mopinko
mopinko's Journalwomen and gardener's 8th intelligence. apparently, i am a witch.
so, gardener's 8th (last. hmm) intelligence is the naturalist.
the grower, the nurturer and the teacher of all things wild.
i am this. i always was this. my dad was this. both my gramps were this.
4 of my 5 kids are this.
the randomness of the universe delivered me a chance to spend my "golden years" doing this. my little farm is the place i am. i spend ssoooo much time teaching, especially kids. i get visitors all the time. i have no fence. i live in a less-than average density area of the city. but it is still the city
i also, of course, get a little more than my share of freaks.
since i started this 2 1/2 years ago, i have had a dozen visits from the city, long chats with my alderman's staff, and a bazillion hours of tense neighborhood relations work.
when you have ZERO of the 8th intelligence, i can talk to you all day, and you wont get it. when you have it, which is to say, a lot of adults, and pretty much every kid, you fall in love with the whole place.
i have taken to making jokes about being a witch. i believe that this is what the whole archetype of the witch comes from. or vice versa. but i do think some of these people watched too many disney movies.
i actually had one neighbor react to my excitement that we once again have breeding crows in the hood, a decade+ after west nile virus wiped them out, with horror. oooo i hate the crows. i am afraid of the crows.
this fool actually called the city to complain that i was attracting crows. and the fool from the city actually repeated that complaint to me, like it was a legit complaint.
and of course, there are the complaints about rats.
i have places of harborage. not rats, just hiding places.
i keep chickens. just look on the interwebs for chickens and rats i was told.
(i keep one of the tightest coops in the city.)
when i acquired some formerly feral cats to combat THEIR rats, (we are nearly 0 food waste here, it isnt me.) they had a shit fit about that.
i have 4 working dogs. 2 terriers, yes, rat terriers, and 2 big bull dogs.
i am to blame for all animal noise on the block.
and that includes my roo, who i can barely hear on my own back porch.
so, anyway, why i bring this here is this-
i would like to tap the hive mind about witch trials.
i would like to be able to cite specific, documented instances of women like me, who were stripped of their property.
and ftr, i am the crone of story and song.
i am 60 yo, skinny, wiry, tattooed. unkempt white hair.
property.
a propensity to subvert parental authority by talking to children without permission.
a plot full of weeds. which i know the names and uses for.
and a very short temper attached to a very big mouth.
my first tat was my avatar, with the wording-
you say i'm a bitch like it's a bad thing.
and of course, i am master of dogs, cats, chickens, rats and crows. so far. i have my eye on a little black squirrel that just ventured out of the nest the other day.
so, my beloved hive mind-
load me up. i want the cites and the names.
(ps, yes, there may be a law suit in the future. we shall see. i may just pack up and move this act somewhere where i dont have to take this shit. my divorce settlement would keep my in umbrella drinks and fresh mangos for the rest of my life in costa rica. and i wouldnt have to work like a rented mule. either way, i will have the last laugh here.)
xo du
ok, wtf. last years latham yellow rasberries
are now PURPLE.
not red, purple.
i do not have a clue.
tho, occurs to me now that i do also have reds. cross-pollinting?
silent thread in support of bowe bergdahl's family
report in lbn that bowe refuses to talk to his family. as a mom, oy.
argh. i cant believe it. i adopted 3 kitties. help!!!
i swore i would never have a cat. i just keep too many other critters. they dont play well w others. plus, i am allergic to them.
however, in the alternate reality where many of the neighbors to my farm live, this is a disney movie, i am a witch, and therefore control the beasts, especially the vermin.
in spite of the fact that they are seeing rats on THEIR OWN property, in their over stuff garbage cans, and their bird feeders, it is my property, where i waste almost no food, that must be the problem, right?
so, anyway, i got myself 3 feral kitties. there is a cook county program to teach people to responsibly manage cat colonies for rodent control. i have 3 vaxxd, chipped kitties, a brown tabby male, a brown tabby female, and a little calico girl.
i dont expect to make pets of them, but i do know that it is ALWAYS easier to take care of an animal that is half tame than not tame at all.
i talk to them when i feed them. teaching them- kitty itty, meow, kiss kiss, kitty momma is here, dinner time.
only one has a name so far. the male is kinda explosive, and came with the name of richter. i was thinking rocket before i was reminded of this.
i try to purr, which they do seem to except. the little calico was peeking out, and nervous, and when i started purring at her, she sorta sat down and stared at me.
that's about as far as i have gotten.
they are crated up to acclimate, so i have them under my thumb for a couple more weeks. i think i can turn a dog pen i have, where they are now, into their own little itty space. may see about keeping them in the larger enclosure for a bit. they should be able to hop the fence and get away from any dogs or coyotes that come around.
so, go ahead kitty friends, share your tricks and tips.
also, good kitty snacks and treats. would a kitty like a chicken wing? can a kitty eat raw meat?
i guess if i tame these little suckers, it tears it. i am a witch.
i already acknowledged a long time ago that i am a rhyming word.
eta- can kitties have eggs?
a thread for a newcomers- please introduce yourself.
have had a couple noobs put some serious posts in the pinned thread here.
this one just appeared from lost in america
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1151&pid=5328
i have a thought that, since this seems to happen here, where someone signs up to post, but cant start a thread, maybe we can have a newcomers thread.
i could pin it, but i think i will let it bounce a bit first.
perhaps the oldtimers can check in, then when someone new posts, it will show up for as many people as possible.
ah shit. i'm gonna have to fight the ex for doctor dog.
haven't posted much here since my bullies were pups.
it has been a battle, sadly.
