Coffee Club

[Meg-in-MT]

morning

Good afternoon, Sharron

 

[DobieLover]

Gotta remember to be glad it happened instead of sad it's over.

That's the way I feel about my jogging days. I used to run about 15 to 20 miles a week. Two bum knees later, my left knee will swell up if I jog 50 feet! What a bummer.

 

[microchick]

I hate rats. We have those small to medium sized brown rats or field rats here. I got rid of one rat hide out by tearing the bottom coop out of my chicken condo. I had been able to toss bait under it via a removable piece of skirt around the bottom whenever I saw one but I was surprised when I raked it out and found the remains of two small rats and one medium that was clearly male. They were setting up house keeping the little devils!

I even had one chew a 4 inch hole in the wall of the coop where there isn't metal on the inside. I covered it with hardware cloth and every now and then take the screws out pop off the wire and drop some bait down in the wall.

I've learned with both mice and rats, you have to treat them aggressively because no matter how diligent you are sooner or later you will see one if you have chickens or another type of backyard birds.........

I always kind of think in the back of my mind that saying you don't have mice or rats when you have chickens is kinda sorta like saying you and your significant other never have a cross word between you. Maybe.....but the odds are against it...

 

[sharron]

Good afternoon, Sharron

afternoon meg how are you?

 

[microchick]

Yep, many many memories of scouting, creating, and maintaining the trails.
As well as walking with the dogs, snowmobiling, and skiing out there.
Gotta remember to be glad it happened instead of sad it's over.

Don't let it be 'over' Art, make it 'different'. I can't ride my dirt bike but by golly I can hike those trails till I'm exhausted and enjoy seeing the wild flowers, birds, deer and other critters.

Maybe clear some of the more prominent trails for your enjoyment.

 

[Shadrach]

On my last cup of the day...bum foot was feeling better today so ventured out into the woods.
That might have been a mistake, gonna need a dose of ibuprofen with dinner.
I have 15 acres into which I cut a bunch of trails, in addition to the few that were here when I bought the place 20 years ago, most are long overgrown and even the originals are pretty much impassable, at least in summer. Wintertime with a bit of snow on the ground is an excellent time to see it all and push thru the leafless brush.
Bittersweet to be out there, remembering all the past times and seeing the tracks of those that still wander there. Made me drag up the old drawings of the place.
Skinny black lines are wetlands(swamp),
medium black lines are my trails,
fat black lines are original trails,
blue lines are fencing for dogs.
View attachment 2024158

What's up with your foot aart?
Any of the trails you cut started by wildlife? The wild boar here make very distinct trails.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

afternoon meg how are you?

I'm doing good! Thank you for asking How are you? Do you have nice weather today?

 

[aart]

Don't let it be 'over' Art, make it 'different'. I can't ride my dirt bike but by golly I can hike those trails till I'm exhausted and enjoy seeing the wild flowers, birds, deer and other critters.

Well, it is pretty much over, can't hardly walk and if I can't keep the trails cleared....<shrug>....not timber here, lots of brushy and thorny stuff(autumn olive is the worst) so they get overgrown fast.

What's up with your foot aart?
Any of the trails you cut started by wildlife? The wild boar here make very distinct trails.

Whole left leg is pretty screwed up starting from car hitting my bike at 13yo(50 years ago), damaged knee and ankle(before ACL repair was popular)....and subsequent injuries over the years exacerbated by arthritis. Have to manage my 'mobility budget' as over-use sends me back to the couch and crutches. I tweaked it bad last week, but it's better now. Part of my 'old age'.

Yes! Many deer trails here that I opened up. Spent a couple years wandering around then marking before I got the chainsaw, and other tools, out. Had spent years hiking and biking and always wanted to make my own trails. Lucky that I got to do so...it was much fun while it lasted.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Afternoon all coops cleaned BF is roofing with metal the grow out coop two small
rooms but one just tall enough for me.. The other I have to bend mostly at neck which
is not my strong suit... My left was first killed years ago fast forward collapsed at a really bad time was misdiagnosed three years for arthritis to really get onboard .. Great Dr said ACL is toast .. Thinks he can use my own hamstring to repair it .. woke up no pain ... Arthritis still in it but knee is strong he did super duper

 

[microchick]

@aart, I'm so sorry, but I do understand where you are coming from. We have autumn olive here also and that stuff grows like wild fire. I've been wanting to get one started in my chicken run, wanting to see if it would grow faster than they could eat it!

@Shadrach, we have a real problem with wild hogs here in the midwest. We basically have permission to shoot them on sight whenever we can as they are so destructive.

Got my nets down, birds fed, scraped the top of the nesting boxes where the little poop machines like to sit and visit. I only had two little SDW cockerels bossing me around tonight so it went fast. The Rat stories got me moving to rebait my bait station that I have enclosed in chicken wire in an unused nesting box where the birds can't get to it. I hate doing it that way but I've watched my birds and they won't touch a dying or a mouse dying from bait poisoning, somehow they know not to eat it. Last year I had an explosion of rodents and had to do something or loose my coop to them.

Speaking of eating, time to make dinner here. Salmon burgers on the menu tonight.