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message 401: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Tnkw01 wrote: "Goodness, your back yard sounds great. We had the displeasure of a mother skunk having babies under our porch and we don't know what to do about it!"

Oh my! That's awful. We have a LOT of skunks around here & have had to become experts in washing our dogs to get rid of the smell. Skunks are egotistical little monsters & don't think anything will dare to attack them. One stood its ground in the middle of the road & sprayed the bus when Marg drove over it one morning. He stayed in the spray position after she had passed over him. The kids & Marg weren't happy.

Unfortunately, Jack Russells are terrorists & won't pass up a chance to attack anything invading their territory. Bad combination. Even my English Pointer has gotten sprayed a couple of times. One morning, we just went out to the shop, she ran around the side & got a face full as she turned the corner.

We had a mother & her kits come walking up the lane a few years ago. The kits are cute as can be, but they headed into the pony's paddock & started across the field toward our woods which is within the fields our dogs roam. I raced out & got ahead of them. I was jumping up & down yelling like a wild man. The mother skunk gravely contemplated me & then turned & ambled back the way she'd come, the kits bumbling after. As we crossed the paddock, the pony got a little too close so I stepped ahead of him to slow him down. One little bugger came back & sprayed me across the shin. I booted his hiney back to Momma & they continued on their way.

I can now add skunk herding to my abilities. Wasn't on my bucket list!
;)


message 402: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
They are cute and very mildly tempered but they are extremely putrid smelling. As long as mom don't spray we may be ok.


message 403: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
Thanks for sharing Jim. The only problem is I leave very early in the morning and it is dark. I hope I don't run across mom trying to get to my car.


message 404: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) That is a problem. Take a flashlight & be careful!


message 405: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
Hmmm, Jim's description doesn't make me wish to meet any!


message 406: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
Well, I hired a trapper. It wasn't cheap but it's better than the STANK. Yes, I said stank.


message 407: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Makes sense both doing it & the expense. I wouldn't want to catch one!
:)


message 408: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
I believe we caught it last night. The traps are designed to keep from getting sprayed. They are low so it can't raise it's tail and it has solid sides. He'll come get it together.


message 409: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) That's a nifty trap. I have to sneak up on my trap & toss a plastic garbage bag over it.


message 410: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
Lol. Those poor critters.


message 411: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
Well, it didn't work. He had to reset it.


message 412: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) I have one momma coon I've never been able to catch. She's too big & smart for my trap. We had to move the suet off the front porch since she can reach up from the railing & pull it out of the basket it's in, almost 3' up! So when the trap door closes, her hind end keeps it open just enough that it can't lock. I tried building another out of a 55 gallon barrel on its end, but she manages to get the bait & still get out. It's hard to pry that flap open, too.


message 413: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
Raccoons are smart critters.


message 414: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (last edited Apr 25, 2018 10:44AM) (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
I'd love to see a raccoon!


message 415: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) We had our first asparagus for dinner tonight. Love this time of year. Everything is growing & blooming. There's nothing like fresh asparagus straight out of the patch.


message 416: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) GoodReads is changing the authors on all lectures to "NOT A BOOK" & not even listing the author as a narrator. They're deleting them entirely!

I don't know why lectures suddenly aren't books. They have an ISBN & are distributed by libraries & resellers as books. They often come with an ebook full of notes. I've spent a lot of hours reading & writing reviews for them here. I often refer to those in discussions of other books by the same author here in various groups.

I've never been happy with they way GR has handled audio books. Listing the number of CDs or tapes as pages was stupid from the start & yet they don't list the number of files as pages. They should just list a minute per page, IMO. I think that's close to an average reading speed & would work for me. As it is, I never pay attention to that data.

Anyway, could you please send an email to support@goodreads.com & ask them to keep lectures as books? Apparently this is a staff decision & maybe if enough of us complain they'll change their minds. Making the author a narrator would be fine, but deleting them entirely really sucks.


message 417: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
That's crazy. I'll drop them an email in support of your cause. There's actually several things I don't care about Goodreads. the most of which is their stupid 5 star system. They should have .5 stars or a 10 point system. I round a lot of books up or down when I don't think they deserve it. I know from comments, many, many people feel the same way but apparently Goodreads doesn't care.


message 418: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Thanks, Tnkw01. I agree about the 1/2 stars.

For the most part, I like GR. They've done some stuff over the years I haven't cared for, but being able to keep long, linked reviews for all my books & the ability to read other reviews has always overshadowed everything else.

