Update from Winterberry Farm

Well, as you know if you have read this blog for any time, The PeeMan lives on a farm in Maine. Don’t picture mechanized agriculture or advanced animal husbandry – think more along the lines of a “hobby” farm(at least I think that’s the current lingo.) Nonetheless there are chickens and occasional pigs, a requisite old tractor, garden rows, apple trees and a pond. As for the name, well my wife won’t let me call it the PeeFarm and she loves the bright red berries that decorate the barren late autumn landscape every year so Winterberry Farm it is.

Raspberries – now I am a bit allergic to fresh berries so I don’t quite enjoy them as much as others. My wife and daughter love them and traveled 2 hours north(yes – farther north)and dug up a friend’s excess bushes and transplanted them here. There is a patch of soil that is rather poor and all attempts at gardening this plot have met with pitiful results. So, the perfect spot for the hardy raspberry! Winterberry Raspberry Patch is born.

Chickens – I just don’t understand keeping and feeding critters all winter long and not getting a single lousy egg from them. But, my daughter wants chickens and now at least for a few months we have eggs. Eggs coming out our ears. Interestingly, our chickens tend be late morning layers. They like to take their time and enjoy the morning I guess – prima donas!

Flowers – My wife and daughter have decided to experiment with growing cut flowers. Experiment is the key word. No pressure, no expectations – that’s how my wife likes to operate. So, various beds are being prepared for planting the seedlings that have been growing at my daughter’s house. The cardinal rule in Maine is no planting before Memorial Day and since we had a couple of nights right around freezing even this week, far be it from us to mess with the wisdom of the ages.

Spring Cleaning – perhaps this conjures up pictures of a feather duster and a few boxes filled with odds and ends destined for the thrift store. Well, you can forget that. Spring cleaning at Winterberry Farm is signaled by the arrival of a full size dumpster. And since my middle daughter is getting married what better opportunity for her to sort through all the childhood memorabilia, treasures and keepsakes that have been sitting in my storage spaces for years! Today in fact began the great purge.

Trout – Today also marked the arrival of some very special guests to Winterberry Farm. I was finally able to secure some Rainbow Trout for my pond. I took my grandson with me to pick up the 7″ beauties and most of the family watched the great release of all 50 of them into their new habitat.

Dogs – What farm is complete without dogs? Our two golden retrievers Zeke and Riley fit the bill – at least theoretically. The “stress” of laying around the house and occasional tennis ball chasing has led Riley to age prematurely. The dog is only 7 and his prescriptions cost more than mine! But, the arthritis seems to be affecting him less and he seems to be getting around better these days. Getting around is no problem whatsoever for Zeke! In fact, in the space of 24 hours this week, he managed to get into it with both a porcupine and a skunk. As you can imagine, neither he nor his people came out on the good end of that deal!

That’s all the Winterberry Farm news for now!

Until I find more words . . .The PeeMan

Ask the PeeMan: Will it bother my dog?

Now back to our our regularly scheduled Wednesday’s Ask The PeeMan. This week features a question that I get frequently, so frequently in fact that I decided to include two examples. People are invariably concerned about the effect of PredatorPee on Fido or Fiffi or Buster . . .

Q. How will Wolf urine affect our dog. We are trying to keep cats off our property. Thanks. Don

Q. We just ordered Coyote Pee to protect our yard from raccoons. Will this coyote urine cause a problem with our domesticated dog? He plays in the yard all the time. Please advise. Lorraine

A. No, your dog might be a bit curious, but that is all.
KJ The PeeMan

I love it when I can give a simple answer! No need to fear for your beloved dog.

Until I find more words . . .The PeeMan

Ask the PeeMan: Deer Problem

I have read that having an editorial calendar is an important part of blogging. Well, my calendar is a little screwed up this week and Wednesday’s Ask the PeeMan is on Saturday. Deal with it blogosphere.

Q. I am experiencing a deer problem, they are eating my flowers! I have always made a point of only planting flowers that are not their favorite. I spray bitter cherry on the plants & it has deterred them up until this year
Strange, because we had a warm wet winter & there seems to be lots of other choices for them. The flowers are mostly in container pots, so I am thinking that the the granules might work best, as I can sprinkle directly on the soil. I see that you recommend Coyote to keep the deer away. Guessing that Mountain Lion would work as well? Would one work better than the other, and/or are there downsides of one over the other? IE: attracting Mountain Lions?

