Got some more things in the ground!

[secuono]

We're in a mad dash to get soooo much stuff done by the 15th!
The other day we re-painted our white fence. Today I cut off the extra picket tops and cut new boards to fill in where old ones rotted out and vanished, as well as cut support wood. Lost the nails and screws, so tomorrow we are picking some up. Will be using those support wood sections to screw/nail into the horizontal boards on the fence and then into the post, it's all old and rotting on the ends, but still over all good enough to just repair and it's still dandy!

Used the hand saw to cut 35 lbs of weeds and grass from the garden, easier than scissors and better than a weed whacker which just scatters the grass all over! Fed it to the pigs! Got about 20 potatoes into the ground in random spots, 14 more potatoes to find a spot for....

Dug 4 long trenches for corn on the hill, going to make half of it corn. Have the corn soaking in water for a slight head start!

Need to paint the barn, buy steel wool to close up mouse holes....there's a ton other stuff, but I forget... Still have the downed tree to hire out to have chopped up, can't plant the two flower trees until the logs are gone... Want to get more pumpkin, cucumber and watermellon seeds into the ground. Need to find a spot and then clean it out for them still.

So little time! Cannot wait for it to all be growing!

 

[897tgigvib]

That's a lot to do Sec. Try to get plenty of rest each night and bright n early starts at it.

 

[secuono]

Not a morning person, waking up early would end up in a later start!

I forgot that I need to move the pig pen yet again this week and butcher Dinner, the pig. Really don't want to, tried to sell him, but people want tiny, poorly bred babies too early to leave mom or they want big ol dinner wieners. But I can't have a boar just running around, eating all the food and giving back nothing but holes and mud..

 

[secuono]

Well, ended up adding a little trellis thing to one of the gates, ran out of white paint, so couldn't add another to the other gate. Just very simple and not 'long lasting' or w/e, just for show for the wedding, I guess you could say. Three 6ft 6in wide fence boards, two on the side, one over the top.

 

[digitS']

. . . Three 6ft 6in wide fence boards, two on the side, one over the top.

I've got something like that over my driveway gate into the backyard, Secuono.

It is 12', 2 by 4's. I must have got the boards turned right because it is about 15yrs and there doesn't look to be a sag. On top, are just short pieces of 1 by 2's. All painted white and the rambling pink rose has been perfectly happy to climb on it .

Steve

 

[secuono]

Mine's worse, .5x6" by 6ft. Real thin and the top one won't survive winter snow if I don't end up adding some support in time.

 

[bj taylor]

secuono, you are a very busy person. i'm tired just reading your post. dinner. great name. I don't envy you. have you butchered pigs before? what kind of equipment do you have to have. do you have one of those hoist things? what kind is he? how old is he? do you enjoy raising pigs? are they with other livestock or are they by themselves?

I like the idea of raising pigs, but I best not get in over my head. just raising chickens & soon to get goats is about over my head

 

[secuono]

Haven't done in pigs before and I might not go through with it, but he's not selling....ughhh, really dreading it.
Savage 17 hmr. with Vmax bullets. Killed a raccoon and a fox with it before.
Yea, bought a hoist kit last week. This is the one I have. http://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Specialties-Lift-System-Gambrel/dp/B003RY9YIU
Boar is a Potbelly, roughly a year old, maybe a month or two older.
These pigs have been easy, don't eat a ton, easy to get them to do what you want with food. They lived next to the chickens and guineas running free and rabbit hutches over them. Miss the pigs being under the rabbits, they ate the rabbit poop, never had a nasty mess, pig poop decomposed faster than the rabbit pellets. Now their pen is out in the horse and sheep pasture, horse doesn't mind the pigs. I let the pigs out to eat some grass while I mowed the pasture the other day, sheep were a little put off, but no issues.
Had one litter born about 3mo ago, but wasn't expecting it, way too cold out, didn't have a hut built where I could of added a heat lamp. So they didn't make it. Mom was a little weird, more interested in me, food and her pig buddies than just sleeping in her hut with the pigglets. Boars didn't bother the pigglets, one slept in the same hut, didn't squish them. Mom eventually calmed down about being fenced off from her other pigs and slept in the hut, but w/o the heat lamp, it was far too cold.
If they were larger or listened to hot wire, I would have them free with the other animals. But they ignore hot wire and are too small and would pop out any gaps in fencing. The sheep don't bother finding holes in fencing, very good cotton balls.

 

[so lucky]

Maybe you could take your pig to a meat processing place, like where they take deer. I think that's what the folks around here do. You have to pay to have it processed, but it may well be worth the $$.

 

[Jared77]

Id look it up on youtube cant be much different than doing a deer. The cuts would be different but after that I think you'd be all set. TSC used to sell a butchering/processing book that covered all the cuts and how to make each one on the various animals. I'd tell those cotton balls to behave they are good eats too!