Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

That's funny because I don't care for Thoreau either. My review of Walden is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I liked The Maine Woods better. I didn't want to beat him with a stick quite as awesome & he did report well on the scenery.

Congrats on the reviewer status. I was in the top 100 for all time, but I think that is simply because I've been here so long. I don't write reviews with anything like the regularity that many do. I simply write them as I read them & I only read 125 - 150 per year. Some seem to read a couple of books a day!

You didn't like my review of the 'Winter Tree Finder'? Really? How come? I find that surprising. They're wonderful little books, well worth the $5.

I haven't tried weaving. I started doing some knitting & crocheting, but am limited to simple stuff & then heard about chiengora - a fancy way of saying people use dog hair as yarn fiber. I got to thinking that it would be a good winter hobby & built my own drop spindle, then a spinning wheel last year. I'm still not good enough at spinning, though. I am absolutely lost at trying to card the fur, too. I have a LONG, LONG way to go.

A friend gave me her portable spinning wheel when she moved along with a bunch of alpaca roving. I'm hoping to use that to learn to card & then spin. Right now, I'm still trying to learn how to spin properly using store bought roving - wool that has been drum carded into long, beautifully flowing strands. When I get that down, I'll start hand carding, which also combs out the hairs, but into rolags.

I'd love to get a drum carder, but they're expensive. I'm trying to do this on the cheap since I'm not sure I'll stick with it. I get enthusiasms, then realize I'm not that enthusiastic about it. Oh well, I just don't know until I try, do I?

We got up into the low 40's today. It was dry for a change so I pushed the manure pile up & did some touch ups on the grading around the barn. A minor, quick chore except for my help.

The horses had been in the south field, so I let the goats out & they ran out with them. The tractor is parked in the big barn at the north end of the north field & the barn is in between. I was grading when Cutter & Speedy decided to investigate. The goats & Chip followed them. Then they saw the big barn doors were open & headed for it. That's not only different, but is where the bulk of the hay is stored.

So I had to quit grading & drive over there real fast to head them off. Speedy heard me coming & made a real bee line for it. I got the front end loader ahead of him just in time. He pinned his ears & took off back the way he came. Then all of them started running around. They flew back past the horse barn into the south field & back to the horse barn again. I watched them just blowing off steam for a few minutes while I closed everything up.

Of course, they all went back to the south field & never came near the big barn again. Ten minutes later, I had to open back up again to put everything away. They're such big helpers!
;-)

HeyJim , you have much mre patience that I when it comes to spinning! That's one craft I think machines deserve! I've met many people into it: Lessee, first you catch a sheep.....

Gotta love farm critters! They know where the food is! The squirrels know exactly when I fill their feeder and they're ready!

What! You paid $5 for the Winter Tree Finder book? You must of bought a later edition. For me too many trees are too similar, while individual species are too varied in the Winter for the book to work in unfamiliar woods. Even for the eighteen species on this property most, like the birches, need to be old enough to have certain characteristics or else they're too similar to other saplings.

I made the "top librarians" list too! Not only for all the covers, but do you realize how many edits it takes to "combine" 16 books entered initially all with different authors etc. My history shows two pages of edits just because I wanted to put my 1917 issue of The Bluejacket's Manual together with newer issues.

Anyway.. don't forget to close the barn door!

It helps to learn the book by using it for several species of known trees. It does take some patience & practice, but only adult trees & then a sampling of those, are really accurate. Trees can vary quite a bit. Ever see a young Shagbark hickory in the spring? Looks like it is having alien babies.

I swear, any time I try to shortcut by not closing a gate or door, the animals make a bee line for it. Monsters!
;-)

Congrats on being a top librarian. I've never made the list & doubt (hope?) I never will. That takes patience!

Low today -6, high 25! It felt balmy and warm out!

From persistent observation I can identify most all the trees on my property any time of year... more by the color and shape than the buds, as long as they aren't real small saplings. No shagbark hickory around here... so my little book doesn't even get pulled off the shelf these days.

