Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[jvls1942]

blackberries.. they grow very high and give off good shade.. but beware, they are invasive.. not too bad to control if you mow the new shoots off.. every few years I take the tractor bucket and flatten the whole patch to the ground in early winter.. then in a year, there are all new plants and the patch is revitalized..

my raspberries do not get very tall,, maybe 4 feet or so.. the blackberries get ten feet tall if I do not trim them back..

fir trees planted close to the fence eventually will make a nice living hedge.. cool in the summer and a good wind break in the winter..

I always thought a nice hedge plant would make a good fence cover, but I could never find inexpensive plants .. maybe a person could buy just one plant and take shoots from it ??
how about that, Dan?

there is a farm way East of Wausau on hwy N that has the cow yard surrounded by a hedge.. really neat looking..

I just washed out the large TV and have one chick in it..

snowing like a blizzard outside now..

........jimgoingtofindsomefeedforhimself............

 

[Amyable]

Hmm, if Jim or anyone else wants to bring blackberry plants to the Bash, I have raspberry plants to trade.

 

[kristip]

Honey berries are a spread type of plant from a blueberry. Blueberries come in high bush and low bush. Highbush fruit every year, low bush are every year but in hire concentration. I am looking for highbush plants myself to put in tis spring.

 

[Amyable]

One word about blueberries: if they are not native to your area or you don't have the right soil, they will only grow if you amend the heck out of your soil. Brown Co has no native blueberries, and the ones I planted languished. I moved them last fall and filled their planting holes with pine needles so we'll see what happens this year.

 

[vickiw]

WoW, that is sad all the way around. So how long in between the pit getting hit by the car and them getting out again and getting shot?

I've been scanning CL a lot lately and what really bothers me is all of the dogs that are in need of new homes AND ARE NOT FIXED !!! Ok, I know I know a lot of men don't believe in neutering BUT there is such an over population of dogs that need to be RE HOMED... which I think is a joke too. What the Heck is wrong with people re homing all of these dogs. I know situations do come up but for heavens sake THINK people.... don't get a dog if you have no idea what the H3LL you are getting into.
And the amount of Pit Bulls out there looking for homes is ridiculous !!!! I have nothing against them but I think insurance companies do so how often are these poor dogs going to get re homed ???
Ok, something just hit my nerves when I read this post of unaltered dogs !!! Sorry but it is a sore spot. There is actually a person in Antigo with a wanted add that says she has a shitzu/poodle or some kind of small dog mix female and is in search of ANY small male dog to use for stud. She said she only wants one pup and the studs owner can have the rest or ???? She wants a litter before she spays her dog !!!!!! She doesn't even care what the father is or what happens to the other Pups !!!!! OMG..... I truly truly dislike some people a lot of the times !!!!

Ok, calming down now. I don't think I mentioned it but I have been volunteering at a spay and neuter clinic up here. It is a mobile spay/neuter program called "The Fix is In" They have a van with a trailer with the Letter M. A. S.H. (mobile animal spay hospital (I think that is what it stands for)lol
It is such a rewarding thing to be doing... Plus I get to see all of the doggies and kitties !!!
I had my kitty spayed last year by them and decided to volunteer. I don't have any hands on with the animals..... they have one full time vet and two full time techs doing that. It is very professional. I was really impressed. The woman who started the program volunteers all of her time.
So what I mostly do is wash all of the surgical instruments after each procedure !!! Hey someone needs to do it and I take that job very seriously, I wash and wrap them and do it they way I would want them done if it were my dog or cat being fixed. I stand there all day and depending on which town were at and how they set up the room I get a birds eye view of everything that's going on. I'm to far away to see the actual surgery but it is so cute to see all of the kitties knocked out with all four sticking straight up in the air while they get shaved and vacuumed before being brought over to the surgical table.

The part I really like to see is when the people come to pick up there babies, a feeling I've felt myself... they walk in and look around searching for their pet and look so worried then relieved when they see that Fluffy is fine !!! It sure is a good feeling knowing these animals have such caring parents!

