I did not use round up because I have two enclosed (wood fenced) pastures. DId not want it in my beef etc. But, at the moment, I only have sheep in one pasture. they are picking out all of the good stuff and leaving the rest that the cows would have gotten. Daughter says no more cows. We can't mow because of ocassional sink holes. I had a horse fall into one once. Don't put horses in the sheep pasture any more. But the big pasture, I rented it out for hay and the outside border needs attention. I butts up to the subdivision property so I only have two feet to work with. I have not been down to the pond at all this year but it looks rather shaggy. Handyman said next week will be cooler so he'd rather come then. Today is pretty nice out and I worked all morning. We'll see.
@Mary Stetler How many acres do you have on your farm? It sounds like a nice place. If it weren't for Round Up my property would have been covered in kudzu by now. It took 3 years of vigilance to get rid of most of it. The goats kept it at bay for 15 years. You have to kill the roots. They go deep. If you miss a little spot it eventually comes back. It also spreads by seeds the birds carry, but not so much that way.
It is a tiny farm only 10 acres. We get our hay wherever it is best. The previous owners sold off the acreage to the subdivision and left the house and outbuildings but most level land is fenced. It has a pond and a small piney woods that I have stopped dealing with. Our problem is garlic mustard. But when they put in the highway bipass a quarter mile north, they seeded it with idiot seed, mostly teasel and thistle in the grasses. I don't want the teasel on my farm but I use it medicinally. I spend a good month or so pulling thistle every year. The highway property was covered in it and now other places are. Daughter has an American indian friend who suggested muriatic acid mixed with vinegar and water. I might try that on the thistles IN the pastures. Round up doesn't affect garlic mustard for long. Everything is an experiment.
We have wild garlic, but I've never seen garlic mustard. Japanese Stiltgrass is a problem here. It grows even in shade and chokes out everything. They speculate it got here as packing material in shipments from China. Only first discovered in 1919. They claim it is only an annual. Edited to add: goats don't like it.
Sunday night (7/24) I finally got to see a baby bluebird leave the nest box. It was 8pm! This one did not read the instruction manual either. They are supposed to leave in the morning. It flew all the way across the back yard into a bush on its first try. At least 80 feet. Impressive. Adults attacked an innocent squirrel who happened to be nearby. A second bird peeked out of the box later, but it was nearly dark by then and hard to see. My guess was only 2, possibly 3, in this 3rd group. However many there were, they were all gone by 9:30 the next morning. Opened the box this afternoon. Two more unhatched eggs—one scrambled early on, and one I couldn't make heads nor tails of. Looked like a big yolk sac about to break, possibly 10 days. This pair seems to have trouble getting eggs to hatch. Still think this was their first season. I'm getting these 3 nests all mixed up. Kicking myself now for not keeping notes all in one place, with more details. One thing I completely misinterpreted ... The next day after the singleton bird left nest #1 (the one that never made it off the ground before dark), the adults were peeking in the old nest box all day. I couldn't figure out why. It took a day to remodel the box for summer, and almost before I got it back up they started nest #2. I assumed that was because there were no surviving fledglings from nest #1 to take care of, and so they were free and ready to start again. But they did the same thing after nest #2. The constant peeking in after the little ones had left the box. They started immediately on nest #3 as soon as I cleaned out the box. This time there were birds to feed on the side from nest #2. I assumed they would be busy feeding these fledglings and wait a while to start again. Apparently they can walk and chew gum at the same time. With this 3rd nest it's different. There was no peeking in the box. It has been completely abandoned. I think this means they are done for the year. YES!!! . It's too hot here for summer nests, imo. Why this is important (to me) I'll explain in another post later. This one is already getting too long.
Man, you are my official Go-To-Gal for everything bluebird!! Regarding this: I had to crack up because I have had black bears & cubs around my house and have stated that I hope they read the same websites I have regarding their "won't attack humans" nature...but I take no chances.
