Tuesday, October 14, 2008

making lists

Good morning,
It's foggy in the ozarks this morning. Our dogs do a lot of barking in the early morning hours.
Sometimes, they are sleeping inside most of the night, and they charge outside barking wildly, and run towards the barn. Since we cannot hear anything that could cause their ire....we are assuming they must smell something.
Something that moves quietly, and has an odor. Could be a bear, but I would think a bear would make some noise walking thru the leaves. Could be something else? Usually, when the dogs see someone coming with a flashlight or a rifle....they jump the fence and run into the woods to chase their enemy. Maybe a stray coyote, or some other animal walking thru the creek bed.
This morning, they were staying close. Angel, our older pyr was backed up to a fence close to the house. She barks with alternating high piched snaps and long throaty woofs. Her feet lift off the ground with her intensity. The younger dog, Sugar, was backed into the barn. Peeking out just far enough to let her continuous woofing echo in the hills behind the pastures.
I wonder.
On the subject of dogs. We have been making shopping lists. For when something hits the fan. You know, difficult economy, new president, rising taxes, disappearing jobs, and limited access to necessary goods. If you haven't started your list yet....you better. So, beside putting in canned food goods, and baking supplies, we write items to buy for everyday use.
Last week we were reading the list on the way to the store, and at the bottom, in my handwriting, was "dog remover"! Now, yes, we have dogs, but I wasn't planning to remove them. I thought about dog care items, but couldn't think of one we needed. We puzzled over that list for a week. "dog remover" What could I have meant by "dog" remover? My husband took the list while I concentrated on usual food items. Later he came back with a grin. "I found it" he announced. He had the item in his hand. Liquid plumbing helper....." clog" remover!
Have you made your lists yet? Things to have on hand if the country changes for the worse? Sheep to breed? Sheep to sell? Sheep to eat.
I had a sheep-to-keep list for years. No, I didn't keep them all. I did sell some of them to new homes, where they would be safe and well fed and I put away their water wings. Do you have a sheep to sell list? Ones that don't make you happy when they leap by you to escape your grasp? Ones that throw you into the wall as you grapple with them to hold them? I have one of those....kept her too. Better start a list.
Do you have lists of necessary chores...clean the barn....put up hay....clean out the buckets....fix the gate? Better get going on those....winter is coming.
My neighbor stopped to talk. He said he had to walk out in my hay field to see if that was really clover growing. What are you going to do with all that clover...he asked? I asked him if it was tall enoug to cut....No. Then I'll let the girls out there this winter. Bingo....another list was made. We only have three sides of the hay gound fenced right now. The side where the kitty was eating lambs has no fence.....Although I would like to put the fence in the middle, so I had plenty of space....I suppose I will have to fence close to the tree line. Ish.....I have some cross fences I can dismantle and move out there....maybe not enough to reach all the way.....but, I'll think of something.....maybe an electric wire acoss the empty space.....maybe electric wires all along that side!.....dang cat.
Got to go get another pece of paper and a pen.

2 Comments:

At 12:46 PM, Blogger Pat Dolan said...

won't cats just leap the fence if they smell an easy dinner?

I guess I have lots of lists, but none of them are like yours. Mostly I have lists of things to do for business, things to do for cleaning, things to do outside the house, things to fix inside the house...

I don't have a "what if the worst happens?" list. I trust Spirit to let me know if/when I need to create such a list or such a thing as an emergency stockpile. Meanwhile, I move through each day enjoying the awesomeness of nature and her colorful array at this time of year - in between cleaning, painting, etc.

PS we have foggy mornings here in PA a lot too in the fall...

 
At 8:13 AM, Blogger A Jackson said...

Well, planning ahead is good.

I usually don't pay much attention, but I am a little uneasy lately. I have put aside some extras.

Of course, that's sort of a laugh isn't it?

I have a whole hog in freezer, two lambs ready to make the supreme sacrifice. Two bottle calves now, for the future, and 95 or so chickens that will go that way in a week or two.

I have dairy goats, and chickens that give me milk and eggs, so no worries there.

I wish I had been able to plant a garden...

 

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