The Tail-end of our Mulch Inventory

We've talked at length before about Back to Eden Gardening where we use wood chips (4 inch layer) in the garden.  I won't bore you again with the details, but by doing this, you never need to till.  You hardly ever need to water.  You hardly ever need to weed the garden.  It makes gardening so easy.  Additionally, the chips decompose and become topsoil.  Each year you add another 4 inch layer and let nature take care of itself.

I don't even want to speculate as to how many loads of mulch we've gotten delivered to the house for free by right-of-way cleaning crews eager for a place to drop their loads of wood chips.  I stopped by a crew I saw working about 5 miles down the road the other day and left our address and contact information.  I've not heard back from them.  It is a new crew out of Texas that must've won the contract.  

We need more chips!  We are on our last pile and there's a reason we saved this one for last.  Normally the wood chips heat up and decompose quickly.  This last pile did not.  The reason for this is that it is largely made up of pine straw.  Pine straw is coated with a shiny, wax-like layer that contains high amounts of lignin.  This makes it resistant to decay, bacteria and fungi.  That's kind of counter-productive to our goal of mulch in the garden.

But we found a use for it!  The walkways/borders on either side of the garden have a dual purpose.  In addition to being walkways we use, they serve as a border or protective barrier for what's outside the garden.  That would be grasses and weeds, namely bermuda grass, bahai, and nutsedge.  These grasses are persistent, relentless and determined and require constant effort to keep them from encroaching into the garden.  You can see some of the grass on the eastern edge of the garden.  It so desires to get into the garden.

The grasses had invaded, filling half of the walkway with grass that we had mulched a couple of years ago.  That ended yesterday.  I removed all the weeds from the garden path on the interior eastern side of the garden and used a wagon and pitchfork to unload a 5 inch layer all the way down.  It's so nice and clean now - free of grass!

I did the same thing on the western edge of the garden.  It is so clean and in order now.

But it will require vigilance.  Those grasses send out rhizomes that climb through the fence and try to get a foothold in the garden and creep forward.  Someone has to guard the wall.  Almost like Colonel Nathan Jessup in "A few good men" in calling the Code Red, ha ha.  We'll keep our eyes on any encroachment and put more mulch on top.

Will They Survive The Winter?

We recently re-watched one of my favorite movies, Gladiator.  There are numerous quotes in that movie that are inspiring and motivational.  In the beginning scene of the movie, Maximus is victorious in battle and is having a sober discussion with the emperor regarding the emperor's health, his legacy, and the future of Rome.  Here is an excerpt from that talk:

Maximus: They fought for you and for Rome.

Marcus Aurelius: And what is Rome, Maximus?

Maximus: I’ve seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark, Rome is the light.

Marcus Aurelius: Yet you have never been there. You have not seen what it has become. I am dying, Maximus. When a man sees his end… he wants to know there was some purpose to his life. How will the world speak my name in years to come? Will I be known as the philosopher? The warrior? The tyrant…? Or will I be the emperor who gave Rome back her true self? There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish… it was so fragile. And I fear that it will not survive the winter.

Dramatic?  Yes.  Sometimes in our pasture, it can be brutal and cruel and dark, too.  There can be epic battles and bloodshed that can leave bodies strewn across the landscape in macabre fashion.  I'm getting ahead of myself.

I came in from work and Tricia said, "It was a bad day on the farm."  "Oh? I said, "tell me about it."  She explained a harrowing melee that took place out back in the pasture that morning.  I walked out over the "coliseum" where the murderous rampage took place.  

Feathers filled the ground as the wind gently blew them.

A ghoulish massacre had taken place!  It wasn't just feathers.  Why, body parts and other detritus littered our once happy, pastoral land.  

Oh, woe is me!  Whoever did this - a pox on your house!  The deceased that fell on that rueful day include a rooster and three laying hens.  The slain were gathered and placed ceremoniously in the compost pile in the garden where they were mourned and then covered with wood chips.