IMO, lectures are like any other nonfiction book save they generally cost me more money. I hate spending it on a bad one & like being able to refer back to my review notes. Not only for discussion purposes, but I often link articles & other books in that bear on the subject. Doing away with the author & possibly with the entire lecture will ruin a big part of my reading.

I'll probably import everything into Librarything if they don't change their minds. I bought a lifetime membership there way back when, but I've preferred GR in most ways. Still, I want one place to keep track of all my reading. I'm not sure how LT handles things any more, though.


message 419: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
I prefer GR to the other versions that I've tried. In part because I have people here that I class as friends.

I'll send an email for you. The audio page count irks, I always link the uk kindle version now on the basis that it would be that version I'd read otherwise.


message 420: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Thanks, Helen!


message 421: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
Whoa, finally caught the skunk!!


message 422: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Yay! Happy No More Skunk day to you!
:)

The kids are having a yard sale today. I slept in until 5am & was shocked to see an email from my daughter saying they were already up & working. I thought for sure I'd have to go beat on their door at 7am to get them up. They must really be looking forward to this.


message 423: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
I’m still trying to parse ‘slept in til 5’.....

Hope it went well.


message 424: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) The yard sale went great for me since the kids sold some of our junk & sat with it all day. They did OK & got rid of some stuff, but there isn't a lot of traffic out our way. They got about 30 cars, all told. A charity is coming by in a couple of weeks for the rest.

I normally get up around 4, so 5 is sleeping in. I'm often at work, a 45 minute drive, shortly after 5 during the week. I just go to bed not long after 9, maybe 10 during the summer since it stays light out so late. We're at the far west side of the Eastern time zone, so it stays light out 45 minutes later than it does in MD.

Mom has always gotten up early & her mother had trouble sleeping past 3 or 4, so it's part genetics & part nurture, I guess. It worked out well on the farm when I was a kid & now works for me since I have the servers to myself for an hour or 2 in the morning so I can patch & reboot them without users bothering me.


message 425: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
I’ve always loved sleeping. Mum says I was a nightmare to keep awake to feed as a baby, then to get to school. :)


message 426: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) My wife & daughter can both sleep forever, but the boys are night owls. They're typically going to bed when I'm getting up. It makes communications difficult at times. I call my mother 2 or 3 times a week, usually about 4:30 to 5am. It works out well for both of us. She's usually feeding the dogs & horses while I'm driving to work.


message 427: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
I'm not sure those times happen on my clock ;)


message 428: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Tomatoes, zucchini, & cantaloupe planted today. Put the first 2 in my regular garden & all on the dirt/manure pile which I rotated yesterday. The horses, especially Tango (a young OTB) were a BIG help. Had to chase Tango away as he was trying to eat a tomato plant. It's small enough that it couldn't hurt him & I doubt he'll be interested after this since the novelty will have worn off. I hope, anyway.


message 429: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
I love Tango, he sounds great. Mischievous.


message 430: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Tango is Mr. Personality & has turned out to be a great find. We've had a lot of luck with OTTBs over the years. Marg looked for long months & suddenly last fall 2 places came up with mounts for her on the same day. She left with an empty horse trailer one Saturday morning & brought Tango home from one rescue center then left in the afternoon & brought Pumpkin home from another. I told her she wasn't allowed to take the truck & trailer off the farm any more.

They're both chestnuts with white blazes, but otherwise Mutt & Jeff. Pumpkin is a 14.1h QH, a lot like my App, Chip. Very mellow. Perfect for Marg now. Tango is full of energy, but has a lot more sense than I expected. My daughter, Erin, is making him & is tickled. Topaz, her old OTTB, is lame half the time now. He's 20, I think, & has never had good feet. It didn't help that he was starved so badly when they rescued him that it took a year to get him up to proper weight.


message 431: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
Sounds like a great herd. Topaz was lucky to find you.


message 432: by Virginie, Meow. (new)

Virginie | 898 comments Mod
What's an 'OTTB' ?


message 433: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) OTTB = Off the Track Thoroughbred. Most horses only race for a short time & then go on to do other things. We've had a half dozen or so over the years, most rescues from bad situations.


message 434: by Holly (new)

Holly (goldikova) Jim wrote: "OTTB = Off the Track Thoroughbred. Most horses only race for a short time & then go on to do other things. We've had a half dozen or so over the years, most rescues from bad situations."