I don't think making a second list of people on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ who need a life took patience.. it was more a matter of being so anal retentive (obsessive/compulsive?)if I encountered a missing detail I couldn't prevent myself from adding it!

I have prevented meself from immediately "checking" all my books... I know there's still lots of little mistakes. Maybe if there's a cold spell in february...

... I'm still waiting for my prize!

We got into the 50's today. You'd think it would feel hot compared to the 20's we've had lately, but it was wet & windy, so it felt a lot colder. Raw. Went right through a person.

For valiant librarian service, Foxtower gets the

Thanks Jim... and I want to thank all the liddle people.....

Lo today 0, high 33 and still climbing and it feels nice! Forecast for rain and 40's... gee and most of ice on the driveway blew away (sublimation), hopefully rain won't turn to more ice!

We hit 65 today. A big, nasty storm is supposed to come through around dawn tomorrow & then we drop. They're talking 11 degrees for the night after. Brrr...

It was 67 this morning when I left the house. The wind was crazy - 70 mph gusts. Halfway to work, the rain came down in sheets, so we crawled along I-64 at 40mph. It was 57 degrees when I got here. It's supposed to go down into the mid 20's tonight & that's the high the next day, then possibly drop into single digits. Brrr....

Hey Jim! It's 40 today after a little freezing rain this morning, though they are forecasting similar temeratures, winds and rains tonite into tomorrow as we're on the upper end of the jet stream dragging problems across the country. The ice is getting nicely polished!

I prepped and rust treated a sleeve hitch attachment today for painting if we do get warmth tomorrow... if not at least it's ready for a warm day!

It's a cool old frame that can easily take any implement a person can dream up, but it's been sitting a few years waiting for me to get a roundtuit. I'm setting it up to furrow the rows for fertilizing, then smoothing and making a furrow for the irrigation lines, and then making seed furrows. I could have nice straight lines and spend less time shoveling (at least thats the plan...

Good luck with it. We're dropping way down now with really heavy gusts of wind & some rain. Yuck.

Exciting weather this morning with the fog blowing off the diminishing snowpack in the high winds and rains!

Started at 56 though quickly falling now... guess tomorrow I'll see how much of the puddles drain before it all freezes.

67 yesterday morning, 27 this morning. It's been snowing a bit off & on, but we're right at 32, so nothing is sticking now.

I'm taking the day off of work. We have a few inches of snow blowing around in 9 degrees. The roads are horrible since they plowed & salted around midnight, then quit. The snow has drifted back over & half the snow that melted has re-frozen as black ice under it & by itself. Schools are closed. With the sun out, I can really see the roads & the news says it's pretty much a nightmare out there.

Unfortunately, I'm out of pre-carded roving, so I want to go into town & pick some up. I do have a couple of big bags of Alpaca wool, a bunch from Speedy, & some of Pixie's. I guess I'll see if I can card out some of that, but my spinning skills aren't up to spinning that yet. I'm basically wasting what I spin because it isn't good enough to use. Well, learning to card is on my list of things to do & I need to wash Speedy's fur. I guess I can stay occupied for the day.

Marg & Erin are going to go look at a pony this afternoon. He's a large pony, hopefully another Chip or Patches. (The latter was one of the best ponies we've ever had, but he died 10 or 15 years ago. Just old age & then suddenly got some sort of cancer. In less than a week from when Mom & Marg first noticed he had some lumps, they blew up & cut off his breathing badly enough that we had to put him down.)

If this new pony works out, Marg will probably get rid of Cutter. He's more horse than either of us needs now. He's probably more suited to me, if I wanted to show & hunt him. I don't.

Hey Jim... seems that you're getting worse weather. I've heard the Southern states don't know how to deal with snow on the roads very well.... a good excuse to stay home and play!

Low 16, High 24... nice sunny day!

Snowpack went from about 20 inches to about 5 inches yesterday, and now it's all frozen solid! (the driveway is clear to gravel... I get to start fresh w/o the ice!)

Practice practice practice! (and several bald critters later...)

Did you ever notice that just about the time you've figured it all out your done? Funny how that works with new skills....

