yard. Steve hasn't been able to make the time to nail a new board up, so we've lived with the chickens being able to let themselves out in the morning. What we didn't realize was that Serenity is able to crawl under the wire and help herself to the corn and oats that I throw out for scratch. After a few incidences of chasing her out of the yard, we've decided that we'll just have to confine all chicken feed to the inside of their coop until we can design and build the new setup (one with real roosts, storage for food, nests, and a hover for chicks). We're getting some good ideas from How to Build Animal Housing by Carol Ekarius. If we go with a full-fledged coop, we will probably make it part of the barn/complex that is part of the Grand Plan.

We wanted chicks last spring, but I wasn't able to get my act together enough to buy an incubator and make space for the chicks. Our last attempt to expand our flock was sheer accident--I won't repeat the story here. In short, it didn't do much to improve our operation (we were hoping to have fryers by now). Once I get my raised beds going, I think I'll get that incubator, clean out the old camping bin, and raise us some more babies.

Dances With Sheep

[no, not the ones at Things Celtic this afternoon]

S has been shearing the 2-years-past-due Karakuls while he's been off this week. None of them have been cooperative, but this last "gelding" was an extra-special piece of work. S originally attempted to shear him on Thursday after the flock had been penned (the good farmer lets his sheep fast overnight so there's minimal gastric stress when put in the proper sitting position), but the sheep wiggled loose from the hog-tie and took off. This put him in the front yard, away from his flock; in the meantime, S sheared the "newer" ewe, and wound up with a horrible sunburn--I've been on aloe duty for the past few days. S tried again to catch the rogue, but Bucky managed to clear the fence, but not without injuring his nose (S thinks it may be broken). Reuniting with the flock was probably the best, as it's easier to corral all than to cull one on 9-something acres full of cedar.

On Friday, as I was doling out pellets, husband yelled across the yard "I'd appreciate it if you'd step on that lead rope." Well, I did, thinking it couldn't be that difficult. Alas, the sheep was too quick for me, and he pulled my foot out from under me. The only thing that kept me from falling over completely was the fact that he had a horn to grab--not that it was the most stable thing to hang onto. I, of course, panicked and screamed like an ax murderee (we were both surprised that we didn't get a visit from the neighbors, or the sheriff). S quickly ran from the house to the pen (wish I could have seen that), and rescued me from Bucky.

Later on this afternoon, S eventually wrestled the sheep onto its side and hogtied it again. In his words:
"My [shearing] technique did improve, though what this psychotic gelding lacked in nicks he made up for in self-injury [prior to being tied up], insisting on ramming into the side of the garage side of the pen, the 2x6 boards on the back side of the pen, and the metal gate, culminating in leaping into the air and landing on his head, twice."

Apparently, this one is not hooked up to the sheep matrix, as its "anti-wiggle reflex" (their will to fight is supposed to switch off when all their feet are off the ground/immobilized) doesn't seem to be operational. DH said that he took a few hits to...sensitive parts. *wince* I hope everyone's OK. I'm fixing to ovulate soonish.

After years of collecting,

I need to make another stab at organizing everything I’ve clipped and photocopied. I’ve filled the two photo albums I started out with, and now I’m filling page protectors and filing those into binders. I have temporary tabs for each section (chicken, pasta, beef, etc.), and will put “permanent” ones on once I’ve made certain of the paging (that is, I might want to rearrange the order of sections so that those I use most are in front.

I also need to do a table of contents for each, and a master one (perhaps after I get the Open Office software in a month or two) so my recipes are easier to track. The last time I spent cutting and pasting, I found that I’ve saved similar recipes, which don’t need to take up twice the space.

See more progress on: organize my recipes

I actually have two quilts started

One is a top that my great-grandmother started, and I finished the re-piecing last year. Now I need to bring it back out of the closet and figure out what I want to use for “batting” (it might be a layer or two of plain old blanket), and I need to find the right backing. I’m going to tie this one, just to keep it simple.

The other quilt is a sampler I’d started in college. All the squares are cut and organized; the next step is to get all the patterns sewn together, then I’ll work on layout.

See more progress on: finish my quilt

Many, many piles

Time is the biggest factor in terms of getting my papers under control. I have the materials (folders, cabinets, crates, etc.), but I just need several uninterrupted hours to make a first pass at archiving, sorting, prioritizing, and tossing everything that has piled up over the past 4 years.

