Sneeze day

[altivo]

Lessee, what happened today.

Well, mowing. Gary did a lot of it. I got to sneeze. Grass pollen does that to me, and because of the heavy rain we haven't been able to mow until now. The pasture grass is rank. Almost waist deep. It would make good hay if we had the equipment to do that, but we don't.

I fertilized the strawberries, which was a bit of a production because it took several trips between the house and the garden (about a thousand feet, or a fifth of a mile, each trip.)

Mosquitoes are out with a vengeance, but mostly biting Tess and Gary as usual. I think my skin temperature is lower, as I get fewer actual bites. Tess, being the warmest of the three of us, attracts them like a magnet pulls in iron filings. Her normal fly spray doesn't seem to repel them, and I think she needs something that will do that. I don't think DEET is recommended for animal use, so human repellents are for the most part ruled out. Maybe citronella will help if I can find some.

At least at the moment, this lot of skeeters will have some trouble finding water in which to breed. But there's rain on tap for the next few days, so that could change. We're seeing a lot of (ugh) ticks too.

Heard from the neighbor across the road that they have a fox with at least one kit hiding out under their gazebo. Now we know where she's denned up and that there is a kit. Once she starts taking the tod out to teach it, we'll likely see her as in the past two years.

And that's about it for today.

Comments

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Hmmm there is a thing I read somewhere about using listerine as a mosquito repellant. Also those bug zappers apparently zap mosquitos.

Awww the foxies are under the gazebo :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, some people swear by Listerine and others by an Avon skin lotion called "Skin So Soft." I'm dubious about both. What we find objectionable about almost all mosquito repellents is that they have added "scent" that is more obnoxious than the mosquitoes themselves.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

But Listerine leaves them minty fresh...minty fresh!!

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

I have purchased some electric mosquito killers for this year. Will see how they work.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Apparently some designs work quite well. The good ones are expensive, though.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

That's why they're expensive :)

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I'm curious - what kind of equipment do you need to make hay?

(Also, yay, fox kit. ^^)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

At a bare minimum, three pieces of equipment (plus a tractor to pull them):

Mower:

The device that cuts the grass cleanly without grinding it to mush the way lawnmowers generally do. Modern mowers use rotary disks, older ones have cutting bars or mechanical sickles. Sharp, nasty, and can be dangerous.

Rake:

Also called a "windrower," this is used to collect the cut grass in long rows so it can dry in the sun. The same unit or a more specialized one can turn the drying grass one or more times as it dries to make sure drying takes place evenly throughout the crop.

Baler:

Picks up the dried hay from the windrows and compresses it into bales for storage. Round balers make cylindrical bales that may weigh several hundred Kg. and require additional equipment to pick them up and move them. Square bales are the more traditional rectangular box shaped bales tied with twine, that weigh about 20-25 Kg. each and can be moved and stacked by hand.

Photos of some modern versions of this equipment here. This stuff is costly new, and used equipment, especially the balers, requires constant maintenance and adjustment.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Ah, thanks! I guess I'm really too used to urban life to really know much about any of this - my godfather actually has (had?) a farm, but my family pretty much lost contact with him when I was still young, so other than some early childhood memories of spending vacations there, I don't recall much of it.

Mmm, and John Deere. Now I have a desire to listen to Joe Diffie. ^^

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Mosquitoes have been making their presence known around here, too... I actually didn't mind though- they've been gone for so long, I kind of missed them :P *smacks one on my neck as I type* It's good practice to keep my reflexes in check.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

If you run short (fat chance in Florida) then tell me and I'll ship you a few million.

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Will do... They already seem to be thinning out noticably :P

[flamekist.livejournal.com]

Michael and I are the same way with mosquitoes. They absolutely swarm around him while leaving me virtually untouched.

Michael's favorite insect repellent is All Terrain Natural Herbal Armor. The only active ingredients are citronella, soybean, peppermint, cedar, lemongrass, and geranium oils. It has a distinct lemony odor that keeps everything at bay. Unfortunately, it only lasts for a couple of hours before needing to be re-applied.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll have to see if I can find some of that to try. At least it should be safe for horses. Two hours is about as much as Tess can be out right now anyway. More than that and she'd eat too much grass at once.