June 29, 2007
On the night of the biggest full moon of the year it was our 1 year anniversary on the farm and it was as crazy as usual. Woody went to the neighbors in the afternoon and I had to go get him. The trucks battery was dead and a part broke while trying to replace it, so we had to drive to Watertown to get the part Asa needed to fix it. While driving to Watertown we received a call from Grandma who was home with the girls alone. She called to tell us the two neighbor dogs came for a visit and what should she do with them. She didn't have any car seats in her van and there was two dogs with no collars or leashes. We told her to put them in the blue car with the girls and take them next door and put them in the back yard. She no sooner got the girls buckled in and the dogs were out again and following her back to our house. She then took them back over and put them in their garage. We were both nervous they would eat something they shouldn't so Grandma brought them back to the house and tried to put them in Woody's Kennel. However they wouldn't go in the kennel. Grandma then used Woody's collar and tied them outside to the porch with the orange tie down straps. When we got home Asa fixed the truck but puked because it was almost 10pm and he swallowed a few bugs which made him gag. After he fixed the truck we took the neighbors dogs back and Asa insisted they would be fine in their garage. Once back at home we were talking in the kitchen and heard a funny noise. At first we thought it was Salem the kitten stuck outside. I stated I bet Sparkles is having her kittens. We all went out to see and sure enough she had 3 kittens on the porch and one was sprawled out crying. I found a towel with holes and put her and the kittens in a tub so she wasn't giving birth on the yucky wood of the porch. We woke up Quinlyn and tried to wake up Addisson but she just rolled over and went back to sleep. Quinlyn loved looking at the babies. By 10:30 she was delivering another kitten. She had two tabbies and I couldn't really tell what the other one looked like. It was another exciting adventure at the farm. It never fails, anytime Asa and I go anywhere together alone and leave Grandma alone with one child or both something always seems to happen.
Friday, June 29, 2007
June 29, 2007
On this date one year ago we began our adventure at our current residence. We arrived at the farm at about 5pm. We were so overwhelmed by the conditions of the house we opted to sleep in the car. So tonight we are going to celebrate our Anniversary by sleeping in the car. Grandma and I decided one Asa and the kids fall a sleep we are going to sneak back to the house and sleep in our beds. Leaving him in the car with two kids and a dog. LOL.
Looking back at the past year has been a year of learning. Especially recently with the goats.
To be continued.........
Mr. Raccoon is at it again, last night he was up on the porch just after Asa and Sarah took of for the drive in. Just before they left Asa B set the live catch trap, turned around and Sparkles the cat got caught in it. So he set her free, reset the trap, and headed to the car and bang, Salem the kitten got caught in it before Asa and Sarah were out of the drive way. Cheryl did not know how to open it so she just let it sit there with the kitten in it, no harm done. When the raccoon showed up it was trying to get the kitten from the rattling and the kitten crying, so she chased the raccoon off the porch and brought the cage into the kitchen. Though we hopped otherwise, the raccoon came back and this time Cheryl sic’ ed Woody the dog on it. Woody ran off into the yard area barking and howling, but we have no indication that he caught the raccoon. So, for now Mr. Raccoon is still free and a still being a pain. He had opened up the birdseed, the turkey seed, and most of the other containers on the porch creating quite a mess. What a pain raccoons are.
Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.
Pancakes anyone? Well the girls and I make breakfast a lot of times and they know how to make them by now, Addisson can almost receipt the scratch receipt, not bad for a 4 year old. So they know that you can make them a lot of ways, their favorite being blueberries by a large margin. Well this weekend, they had a small supply of gummy bears, gummy worms, and gummy lobsters thanks to Grandpap Reed. (Grandma Taylor had supplied them both with little plastic tweezers to pick up their gummy bears, there is a little light in the tweezers, so when you squeeze the gummy bears they light up and the shine, even when you put them into your mouth, the girls loved these tweezers.) So they took the next step and wanted to try t he gummy bears in pancakes. Not a good idea. We tried on gummy worm and one gummy lobster in the pancakes and they melted completely and then fried on our griddle and what a mess Grandpap had to clean up!
The girls and Grandpap in the midst of the real work spend a couple of hours in the hay barn putting together the swing set. Since the work was going way too slow for a 4 and 2 year old, they asked if I would hold the two person swing while they tried it out. Whoa!!! Grandpap can hardly lift the swing let alone hold it with my two favorite granddaughters on it. So, I told them no. Addisson then asked it I could temporarly put it up like I had put the single swings up? This was a lot more doable, so we took a couple of minutes and a couple of pieces of rope and hung it from the rafters. The girls loved it and spent their free t ime, when they were not helping mark, drill holes, and screwing screws for the next couple of hours riding the swing. And this was not a casual swinging time, they put a lot of gusto into this. Little Quinlyn had to literally stand on her feet most of the time to keep up with Addisson and they both were flying, shaking the rafters of the whole hay barn. Well, but the time we quite, Grandpap was in trouble again. Addisson had sore arms and Quinlyn actually had blisters on her little hands!!!! Today, Sarah has identified blisters on Addissonæ¯ hands also, Grandpap clearly worked these little farm girls too hard.