I've been futzing around with the tractor attachment which I never got to paint with all the rain blowing aorund... planning at this point prior to welding.

It's actually nice out now. A clear sunny day, although it went down to about 4 degrees this morning before climbing up to 17, the high for the day. The sun & warmer temps are clearing the snow off quickly. Luckily my drive sits high so the wind swept most of it off.

I have noticed that about learning a new skill. I decided to card the Alpaca fur I had & try some of it. Wow! It's going great, if slow. The hand carders the friend gave me are working much better than the pair I bought - the teeth are a little bigger & lighter.

The rolags I create that way are spinning up much nicer than the commercial roving which is done with a drum carder. The hairs in the commercial roving all go in one long straight tail. A rolag combs all the hairs, but then I roll them into a tube, so the hairs are at 90 degrees to the yarn. It makes it much easier for me to control how much gets spun.

If you'd ever seen Speedy shed in the spring, you'll know there is no chance of bald critters. The birds all love him. He leaves patches of white all over they use for their nests. We used a shedding blade on him last spring & would get a plastic grocery bag of fur off him every other day for a week or two. I doubt any yarn I make from his fur will feel nice, but it will be a nice way to remember the old booger.

Have fun with the attachment.

Talked to Mom, did the bills, & plowed the lane. If the apron hadn't been so full of snow, I probably wouldn't have done the last, but it's steep & we're in the mid-20's. The few inches of snow on it just turned to ice with a foot step or car going over it, so I scraped most of it off the whole lane while I had the tractor out. There will be some gravel to rake out of the lawn before I can mow, though. :-(

Hi! Sounds like you still have worse weather than we do! Low 9, moving up to near 20 with light cloud cover. With all the soggy snow frozen solid it's nice walking out through the woods... almost as good as "linoleum" snow.

I had a llama hair hooded sweater once hand made in a mexican prison. It was about 1/2 inch thick and UGLY olive gren with red designs. Comfy and warm, but after 18 years it got too ragged... If you have as much time as a mexican convict you could make a Speedy sweater!

We're back with Rascal, the new pony. He's a good little boy & loaded just fine, although it was only his second time on a trailer. The people selling him just stood back & let us handle it, so Erin led him on with treats & some feed while Marg & I kept him straight & patted his bottom to keep him going forward. Only took 5 minutes.

The apron on the lane was fine. I did put the truck in 4WD to go up it, but didn't slip at all. It's parked & Rascal is in a stall to let him settle in. The people that had him before had trouble catching him, but they didn't believe in feeding treats. Also, he's going to have a big change in his diet - we don't have the same feed or hay & won't be giving him as much grain. Having a heated bucket of water in his stall will make sure he doesn't have issues getting to the water trough & gets plenty to drink.

The rest of the boys were in the south field, so I locked them in there & the dogs in the house while the girls snuck him into the barn. The boys all tore in to greet him once we let them. How exciting! We've got a full barn now. No more! Of course, I kept saying that as we got 2 dogs, then 4 & now have 6 with Erin's 2 here. It will be nice to see them go, though.
;-)

We got a bit of light snow this morning & are in the mid-20's, but the roads are clear, so the weather isn't too bad.

I don't think any of the animal hair stuff I'm going to make is going to be comfortable & I plan to stick to simple scarves. Keepsakes only. The yarn I tried to make out of Pixie hair came out like shedding cactus. It was second clipping, though. Not really long enough, especially for the Icelandic wool I was trying to mix it with. Speedy & Alpaca furs seem to be going together better. Still haven't tried spinning any. Too many chores. Maybe later this afternoon.

here are some pictures of Rascal & the bird feeders:

How exciting! Are horses like doggies, all excited to have a new playmate (and subject to diarhea when their diet changes)?

But Rascal looks like he's been rolling in the mud!

Boring weather again.. sunny and between 14 and 24..... spent the day painting yet another sign for the garage (I reproduce old (and new) farm product signs like the old enameled tin ones to help give the farm a rustic historic look.

