Sheep May Safely Graze

Harpist Helen Maxwell has a heavenly version of this Bach cantata on YouTube.  Enjoy it while you read.

This is the sight that greeted me this morning as I looked out the back door.  Misty successfully spent her first night in with the sheep--and they are already friends!  That's Obaama, barely visible right next to Misty.  It looks like she has overcome their suspicion.  Way to go, Misty!

Yesterday they were enjoying the shade of their serape awning, but this morning it was chilly enough that they were glad to soak up some sun.

Even though they both stand up when I get near--just in case they decide to run--they're very calm. They've settled in nicely to their new home.

Such a sweet face!

Ping is so glad for the company!  Rambo (at left) is a little bigger, and Obaama (at right) is a little shyer.  He's wearing a DE moustache from licking the pan of DE with a tiny bit of salt and feed mixed in.

It's such a relief to know that, thanks to Misty's presence, our sheep may safely graze through the night.

Sleep tight, sheep!

Susan's Pest Control

I went out to pick some arugula for our supper today and found that slugs have discovered it.  See the little holes in the leaves in the lower left corner of the photo?  Some of the leaves also have the telltale wiggly tracks made by slugs. 

So Herb brought me a bucket of D.E. which I sprinkled all over the arugula, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and beans.  It won't hurt us, and it washes off easily, but it does seem to temporarily do away with slugs and small caterpillars.  If it rains, we'll have to apply more--but it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon.  :(

While I was busy in the garden, I heard the hens going into their coop for the night.  Suddenly there was a commotion inside, and Gypsy came out.  A few minutes later she went back in, more commotion ensued, and out she came again.  Finally poor Gypsy went in a third time, and I decided it was time to intervene.  I shut their door and peeked in the window to see what would happen.  No sooner had Gypsy settled on a perch than Victoria and Esmerelda went after her and chased her to the opposite perch.  As soon as she settled there, Victoria started after her again.  Being in a pest control mood, I opened the big door, reached in and grabbed Victoria, and shut her outside of the coop.  Obviously unhappy, she tried to get in the closed door.  After a few minutes I let her back in, hoping she'd gotten the message.  This time Esmerelda went after Gypsy first, and then Victoria joined her.

By this time, I'd had enough.  I opened the big door, grabbed both Mean Girls, marched them over to the empty brooder house, and plopped them in there.  They still aren't over their molt and haven't laid an egg in nearly two months, so their credit with me is low!  This was not a good time for them to decide to persecute sweet Gypsy!  I was so mad, I would have happily shut them outside for the night, but I could hear an owl in the woods nearby, and no matter how mad I was at them, I didn't want them to be torn to pieces.  So I guess the Chicken Palace has temporarily become the Mean Girls' Club!

Pests?  Bring 'em on!  Susan's Pest Control has the answer!

Looking for Poop in All the Wrong Places

We went down to feed the animals today with a second mission in mind.  But first of all, see how nicely everyone is behaving in this new cohabiting relationship?  We didn't even have to halter the horses to keep them away from Sara and her food.  Everyone just ate nicely in their own place.

"Got D.E.?"  Instead of a milk moustache, they sport a DE moustache when they're finished eating.  DE is short for diatomaceous earth, a natural, organic product that we have been mixing in all the animals' feed daily for several months now as a preventive de-wormer.  When we were up at the Dexter show in late June, one of the women farmers was quite scathing in her denouncement of DE--doesn't work, totally useless, studies have proven it.  When I mentioned it to Hero's vet the other day, she said categorically that it doesn't work.  And yet . . . many organic farmers use it, including Nature's Harmony Farm where we will be attending Farm Business School this weekend.

So what's the acid test?  How do you know if it works or it doesn't?  You take stool samples!  Since we can't give the animals a plastic container with a screw-on lid and send them behind a bush, it's up to us to do the dirty work.  So after they finished eating, we wandered around the pasture looking for fresh "cow patties" and "road apples."  Then out came the inverted plastic bag and presto!  A vet-ready sample!  Angel was convinced that anything Herb was carrying around so carefully must be good to eat!

As we headed back to the house with our "doodie bags," Hero came racing across the field to catch up with us.  He's always a delight to watch--especially when the action made him realize he needed to make a pit stop in the field right in front of us so we could mark the spot!

Unfortunately, by the time we got through the pasture gate and over to the general area, it was hard to pinpoint the exact spot.  Hero and Zephyr watched us hunt, but they certainly weren't telling!  So we spent about 10 minutes wandering around, baggies in hand, until I finally struck gold!  Well, not literally; I didn't actually step in it!  At least we had a good chuckle about looking for poop in all the wrong places!

And meanwhile, we're waiting for word from the vet to see if the animals' doodie says that DE has done its duty!