Long story short... A single bluebird showed up approx 10 days ago. I've seen him only twice. This one is clearly a male, a little older than the Twins from nest #2, but still not an adult. I think I gave up too soon on the single bird that fledged from nest #1. (Assumed he didn't make it) Two reasons: 1. It would have been easy to feed only one extra bird on the side while working on nest #2, and I wouldn't have noticed, 'cause I didn't know what to look for then. 2. Fledglings from the spring nest seldom hang around, unlike those from the 2nd and later nests. Instead, they look for another flock of spring juveniles to join. Wishful thinking? .. Maybe.
I think the juveniles just hang together moving around in small flocks, with no home base. Try to find mates by spring. Bluebirds are very territorial. "They" recommend two birdhouses not closer than 300 feet apart. That excludes me from having more than one bluebird house. A flock might visit from time to time this winter, if I put out food they like, but by spring there will be just one pair, if any. And that pair will defend its territory from other bluebirds. Of course, the birds may not read the literature OR the instruction manuals.
(7/28/22) Thursday Things are going too smoothly. Dropped the truck off at the body shop at 8:15. A guy from the rental place showed up in 10 minutes with the car. Back to the rental office. Everything done in the car. Home in less than an hour. Beat all the city traffic. They picked a white 2020 Toyota Camry. It has those thin tires. Feels like you are sitting on the road. So I had to get out a ruler. Side clearance came in at 7-1/4 inches. There are speed bumps in town that seem higher than that. Easier to get used to than the Ranger. The body shop claims the ins co mailed them the money from their (ins co) estimate, minus deductible already. Rental car billed insurance company and me separately. I got a check in the mail yesterday for exactly $1300 from the ins co. with no explanation. I don't get it. Guess I'll find out soon enough.
Those low-profile sidewalls are supposed to give you better handling because there's not as much flex to them when you go racing around corners. I've run into similar rental car billing issues. Things that are supposed to make life simpler, don't. At least the thing's in the shop and getting fixed! Did they say anything about anticipated parts availability?
I think those tires are ugly, and have no intention of whizzing around corners. Yet. However... the "peppiness" of the Ranger, which I thought I wouldn't like, has become one of the few things I like about it. I can actually beat those guys who try to race with you entering the highway from the on ramps now. I've done it a couple of times. Not good to learn to enjoy things like that. I didn't ask about the parts. The only person there at 8:15 was the girl at the desk up front. She seemed rather busy.
Out of the Loop The car rental place, the body shop (BS), and the insurance company (IC) know more about the status of the Ranger than I do. They have been communicating with each other almost daily, according to the Rep at the BS. The BS waited for a "supplement" from the IC to start ordering parts. That has delayed things for at least a week, I would think. But maybe that is standard negotiating process. They already notified the car rental place of the delay. I could imagine all kinds of conspiracies going on, but I won't. It's bad for the immune system. I like being out of the loop. ZZZzz...
I've negotiated contracts for a living, and stuff like this is one area where I'm actually able to manage myself and follow my own advice. Let the 3 parties work things out, and let me know (1) if I need to scream at someone; (2) who I need to scream at, and (3) what I need to scream. No sense in me mucking things up if everyone else is keeping things moving forward to my benefit. And it sounds not only as though they are moving things forward, but that the BS is representing your interests and the insurance company is meeting their obligations. The rental car company is just along for the ride.
Update from Insurance Co rep (what the $1300 was for ... ) Diminished Value (never heard of it before) After an accident, your car’s market value will decrease even if it goes through all of the necessary procedures to restore it back to its prior condition. Diminished value is the difference in your car’s market value before and after an accident. Even if you try to resell your vehicle, Carfax and similar reports will show that it has been involved in an accident, which will reduce its market value. A diminished value claim can help recover the costs to bring your vehicle back to its pre-accident market price. Update from Body Shop: "We have your Ranger parts in our refinish stage now. Once the paint work has been completed, we’ll move it over to reassembly. I’ll update you again on Tuesday." Looks like they got all the parts. I'm back in the loop.