That night we all went down to the pond for a hotdog roast. What is a picnoc without a little fishing at the pond, Asa B and the girls caught a couple of cat fish immediately and the girls helped me clean the fish and put them on the grill, so besides the hot dogs we had 3 nice catfish for dinner. Quite a nice day, gentle wind and temperatures in the 60s it was nice.
Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.
June 19, 2007
This weekend was exciting, well at least very busy at the Reed Ranch.
On the way up t the ranch I saw a pilated woodpecker flying across Interstate 81 near the Sandy Creek exit, just south of Watertown, NY. Asa B had said he say one flying along the road down there earlier in the summer. This is the first time I have ever seen this woodpecker, very large and distinctive.
Cheryl was already there when I arrived, she had brought her mother up after the trip to the Sood’s place in Wisconsin. And then Aunt Midge decided to stop over, all the way from Vermont, to visit the family and Grandma Kistler, so all the beds were filled, Grandma Kistler slept with Cheryl as she needed a real bed, she has a lot of troubles getting up and down nowadays. I ended up on the couch or the lazy boy depending on the night, Aunt Midge took our upstairs study for her bedroom. So even in the ramshackle condition it is, the house is a happy house and lots of company comes our way.
Every trip to the Ranch I try to get a load of trash to the dump. This time it was another section of old fence that we had pulled out and cleaned up. Well as I got it rolled up and into the pickup along with the 7 or 8 garbage cans of trash and parts of the old chimney that we were getting rid of, I thought I will have to be careful that no one runs into those fence posts the way they were sticking out. As I walked around the truck to look at it Quinlyn followed me and Bang! She ran right into the old fence posts I had sticking out of the back end of the pickup. BANG! Poor Quinlyn had another ding on her little forehead. Then she started to cry and Grandpap felt as bad as she did. Grandpap is going to have to be a lot more careful when the little ones are following him around.
Before I left to drive back Sunday afternoon, I told Asa B that we had to have some fun stuff for everyone as well as the work or it was not worth all the work. So Asa B swam the width of the pond, trying it out for a swimming hole. He said he kicked bottom a lot, thus it might only be 2-3 feet deep in spots at that place location and somewhat muddy, over by the rocks it was about 5 feet deep or so. Also he hit a lot of things that moved in the water; there are a lot of big things living in the pond! The bullheads (catfish) he would not mind, but the snapping turtles are another matter!! And what else was there rubbing shoulders with my favorite son? So he might be reluc tant to try swimming again for awhile. We might want to clean it up a bit, by trapping some of the larger turtles and making sure there is no junk hidden under the water.
Of course there seems to be something to fix all the time. Besides the whole house of course. So early last week the dryer broke down, it was getting very old, but still I would rather have it continue to run. So Asa B tried to get it to run, and then when I got home on Friday I tried to fix the dryer, not even close, it gave no signs of life after I fiddled with it a while and I did not have that much time, so Asa B got us a new one, good and big, six cubic feet, on sale at Lowes and it is in and drying the clothes. Yea, Asa!!
Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Thursday June 15, 2007
In the evening after dinner Asa decided at a moments notice to go down to the pond and fish for a while. He had a rough day at work and needed to blow off steam. He took Addisson with him and they had a ball. They were down there until after dark. They had a fire and even dug their own worms. Addisson thought it was great. Once they had got back I was going to give Addisson a bath but she didn't want to have anything to do with me. She insisted she shower with Dad. She even wanted to everything he did. She went and pulled out her bath robe because he was using his. It was too cute. They had a great father/daughter time down at the pond. While they were down at the pond, Quinlyn and I had some great bonding time too. We snuggled, read books, played and giggled. It was very nice too.
Friday June 16, 2007
Great Grandma has been here since Tuesday and after one day she wanted to go home. It took a while to convince her but she decided to stay through the weekend. Some of her reasoning for leaving so early is because she was so cold. However it was 80 degrees in the house and more outside. After she finally got warmed up she was feeling better. She kept asking when Aunt Midge was coming up. We told her she couldn't make it. Well low and behold Aunt Midge surprised us all and arrived on Friday. She decided to come after all. This perked Great Grandma significantly. They played cards the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening until Great Grandma started to feel poorly. They did take a break for about an hour when we went up stairs to demo. Aunt Midge loves to tear down the walls. She even brought her own tools.