Who did this and what shall be done?  We thought Ricky Raccoon had been dealt with.  Tricia explained the battle.  A dog with no collar had come underneath the perimeter fence and onto the property.  Bloodlust led the canine to commit wanton murder upon our flock of feckless fowl.  Tricia let Belle loose to chase the dog off of the property, but not before four fowl fell in foul fashion.  

But how did this happen?  Border security had let us down.  The strong fence that had once protected us had fallen into disrepair.  Fences DO work!  But our fence over time had rusted out at the bottom, leaving us vulnerable and unprotected.  The thick wire the anchors the fence rusted, allowing a foreign invader to shimmy right underneath.  Innocent lives were lost.  The rightful inhabitants of the land must be protected or we are poor stewards and not worthy of our position.  

But we learn and move forward.  We repair the breaches.  To work we go.  The rest of the fence is still good.  It's just the bottom wire.  I'll try to replace the bottom wire, so to speak, by replacing it with some barbed wire.  I wrapped the wire around the corner post and stapled it.  Then I got my come-along and a chain and pulled the barbed wire tighter than a Victorian corset.

Then I used wire to wrap the barbed wire into the bottom of the existing hog-wire fence.  That lifted the bottom of the fence off the ground a little, exposing an inch or two of space between the ground and the bottom of the fence, so I'll come back and stake it down between t-posts.  That patch job should keep marauding murderous hordes off the farm.

"Are you not entertained?" Maximus might say.  Hopefully with the integrity of the fence restored, perhaps the remaining twenty-something odd hens might survive the winter.  The jury is still out on the republic.

Wrapping Up a Garden/Chicken Project

We butchered all the roosters over a month ago.  We've been eating them and the taste is superb.  They are not as big as the Cornish Cross meat birds, but they taste better, we think.  The downside is that the Cornish Cross birds are ready for slaughter in only 8 weeks, while the birds we hatch from our own eggs take about 6 months to mature. 

Now that all the roosters but two are in the freezer, mostly hens remain in the chicken tractor.  I push them to new grass everyday and bring food and water.  I'm ready to make things easier.  It is time to incorporate this flock into the free-ranging flock out in the pasture.  It's always tricky trying to get the flocks to assimilate.  Birds of a feather, do indeed, flock together.  Before doing so, I'll trim the pullet's wings.

One project must be completed, first, though.  From past experience, I learned that young pullets can squeeze through the 4x4 mesh of the fencing that surrounds the garden.  Chickens get into the garden, scratch up seeds I have planted and eat the plants.  Worse than that, those that can't get in the garden, stick their heads through the fence and scratch away all the wood chip mulch, exposing the ground.  The exposed soil soon sprouts weeds that spread across the garden.  Not good!  

So I embarked on a labor intensive project.   I cut a 1 foot strip of 2x4 welded wire fence and wired it over the 4x4 fencing.  This will, I hope, bar entry into the garden of any pullets.  No way they can get through there.

Then I backfill with wood chip mulch to cover over and choke out any weeds that might try to grow from the previously exposed soil.  I pushed it right up against the fence and packed it in good.  Once it settles, I'll add even more.

I got mostly all of the garden fence complete.  I'm lacking a 6 foot portion on the east side and a 15 foot section against the south side.  I wanted to finish, but it got dark on me.

Once i have that finished, I'll release the chickens that are currently in the chicken tractor, into the pasture to roam - just not to roam in our garden.  Before I do that, I'll clip their wings so that they can't fly out.  Letting them loose on the pasture will save roughly 20 minutes a day in feeding, watering and pushing the tractor.  Always looking to make things more efficient.  We'll see if this time-consuming project pays dividends.

The Cattle Guard

I was driving on a back road near my house the other day and pulled in to a road leading in to a pasture.  There was a cattle guard that you had to cross to enter the property.  For those not familiar, a cattle guard is a means of keeping cattle from leaving the property.  It is normally constructed by a placing a grid of pipes welded across a grid over a ditch.  There is a fence on either side of the cattle guard.

The idea is that livestock walk up to the cattle guard and see that there isn't a way for them to cross it, so they stay in the pasture.  This particular cattle guard is constructed with railroad rails welded across some I-beams.  Cattle guards are a relatively old thing.  The first patent for one was issued back on January 15, 1915 in Nevada.  I read that you can even make a 'virtual' cattle guard by painting alternating dark and light lines across a road.  However, they say that once one animal discovers that they are being faked out and cross, all the other animals will as well.  Probably not safe to try to trick them.

You can drive across it with no problem.  Your vehicle's tires make a bumping noise as you go across.  Humans can walk across it with not much of a problem.  I remember as a kid trying to balance as I crossed a cattle guard.  Being small, I was a little scared that I'd lose my balance and fall, breaking my ankles in the process.  I made it across safely, however.

I vaguely remember a cattle guard somewhere at our farm, but don't remember where it was located.  It's long since been removed.  It may have been at the entrance to the old home place in front of the big live oak tree and pecan orchard.

Aside from keeping livestock from getting out, cattle guards are also great in one other regard.  If you are riding "shotgun" in a pickup truck, one of your duties is to get out and open the gate.  When the truck drives through, then you close the gate behind the truck and get back in the passenger seat.  Cattle guards make that job obsolete.  There's no need to close the gate.  You drive right on through.

Firing Up the Lawnmowers

It is springtime in South Louisiana!  Everything except for the pecan trees are putting on leaves.  Winter grass is growing in the yard, along with white dutch clover, and all sorts of weeds.  Except, we really don't consider them weeds.  The cows don't at least.  Before I crank up our gas-powered lawn mower, I put our "grass powered lawn mowers in the yard!  I have a Gallagher solar fence charger, some poly wire on a reel and some temporary step-in posts.  I'll make several paddocks in our yard and cycle the cows through.  They are so happy!  You ought to see them go.  Heads down, munching grass.

You can hardly see the strand of electrified fencing, but it is there, and they respect it.  Neighbors have stopped to tell us that the cows were out.  Others have given us compliments on our lawn mowers.

They are pretty efficient at their jobs.  By the time they are finished, they've snipped the grass down to the ground.  Then I'll make another paddock adjacent to this one and move them a little farther until they've eaten all the grass in the yard.

Once done, this is all that remains, only live oak leaves litter the ground.  But wait, that will not be wasted.  It definitely won't be bagged up and thrown away.  No sir.

When I move the cows to the next paddock, then I will mow the section of land that the cows were just on and rake up the finely chopped leaves and grass.  I have many uses for this.  Just below you can see where I've mulched all around the potato plants with the chopped leaves.  As the potatoes grow, I'll work in more mulch.  This organic matter will increase fertility, make a great environment for earthworms, and eventually turn into soil.

Everything works together: grass, leaves, cows, and the people living on the land.  It is a beautiful system.

What Lies Beyond the Back Fence

Just beyond the south perimeter fence of our property lies a patch of wilderness.  It only encompasses an acre, but its unruly, unkempt wildness makes it seem bigger.  We've talked about it before.  It is home to invasive species of trees like privet, Chinese Tallow, and Chinaberry.  These trees are constantly encroaching on our property, threatening to reclaim the land.  So far we've won the battle.

The woods are also home to predators.  Six foot long chicken snakes slither out of the tall grass and into the hen house to eat eggs and baby chicks.  Possums invade nightly and we are in a fight for our chickens' lives against these predators and others.  Raccoons, hawks, and owls patrol as well, picking out supper from time to time.

The hen where most of the chickens roost for the night is supposed to provide some level of safety for the hens as it is completely closed off by tin with a chicken wire bottom enclosure for ventilation, but alas...  Our nosy goats rub themselves on the chicken wire to scratch.  After months of rubbing, they broke a hole in the chicken wire and gained entry to the hen house.  They have gotten into a habit of climbing into the hen house through the hole in the wire and they "roost" with the hens at night.  Crazy goats!

While the hole in the wire gives them access, it also gives predators access as well.  I had to bury a fat Rhode Island Red hen just yesterday.  This has to stop!  This afternoon, I assembled wire, lumber, a crowbar, hammer, nails, wire cutters and a heavy duty stapler.  I was determined to evict the goats from the hen house and fix the hole in the wall.  I drug the goats out.  The were reluctant, but knew that they didn't belong.  They immediately ran behind the hen house to gain access through the hole, but I had fixed it.  I smiled in victory!  No more goats in the hen house and no more predators.

I will leave things on a good note.  While I mentioned all the bad things about the bordering woods, I need to mention the good things, too.  The woods provides a sense of wildness that is much more appealing to me than manicured lawns and development.  The acre of wooded area provides us with fat, sweet dewberries to eat.  I also have made a friend that lives in the woods.  The friend comes hopping by every weekend morning when I milk the cows.  Tricia has seen him/her too.

Ol' Peter Cottontail hoppin' down the bunny trail.  Hippity Hoppity...

When the Bough Breaks...

If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.  Ecclesiastes 11:3

When I came home the other evening from work, I found that this tree had fallen toward the north, and as the Bible verse says, "wherever the tree falls, there it lies."  The China Berry tree snapped off and fell during a thunderstorm.  Thunderstorms roll through bringing torrential rain and straight-line winds that leave behind visible evidence of its power.

The tree fell across the fence from the patch of woods south of the property and in so doing, it trapped the two young bulls on the east side of the 'bull-pen,' their pasture.  We keep them separated from the cows.  If we didn't their amorous shenanigans would make it nearly impossible to walk to the barn.  The bulls had obviously been trapped for quite some time during the day.  They had paced back and forth, leaving the pasture looking like a muddy soup.

When I first pulled into the drive, I thought that a DEAD tree had fallen across the fence, but when I inspected closer, I realized that the tree was ALIVE and HAD BEEN full of leaves.  Those leaves had been all eaten!

The cows and the goats completely demolished every leaf that was on the tree.  This wouldn't have been a problem except in numerous searches on the Internet, I have found that the leaves, bark and berries of the Chinaberry tree are toxic to livestock!  This was quite troubling, but the animals had polished off all of the leaves prior to me getting home.  Eating "the forbidden fruit" had no ill effects, however.  The cows, goats, and chickens exhibited no symptoms of sickness.  For that, I was glad.

I got my double-bladed ax and went to work, chopping up pieces of the tree and tossing it over the fence.  The bulls kept getting in my way as they were tired of being cordoned off on the muddy stretch of pasture.  Finally I finished the job and the bulls joyously kicked up their heels and headed off into the grass to eat. 

The goats had other plans.  Seeing that the fence was broken, they breached the break and entered the bull-pen.  It took some doing, but I finally caught the nosy goats and deposited them on the right side of the fence.  I will have to get my come-along and pull the fence back out straight and staple it to the 4x4 when I have some time.  As darkness approached, I fixed it in true red-neck fashion - I used tie-wire to temporarily patch up the torn fence.

It wasn't a pretty job, but by-golly, it worked.  If you can't get it done right, at least temporarily get it done.

Antlers of Ridicule and Scorn

Well, the other afternoon, we heard a familiar sound.  A goat was crying.  We knew exactly what had happened.  It is not the first time it happened, or the second, or third, or fourth.  Or fifth, for that matter.  Salt is one of Oreo's twins.  Salt is not too bright.  Her brother, Pepper, is not a Rhodes scholar, by any stretch, but he's smarter than Salt - although Salt does not set the bar for intellect very high.

Salt has been getting her head stuck in the fence.  Repeatedly.  The grass is indeed always greener on the other side of the fence.  The fence, in this case, is a 4 x 4 "hog wire" and the goats love to poke their heads through it and eat the tender grass on the other side.  The predicament they find themselves in is that they have horns that prevent them from getting their heads back through.

Help me!

The ideal thing to do is that when the goats are a week or so old, you get a de-horner and de-horn them.  We got busy with other things and didn't do this in time and the horns are too long.  Those horns have proven to be troublesome for Salt.  I think if you look at her below, she's kind of embarrassed to be stuck yet again.

Okay, I know it's like the tenth time, but can you get me out, please?

