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Category: Farm Doings | Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:10 pm

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The other night we were talking about all the great and glorious plans we had when we first moved here to the farm. We were "old dogs" in book knowledge of nature but we learned a lot of new tricks by just living here, watching what happens with no human intervention, and with a LOT of help from our neighbors (who look upon us as a source of entertainment!).
First, we were going to put a barbecue, picnic table, and chairs down by the pond so we could "picnic" there, and do some bird watching. We soon learned that we could sit at our dining room table, eat in comfort without hauling stuff across two acres, and bird watch anyway!
Then, I had the brilliant idea(?) to plant a big flower garden in front of the house--kind of an "I have arrived" statement. I had never encountered Bermuda grass before. That stuff has roots based in Beijing and spreads faster than the flu in a kindergarden class! Five years later I have a lovely flower garden with a Bermuda grass ground cover (I'm still fighting it, but losing the battle).
I wasn't the only one that was naive. My husband thought that a walk-behind shredder would do fine for our seven acres of scrub. Wrong! That poor man would struggle while cutting down sapling mesquites, going over fire ant mounds that put some comdominiums to shame, and finding all the little bundles of barbed wire, old tires, and other detrius that previous owners had tossed out in the field. We now have an sturdy All Terrain Vehicle with a tow-behind shredder, and I still have my husband.
Armadilloes are cute--slow, armored, and very Texan. I was thrilled to see one waddling through the back yard. I wasn't so thrilled when I stepped in a hole the darned critter had dug and spent two days limping. I have been told armadilloes also have very vicious front claws (for digging traps for unsuspecting folk) and can claw you badly. I have no plans to get close enough to one to get mauled. I have a gun.
Neighbors in the country aren't like neighbors in town. For example, when was the last time a town neighbor showed up on his tractor? When we moved here we had had enough of people. We were going to hunker down, not speak to anyone, and become hermits. Well, that didn't last. Before we got unpacked neighbors from three, four miles away were showing up with casseroles, offers of help, and of course, tractors.
So, these two old dogs have learned some new tricks, and enjoyed every minute of it (except for the armadillo hole incident).


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Donna S wrote on Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:34 pm:

Been there done that. Now I ride everywhere also. I think armadillos are woodchucks in armor.

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