Sunday, November 14, 2010

More prickly things


Sandburrs. I really hate these things. They get in the dogs' feet and I don't like that. When Em is out on the prairie and gets one she will just stand, raise her foot, and look around for me to come to the rescue. I always carry the proper tools (Kelly forceps are good) in the Rhino so I can perform the operation when called for.

Yesterday in the back pen attached to the shop building, Jack limped over to me and raised his left front paw. At first I couldn't find anything, but then found a burr deep down in his pad. It was "old and tired" and easy to remove and Jack was off again on his endless search for adventure. Didn't even say thanks.

Those little green "starbursts" get hard as they age and the spikes are amazingly sharp. Barbed, too, so they stick to whatever picks them up. They also seem to have something on them that causes the stuck place to sting and burn for a long time after they are extracted.

I've just about eradicated these things inside the compound. Shortly after being spotted this one, growing up through the auto-gate, got a nice dose of Round-Up.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i hate them too. as kids our backyard was filled with them little stickers. you know that Jack was happy to be rid of that sticker burr, even if he took off to play.
janey

BobG said...

Those damn things have gotten spread into my neighborhood; they're one of the most obnoxious weeds I've ever had to deal with.

Crotalus (Don't Tread on Me) said...

The only prickly things I like on your prairie are the Spiny Star cacti, and the little Green-Flowered Hedgehog cacti, if those are there. I remember those damn sandburs as well, and I always hated them.