WooHoo! Apparently there are also "Top" lists for the month... and I made both the Librarian and Reviewer list again for February! (and here I thought my glory days were over...)

I better make room for more stars....

The old owners kept Rascal in a stall, so the stains aren't mud.
;-)

Diarrhea is possible & actually preferable to the alternative which is constipation. That turns into colic real fast. Horses don't burp, so everything has a one way trek & it best keep trucking constantly. If they don't get enough water or build up a blockage, it turns to colic & that kills more horses than anything else I know of.

Rascal is weird - not our kind of weird yet, at any rate. He doesn't like the treats I carry in my pocket, although he does like apples. Chip is just the opposite.

It started to rain so I went out to take care of the goats. They hate the rain & won't brave it even for Cap'n Crunch, so I got them in their pen before the heavens opened up. I pet Rascal as I walked by a couple of times. It was tough since I didn't want to go into the stall. That meant I was targeted by the other monsters. Everyone else wanted cookies & scratching. Rascal seemed somewhat bemused by my popularity.

The bigger of our 2 solar electric fence chargers died yet again, so I had to swap the smaller one I have on the goat's paddock to Speedy's - soon to be Rascal's - paddock. Since it was raining & barely above freezing (tonight will be ugly) it was a cold job. I couldn't wear gloves, of course.

I don't know if the big solar charger is just bad or if something happens to it. The fuse is never blown, so I don't guess it's lightening. That usually vaporizes the fuse & often blows the charger up. It's rated for 10 miles & I don't have 1/10th that amount of fence hooked up to it. It was over $100 when I bought it 5+ years ago. Twice diodes have blown in it & I've had an engineer at work replace them. A new circuit board was $75 last time I checked & I've replaced the battery for about $30 once. Now a new one sells for $250, so I hate to replace it.

I have an old regular electric one that I keep for emergencies & I can run an extension cord to it, but that's a hassle since it goes in front of a gate. I could bury a pipe, but haven't gotten around to it.

Since we have a shed out there, I should probably just bite the bullet & run a proper wire & water out there. That's a lot of tough digging across the lane, though. The house water line is in between unless I take it from the back of the house & that's a much longer run, especially for the electric. I'd probably have to go up to 10 gauge copper or 8 aluminum, an expensive proposition & I'd have to go through the barrier & insulation under the house to get to the breaker box, a real hassle. Some day... maybe...
;-)

Congrats on the honored status again!

Too bad horsey bath time is still a couple months away....(maybe sooner down there, but here where it's still bouncing betwix 10 and 20 it would be instant popsickle horse!)

I don't know anything about solar fence controls. I have known people who spent a couple hundred bucks for an "invisble fence" for their dog only to discover that after two days the dog never goes near the fence line again. Do the monsters really need an active fence or are they like raptors (of Jurrasic Park fame) always checking for a weak point in the defenses?

If so I'd go for a dependable buried set-up... though I can't believe you'd need 10 gauge copper... how many billions of amps does the thing take?

Thanks for the stars!

Manure & mud brush out. He's a mud puppy today & out in the paddock.

A livestock electric fence isn't invisible. They have to be able to see it. They make an electric tape in various widths. While I have two strands of the widest (1.5") on the fence, I only run electric through the 14 gauge wire. The tape has multiple tiny wires (this has 6) in it so 100' of it translates to 600' of charge. Chargers are rated at their maximum mileage & that's usually overstated by a lot probably because conditions are never perfect. I wouldn't run a mile of fence on a 3 mile charger, only a few hundred yards.

After getting shocked once, most horses won't touch an electric fence again, but they're odd critters. Topaz knows damn well what one is, but one day I watched him wander over to the goats' paddock & bite it. He had one of James' girl friends on him at the time. She was nervous about riding to start & we'd assured her Topaz was very safe. Of course, he picked then to have... I don't know... a moment of complete idiocy? Whatever, he bit the fence & dumped the girl. She did get back on, but didn't last long with James after that. Well, it was pretty soon after his divorce, so probably a good thing...

