Speaking of snakes ...

I found this wee lady (?) coiled up in a nest box in my hen house:




Isn't she lovely? Alas, we were forced to relocate her (we take them to a huge, uninhabited tract of land down the road) since she was clearly small enough to get in through chicken wire.

I had noticed my eggs going missing for a few days but wasn't thinking about it when I reached in to check the nest. I touched her right on the top of her head and she flinched and startled the crap outta me, LOL.

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In other news, I spoke with my fence bloke about coming up and getting the side fence done. This one will go below the pasture and will complete the 'total surround' that I'm looking for. When it's done, all the animal pens will be within a perimetre fence. (Ohh, that sounds like a real isolationist compound, eh? I'm not a Libertarian fer nuthin', ROTFL! Now to go stock up on bottled water and ammo ...)

Anyway, I'll need 2 rolls of field fencing, and I think 3 gates, which will run me about $400. (Not counting what I have to pay the bloke to actually put up the fence!)

Argh.

Ahh, well, I can take it off my taxes.


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Speaking of money, my latest obsession is aquiring a trailer. I've finally figured out what I'm going to do!


I originally wanted a 12-16 foot flatbed to haul hay and junk on. Every time I come across something like lumber or tin or really big rabbit cages, I'm dead in the water because I can't haul them (usually). Ditto for hay.


When my hay guy ran out this year, I was forced to buy locally and go get one bale at a time (These are the big 4x5 foot round bales. They weigh about 1200lbs.) on the back of the truck. If I had a heavy duty trailer, I could get two. If I had a long heavy duty trailer I could get three.


With petrol as high as it is now, this one-bale-at-a-time crap is for the birds!


So, I got to thinking: I need a tractor. I've been working very hard in my stores to that end. I'm hoping to be able to get one by the holidays.




If I get a tractor, I'll need a trailer to haul it on.


*Lightbulb goes on*


IF I play my cards right and get the right trailer, I'll be able to haul my tractor, a car, junk, OR hay!


So that's my latest obsession. Find. Perfect. Trailer!