dec 31 2022
Adventures of Goldy's Farm in Ipswich MA. Goldy is the Ghost Of the Lefthand Draw who brings adventures and miracles to farm. We are a nonprofit whose mission is to improve the welfare of community seniors and veterans with our rescued and repurposed animals.
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Friday, December 30, 2022
dec 30 2022
when i moved in here ..... being of sound body...... one of the attractions was the fact that the Bay State Trail is only 100 yards from the white gate in "A" only a pair of clippers would stop that from being connected.. i had intentions of riding that trail--- before i stopped riding in general... but it is there...and would be a super place to have this donkey "episode" like they did in colorado...in prep for an "episode" in boston/cambridge..
Thursday, December 29, 2022
dec 29 2022
yikes !!
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
dec 28 2022
curiouser and curiouser the.. shifting sands of time-----i think we have a male person coming at 9:00to help with the lumber for the walls..... i dunno who.. should be camera entertainment... the walls...
in my past i have relied on the fire department as a source of large male beings who are generally fit and on a split shift of some sort- available on the off times.. when i told the fire chief that... he said he had never heard of it...i told him it was probably because i paid cash..
last time the police were in my house-- i did make note of the fact that one of the guys was just plain huge and filled my "living room" so i did make note of the fact that he could probably lift 100 pounds of about anything one handed... not someone you would want to argue with...and someone who would be a huge help at lifting me out of wherever i might fall into.
2 things.... my mother told me at a very young age.. if a policeman tells you to stop... you stop and just stand still. you can argue later.... i do not know why that is not taught to all children.
my second association is... when they make police uniforms. they should limit the size and shape to fit any "in shape" male or female officer. i would outlaw any shirt that was made to accommodate the huge beer bellies often seen. "in uniform". then if they can not get dressed in uniform they can not go to work..
i wonder how human resources would deal with that .
that concept comes to mind every time i see a ballooning. mid section-- or whenever i see a bunch of west point cadets... no balloons there either...
somebody told me once--- i don't think it was the internet.... that firemen or women have to be able to climb a ladder with 75 pounds of gear strapped to them..which reminds me. of a photo........ i don't know where i was... but i tried all that stuff on.... it is darn heavy...i could barely walk.... they would not let me go down the brass pole with all that on...
in the picture sizzle's nose can be seen saying "what on earth????"
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
dec 27 2022
after "boiling " a perfect steak at 133.00 for 4 hours --- i vacuum bagged 3 chicken legs- put them in the pot-- raised the temp to 165.00 degrees. for 2 hours and ended up with the best chicken leg i have had in a very long time....i can hardly wait to have the other 2 for breakfast today.
which brings me to unemployment.. i do agree that the concept is valid... there are times when someone - thru no fault of their own, is-- for the moment--- unable to have a routine paycheck....however..... in th e past year, i have known of a person, not working because they could not find a job -- and she is( suposed to be??) a nurse?? she explained to me she had no intention of looking for a job til the unemployment ran out-- and that was good for another 17 years.. or something.
and i thought of Pam.... who in her life had been about everything known to the working world... from political campaigns to. childcare. to bartending.... i could not mention any job without her saying she had done that in 1993 or such.. in other words.. she worked.... period. she also said she had never been on unemployment.. i believe it.
and as my career progressed, i realized.. there was another group of people ( besides 4h people )to whom i would prefer to hire... and that is people who have been bartenders.... they seemed to be women who had been stuck for a paycheck and took a job waiting on tables-- where the only possible advancement to them was to learn to bartend.... so they did that... whether they were in college getting an mba or newly divorced with 2 kids the effort at advancement seems a common denominator.
so how come such a high percentage of our presidents have been raised by "single mothers" -- 2 examples i can think of is clinton and obama...... and...... unless you are of a particular religious persuasion, there is no such thing as a single mom..... or there should not be such a thing as single mom....the other half that pregnancy came from somewhere... it should be a law that paternity must be established in every birth.... boy would that not screw up society.. one thing it would do... is all these white men that make up these laws would suddenly believe in and make abortion as legal as gun carrying...
I am told----male sperm swim faster but female sperm are larger and last longer -- what does that say about the general population .. which... I am told... is 51% female... why is our congress not 51% female? Is that because men are generally bigger and louder???
