Tuesday, May 3, 2016

New Mown Hay

by Pa Rock
Yard Master

When I left West Plains and began the long trek to Cuba, the six acres of yard that I mow was as short as a 1950's crew cut, but when I returned ten days later it more closely resembled an unkempt, shaggy dog.  I guess it rained in Missouri almost the entire time I was gone - while in Cuba, where it is the rainy season - we were blessed with an entire week of sunny skies.

I have put in almost five hours on the yard in the last two days, and have at least three to go.  Perhaps if I had one of those farm machines that mow and bail, I could turn a profit from my labors.  Getting a few goats is also a tempting idea, but I have had little goats before, and I understand their proclivity for always finding the wrong things to dine on - flower beds, expensive rose bushes, lawn furniture, etc.

I am also thinking about getting a few ducks.  Ducks won't help with the yard work, but I understand from someone who knows that they will play hell with the mice that keep appearing in the chicken coop.  (I prefer to handle as many farm issues as possible with "natural" solutions.)

But back to the grass issue - another solution would be to buy a bagger (grass bagger, not a tea-bagger) for the mower and then throw it all in the peacockery.  I have straw down, but that gets expensive.   One or two of the peahens have begun laying eggs.   The juvenile hens don't seem to be too sure of what is happening, and they haven't figured out that they should be laying their eggs in the nesting boxes that I went to so much trouble to prepare.  Instead, they are sitting on a perch, about seven feet off of the straw covered ground. and playing "bombs away" with their eggs.  So far two have landed intact, but one broke.  The girls seem to have no interest at all in trying to hatch the next generation.

I blame unisex bathrooms and gay wedding cakes.

Other than all of that, things here at Rock's Roost are running smoothly.  Tomorrow the mower and I will continue our long dance, and maybe after that I can't get on to other things - like cleaning my house!  I wounder if there is a "natural" solution for that?

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