tho i think he is about the sweetest dog i have ever had, he is, as i knew he would be, a handful.
he is allegedly my stbex's dog, but he doesnt have a clue about that. since the dog was housebroken, he has not lifted a finger to train or care for the dog. never even spent that much time around the house with him.
like so many dogs, he KNOWS he belongs to the mamma.
he is also, by rule of the heart, as well as original intent, my daughter's dog.
now, he is almost as much her petmate as he is mine. and we did get him because the kid (age 19) needed a puppy. her did a lot to heal her heart at a tough time for her.
she stays in a 2flat that we own a couple doors down. my farm is next to it.
we have talked for a long time about making him into a real therapy dog for her, as she was diagnosed with ptsd. she actually has epilepsy, which was the real problem, and is being treated. i dont discount that a he could do her a ton of good, nonetheless.
this plan, however, always hiring on a pro trainer for the dog. i cannot stand the one that got picked, especially as when she came to evaluate the dog, she just sat me down and told me to rehome one of the boys.
his trouble is that he has grown up with an aggressive and neglected dog on the other side of the fence. and a couple assholes in the hood who let their unleashed, intact male dogs pee right through the fence at my pack.
now we have a dog aggression problem.
plus the boy is 200lb of drive in a 100lb bag.
he is as good a varmint dog as a farmer could want.
he will retrieve aaallllll day long.
he relishes his job of guarding a big property.
i am the only one he really listens to, and he listens very well.
he sleeps with me.
he thinks he is my dog.
i just dont like this trainer they are bringing in, is the big problem.
here are some things she says-
dogs dont give kisses. they dont have lips.
dogs are simple.
once there is fighting, the trust is broken and cannot be repaired.
he shouldnt be allowed to chase the rabbits on the farm because that will cause him to be confused and uncontrollable on walks. (and btw, for all our training, he has very little leash training. i have struggled with severe carpal tunnel and nerve damage that left me totally unable to do this. besides the fact that they dont know what they are doing, nobody stepped up for that. dad took him for about 2 walks. this kid-0, other kid, who we sent to dog training school with this woman, a couple walks, and trips to the vet. number of dog fights that broke out-3)
i must rehome one of the dogs. neither of which she has really even met, just based on questionnaires.
now, the boys do not FIGHT with each other. they play like a couple giant bulldogges, but it is completely under my control, and has never gotten serious.
they are, however, completely jealous of each other.
where the fights happen is at the fence, with the neighbor dog. now 2 dogs, with a yo pup that was starting to join in the fun.
this dog comes flying at the fence, hair up, teeth out, and especially, headed for me.
i finally flipped with these people, who i love. LOVE. and they are managing them well now. not how i would. bark collars. but....
but i always felt that what happened on my side of the fence was my problem. i worked it, and worked it hard. at this point, he barely looks at the dog, sometimes even when it is barking at him. he will stop dead if i call him midleap.
but shit always happens.
i had a bunch of kids in my yard a while back. kids who knew the dogs, and some that didnt. but all were having fun. i was watching from the window.
the neighbor lets both dogs out, they charge the fence, he just stands there, not like he can do much anyway. did my dogs defend a bunch of little kids?
boy howdy.
but the redirected aggression on my side of the fence was bad. add my 2 little terriers to the mix, and it was about 60 seconds of bedlam.
we didnt know it at the time, but doctor took a good bite. didnt find it till it popped. made an icky wound. and of course, that would be right when the trainer comes over.
oooo. oooo. this can never happen again.
rehome rehome.
the original thing the trainer was SUPPOSED to do, was to actually measure his aggression level, and fitness as a service dog. that never happened.
the plan that i was signed on to was that there was a trainer who would take him for a 6 week intensive, someone who specifically trained pits and other bullies for service work. that never happened.
but now daddy and the kid are all hooked into the idea that she will take the dog and soon.
i could accept that this was a better thing for him, and that he will be very happy as a service dog. he would be in heaven.
but i do have to question his fitness until he is really assessed.
the trainer is nonetheless giving her support and advice, but not actual training, and sending her out strapped to this bombshell.
and i hate these three way conversations to begin with. but ex has been NOTHING but nasty, and i am barely talking to the kid again. he is gripping on to her, and putting her in the middle of conflict, like he always does. she is so hungry for daddy, that she cant help believing she finally has one.
one that will fight mommy for her.
so now we have to argue over whether or not to let my farm dog chase my varmints.
jeebus.
well, i already told me lawyer that i wanted custody of the dog. he is not ready. she is not ready. and i need him too.
he needs me.
and even tho he will be right there for now, he is part of her plan to get more independence, and she has future plans i am not privy too.
this is really the only little thing i wish to argue about. that and my farm. the rest is just stuff. even money is just stuff.
fuck all.
anyone using new mac dictation?
been trying it. i need to do some writing.
i think it might work for me for outlining, spitballing, but unless i can get into some of the auto correct controls, it seems like a whole lot more trouble to me, because i am a snot with my own rules.
trudged through the usual suspects, and did manage to turn it off in general, but i cant find the specific dictation controls.
also if anyone has tips on how to train the damn thing. its not doing a real great job so far, even if i go somewhere quite, instead of in my favorite writing chair. lots of birdsong here. it seems to filter it out, but i think it is applying the same filter to my voice. loosing the sharp notes. i actually beachballed it yesterday trying to get it to spell rape.
nice to have a shiny new mac, tho. a little early b-day present to myself, and a shove to get some writing done.
all
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Member since: Tue Oct 28, 2003, 08:34 PMNumber of posts: 70,074