I want to find my notes from “File, Don’t Pile” which I read 7 or 8 years ago; if I can’t, then I may try to get a copy through an interlibrary loan (which may actually take a month or two). In the meantime, I can get some ideas from:

Unclutter Your Home
Family Manager Takes Charge
Creative Home Organizer
How to Be Organized in Spite of Yourself

I’ll get in touch with R (the sitter), see if she’s available tomorrow, and see how much I can get done.

See more progress on: organize my paperwork

Breaking News

[there's a lot to catch up with, but this is so great--for us--I'm posting it now before I get scooped]

DH placed an ad to sell/re-home Sombrea in our local Greensheet. This task has been on his todo list for a while; I think that looking at our budget (and seeing how much we've been laying out on extra feed expenses) and another attack on Persephone were what spurred him to action. Sombrea does a fantastic job of keeping the wild canines away, but I wish she was capable of making an exception with our two. I decided to expand our chances of selling her, and I posted this to craigslist last night:

Registered Jennet

15-year-old female donkey needs a new home. In-laws gifted us with her daughter, and she's been living with us while they worked out their weaning dance. We can no longer justify paying twice the feed, so we want to find her a good home. $200 adoption fee to ensure committed companion. Great guard donkey (she's kept our sheep safe from the ferals/coyotes that had taken 3), but not good with dogs. Grey burro with "cross" along back/shoulders. Please email to initiate conversation.

We received one bite, but she was wanting a miniature. No go. By noon, we received a notice that our post had been flagged and removed. I couldn't imagine why, so I posted this question to their pets forum:

"I've been flagged. I can't figure out why--I read the terms of service and worded my post accordingly. We are not trying to sell our animal. She needs a new home. We were only meant to be temporary owners while her daughter (whom we are keeping to be a guard animal) weaned herself. As I can read on other posts that have been left up, a rehoming fee is acceptable in order to ascertain a serious new owner/companion.
I'll watch this thread for constructive comments, and I'll post the ad again in a week. We truly want Sombrea to find a good living space where she can get the attention she needs, and hope that this community can help by enabling us to spread the word as widely as we can."

Here's the first response:
"is it possible that your post sounds like you intentionally bred her? if you post the ad here, maybe we can help. Flagging questions should also be directed at the flagging forum- click feedback in the upper right and then click flagging. "

My answer: [I posted the original ad, which I neglected to do]
We had nothing to do with her breeding. The daughter (Serenity) was 4 months old when we received her from our in-laws.
I posted here because I'd like to get an idea of why someone would kick my ad off and leave other similarly-written ads alone.

Here's another reply:
"how much were you asking?"

my answer:
$200--the original copy is within my reply to the first reply in this thread (hope that made sense). This was far lower than any of the other rehoming fees for similar equines. Do you think we should up the price?

and a third:
"this is completely out of context for me as I don't see any other posts by you on this forum and don't know what your ad on the Pets board looked like.
If you want constructive comments, it might be a good idea to include the text of the ad you posted with your request (on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if people just said "Go to the flagging forum." I think the whole process is getting too complicated myself.)
But based on nothing more than what I just read in your message, it sounds like you are rehoming-for-a-fee an unspayed "animal" (I assume a dog, but why don't you say that?). If you don't state that you will spay her or require the adopter to, that in itself might be enough to get you flagged.

Since I'd already reposted the content, I felt that this question was covered.

And then, I received this post:

"reasons
possible reasons:
a) dog isnt spayed
b) keeping pup as "guard dog" (dogs deserve to live inside and can better guard your possessions while inside. what she guarding outside? your lawn?)
c) rehoming fee is too high for services rendered (reasonable fee $100 for a spayed, vaccinated pet or $25 for an unspayed, unvaccinated pet - but she SHOULD BE SPAYED)
d) intentionally bred the dog you're rehoming
e) the dog you're keeping isn't spayed
f) you intend to breed again
it could be anything. if you would like to post your ad here, we can better guess why you were flagged

Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to be as graceful with my answer:

