Sticker Shockkkkk

[noelH]

And not a boat.

3 past springs of black bear deciding to put in new entries and exits to the fence that surrounds the yard.  Blessing in disguise.  Live in the middle of a heavily wooded 40. Just an ugly ~500 linear feet of wire fence with mostly steel T-posts surrounding the house.  Protection for the veggie gardens from the deer.  Process of downsizing everything.  Just a 34 x 34 ft fenced in garden to the south and similar area to the SW of the house that will not be fenced in.

Local building supply store wanted +$15 per 4x4 8ft treated. Didn't even bother to ask what the 10 footers are.   No one seem to know the CCA retention level. Just suitable for above grade. So I called the "local" farm supply center.  4" x 8ft treated fence posts for under $9.49.  Double what I paid a few years ago replacing a few 4x4 treated that sheered off at ground level.  Then the steel T posts. More than doubled from before.  $220 of posts.  Darn expensive lettuce.

Tax Day! Today is when I should be taking down the bird feeders (aka black bear treat), flush the well pressure tank, and replace the filter.  But awoke to..(image attached).    Use to be May 1st, but the black bear seem to be awaking from their winter nap earlier and earlier.  You cannot view this attachment.  At least there is no ice left even in the Bay.

[Chris Muthig]

When I first moved into Ocala National forest (Ocklawaha), 1st week I was there I bought a beautiful birdfeeder, made of metal, and filled it with seed.  I hung it from a tree, about 7-8 feet off the ground.
 Very next day it was on the ground mangled.  I straightened it best I could and gave it to my mom, never had a bird feeder again.  Been there 5 years, see bears in our yard almost every day, once had a mother and 2 cubs.  There was a huge male with a large scar on his back.  They never ever act aggressive towards us, either move of in the other direction or run when they see us.  I worry more about the coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and occasional florida panther.  I worry even more about rednecks that don't understand property lines and boundaries.  Every one of my neighbors is welcome on our property, but we all stay to ourselves and look out for each other.  It's a good life!  I'm right across the street from Lake Bryant, a huge lake quite a bit lower than us so we have no worries of flooding (would have to come up around 12 feet to worry).  Also have a 5 acre pond on our property that's a good drainage area also.  My neighbor's fenceline is Ocala National forest with a couple of miles of woods next to him.

[Timm R Oday25]

Noel ,we live just 20 miles east of Madison . Black bears are getting to be a regular sighting this far south .
Lumber prices are lower than they were during Covid . They are still high enough to have us thinking twice before we commit to bigger projects .
I'm fortunate to have perhaps (100) 14' two by fours and fifty 4"x6" by ten'.Dozens of 2x8" and 2x12" that we got for free last year .I couldn't imagine what we would have to pay at the local big box store for this much lumber

[Ed]

We've got a black bear with a den on the back of the property.  He visits a few times a season, they wander over a 50 - 60 square mile domain, he has only bothered the trash cans twice in 4 years.  He has walked up the driveway, probably 100 yards, from the edge of the property once, but since I put up the solar owls that are motion sensitive for the deer, he hasn't been up in front of the house.  We've started cutting up blocks of Irish Spring Soap and spreading them around the fences encircling the fruit/nut trees on the upper side of the hill (not big enough to be a mountain but it takes 20 minutes to hike down to the creek and coming back up is getting harder every day but the goats love walking with us) and the deer/bear/turkey/opposums/etc give the whole area a wide berth. I decided to give up on the store bought chicken coops from Home Despot/Factor Supply/etc that haven't lasted 2 years and build my own.  Started on a 4'x 8' flat roof coop and figure $800 for the wood and roof.  Solar accessories (door/fan/water heater for winter) will run $300 or so, planning to get them this week since there are no American suppliers, before the crazy prices start. Put a solar electric fence around Goat Pen two years ago, which encircles a quarter garden area, an interior chicken enclosure (we free range them inside the goat enclosure when no rain is predicted), and double compost pile next to the chicken enclosure.  The deer still like to come up to the kid's play area but stay away from the upper house plateau. It does encroach upon our sailing time on occasion but the new coop should be good for 3 - 5 days without us, as long as the DIL picks up eggs (8 - 14 a day) and the goats still need feed/water twice a day.  We are busier now than when we worked for a living.

[Riley Smith]

Ed, I'm waiting on chickens myself. My ex-SIL is bringing us 8 silkies soon and I've been building a pen. I know there is a local fox and also snakes, so we'll see how this venture goes. I really don't want to match wits with a fox. Or a snake for that matter, but I have a Lab for the guard duty.

[Chris Muthig]

Ed, you said as long as the daughter in law picks up eggs, what would happen if she didn't pick up eggs for a few days?

[Ed]

A few observations on chickens: silkies are broodie little shits!  Bantams are assholes and will quickly figure out a way to get in the garden.  Nest boxes have a built in limit and if not picked up regularly they will start hiding eggs in the most unlikely places.  The big learning point on chickens is don't name them!  You can't kill a chicken you have named.  All of ours have a plot in the Chicken Graveyard waiting for them.  We have, or will soon, have a big coop for our 19 birds and an isolation/baby integration coop.  Amazingly enough, I actually enjoy taking care of them.