2023, animals, Farming Update, home, Nature, pets, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather

Late Bloomer

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Today’s Farm Report comes from Ben

Another sign of pending spring is the ice at my machine shed walk-in door finally melted enough I could get the door shut again. It’s works all winter, but then, due to some poorly executed land grading that I did without forethought, as the snow starts to melt it runs into the shop and the door freezes shut. I used to play a guessing game on when all the doors would freeze shut and try to get them opened the day before. There were a few times I missed that day, and it took a lot of chopping ice with an axe to get the door open enough I could get in. And, more importantly, out.

Three years ago, I added an overhang that solved the ice problem at the big doors. This summer we will regrade the driveway and that will fix the water running through the walk-in door.

We had a Thunderstorm and some hail on Monday.

The drain tile down by the barn that fills the duck pond is running heavy. It doesn’t run this heavy very often. Usually that means the frost is out. The tile is a good thing as all this water would be coming out on top of the ground otherwise and it would be all spongey down there. I’ve had that other years prior to the tile.

Kelly and the dogs took a long walk around the pastures and fields on a warm day. The dogs found a hole they were VERY interested in, and they’ve gone back the last couple days to dig more.

Humphrey got a shower after this. He doesn’t like them. But he doesn’t figure out he should stay clean either.

For some reason, I’ve got a chicken laying smaller eggs. They look like beginner eggs. Shouldn’t be any beginner chickens at this point in time but maybe we’ve got a late bloomer. I know I’ve mentioned before how they seem to like groups of three. More often than not, I find a clutch of eggs in batches divisible by 3.

(Photos this week all from Kelly)

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER?

DOES BRIGHT SUNLIGHT MAKE YOU SNEEZE? WHY IS THAT?

55 thoughts on “Late Bloomer”

  1. Good morning. I like the number 5 and any number that ends in 5. That might because my birthday number is 15.Here’s to a “warm” day! Cynthia “Life is a shifting carpet…learn to dance.”

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  2. i’m a numbers guy
    8,23,888,never 666

    i used to work with a guy who was a sun sneezer
    alway 3 times

    happens to me once in a blue moon but that tells me my bodies messed up with a clod or something

    i love sneezing, feels like a mini orgasm

    last two years when winter comes and i guess my body has changed and it dries out and itch’s , i take a shower and nudge the hot water up one notch at a time until it’s just beyond comfortable hot but not to scalding and i turn in the shower and each new quadrant of my body that gets blasted goes through a mini orgasm too

    cheap thrills

    i wonder ben if you put those little eggs in the incubator who the chickens grow up to be smaller birds

    do you ever let the birds sit on the eggs and hatch the chicks ?

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    3. I do let chickens sit on eggs occasionally. Usually it’s because they’ve started a new nest somewhere and I don’t find it until later. And generally chickens are pretty good mothers and we’ll put them in a side pen with the chicks for a few weeks. I doubt these little eggs would hatch though, they’re probably not fertilized.

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  4. Oddly enough, I do not have a favorite number. Hmmm…

    Husband has little sneezing fits periodically, and bright sunlight is sure to trigger one, but not the only thing. Usually 4 or 5 groups of 3 sneezes (or is it 4?).

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  5. LOVE that header picture today.
    Let us know if you find out what the dogs find in that hole…

    I’ve never understood how tiles work. I remember them, though, from a little Iowa Conservation class we had in 6th grade – wish I had saved the workbook from it, because I can’t find anyone else who has ever had a course like this… Anyone here remember it?

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    1. Out in the field, tiles are laid about every 40 feet. They just take away excess water, they’re not really “draining“, meaning it’s not taking all the water away. The ground is like a sponge, and it can only hold so much. The tile takes away the water the soil can’t hold. Which leaves the water in the soil that it can actually use.
      down by my barn, Because we have a lot of clay, water won’t move down, it just hits the clay layer and moves laterally. Or up. Back in the 70s or 80s. I remember dad having two drain tiles installed. Eventually tree roots plug them up and I had , this one replaced and created the pond. Oddly enough, I still have water on top of the ground a bit. But not enough to cause damage or make the ground spongy. If we have a normal spring, it will dry up fairly soon and even the tile will slow down.

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  6. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Oooh, Humphrey, Humphrey—you are such a dog. The worse you smell, the more you like it. That description and picture of the mud made me laugh. Please see my dog adoption story below.

    I do not sneeze in bright light, but Lou does. So he walks outdoors and explodes. A doctor once told him how it works, but now I have forgotten what sunlight does to some people.
    Me, I just sneeze for everything but bright sunlight. Pollen, particulate, dust. My dad did this, too, and his sneezes evolved into dramatic performance art.

    Big news here on several fronts: Lou’s back is much better and responding to ibuprofen, and with the cessation of prednisone, he has his mind back. What an experience that was.

    And, next weekend we go meet the litter of Corgi puppies I have found from a breeder with a great reputation (I have been studying this process for about 2 years and she always gets great comments, plus she brings the pups into the house to socialize with her family starting at age 4 weeks). We get to choose our puppy then, and we bring him/her home around May 1. The videos and pictures are devastatingly adorable.

    We tried to adopt through a shelter which we have done before. But the shelters with Corgies needing a new home were very rigid about having a fenced yard, as opposed to ours which has a fence-less system. I attempted to explain that we have eagles and birds of prey here. A physical fence that traps a a small dog is dangerous. A puppy or small needs to be able to be protected from that trap. Our system allows the dog to be in the front yard where we can protect a puppy more easily. I got a snarky answer back. So we are going the breeder route. I have heard stories of strange animal rescue people, and now I have experienced it myself. Frustrating!