Grandpap also at the last minute decided to come up for the weekend. He left at about 3:30 am in the morning and arrive about 10:30 am. It took him about 7 hours to drive this time. This is the quickest time yet. The last few times he has been flying into Watertown. From the moment he arrived he was busy. Either with the girls, who were very excited to see him, or working on the dryer which broke a few days ago and we have been having to hang the clothes on the line. He also picked up fencing and rocks around the yard. It was great having him back at the farm.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday June 13, 2007
The roofers stayed late and finished the roof. It sure does look different. Grandma and I went over the house plans trying to work out a layout for the upstairs bathroom. We have lots of space but we are trying to optimize it as well. Addisson and I fed the animals. In the afternoon I mowed the grass and our path down to the pond. Over all it was a nice day.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Tuesday June 12, 2007
Addisson had preschool and it was her snack day. This is very important in a young girls life. It means she gets to be the helper that day at school. She loves to help. It was 90 today and very humid. I felt bad for the roofers up working. Yesterday I made them smoothies. They loved them. This afternoon I asked if they wanted any water and they asked if I had an more slushies. I said no but I can make you a smoothie if you want. They all said yes. The girls were happy I made them one.
Grandma Reed and Kistler arrived about 5:30pm. We had dinner and then Asa went out and watered all the animals. It was a very uneventful evening. Not like last night. It was about 9:30pm when grandma reed called me into her room and asked me if I saw the black thing running in with the goats. I couldn't see what it was. It may have been happy birthday but I couldn't really see. It was almost dark. I called Asa, who came out of the bedroom in shorts and a gun. I grabbed the light and we walked to the chicken coop where the goats had gone inside. We didn't see anything. At first I thought I had seen eyes glowing int he hay but it turned out to be lightening bugs. They were every where. We didn't see anything with the spot light and we didn't hear any mauling. Hopefully they are all alive tomorrow.
Monday June 11, 2007
The roofers showed at 7am. They said it would take 3 days to complete the house. They are putting on a metal roof. The color is ok, it doesn't look the best with white but it will look very nice once we get red siding. It is a burnt slate but it looks brown.
Asa and I spent most of the day working on the garden. He rotatiled and planted, while I weeded. While we were in the garden I noticed a lady walking by. I didn't pay much attention and kept weeding. Asa however yelled out hello. She then proceeded to come down the driveway. He met her halfway and started to talk to her. She was lost. He asked the roofers if they knew her son, they didn't. He went inside and got the phone book and looked him up. She was on the right road but was disoriented. He asked me if I would take her home in the car. He was so nice to her and gave her water. It was hot out. It was about noon. She said she has been walking since 9am trying to find her sons house. She knew it was close but didn't quite know where. She felt silly or "stupid" as she said.
He helped her in the car and I went left out of the drive as per her instructions. Once I saw that the house numbers were going in the wrong direction I turned around. She was very confused and kept asking me if I was sure. I said" I am pretty sure and if its not right we can turn around again". We went back past our house and down the road about a mile and a half. When I pulled in the drive way I asked her " if this was the right house". She couldn't tell me. It didn't seem to look familiar to her. I looked at the house closer and saw a sign on the house with their last name which was the name of her son. I knew we were in the right place. I asked her if she was going to be able to get in the house and she said yes. I started to watch her go in the house but Addisson, who was in the back seat got me distracted by a horse fly who was bothering her. So I really never got to see her go inside but she was gone so I assumed she made it in ok before I left the driveway.
On my return home I thought to myself " that is why I love my husband". He has a great sense about those situations. He knew to just say "Hello" to this woman. I was in awe of how he can do that. I would never have thought to do that. I asked him when we got home, how did he know she was lost? He said she just didn't fit into the surroundings. An elderly lady dressed how she was, out walking! I never even thought twice about it let alone the big picture and the details of how she was dressed and the entire situation. After he got her talking he introduced himself and got her name and took care of her. It made me very proud.
Later that evening we were getting cleaned up while waiting for our pizza to arrive. Can you believe it, Yes, we do have pizza deliver! Only one place delivers but it is just ok pizza. I happened to look outside and I saw the goats heading to the street. By the time I got my shoes back on and hollered at Asa in the shower a car had driven by and scared them back into the yard. They bolted for the new fruit trees in the garden. I had to cut them off. I grabbed an empty bubble container and started to beat them off the trees. It was a frenzied. The trees were just starting to grow their leaves back from the last time the goats attacked them. They are so small they may not make another de-leafing. I had to get them off. They had the trees bent over and were starting to stand on them to get the leaves at the very top. It took me a little while to beat them off but I did succeed, but not without casualties. They stripped all of the grape vines of their leaves and a couple of trees. We hope they will come back like the last time. We had just yelled at Woody for eating a grape vine only a few hours earlier. We were able to get the goats back into their pen and find where they were getting out. The door of the chicken coop had rotted off the hinges. It had looked like the door was closed from a far but those sneaky goats knew better. The goats were in but not with out a screaming tantrum of 4 letter words from Asa. Not only was he mad at Woody for eating the plants, he was P. O. at the goats only to get ZAPPED but the fence. This created a new episode of cuss words. Which were all heard by our daughters ears. He got zapped soooooo good it dropped him to the ground and it took him several minutes to get up. He said it was the worst he has been zapped yet. He was wet from the shower and from sweat. He said it went through his thumb down his spine and out his feet. He said it felt like he was having his spine pulled out.