So anyone in the NE WI area being, Rhinelander, Antigo, Crandon, Weston, Wausau, Medford and I think Tomahawk and maybe Minoqua the program has a clinic to get this done. The spay/neuter includes a free rabies shot, ear cleaning and nail trim. Regular Vaccinations are also available for a discounted price as well. Some counties get grants and recently cats in some counties could get neutered for $5.

Ok, I'm off my soap box !!! For now anyway !!!

Frenchie I knew I loved you!!!!

Volunteering for this cause is wonderful! This is a "pet" peeve of mine as well. All my critters are "altered" (except my chickie girls of course

) and would have it no other way. I missed that add from the woman in Antigo but that is just insane!!! Some people are just such .........! You can't even ask "What were they thinking?" because that is clearly not a function they posess!!! Ok, sssscccreeeeeeeeecchhhh. Dragging off my soapbox now too.

Not going to try to comment on more because miss one day and I'm 4 pages behind

Oh, I do remember seeing some absolutely adorable cowboys on here

and someone with an amazing looking indoor coop/run, wow!!!

Went to a pancake breakfast in Antigo this morning held by Adamski's Sugar Bush with hubby. Great breakfast and was able to buy some beautiful amber maple syrup @ $3.50 lb with a 5.5 lb purchase limit (bringing your own container). Paid $22.50 for what bottled up when I got home to 2 qts and a pint. $9 a quart for top grade syrup? Not bad as far as I'm concerned. ONly downside it was supposed to be a "all you can eat" kind of thing but the crowd was so thick there was no way anyone was going to make it thru the line more than once and they got so surprised by the turnout that they were struggling to keep up. I didn't mind tho. Food was good, ladles of fresh syrup, and the line kept us from being tempted to go back for seconds

Ok, just opened another window to check what I missed and you guys are typing faster than I can keep up so I surrender!!!

another great pen Jim, BTW~ glad you are ok, I TOTALLY agree w/ everyone on the horses!!! Media!!!! Especially Wausau 7 or 9. They love to get hold of animal abuse stories and run with them. Such a strong interest/activism up here that it's great for their ratings. I finally had to accept (after a hard internal struggle) that I just can't save them all so I do what I can, one critter at a time. Now you have a better idea why I made such a lousy farmer!!!

Oh, and Jim, I totally agree. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to breed a dog, cat, etc. unless it is for the betterment/improvement of the breed.

Now I have to get outside and check on the ladies before the snow gets this far north. What happened to the rain?????

.....................vickigrabbinganothercuppaandheadingforthecoop........................................

 

[unkadan]

One word about blueberries: if they are not native to your area or you don't have the right soil, they will only grow if you amend the heck out of your soil. Brown Co has no native blueberries, and the ones I planted languished. I moved them last fall and filled their planting holes with pine needles so we'll see what happens this year.

yup,,,,all blueberries love acid soil,,,get the soil tested and if necessary lower the pH with sulfur (for a planting that will last for 15-20 years well worth the time and money spent,,buy them at the store then do the math,,,one good plant will produce 20#'s a year)

Jim most plants used for hedges are a gourmet treat for deer and bunnies,,,,just sayin'

bbl
danthinkinganapiscalledfortryingtosleepuntilspringactuallygetshere

 

[jvls1942]

anybody need cockatiels ? Annie has all kinds of babies.. I think there are a couple of parakeets too..

another hobby that is getting out of control.. her problem,, not mine..

 

[Celtic Chick]

One word about blueberries: if they are not native to your area or you don't have the right soil, they will only grow if you amend the heck out of your soil. Brown Co has no native blueberries, and the ones I planted languished. I moved them last fall and filled their planting holes with pine needles so we'll see what happens this year.

That is exactly why I love the saskatoon/serviceberry. They are native from N. America all the way up to Canada, so no soil ammending is required. The birds and critters love them, though, so you have to keep your eye on them if you want to get any for yourself.