I searched for ideas.  We've used rubber band emasculators before on Annie in order to de-horn her, but she grew scurs (partial horn re-growth).  I found people that had success with something I'll call the "Antlers of Ridicule and Scorn."  The cost for installation is negligible.  All you need is a length of PVC pipe and some duct tape.  Every redneck has that laying around somewhere.

You simply lay the PVC pipe horizontally against the front of the goat's horns and apply the duct tape numerous times in a 'figure-8' around the horns and PVC until secure.  When you are done, it will look something like this:

I am so ashamed!

The Antlers of Ridicule and Scorn work because they prevent the goat's head from being able to fit between the 4x4 spacings in the fence.  Although it is July, looking at Salt reminded me of Christmas, specifically this guy: (Don't you see the resemblance?)

Image Credit

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch...  Salt did not like her antlers.  The duct tape held them on tight and no amount of shaking her head would shake them loose.

Salt saw that it was futile to try to remove her antlers and tried to accept her new accessory.  She tried to act normal, but I believe she knew how ridiculous she looked to us and her barnyard friends.

What are you looking at?

Her twin, Pepper, approached her and inspected her antlers between spasms of laughter.  I'm pretty sure I witnessed Pepper laughing uncontrollably.  Salt's confidence was shaken.

You look mahvelous! (cough, cough, snicker, snicker)

But here came Oreo.  It was suppertime!  Salt and Pepper ran to Oreo to nurse.  Then the craziest thing happened.  Oreo would not let Salt come near her with the antlers.  Oreo began to head butt her away.  I don't know if it scared Oreo.  I do know that Salt and Pepper aren't weaned yet and with the Antlers of Ridicule and Scorn installed, Salt would be on an involuntary hunger strike if I didn't take action.

I reluctantly removed Salt's antlers.  I have them stored away for safekeeping.  In a month, when it is time to wean Salt, I'll re-install the antlers.  Until then, we keep our eyes and ears open for Salt.  She doesn't seem to learn her lesson and I'm sure we'll have to pry her head out of the fence another time or three...

Ain't no fence strong enough...

Ain't no mountain high enough, aah

Ain't no valley low enough

Ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from you

Yes, those were Diana Ross' words in one of her famous songs.  Barriers are no obstacle at all when the love bug bites.  We learned this just this past week.  We had noticed that Rosie (our oldest Jersey cow) had come into heat.  It becomes evident because all of the cows begin jumping on one another.  Hormones are running high at this time and it is a good thing that we keep our bull, Astro, in what we call the bull pen.

We keep him away from the momma cows because we don't want him breeding them.  We are keeping him until the end of the summer and we'll bring him to the butcher shop to replenish our freezer with fresh grass fed beef.  This pen we keep him in borders the pasture and is largely made of hog wire topped with a strand of barbed wire.  It is strong and an effective barrier.

There is one area we call the 'chute' that connects the bull pen to the barn and corral.  It is made up of cattle panels that are stapled into 4 x 4 posts and reinforced with t-posts in the middle of the 16 foot span.  It is strong, too.  

A while back Tricia told me that Buckwheat, the buck, had been rubbing on the cattle panels.  Goats are notorious for rubbing themselves on fences.  Tricia mentioned that the goat's rubbing had loosened the panel from the 4 x 4s.  I meant to fix it.  I really did.  But I was distracted and never quite got around to it.

Well last week we were about to do chores and I looked out at the cows in the pasture with their calves.  Something seemed out of place.  There were too many animals out there!  I asked Tricia, "Does it look to you like Astro, the bull, is with the other cows?"  The answer was "yes."  Oh no!  I ran out to the pasture and watched with dismay as Astro mounted Rosie.  Not good.  After closer inspection, I could see that Astro had pushed open the panel where the goat had previously loosened it and squeezed on out to join the ladies.

I led Rosie into the bull pen with Astro closely following behind.  Then I led her out, leaving Astro in the bullpen.  He is getting to be a big fellow, and there was no fence high enough to keep him from his love.

I got a hammer and some more staples and fixed the fence.  I should have done that weeks ago.  Sometimes due to competing priorities, pressing jobs get pushed back until it's time (or past time) to get them done.  Do you ever do that?  It didn't take long to fix.  I may even come back and reinforce it further with some tie wire.  But that reminds me of the old quote about "closing the barn door after the horse is already out."