Once everything calmed down and we were walking back towards the house I said to him " Don't ever scold me about saying a swear word in front of the girls because our neighbors just heard you!" He gave me a smirk and we both chuckled. He then proceeded to shower again since he had just worked up another sweat. The good news is he actually got dressed once he got out of the shower the first time and wasn't putting the goats back naked. Although it was daylight his nakedness must only come out at night!
It turned out to be an exciting night! Asa told me the roofers boss stopped by walked up to the fence and grabbed a hold of it because he wanted to see what it was made out of. I said to the roofers this morning " I hear someone got zapped yesterday" They all laughed, "yeah our boss".
Saturday June 9, 2007
Asa, Addisson and my Dad went to an auction in Cape Vincent, while my mother, Quinlyn and I went to Walmart. In the Afternoon they moved the torn off front porch from the grass to the burn area. Asa moved the baby goats. They both went to Watertown to Tractor Supply, one of my father's favorite stores. In the evening they went to the race track in Lowville. Our neighbor races there every week. He did win that evening. They call him the Redwood Rocket. He is the 3 time season track champion. Asa and my Dad had a good time that evening.
While they were at the track we had a ladies night out. We went out to dinner in A Bay at a very nice restaurant. Then we went for a small drive. Let the girls play with their make up and then it was bath time and bed. It was a nice evening.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday June 8, 2007
Today was Addisson's field trip to the Zoo in Watertown. We met everyone at the preschool at 9am. It was a combination field trip between the 3 and 4 year old class. All week the weather has been on the cool side. Two days we didn't get about 60. It was beautiful. It figures on the day of the field trip it was already 80 degrees by 10am. By the time we got to the Zoo it was 90 degrees and extremely humid. Everyone was sweating. It was a nice time and we had a picnic lunch in a shady pavilion. It is a very small zoo. Asa had told me that but I didn't realize how small it really was. It only took about an hour to go through. We got home about 2:00pm. A
Asa arrived home about 5 minutes after we did and my parents arrived about an hour after that. The girls were very excited to see them. Once they arrived my mom did dishes and was sweating. Which never happens. However the house was 83 degrees. It was hot! She took a break and folded clothes. Asa moved the baby goats. Then he grilled dinner, steaks and lamb chops. After dinner I cleaned out the car and Asa and dad moved the roof which we took off the porch and has been sitting in the front yard since the last time they were here to visit. Asa then drove the tractor down to the pond to dig out an old hay rake. He wanted to try it out. I followed him in the truck. They hay field is ready for its first cut of the year. It was half way up the truck door in spots.
Around 8pm we Grandma decided we should all for Ice cream. We weren't going to because earlier in the evening Asa had looked out the kitchen window onto the porch and saw Addisson and Quinlyn holding the kitten, Salem, and one of them was attempting to hit it in the head with a hammer. Asa saved that poor little kitty. He happened to look out in the nick of time.
Thursday June7, 2007
This morning I received a phone call from the post office at 7:15am. Our Guinea Keats had arrived. We were all still in bed. Addisson had preschool that morning so once I dropped her off I picked them up about 9am. They were so noisy I could hear them outside the post office. When I went in to pick them up I told the lady at the counter I was here to rescue her from all of the noise. They were packed in a small box with lots of air holes. I couldn't believe there was 30 in there. Once I opened them up I realized you could actually have fit more in the box. I left them in the car while I cleaned out their home and put bedding and water down for them. When I went to release the hens one didn't look like it was going to make it. As I examined the box they had come in I realized they had just hatched on Tuesday. And were sent two day mail. These birds were in the mail most of their lives.
It was time to pick up Addisson so I brought 5 of the birds with me. The kids at her preschool loved looking at them. They all wanted to hold them but I would not let them for the birds were so tiny and too fragile for 3 and 4 year old hands. Addisson was glad I brought them so her friends could see them. I had a small petting zoo in the car. As I was leaving to pick Addisson up both Salem ( the kitten) and Woody jumped in the car. I had a dog, kitten and 5 guinea Keats in the car with me when I picked up Addisson.