I have 4 of them, but mine are very young yet, only about 3' tall. But they started flowering & fruiting right after we planted them (1' tall twig), so they're really hardy.

Wiki has some good info on them if anyone is interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serviceberry

 

[irishrovr]

Ok, to make me even more disgusted with the human race this morning, a lady that buys chickens from me just posted this:
Very sad day today!! A neighbor down the road by the name of DARLENE has a herd of about 28 horses.
These horses are not being fed or given water nor do they have proper shelter. The horses are located in a pasture
at the corner of 6-6 1/2street and Barron/Dunn County line. A few weeks back I reported that there were several horses
that were skin and bones and 2 of them were near death. By the time a deputy arrived the horses were to far away to see
how bad of shape they were in. They said they didn't look to bad to them. After having several words they said they would talk to the owner.
a couple weeks passed and now there are 4 dead horses but they had been taken way in the back so they weren't visible to anyone.
Again I called had the sheriff back out and also put in a call to the Humane Society of the United States and a hotline to an animal cruelty
and neglect with the US Dept. of Agriculture. The USDA said they wouldn't do anything but the humane society would check into it. Had the sheriff out again
upon the humane society's request and a couple days later recieved a call that the horses have all been removed, I checked on this and found
that all the horses were still there and looking even worse. Finally after another call to the humane society the sheriffs dept opened an investigation.
Today I recieved a call that 2 more horses were down and there was a newborn foal. I took off from my job went to check it out and found that 2 horses
were down and watched them struggle to get up and then roll over on there side from exhaustion. I immediately called the sheriff they said they
would forward it to the investigating officer. I decided that was not good enough and called back and demanded a deputy came out to see first hand
the hell these animals were being put through. He calls me back and said we don't need to come out the deputy already has 45 pictures in the file. I got pretty upset
and said sorry but I was here the day they were taken and they are all of very thin but live standing horses and again demanded someone come out to
take pictures of the down horses. A short while later 2 deputies came out took a few pictures and again said they would forward them.
Again not happy with that answer and requested they go down the road to where this wack job is staying and demand she gets them care or
puts them out of there misery. They reluctantly agreed and proceeded down the road. Of course I had to drive past to see if they for sure
went to the lady's house which they did. What I need is for anyone in the area to drive by see for yourself and call to report it! By the time
this investigation is done it will be to **** late for the remaining horses. Since the sheriff has been out one of the down horses has died which brings a total to 5
dead ones and one down that can't get up! I took pictures myself because I refuse to let this go!! This woman needs to be in jail and never allowed to own
another animal. Not to mention just the horses but there are over 30 cats that are alive, several dead ones and a dead goat as well. The actual owner of the property
has passed away and a reletive is handling the estate. What I have been told he will not give anyone permission to go on the property for anything
because he doesn't want trouble. In my opinion he should be held accountable as well because he's not allowing anyone on the propery, therefor nobody
can do anything to help!! My heart aches, I'm sick to my stomache and have no faith in our law enforcement anymore because I can't understand with the evidence they
have why it isn't an emergency situation that is dealt with NOW rather than later. These poor horses desperately need help NOW!!!
I can think of some things that I'd like to do to this guy. I may be pushed over the edge just enough today to act on some of these thoughts. If anyone has any suggestions for this poster please let me know. She is obviously very upset by the situation and nobody is helping!

That just makes me sick to my stomach and near tears! How could any agency allow anyone to continue with this cruelty?!? Time to get the local (even national) news people involved so there's a public outcry so loud that they will have to stop it!!

 

[irishrovr]

anybody need cockatiels ? Annie has all kinds of babies.. I think there are a couple of parakeets too..

another hobby that is getting out of control.. her problem,, not mine..

Nice to see you back in action! Glad the chest pain wasn't something worse!!

I have a friend who might be interested in a bird - will you send me an email address to pass along? Thanks!