Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Baymule]

Rent a trailer? Why not just buy one? Don’t you have a stock trailer now?

 

[farmerjan]

2 magazines that will help with getting to know grasses and rotational grazing... Acres USA is more for the overall knowledge of everything ag...and is more about organic farming... but has a ton of info.... Stockman Grass Farmer is dedicated to learning, using and understanding everything related to GRASS FARMING... which is the basis to good rotational grazing and more. Got o every seminar that you can manage with any ag or extension related group. Most are free, some charge a nominal charge often because they include a meal. You are going to a different climate, different soil types and different grasses... and the different conditions will create a learning curve with parasites too.

 

[Ridgetop]

Absolutely! I plan to attend all seminars, etc. on pasture and sheep. (I actually like going to them!) I have already learned about Barber Pole worms in east Texas , and Baymule just warned me about letting the sheep drink from the pond due to liver flukes!

Between the freak tornadoes and snow storms hitting Texas and the disgusting parasites waiting to attack my helpless sheep, maybe paying astronomical prices for hay, water and gas is not so bad. At least here I now what to expect - earthquakes, devastating wildfires, and liberals!

Discussed my perimeter fence plans with Bay yesterday and she was firm on removing the current exterior cattle fencing since it is currently full of small trees and brush. She is going to go look at it for me on one of her trips to Emory and let me know if she thinks it should be removed. If I don't take it out, she said I should allow a 15' offset to allow for brush hogging and spraying green briars on the new fence to avoid damage. Once I get the new fence estimates from the 2 fence companies (both of whom used to be in business together and have the same 5***** ratings - gotta love small towns) I will have to go back and ask for another estimate based on them removing the old fence and putting in the new fence. I also have to hunt down the neighbors on either side (no houses, just cattle grazing on one side and hayfields on the other) to talk about tearing out the fence to put in the new. Will this aggravation never end?! It would be so much easier if we were already still living there! Can't get any good help from DS1 since his reply is always that he hasn't seen the property so has no idea about redoing the fence since there is existing fence. He has great ideas about new pasture fencing, buildings, etc. but is right - he needs to see the property. At least he is interested now in what will be built, attending seminars, and running the sheep ranch on pasture. DH said that his early disinterest was because he probably didn't think it would ever happen.

I wish we could walk the property lines to look at the fence instead of just Google map pix which are too far away to really be of use. I hate the thought of having to wait until this summer to put in the fence since fencing materials are shooting higher every day! We will have to put a lot of money in the property to get it the way we need it. Fencing, a big new shop building (with bathroom), repave the driveway, large carport for 3 cars/trucks since the existing carport will only hold 1 car, eventually digging a new well, and some remodeling n the house. Once we're back there we will have to refinance the property to get the money to do those things. The good thing will be refinancing will lower our interest rate a lot since we will be living there. Right now our interest rate is for business property.

Went on the Old Dominion website and they have suspended their home moving packages (like Latestarter used) due to high demand! Apparently they can't cover everyone that needs moving services so we are back to square 1 on that score. However we can borrow DS3's flatbed trailer (18' I think). And we do have our 16' stock trailer which all the panels except the 24' 4 bar and the 8' x 12' galvanized horse corral roof panels will fit in. All the other portable panels are 12' and smaller. Still have to look up livestock transporters and check rates. Might have to just bring the sheep back in several trips or buy a gooseneck double deck trailer for them - depends on what is cheaper. Could also leave some of the younger ewes here with one dog and come back in several months to pick them up when one of the show or auctions is happening. Pick up some new stock at the same time. Who said that?! DS3 comes across good trailer deals occasionally so we can let him know we need a 24-30' covered trailer. DH is thinking about replacing some of our furniture in Texas instead of bringing it all with us. But that will cost $$$$

Anyway, had a bad night last night. Knee was swollen up at least twice the normal size and looked like a small watermelon! Couldn't hardly walk and the ankle kept giving out too. After DH and I were in bed I was just falling asleep when he asked if we had anything for his sore back where he tweaked it loading manure barrels in the truck. For the first time in 50 years I did not leap out of bed and rush to get him some aspirin. My knee hurt too much so I asked him to go get it himself. After 5 minutes of instructions on where to find the aspirin bottle (in the medicine cabinet) he finally took his aspirins and came back to bed. Gotta love my sweetie! LOL

The rest of the night I kept waking up thinking about the ranch fence, had nightmares about my sheep getting sick, combined with constant visits to commune with nature - I really need to stop drinking lots of water after 9pm. I get busy during the day and don't drink anything then am dehydrated by bed time. I rehydrate between 7 and 10 and - you know the rest!

