I've learned all kinds of new stuff the last few years...one of them being that pecan trees produce a bumper crop one year and a piddly one the next. Even with all the battles last year between me and the dogs for every single nut, we picked about a bucket and a half of pecans. This year I'll be pleased if we have half of a bucket. I was hoping that my fertilizing and the additional rain we've had this year would prove the old every other year adage wrong, but it didn't. Nevertheless, with exception of 10 nuts (that I know of) I've beaten the dogs to the stash.
I guess I can't say I've beaten them, as it's partly due to the chickens. (You didn't know we had fighting chickens? That's good, 'cause we don't.) Due to a certain someone's insistence that our chickens have freedom to roam the yard, the dogs get locked up every day from lunchtime 'till dusk so the chickens can roam safely. During last week's deluge the chickens had to stay in their shelter, and I found about 3 partially eaten pecans on the front ramp and another 3 or 4 in the garage. After feeding the geese I stopped to pick some up (yes, in the rain) and the dogs about went crazy. I could tell which trees had dropped their fruits simply by watching the dogs. If they thought I was heading toward their tree, they would take off to another one and I'd hear the crack of a shell and see their head tilted in a funny way.
I had a relative e-mail me that dogs were not supposed to eat fruit or nuts, that it would kill them. If that is true, my dogs may not live to see 5, for they will eat almost anything they see me pick. Now if I can only figure out how to keep the chickens out of next year's tomato garden...
I guess I can't say I've beaten them, as it's partly due to the chickens. (You didn't know we had fighting chickens? That's good, 'cause we don't.) Due to a certain someone's insistence that our chickens have freedom to roam the yard, the dogs get locked up every day from lunchtime 'till dusk so the chickens can roam safely. During last week's deluge the chickens had to stay in their shelter, and I found about 3 partially eaten pecans on the front ramp and another 3 or 4 in the garage. After feeding the geese I stopped to pick some up (yes, in the rain) and the dogs about went crazy. I could tell which trees had dropped their fruits simply by watching the dogs. If they thought I was heading toward their tree, they would take off to another one and I'd hear the crack of a shell and see their head tilted in a funny way.
I had a relative e-mail me that dogs were not supposed to eat fruit or nuts, that it would kill them. If that is true, my dogs may not live to see 5, for they will eat almost anything they see me pick. Now if I can only figure out how to keep the chickens out of next year's tomato garden...
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