I have done some work with New Vocations, a program based in Lexington KY that helps rehab and retrain OTTB and OTSB horses for their new careers. I recommend them highly for anyone looking to own a wonderful horse. I owned an OTQH for over twenty years and he was the best horse ever. RIP, Big Guy.


message 435: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Holly wrote: "I have done some work with New Vocations...."

Holly, that's where Tango came from. Pumpkin came through the Georgetown Humane Society. Apparently they were both from Florida. There was a waiting period after the hurricane & when it was up, we suddenly had a flood of horses available. Marg picked very well with these two.


message 436: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
I love their names.


message 437: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
Sunshine here!! All day :)


message 438: by Holly (new)

Holly (goldikova) Jim wrote: "Holly wrote: "I have done some work with New Vocations...."
-
Holly, that's where Tango came from. Pumpkin came through the Georgetown Humane Society. Apparently they were both from Florida. There w..."


That's great to hear. I think a lot of people are intimidated at the thought of owning an ex-racehorse and don't realize the degree of training they have received....or how bonded they are with humans.


message 439: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) They can be a handful.

Helen, notice that I am up at 10 pm & haven't turned into a pumpkin. As 4am isn't on your clock, anything past 10pm usually isn't on mine. We had the kids up for dinner & watched the Derby then played cards. It rained all day here. We only got a 1.5", but they had twice that in Louisville (where the Derby is) by post time today. Very sloppy. We always have a great time playing cards. We wind up laughing until there are tears in our eyes over the dumbest stuff.

I didn't get anything done I had planned. A raccoon got into a transformer at work & blew up our electric, so I had to go in & fix all the servers & replace over half a dozen UPS plus fix a couple of computers so they'd be ready to go Monday. Then I got home & wound up taking asparagus around to some of the neighbors & wound up chatting. Not very productive, but a nice day.


message 440: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
That does sound like a good day and family night. My daughter is finishing off a two year stay in Australia, shell be back at the end of the year. But... I'm going to visit in three weeks. So excited!

We always play card games and end up adapting rules. Our version of uno is hilarious. I remember playing a children's version with animal cards with my great aunt as a child and remember how much we laughed. Memories.


message 441: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
Oh, I'm so jealous. I want to go to Australia.


message 442: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) That's great, Helen. Have fun on the trip. Sounds like a really neat one.


message 443: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
She’s in Melbourne so I’m going there for a week but then we’re travelling up the east coast. Sydney, Byron Bay and Brisbane.


message 444: by Tnkw01 (new)

Tnkw01 | 2293 comments Mod
@Helen - Have you ever read the Monster Blood Tattoo Series by D.M. Cornish starting with Foundling. Mr. Cornish is Australian and it's one of my favorite YA fantasies. I highly recommend the audio.


message 445: by Aaron (new)

Aaron (zalejin) | 248 comments Helen wrote: "That does sound like a good day and family night. My daughter is finishing off a two year stay in Australia, shell be back at the end of the year. But... I'm going to visit in three weeks. So excit..."

Tnkw01 wrote: "Oh, I'm so jealous. I want to go to Australia."

Sure being Australian this may come off as bias but we are a wonderful country and if you ever get the chance, come and visit Australia haha. Have a wonderful trip Helen.


message 446: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
Lol. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks Tnk, I'll check it out.


message 447: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) I got my lawnmower fixed, but no one is sure how I managed without killing myself. I found that there was a bunch of crap in the gas tank, so I siphoned all the gas out, but couldn't get the last little bit nor a quite a bit of the crap, so I vacuumed it out. I wondered if it would blow up the vacuum, but it didn't.

We had a fairly full vacuum cleaner bag in our new house vacuum that I put in the old one. It's been sitting in my shop waiting for me to decide what to do with it & I figured this was as good as anything. I taped a piece of 3/4" pipe on to it & used that to get all the debris out. Worked like a charm & the dirty bag caught all the gas. Some drained into the bottom, but none made it back to the motor to spark it & blow it up.

I think the above is one of those "Don't try this at home, kids!" things.
:)


message 448: by Ctgt (new)

Ctgt | 142 comments Sounds very MacGyver-like. I need to sharpen my blades and am trying to avoid taking the blade off.....we'll see how that goes.


message 449: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
The best not of that is 'I wondered if it would blow up'. Glad it worked and didn't blow up :)


message 450: by Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ (new)

Helen | 3616 comments Mod
Sorry for sounding so British, but we've had all the sunshine!


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