Here's the third copy of...the ad [and I posted another copy, as above]
so:
a) she isn't a dog, and she's registered, she's meant to be bred

b) while some people have no problem with allowing their donkeys inside (I understand some owners of minis do this), this is prohibitive for us. She's a full-size donkey, and she has 10+ acres on which to roam. As you can see in the ad, she's guarding our sheep against wild/uncontrolled canines that had, up until her arrival, taken nearly half of our flock. [I should have said that there is no more lawn to guard, as the sheep she's protecting have eaten it down to nothing]

c) $200 is actually quite low for an equine. She's registered, part of a decent bloodline, and meant to pass that on. In order to buy the mother-dughter pair, we made a promise to register the daughter so that the bloodline can remain tracked. We have no plans at this time to breed the daughter (aside from that fact that she's way too young), but who knows what our circumstances might be in the next 10 years?

d) We had nothing to do with the jennet's past breeding. My in-laws bought the mother-daughter pair, which had to be kept together in order to allow the daughter to be weaned humanely

e) see c) Do female donkeys get spayed? I know jacks get gelded...

f) We may breed, but it won't be "again", and it won't be for several years, and maybe not until we can afford a bigger place.

Given the new information above, what do you suggest I do to stay off the flaggers' radar?

I suppose I should have been not so... snippy, but as I went on, the tone and the assumptions of the post got under my skin.

Anyway, as I was typing up the last response, my dear friend Phelan pinged me, asked what I was up to. I told her that we'd finally gotten around to advertising Sombrea for sale. She wanted to know how much we were asking, and I told her. She said SOLD! and asked when she could come and get her. After I made sure she knew what she wanted to take on (possible foaling late this summer, foot problems, dog stomper), we agreed to trade flesh for cash sometime within the next month. There were other parts of the conversation which turned goofy, but that is one of the things I love about my friend. <3

And, lo, there was much rejoicing about the Browncoat Acres.

Until I realized that I am going to have to get my house really clean and soon. OMG my friend is going to see my house!!

Well, I have most of the ingredients

but not enough time and money, and almost not enough energy.

We have the acreage (11.6 acres), but much of it is covered with water-hogging cedar. That has to be cleared and shredded (we’re under a burn ban, and we’re not seeing an end to the 3-year drought) before we can add any more large animals, or the orchard for that matter.

We also need to build more animal shelter (ideally a barn, but may have to settle for temporary lean-tos for the sheep and donkey), and we need a better-designed chicken coop.

Our ideal farmstead will have the following components:

• garden (herbs, vegetables, gourds, berries)
• orchard (fruit, almonds)
• poultry (meat, eggs)
• sheep (meat, wool)
• rabbits (meat, pelts)
• milk cow (various dairy products, bred for meat source)

Everything will be on a small scale until I get some time back from the child-raising. We currently have one raised bed for gardening, but I want at least two more so that we can grow enough to put up for the winter months, and possibly start a subscription service for our city friends.

See more progress on: farm

Haven't been keeping to schedule

and this won't help:

http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/dont-tag-texas

Together with several other groups, we will be sponsoring a rally in Austin on Friday, March 2. The Texas Legislature will be considering bills to address both the National Animal Identification System and the Trans-Texas Corridor, and our elected officials need to hear from the people! A parade of tractors, horses, and people will drive, ride, and walk up Congress Avenue to the Capitol. There will be speakers on the steps of the Capitol.

Date: Friday, March 2, 2007, Texas Independence Day

Time: The march will begin at 1:45 pm, and the rally on the steps of the capitol will run from 2:30-5:00

Speakers (partial list):

Penny Langford-Freeman: District Director for Congressman Ron Paul
Hank Gilbert: 2006 Democratic Candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Liz McIntyre: Co-author of Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Purchase and Watch Your Every Move
Michael Badnarik: Libertarian candidate for President in 2004
John Dromgoole: The Natural Gardener
Judith McGeary: Executive Director, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
Linda Curtis: Executive Director of Independent Texans
David Stall: Co-Founder of Corridor Watch
Terri Hall: Regional Director, San Antonio Toll Party
Alex Jones: National radio broadcaster and documentary filmmaker
Gina Parker: National Issues Chairman, Eagle Forum

I'm pretty certain this isn't the sort of rally where I'll have to worry about landing between rowdiness and security. I'll bring the big stroller so Anthony has a chance to nap. Should I print/bring business cards?

