beadlizard

@scottwestacre He has beautiful feet. Your herd's conformation is so consistent and superb.

49’ speedster. Another second and I never would have caught up to this day old calf. He stopped to look behind him or he would has simply scampered away. Excellent calving weather for me. Getting bit warm for cows with full winter coat at full term 🫤

@CrubersGate Love the photo of Digger.

The morning chores are all finished… WOOT WOOT a CLEAN CABIN for the First Day of Spring!!! After the am cat tending I did a total cabin dusting (I task that about 24 hours after I vacuum so it’s all settled, and whatever is in the air, especially this time of year has either gone into the Alen air cleaners or finally settled on some book shelf). If you can do it like this, then it won’t be dusty again in a few hours after the chore... The coffee machine threw a “descale code” so that got tended, and I opened POP POP lunchbox (to make sure it was empty), shit box was full of crumbs and they went all over the kitchen so that has now been vacuumed twice 🤣🙄. I also took my a swiffer duster and went out onto the porch and dusted all the flower stands, grills, and surfaces… lastly I got those hideous plexy “glass” French Door windows; the pollen this year is just crazy. I had to take a Zyrtec chewable, my nose is actually bleeding when I blow it. Pop pop got cereal again for breakfast, I’m just now on my second coffee… I’ve put in three hours of domestics and it’s only 09:30 🤗 I’m a good housekeeper! Now we can relax for a while… Oh! Also I found this “mandala” looking daffodil spring image and I loved it…. On these cabins there used to be big round “Amish Hex Signs” and I guess crack heads got them. One was like oak leaves and acorns with maybe some kinda North Star center design and the other seemed like was birds, flower bulbs or tulips and maybe eggs… A craft I’d like to make is a new round sign, one for each cabin, and we have so many varieties of daffodils here that this is an inspiration!!

The one the doctor left behind is likely to be a little uncomfortable since it doesn't have the same size twin cushion down there helping keep it in place. Stuff is going to shift around, and that is like jogging without a bra until things stabilize. That said, hope-hoping that Pop Pop's body is so relieved to have the rot removed that he doesn't throw another infection. I have improved since they removed my eye, but for most of my life, within 20 minutes of a break in my skin I would start festering and get a not-very-localized infection that could last for 6 months. Tried living on doxy and lost some hearing, so had to quit that. Bodies, man, they are so fussy. I hope you have a great day. I am behind on everything and trying to pace myself, and determined to enjoy the process instead of dwelling on the lack of finished tasks.

Good Morning 🕯️☀️… Happy Vernal Equinox Northern Hemisphere it’s the First Day of Spring! I’ve woke to clean floors, clean laundry, clean porch, and (despite having had some odd touch of insomnia) refreshed. I don’t have much rattling in my head this morning, got my coffee, took my thyroid (my only pill) and no heat is needed. The cabin temp is about perfect… it’s 50F out at 06:00. The humidity is 90% out and there is relatively no wind, maybe 2-4mph SSE… it should be a fine morning with temps on the hill kissing the 80F mark. Sunrise is at 06:57 and I will go feed the cats then; when my old ass can see. I’m craving a spring chicken salad so I’m adding the ingredients for that to my delivery list today from Red China (aka Walmart). I make a cranberry grape yogurt chicken salad that is award winning… if I pull that off today I’ll include the recipe. Digger has had her deer meat, and think malto-meal cereal is in order again there’s milk that needs to be drank… that is the highest iron breakfast cereal on the market. The “mini spooners” made of wheat germ and it’s one of our few “plastic bag” foods, eaten maybe once a week or twice - Pop Pop calls them hay stacks. Speaking of… His incision looks great, the glue is peeling off and that’s quite a mess. The bruising is now mostly yellowed and there is only a slight degree of swelling left in the flank - all is to be expected. He is one week post antibiotics and this is usually when infection starts to rise again in his body. It’s happened so often over the past year that yesterday he started “imagining” that the other testicle was having a problem and 😑 tbh it did look a tad bit swollen… only time and body will tell. I’m going to absolutely loose my shit if he throws a temp and the other one has to come out. We tried to get Doc to just go ahead and take it too but nope… I’m hoping we are just so used to the sickness that it’s in our minds. I told him to quit messing with it 🤣 and that it was all in his head - but to be honest it did appear to be slightly distended. Anywho; We will keep our eye on the ball… Ok let’s go put today’s rations out for feral forest cats 🤗 there are twelve dishes to scatter around and at least 8 litter boxes to clean. Hopefully no one has an eyeball hanging out or another tail missing… Hope everyone has a great FRIDAY!!!

@keeper_orchard That's great! I just ate a handful of your pecans. Best flavor and texture ever.

Tonight a pecan farmer friend of mine who used to play drums in the Kinchafoonee Cowboys (a semi-famous band in these parts) gave me this shirt he had made commemorating the annual round of county pecan meetings my pecan scientist colleagues and I conducted this year. 😂

@lisarobel @Batenswytch I love mobile notaries!

