Mini Horses
Herd Master
I heard a pistol ran of the shotgun. A woman? Atta girl!! 
maybe shoot him next time.
maybe shoot him next time.
Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along
- Thread starter Ridgetop
- Start date
Baymule
Herd Master
As an 18 year old, I worked at a convenience store in Houston. It was U-Totem. It no longer exists. Anyway, the corporation had a standing bonus-shoot a robber and wound him, next day a district manager showed up with a check for $5,000. Shoot a robber and kill him, next day district manager awarded a check for $10,000.
There was a store on Bissonet, run by a no nonsense crusty old man with a bad attitude. A robber pointed a gun at him, demanding money and that crusty old man pulled his own gun and shot the robber. By the time the cops got there, the robber had been shot 32 times. The cops got annoyed about that…. The old man told them, “Every time he moved, I shot him again.” I always had a mental picture of that old man reloading and every time nerves made the body twitch, pull the trigger and shoot him again.
And he got a $10,000 check the next morning.
There was a store on Bissonet, run by a no nonsense crusty old man with a bad attitude. A robber pointed a gun at him, demanding money and that crusty old man pulled his own gun and shot the robber. By the time the cops got there, the robber had been shot 32 times. The cops got annoyed about that…. The old man told them, “Every time he moved, I shot him again.” I always had a mental picture of that old man reloading and every time nerves made the body twitch, pull the trigger and shoot him again.
And he got a $10,000 check the next morning.
- Thread starter
- #2,633
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Yup, I always start yelling at the heroine when she whacks the bad guy once and runs off letting him recover and chase her down. I holler "Hit hm again, hit hi again". I figure don't stop hitting the bad guy till you know he is down for the count and you have tied him up. Or shot him in both knees.
Working on our taxes, collecting the paperwork, and writing everything down for DH to put into our work up. I do the rentals, he does everything else. This year taxes and insurance really went up in Texas. My insurance guy said that Texas insurance companies are still recovering from Snowmageddon and that insurance costs have gone up anywhere from 50% to 150%.
Insurance alone has taken a huge bite out of our income. I really want to claim the sheep as a farm for 2022 but DH insists on waiting until 2023. I am going to bring all the expenditures and income with me this trip and show them to the new tax man in Quitman. Maybe he will be able to encourage DH to file a farm tax return for 2022. We had the farm since 2021, we rented out pasture, I had some income from lamb and breeding stock sales, and I filed the USDA farm AG census. We had expenses for the farm but those can also be written off against the house rental - the main expenses are hay purchases for the sheep.
DH and I will start trimming hooves this afternoon. We have 10 in the barn to do. I figure we can get 4 trimmed today. We also have to give booster vax to them. Then we have to move them around so The Texas Five can be brought up from the creep pen again for the vet visit tomorrow. It is chilly out today bu working will keep us warm.
My wonderful tenant called again and said they might not be out of the house by the end of the month. I told her not to worry. Apparently, their house is supposed to be painted tomorrow but with all the rain, they're not sure it will dry. They don't have electricity to the house either. It has been so wet and muddy that the contractor can't put the electric run from the pole underground to the house. He can't dig the ditch to put it in without the rain flooding the ditch! