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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 19, 2022 23:27:49 GMT -6
Sounds like a great start!
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Post by hmoosek on Jul 19, 2022 23:53:38 GMT -6
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Post by rdback on Jul 20, 2022 8:11:30 GMT -6
Great pictures of Stanley heavyhitterokra, but where's the babies?!? Gotta see the new additions!
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Post by woodeye on Jul 20, 2022 9:30:34 GMT -6
Stanley is so photogenic!! She almost makes me forget about the 4 legged deranged miscreants I have here that look like deer, but eat my crops like goats would...
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 20, 2022 12:35:35 GMT -6
Deer and goats are related, you know. I didn’t actually know that till I moved down here and met a goat dairy farmer whose main customer was a deer hunting ranch or some such thing. I also didn’t know people purposefully raised deer like that either. woodeye, it sounds like you’ve got some great materials for your fencing. When I was reading about deer fencing, I read articles about small fenced areas. Deer are less likely to jump a fence into a crowded area than they are into a very open one. Our fencing around our garden is 6 to 6.5 feet tall, but each garden is full of cattle panel arches and other trellises. The deer eat anything that grows through the fencing, but they haven’t jumped yet. Now if only I could keep out the skunks!
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Post by woodeye on Jul 20, 2022 18:15:06 GMT -6
chrysanthemum It's good that goats and deer aren't closely related though. I used to have a goat herd, sometimes in excess of 50 goats. If goats and deer were to interbreed successfully, no goat pen would be safe. The nannies would be fair game for the deer. Luckily there is quite a bit of difference in the gestation periods, 5 months for a goat, about 8 months for deer. If it weren't for that, a person would have to enclose his goats with a 8 foot fence.
As for the enclosure, I hope to have at least 2 feet clearance between the outside rows of crops and the chainlink fence fabric. I hope that will suffice as far as keeping the deer from invading. If I'm able to build it 20 feet wide, I would have 4 rows. I could put tomatoes and pole beans on the east row, then 2 rows of okra, and on the west row have something shorter like bush beans.
Corn, OTCP, Seminole, Tatume, won't be inside the enclosure. They'll be at risk, but not much I can do about it, I won't have room for everything inside.
I used to have problems with skunks when I was a chicken rancher, but it has been years since I've seen one around here. I had problems with coons in my cushaw and misc. winter squash patch though. I hate to have to trap those, but sometimes there's no alternative but to do so...
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 21, 2022 15:04:49 GMT -6
Those baby deer are hard to get a picture of. They run away every time they see me outside. I'll have to sneak up on them someday to get a good photo. They're cute little devils, I'll give 'em that.
Stanley is as tame as a dog, but so far the babies are as wild as a March hair. She disappeared for several months last winter; we thought someone had killed her, but she just showed up one day in May, with a big belly and has been coming back to see us every day since. She had her babies May 26th, but it was nearly a month before she brought them out of the thicket, so we could see them. By then, they were both crazy wild.
I often wonder what goes through their little heads when they see their Mama walking right up to us to get a snack every morning and every evening. So far, they've kept their distance. Who knows though? That might change with time, especially during hard times when there is a lack of forage and ample drinking water.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 21, 2022 16:07:28 GMT -6
That's a good question, why are they wild if they see their mama with you all?
Instincts that the babies were born with are hard habits to break I guess. It's not like mama can talk to them and tell them what to do. Or can she?
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 22, 2022 7:54:24 GMT -6
Stanley was found in a pond, almost dead and had no suck reflex. My wife had to feed her with a syringe every two hours around the clock for several days before she would even take a bottle. She was only 4 or 5 pounds when she was brought here. (My wife is a wildlife rehabilitator). For that reason, Stanley thinks my wife is her mama.
The baby deer that Stanley raised didn't have that experience. They are afraid of humans, as are most wild animals.
Some wild animals never get over that fear. We had a fledgling Cardinal this Spring, found on the highway. It had been run over or over run by several vehicles. It had not been hit by any of them, they had just passed over it at 65 mph. The poor bird had frozen in place and had been picked up by a motorist and brought here for rehab. We kept it for two weeks. It never stopped attempting to escape by hitting the bars of its enclosure. It never showed any signs of becoming tame. By the time it was caught, it was already wild for life. However, I do see it from time to time while picking blueberries or while working in the garden. It will let me get within 5' feet or so of where it is before flying away.
