Heather Staas

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since Dec 17, 2013
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Springfield MA
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Western MA, zone 6b
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Recent posts by Heather Staas

My biggest constraint when I was on a budget and moving to 8 acres of land was fencing.   Specifically, perimeter fencing.   I could do quite a lot with portable electronet as far as animals, protection, grazing, etc.  But  it would have removed a HUGE burden of labor and time for me working alone to do that within a perimeter fence structure.    

I didn't need any large power equipment,  the rare times it was needed (fixing the well line, for example) it was more efficient to hire out someone for half a day.   Or when the end of my driveway washed out in a flood.    Same with once a year hay delivery and stacking;  paying for that the one time was a much better use of my time and resources than trying to do it alone/ myself/ with all the equipment that would entail.    

Property came with a small house and barn and functioning well.    I could have (and did for a several years) gotten by quite well with minimal assortment of hand and battery tools,  grazing instead of mowing, etc.   And a small resource pool of "for hire" folks from the community as needed.

Sheep did the grazing/mowing/pruning/orchard clean up,   plus lamb sales paid for hay etc..   Pigs did a lot of digging out.   Rabbits added to fertility and produced meat as well as a small sales product.   Ducks produced eggs and reproduced readily without incubators, etc.   Dogs helped control the stock,  provided protection and alarm system, as well as company.  Cat to control indoor mice (I don't do outdoor cats).  
2 weeks ago
Coming from a dog trainer perspective this thread is hard to read sometimes.  Young animals in our care need to be raised, proactively, and given the responsibility of choices as they show maturity and competency. They aren't born knowing how to navigate human imposed rules and boundaries.  Especially when those rules are opposite from thier instincts and species programming.  New instincts and feelings are activated in the brain all during different developmental stages for the first two years + especially.  If you arent watching for and prepared to guide your pup through these new intense impulses as they grow through them sucky problems are going to happen. Trainers breeders and veterinarians need to do better job getting this information into the hands of new puppy owners so misunderstandings like this stop happening.  It's heartbreaking for everyone.

For example, a big spike in sudden predatory behavior often correlates with "first spring as an adolescent" dog.    So depending on when you get your dog, that can be almost a year and a half into having them.  A lot of people feel settled and sure about their dogs behavior and temperament by that point if they are not expecting this "out of nowhere" sudden predatory behavior.   Of course it isn't out of nowhere;  it's simply an increase in external stimulus (spring, windows open, mating behavior,  more animal activity outdoors) coinciding with an internal enviroment higher in motivation (hormones, maturing drives, developmental windows opening) that creates the convergence necessary for new motor patterns to be expressed.    If people KNOW to watch for and expect this shift, they can be more prepared to contain, supervise, and train their dog through this normal and typical change.  

Dogs don't really hit real social maturity and stability until about 4 years old.   I often see "four year old dog free to good home" ads.   Usually this means "first bite to a human" behavior.   The warning signs were probably there all along but because "he never bites" it was ignored and people got comfortable with it.   They didn't realize the dog still hadn't hit maturity to fully express the motor pattern sequence up through now actually biting.   It's sobering to most people to realize you can not assume your adult dog is likely to be what you see as a puppy or adolescent dog.  People still think getting them as a puppy is a guarantee they'll be good with kids or animals when they mature.  It's more accurate to see their adult (over 4 yrs) parents and siblings to get an idea of what you will end up with.   I personally try not to get puppies that were bred from young dogs themselves.   NO ONE knows yet what any of those dogs are going to end up being like for sure.
3 weeks ago
This is the first year I've grown Roma tomatoes for preserving,  and also more slicing toms than I usually do.    They've been coming in gangbusters this year!
Adding tomato harvest pics and weights to my 20204 calories!


tomatoes  250 oz  1250 calories!

Total (2024)  4839  + 1250 =  6089 calories

3 weeks ago
Looks like I ended 2023 documenting at     TOTAL:   7314 calories (2023)

Carrots:   46oz.    552 calories
Eggplant 26 oz     182 calories
Zucchini  59 oz     295 calories
Tomatoes  16 oz     80 calories
Beets  8 oz      96 calories
rhubarb   61 oz    366 calories
Turnips 33 oz     264 calories
Turnips        45oz    360 calories
Garlic &
Elephant Garlic   13 oz        494 calories
Carrots       23 oz              276 calories
Strawberries  8 quarts   1784
Zucchini  18 oz    90 calories      

Total (2024)  4839  calories
Total (2023) 7314 calories    

MY FIRST 10K + calories!!   Only 85K more to go....   ROFLOL.  
1 month ago
More pictures found of turnip and strawberry harvests from June, yay!    And photos of my garden from spring.

Turnips        45oz    360 calories
Garlic  & Elephant Garlic   13 oz        494 calories
Carrots       23 oz              276 calories
Strawberries  8 quarts   1784
Zucchini  18 oz    90 Calories     for another 3004 calories towards this  year.  

1 month ago
Ah,  after a much too long break,  I'm here for an update,  photo dump, and calorie count for the 2024 growing season!!   Slowly ticking away at this!  
this is the first year that I have SUCCESSFULLY grown and harvested a variety of root vegetables in any real productive amount, pretty excited about that.   Unfortunately I ate a lot of stuff before I remembered to start taking pictures and measuring things again!   LOL   so here begins my running total with photos for this season.

Looks like I ended 2023 documenting at     TOTAL:   7314 calories (2023)

Carrots:   46oz.    552 calories
Eggplant 26 oz     182 calories
Zucchini  59 oz     295 calories
Tomatoes  16 oz     80 calories
Beets  8 oz      96 calories
rhubarb   61 oz    366 calories
Turnips 33 oz     264 calories

Total (2024)  1835 calories
1 month ago
Nikki I'm sorry I dropped off and never answered you!   Here are the seeds I used,  both did really well.  
3 months ago
Thank you so much for the thoughts and info!  It sounds wonderful but maybe not right for me.  With animals to tend I do end up outdoors all year round and I just can't do the cold like I used to!  If I end up out your way I'd love to come and visit though!  Can't wait to see and hear more about how it all develops for you.

Heather
3 months ago
Crystal are your pups still with their mother?  Was she allowed to wean them properly?  This is the first critical stage of bite inhibition imprinting,  when momma dog says "you may no longer put your mouth on me at will but only by invitation."  Sometimes well meaning people take puppies away as soon as mum starts "being mean to them" but it's crucial for social development.  Assuming mom has the capability herself.   Sometimes young/new bitches suck at it and are too passive.
3 months ago
Sunflowers were a bust for me, they were FILLED with tiny worms in all my seed.   I'm sure it was partly my inexperience and learning curve.   I ended up just giving the whole heads to my rabbits, who didn't care one bit about the worms and ate them anyway.  
3 months ago