When Asa got home from work we had lost another guinea keat. He had stopped by the neighbors on his way home and asked him about our grey water issue. He came over and looked at and asked Asa if he wanted to do it to night. Asa said "sure I will go change my clothes". Thursday evening they dug up the back yard with a mini backhoe. Of course the small project turned into a larger one and took way longer than expected but they did finish and now our basement isn't flooding with grey water. YEAH. Once they started digging they saw that the drainage system was probably placed in the ground in the 1950's and was a cheap tar and paper pipe. Once it ages it gets brittle and crushes. Which is exactly what happened to ours.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Wednesday June 6, 2007
Tonight Asa and I moved the goats fencing and added to it. It is a flexible and very visible electrical net. We were out in the tall grass of the fields and when we looked back we couldnt even see Quinlyn. She was following her sister but she went too fast and so she just stopped. The grass was taller than she was. It was very cute. Woody was going crazy running in the grass. Addisson would lay down in it to hide from Woody. He would find her very quickly. Quinlyn and Addisson started to play Doctor and nurse with Woody in the tall grass. They were having a great time. It didnt take too long to get the goats moved. Once we let them out to the new area they bolted for the tall stuff. It was so tall they had to jump through it. We hope that will keep them busy for a few days. The last area we opened up for them only lasted 5 days. The pickings were starting to get thin so we had to move them tonight for we didnt want them to escape tomorrow.
Monday, June 04, 2007
We now have no turkeys. We are suppose to have 30 Guinea Hens coming sometime this week. Our practice turkeys didn't work out too well so we are hoping for much better with the Guinea hens. Asa is feeling blue because animals and plants keep ending up dead. The goats ate a few trees, blueberry bushes; Jinx 1 and 2 are missing. 5 of the turkeys drowned and one got eaten by a raccoon. A few of the goats died this year. He came home today and one of the blueberries which was starting to look good again was all chewed up by Woody. He was bummed. He did say he really likes the pigs because they haven't died on him yet. He did really like the turkeys too because they would follow him around. He said the key to get the goats to follow you and the other animals is you have to sing to them. LOL. When his mom called all stressed about trying to get the goats back in while we were on our way to NH, he actually told her to just sing to them.
I brought up the turkeys because a few days before they died, Quinlyn had gotten into their turkey food and threw it all over the porch. So when we came home that evening all the turkeys were on the porch and had pooped everywhere. This was right after I had cleaned and hosed down the area. Which took a while because it was a disaster. This was the same day I had taken Jinx to the vet. Which I am sure didn't help with the raccoon situation. Which reminds me the Raccoon even pooped on the porch. What hasn't pooped on our porch? I think Woody, The kids and Us are the only things that haven't pooped on the porch.
I thought I would right large because I am tired and starting to squint at the screen, but I wanted to finish.
You heard a little from Grandpap about the Raccoon being on the porch a few times. Two days earlier I was taking Addisson to preschool where I heard a cat crying under the care. I looked and it was Jinx. I had just seen him about 20 min. earlier before I let Woody out and he was fine. Now he was under our car and couldnt move and was crying for his life. I backed up the car, I couldnt reach him from the side, I hoped he wouldnt move and took one of the kids blankets and wrapped him up. He was soaking wet. I knew what had happened. Woody had played with him and got too rough. I told Addisson when I dropped her off at preschool that he may not be alive when she got out. I called the vet and he could get us in. It turned out he was just stunned. If it was Salem I dont think I would have taken him to the vet but I really liked Jinx because he had six toes.
It will teach me. Two days later he turned up missing with the turkey. Only to have the Raccoon show up the next night looking for more kitties and turkies. We sure feed the wild life great around here.
More view from Grandpap
And by the way, the goats got out again yesterday and ate up most of Asa B’s new blueberry bushes, hope the goats taste good when we eat them.
By the way if you care, Cheryl did not get the goats back into the fenced area. They were laying in one of the shed, full of Asa B’s grain and too lazy to move, so Cheryl just locked them in. Done, they are of f the streets and out of sight, Asa B can put them in the fence when they get home form New Hampshire.
Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.
Hello,
Sorry if any of this is a repeat for any of you, but I just wanted to keep in touch.
I have moved to Long Island for a temporary assignment at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. They are finally going to remove most of the radioactive material from the old Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor. It was an air cooled, graphite moderated, graphite pile reactor, originally with natural uranium, then with enriched uranium fuel, that has been shut down for several decades now and they are getting around to cleaning the site up. It has been run as a museum for a lot of years recently.
Right beside it and sharing some utilities, like ventilation and the 100 meter stack, is the infamous High Flux Beam Reactor, that was shut down in 1999 after a tritium leak was identified and published in the press here. It was heavy water moderated, highly enriched uranium fueled reactor. The laboratory and DOE have decided to go totally non nuclear here, nothing but accelerators of all shapes and sizes is in the foreseeable future here at BNL. So, again, I am temporarily part of a team that is working itself out of a job.