Then, there are others that just seem to be born with no fear of humans. During the drought of 2006, we had a full-grown red squirrel that would trek to the dog's water bowl for a drink every day. When I saw how brave it was, I started putting pecans out by the water bowl for it each day. Within a few weeks, I had it where it would come to me to get a pecan. Within a year, I could walk out into the woods, clacking two hickory nuts together and call that squirrel from quite a distance.
A few times, it sneaked up on me in the garden and startled the wits out of me. I'd be on my hands and knees, planting corn or something and it would just run up my back to sit on my shoulder while I worked.
I've had several bluebirds just get used to me checking their boxes every few days until they would fly parallel to me as I took my morning walks and would play alongside me as I worked in the garden. I've had them land on the handrail beside me as I was sighting in my .22 rifle or land beside me as I was busy sawing lumber for a tree house. It's hard to say why some appear to be born wild, while others seem to be fairly tame.
I don't think most wild animals could ever be domesticated though. They always retain some form of self-reliance and wariness or distrust.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 22, 2022 9:10:39 GMT -6
Awesome stories, heavyhitterokra! Clacking those wild hickory nuts together to call the squirrel made me think of Euell Gibbons. Hadn't thought about him for a long time.
My lone story of attempting to tame a wild squirrel was not as festive as yours. I was driving home from work back in the 70's, and there was a big cottonwood tree that overhung route 66 west of Luther. Squirrels love to build nests in big tall cottonwoods and one of the youngsters had fell out of the nest, only to somehow land on the highway and not die from injuries due to smacking the pavement, as well as injuries from being hit by a car.
I stopped my p/u, leaped into action, and captured the little squirrel. Drove him home, found him a nice little cage to live in, he was happy. I thought he was happy anyway. The next day I took the cage with my new 'pet' up to visit my parents. I told them how heroically I had saved the baby squirrel from certain death, blah, blah, blah, etc. Then I demonstrated how I could take him out of the little cage and let him reside in my shirt pocket. Showed them that trick, they were amazed at my ability to tame such a wild animal. Lastly, I held him with both hands, had him inches from my face, and told him what a good boy he was!
Well, that was the last thing I ever told him up close. He reached out with both of his little front paws and quicker than you can say, "I'm being attacked by a baby squirrel!", he latched onto my nose with his cute little furry paws, one paw on each side of my nose, and clawed me severely into submission. Of course the natural reaction to such a thing is to automatically try to pull the little devil off my nose. And that is exactly what I did. Let me put it this way, a forensic scientist would have found massive amounts of my DNA under the cute little squirrel's claws.
Eventually, and with much groaning and gnashing of teeth, I managed to get the sweet one off my nose. Bloodied, but still determined, with broom now in hand, I managed to get him shooed out the door. Unlike your stories, I never saw him again, even after my vision recovered from the mauling...
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 22, 2022 17:35:13 GMT -6
Woodeye,
That story cracks me up every time I read it!
It reminds me of the time I thought I'd teach the wild, red squirrel, "Skippy" a new trick. As I said before, I had been calling him to me each day by clacking two hickory nuts together. One day, I thought to myself, "Rather than just handing him the hickory nuts and watching him scamper away with his prize, I'll teach him to jump up on my knee as I kneel to give them to him."
So, I walked out into the wintery woods, clacked the two nuts together, and assumed a one-knee on-the-ground stance, with the hand holding the hickory nuts, resting atop my other, higher knee.
Here came Skippy, hopping along the wooded path, filled with glee at the thought of his favorite treat just yards away. He spotted the hand holding the hickory nuts right away. Without hesitation, he jumped right up on my knee. With snake-like reflexes, he fixed his eyes on the prize. I knew in an instant what was on his devious little mind, but I was too slow to respond before he had grabbed my thumb and forefinger with his nimble little paws, pried my fingers apart, and taken a bite out of my knuckle to release the hickory nuts, like a burglar cutting a security chain to release a locked gate!
Blood went spurting in every direction, The hickory nuts tumbled to the ground. Skippy quickly gathered them, one under each arm and away he scampered into the woods to devour his hard-won prize.
Never again did I attempt to teach him any tricks. After that, I'd just drop the nuts on the ground and watch him enjoy them from a safe distance.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 22, 2022 18:09:10 GMT -6
Oh mercy, heavyhitterokra, I know that had to hurt, but it was for a good cause. The laughter that consumed me because you lost part of a knuckle to Skippy, made my nose feel better.
When I told the baby squirrel story to my little brother, know what he said? "The baby squirrel just got too excited about the big nut that he found"
Sometimes it seems like we have the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome, we just don't get any respect. Especially from the wild kingdom...
