It’s cold again in these parts. 17 below this morning at chore-time with a high just above. Earlier in the week we
had 28 below. Don’t worry, I am not
about to launch into another diatribe against the cold. Today, I am sharing a few more pictures of “putting
up” wood.
Fortunately yesterday was a much warmer day; sunny with a
high in the mid teens I believe.
Everyone was out to help and when you are talking about firewood, while
many hands don’t make this light
work exactly (just ask my sore muscles!), they do make the task go faster, more enjoyable, and more
productive. You will see most of us in the photos that follow, but somehow I missed Kori, who came to help out - sorry Kori, but you know we really appreciated your help!!!
So, starting with some tracks from out in the wood cutting
clearing and finishing up with a couple of wide does, here are some pictures
from the weekend that I wanted to share.
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| There were three sets of these crossing the clearing. The glove measures 4.75 inches across. |
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| Mickey's track (and paws) for comparison purposes... |
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| Small logs and limbs waiting to be "buzz sawed" into firewood size |
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| Big chunks ready to be split |
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| Kurt brings out the splitter |
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| Ardis runs the splitter and helps pull chunks over |
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| This piece was too long to fit the splitter so Kevin is sizing it down. Rollie, just a couple weeks out of his 2nd knee replacement surgery helps out. |
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| A BIG load of split firewood |
I didn't get any pictures in the afternoon when Kevin, Kurt, Kori and I did the buzz-sawing... we were just too busy! Suffice to say it was a good days work!
Today, Kevin was very busy unloading and moving wood around... he has his own knee surgery tomorrow and is doing everything he can to make chores easy for Kurt and me. We also got the goat pen cleaned out... just a month to go until kidding time! The does were shut outside for a short time while we worked at it (complaining vociferously most of the time) and I managed to get just these 2 photos before the camera shut down from the cold...
Until next time my friends, be well and stay warm.
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| Big Bellied Daisy |
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| and Wide Load Vinca |
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Debbie, were you the one telling me about banding goat horns? And it being a success? If so, can you tell me where to get the proper bands to do it?
ReplyDeleteYes, that was me. Daisy, above is the one we used this method for. If you google it, you will find lots of information and advice. We filed a groove as close to the base of the horns as we could... couldn't get all the way around but if you can just get a couple of indents that will help hold the band on. We put one band on so it sat in the groove, then added another below it, right down in the hairline. It took quite a while for the horns to die and fall off, and when we saw signs of wear on the bands we replaced them with fresh bands. We used the same elastrator bands that we use on kids; they are green I believe. She didn't like the filing process of course; we put her in the milking stand and held her head still for the filing. After that though, it didn't seem to bother her, and when the first horn came off, there was just a little blood. I think she banged it or caught it on something so it came off before it was ready. The second one didn't seem to bleed a bit. My dog very much enjoyed chewing up the horns! A year later, there is no sign of them growing back (I thought maybe they would) and the hair has grown over nicely. She's also a much more pleasant goat... much less cantankerous. I would do it again, and if we keep Chicky, she's next. It's probably best to avoid fly season, but then again, it really didn't bleed much. I wish you well with it!
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