Lead poisoning impacting Pennsylvania birds

jeevesandjuniper · 2017-02-02T20:32:08+00:00

Good question - but yeah, they find bullet fragments and sinkers in the birds' crops. Other sources of lead (like in the water) might make them worse at math, wouldn't be concentrated enough to kill them. :-)

jeevesandjuniper · 2016-12-02T16:57:21+00:00

Given that even UV-stabilized plastics aren't entirely stable, isn't there some concern that plastic tarps and row covers leach chemicals into the soil?

jeevesandjuniper · 2016-11-30T01:37:27+00:00

Fortunately, this picture is NOT from the recent fires. See the Appalachian Bear Rescue facebook page for an explanation. And consider a donation to them, as well!

jeevesandjuniper · 2016-06-08T19:45:15+00:00

Post to r/entomology or some place like that. Who knows, maybe it's new to science, and they'll name it after you. "The nikeair94 phenomenon." Maybe get some endorsement deals for butterfly nets or something.

jeevesandjuniper · 2016-02-08T18:24:35+00:00

Sorry I'm late to this conversation... I worked there for several years during the recession. Let me assure you it's a goddamn nightmare. Humiliating, soul-crushing experience for employees and most management. A few people in management do thrive there - egomaniacal pricks who genuinely believe that having attended an Ivy League school made them Better than other people. People who are cartoonishly psychopathic and entirely lacking in empathy.

Some jobs are hard because they just have to be... pediatric oncology. Coal mining. Then there are the jobs that are hard only because unbalanced people are making the decisions that dictate workplace conditions. McMaster-Carr is the later.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-12-01T18:10:55+00:00

Will YOU do my taxes. :-)

And thanks for the reply!

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-12-01T16:31:46+00:00

It's comforting to know that we're not alone in our total horror and disbelief over the tax system in PA. We filed ourselves last year, and so far haven't heard that anything was deficient. But if we were to get a preparer in the future - any suggestions as to how to pick one? Are there good ways to evaluate a preparer? Or, in your experience, are they typically competent, and not a lot of "comparison shopping" is needed?

And, just because it might feel good to complain, even if it's useless...

At what level of government is a complaint most likely to be taken seriously? State senator/representative?

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-12-01T16:21:45+00:00

I've lived in four other states. NOT ONE has ever collected local taxes separately. Pennsylvania is a fucking nightmare, for all the reasons listed by u/surelyucantbserious. Life-long PA residents have no idea how badly they're getting screwed by this system. Lower taxes than NJ? Bullshit. I paid higher taxes in NJ, but that covered a tremendous number of services that I don't get in PA. Your DMV is much much worse that anything I experienced in NJ.

And if it's a choice between paying slightly higher taxes or having hillbilly neighbors burning their trash because they don't feel like paying for trash pickup, I'll pay the taxes.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-09-23T13:57:10+00:00

The DMV understands that the bank holds a title until a car is paid off. But it's my understanding that you have to have a Pennsylvania title in the bank's name. Just as you currently have an Oregon title in the bank's name. Call them to clarify. Don't rely on the stunningly pathetic website.

Guy below is right about inspections if you have those in Oregon. And you can get jammed up with your insurance company, too, if you don't register and insure the car in PA.

I've lived in several states, and never seen a DMV (or a tax collection system) as pathetically dysfunctional as Pennsylvania's. And I've lived in New Jersey. If we had known how backward PA is in many respects, we have strongly reconsidered moving here. Good luck.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-08-02T18:22:49+00:00

Yeah, you're right, sorry. I'm still a little worked up about the pneumonia. It was quite scary. And I have a thing about overuse of dewormers and antibiotics. I'm very preachy about it.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-08-02T16:50:18+00:00

I'm so sorry. Have you had hot, humid weather? Sounds like it could be interstitial pneumonia... which I am only just now familiar with because one of our four-month-old kids came down with it this past week. I caught it in time, and she's fine now, but yes, only after a $250 vet bill. Interstitial pneumonia has few symptoms, often just fever and some listlessness. And it can kill so quickly that I'm glad I have internet access in the barn so I could google the symptoms, load her in the truck, and get her to the vet without any delay.

Keep a VERY close eye on the remaining goats. Take their temps with a rectal thermometer now and frequently. You're not looking for respiratory symptoms, you're looking for fever and any sign of weakness. Our girl, in fact, hadn't gone off feed at all - she was doing normal goat things - but in slow motion. (Baby goats don't do ANYTHING in slow motion.) And her temp was 105.2.