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Post by hmoosek on Aug 3, 2022 0:53:52 GMT -6
I thought maybe we could all chat a bit. I normally grow for fun and seed saving, but with the coming seasons, I believe tough times are headed for us all. Climate is changing, population is increasing, things are getting harder to find, etc. etc.
I’m not a fear monger, but I don’t think it would hurt any of us to take note of our seed stock and maybe just put a few seeds away for insurance. I was going over my seeds and although I have several varieties. I’m low in several important varieties.
Okra I have lots of okra seed in several varieties. It generally grows well here. Not much work for the return you get. (Usually that is)
Tomatoes I have lots of tomato seeds. The thing about tomatoes although I enjoy growing them, They are kind of iffy here. You gotta dot your i’s and cross your t’s to get an abundant crop.
Squash and zucchini They generally do well here. In fact, they do so well, I get sick of eating them sometimes, but if your hungry, you’d be glad you had them. I don’t keep a bunch of seeds. I generally don’t save seeds. Might pay me to rethink this or at least put a few packages in the freezer.
Cowpeas They do well here. I have lots of seed, but I don’t think a person could have too many.
Beans Beans are another iffy here, At least the kind I like are. Might do me well to get some rattle snake or some other variety that tends to do better in the heat. I should add, we eat a LOT of beans especially pinto. I bought 50 pounds about 6 months ago. I am down to less than 5 pounds. In fact, I meant to pick up another bag when we were in town today, but I forgot.
Greens I’ve had a lot of success with Japanese greens, but I don’t save seeds. In fact, I’m completely out for the most part. I really need to order some pretty quick. A small bed of komatsuma and semposai will keep you in food for awhile. Beet greens, collards, mustard. I really need to order some pretty quick. I even thought about getting a package of lambs quarters.
Radish Grows quick, can be fried like potatoes. I generally don’t eat a ton of them, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a few packs on hand.
When I looked at my seed stash, I discovered I’m lacking. Although I have lots of seed, a lot of it is stuff I grow for fun. Not necessarily things that grow well in my area.
What are your thoughts? What did I miss? I’m interested in any ideas you might have.
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Post by macmex on Aug 3, 2022 7:28:57 GMT -6
I've done poorly this year, though much better than last year. With health issues I've had to discipline myself to do what's necessary to function well and then garden, etc. with the time left. This year I didn't even get my corn planted. I got precious few beans in the ground and most of them, late. I do think that beans are of major importance in our diet. Our experiment with straw bale gardening in an ICB container has been a success. We're still eating Swiss chard, which is a very welcome thing.
It looks like we'll get an alright crop of Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkins. That's a big help.
Though running a bit late, our okra looks good. Okra is a champ for our climate and it just so happens that our family (the part living in Oklahoma) loves it. I'm hoping for harvest to begin in about two weeks.
Sweet potatoes are HUGE in my eyes. They are a staple food. They're dependable and high yielding. Their leaves and growing tips make decent greens. The roots last nearly year round with no special care. I'm hoping for a bumper crop. Jerreth wants to experiment with making sweet potato flour. I feel like I could plant an acre of sweet potatoes and not have too many. We're also thinking of sweet potatoes as a way to help those who may come to need food.
Cowpeas are another neglected crop which ought to be exploited more. Like okra and sweet potatoes they are fantastic for hot, erratic climates. They too can be a staple. They keep well and, compared to regular beans, the seed maintains viability for a long long time.
An anecdote:
During the American Civil War the Northern forces invaded much of the South, seeking to destroy the South's means of food production. (Sherman's March). They were largely successful. However, being as the majority of the northern soldiers were from the North, they didn't easily recognize cowpeas as a food crop. Whereas they would destroy them, when found growing in rows, in a field, they often missed them if they were growing like brush, in the margins of fields and woods. So when the destruction was over the poor residents of these ravaged areas found they still had something to eat. This is why, to this day, there is a southern tradition of eating blackeyed peas on New Year's Day.
I believe we can learn from these folk. Learn to grow and eat cowpeas! They're healthy and they will add resilience to your pantry.
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Post by rdback on Aug 3, 2022 8:28:02 GMT -6
What are your thoughts? What did I miss? I’m interested in any ideas you might have.
In addition to what others have said, I would also consider Winter Squashes, i.e. pumpkins/squashes. Many of these will remain viable for months, if stored properly. And they're nutritious...plus they taste GOOD!
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