We'll be shearing the sheep on whatever day (this weekend) we can get our mother's helper to watch the boy. I'll report the ensuing adventure.

Monday is Chicken Day

Unfortunately, I don't have any chicken photos on this machine. I still haven't made the Great Migration from my old iMac; I'll see if I can do such by next week.

We brought the first batch of chicks home from Callahan's General Store in April of 2004. I chose Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds after doing a minimal amount of research from the McMurray Hatchery site. Both breeds fit our needs criteria (provide meat and eggs), so I brought home a boxful of chicks and a bag of feed and we housed them in a spare camping bin with a heat lamp.

When we though they were big enough, and the weather was plenty warm, we brought them out to the coop (built and designed--poorly--by the former owner). I did my best to continue with the holding and hand-feeding, but they eventually got big enough that their pecking hurt too much to be worth the effort. Being able to pick these up now makes for nice farm theatre.

The following October, our neighbors decided to move back into Austin, and they gave us their Arucanas; they left the Australorpes for the FIL to tend. So, our flock numbered an even dozen. Fast forward a bit to August of 2005. I was very pregnant with my son, and I was having a really hard time getting out to feed the chickens and gather the eggs. While I was in the hospital, one of the Arucanas also became a mommy to several chicks, only two of which survived: Toni and Tone (Tony being my son).

I have several stories about the chickens that I'll post in the following weeks, but for now, it is getting late and I must bid y'all goodnight.

Still in the planning stages

We inherited a raised rabbit cage from my husband’s grandfather, but isn’t really in good enough shape to keep them secure, and it definitely isn’t big enough for the number we’ll wind up having. Right now, we’re using it as an isolation chamber for our stray cat.

I’ve acquired a few books over the past year or so:
Rabbits Yearbook
Rabbits Today
How to Build Animal Housing

Barnyard in Your Backyard

Raising Rabbits the Modern Way

Backyard Rabbit Book

Ideally, I’d like the smaller cages to be for the does and babies until they’re ready for a “general population” cage. I’m hoping to do something like a coop trailer (something to roll along the ground where the rabbits can graze and have a more “natural” experience. Since the does can be territorial, I may have to design a sectioned cage and/or have more than one.

See more progress on: raise rabbits

Donkey Day

Starting the new writing schedule today (what is left of it, anyhow). I've designated Saturday for posting donkey-related material. Apologies to those who remember my last post... at least this one will be about a different donkey. Well, two different donkeys.



Soon after we brought the rest of the Karakuls home (we managed to get a few on camera, above), we started losing them (our black male, and another) to canines amok (coyotes or dogs, don't know for sure). Our in-laws took pity on us and gifted a mother and daughter donkey to the farmstead as an early Christmas present. They also provided a stock trailer (which we had to buy new tires for, but that's a mess I'll tell y'all about later). DH made the drive, and he really knocked himself out getting them settled in the old buffalo pen (the former owner had 4 at one time, and actually decided to graze them elsewhere after DH made a crack about steaks and boots... go figure!). That night, the wild things got our prettiest ewe. DH set snares, but did not catch anything for long (one snare got chewed/frayed). Instead of keeping Sombrea (the momma--the owner thought she might be pregnant again--that's another thing I'll discuss later) and "Lacey" penned for a few days, we let them out soon after we found the corpse.

This is Serenity, formerly Lacey. I'm sure you can see why I changed her name:



And here's Sombrea:



Doesn't she look cheesed off at me? She usually is, but I can always win her over with carrots.

I can certainly say that we were not prepared for these animals...no decent shelter (they took over the dog pen during the ice storm in January so they could at least have four sheltered sides--going by six to a box), feed not budgeted for, main caretaker (moi) not trained to equines, and so on. Sombrea developed an abcess in her foot (according to vet, due to founder), and DH had such a time of not being able to deal with it... well, let's just say that we could have lost one or both that night (yet another future story). She appears to have healed well enough to put her full weight on the foot, so it is now up to DH to post ads in the Greensheet. If we get ambitious, we might post fliers at the local feed stores.

Well, my time is just about up...tomorrow is Book Review Day. If I can find my copy of Looking After a Donkey, in time to read it, I'll post a review. If I don't, then I'll write a review I owe for BlogHer.