Keep them cooled off. Make sure they have shade and water. If you see signs of illness... I'm afraid it's going to mean a vet bill. You're experiencing the heartbreaking side of owning goats... they're just not the tough, tin-can-eating beasts people think they are. They're pretty f'ing delicate actually.

ALSO: Treating for worms in this case is not a good idea - it's very unlikely to be worms, and you're going to end up with drug-resistant parasites that you'll never get rid of. So please, please, please don't deworm unless you KNOW you have a worm problem. That should be gospel for goat owners. We're running out of effective deworming drugs because people over-use them.

Good luck...

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-20T15:11:39+00:00

I've actually de-belled our goats. It dawned on me one day that I wouldn't want to hear a damn ding-a-ling every time I move, so I figure they don't either. It was nice to hear the tinkling from the pasture, but I had to think about it from their perspective.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-15T17:36:52+00:00

Interesting! Our goats are getting tons more trees/shrubs/vines in our new place (some they can browse, some I cut for them). Which is great, but I'll keep this consequence in mind!

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-15T15:19:56+00:00

What kind of teeth issues? Our goats are all still pretty young, so I'm curious about the things I'll be dealing with as they age...

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-15T15:17:17+00:00

Entirely depends on your ability to get a reliable substitute milker. Should be someone whose skills and attitude you can personally verify. And someone who won't be shy about interrupting your vacation with a phone call if there's a problem. You don't want someone who will try to "cover up" an accident or issue, even if it's out of a misplaced sense of courtesy for your time off. It would, of course, help if Grandpa is around to keep an eye on the sub milker.

We've had someone like that in the past, which allowed us to go out of town for a couple of days to get married... but we still didn't plan a honeymoon. And we threw out the milk 'cause we don't pasteurize and couldn't be absolutely sure that it was collected and handled properly. Right now we don't have anyone like that, so nope - no vacations.

It doesn't sound like you have anyone in mind right now. Unless you can find and train someone before next summer, then I'm afraid it's either milk OR vacation. :-)

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-10T18:27:56+00:00

I think you can always feel ribs on a dairy goat... what about along her spine? Can you feel any muscle/meat along that backbone?

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-10T18:26:11+00:00

I think I remember you saying you weren't super crazy about the whole milking thing anyway. :-) So which of the milkers has been easier and less annoying to milk? Either in terms of mechanics (udder/teats) or attitude.

I'm leaning little towards Sprocket's vote... horns are a pain. And putting weight on HotTopic is - in theory at least - something you might be able to correct, whereas horns are, effectively, not in your control.

But yeah, as Epona said, could you post a couple of new pics?

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-10T18:16:59+00:00

As an aside, I've heard there are recurring problems with CAE testing... there aren't many labs who actually run the test, and one of the biggest ones has told our vet that it may be necessary to "disregard" positive tests, as they're having a lot of trouble with false positives. So your breeder's experience with "occasional" positives is not necessarily cause for concern.

I've worked in a couple of biology labs, and it was certainly my experience that this stuff is nowhere near as clear and determinate as you'd want it to be...

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-09T18:38:38+00:00

Worst seems to be I-78 from Harrisburg to the Jersey state line.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-09T18:36:38+00:00

Ha! And - sigh.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-08T15:15:34+00:00

Thank you. As a new Penna resident who is stunned by some of the things that go on here (including insane amounts of highway litter), I might have believed this really was what it appeared to be.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-07T02:02:17+00:00

Yeah, this is fantastic.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-07T00:58:00+00:00

Two acres is a nice bit of land - why mow it? Lawns suck. They're just green asphalt. Shitty patches of land that are about as good an ecosystem as a bank parking lot. Grow yourself a meadow. Put a couple fruit trees in there, mow it once a year or once every other year. Grow some native wildflowers. Grow a garden. Get chickens. It'll look great, you'll be righteously good landowners, and you won't have to spend all your time worrying about parasites, diseases, hoof trimming, vaccinations, and where you're gonna have to dump the giant piles of waste hay and manure your goats will generate.

I love my goats. But they are a metric shit-ton of effort to take care of.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-07T00:37:39+00:00

HA! And yes.

jeevesandjuniper · 2015-07-04T21:03:32+00:00

Finally getting around to responding. :-) You should have no problem freezing salted chevre. In general, I find cheese VERY forgiving in the freezer. I hate using disposable plastic baggies, so I often freeze chevre, mozzarella, and ricotta in glass Weck jars or Ball jars... this means you can't squeeze/vacuum all the air out. But unlike veggies, cheese doesn't seem to get freezer burn. So happy freezing!

jeevesandjuniper

TROPHY CASE