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  • From: "Lisa K.V. Perry" <lisakvperry AT gmail.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] The chicken coop and today's ramble
  • Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 08:28:07 -0500

On 12/4/06, EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:

I am going to say that the new chicken coop is done, even though it
still needs another coat of paint.


Good, know that makes things better for guys and your chickens.

I've known that bears sometimes wander through-I don't think they are
permanent
here, but a mother and a cub on the move can't be a good thing. To me,
that says she is hungry, and if she is hungry, she is willing to take a
chance and act more boldly that she might otherwise. ... Fewer people hunt
these days, so there is a lot of deer in the woods. The recent warm winters
have caused more bugs
and mice/rodents to survive as well. The forest service planted some
green fields with native plants to attract wildlife, and it has worked
to entice bears. Now that I think about it, the last year we had any
sign of a bear in these parts was several years ago when we had a really
bad winter...I hope this bear thing is not an omen of a cold winter to
come, but all signs seem to point that way. At any rate, it's a good
thing I've been practicing with the rifle, I might need it.


The VA Dept. of Forestry tells us that there is no place left to relocate
bear. We've been on a path off/on since we moved in 6 years ago September
30. We've had a bear 'sighting' every other spring (late). The most
aggressive thing the bear did was tear a lower limb off the peach tree,
which is inside a fenced garden. This was a limb that extended over the
fence on the outside. The first sighting, she ripped off a metal
self-service dog food container that was attached to the barn, it held up to
a week's worth of food. Now all animal food,even laying mash, is kept in our
new basement we built under the addition. My husband saw a cub late spring
this year meandering through the blueberries before they were ripe. We've
always seen a bear before fruit is ripe, so we figure they are scouting out
the place--we've found a few nice piles of dung (scat?) with evidence
berries were eaten a couple to a few weeks after initial sightings, but
never any more sightings. Forest Service told us that the bear is afraid of
us as we may be afraid of it. They will run away from you and only come
towards you if you're doing something stupid like holding food in your hands
or blocking their only exit. The only time in VA that someone has been hurt
by a bear was when it was practically their own fault.

...for 3 weeks now, my sciatic nerve has been twitching, and
with woodsplitting, moving, and shoveling chicken crap, it doesn't look
ike I'll find any relief for a while.


Take care of yourself...respect the back. It enables you to keep you
going or makes you stop and lie flat on the couch. A accupuncture doc
we've used has us lie down on a rolled up towel. Fold a bath towel in half
lengthwise and roll it up as tight as you can. 2-3" in diameter (may have to
adjust, my husband can stand a larger roll than I can, but also has a larger
back). Put under the small of your back, as low as you can stand. Lie on it
for up to 5 min, but 10 is better. Probably have to turn to your side and
roll off to get back up. This helps to open up the lower spine and needs to
be done for any healing. This works and you can't beat free.

Lisa



  • Re: [Homestead] The chicken coop and today's ramble, Lisa K.V. Perry, 12/04/2006

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