The big danger with any fence, but especially something that is as transparent as an electric fence, is that they'll run through it. They either get excited & lose their minds or get in a fight & scared, so lose their minds & just go. Horses can be awfully smart, but they are of two minds - literally. The rational one tends to evaporate quickly, especially with hot bloods like out Throughbreds. Rascal should have more sense being half Welsh, but you never know.

Rascal was funny today. While I was working in his paddock, he followed me like a dog at heel. I mean every where I went, he was right there pacing me on the right hand side like I was walking him. Marg had a quizzical expression on her face as she walked up thinking I was leading him around. Then she saw I wasn't & she started laughing. Apparently I have a new buddy.
;-)

Sounds like you have a new friend... until he turns on you...

Horses are too scary for me!

I'm not worried about a horse turning on me. We're the predators, not them. Use some sense & we can make them behave. If we can't - & there are a few cases - we shoot them.

Rascal wasn't nearly as happy to see me today. I think he was just lonely. I'm not sure how well he is going to blend in for a while. Speedy put him right in his place & Rascal just said, "Yes, Sir!" But Marg is scared to put Chip in with him. Apparently Chip has taken an extreme dislike to him. Not good. We'll wait for the Coggins results & then try turning just the two of them out in the north field, which is the biggest & lock the rest in the barn. Hopefully they'll work it out without too much blood shed. We'll stand by, just in case.

The vet came by today & gave everyone a checkup & their shots. All except Rosie, one of my goats. She won't let anyone catch her except for me. I got busy tonight, but I'll give her the shot tomorrow.

The bad news is that Blue has some sort of sinus infection. He's 25 now, so getting up there & this is pretty bad. He's on antibiotics, but Marg is going to get the vet back out to scope the nostril. He may have a stick up in there or something. He was really bad about getting his teeth checked, so he's probably in a lot of pain.

Vets and shots and expensive procedures.... reminds me of yet another reason all my "livestock" so far is made out of steel....

-1 this morning... made it all the way up to 8!

A nice sunny day to play in the greenhouse where it was 50 degrees, working not only on parts for my new implements but also bits and pieces for a new critter!

Last week it was in the 20s, today it was 60 & sunny. That's neat that your green house is so warm. Do you heat it with anything other than sun?

I had a great ride on Chip with Marg & Erin. We just bopped around bareback around the place. Did some fun canters, too.

The last time, Chip was afraid everyone was going to get ahead of him so he took off really fast slipping with all 4 feet & then tried to do some bucking. Molly cut in front of us so he went after her, too. Erin had quite a time holding Cutter. Chip takes off fast & runs his little heart out, but Cutter is WAY faster. No contest. Marg held Speedy firmly in hand & did just a slow canter behind us.

Since no one could catch my goat Rosie the other day, she & Buttercup got their tootsies trimmed & I gave her the shot she missed. Neither of them minded any of it even though Marg & Erin were both working with the horses & ponies. I was impressed. I really should do more with them.

Erin brought Rascal over & gave him a good grooming, too. Hopefully the boys - especially Chip - will get used to him & not give him much grief when we turn him out with them.

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
12. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
13. Glibido: All talk and no action.
14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.



The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.
6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Funny! I don't usually read the Washington Post.. I get the "Funny Times" which sometimes has similar things along with cartoons and humor.

-8 to +10 today. The TV stations are once again all in a dither about an "Epic" Winter storm coming. Problem is that even if the worst comes true, those of us who live here haven't forgotten that just a few years ago we had back-to-back two foot snowfalls with drifting snows. Nobody around here takes such dire weather reports seriously anymore....its just another normmal Winter.

What, you didn't saddle up Rascal along with the goats??

I've heard that this is an old list & there is no such contest. Still funny, though. Great words.

After 60 degrees & sunny yesterday, it never made it past the mid 30's today & now is down in the 20's with some rain & really cold wind. Yuck.

James & Lauren lost power not long ago. They're in RI & are expecting 2' or so of snow. Lots for the kids to shovel.