As we were working on some of the licensing documents last week we had a meeting at the local DOE office, and I got lost on the site, it was my first time herre. As I got to the meeting I found that of the 8 people on the DOE review team 6 of them were people I had worked with at ohther sites. Is it not a small world?
Well, it is getting warmer out here on the Island, Monday moring it was 35 F in the parking lot this morning it was 60 F and the leaves are starting to really fill in, the fog is rolling in off the sound every morning now, it is a pretty place. There are wild turkeys, geese, and deer everywhere here on site, a real driving hazard, those turkeys are big and fly across the road right in front of your car.
Most of the U.S. reactors were light water reactors, Westinghouse built pressurized water reactors and General Electric built boiling water reactors which were the majority, Combustion Engineering and Babcock and Wilcox also built a couple I believe.
But the main fleet of base loaded nuclear power stations in the US are either Westinghouse or GE.
The new research reactor you all just commissioned was a design by Brazil wasn’t it?
The Canada Geese who live here on the site are all leading their families around these days. The goslings, usually seven or eight balls of fluff, are getting bigger everyday as they eat grass in all the surrounding fields. There are also turkeys all over the roads here as well as deer. The deer have fawns with them in many cases, but so far there have been no baby turkeys to be seen. What are baby turkeys called anyway, does anyone know? If names were metric like some countries use numbers they would all be just babies, no kids, goslings, cygnets, fawn, foals, calves, chicks, tadpoles, etc.
Speaking of turkeys, Asa B, not that he is a turkey, but you know,… Anyway we were working in the hay barn with Mr. Taylor, when Sarah called him on the cell phone and told him that the turkeys were out. This was not big news as the goats, dog, and the turkeys all had been out that morning. But, Sarah said no, the wild turkeys in the field were out!!! And it was still hunting season, sooooooo Asa B goes running up to the house to collect his shotgun, which Sarah had brought out to the door for him and off he went , the great white hunter, chasing the turkeys across the fields. In this case he went down behind them and got a big tom with one shot. Very nice, we have some photos, which I will try to get to you all. His mother actually saw the turkeys first, got the gun for him and went out to tell Sarah who carried out the support roll of getting Asa B into the field, just like a safari on the Reed Ranch.
--Asa Reed Jr.
Other Happening In May
We went to the drive In opening night for Spiderman at dusk thinking we could get in. That was foolish of us. They said it was sold out hours before dark. We went again the weekend Shrek 3 came out. This time we went about two hours early. They were still sold out. We decided to go see Spiderman on the other screen. We liked it. Addisson told us she never wanted to see that movie again but she was glad it had a happy ending.
Asa and I drove to NH to learn about fencing. We had left Addisson home with Grandma. We were about 1/2 hour from Syracuse when we got the phone call that the goats were out. Asa turned around and headed home. We got about 15 miles back towards home when she called again and said she got them back in. We arrived in NH at 2 am and received a phone call that the goats were out again and she had seen a snake trying to get them back in. It sounds calm the way I am telling it but the entire thing was chaotic and frenzied. However, Grandma did very well especially since she saw a snake and it was very hot.
The lady that helped us with fencing asked us what we wanted to fence or keep out. We said goats. She immediately said " Oh don't say that nasty four letter word, GOAT" Then she said "good luck and you have come to the right place."
After being at the fencing store for a few hours it over whelms you. I never thought there could be so much to fencing. You really could have a masters degree in fencing. On our 6 hour drive back to NY Asa and I discussed fencing. Neither one of us could have dreamed we would be spending 95% of our time on the farm dealing with fence. We were definitely naive. We thought it would be fun to have goats. Never knowing how frustrating and infuriating they can be. They are also fun too but they are also annoying. I had goats growing up and they were fun. Maybe because we only had 2 or 3 at a time. Not thirty. We are learning. We call these 30 goats our test case.
Here is Grandpap Reeds take on what happened.
As to the goats, Asa has been experimenting with some new fencing, an electrified woven 6 X 6 (inches) net, made and sold by Primer Fencing. It is pricey, but very effective. He now has 3 sections, one light duty for the kids and Happy Birthday, and 2 for the herd of does. The goats do not bother the fence at all and he can move them around the areas of the Ranch where we want some weed control as well as foliage for the herd. Yesterday they took down most of our stand of Sumac, it was getting out of hand and is a real hassle with the poison and all, but the goats are not affected and just seem to love the stuff. We would much prefer they eat the Sumac and Poison Ivy than the blueberries and Sarah’s new weeping cherry tree!