Today I have to wrap and remove the banquette cushions from the trailer, and also remove all the oak veneer into the shed for use when the trailer returns. Also, when it returns DS1 and I will figure how to remove the sofa bed so we can get the trailer ready for a return trip to Texas.

Still don't know when surgery on my knee will be scheduled. Ortho appointment on April 5 then we will schedule TX trip around surgery. Maybe DH and DS1 can make a couple trip with equipment while I am laid up. Grandchildren can feed curing summer under my supervision.

DGD1 had First Confession (Reconciiation) yesterday. With Covid no First Communions were held in past 2 years so this is her big year. Have to shop for the First Communion DRESS AND VEIL. Like a wedding! She has shoes from DD2's wedding so DD1 and DD2 are planning big shopping trip for THE DRESS. DDIL2 might also go. I will go and treat my girls to lunch. This is a family tradition since my grandmother. Lots of fun for all of us.

DD1's dog is still coming over 3 days a week and whenever the family wants to go do something. They don't want to crate him all day but at 7-8 months old he should have a kennel run. Their fence is good although not really high enough in one area, but the coyotes might still come in after him. We are getting tired of picking up his poop though and also our dogs are locked out of the front yard in case they decide to eat him. Yesterday he found a plant t and dumped the dirt al over the lawn - the fake lawn - which will require sweeping it up and washing it off! The family is not happy about that. Then after DS1 picked Elizabeth up from school he had to drop her off at home with her dad for First Confession. Then DS1 picked her brothers and brought them home where the did some light work for us (bringing wheelbarrows of sheep manure and bedding from the barn to the compost pile). DD1 called to see about picking them up and I told her they were still working so she went home and told DS1 to bring them home after they ate dinner. I was making dinner. DS1 and the boys came in 10 minutes later and he had a fit about having to drive them home because he is using so much gas to pick up and deliver DD1's children. Called her back and she was already home and did not want to come get them so after some yelling and shouting on the phone he had the boys finish their dinner, then loaded the boys and dog and drove them home. It is only 5 minutes away and if it was not dark they could have walked it through the hills, but it is really getting to be an imposition on our family since she doesn't offer to give us any gas money. DS1 is driving about 70miles round trip picking u ad delivering Elizabeth to her home or our home 5 days a week. Then add in the occasional pick up at the boys' middle school which is 10 miles the other direction, that comes to another 20 miles for those trips maybe twice a month. Lots of gas even in the Explorer which get better mileage. Told DH and DS1 they need to ask for gas money and they agreed. Whether DH will is another thing.

Forgot to load this before I went out and finished cleaning out the debris from the trailer, putting the veneer pieces, cushions, and tools in the shed, etc. It is ready to go to the shop now for the electrical problem. There was a beeping continuously for a while so I had taken the alarm out and disposed of it. Then the beeping started again! I couldn't locate it until now when I found a CO2 alarm hiding around the corner. I pushed the reset button to see if that was the problem. When trailers are shut up for a while and not aired out, they can start to smell. Particularly when your adult children leave garbage in them after using them as guest rooms. If pushing the reset doesn't fix it I will replace it with the new one I bought. I have to put up the new smoke alarm too. I will wait until the trailer place finishes fixing the electric problem. Hopefully not anything too severe. I looked at the sofa bed and could not see where to disassemble it, but did not look that hard. When it comes back DS1 and I will get in there and move it around to check it for disassembly. Then it can go to the Goodwill. Or maybe e should wait until this summer and wrap it in plastic with mothballs and store it in the tack room of the barn. That way we would have a temporary couch when we come back and the tenant is gone. On the other hand it might just become a giant mouse and rat warren! Probably better to send it to Goodwill here and just buy something back there. Or we can do our camping thing with blowup mattresses (always good for a laugh), folding camp chairs, and recliners.

Checked out the ewe that has the bad udder and she has been limping on her front offside leg. When we separate out the ewes that are due to lamb in the barn, we can catch her and i will check her foot to see if she has something in it. She has dried up now and is going to the auction on April 6. Her ram lamb has been weaned for 2 weeks, but is scouring badly for some reason. He is also undersized. I will catch him and give him some pink stomach stuff for the diarrhea. He is also going to the auction on the 6th but probably won't bring much. I also want to catch her sister and check her eyelids. She has a huge bloated looking rumen and I cant decide if she is just a ewe with huge capacity or might be full of worms. No one else looks bad though so?

I am going to look for a livestock transport hauler now and see what they would charge so I can decide if we should be considering buying a second livestock trailer. I will also check prices on aluminum gooseneck double decker trailers. Just for laughs and giggles.

 

[Ridgetop]

Trailer prices!