How far north are you in ME, Foxtower? Looks like the northern half of the state is only supposed to get 6" to a foot, not as bad as further south. At least you're not going to get rain to sleet to snow like they got on Long Island.

Yesterdays storm was remarkable here only in that the winds were stronger than usual. We've already had storms with 40 to 50 mph winds, so yesterdays 50-60 mph winds sculptured more pronounced drifts than usual such as this three foot high wave on the south side of the house by the greenhouse...



While the morth sides of buildings and the top of the drive were scoured to bare ground, and by the snow plow ridge at the bootom of the drive it drifted about two feet high, on average I think we got about a foot of snow so not a big deal.

We did'nt even lose power and when I took the snowmobile out through the woods to make the walking trails I didn't even find any branches down. At this point we've already had more than enough winds so I guess there's nothing left to knock down even with higher winds.

I was awakened by banging yesterday morning! The "sled shed" a drive through snowmobile shed with double doors on both sides, had all four doors worked loose and flopping in the wind. Had to screw them shut as the wind broke parts of the pine "hardware" off.

Today it's sunny and 30, with a few more inches of snow on the way tomorrow!

Gee, I'm sorry you missed all the excitement!

Wow! Better you than me!!!

James & Lauren have a generator now & are doing better. It's enough to run their furnace. They were pretty chilly with just the fireplace. They had the high winds, too. Not really sure how much snow since there was an 18" difference between the front & back yards. At least 2', closer to 3' he thinks. They're in RI.

We had a rainy day today & got some wind tonight. Gusts about 40mph, I guess. The dog door is staying closed. I'm not sure if that is due to the angle of the wind or all the hard drive magnets I stuck to the bottom. I think they're helping.

Jim wrote: "Wow! Better you than me!!!

I wouldn't be happy without a pure white world frozen solid for four months out of the year!

I have family that moved to South Carolina... they like to brag about their warm Winters. Funny, I don't hardly hear anything when it's in the seventies here with a nice breeze while they have 99 and humid for weeks on end....

Unfortunately if you're not used to powerful Winters, like James and Lauren in R.I., I can see where it can feel pretty bad....

A couple of people mentioned they wanted to see me with a beard. I asked Marg to take some pictures, but I looked like I wanted to bite in all of them. I also got a picture of Chip doing his race horse imitation. They're on my profile here:
http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/6...
http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/6...

Gee, it more like March than February! 40 degree days and balmy nights in the teens....

Polls show that people are more apt to beleive in Global Warming when it's warmer than normal. I believe all the time and yet another very warm Winter just convinces me.

On the other hand I don't think 1000 injured from a meteor storm in Russia hearalds the end times... just another day on the planet!

Interesting day, yesterday. The girls decided that the best laid plans should be ignored when the mood strikes so they let Rascal out. Speedy ignored him as we thought. They'd already met & decided things. Blue went over & licked him like a lollipop -- or a mare. Oy! Then Topaz came over & the two of them wandered off, ignoring Rascal.

Chip came over, sniffed, him & walked away a few paces. Then Cutter came over & decided to see if Rascal could run. Chip joined in & Cutter wound up biting out a hunk of Rascal's mane. Then they settled down when the girls yelled at them.

So I guess it's good news. No blood, just some lost hair. Not bad. I wish I could say the same about the dogs. The day before yesterday Amber, an 11" Parson Russell was clingy all day. Something had upset her. I guess tensions between her & Molly (her sister in spirit since we got them together) boiled over again. With the horse excitement, they got into it.

Molly is 26" tall, weighs about 4 times what Amber does & is an Australian Sheppard mix. The two bicker constantly. Amber gives way to everyone except Molly. Molly gives way to no one except Lily & Amber - usually. I guess she decided she'd had enough so Amber got another set of stitches. Molly tore a gash in the top of Amber's head, so I had to get her out of hock at the vet's on the way home.

