Diesel gets a temporary reprieve

So much for hauling off Diesel. It appears he's been granted yet another a stay of execution. What can I say, I like the dog. I sure can't justify keeping him around when he kills off my lambs though. I had planned to move the bigger rams to a separate pasture and put him in with them, but the fence isn't Diesel proof. He pretty much comes and goes where he pleases. It's going to cost a small fortune to fence that pasture up to where he can't get out. I always thought the sheep would be hard to keep fenced in, but they never get out. I could probably post photos of a fence around the perimeter and they'd see that and go, crap we're stuck in here. Diesel, OTOH, can get in or out of just about anything.

I should start one of those Gimme Money websites to raise fencing money, like that guy who threatened to eat his rabbit if people did not send him money. Maybe I could threaten to eat Diesel. Probably taste like lamb by now.

The Aegean Stables, aka My Barn, is finally clean! $180 worth of tractor rental and 4 hours later, it is down to the bare concrete floor and ready to pack full of hay. I have a feeling this is going to be a bad summer for hay.

Cats suck, and a final decision for Diesel

By Friday afternoon I had 8 tomato plants, 2 basil, 4 jalapeños, and a bunch of onions planted. By Sun afternoon I'm down to 5 tomato plants, 2 basil, 2 jalapeños, and half the onions. The cause?

Cats.

They chewed everything up, pulled up half the onions and tossed them aside, and then left behind several big, steaming piles of crap right where my knees would go were I foolish enough to kneel without looking first. The gardening forums offer humane, non poisonous methods for control, however I'm thinking a margarita and a .22 would be more gratifying. However, since *my* cats are the ones doing the damage, I will have to settle for something that doesn't cause permanent damage.

Tomorrow I'm headed to the hardware store to buy a lot of carpet tack strips. I've found that's about the only thing that will stop the wretched beasts from walking around in the bed. Mothballs work really well too, if you can ignore the howls of outrage from the chemical free crowd. That stuff they sell in stores that you sprinkle around to keep cats out is useless. If a cat has ever pottied in the area, you have to remove 3-4 inches of soil, lime it, and then cover it with the granuals, and I've still had cats use it after that.

I suspect a Caddyshack meltdown is coming.

In other news, Diesel has graduated from killing chickens and baby goats, to killing lambs, finally producing the straw to break my back with two dead ewe lambs in the past 3 days to add to the 3 lambs I suspected he killed but wasn't certain. I don't understand that dog. He can't keep from harassing small critters. We've had many MANY Come To Jesus meetings over this behavior, and I thought the last one had an effect, but apparently it was short lived. When I had the goats I absolutely could not trust him around the kids. He killed over 2 dozen, just chased and played with them until they were dead. He never had any interest in the sheep though, so I thought *maybe* he could work out with them. Evidentially not. I hate to do it but tomorrow he's headed to the clinic. A flock guardian who kills his charges is lucky to be alive past his first kill. I worked with him for another year trying to break him of it. Anyone else that I know with sheep would have shot him the first time he killed a kid. It's possible they'll attempt to rehome him, but I won't hold my breath.

That leaves me with just Jack. I wish I had a dozen like him.

blah blah blah

I have an arrangement with a guy who brings me waste produce from the store to feed the pigs. I was given 3 sick pigs a while back, 2 turned around and are fine, the third never did. I told him that if he'd bring stuff out for all the pigs to eat on, I'd let him have one when they were butchering weight. Of course, pigs aren't going to grow fat on tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, and lettuce, so I buy pig finisher and corn for them. Mostly it's just to provide a little variety for them. This would be a good arrangement except that this guy never misses a chance to imply that 1) I'm not taking care of my animals, and 2) he'd do a better job.

This hasn't been the best of weeks. A gate fell on KC and killed her, and the third pig who never got well finally died. I get a phone call at work from Mr Produce, the gist of it being that I am not taking care of my animals. "You should have given her to me I would have taken care of her". As if the goat knocking a gate off it's hinges and on top of her is somehow due to my negligence. Then I hear how "we" can't afford to lose any more pigs because "he" has worked so hard. Never mind that all that finisher and corn I *pay* for, or the time I've spent cleaning the pig pen, or my water bill, or the fact that that pig was screwed up from the day he was given to me (and where's my applause for bringing the other two back from the dead?), apparently he's doing all the work and I'm just letting them die. Then I get to hear how looking at my horse hurts him and how he'll fatten her up on tomatoes or something, because you know that 16 pounds of feed a day that I'm giving her isn't nearly as good as what he'd do. Never mind that she's 30 and a gummer. I must not be feeding her. Of course, a bucket of lettuce and carrots will fatten her right up. More likely it will give her the runs and she'll lose even MORE weight.

Next time he tries to act like I'm not doing what I need to do, I'm going to drop the nice and let him have it.

Burn Baby, Burn!

Saturday we headed to Amarillo where I visited a Yoga instructor at his home for a private session to focus on my skewballed spine, and boy did it make a difference! Just 20 minutes into the hour session and I could feel the muscles relaxing and the pain going away. Of course it came back a few hours afterwards but hopefully if I keep this up, it will begin to decrease as my back strengthens and loosens up.

Sunday we headed to the lake for some bass fishing, and I decided it would be a good idea to wear a backless sundress in the bright sun for a the entire afternoon, sans sunscreen. After catching 3 bass I decided to crash on the boat's deck and catch some sun, because I guess I thought I'd not already gotten enough the previous 3 hours in the bright sunshine. I really didn't realize how cooked I was until that night when I got out of the shower. The worst of it could be seen on the left side of my back, where the skin remains magenta now three days later. I'm just waiting for the water blisters to make their appearance. A friend later asked if I was unaware that I was a redhead and did not tan well. Apparently it's a new condition for me. Last summer I wore sunscreen like I owned stock in the company, no idea why I didn't bother with it this weekend.

I had planned to start on the gardens today but it's crap weather out and my torched back is still screaming every time I move, so guess it is couch potatoing with a book instead. On a side note, I went out and bought some Aveno SPF 70 and will marinate in it the next time I consider hitting the lake.