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  8. Yes, occasionally the sun makes me sneeze. I have no idea why. Though sneezing has never felt like a mini orgasm to me, at this stage of my life I don’t particularly like sneezing because it makes my bladder leak. If it ain’t one thing, it’s another.

    Happy birthday to Krista. Hope you’re having a marvelous time on the shores of Otchipwe-kitchi-gami .

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    1. Thanks, VS! Yes, it was a really nice trip. The weather was insane but it was so amazing to see the Lake all riled up that way. Thursday was cold but beautiful after the storm. On the way home I stopped by and picked up some soaps from Barb, our Goat Mom and former Baboon. It was nice to see her.

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  9. Never got much into lucky numbers, but decided the luckiest day of my life was the day I married Sandra, so the number is 17 (June for those who are curious). But if anyone asks me to pick a number between one and ten, it’s always seven.

    Yes, bright sunlight usually makes me sneeze, but so do a host of other causes.

    Chris in Owatonna

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  10. 3.1415….. just kidding. I am fond of the number seven and also the number 52. I don’t think of either of these is lucky and I really don’t know why am fond of these two numbers but there it is.

    I am not a Sun sneezer, however, am I am a serial sneezer. Most of the time, if I sneeze, I sneeze twice. However, at least once a week, I sneeze repeatedly. And I mean repeatedly. One time I thought, rather than try and stop it (blowing my nose helps) I thought I’d see if it would go away by itself. 17 sneezes before I lost my mind and grabbed a tissue. Allergy doctor does not know why I do this. And I did not do this as a young person, so it must have something to do with the adult onset allergies. It really pisses me off.

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  11. The sun doesn’t make me sneeze but allergies certainly do. I didn’t have allergy issues until I reached my mid 30s. Spring is definitely the worst – especially oak pollen and cottonwood fluff. Allegra helps though occasionally I need to add a Benadryl/Sudafed combo. My acupuncturist has been studying a method that’s supposed to really diminish allergic reactions. I think she is going to try it on me at my next appointment in a couple weeks. Non allergy sneezing usually comes in twos.

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  15. The cat makes me sneeze. Dust makes me sneeze. The “stuff” released as snow melts can make me sneeze – ditto the molds and such that collect as leaves pile up in autumn. But not sun. Sun just lovingly kisses my pale pale skin and turns it brilliantly red. Ouch.

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  16. Photic sneeze syndrome (PSS), also known as autosomal dominant compelling helio‐ophthalmic outburst (ACHOO) syndrome. Yes, it affects me.

    It’s hard to pick a favorite number. I like nine. It rhymes with fine. And wine. And divine.

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      1. Happy Sunday! And Easter if that’s your thing.
        We have passed the frost-coming-out-bottomless-mud season, so the worst is over. The driveway has firmed up and now it’s just surface mud after a rain for the most part.

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  22. I used to be famous for sneezing, but not these days. In high school my friends used to count. I think 23 was my highest series for them. At home in haying season I went way past that many times, despite never going in haymow. Lots of thinks make me ill today, migraines, upset stomach and such, but seldom sneeze. Sun never has made me sneeze. But right now I am extremely light phobic. Often hide in dark under covers. My eyes problems are the issue on the recent increase in light issues I am sure.
    I have not been to church on Easter in over 20 years. Lilies are terrible for me. My daughter will come over this afternoon in misery from being around them for so many hours. Churches are starting to ban them.
    I don’t follow what is a favorite number. As a math geek I like to play with numbers. Primes can be fascinating. Three is the number of stability. Somehow it is right that the number of triangles is the beginning of pi. But seven is the least stable single digit primary. Seven against the first several primes is fun.
    Clyde

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    1. I wonder why your sneezing fits stopped, Clyde: is it because you’re no longer around whatever triggered them?

      I must confess that numbers are mostly a mystery to me. That said, I’m not sure I understand your last three sentences. It’s OK if you don’t want to elaborate, but the last two sentences have me scratching my head.

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      1. I am still around many of the triggers but their impact changes and now I get congested and wish I could sneeze. Not handling dry hay now. But have picked up many triggers, many flowers that never used to bother me. As I say, now trigger migraines and gut distress.
        Yeah. Should not have brought up number thing. But an equilateral triangle or one like it is rigid and strong, the source of all bracing. A pentagon of five equal sides is easily made rigid with bracing, strength takes more bracing. But a similar 7 sided figure is a fun toy which can do fun things in the hands of a mind more creative than mine. And do some practical feats when powered and braced and hinged.
        The last sentenced is just things number geeks like to do with numbers to see what patters emerge. Take too long to explain. Very geeky

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  23. We saw Hamilton this afternoon. The last of my season tickets from the 2019–2020 Orpheum season. The lighting was fantastic. I am in awe of the designer and programmers. Howell Binkley, the lighting designer, died in 2020.

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    2. I see it next Sunday – so looking forward to it!! I have missed out on tickets when it’s been here before and the Chicago tickets were out of my price range (even the cheap seats) when I looked before it closed there…

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  24. My mom and I have big sneezes. We can knock the dust off the ceiling fan. But usually it’s just one or two. If I sneeze three or four times, something is odd.
    Kelly does 7 little tiny “achoo”s.

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