Well Cheryl went home today, after helping me set up my little apartment. She dropped me off at the local airport, Islip MacArthur Airport, to rent a car until I can find one, then she headed for the Upstate Toll Road. Getting off the Island took a good part of the trip, even when things were not that bad traffic wise. This Island is just crowded.
Once she got home she got to help chase the pig! Princess, the young lady piglet, she is only about 45 pounds, got loose. She has been much more aggressive since we got her. She has already charged the girls trying to scarce them off, and tonight she got out from the pig pen and was running free with everyone chasing her. Addisson and Quinlyn were to hold positions and wave Princess off if she headed their direction, Asa and Sarah were doing the chasing and Cheryl was to hold the center of the circle, if I understood correctly. But to no avail, Princess got through the line. Asa then decided to form a new section of fence adjacent to the existing pen. He hooked up a panel, bent it in a half circle back the existing fence and viola, princess was inside the fence again. But, not the right fence, so Asa jumped in, chased her down and grabbed her hind legs as she made and escape attempt. He could hardly lift her, she was digging with her front legs and was partly stuck in the hole!! But, her got her out and stuck her in the main pen, now for how long we are not sure, but Princess is going to take some extra care.
And take a look at these photos of my favorite little girls,
Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.
Oh yes we got another pig and she was getting out. She was so hard to catch at first until we got smarter than her. She squealed and squealed. The kids loved trying to catch her and she wasnt even greased or muddy.
More from Grandpap
The goats are at it again, lead by Janet this time.
Asa B and Sarah are on the road tonight, they are heading to a fencing shop in southern New Hampshire that specializes in sheep and goat fences and provides training in putting up the fences. Their prices are reasonable, so the kids decided to give them a try. Asa B and Sarah are traveling tonight, staying at the Super 8 near the store then heading home tomorrow night with enough fencing supplies to do 10 acres. That is about 2640 feet of fence. They took Quinlyn along to help with the heavy work. (See her photo, doesn’t she look like a ranch girl?) They hope to spend most of the day watching demos of how to do the fencing correctly, then try their hand at the fences they are going to buy. We need to get some permanent fences in to get the goats on browse. There should be plenty of fencing left for Carrie to help with if she comes to help for a while.
Well, as they get on the road to New Hampshire, they are no more than the end of the drive when Miss Addisson gets all teary eyed about the family leaving her at home, Grandma is ok, but Daddy, Mommy, and Quinlyn all took off without her! She would have gone, but needed to be at the dance practice and photo session on Wednesday, the tyranny of the schedules. Schedule conflicts at such a young age! Well, just as Addisson and Grandma were getting the Peter Pan DVD going, they looked out the window, and who but Janet was out of the fence and in the new trees again!!! So Cheryl calls me, tells me what is happening, I tell her that she should call Asa B and Sarah back, they are just south of Watertown, I had just talked to them as they were leaving the Starbucks there. She does not like that answer, they need the fence and should go get the training and materials. She decides that she really needs to talk to them however, she calls them and goes through the goat recovery via the cell phones, holding the Janet’s collar in a choke hold with one hand the bucket of feed to entice the other goats in the other hand and the phone somewhere between the two. It might have bit marks on it, if someone were to look. So, she got the goats back in the fence before Janet choked, and the kids are still on their way to New Hampshire. Let us hope that the fencing works till the kids get back Wednesday night and they can chase any runaways.
Last night when the family was done chasing the wild pig, Princess around the yard they all got ready for be and tuned in, especially Asa B as he had to go to work in the morning. Cheryl and Sarah decide to sit up and discuss the work needed on the house and how they are going to schedule the window work, as it will be disruptive of every room in the house. They call me and we get into some of the issues, then we all decide to hang it up for the night and hit the hay. Somewhat literally now that we are on the ranch. So, before it it too awful late, all are in bed. A couple of hours later, Cheryl hears some noises out it the kitchen and thinks it is Sarah up puttzing around. Well it goes away then starts up again, and she asks Sarah what she is up to and does she need help? Sarah does not answer, so Cheryl gets the idea that it is not Sarah making the noises in the kitchen and goes out to see if the dog got out of his kennel, or the cat is into something, but no they are not in the kitchen. Then she hears the noise again, and it is from the porch. Now what is out there making that type of noise? The windows are open, but she can not see anything outside. As she is looking around for something, Sarah comes out of their bedroom asking what the noise is, Cheryl explains that something is on the porch, Sarah grabs a big light and out the door she goes to face ….a big raccoon which immediately knocks over some of the dog bones he w as in and scampers off the porch into the darkness. What an exciting evening!!!
--Asa Reed Jr.