 

[Ridgetop]

Good news on liver fluke information - friend Erick will let me have some Pilgrim geese and Indian Runner ducks for the ponds. He says the Indian Runners are little cannibals and will eat all the snails, and any other creatures. The geese will be good for keeping the ponds clean of water plant growth that can choke the pond's oxygen, cause algae buildup and kill fish by preventing oxygen to permeate the water. I was planning to put a small fence around the pond perimeters anyway to prevent sheep from drinking fluky water so the fence will also keep my Anatolians from eating any geese or ducks until I can train them to leave the waterfowl alone. So excited since I love geese and ducks. Cleaning the ponds will encourage fish growth and health.

Heading off soon to the Shadow Hills Presbyterian Preschool Trike-a-Thon in which 4-year-old granddaughter is participating. Soon DGS5 and DGD3 will go there. First my youngest DS2, and DS3, I taught there, and then DGS1 (age 14), his siblings and cousins followed. How many years have I been going and contributing to this fundraiser? When I am in a wheelchair will they let me compete? I will cheat - motorized wheelchair!

I am attaching some print outs from the sheep seminar we went March 5. There is a good 2 page article about breeding and lambing basics by Wes Patton who is a retired AG teacher at Chino State College. The veterinarian speaker, Dr Brownfield, passed out a 1 page list about "Establishing a Vet-Client-Patient Relationship". With all the conversation about prescription drugs and the unavailability without prescription of our previous over the counter livestock drugs these days, I figured I would post this too. The other 2 pages is what was covered in the seminar if anyone is considering putting one together. Everyone who came to speak donated their time and the seminar was free.

Had a hard time with this and now I see that the scanner recorded this as being on legal size paper! Hopefully everyone can enlarge it to read. The Vet page got on twice, once in full size so I left it. Blame it on my computer (or on the operator skills). LOL

Heading to the Trike-a-Thon. DD2 is here, needed a bike helmet for DGD2, will take the 3 e have in case someone else needs one Preschool might have some. Taking folding shairs.

 

[Ridgetop]

Back from Trike-a-Thon and ran into a childhood friend of boys. Debra's youngest son around same age as DS2. His older brother was same age as DS1. Mom has had early onset Alzheimers for a long time, but I used to teach with her at the preschool and she was a good friend. Between us we knew everything (almost) our boys got up to in middle and high school. LOL Good spy network!

DS2 and DS1 invited Andrew to bring his girlfriend and come to the party. They were at preschool to cheer on her nephew. I told her to bring her nephew who is in DGD2's class. His older brother Jeff is coming into town to visit at the same time so told him to bring Jeff and his kids. Jeff's kids are the same age as DD1's. DS2 and DDIL2 are renting a bouncy house, water slide (inflatable), and having a huge BBQ tomorrow for baby Robert's birthday. Lots of relatives and kids will be there. We have to keep the sheep penned, and Bubba in the barn during the shindig. Not sure about the mule if the older kids want to go out on the field, since her corral is keeping the field troughs and extra equipment from running away. She is friendly though so not really a problem.

DS2 is finishing the feeder boxes for the jugs. Got to put 3 ewes in the barn tonight. OR5 has a vulva shaking like thinset jello! Her udder has not bagged completely yet so hopefully we will catch her before she lambs. 8111 is due 3/28 and is normally on time, then BL13 on 3/31. 0439 is not due until April 11. I checked my book just in case.

Didn't post this earlier either! Then got busy filing in the office - big mess after tax time. DS1 is fishing the barn jugs - has to use a pickax because the ground compacts so hard. He wants to get everything up so he can lime it tonight. Leaving it pretty late but if they lamb in the overnight pen we can transfer them tomorrow morning. Weather has been hot and evenings are pleasant. He has to fill the wheelbarrow then wheel it up the ramp 4' above the level of the barn and then out to the field to dump it. All the manure barrels were filled. I use the manure barrels for raking and shoveling up the dropped hay and manure. DS1 is getting up the compacted urine soaked stuff below. Can you believe that the children and I used to do this monthly for 30 years? DS2 and DS3 were dragging small carts of muck up the ramp and out onto the field when they were 5 and 6 years old! Can't wait for Texas and using a tractor blade to scrape this up in the new barn! I don't want to wait to move for another year. If the tenant moves out before then, we will move in and start working on the property even though we won't be able to transfer residency yet.
Digging hard pan Ramp is to right, then out gate onto field and dump on edge of gully. If we stay another 500 years we might fill the gully and have a flat level lot. LOL
Here is our wooden farm gate after 6 years. Cross piece was gnawed by horses and Josie the Mule waiting for supper. They lso ike t lean on the gate - even the support wheel did not help.
DS2 went on line Wednesday night to TSC to order this gate. They had ONE in stock so he and DH drove over right away to get it along with some barn lime and 4 mineral blocks. The next day DS2 got hardware and he and DS1 replaced it. It is much lighter than the wooden gate so they decided it didn't need a wheel. The ground is pretty uneven too so they were afraid it would not work right. It is getting dusk, dinnertime so the yearlings are waiting to be fed.
Here are the feeder boxes DS2 made and attached to the metal hay baskets to stop hay waste. The hay baskets are only 18" wide to fit in the jugs, but the ewes waste half that pricey alfalfa onto the ground. More if the hay is very dry and brittle. We were using hanging buckets for grain when we fed it to new milkers, but these little boxes will do the trick as well.

