June 28, 2021
I have 4 students this year, two for 12 weeks and 2 for 8 weeks. I am grateful to have been awaded the grants. There is always lots to accomplish and I do not have an abundance of cash to hire a lot of folk. But there is always a drawback to gifts. As an employer I have to do the training and the paperwork. This is a simply Sanctuary, we do not have a lot of machinery to do the work. So time is spent teaching them how to use tools correctly to be efficient . Simple things like how to hold a hammer; ie. at the end of the handle, not at the head. Rakes should be place with the tines down. If they are not. You can get quite a bonk on the head if you step on the tines. I try to teach time management, this is not going well. I know from experience how long it could take to do a job. Students do not hurry. On the good side, they have all learned to use a skill saw, driver, they certainly have their fencing skills well honed. They are tackling the elimination of the wild cucumber with much zeal. I am determined that they leave the Sanctuary with some good management skills.
We watch out for Tansy Ragwort and pull it. This weed is a nightshade and destroys the liver. The animals will not eat it if they have good pasture. A friend had it in their yard, they did not have livestock so do not destroy it. Why are these deadly weeds so pretty. I explained that the seeds would get into a farmers field and cause them much grief, so even if you do not have animals. Please Please eliminate Tansy before it goes to seed. To totally destroy it, burn it. Do not put it into compost.
My land needs lime and fertilizer in the worst way. Raising the Ph. of the soil will eliminate a lot of these noxious weed and all the daisies. The best I can do at the moment is mow the fields before the weeds go to seed. PLEASE NOTE: mowing Tansy ragwort does not work. Each leaf will germinate a plant. Vicious stuff!! It has to be pulled.
The flies are giving the herd a run for the woods. The little beggars go for the wet parts under the tail, between the legs, under the belly and around the eyes. We are using a lot of Plantain tea to ease the itch and the sting. When riding we spray liberally with Apple Cider Vinegar. And if you get a bite or a sting, slap a crushed plantain leaf on the spot, to ease the itch and pain. Grandpa’s fly catchers are doing a good job around the barn. (Coffee cans filled with water/syrup, yellow lid with holes) Although I have been reading that the green Irish Spring soap will repel them very well too.
We have lots of trees around the barn, the eaves troughs get full of leaves. This can be a problem, If you harvest the water in three tubs. I am so lucky Fidel walks with stilts. He brought them last week and cleaned all the eaves. Sure was a lot faster than moving a ladder every 3 feet or so.
“Trailblazers: have changed days. They are now coming on Monday and Tuesday, 9 ‘til 2. I find that 2 days in a row strengthens the learning, I firmly believe in repeat, repeat, repeat, training technique. Or just practise, practise, practise. “Smalls” will still be on Sunday afternoon 2 -4pm. Our Saturdays will be open for visiting.
It is going to be a grand summer, love and hugs from Yogi and the herd.