Busy day

The other morning, before my appointment, I went to feed the girls and they were in a place they weren't exactly supposed to be in. All I had to do to get them back was rattle the feed bin and bring out their hay. 

[BW shot with my Infrared Camera out the door]

I just shut them in this large paddock until I could get out to check fences.

The culprits of fence wrecking showed up the next morning.

We did end up counting over 30 deer congregated by the place where our fence and two other neighbor fences intersect.

Well after breakfast, I went out and fixed about 500 feet of hot wire. The barbed wire fence that belongs to the guy west of me is bent over and mostly broken. He knows it is a mess, but he sold his cattle and so he basically doesn't care. 

That said, I don't mind either because I use a hot wire on the inside of his barbed wire. Hot wire was the only way we could keep our jumping mules in our pasture as they were taught to jump fences. That is a competition with a history of hunting behind it. 

The mules I have left don't jump fences. But keeping them out of tangled barbed wire is my goal.

Winter Pasture

The winter pasture looks flat, but it isn't, there are a lot of trees, nooks, and crannies to go around.

Below, my fencing supplies.

It wasn't that hard to repair the fence since I use a fence product that is easy to put back together. By the time I finished in my chore boots, my feet were chilled.

But I had a couple of more spots to take care of before quitting. You know, once you start a job, you finish it before having to put all the supplies away again.

I'll just have to keep a closer eye on the deer. 

After lunch, I decided to get outside as it was so warm! 22 F or -5 C. I'd been bummed about the 'order' not to 'go' hiking so Charlie and I decided to go for a 'walk'. Semantics, it works for me. 

I dusted off my Infrared Camera and thought it would be interesting to see how things looked in a different light. 

Finally an hour to myself to relax! No phone calls to answer, no appointments to work out, no deliveries of meds that need to be signed for. Just me and my little dog.

We went down the good part of the trail to the creek.  It looks quite different with the snow on it. I like to try and get out to 'shoot' this trail before the critters mark it up with footprints. 

That little black dot is Charlie watching 8 deer running up the hill from the valley below.

I turned around and hot straight up the trail. Yep, one isn't supposed to do that with a camera, it causes a lot of sun flares especially when you are using an Infrared Camera. I didn't care, I liked the footprints.

I checked my watch, time to get back and make sure someone had their meds on time and prepare for the 100 questions about "What is for lunch?"

I wanted to take an IR shot of this oak leaf stuck in the snow. Yes, the leaf looks blue as the light spectrum I chose to shoot in reflects anything that has chlorophyll in it a shade of blue in camera. It just looked pretty.

As we walked back home, I kept looking for interesting shapes and shadows in the snow. I like a solo branch sticking up out of the snow with a cool shadow. But our snow is not deep so I was stuck with little weeds. 

Back under the large oak, I found a small spot that did not have animal tracks in the snow and had interesting shadows from the tree above.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning house since I hadn't really done so since I'd been sick over a week ago.

Fence Checking & Weird Stuff

Usually just after sunrise I head out to do a daily fence check. I can walk the meadow admire the changes each season brings. The grasses have seed heads and are waiting to drop them. 

The Queen Anne's Lace is beginning to bloom and the milkweed is just about done blossoming.

If there is a good morning dew or fog, I get to stop and admire my favorite spiders who start to appear in abundance at the end of July through August. Orb spiders.

Orb Spider shadow!!!

If I stand quietly just after dawn along our fence line, I can watch the deer emerge from the woods and cross the meadow to the east of us.

In another few weeks and up until gun season, I'll probably sneak out a few times a week to sit in a tree with my camera and watch for some does and bucks in velvet. It is fun to catch them on the trail cam but even more exciting to watch them in real time.

I collected some Queen Anne's Lace to dry while out walking.

I just love their beautiful patterns.

Down in the valley I found an area that had a curious slime mold growing all over the place. It seemed to grow at the base of little plants and small saplings. Odd, but not so odd because of all the rain and humidity we've had. It makes for perfect growing conditions for slime molds.

One of my favorite slime molds to find is fresh Dog Vomit Slime Mold. AKA: Scrambled Egg Slime Mold or Fuligo septica. It is hard to miss as it is such a bright yellow. The patch was very tiny. It probably only is visible for about 24 hours.

I was SO excited to find this tiny patch!
[I know, I am odd.]

We are coming up on the great months for finding all sorts of cool Fungi and odd things growing in the forest. I can't wait!

Anyway, this was my morning walk. Checking on my mules and checking on the fencing.

Have a great week.

What about those mules?

So many folks want to know how my mules fair in weather like this. These animals have lived since birth on the farm and have always lived outdoors. If you understand the way my land lays, you will know that we have nooks and crannies where the winds don't blow. The mules have figured that out long ago and they are free to go seek shelter or stand in the winds.

With that said, here are the girls digging and browsing in the summer pasture after the first snowfall. 

I thought it would be nice for them to have something to do rather than stand around and look bored in the winter pasture. So I opened the gates to one of the summer pastures.

Their heated water is down by the house along with their hay feeders.

Feeding in the winter pasture [this is in front of the house]:

When they are done there, they head to the woods to browse on items they don't eat in the summer. Apparently multiflora rose leaves are tasty in the winter as well as other dried out weeds.

They are bit more exposed to the weather in this area as it is nearly on the ridge. But it is their choice. The browse, they constantly move and graze just like their wild ancestors.

This is a shot from this past summer in the are where they can browse right now. 

And...

when they feel like moving, they move into the woods and stand together in their own little herd.

At 8AM and at 4PM they show up in the paddock at the front of the house and stare at the house until I appear with loads of hay.