Speaking of which we need to refill the Connex with hay. DS1 says that we use 1/3 to 1/2 as much hay when we are feeding a larger group of sheep than when we feed ewes separately in the jugs so my goal will be to get the ewes out of the jugs an into the creep pen by the time their lambs are a week old. We will have to vaccinate and dock in that time. Speed everything up and save on hay expense. The ewe feeder in the creep pen (the portion where the ewes live) is large enough for 7-8 ewes and we feed hay in the creep for the lambs. Currently we start them in a large tub feeder on the ground but I think we need to build a lamb hay feeder in the creep. The tub feeder is ok and we dump the left over hay into the ewe feeder am and pm before feeding the ewes. Then we fill the tub with fresh hay for the lambs. The ewes eat the stalkier stuff just fine. But there is still hay spillage and waste in the lamb creep. My goal is to be more efficient and economical this year.

 

[Ridgetop]

Anyway, got the 3 ewes that were due last week into the barn on time but still no lambs. OR5 has a mega wobbly vulva but the lambs will come when they come so . . . . Only one of the ewes is a first timer. The boxes DS2 made for my hay baskets are working great. The stalls are staying cleaner.

Still trying to decide what to do about the fencing. Have not gotten an estimate from either fence guy yet. I think we need to go back and be there when the fences go in so we can pull out the T-posts and save them for the interior fences when we put up the rotational pastures. Both Bay and Erick said we need to remove the old fence and bulldoze the rubbish small trees, shrubs, and any briars. Since we have to do that we should be back there and do the fencing in sections. The fencing on the side of the property where the house is located does not have as much brush or trees on the fence line. That side of the fencing would be easiest to fence first and go back to the property line then over around the ponds and back to the front enclosing the barn and over to the side of the driveway up to the front. I think. We don't need the entire 45 acres fenced just yet. I might fence in sections and let the cattle tenant remain even after we are grazing the sheep. We will have a lot of work to do in the house on renovations, painting, new flooring, and some kitchen stuff.

DGD1 raked the 3 jugs out today (with the 3 ewes in them) and DS1 shoveled everything into a barrel. If we do that every couple of days, (and every day after the lambs arrive) we can avoid having debris build up requiring using a mattock to remove the layers. With just one ewe in each pen and daily raking and no hay dropping into the pen, we won't get that solid layer of pee, hay & poo that is so much effort to remove and so heavy to carry up the ramp to the field. Can't wait to have a tractor accessible barn, creep, and jugs.

Checked my calendar and I have another date for 8111 showing her to be due tomorrow with OR5 due the following day, and BL13 due on Monday. Of course, if they had been left out in the big pen when it rained they would have lambed in the mud just to be contrary! Saturday I will call the fellow who wanted a lamb to see if he wants to come up and get one for the price I quoted. Wednesday the lambs and 7041 go to auction. After Wednesday the creep will be empty and we can dig out those 2 sections of the pen and get ready for the next 3 ewes and their lambs to move into that space. One ewe due on April 11, then no one due till mid May.

 

[Ridgetop]

Been a week since I posted anything and lots has happened. Got contact info for properties on either side of Yantis ranch and sent letter to one owner about fencing. Other property was sold and the new owners are planning to build 5 acre ranchettes with homes on the 40 acre hay ranch. Not too happy about that but it does change our plans too. Now instead of doing too much expensive fencing, we will do much less. We will not change the windows out to dual pane. I will change out the patio door from a solid wooden door to a dual pane garden door that will give view to the back yard and open onto the patio. We might add more patio space. Then I will paint out the dark wooden paneling in the living room and the kitchen cabinets which are good flat face wood cabinets. I will take out the peninsula which has no storage under it and replace it either with an island or peninsula with cabinets underneath and possible bar seating. I need to replace the 1972 Harvest Gold Formica countertops anyway. I will also replace the old bathroom vanities and Formica counters with new ones with granite tops. The tub in the family bath is brown - 1972 remember - and I will either have it refinished or remove it and replace it with a cast iron tub. I need to install a shower since there is no shower plumbing in that bathroom.

