{"id":723,"date":"2010-03-01T04:00:58","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T11:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/?p=723"},"modified":"2010-02-27T20:33:25","modified_gmt":"2010-02-28T03:33:25","slug":"cactus-forking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/03\/01\/cactus-forking\/","title":{"rendered":"Cactus Forking"},"content":{"rendered":"

posted on Monday<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Not a word combination that comes often to mind.<\/p>\n

\"prickly<\/a><\/p>\n

But the agility area is rife with a low-lying prickly pear and hoo boy, it’s gotta go. \u00a0It starts with the hoe: \u00a0lift the flat pads of the winter-shrunken cactus with hoe, find that tap root…and then just the right, swift combination of hack-n-slice. \u00a0Prickly pear be gone.<\/p>\n

Actually, \u00a0that’s when the hard part starts. \u00a0Because what then? \u00a0Can’t leave the things lying around. \u00a0For one thing, they’ll just root where they are. \u00a0For another, then they’re still…well, lying around!<\/p>\n

But by golly, don’t go picking the things up. \u00a0 The spiny scary parts aren’t even the problem–it’s the horrid little hooked fuzzy spines that you never see until it’s too late. \u00a0No matter what. \u00a0No, leather gloves are no protection. \u00a0Maybe I’ll try kevlar sometime?<\/p>\n

So today I discovered a new use for a trusty old tool…my half-size manure fork. \u00a0It used to be assigned to yard duty when Duncan grazed in Flagstaff and ABQ’s South Valley (“mowing the lawn” had nothing to do with machinery), but here, it has no such use. <\/p>\n

However, the poo fork (because yes, I am too lazy to say “manure fork” more than once) has now found new life!<\/p>\n

Behold! \u00a0The Mighty Cactus Fork!<\/p>\n

\"harvested<\/a><\/p>\n

I might even be smug and satisfied, if it weren’t for the juniper nursery located behind and to the left of where I stood to take this picture. \u00a0I’m kinda getting the feeling that the hoe and the cactus fork aren’t quite gonna do the trick…<\/p>\n

\"juniper<\/a><\/p>\n

Hmm.<\/p>\n

Quick! Don’t look at the Scary! Turn around instead! It’s…<\/p>\n

\nTHE MIGHTY CACTUS FORK!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Much better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

posted on Monday Not a word combination that comes often to mind. But the agility area is rife with a low-lying prickly pear and hoo boy, it’s gotta go. \u00a0It starts with the hoe: \u00a0lift the flat pads of the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[59,18,63,55],"class_list":["post-723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-arroyo","tag-adventures","tag-agility","tag-arroyo","tag-pasture"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb2lc3-bF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1555,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/06\/21\/the-call-of-the-wannit\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":0},"title":"The Call of the Wannit","author":"Doranna","date":"1006.21","format":false,"excerpt":"...Monday Or, in Duncan's case, the call of the modest fenced pasture. He. Wants. It. Duncan loves his pasture. Doesn't matter how scarce those grass blades or how studded with prickly pear. He has a south flat shared with agility equipment and junipers and one gorgeous pi\u00f1on, a north flat\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DuncanHorse"","block_context":{"text":"DuncanHorse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/duncanhorse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/1005.14flirt.head_.24.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":748,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/03\/03\/and-your-little-hatchet-too\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":1},"title":"And Your Little Hatchet, too!","author":"Doranna","date":"1003.03","format":false,"excerpt":"posted on Wednesday Yup. Got me my cactus fork. Got me my little hatchet. And today, the juniper nursery and I gave each other a nervous hairy eyeball and faced off. I\u00a0like my little hatchet. \u00a0Buh-bye, little trees! Of course, I feel guilty. \u00a0I always feel guilty, cutting trees. \u00a0But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Arroyo"","block_context":{"text":"The Arroyo","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-arroyo\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"juniper nursery","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/1002.27cactus.SMM_.6.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7492,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2012\/12\/05\/yes-in-my-backyard\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":2},"title":"Yes, In My Backyard!","author":"Doranna","date":"1212.05","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doranna This is a Dog Agility Blog Event Ten years after my introduction to agility, I've managed to acquire some equipment--jumps, some contact equipment, some tunnels. And I've got a space dedicated to practice, such as it is--as long as I keep clearing the prickly pear, the yucca, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Agility"","block_context":{"text":"Agility","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-dogs\/agility-the-dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/100411header23-192x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":581,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/02\/12\/snowgility\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":3},"title":"Snowgility","author":"Doranna","date":"1002.12","format":false,"excerpt":"posted on Friday What're you gonna do. The dogs are clamoring for training, and the road is pure muck, and the agility yard is hovering somewhere between knee-deep in snow and melted into sludge. Not to mention the next trial is looming, in the big scheme of things--when you've got\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Arroyo"","block_context":{"text":"The Arroyo","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-arroyo\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":541,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/02\/08\/just-not-right\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":4},"title":"Just. Not. Right.","author":"Doranna","date":"1002.08","format":false,"excerpt":"Posted on Monday Snowmageddon, New Mexico style! \u00a0I guess I'd better get used to it: Although to judge by the reaction of folks who have lived here for a while, the weekly and bi-weekly succession of storms this winter is hardly standard operating procedure. It's just the area's way of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Arroyo"","block_context":{"text":"The Arroyo","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-arroyo\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12257,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2015\/04\/13\/a-mckittypants-love-song\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":5},"title":"A McKittypants Love Song","author":"Doranna","date":"1504.13","format":false,"excerpt":"I got everything ready to write this blog, and then promptly went outside to the fenced area of Arroyo Minor to take the dogs for a walk-romp. They enjoyed it.\u00a0 Me, I was just looking for courage. About a month ago, I blogged about our Plague Cat.\u00a0 About how Mr.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mr. McKittypants"","block_context":{"text":"Mr. McKittypants","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/mr-mckittypants\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"mck.chair.694","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/mck.chair_.694-300x182.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":747,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723\/revisions\/747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}