What were folks wondering about this week? Let's see...
With my announcement that the boys had returned to their pasture after a six-week confinement came these questions:
From Breathe:
Q. So the [locoweed] spraying worked?
A. Yes! The crazy stuff shriveled up and died, then I shredded it into inedible bits with the harrow.
From A New England Life:
Q. How many acres do you have fenced in?
A. 80, cross-fenced into two 40-acre pastures.
From Peppermint PhD:
Q. Are there any predators that you have to worry about when you let the guys go out into the bigger pasture?
A. There are roaming gangs of coyotes, but I stopped worrying about them when my very own sheriff's posse arrived.
From Pat in east TN:Q. How many times during the day does Hank come in for water? Would a whistle or some sort of sound bring him home or is his pasture too large?
A. Hank and the burros come "home" about five times a day. In this heat, they tend to spend most afternoons in the shade of the barn, then wander around all night grazing. They will run home whenever I ring the bell or whistle, but I avoid doing that now because of Hank's delicate knee.
From JaneK:
Q. Can you put that second shot [of Hank] in your "for you"?
A. Consider it done.
From Carol Lane:
Q. What do you feed Hank, George and Alan besides hay or alfalfa? What does the Porcine Princess eat?
A. The boys feed on grass hay and whatever they can forage in the pasture, plus they each get one cup of sweet feed for dinner, just so they have a darned good reason to come home every day at 5:00. Wynonna gets one cup of pot-bellied pig food twice a day, plus whatever leftover fruit she can beg, borrow or steal.
The Porcine Princess was on a lot of your minds this week:
From C in WI:
Q. Is she waiting for her next meal at the door?
A. You betcha. For those of you who might be new to this blog and have never watched Wynonna eat, this video is not to be missed.
From Sigrid:
Q. Does she interact, react to voice and attention, give you her opinion etc?
A. Wynonna voices her opinion – loudly – about many things, most of which involve food or the lack thereof. She comes when I call her, which is more than I can say about certain other residents around here, and is exceedingly smart. She likes affection, but only on her terms, and she does not like strangers, unless they have food.
From Peppermint PhD
Q. Is there a history (lesson or two learned) between these 2 [Wynonna and Deets]?
A. The relationship between Wynonna and Deets is perplexing, and I don't know what to make of it. Deets is the most sociable animal I've ever met – he befriends all four-leggeds and two-leggeds he meets – except for Wynonna. They've never mixed it up physically as far as I know, yet Deets rarely steps foot in her stall and steers clear of her whenever she walks by. It may be time to call in the animal communicators.
From C in WI and Razzberry Corner and kb:
Q. Will those happy hosta eating chickens be laying any eggs for you soon?
Q. How old are they?
A. Clara, Lorena and Peach are about 16 weeks old. Chickens should start laying eggs somewhere between 18 and 28 weeks of age. I sense a contest coming on...
From Brenda:
Q. Friday question--How far is Walmart? You know us southerners need a Walmart? Is your mail delivered?
A. The nearest Walmart is 39 miles away and it's the only place I shop, by default. There is one other grocery store in town but it's, shall we say, less than clean and scarier than Walmart. My mail is delivered to my mail box, which is 11.4 miles and 30 minutes away, on a good day. UPS and FedEx have better things to do than drive all the way to my door, so I have to make the 11.4 mile trek to the pavement to pick up packages, too. But all of that is such a small price to pay for being able to live this life.
And from Anonymous:
Q. Is there anything you regret about packing up and leaving the East coast and your office job and living so remote?
A. Unequivocally no.
That's all for this week. Honor your fathers and have a great weekend.
As usual, I love FAQ Friday's! So many of the questions have run through my mind, and others, such as the Deets/Wynonna relationship I found quite interesting, along with the placement of your mailbox.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us into your interesting life! I really enjoy every day of your blog, and love getting to know you and your animal menagerie better!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I would be more than happy to help you with that load of hay if I lived closer. Hope it's a cool day for you to work in.
You're not coming out to Hay Jerry's, are you?!
ReplyDeleteCarson - the FAQ'S are great! Thanks for sharing so much of your wonderful life w/us city dwellers who are dreaming of living life the same way...Wish I could help w/the hay bales!
ReplyDeleteI also absolutely LOVE FAQ Friday as well...have been looking forward to it all week ;)
ReplyDeleteCats are such interesting creatures, aren't they...would be so nifty to know what's going on in Deet's head when he gives the wide berth to Wynonna (no pun intended ;)
Interesting about Deets and Wynonna. She must have given him the stink-eye when she first met him.
ReplyDeleteGlad the loco weed problem is fixed, hope it gets less every year.
Eewwwww, I don't envy you having to pick up hay - not with the heat you guys have been having. I hope it is cooler today. Not only do the bales get heavy, but I find that I need to cover up to keep from getting scratched and the hay gets so itchy. Add high temps to that combo and the job gets that much more difficult.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! (At least I find with that sort of activity that I don't need to pay for a gym membership!!)
I can't wait to tell my hubby that you are as far from the highway as we are from a good grocery store! I do sometimes hear complaints from him - but maybe it is a guy thing, having to go out right then and there to get 3 screws from The Home Depot, instead of waiting until you are on another errand.
Oh, shudder, small-town grocery stores! We found worms in dry goods that we had to buy at one of those. The stuff must have been on the shelf for at least 2 years past its sell-by date!
Excellent. I've made a few notes here...
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your long weekend(s). Looking forward to...well....so many things. *grin*
Give Wynnona a squeeze for me and get her warmed up.
I love FAQ Fridays - so very interesting! I clicked back on the Winona video - I was sorta prepared, but Emma (my cat) wasn't - she left her perch on top of my printer and walked over the keyboard looking for the source of the grunting....
ReplyDeleteNancy in Iowa
Among the all the info you'll be able to give me when we get to NM, this might be the most important....ID-ing locoweed.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for another Q & A session! Love to hear about your animals and their behavior. Glad you have no regrets packing up and moving. I didn't think you did. Maybe one of these days soon I can do the same. Hope you have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda, for the Q&A's. Give Wynonna a big scratch for me. I love pigs they are fun to be around and oh so dirty in the mud hollows.
ReplyDeletewooo-hoooo!!!!! Peaceful Hank is now my wallpaper and making me really happy......especially as I sit her and listen to my 3 year old scream at the top of her lungs about one thing or another trying to keep herself awake after a long day of work......which brings me to my next comment....yes, actually, I would have loved to have been there today to help with the 90 bales of hay!
ReplyDeletethanks for all you share with us!
Of all the times to lose my Internet Connection, just when you're posting the "Before" and "After" of my PrimRose photo. Thanks again. I'm a day late, but your efforts, explanations, and kind words (not to mention posting the links) are MUCH appreciated. LOVED reading everyone's comments too :-)
ReplyDeleteGayle
Carson, Great stuff this week. Thanks!Went through Taos yesterday and Ship Rock today on the way back to CA. Hot!
ReplyDeleteThat video of Wynona had me wheezing with laughter, what a star she is! I loved Willy's reaction 'Aww Shaaadaap! **headbutt**'. Classic :D.
ReplyDelete