Our eldest Border Collie, Spanky, is about thirteen years old (Iām not sure if his exact age because heās a rescue, but I know he is at least that old). He is having the same problem many old dogs suffer- weak rear quarters. This, combined with our wood floors, make it very difficult for him to get up from lying down. He lacks the muscle strength and coordination to get traction. Sometimes he collapses midway, sprawling out like a frog, and would need assistance to get back up. Itās sad to see once-spry dogs suffer these old-age maladies, and Iām sure it impacts their quality of life. So, weāve gotten him some shoes to help!
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Country Living Expo & Cattlemenās Winterschool
Here is a plug for an upcoming event in Stanwood, WA that should be well worth attending. WSUās Country Living Expo and Cattlemenās Winterschool is an amazing array of 135 classes on all sorts of topics,a jam-packed day of learning, plus a prime rib lunch. The hardest part is choosing which classes to attend! š
Here is a sampling of some of the topics:
Fruit Tree Maintenance, Hands on Hay judging, Frisbee Dog Training, Growing Giant Pumpkins and Vegetables, Building Your Own Greenhouse, Native Plants for Wetland Restoration, Arc Welding- Hands on, Soap Making, Cheese Making, Growing Vegetables Year Around, Wild Game Dressing in the Field, Raising and Processing Pastured Poultry, Palatability Control Points for Direct Marketed beef, pork and lamb, Plethora of Pasture and Forage Classes, Chain Saw Maintenance, Beginning through Advanced Specialty Canning, Frisbee Dog Training, Marketing Small Businesses, Cider Making, Honey Bees, Raising Beef, Sheep, Swine, Goats, Spinning, Weaving, equine classes and more.
How can you resist? Get yourself over to the Skagit County Extension website and register asap, as I understand the classes fill fast.
A Spell Casterās Christmas-ey Complaint Letter
We got another anonymous note complaining about our livestock guardian dogās living conditions again. Itās been a while since the last one. I logged another Sheriff report on it, and will keep the evidence, as usual, as the Sheriff has advised. That way, if anything ever escalates, weāll have a clear history of harassment with handwriting samples and fingerprints, on which to prosecute.
The envelope said, in scrawling cursive, āTo our neighborā and was sealed with a cheerful Christmas sticker. š Here is what the note said [sic]:
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Washing Down Comforters
When Kirk and I got married, he brought with him two favorite down comforters. Iād always chosen cotton and polyester blend bedding; because I let the dogs on the bed, I need to wash the bedding a lot! So I cringed as I saw this lovely pale pink comforter get dirtier and dirtier as Maggie slept on it every night. I know, we could just not let the dogs in the bed, and itās really only Maggie who gets up there. But sheās such a cute snuggler, I just canāt resist! And Kirk doesnāt tell her no either! She usually sleeps by my pillow every night.
So, I went to the Web for advice on cleaning feather down comforters. It turns out, you can safely wash them in a front-loader washing machine; and Iāve done it several times now. The great thing about front-loaders is that they spin the load at such high speeds, they drive most of the water out of the load with centrifugal force before it goes into the dryer. So, clothes- and down comforters- are almost dry when they come out of the wash! One of the many reasons I love my front-loader so!
Iāve read several recommendations to dry the comforter with some tennis balls, or tennis shoes, in the dryer- to help fluff the feathers via some pounding action. I did this the first time (we have lots of tennis balls for the dogs), and it worked, but have since found that itās not necessary, at least in my dryer. The only caveat is that the comforter does have a weird smell when wet-exactly like a wet chicken, because it is! But, the smell goes away once dry. It takes a little longer than a regular clothes load to dry the comforter, and I remove it and rearrange it several times during the cycle to make sure all sides get equally dry. But, itās the same as washing any other large comforter.
I guess this makes sense, after all, chickens dry fine after getting wet, so a feather down comforter should too, given the right conditions. So, hooray, we can keep the down comforters!
Treo Hit By Truck, Literally
I was crossing the street the other day to get the mail. A large delivery truck appeared, driving very fast (like everyone does on this roadā¦). I sped up to be sure I was off the road by the time the truck got close, and my cell phone fell off, it was clipped to the pocket of my pants. I looked back, there it was, in the middle of the lane, I looked at the truck: no time to dive for cell phone.
I tried to make eye contact with the truck driver and then look at the phone in its brown leather case, drawing his attention to it. If he would have stayed centered in the lane, the phone would have been safe. But, no, he veered, as if he thought he needed to give me more room as I stood on the shoulder. The tires went squarely over the phone. <sigh>
New Laws For LGDs in SnoCo
Ok, Iām writing about something other than copper! š I read about some proposed changes to the Snohomish County leash and noise ordinances that relate to livestock guardian dogs (LGDs). As the law currently stands, dogs canāt run loose in our county, and they canāt make continuous noise (aka kennel barking, where they go on and on for more than a half hour).
But, there is an exemption for LGDs in the barking category, since they are doing their job protecting an agricultural crop. When people purchase land zoned R-5 or Ag-10 in our county, they must sign an affidavit that they understand there will be āagricultural activity, smells and soundsā. (Mmm!) And LGD barking falls under this umbrella. So if people call the county to complain about this, theyāll just be told, āsorry, itās within the law for your area.ā
Calculating Copper in a Sheepās Diet
Well, I canāt stop thinking about copper, and how much to allow my sheep to eat. And Iām going to keep blogging about it until I figure it out! š Sorry if itās getting boring, eventually Iāll get past this phase!
So, as Kirk can tell you, when Iām in a period of indecision, I make a spreadsheet! I love spreadsheets. Looking at math and side-by-side comparisons of things always helps me think through a problem.
Iām Pretty Jazzed About My Sheepās Hooves!
I did some hoof trimming on the sheep yesterday, to see how things are looking after the sheep have been getting supplemental copper. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. They are looking SO good, the improvement and healing is profound! I should qualify, though, that there is more than one variable at play, so I canāt yet credit the copper supplement. Though I feel fairly sure thatās what it is.
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Ready for Winter Feeding
Itās hard to decide how much hay to store for winter. Itās cheapest to buy in the summer, so if you donāt store enough and have to buy more at the end of the winter, it costs more. But, if you put up way too much, then youāve spent money you didnāt need to. And old hay isnāt worth much the following year, so is often just used as bedding material.
Ready for Winter Flooding
I was pleased with myself for being prepared for winter flood season well before it came on. We had taken down our little āflood penā during the summer so we could mow that area. I re-built it slightly bigger for this year, to accommodate more sheep. Itās far from roomy, and nobody has a good time if it floods and the sheep have to stay crammed in there for a few weeks. But, itās only a few weeks, so weād get through it. And now that I have portable hotwire, Iād have some options of moving the sheep around while waiting out a flood.