You're right, this isn't cool. There are mobile notaries, who would print your papers for you and bring them to you to sign. Granted, it's not free but ... It's an option that people often overlook. I don't overlook it because that's what I do. But, I used one myself when we had to sign paperwork with my parents. I didn't have access to a printer and I just emailed it to them and they printed it and brought it out to me to sign.

Teacher Card Low Reading Comprehension Client: Me: Yes, I'm calling to let you know I have the initial probate documents ready for you review and sign. "Uh. YOU are supposed to email them to me." I can do that, now I will need you to print these off, have them notarized and

@Batenswytch They're woody and it should come back. Can you give it a good soak and talk to it about something nice?

Btw: My pomegranate tree/shrub suffered the hardest hit. All the tiny leaves are crispy brown except a very few. Fingers crossed it bounces back.

Back when I was farming, we didn't have solar or even much electricty. We sure had a lot of fence posts and barbed wire though! Just at the memory, my arms feel the clang of a post hitting a rock. Ran a power line to the hen house so they could have a bulb on a timer in winter. Couldn't have done that for the lower field because it was on the other side of the creek.

Only thing keeping him from coming over those two strands of twine is 9000 volts You don’t need expensive elaborate fences You need docile animals and a hot fence charger The reason people go broke farming is because they spend money they don’t have to spend

@TinkaPage @FAFOFarmsTX I have some nice brown East Friesian fleece here. Makes a really good sweater yarn. Can be a bit fussy to get all the cheese out of the wool, but a suint bath works pretty well.

@beadlizard7 @FAFOFarmsTX Yep. Made my eyes light up bigger than the moon!

Doing my part to rebuild Americas sheep herd. 🐑🇺🇲

@FAFOFarmsTX @TinkaPage You've got some nice length on those fleeces.

@TinkaPage We'll be doing our first sheer in May.

I usually spin so many pounds of yarn that Girl and I grab a few favorite skeins and I give away the rest. I have a list of friends who love to crochet, knit or weave, and I'll toss yarn they'll like in their boxes and then ship them off. (Holler if you want to be on the list, and include what you'd like -- fiber type, colourway, grist, length...) I haven't dyed wool in ages, but I still know how. I'm just crappy at it because I'm colorblind ever since the radiation treatments. I can follow the formulas perfectly and all that, but I can't really see what I make anymore. Girl will say something like, "Oh, that's a beautiful shade of blue" and I'll say, "It's green." And she'll raise her eyebrows, tell me who would like it, and stick it in the correct box. I actually prefer to spin natural color wool (and cotton -- it can grow in beautiful colors), but part of spinning for me is physical therapy and pushing my brain to acknowledge that not all colors are green (it just wants to see murky greens). I pretty much only wear green, gray, black, and a little brown because otherwise I cannot find my clothes. So to push my brain, I buy a really wide variety of indie dyed fibers and sometimes I spin a specific request for a friend, but usually I just grab what looks good that day. Between Girl and me both spinning, and our occasionally buying commercial yarn, too, we have a lot of yarn here. And a lot of projects. And a shed of fiber ready to spin. And some bins of fleeces that need a wash and some carding.

@beadlizard7 Oh WOW!!! And is this for yourself to use? Also did you dye the wool?

I’m done with today… The dryer vent got sorted, the tile, hearth and rugs cleaned, lunch served and kitchen put in order, the garbage all went up to the road (Pop Pop made two trips perfectly) the bath got a good shiny scrub and I’ve only the laundry left to fold (first espresso)… Supper will be Fermented Sauer Kraut n Weenies!

@TracesofTexas Here's another little article about Mr. Fawcett. homepages.rootsweb.com/~schmblss/home… That 12-month clip might have been a hogget clip, or a first ever cut for a yearling sheep. It tends to be long and the softest clip you'll get from a sheep in its lifespan.

Traces of Texas reader Thomas Winters thoughtfully shared this 1926 photo. It's a little blurry and behind glass and I normally don't share photos of photos but the story behind this one is too good for me to pass up. This is written on the back: "The Last Mule Team Freighter" --- Owned by Mariano Severo and operated in Val Verde County. This is part of the 100,000 pound E.K. Fawcett clip of 12 months wool being hauled in by Severo from the ranch in the Spring of 1926. It took this freighter two weeks to make a round trip from the Fawcett ranch, near Vinegarone, to the Del Rio Wool and Mohair Company warehouse and the unloading of the wool from the wagons shown in this picture, marking the end of mule transportation of any consequence in the southwest. Severo purchased trucking equipment in 1926 and continued his transportation business. This was a highly desirable clip of wool and sold for 38 cents per pound in July of 1926." Isn't that cool? A (minor) Texas historical moment, but a historical moment nevertheless. That last mule-pulled freighter --- the end of a way of life. Thank you, Thomas. Really a super contribution!

@Seedsoilsunrain I'm somewhat scent based but really more sound based. When I hear a song sparrow or a barking seal, it transports me home (I live south of where I grew up).

