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Well when you hand shear a hair/wool cross sheep it is a long and tough job. Between the hair felting with the wool and all the detritus from hay and barn dirt cutting the fleece away from the body becomes a trial. Luckily Spot is a very large hair/wool cross ram who likes to have his fleece removed and will stand for long periods of time while I work on him. He will also come when I call him if he knows I am going to shear him. But once I am done the only thing the fleece is good for is garden mulch. But Zorra disagrees with me she thought it was fun to attack, play with and then make a nest to lie on......saying I think " look I caught it and it isn't going anywhere".  I have started to mow the front yard and have used the weed wacker to cut back the taller grass. The weather has been odd one day over 70 and the next 44 and windy and cold. Tomorrow they say it may rain and that will turn to snow.....really? It makes outdoor gardening a guessing game.....to plant anything other than cold tolerant veggies. I have to admit I am a neglectful gardener and that is why my garden is right outside the front door where I can't ignore it. I am hoping to grow plum tomatoes, lettuce, herbs,cukes, climbing beans, potatoes and hot peppers. Most of the veggies are for canning ,but the hearbs, beans and lettuce are for my home use. Hopefully my front garden will be a jungle by mid summer!
Unfortunately On Saturday Zorra learned about porcupines...... It is lucky it was a large adult as the vet said the quills are easier to extract. Zorra had a front paw that looked like a pin cushion and had some quills in her face and chest. She did well at the vet and got her nails trimmed....ah a twofer.....It will be a very expensive nail trim. Anyway she is still limping a little but felt well enough to come out last night and harass the chickens in their pen. I can't figure out if her front paw really hurts or if she is using it for attention............Now both of us are wary in the evening when doing chores. The other weird thing is I have been finding nestlings (I think they are starlings) on the bottom of the driveway, far away from any nests. I suspect I have a flying predator picking off the nestlings when the adults are off getting food. It is sad, but they are starlings nesting when they shouldn't be. Time to move on and clean the chicken house.
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Mary Will Sussman Archives
February 2023
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