Slow progress, but some

[altivo]

Finished the silk job, it needed to be done by Thursday. Definitely the finest thread I've ever spun, at well over 40 wraps per inch, or 3500 yards to the pound by weight. This is getting close to heavy sewing thread.

Tess is starting to get the idea that when I take her out to graze, it will only be for a short time and then she has to come back in. She doesn't like that, and it's amazing how much grass she can scarf in 15 or 20 minutes, but at least she came back inside without a big argument today. We both dislike this, but it's doctor's orders for her and sure beats foundering. Next week I'll let her go up to 30 minutes and then 45 unless we get a lot of rain.

John should be here to trim her feet tomorrow morning. They're getting long and she needs it.

We have cantalopes and winter squash shaping up now, and lots of green tomatoes. I just know they'll all get ripe at once and I'll be giving them away because we can't eat them fast enough.

Storm warnings and watches on the radio all afternoon, but the sun never even disappeared here.

Comments

[tygercowboy.livejournal.com]

oooo melons and squash! YUM!!!! :) so many good recipes

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yup. By the time those squash are ripe (butternut and acorn) the weather will be cooling off, so we can roast 'em with melted butter and cinnamon or make yummy soup out of them.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

What's a good way to cook squash as I tend not to like it much...which is odd because I like zuchinni :)

The sun has been shining here for weeks *sighs* we need rain.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We haven't had any rain for about ten days but there's a thunderstorm here right now. It's raining, but may not last long enough to matter.

If you don't like squash, you don't like it. Probably not much I can think of would change that. Zucchini are summer squash and quite different from the winter kind. We like the winter acorn squash just cut in half, seeds removed, and baked. You can fill the cavity with various things, sliced apples with brown sugar and a little butter are good, but so are cooked rice with some cheese and sweet peppers. Butternut squash I like steamed until soft and mashed up with butter, or made into a thick soup with other veggies.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

*drowns in drool, a horrible way to go*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, now if those sounded good then maybe you can be won over to squash after all. ^u^

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

Is Tess ever going to be free from this foundering condition? Or will you always have to watch her grass intake?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We suspect she's had trouble with it before I got her. Theoretically, she is all right now, but I'm being very cautious. Part of the problem is that we've had a pretty wet summer, just the opposite of last year. Think of it as being sort of like a mild diabetes. Grass grows rapidly after rain, as you have surely noticed in your lawn. When it does that, it is also full of sugar, quite literally. When things are dry and the growth slows down, then it contains mostly starches and cellulose. At this time last year, I could put her out in the pasture at dawn and bring her in at dusk, letting her eat as much grass as she wanted. There was no sugar left in it, it was just like hay really. This year, I'd be taking a risk if I did that. My vet gave her the equivalent of a glucose tolerance test and said she is marginal. Not a really hard case, but could get worse as she ages. She's eleven now, and if I can keep her healthy, she may live another 10-15 years or even more. I'd like that.

Of course I'd also like to be able to give her the run of the pasture, and she'd like it too, so we're trying to work up to it. If the rain would just stop, it would be much easier.