Depending on what happens with the housing development next door we will stay for several years and then decide whether to sell and move or? This is a good reason to keep our house in California and rent it to our son and daughter in law for a couple years.

Sunday the fellow who had kept me dangling about buying a ram in November called again. I told him that I had several young rams again and would be taking them to auction on Wednesday. He decided to come over immediately with his wife. They were very nice people. We had to lock Bubba in the house while they looked at the sheep. He bought a 3 month old ram and a 6 month old eweling. I collected the cash and signed over the registration papers on the ewe but had to send off the paperwork to register the ram. Once I get the registrations papers back, I will send them to him with instructions on how to transfer both to himself. The ewe he chose is a very nice ewe out of one of my Utah ewes. Both DS1 and DS2 helped him choose between the 4-6 I had available for sale. Some of my ewe lambs are not for sale since they will go into my breeding flock but I had some really nice closely related (on their mothers' sides) that could be sold. He wanted one of the really young lambs but they had the same sire as the ram and we talked hm out of buying half bro/sis to breed as a start to his flock. He couldn't take the sheep home since they had come over in a small car. I offered to deliver them on Wednesday since we were going to the auction anyway, but his driveway is hard to get into with the stock trailer so he decided to come get them himself. I told him we would have them ready for him since we had to pull the ewe lamb off the field and put her in the barn.

Monday, did laundry and cleaned. Tuesday we had to get up early to get to Santa Monica by 8:00 for my ortho appt. Annabel was here - so sweet and happy. She is getting her 2 top teeth finally. She has cut down o the amount she eats so she must be in a stationary growth pattern right now.

Wednesday we had 3 Dr. appts. First was my ortho appt and the surgeon said I definitely needed the replacement since the knee is causing the leg to angle out so far. Also it is affecting my walking, posture, spine, hip, ankle, etc. etc. so ok I will go under the knife. He thinks he can straighten out the leg with the knee replacement so that will take care of the other joint problems. His scheduling nurse will be calling to schedule the surgery date. He thinks probably June although maybe as early as May As long as it is the end of May that will work - I have 6 ewes lambing in mid May. I figure I better do it as soon as possible before I chicken out.

Then DH had appointments with cardiology (to make sure the Covid did not mess up his heart). The doctor has scheduled him for an echo and another test. One of the tests he has to do in the hospital since he is 12 lbs. too heavy for the testing equipment in the office! He was not happy to find that out. I scheduled those tests for May 5 when i already have an appointment in Santa Monica with my oncologist. We like to go together so we can use the diamond lane and save on gas. Our parking charges for the 3 appointments Wednesday came to $28.00!

The next appointment was for DH at gastroenterology. I won't bother telling you about those problems. DH has to have some sort of test where he breathes into a selection of tubes then they check it to see if he has something called SIBO. Or maybe that is the name of the test. It is some sort of condition that is easily treated with a course of antibiotics. Hopefully the test will be positive and he will get the antibiotics otherwise they will have to do more tests.

So finally back around 5 pm. Before going inside I checked on my ewes in the barn to see if they had decided to lamb and sure enough OR 5 had a head sticking out! I ran inside to change out of my going-to-the-doctor clothes and into my pulling-lambs clothes DGD1 came with me to the barn - she loves to help rub the newborns off and is a big help. I tried to pull the lamb out but he was stuck tight. Only the giant head was out. His tongue was blue and his mouth was cold. The lamb was dead. It still had to come out so I sent DGD1 to fetch DS1 to help. DS2 was cooking dinner and DH had no clue what was going on since he can't hear anything. DS1 held the ewe while I lubed up and managed to get one foreleg up and out. The lamb stuck there. The ewe's vulva was starting to tear. The lamb's head was terribly swollen. I used more lube to coat his neck and everywhere I could reach inside. Then DS1 switched places with me and I held the ewe while he pulled the lamb out. There was a popping noise when it came out and he was afraid he had broken a leg but since it was dead, that wasn't a big deal. DGD1 was very upset that it was dead but then she said I think it's alive it moved. We thought it was just the normal settling after death but she was right! Unbelievably the lamb was still alive! Quickly I grabbed it by the rear legs and swung it gently upside down. I checked to make sure the mouth and nose were clear then DGD1 moved into position and started rubbing the lamb gently. I checked the ewe who was exhausted and really not interested in her lamb. She really didn't look good but there was no other lamb in her. She just stood with her head hanging down. This was her second time lambing - she had twins the first time. This was a single ginormous ram lamb! DS1said he had checked the ewes in the jugs about half an hour before we got home and nothing was happening. She had not had the lamb's head stuck for too long. His nose and mouth was clear of membrane, and quick action was able to save him.

