Elanor Pog

Debbie, I really like this, well done and thank you for sharing your incognito venture.

A lot of dehydrator recipes that I do (raw cakes, breads and the like), require a sheet of some sort for the first half of drying, and then taking the sheet out and finishing the drying on the mesh tray. I bought proper silicon sheets (or some such stuff, I forget now what it is, 6 years later) As the dehydrator was free I felt ok to buy some thing like this for it. But you can use baking paper for sure.

Bananas will always stick to the mesh, if you can soak the whole tray, the little bits come off easily once they rehydrate! So start them on baking paper, then flip straight onto mesh once the outside is no longer tacky.

I dry a lot of bananas this way.

Is this available in Australia? I have been on amazon.com.au and it does not look like it is....

I couldn't make it through one minute! Maybe on half speed it is bearable.

Anyway I tried your llama song, and raise you a llama song

Kate Downham wrote:

Tests done on cows milk from horned and dehorned cows found that the milk was a better quality from the horned cows. I also contemplate that because the horns grow naturally, there might be important reasons why they are growing - one of these reasons is the ability to get rid of excess heat from the body when they need to, maybe there are other reasons that haven't been discovered yet?

Kate, can you give a source for the cows milk quality information? The idea fascinates me, and I would love to read more about this.

Definitely the point for horns to rid excess heat is valid, and there are likely other reasons, though I always thought maintaining herd order would be an important one. Our head goat is disbudded, she is the boss of her sister and nieces who are all polled.

I don't think scurs need to be removed. A horn can grow into the skull if it is deformed in some way, but a scur would not get through. I think a goat would rub it off if it was annoying them, and the one big nanny here that is not polled, usually loses her scurs while head butting

Hooves.

Living in the wet tropics with goats, their hooves need trimming at least every 4 weeks. There are rocks and concrete for them all, but it doesn't seem to help though many sources suggest it will.

After kidding last year there were 17 goats here for a few months, ok each hoof has 2 "toes" to trim, times 4 feet, times 17 goats, is waaay more trimming than I ever want to do again.

Down to ten goats now, that is my maximum :)

I really feel that hoof trimming is the dirty secret goat owners don't talk about. One time I cut too deep and the goat had to stay in his pen for 3 days, with a sulphur powder filled sock on the hoof - terrible goat owner guilt from that. This must be not uncommon. Also cutting oneself while trimming, happened a few times in my early goat days.

Have holidays when a goat is in milk been mentioned? Try finding some one to look after and milk your goats while you nip off for a week/weekend hahaha

Many great points on this thread. I think you could easily have the same theme on just about any pet/farm animal.

I am a bit in love with your starting point - that cabbage tree is gorgeous, and in a good looking spot. Native to Aotearoa/New Zealand, the Maori name is Ti kouka (said "tea COE ca" [COE rhymes with toe!])

Anne Miller wrote:

When I bought mine, I bought men's boots because that is all they had.  

I now have a bunion so I never buy women's shoes as the toe box is way too narrow.  

I also never wore my rubber boots with socks. And they might have been a size too large as there was lots of room in my rubber boots.

Absolutely agree with man boots over lady boots - 2 years later my often worn gumboots are in great condition because they are built for work rather than for prancing in puddles as lady boots always seem to be. Specifically they lack stability for farm work as the sole is thin and delicate when compared to decent mens normal thick soled boots.

I also never wear socks with my gummys, well I am in the subtropics, but who has time to put socks on?!

I agree, apples do not grow like that, in fact is that part a test?! Maybe a bit of green on some of them for realism too?!

The downed tree, i like it being on the cover, but could it go the other way?

Pizza, make it bigger, that would barely feed one! Another one waiting on the table behind maybe?

More plants.

Who is the man with the top hat?? Is it Paul or Mike, if yes, do you have a top hat, if yes, please post a photo wearing it!

Is "skills to inherit property" a subtitle? If yes should it be a smaller font? I think the font type is ok, but the sizing of the title/s is a bit wonky

When I cut a piece of thread, I hang it from one hand and pinch it lightly with my other thumb and finger and slide down to the end a couple of times. This seems to remove a bit of the twist and reduces the problem. Despite that, I often still have to do so again part way through sewing with it. I think the key is to do so before it becomes a knotted mess.

Oh I was so confused reading about the twisty thread at first, until I got to THIS comment, and realised I do exactly this too, just hadn't thought much about it but likely I do it because of twists in the past (because we all have a few twists in the past, right? ;)

I don't know if it may make sewing easier, but I do not tie a knot in the end of the thread. I sew several tiny stitches instead (inspired by sewing machines back-and-forthing) It seems quicker than knots.