If what we observed did indeed take place, Rosie may be calving again in March 2020.  Astro is not her calf and he is A2/A2, so it is not the end of the world, but we were trying to introduce some new genetics into our little herd.  We've marked the date and will watch Rosie to see if she comes back into heat in about 21 days.  We will keep you posted on Rosie and if she's pregnant.

As I think of the power of love, I think of another song about barriers being insufficient in keeping love apart.  This one a duet by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn:

Hey, Louisiana woman, Mississippi man

We get together every time we can.

The Mississippi River can't keep us apart

There's too much love in the Mississippi heart.

Too much love in this Louisiana heart.

The power of love can make one leap over fences or rivers or mountains.  Speaking of leaping, we made a leap in this blog post - from Motown to Classic Country.  

The Garden Fence Is (Almost) Complete

So a beautiful (and non-rainy) Saturday for a change gave me a perfect opportunity to finish up a project that had been lingering on my to-do list - putting up a new garden fence.  As previously discussed, the old homemade picket fence had rotted, leaving gaping holes that our cats skittered through the gaps and used our garden as their personal latrine. 

With a crowbar I removed the old panels of picket fence and replaced with 'store-bought' ones.  It was a lot easier than making them from scratch like the first fence. 

The only tricky part was the very last panel.  I had to use precise measurements and my amateur carpenter skills to fashion a gate out of the last panel.  The fit had to be seamless, and it had to line up, open to the inside and latch perfectly.  Believe it or not, it all came together in the end.

And here is the finished product.  Or almost finished.  As it stands now, the cats can still get in the garden as the slats are wide enough to let them through.  My plan is to staple chicken wire on the inside of the picket fence.  This will keep the fecal felines out, hopefully.

We've got to protect what's behind that new fence.  Our cole crops are just starting to come in now.  We've got some nice cauliflower that is ripening now!

Along with some broccoli!

I picked a big colander full of beautiful broccoli on Sunday...

I also picked an enormous head of cauliflower.

Tricia roasted some broccoli with garlic tonight in the oven.  I can't even begin to tell you how good that is!  We asked her to cook more tomorrow night.  At this rate, we may not have any left over to blanch and freeze for later.  Nothing quite like fresh broccoli and cauliflower!

Fences Make Good Neighbors

I have lamented recently about our cats getting into our garden and wreaking havoc by digging up freshly planted carrots and using the garden row as their personal latrine.  This ends now!  I must take some responsibility for this since I've allowed the picket fence to fall into disrepair.  When we built our barn years ago, I made homemade pickets out of the leftover lumber.  I was pleased with the outcome and we painted the fence white like Tom Sawyer.  There was one problem, however.  The wood wasn't treated and so the pickets rotted.  You can see where the rotten pickets have fallen off of the fence and created openings where the cats are able to get it and do their dirty business.

I did a little shopping and found some 8 foot, 3.5 feet tall wooden fence panels.  They are made with treated Southern Yellow Pine and the panels retail for about $27.  I purchased four of them and got ready to install them.  First I had to dismantle the deteriorated fence.  I pulled them off a little at a time.  Using a level, I ensured the fence was straight and true.

It didn't take me long to have most of the fence erected.  The only thing left to go is rebuilding the gate.  That is going to take a little fabricating.

I'll have to take the last remaining 8 foot panel and cut it into two pieces.  A two foot section will make up the last portion of the fence anchored into the last two support posts.  The remainder will be used as the gate after I fasten hinges and a latch onto it.  It will open toward the interior of the garden. I'll have to wait for some better weather, though.  It rains every cotton-pickin' day!

While the new fence is taller, it has a big short-coming.  The slats between the pickets are four inches wide and cats and other critters can easily get between them and into the garden as you can see below.

One the entire fence is erected, I plan on stapling chicken wire across the inside of the fence, creating an impenetrable barrier that will keep the cats and chickens at bay.  I'll post final pictures of the completed fence when I'm able to get it done.