The lamb still did not look good. It was alive but not really responding or breathing well. DS1 had me check its legs to make sure it was ok and nothing seemed broken. Luckily, since I had just swung it around upside down! But then I am the mother who assured her 10 year old son that I could fix his broken navicular bone by massaging it! Anyway I decided to try the trick I had seen Dr. Pol do on TV with calves that he pulled that were very weak and not moving. I got some water in a bucket and sloshed it over the lamb's head and it worked!!! Thank you DR. Pol! A second dose of water and the lamb came wide awake. He was still very dozy but was alive. Now to see if there was any damage to him. His cord was still bleeding so we iodined it and clamped it. He still could not get to his feet and we were not really happy about the way his rear legs were shaking and trembling. He still had not nursed since he could not get to his feet and his mother was still very down. I came up to the house and left DGD1 on guard - she kept running up to give me updates on him until her daddy came to pick her up. I warned her that the lamb might die overnight since he was so weak.

No sooner was that crisis over than the sheep buyer showed up to pick up his lambs. I had told him that he could turn around his horse trailer on the field but instead he had built a cage on top of his truck and decided to tie their legs to transport them. DS1 brought the sheep up for him but we said he had to tie their legs himself since we did not want to be responsible for anything happening. They came up in halters and were fairly calm until they realized they were being tied up and shoved into the weird cage! Then the ewe started to freak out and the boards started to crack. The ram lamb got scared and banged into my bad knee and bent it a bit but I was braced and did not go down. However, we got them loaded and he tied up the back. He only had about a15 minute drive and left, very happy with them. They were very nice animals and will do well for him. They have good blood lines and will blend together well.

Later I had DS1 go down with me to try to milk out the ewe. I had decided to give the lamb a feed of colostrum with a bottle along with a dose of Vitamin E and Selenium paste. While I washed the ewe's udder and vulva I noticed the lamb was struggling to get to his feet! Nothing wrong with him other than his completely swollen head which looked like a furry ball instead of a lamb. He was bruised too and the skin behind his ears, on the top of his head, and around his eyes was purple. But he was on his feet and heading towards his mama. She perked up every time he let out a loud baaa so I decided to leave them alone and see what happened in the morning. As I was picking up the bloody messy towels the ewe realized I was between her and her lamb and ran into my bad knee from the back. Luckily I grabbed the jug side and was able to recover. I limped up to the house and took aspirin. In the morning the lamb was fine and had nursed. The ewe had passed her afterbirth and seemed to be feeling better. One down and one or two more to go this month.

 

[Ridgetop]

8:00 am Wednesday morning DH went off to the VA for his hearing test and to pick up his new hearing aids.

DS2 and I were going to go to the auction while DH was at the VA since DS2 had to go down to sign the IBEW union books as a Journeyman. The auction is halfway there so to save gas we were going to do both in one trip. We loaded up the remaining 4 lambs and the older ewe with the poor attachments who I was sending as well. She is a good ewe but I haven't been really happy with her offspring and poor udder attachments are hereditary. We had to wait for traffic to clear before leaving so DH got home in time to go to the auction with DS2 and me. He said he could actually hear with the new hearing aids which was a great thing although you couldn't prove it by me since we were in the diesel with the windows down and no one could hear anything on the freeway. Why did we not just turn on the AC you ask? The AC was not working. It worked before the truck went to the shop for the other items but now it just blew hot air. So a miserable trip to San Bernardino in the heat with the windows open attempting to get some air flow to cool down the interior. I am of the personal opinion that every time we take the truck to the shop they disconnect something so we have to bring it back for another $1,000 repair and a stay of 2-3 weeks! DG is furious about the delay in getting his truck back while I am furious about the constant repairs AFTER we have had the truck in the shop. We will probably have to get another truck but are waiting until we no longer have a car payment. We want t buy it in Texas at the local dealer so we can bring it in for repairs, etc. locally. This time we will get a gas engine since they are lasting much longer these days.

At any rate we unloaded the sheep at the auction. About a dozen horrible skinny range goats and about 10 huge old Suffolk rams. No lambs, and it looked like mine was the only ewe there. We took in three 2 month old rams weighing abut 45-50 lbs. and the older but slightly stunted 3 month old ram lamb also about 50 lbs. Hopefully I will get good prices on the lambs. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. Traditional Hispanics buy a lamb or kid before Palm Sunday. The kids play with it and make a pet of it then they slaughter it for Easter dinner. Old tradition and I used to sell a lot of bottle kids back when we had dairy goats. Prices were very low back then. Since we are close to Easter I am hopeful even though my lambs are younger. With the higher cost of hay I might start taking in the ram lambs at 2 months old if the prices are ok. Normally we just pull the ram lambs at 3 months and turn the ewes out onto the field, keeping the ewe lambs in the creep for a week or so before sending them out into the field as their mothers move to the breeding pen. We will see when we get the check.