@beadlizard7 That citrus bloom is like a blanket of scent straight from heaven! We also have so many redwoods here that the smell feels unique. It reminds me of summer camp growing up. I bet that dead fish smell brings back the memories as well!

I waited too long to come out for a walk. It’s 85 and the sun is beating down but the air is absolutely heavy with the scent of citrus blossoms. It smells like home. Smells I’ve grown up with and a heat that has burned my skin every year since I was a kid. Being a redhead means a lightly boiled look vs sun-kissed. The state is run by criminals and our majority politics are morally reprehensible but every time I leave….i love coming home.

I just did a vivid colourway and a bunch of navy blue (hard color for me to see) before that, so this gentle-on-the-eyes stuff is a nice change. Still need to reel (wind) the three bobbins I just finished plying, but they're easier to handle (the twist settles) after a few days' rest, so I'll get to them this weekend.

@beadlizard7 Oh that’s lovely so beads 🤗

Presentation of yourself as well as of your jam. Do you have a nice looking apron with a few pockets? I like the tablecloth suggestion. It helps to have a pad of paper or a pad of post-it notes and pencil or click pen. Handwritten or printed very clear labels and signage. Old eyes appreciate a plain background, decent contrast between the lettering and background, and if you're going to decorate, do something around the edges that frames the words, like some stylized rose buds and stems.

Ive decided I’m going to enter the local fair with my favorite rose and apricot jam. Why not, I know it’s probably mostly old ladies but it seems fun. Any tips for me?

@Seedsoilsunrain The only grape I know of in the neighborhood is along a busy street, and I really want some grape leaves for my pickle jars. What variety are you growing?

Grapes and boysenberries are coming in!

@CrubersGate I am totally going to use your "My character is lacking before 09:00" phrase. Might stretch that to Noon on days when I've been up working until 1 or 2 a.m. the night before. I'm only a morning person if I get to bed by 10 p.m. Today I am a crab-o-matic...

Good Morning 🤗 no wood fire to mess with this morning… Today it really starts to look like spring at Crubers Gate. All is well, here (far as I know). There were only half the cats for the morning feeding; so the forest group has returned to the forest, that’s how I know the weather will be fair for a while. I can pet about five of last years eight born here so I’m going to see if I can pay the neighbor (that’s about three miles away) to transport them to a spay neuter clinic if I can crate them up, he has his own cats and dogs “rescue” over there so maybe he will help, they are mostly boys maybe two girls… Today X is loading my iPhone photos @X with a diminished contrast ratio (which as an old magazine photographer drives me nuts ) it renders a dullness to them, almost as if narrowing in the histogram a few points on the 0 and 1. It’s the same as if the image data is stuck in their own Gazette (newspaper) filter mode 🙄 but I’m probably one of very few that notices it. The annoyance is leftover from too many years doing screen calibrations and CMYK hard proofing screen to old presses when we shifted to digital and it drives me crazy 🤣🤣🤣. I don’t know what I’ll do today… I think my floors. I found a wad of dog hair this am on my way to the toilet, it kinda moved in my wake and thought “WTF?!?! IS THAT MOUSE???” I do not recommend Border Collie Dutch Sheppard mixes, really for numerous reasons, (mostly trainability) but the hair is ridiculous. Probably not worse than a GSD though… My coffee is working… Pop Pop got hollered at already for being over chatty, he was a tweety bird in another life. My character is lacking before 09:00 and for sure before my coffee. He’s got the sniffles too and repetitive patterned sounds aggravate my Asperger’s 🤣🤣🤣. Cereal is for breakfast this morning… the milk needs using. That is my excuse for not fixin’ eats over at the stove. Ok ONWARD AND UPWARD today!!! Friday is in view, not that it matters when you’ve been retired to home front but the old habit of shedding the work week is always uplifting!!! Hope everyone has a good Thursday…

So many things are tricky like that with frost or like amaranth leaves that have to be dried first. I was raising chickens way before the Internet, so I used to bake a pan of brownies and take them down to the saw shop and hang out with the oldsters, asking them questions and listening carefully to their answers. I loved growing oats. Such an easy thing for rabbits and chickens (and everyone else) to eat, especially at milk stage.

@beadlizard7 @100AcresRanch I'm feeding my pigs about 20% oats, soaked in water for 24 hours. So I bought oat seeds to grow this year. The sorghum can be toxic as forage if it freezes, so i'll grow it in a garden area and chop it down to feed to the birds and pigs.

We put 9 eggs in an incubator. This is day 15 and most of them look alive. I want meat chickens for the lowest cost possible. Right now it's the cost of feeding 9 hens and some roosters for a day. The electricity comes from solar.

@100AcresRanch @BitcoinNoder Millet is awesome. I used to grow a patch of oats in a shady but well-drained area. It grew really tall and thick. I'd chop the tops off and feed the milk oats and those top leaves to the hens, and let the straw dry in the field, then cut it and use it for bedding.

@BitcoinNoder I was goinna do millet. Tons of feed for little area. It’s the best yiu can grow for the birds. Basically premium feed. Grind it add other stuff n make pellets.