I have also just ordered some Deer Out. It combines a bad taste with a peppermint smell that apparently the Deer dislike. Do you think the Deer Out with its strong smell might over power the urine granules & negate its benefits?

Suppose another option would be venison stew

Thanks for your time Mr. PeeMan!

Sincerely,
PeeWoman

A. Tracy,
CoyotePee is always my first choice for deer. The idea is to create a “pee-rimeter” a little ways back from the food source. That way the deer will get the scent of the predator before the attraction of the food source is too much to resist. The inherent problem with taste deterrents is that it requires the deer to already be in your garden! The PeeMan likes to prevent them from getting there in the first place. Predator Urine can attract same specie predators if they are already in the area. Here are some links with more info:
http://www.predatorpeestore.com/deer-problems-coyote-urine.html
http://www.predatorpeestore.com/Application-Instructions.html
KJ The PeeMan

Just to clarify there is only one PeeWoman even though she cringes at the title – my beautiful bride of more than forty years.

Until I find more words. . .The PeeMan

Rodents Cause More Than £370m Of Damage Annually To Cars in the UK Alone

Guest Blogger Toby Bateson

Rats are renowned for being highly destructive. They are well known to damage food, clothing and buildings. roof-rat-961499_640 They also target machines and computers, including the wiring in your car engine. Repairs can be expensive, sometimes an entire car may need rewiring as a result. For a high end sports car or SUV this can be in the region of £7000.

car-482683_640 Research by Hammer Technologies has shown that an amazing 9% of car users in the UK have had their car damaged by rodents at some point. Damage found included chewed pipes, bitten plastic cowling and broken wires and pipes.

The reason they tend to do this is thought to be because their teeth grow constantly throughout their lives. They chew on hard materials such as steel wires in order to wear their teeth down. The warm engines of cars are also thought to attract rats looking for a home.

The survey demonstrated that the average cost of repair came to £300. The total cost of rat damage to cars every year was calculated to be an amazing £377,410,90.

The way this figure was found, if you are interested, is as follows.

In 2013 31 million cars were on the road in the UK, according to official Department of Transport figures. The survey showed an average of 1.86 rat damage events for each person who was affected. Eight of the 33 episodes reported occurred in the previous year.

9% of those surveyed had suffered rodent damage to their cars. The following sum calculates the total cost of the damage. 9% * 31 million cars * £300 * 1.86 episodes per person * (8÷33) episodes in the last year = £377,410,909.

If you have a car make sure you do everything you can to protect yourself. The PeeMan has products which will protect your car from rat damage. Visit the store now to get the protection you need.

The PeeMan’s Daughter is getting married!

I wasn’t planning to write this blog, but something big has happened here. Our middle daughter Laura got engaged! Upon hearing the news, a whole bunch of us piled in the truck and headed south to meet up with Laura and fiance Alex to celebrate. Some might think it odd that the PeeMan would announce his daughter’s engagement to the world in his PredatorPee blog….but to Laura, it would be a surprise if he didn’t.

IMG_0367 (1) You see, we have three wonderfully unique daughters. Erica, the oldest, married with four kids and along with husband Nathan is actively involved in the Pee business, Emma our youngest, just venturing into the world of adult-hood and Laura, now planning her wedding. Three daughters is a lot for a father to handle especially since the PeeMan is pretty old-school. I have embraced the idea taught in the Bible that a father is responsible for his daughter until she is married…you can only imagine how that goes over in today’s world. Proactive fatherhood is messy, awkward, uncomfortable, risky, painful, intrusive and exhausting…. yet in the end, it is absolutely perfect. I, of course, messed it up along the way, I am sure. There wasn’t a detailed playbook, but I kept at it. How many times haven’t I said to the girls:

“The last place I want to be is here having this conversation with you, but its my job, God gave it to me and I love you, so we’re stuck right here together until we get though this.”

Now through it all, I look back and can say it was all worth it. As teenagers and adults, I am so thankful that they have let me be a part of their lives while I know of so many fathers who have been locked out.

Two weeks ago, Alex met with my wife and I to ask permission to marry Laura….(old school, we liked that!) and we gave our blessing. Now I look forward to handing my responsibilities over to Alex…. just like it should be. Congratulations, Laura & Alex!

Until I find more words(or another daughter gets engaged) . . .The PeeMan