So leaving the auction we went on the second half of the journey to San Bernardino so DS2 could sign the books but when we arrived the hall was closed for lunch! With the trailer in tow we went over to get lunch and returned to et in the truck waiting for the hall to open again. DS2 came back out and said the medical for his CDL needed to be updated so he would have to get another physical. By now we were all hot, sweaty, tired, and cranky. My knee was starting to ache from being in the back seat even though DS2 had moved his seat as far forward as possible.

Finally home and I went to take a shower, lay down, and put my leg up. BUT DH came to get me to go over the tax return and sign it. Since we were doing that I had him give me some of the figures I needed for my annual report I have to submit to the NNN mortgage holders. This is a miserable report that I have to fill out every year listing all our financial information, insurance policies, properties, etc. It is the equivalent of filling out all the paperwork for a mortgage. Every year!

Now could I lay down and rest my knee? NO! DS1 wanted me to tell him which ewe had lost both her ear tags. This should have been a no brainer since we had found 8219's ear tags on the field. But things are never easy in the world of sheep and particularly not easy in Ridgetop world.

After a discussion growing more acrimonious on both sides, we trooped into the office and proceeded to stare at the white board behind the door. This board shows which ewes are in the breeding pen, which are bred and when they are due, and which ones have delivered, when, and what. DS1 insisted 8219 was not the tagless ewe in the barn because she was in the breeding pen. In that case she might be either 8174, 8192, or 8189, had he checked her ear tag? No. DS1 went back out and wrote down the ear tag numbers of everyone he could find. Back inside we went through the paperwork. Unfortunately our sheep seem to lose ear tags frequently. Possibly they get them caught on the feeder bars. In any event we have to retag them. In the case of purchased sheep we retag with our own scrapie and flock numbers. Although the tags don't match their registration papers, that won't matter unless I sell them as registered ewes and have to provide the registration papers. At that point I will pay another fee to register the ear tag number changes. In the meantime (since one ewe has been retagged several times!) we simply make sure to keep the retag number with the registration certificate. Since I keep these in a binder in page protectors, we can just write down the new tag number and slip the paper into the page protector. I will continue to register the ewe's progeny using her registered number. HOWEVER, problems can arise when retagging. The new numbers are written on small scraps of paper and usually handed to me when I am:
1. In the shower
2. Chopping onions
3. Doing dishes
ETC.
This can cause problems.

DS1 returned with tag numbers written down. Another discussion ensued as we compared ear tag numbers with the white board again and then with the registration papers. DS1 insisted that we had sold BL14 since she was not out there in any pen. He was also missing GR 27. GR 27 is one of Snowflake's twins. He insisted that we had disposed of her. I insisted that we had not. I had just seen her in the pen 2 days ago. When I said he must have missed her he said that his count of numbers and sheep was correct. He demanded that I account for the missing ear tag numbers. He insisted on seeing the registration certificates and we would compare them to tag numbers. OK. When we were done matching up certificates and tag numbers, we had several missing sheep while there were sheep in the flock wearing strange tag numbers. DS1 was getting very annoyed, and I was getting a bad headache. I went back to the office and got my weight sheets. Sure enough TWO ewe lambs had been retagged before leaving the creep. When comparing the green numbers we found one registration showing retagging. Once that ewe lamb was identified we had only one extra green ear tag in the flock which must be GR 27. DS1 had the scrapie number which matched. We remembered that one of Snowflake's lambs had a completely split ear from losing her tag in the creep. The lamb with the tag number we couldn't match had a split ear. One identity crisis solved.

Another registration had not been shown as retagged either - since it was the only orange tag that was different on DS1's list it was easily noted down. Now on to the identity of the ewe in the barn jug who had lost both her scrapie tag and her flock tag. She was a large ewe and first I thought she was 8219 since we had those ear tags. However, the white board showed 8219 to be in the breeding pen which DS1 insisted was correct. Since this tagless ewe had come off the field she was obviously another ewe. Back to the registration papers. Who was the mystery ewe in the barn? Finally I pulled up the registration certificate for Blue 14. She was out of my Axtell 18003 ewe. DS1 insisted Blue14 had been sold. I said that was Blue 15. I said I would not have sold her because she was the only ewe out of 18003. I had sold 18003's last lamb Orange 27 on Sunday. With DS1 complaining abut my poor record keeping, we went back to the white board which showed BL14 had been bred in December, was due in May, and had been returned to the field in March when the breeding ewes were changed out. In that case I said who was in the barn? The ewe in the barn must be BL14. At that point we had identified every sheep.