I check them more than once a day in cold weather. I stick my hand under their snow-covered coats to feel their body heat. And it is there!

Well, time to get going. So many adventures from yesterday and more for this weekend. I just got texts from my new neighbor asking if I knew of anyone that could help get his truck out of the ditch up on the ridge.

I gave him names of those who could probably help him and one is a neighbor farmer who is also runs a township plow.

Last night all plows were pulled off the roads due to poor visibility and dangerous conditions.

It looks like we will see the sunlight today for a bit while Mother Nature does her thing to remind us about what winter is like.

What about the mules?

When I whistle or holler out their names, they appear out of the woods. These shots were taken on some of the more smokey days.

Mica is the grey mule and she knows if I holler her name, it is time to come for her Senior Feed.

Quickly, though, the red headed sisters decide that they will race to me. Do I bring hay, treats, or is it that they just want someone to rub their ears and tell them how beautiful they are?

These girls will take a  touch and a kind word just as eagerly as they would a treat.

The one in the rear is our gaited mule. She is a Peruvian Paso mule. She rarely breaks into a gallop and prefers to gait out. She is also usually the last one to come when I call. She loves attention and is a fantastic ride.

She hates leaving home. Once past the mailbox, she realizes that she needs to pay attention.

They all walk along their well beaten trail through the woods to come out on the old winter pasture. 

I rotate them from one large area to another every few days.

I am hoping for the weather and smoke to break up a bit so I can ride again in the evenings.

Poor Mica suffers the most with this heat, smoke, and dust. She has Equine COPD or Heaves. The rest of my girls are still looking rather fat and sassy.

Happy July everyone. 

PS~ Send rain.

Continuing...

We remain in self isolation.

Our State Supreme Court tossed out the 'Stay at Home' order and most areas are not enforcing any of the rules that were imposed. Suggesting to use masks are still recommended except by those who have decided that masks are a political statement or some such thing.
Social Distancing was still being respected [with masks] at the two stores I stopped at Sunday morning.

When I stopped for gas, it looked like pre - pandemic era. No masks, everyone milling around inside the gas station, no sneeze guards for the cashiers, no distancing [the place is small], and the general chaos that ensues in these places.
Since I hadn't purchased gas in nearly 4 weeks, I was surprised.

I won't go back to that store unless it is immediately after opening.

Enough of that...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've been busy as a ... well, an ant!

Seems I am a fence builder. Yesterday I spent the entire afternoon making two more lots for Sven and Lil Richard to keep the grass and weeds in check. Last year I staked them out in those areas but I find that if the goat is in a lot with the pony he is far more content and will eat the thistles and burdock while the pony takes care of the grass.

This is an area behind the little red shed that is a tough one to hand mow. Sometimes I just resort to the weed whacker, but I hope the pony and goat can keep it under control. This isn't a good spot for a lot but it is an area that I hope to find a good use for other than growing grass. It is shady most of the day so it makes a good alternative for Lil Richard and Sven to spend hot days here in the shade!

I had half a mind the other day to just put a wire across the driveway and one around the house and let everyone loose.
We've done that before, I believe that was when gas prices were so high and for whatever the reason the yard had gotten out of hand [I'd had shoulder surgery!]

I just recall that using the equine was a great alternative.

However, having my laundry hung out with a donkey around...well....

That didn't work out so well.


Another gloomy day is in store for us and I can finish up the lot for the pony .. and then work on another section for the mules. We had such a dry early spring that the pastures need more time to recoup from where I let the mules out earlier.

The war on Burdock

For the last several years I've had the Dexter cattle to keep the burdock down in the woods. They loved to strip the plants of leaves. This year I didn't pay attention to it. I was after the large patches of thistle in the meadow and oops...forgot about that pesky nasty Burdock.

My weed whacker won't handle them, and at the size they are right now [some as tall as I am] even a blade on the week whacker wouldn't do. They are in a tangled mess of some blown down branches and young elderberry trees [I'd like to wage war on them also].

I did get out the old scythe and with a special whetstone, I did get it properly sharpened.

I may go with a proper new one next year as the blade and handle will be much lighter. I am able to take big sweeps of weeds down with this beauty. Alas...
Not the thick burdock.
After doing quite a bit of research I found references to brush scythes! Happy dance!

For places that are 'tight' or boxed in by trees and rocks, I got a new type of mini scythe.

I like it a lot. It is faster on tall weeds than the weed whacker as it doesn't get bound up. It has no shaft!
This is a cheaper version of a brush scythe. It works very nicely. However this too can't hack the thick burdock.

And I'm having trouble with a plant called smartweed.

It has a shallow root but really likes to spread out. Apparently the Dexters ate them also. Sven loves to eat the tops of the plants so he is a good smartweed controller in very small areas.

Yes, goats would be great to have but that would mean I'd have to rethink and redo fencing. Not sure I am up for that and I don't want a herd of goats to feed just for weed control.

I've also thought of just fencing that area off and letting it go. But you know, I don't like to give up on things. So tonight I brought out my special Fiskars Brush Axe 'thingy' and started cutting at the bottom of the Burdock. Apparently if they are cut as they are flowering, they should not regrow.

Old shot of my handy tool I've used for tough jobs over the years:

Well.
We shall see about that.

Don't even get me started on the Dock weed.
Sigh.

Let the fall Weed Wars Begin!

Morning Mists

Not a lot to say but I'll just put up a few photos from my walk with Charlie the other day.

I have had appointments of one kind or another all week long.

I do love my morning walks with Charlie! He likes them also and doesn't mind getting soaked through from the morning dew.

...and of course ...
Rabbit and Bear.
I found a little wicker chair for Bear.
I wonder how it will work out.