Lately I have really been doing some thinking and evaluating of my friendships, and I am finding that I have several that are toxic to my mental stability, but I am not sure how to " cancel" these relationship/friendships.   I think there are 4 of them, not that they are "close" friendship/relationships but I need to elliminate these.  How have "you" ended  associations with people, or distanced yourseves from people you needed to in your life?

I am going to be taking some me time this weekend, and I am excited for this time. I am taking a few craft  things to do,  and do some writting. I am not sure I will be back on before ATLEAST tuesday.

Have a safe and nice week-end

Tracey

Mark your calendar: The 2008 Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th and it should be a good show.

"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."

(Note: In the narrative that follows, all times are local. For instance, 9:00 pm means 9:00 pm in your time zone, where you live. )

Serious meteor hunters will begin their watch early, on Monday evening, August 11th, around 9 pm when Perseus first rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.

"Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors," says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

A warm summer night. Bright meteors skipping overhead. And the peak is yet to come. What could be better?

The answer lies halfway up the southern sky: Jupiter and the gibbous Moon converge on August 11th and 12th for a close encounter in the constellation Sagittarius: sky map. It's a grand sight visible even from light-polluted cities.

For a while the beautiful Moon will interfere with the Perseids, lunar glare wiping out all but the brightest meteors. Yin-yang. The situation reverses itself at 2 am on Tuesday morning, August 12th, when the Moon sets and leaves behind a dark sky for the Perseids. The shower will surge into the darkness, peppering the sky with dozens and perhaps hundreds of meteors until dawn.

Above: The eastern sky viewed during the hours before sunrise on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008.

For maximum effect, "get away from city lights," Cooke advises. The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside. (Scouts, this is a good time to go camping.)

The Perseids are coming. Enjoy the show!

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Well, our critters are getting big and getting to be a lot of work!  LOL

Several of the pigs should be ready for the processor in the next few weeks.

Our meat chickens and several of our other chickens are scheduled for the processor on August 15th.  Just 2 days before we leave for Disney.  I was just glad to get them in before we leave.  I think it would be good for them to grow a week or two longer, but I didn't want anybody to have to care for them while we were gone.  So they might be a bit on the small side, but we won't have to worry about them while we are gone.

We have 19 meat chickens and 6 misc other chickens that we are sending to the processor.  Plus 5 turkeys.  The turkeys will also be on the small side, but they'll be gone and we won't have to worry while we are gone on vacation.  We'll only have about 12 chickens and 5 guineas for Lance's brother and SIL to care for while we are gone.

Ok, maybe less than that.  I have to do a head count today.  Something attacked them last night just before they went to roost.  I'm not sure how many are missing as I couldn't find them all last night.  The girls and I went out after dark and rescued the turkeys and several chickens from the girl's playhouse, where they decided to roost after the attack.  We put them in the coop but we couldn't find several of our laying hens.  I see them out there this morning, so it looks like most of them are ok.  I figure whatever it was caught 4 or 5 of them altogether.  There were feather piles in several places but it was dark and I could have missed something.

I sold our baby goat last week.  A guy came to the door asking for a goat and I told him I had one baby and one doe.  He said they were going to eat it so he wanted the baby (he was 3 months old and ready to wean.  That's the age they like them for eating).  Anyway, I sold him for $40.  The guy wanted more so he went to the fair and bought 5 wethers that were a little larger.  He said he'd sell me one of them if they didn't eat them all.  I would like a companion for my milk goat now that her baby is gone. 

We had to milk her for about  a week since selling the baby.  We just didn't want her to stop cold turkey and get mastitis or an infection.  I'll check her today, but I think she's fine now.  Lance milked her Monday night and she didn't have much, so she should be fine now.  She gave me almost a quart the first two times I milked after the baby was gone.  She is such a good milker, she'd give me a gallon per day if I'd milk twice per day.  I just can't milk right now.  We'd have to have somebody to milk her while we were at Disney and that isn't probable at all.  PLUS I want a home pasteurizer before we start milking again and that costs $400.  I could just put it on credit, as it really is an investment for us, but it's just not a good time for us right now.  Hopefully I'll get one before next year when we start milking again.