DS1 proceeded to scold me for 15 minutes about the importance of keeping good records. I agreed that I needed to make a better attempt at record keeping. In my defense, I said, when we tag and vaccinate I have to juggle the needles, find the tags for DS1, keep track of which lamb belongs to which ewe and write all the information out so I can transfer it to the Applications for registration. DS1 is always in a hurry and it makes it harder. I pointed out that this is why we should set up a chute so we can run the sheep through and check ear tags regularly. DS1, who has always fought me on this, now agreed that we needed a better way of handling the sheep so we could keep better records. DS1 is now taking ore interest in the whole sheep operation. Maybe since we have started selling for better prices, or maybe because he sees with the move to Texas we will be a business, he has suddenly become more interested in some of the aspects. He has even started discussing some of the fencing for rotational grazing.

Today he came up with a way to keep track of the sheep in each pen which can be transferred easily to the ranch operation. He went to Office Depot for supplies. He bought magnetized printable sheets that I am to print out with the sheep numbers - both flock and scrapie numbers. ("You type fast, Mom, it won't take you long.") He bought a magnetized white board and plans to divide it into sections for the breeding pen, ram pen, large field, jugs, and creep pen. He will put the individual magnetized numbers of each sheep in the appropriate section. Then he will move them around as necessary to show where they are. When I said that flat magnetized strips might be difficult to move, he decided that he would make holes in them and I could loop a piece of ribbon in the tag number color through it to give him something to grab. Fine with me if it means that he is interested in the paperwork.

In the meantime, he retagged Blue14 and she is back on the field. And DH keeps going around telling everyone to speak softly. I guess the hearing aids are working since he can hear us taking - whether he understands what we are saying is another matter. Or maybe he just prefers not to understand . . . .

 

[Ridgetop]

This chart system of DS1's may be getting too intricate. He has adjusted the size of the magnetic labels several times and I keep having to retype them to see if they are right. I also pointed out that we need to classify the ewes in the field pen as open, bred, or juniors too young to be bred yet since that will be one of the things we want to keep track of. Working on it . . . .

Made my doctor's appointments for the knee surgery. I scheduled it for May 19, hoping to have all the May lambing done by then. If I have to pull any lambs, DS1 and DH will have to lift the ewe onto a table. LOL I will have DS1 cut back on their feed a smidge the week before they are all due to keep birth weights manageable. The surgeon's assistant will tell me what time to be at the hospital. Reporting times start at 5 am and run 2 hours apart to 2 pm. Sounds like they just feed you through a conveyor belt for surgery! Hope they put me on the right conveyor belt. I would hate to wake up with a penis. Got an appointment for the surgery preop to talk to the surgeon and the pre op with my GP. According to the surgeon they don't keep you in the hospital. You have to walk 150 steps around the hospital ward then you can go home. No anesthetic either - some sort of spinal block which sounds horrible and more painful. Then they send you home with some sort of thing in your thigh to numb the pain in your knee. Can't dwell on this since already I am wondering if walking is that necessary to me or if I should cancel the entire procedure.
I need my hair cut badly and the lady who does it is out of town till April 21 so I may have a go at it myself. It is really horrible - long and sticking out in places. I will get an appointment with her when she comes back and she can fix what I do to it.

Hams are on sale this week for Easter for 99 cents/lb. Probably get at least one. DH picked up some Porterhouse steaks for 5.99/lb. Cut 2.5 to 3" thick! Not a problem since I removed the bone and then cut the steaks horizontally in half. That gave me 2 1-1.5" thick steaks from the small side. Then I cut the long side vertically to make 2 pieces 1-.5" thick each. The long sides I cut in half giving me 6 nice steaks from each Porterhouse. We are learning to eat less beef at those prices - smaller portions. The days of a whole steak per person are over! This makes us sad since we are big carnivores.

I do have a lot of pork in the freezer which I will be using in the InstaPot. I can cook it with gravy, BBQ sauce, or Tomatillo sauce for chili verde. The instaPot wil be getting a lot of use.

DS2 has a friend who just bought 2 Jersey cross breds. One is has calved before the other is a heifer and daughter of the cow. Both are supposed to be bred. He doesn't know what breed bull was used. He and his wife are very nice but have never raised any livestock before. DS2 tried to help him but couldn't tell him much at work. I am going to have DS2 give him the BYH network address to join and maybe get some help from some people. He plans to get some pigs - some rare breed which he has heard is the least genetically improved or something since they are into producing completely "natural" food for the family. hey just bought about 20 acres or so in the mountains near Lake Arrowhead. This is steep terrain and any pastures will be small meadows. Snow but minimal rain. I will have DS2 pass on the BYH info. He says they know nothing and need help.