The goats are at it again, lead by Janet again. With Asa B and Sarah are on the road at the fencing shop in southern New Hampshire Cheryl is in solo in charge of the ranch, not a task she volunteered for, or even wants. So as day broke this morning she looked out to see how the goats she had shepherded into the pen last night had made it through the night. What?? There are no goats in the pen! Now all the does are gone!! So Cheryl starts hiking around the ranch to locate the missing herd, hoping they are still on our property and off the road at least.
She found them, Asa B has the animal food sitting around in the bags it comes in and now he has a lot less food, the goats ate everything. This is the second time they have raided the store house and cleaned it out. Cheryl is adjusting the fence to hopefully keep them in and it is hot and muggy today, and she saw a snake at the entrance to the pen area. Not a good day for my wonderful wife.
Her and Addisson will lead the goats in to the pen later this afternoon then Addisson has to be at her dance class for photos. Speaking of photos here are a couple more of my favorite girls.
As to Asa B and Sarah, they got in to the hotel at about 2:15 am and were tired, I had called to keep checks on them as they drove and told them to get to bed as I was going to do myself.
Love to all,
Mr. Raccoon was back!
Cheryl heard the noises on the porch again last night, but now she knows what is up. She grabs her flashlight and heads to the kitchen and shines it out the window. There he was, standing on his hind legs getting into the bird seed container. He stood tall enough that his nose was above the height of the railing, a pretty big coon.
Grandma called Asa B, get your gun and get this coon! Well, as usual the coon is still safe. Oh well, he will be ready for another night at the Reeds. Grandpap left out the part where Asa didnt even bother to get any clothes on and was naked in the front yard with his gun looking for the raccoon. So if you ever want to visit and go on a Naked Raccoon hunt, call Asa @ huntinaked (555-482-4588) or email him @ nakedhunter.org
I just am hilarious.
The kids did get the goats all into a fenced area and out of the prison that Grandma put them in. They are going to give them a little more room tonight.
Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.
WOW A MONTH has gone by already. I always say that. But it really does fly by.
I will start with the most recent events and work my way back. Tonight we goat wrestled. We cut the male goats hooves. They are so strong and stinky. We had to really wrestle them. It took about an hour. It was hot and sticky because of the humidity. There is one big buck that really likes me, but not as much as he did the other day. I will tell you that story in a little bit. I was prepared for him this time we brought the cattle prod in with us while we were trimming their hooves. It took both Asa and I to hold a few of them down. One of the more mellow boys sang to the girls while Asa trimmed their hooves. I had the head and with one hand I took a hold of his goat tee and made his lips move while I sang. It made it look like he was singing. I guess you had to be there. It was funny.
It rained all day today. A lot. It is so muddy again. Even when we have a dry spell there are still areas that dont dry out. So when it rains it really gets mucky.
I signed Addisson up for soccer today. She will start at the end of the month. On Friday she had her dance recital. She did very well. It was cute. She was so excited to get flowers at the end of her performance. Most of last week we spent going to dance. We had one last practice then the dress rehersal and the performance on friday. She was very sad it was over for the year.
Oh yes back to the story with the male goat who really likes me. We all went into their area to give them water. Asa went and walked the fence to make sure nothing was grounding it. I stayed back with the girls, our girls not the girl goats. Most of the goats followed Asa but there was one that wouldnt leave me alone. He kept rubbing his horns on me and pushing me. Over the last few months since the grass has really started to grow the bucks have also developed into heafty bucks. Or at least this one. We had one really nice buck to begin with and this one has surpassed him. He was pushing me hard almost bucking in the butt. I made the girls get on the lawn mower just in case. We happened to have a plastic rod near by that we use for the electric fence. I had to use that to try to keep him away from me. I stuck it out towards him so that he would rub on that instead of me. Where ever I went this goat would follow me and harrass me. It was crazy. It was like I smelled good. Male goats dont smell very well. They have a very distinct odor, so I didnt want him rubbing all over me. I had given up on moving since he was following me. I decided I would try to keep him at a distance with the plastic pole and be very cautious. So has I am standing there his lips start to turn up as he is smelling me from a distance he starts making odd noises. I looked away for a second and turn back to see him squating. I thought he was just trying to pee until I felt some thing warm hit my ankle. I looked back quickly and saw him with his hips turned out aiming his penis at me. I couldnt believe it. I think he had just marked me. As I processed this quickly in my brain, I yelled at him and he turned and began to pee. It was like he was saying "what! I am just peeing over here". I was amazed. I thought to myself " Did that just really happen? It did! I cant believe it!" "YUCK, GROSS" "I Was Just Marked by one of our goats." When Asa came back he laughed at me when I told him the story. Needless to say I went right inside after that episode and took a shower. I felt so violated by a goat. I told my mom this story and she asked me if I was on my period. I said noooo. Then she asked if I was ovulating?
That is my GROSS story for the month of May.
