A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE OLD RAM

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day, I go back to my last post about how the dogs evolved, in a large part of France each summer herders are employed and the take all of the sheep in the village for the whole of summer into mountain grazing and this is the key reason the dogs are "so" successful its the interaction between the dogs the stock and the shepherds that forges the successful outcome.When we had ours we were on just 25 acs but were driven "mad" by foxes and domestic dogs but once Juno took control we never had problems again.
...T.O.R.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day folks,I thought you may enjoy an update on how "Henry" and I are going.The learning phase for me (Henry knows it all) has been carried out on a 1 ac patch of rabbit warrens crisscrossed with vacant Wombat dens which we finally completed yesterday(just in time for the rain which is falling as I write to compact the whole area down).....T.O.R.

 

[Latestarter]

Gotta say, you and Henry look like a match made in heaven! I feel bad for the rabbits and wombats

 

[Baymule]

Henry looks like he is a lot of fun to hang out with!

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day folks,today is a day of R & R (rest and reflection).It has been a few busy days on the farm of late as we needed to bring in the new flock and mark,tag the lambs and to drench the ewes after a number of unexplained deaths.So on Sat in the afternoon we (jenny ,I and the dogs ,all 4 of them) mustered up the flock and moved them slowly up into the yards so the task would be not so long the next day.We had set up a drafting race on one of the exits from the shed which the flock had to move past to be ready the next morning.Now this is only the third time the flock has been into the yards and moving them from bright sunlight into a darken area inside the shed was a frustrating task because as you would know from your own experience that sheep detest moving from a light area to a darker one.Anyway after much "yelling by me and barking by the dogs" a few of the old ewes took up the challenge and started to move.(thank heavens for that ,and now I need a beer).

We awoke on Sun to a pleasant day and got over to the yards early to begin the task,but because we had some quite little lambs in the mob we had to get them into the race in small groups so I could "pluck" out the little lambs and band and tag the boys and tag the girls (we have decided to not remove any tails in the new flock).As we worked through the ewes it was apparent that since it had rained that the incidence of Barber's Pole had skyrocketed ,hence the sudden deaths. It would appear that the new flock has ,little or no tolerance to BP challenge,unlike the old flock,which after years of selection could "repel" all but the most extreme attacks (I do hope all the new owners appreciate the value of the work we did over the years).The old flock did not like the drenching ,but the new flock absolutely hate it right down to the 12 month old's and by the time I was finished and had the lambs re-united with their mum's in a small paddock adjacent to the yards to "empty out overnight",the dogs fed I was exhausted( and was in need of least 2 beers and a couple of whisky's to recover).

Monday our youngest daughter came over to catch up and see how the farm was going it had been a couple of months since her last visit and at that time the farm was looking "pretty grim"(she lives about 1 hour away and we pop in whenever we are over shopping in Canberra).Her visit included a 3 km walk and inspection of the results of the recent rains and in spite of the "green" appearance in all but the most rested paddocks it would only feed the rabbits and kangaroos,still we had got some water in some of the dams,but hardly enough to get us through summer unless we get about a 100 mm more this month.

Last nigh I slept like a "log" and after the last few days exertions I am wondering just how long I can keep it up with one thing and another?Still the thought of giving up the farm is something I cannot even contemplate as the thought of moving into town with all "those people" would certainly be the end of us in a very short time i think .....T.O.R.

 

[Baymule]

Keep doing what you are doing and die on your feet. Better than languishing in a hospital bed for months or years being fed through a tube.

How is Jenny doing? Did she help you with the sheep? My bet is on Jenny staying healthier longer because of being on the farm and doing things there that need to be done.

What size flock do you have now?

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day ,well at least the grave is already in position.Yes, Jenny is a big help when it comes to the sheep,she was in control of the race and moving the sheep in the yards after they were done.

The total flock now is about 160 hd of which about 120 are ewes and rams.

With regard to the Landline "Wild dog" program ,I have contacted the TV station asking for a link that people in the USA can use.I will advise the result as soon as I have it...T.O.R

 

[Latestarter]

Glad to hear that Jenny is/was able to participate and help. Must be nice when handling them all at once like this to realize you won't have to deal with shearing them...

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day folks, I thought while Jenny was feeding her chooks and dogs I would update you all on how she is going.

It's now 2 years since she was diagnosed for Alz/Dem and in the last 12 months her short term memory has failed completely and it seems to be extending into her mid-term as well .
I know she is aware that things are failing but attempts to extend extra help results in "push-back",although she does not say much I know she resents the fact that i have to do almost all of the grocery purchases,meal preparation and cooking.I try to get her to prepare a couple of things each week ,such as bake some Muffins or bake a Zucchini slice .

She suffers badly from "separation anxiety" and I cannot leave her out of sight for more the about 10 min without her starting to search for me and when I find her she naturally"blames me" .
Her specialist increase her medication recently as she seems to be able to cope with the 2nd lowest dose,I now track her "bad days" and try my very best to not trigger a meltdown if I can as it can come with a degree of violence but so far it is restricted at me only.She is very sensitive to anything that draws my attention away from her.The other difficulty is that in her eyes everything on the TV has been on before ,often she says its the very same program every day and so my moments of relaxation watching something I have recorded can be interrupted time and time again.Her specialist suggested that perhaps she should be on "something" for her anxiety",but I don't want her "drugged" on an ongoing basis.We have a therapy session each day if I can doing "weeding" in one or other of or sheep paddocks ,but her physical strength is slowly deserting her and concentration on a task (like in the sheep yards) means that as soon as she pauses in a task she forgets what it is and so we stop while I explain it again.All of this make tasks take 3 times as long as it should,but that's life. T.O.R.

 

[greybeard]

It's heartbreaking to see happen. Just went thru it to it's end this last fall with my brother in law. Everything you mentioned,it was the same with him. He could not stand to be away from my sister for very long,even if he was with another family member.

He never forgot to eat*, but often would not recognize he was thirsty or know he needed to stay hydrated. We all had to watch him about that..keep him drinking something.

*No, he always remembered to eat but often forgot he had already eaten and wanted to eat again, swearing no one had fixed him anything to eat, even when his empty dirty plate was still sitting in front of him.

I do think it goes much better when Alzheimer patients stay engaged with some kind of physical and mental activity as much as possible for as long as possible.