The worst part of that is I got to pay for it. It was $121. They only charged $150 when they stitched her whole lower lip & jaw up after she killed a coon. When Harley lost her leg, it was only $750, even with a few days of board (one night at the vet's house) the amputation & all. Still, Erin's car just had electrical problems, so I've got that to pay for, too. Oh well, it's only money...
;-)

Foxtower wrote: "
On the other hand I don't think 1000 injured from a meteor storm in Russia hearalds the end times... just another day on the planet! "

When we saw that on the news, both my husband and I commented that if that had happened during some of the really tense crisis situation during the Cold War days, WWIII would have started.

BOMB!

Hey Jim, if yu could talk one of your kids into becoming a vet just think of all the money you could save!

Sounds like your canines are getting mixed signals. If you want to keep Amber from getting injured observe the pecking order. IE, Molly always gets fed first, gets attention first, gets to play first.. and then Amber won't challenge Molly's status. Thst is hard to do when several people are involved and lots of animals need attention.

You remind me why it was a good choice for me to avoid livestock. If a crop gets damaged or diseased I've lost a few bucks and thats it!

More snow today, with more expected tomorrow... still warm though.

Darn... no meteors hit the farm... big bucks if I ever find one, then I could afford goats!

Foxtower wrote: "Hey Jim, if yu could talk one of your kids into becoming a vet just think of all the money you could save!..."

We thought about it. That's a long expensive haul in school, but all are out now, so that horse has left the barn.

No, the Molly-Amber thing isn't that simple. It's one of those oddities in the whole pecking order dynamic. They're too much like sisters & Amber is being weird about her for some reason. She's scared/aggressive to her for some reason. Usually they go back to loving each other & getting along, but there's still a lot of tension on Amber's part with just her.

Well, it won't matter in 2 - 3 weeks. Erin is moving out & will be taking her pack with her, thankfully. Marg will miss her, but I sure won't miss the extra 2 dogs & 2 cats in our little house!

If you want goats, come on by. Marg would gladly give you ours. Rosie was chewing on Rascal's tail. Marg hates that.
;-)

Yep. animals have there own rules to live by!

We had a "bilzzard" yesterday according to the Disney News (ABC). They like to exagerate as it was really just another Nor'easter with seven inches of snow and 30-40 mph winds (gusting to 50). Typical Maine weather... even my replacement pine hardware on the Snowmobile Shed didn't flinch.

Today it was sunny! In spite of the 20 degree weather with 20 to 30 mph winds the greenhouse was over 60 even with the windows open. A good day to work in there and weld up the implements and sculpture I've been working on.

The sculpture is yet again a farm animal that doesn't require feed or vets or attention! Just the way I like livestock (keep your goats, thanks!).

darn. I was hoping to get Rosy out of here before Marg takes her to the deer station in town & brings her home as sausage or something. Oh well. She'll have to take her chances.

What kind of farm animal now? Do you ever sell them?

Yum... goat sausage!

But..but..but I'd rather have the sculptures than the money! I can always get money, but nice sculptures aren't so easy to find... and way too expensive to buy!

I have a few days or so of sanding and prepping to paint the implements and the sculpture, providing the weather cooperates... until then I'll keep you in suspense (hint- I think the sculpture is very funny!)

I gave up selling crafts when the global economy pushed hand made prices down to the cost of chinese labor... just can't get enough in the Amercian labor cost structure to make it worth while when places like the "Christmas Tree Shop" import containers full of hand made crafts selling for next to nothing. Thus drawers full of gem stones and jewelry findings are now stock for assorted projects just for fun!

I know what you mean about the price of hand made stuff. I hate selling, too.

We finished Downton Abbey tonight. Great show. Never would have expected to like an English soap. I have to say, Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Grantham, is the highlight for me. She delivers such wonderful one liners. The world is her straight man.
;-)

I just could never get into that turn of the century stuff... can't understand the Brits fascination with a time before indoor plumbing and oppressive class structures.... I've been enjoying early episodes of Star Trek, the Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents on Hulu.

Spent a couple hours today making three ebony bottle stoppers (A dollar two-fifty in chinese labor)for some triangular bottles. Hopefully they'll make a nice rainbow effect in a sunny window!

Odds and ends while waiting for primer and expoxy to dry on a cloudy 20 something day!