Monday, December 26, 2022
dec 26 2922
Sunday, December 25, 2022
dec 25 2022
( the wood pile is full thanks to bud.. and mark)
i have zero intention of wandering outside the front door,,, til monday when the temp is expected to be a balmly 35 degrees,,,
sara inherited doing the chores both 12/24 and 12/25 and so far is doing an incredible job meeting the unexpected whacko situations with wisdom and courage.
i have to mention this only to fill you in on details...
regardless of how reliable a dog is--- there are times we just do not understand..... sometimes because we are to full of preconceived notions to be able to analyze correctly...
try this one....
lachy is wonderful-- very steady... will allow hugging ( most of mine do not) a terrriffic public relations dog.
however.... there is one person in mabey 100 who has armpits he is fascinated with. similar to a cat with catnip.... it is embarasing to have to pull him out from under somone's arm.. so we try and stop before he get too fixated,... there are not too many people you can question "what on earth do you use for a deoderant?"
but there have been a few i have been able to ask.. and so far see no relationship.
lovely george myers.... dvm.... i walked thru his back door one day carrying bailey as a pup...and he--- trying to get a rise out of me, which he did regularly-- said. " that is the uglest -dane pup i have ever seen". to which i replied " then it is a good thing she is mine and not yours"... bailey grew up to be beautiful( and not deaf... she was white..). but as perfectly trained as she was.... there was one person in the world that she hated and wanted to kill... and that was george myers-- if he was even on the property she would stare in his direction until. he left. and i was keenly aware of her displeasure.---- in his educated wisdom.. one day at dogfest he said " get me a cookie and i'll show you how to change her mind". so i gave him a cookie... he held it out for bailey who very stiff legged came and took the cookie.. then backed 6 feet away and continued to glare at him. i had to watch her... she was not kidding.
and it was only with george she was like that.
tiffany-- my first purchased dane pup -- beautifully trained -- often "on the bed" with her 8 children... in boston, charlestown, cambridge. wakefield to name a few $1000 per day they paid me.. i sat on teh bed with them and watched them like a hawk. no leash no collars....( because the public would grab and yank them )..... then one day at the pru tower-- nice looking 12 year old girl tif came to me glaring and growling at her... i grabbed her jowls and hung on while the girl went thru our "exhibit" of chickens and donkeys--i let go...she was perfect...for the entire following year,,, until.. pru tower... same girl... same reaction// luckly tif told me about her dislike before she confronted the child....
and before anyone gets on the "dogs are unreliable kick" remember the last actual dog bite i have had-- was on the same bed.. in medford where a 12 year old boy said to his friend “wanna see me bite the dog?” he bit my dog's ear-- blood everywhere as i came down across the kids nose with my fist.... which was sore for weeks) .i find dogs far more reliable than the general public....
Moral of the story... when mixing dogs and general public....the handler of the dog must be alert to protect the dog from the people as much as the people from the dog.
so the current issue... a pup--- a nice dog--- came running across the arena to have a go at janine's leg, then hand. janine has had this problem with several other dogs-- and is now scared of them- i can not blame her.
but again... before anyone gets too excited..... think back... everybody's favorite dog... . chaos--- bit janine several times--- in her ankles-- and we... in our wisdom.. thought it was hysterical to see janine run across the yard with chaos on her heels and slam the door of the shop to get way..
it is now no joke... what on earth do so many dogs have against Janine???
the cleaned up arena
nearly ready for dogs and horses
and donkeys
Saturday, December 24, 2022
dec 24 2022
SO THERE.....all you doubting thomases.. donkeys are FUN. and amusing ... i have had them in nursing homes -- schools. and all kinds of religious functions.. and movie studios never a mis-step... while we wait for more female dogs to come in heat and give us pups.... i want to have some more donkeys to "develope" and see what they can do-- education wise.. it would be soooooo different.... there are lessons to be learned....
Friday, December 23, 2022
dec 23 2022
chip and lynn spent alot of time thinking about renovations to the kennels.. i heard the topic as a went by and did not get involved..so i don't know what ther outcome was. it is in good hands...
i am on the walls of the arena project...---basically a 4' high wall-- and i know i have seen the walls slightly tipped...
i mentioned that at mail call and sure enough....someone said the walls should be at 80 degrees so the track of the horse's feet will prevent the rider from banging thier knee on the walls... bless teh mail call bunch--- not too much stumps them all !!.
that sounds right... so how thick is a riders knee???? ( here we go again .. another study. like geroge bush's ? leg height? or 32 inch inseam)
the widest bent leg i could find was less than 8 inches...-- so with the right angle and squaring the sides i changed the top "rail" to a new southern yellow pine 1 x 8 inch board to hopefully hold it all together.
yankee pine lumber store. has been kind to me and my confused state.... there i am with a yard full of contractors. who know the names of things-- and i dont... so... there is this guy "tall tom" who is very helpful at guessing what it is i am talking about... like what is the flap about the new pressure treated lumber
and he assured me the new 'PRESSURE TREATED' stuff is geared for children's playgrounds so we should have no complaints ABOUT USING IT IN. THE BARN... ( if burning it is the issue-- that will hopefully not be a problem)
SO IN. THE PROCESS OF WORKING OUT THE 70 FOOT WALLS ( 2 OF THEM). WITH 1/2" PLYWOOD. I DID HEAR THE COMMENT
"THESE PRICES HAVE REALLY GONE DOWN". ---- AND THAT WAS news....FROM THE REAL LUMBER YARD guy "tall tom" ....
****
PRICES OF HAY STILL CONTIMUE TO RISE...
