Gone teribly hot here with a levante (strong wind from the Sahara). Wish I could do the same Dave and get back into my SciFi novel but have family here going back to Madrid tomorrow, so need to share baby pizzas and Cava with them. At least the trip to the bar to see Real is off. Who the hell thinks 10:30 pm is a good kick off on a Sunday????? Or maybe I'm just getting old.
Morning all. A little bit of cloud around this morning, but no forecast of any rain. Organising a picnic at a local lakeside area that is set up for such events with tables provided under the trees for shade. The French are very good at open air eating with tablecloths, a grand spread of food and chilled wine. It always seems a lot of effort, but quite fun when it is taking place.
We have had a Raccoon or family of them eating our chicks so i have trap one and will have to deal with it poss today
I am told they can carry fleas ticks and rabies ,But these are pulling chicks thought chain link fence so they have to go
Brian you have my sympathy. I sure like chicken and no matter what cute videos are made one has to be a realist. And as you say the raccoons come with friends. I note however that you can get into trouble if you do not get rid of them humanly but I guess that might be different state to state. But I wish you success before all your chicks have gone.
i live 15 min out of the city 70k people and that is 30 sq miles so people over here would call us "The country" and we have 10 acres with a lake but mostly woodland so we have to get on with the wildlife ,I have done almost everything to protect out dogs and chickens .There is a hunting season for almost everything including Raccoon ,You can set traps (but you need a permit if you want to set them more than 100 ft from your house and as you say you must not transport them or kill them .There are firms that will rehouse them at a cost ,but i think most people here think the cost of a bullet is cheaper
Sounds like a great bit of real estate. I always thought I might fancy living in such a place but the dream and reality can be so different. I had a cousin from Mansfield who lived up in the mountains in Colorado, in bear country. His list of meetings with nature, and being cut off for days with snow, put me off. Here in Spain we just have a patio, a very large patio and a large conservatory, but everything is container grown. The biggest horrors are mozzies. But the lizards, egrets, hoopoes and sparrows (dozens) are fun. With a lake do you get duck? Sorry whittering. Good luck with the vermin
we have a company that come in and sprays so it keeps the mozzies out . the wife would like ducks and a female goat . We have a small swimming pool 20 x 12 so i worry the ducks would come up from the lake but we do get stokes/herons sometimes
Well the OFH day has come to and end, and he is worn out. Organising the picnic for our visitors should have been easy, but the shop I went to to get food only had half of what I wanted. I think everyone had bought what I needed over the weekend , and the shelves were waiting to be restocked. The next store is 14 miles away, so a further drive. Having finally got everything together I needed to water my plants as I was quite sure that there would not be time tonight The picnic went well and then it was onto tour guide role as I explained some of the local history of the places we visited. It was then suggested that it might be a good idea to have a BBQ this evening. I was out voted, so do I have enough charcoal? Better get some more I think to be sure. Into my third supermarket of the day to pick up a bag. Having bought some I am waiting for the others to finish their study of the wines on offer. Seeing a lady with three small children and a chariot full, I step back to let them pass, straight into a pallet of charcoal, which catches me at ankle level, and I subside gently backwards onto a stack of the stuff. Great fun for all to see, and a red face for me. BBQ went well, even if one of our guests filled his plate with red wine when he knocked over his glass. He said that the salad had a quite different taste to normal.
Morning all. You might not believe it, but the sun is shining, there is not a cloud in sight, and it is going to be hot. Looking at the heap of clearing up that has to be done after last nights BBQ I wonder if it is worth it. Still it was a good, if tiring day, and I will miss our friends after they move south in the next day or two.