The steers are holding their own out in the field.  We still have the heifer but she's going to auction as soon as we can arrange it.  She is just not nice to the other steers.  We are also going to sell the other doe I have and get a companion for my milk goat.  I don't like that doe with the horns, she's hard on Violet (my milk goat).

We brought home a kitten from my mom and dad's and he's doing well.  He's adjusting to life on the farm and seems to like it here.  Lilli had named it Boots, but now changed it to Smoky.  I haven't seen him since we returned from GWL so I hope he's ok.  ?

Our other Tom cat, Socks is doing well and hangs around all the time.  He's a hambone and loves to cuddle against your legs when you walk.

RC and Biscuit are doing well.  Biscuit just keeps getting bigger!  He still tries biting your ankles when you walk outside but he is getting a bit better about it. 

The big dogs are doing good but I think we may be selling them soon.  They eat a lot since they are so big and we no longer have a goat herd for them to watch over.  They need a home with a job.  LOL.  We have one goat in there with them and they all get along great.  LOL

The turkeys continue to be the most entertaining critters.  They are just so funny.  They are almost as tall as Lauren so they love to run up to her and see what she has in her hands.  They peck at her clothes and it makes her so mad.  She hollers, "NO...NO BITE".  LOL.  This, of course, does nothing to deter them and really just calls the rest of them over to see what the fuss is about.

Poor Lauren also has to deal with Biscuit who is getting quite big now.  He starts pulling on her her clothes and won't stop until one of us goes and rescues her.  She gets so mad at that dog.  I don't mean to laugh, but it's hard not too.  He just wants to play and he thinks she is the perfect size.  LOL

Lilli is enjoying the critters and loves her puppy and new kitten.  She gets frustrated with Biscuit when he gets to pulling at her clothes and won't stop, but he really is getting a bit better about that...sort of.  The kitten is quite lovable but has scratched her several times when she was holding it and it got spooked by one of the dogs.

CHICKEN PROCESSING:

I don't know what everybody pays for processing, but we go to an amish place in Indiana and they charge $1.25 per bird!  That is so cheap that it is worth the drive down there.  We drop off the night before and then pick up the following evening.  It's worth the drive.  The chickens come ready for the freezer.  We do put them in individual bags, as they bag them 5 to a bag usually.  They are clean and we have always been happy with them.

They charge $3 per turkey under 20 pounds and $5 per turkey over 20 pounds.  I am sure our turkeys will be under 20 pounds.  LOL.  They don't even have all their adult colors yet. 

I was going to keep one male and one female turkey but we decided to just process them all rather than try to keep them through the winter.

That about covers our critters lately.  I'll be glad to have the meat chickens gone...they are getting to be a lot of work now that they are eating so much.  LOL

Ok...what do you do with pigs that eat chicken?

I know the obvious...put them in the freezer. But, in this instance, that isn't the best answer, although I am seriously pondering learning the butchering trade right now!  UGH!

Our new pigs, those pregnant sows we picked Saturday, they ate 2 of my laying hens.  Didn't have a chance-- just attacked them and then proceeded to pull them apart like some warped game of tug-o-war or something.

Our chickens have their home in the barn, and a nice, fenced yard.  I have 3, however, who are definitely roamers.  If we clip their wings any further, they won't have but a bare bone frame over on that side, yet they still manage to climb that fence and roam the yard.  They have a route...they ceck out the goats and puppies for a day or so, even roost in the puppy pen with them.  No one has ever cared (athough those blasted puppies have enjoyed playing with the younger pullets....and have killed a handful of them as well).

But, the pigs...they are in the other side of the barn, along the outside pens.  The chickens go through the horse lot there into the timber to wander.  A couple ended up in the pigs confinement and well....tug-o-war time.

I can break those puppies of playing tag with my chickens, but what do you do with a pig who has a taste for chicken now?  It rather worries me that the children don't typically think much of getting into the barn, and they help with the feeding and such.  As far as I'm concerned, these are dangerous pigs.  You know, around here, the standard was that when the Revenue men cam poking around and causing trouble, you just tossed them into the pig pen and let the hogs have them.  Nothing left to dispose of.

Now I have pigs that have shown a very dangerous side to themselves.  I'm not really interested in the additions to the freezer menu anymore, no matter how wonderful the other tastes.