I HAD ONE cp COMPLAINT ABOUT MY TALKING TOO MUCH ABOUT HAY ..but that takes up much more of my time at the moment... between the drought and no second or third cuttings... the cost of gas/desiel and other complication s from canada... if we make one trip a week to the truck depot, judy and i.. drinking 2 cups of coffee from dunkiun and gas for the 30 mile round trip if we do not sit too long with the heater running, we are saving $400 per trip.. .. which is per week-- that is reall money--- and a lotta coffee !!
i found... a bad thing.. dunkin has bacon smothered in maple syrup as a snack...... i will take that out of the $400. !1
comment from a cp.....– Freezing Car Doors
One must be careful using petroleum jelly on anything that contains rubber..
but ripping open the frozen door gasket is not too good for the doors either...
there was a suggestionog beter use of plastic on doorsa and handle... i have not tried that..... yet...
it is raining !!!!!
Thursday, December 22, 2022
dec 22 2022
since I have been in on the feeding process at Meredith.. there are a lot of animals over there --all need at least hay and water---my guess is 18 or 20 .. And since I have spent a few days in my nice warm car doing paperwork while Janine feeds.. I've had a pretty good look at the process --so that kept me up last night... as I wondered if it didn't need rethinking..
Let's think of the life of 10 Bales of hay.. It starts in my car at the hay dealer who loads it and ties it down for me... I then deliver it to Meredith where I dump it and somebody comes along with two Wheelers and restacked it in the barn... or I deliver it to service dog project where we have a hay elevator which carries the hay up into the hayloft.. Either of these processes involve two people-- one of whom has a broken leg.
now if I take it to Meredith and it gets stacked in the 1806 huge barn it then gets put in a heavy duty 4 wheeled laundry wagon.. which then gets dragged 2 at a time. to the bee barn...aand back to 1806 ....then to meredith's icehouse.. ...aand back to 1806 ....the two mules across the street... ...aand back to 1806 .... the sheep and goat pasture.. ...aand back to 1806 .... And eventually the two stalls in the barn. In that 1806 barn
that deltvers 10 bales.... me in a warm car. Janine in the cold/rain/ now ailing .
and I wonder... if we put all the hay in our barn here requiring 2 people scheduled weekly. ( which. is a lot different than daily feeding) ---and a $5.00 bill in the windshield wiper of janine’s truck-- would someone take the 5er and drop 10 bales in her truck.. she could then go. To meridith in a warm truck.. jump out and throw hay to the 5 different groups of animals and between groups RIDE IN HER WARM TRUCK. If she managed to have 50 pounds of grain in the. Back of the truck... (which she could have someone else put in the back of her truck on. The way past the grain store) .... she could bucket that out as she goes around- leaving ther schlepping water in jerrycans which could be added to that process most of the time... then she would only have to pick the poop—for that I do not know of a short cut.. but the factor of exposure to the elements would be significantly reduced plus she could. Hkeep her cherished cuppa coffee in the truck to warm her innards..
so the hay problem would be reduced to lifting into our hayloft. ( 2 random people and the elevator) and dropping into her truck which would happen for $5 if she left her truck under the hay door....
that is how I see it—
but change is always frightening and subject to objection—the comfort of a routine is gone.
we gotta do something..
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
DEC 21 2022
AND THE REST OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS HOUSE WERE PATTENTED IN THE PAST 5 YEARS.. AND ARE ALREADY OUTDATED AND MALFUNCTIONING.
ANYONE WANT TO GO BACK AND FIND SOME MORE PERFECTLY FUNCTIONING "ANTIQUES" ?
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
dec 20 2022
doorway training ---
working on...... for the newspaper.. about training a dog in a doorway.. with a picture of courtney's kiddo and her dog on opposite sides of a baby gate... it is possible to train a dog to stop at a doorway and ask permission to come into a room and it's done very simply by physically blocking the dogs way and saying WHOA and stamping your foot... dogs do not like to be startled so generally they'll stop and look at you like why did that happen?? .. and they will basically look for more directions than you can tell them to wait..... walk on or go away... but don't just leave them standing there wondering....
dogs do not do confusion well and if you don't tell them what to do next they'll figure out that you weren't serious... Besides in all of dog training it's not polite to leave the dog wondering. ( THE WORST SITUATIONS ARE When someone tells a dog to sit or down then walks away pleased with themselves that they got the dog to do something and they forget to tell the dog that they can go back to being normal that's just plain rude in dog language)
it doesn't take long to set up this “doorway " sequence which involves having the dog trying to step over the threshold which case you stamp your foot again and say BACK..;; and Without too much effort the dog in the doorway will eventually learn whoa ... wait ---come in ---back--- walk on--- go away Which are handy things to know anywhere all it takes is a little consistency for a few minutes/
so that is next week’s news hopefully...,
other than that ... it is the fence in the arena for todays excitement... maybe....
this baby gate left me wondering who was walled in or out?????
was it robert frost???
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,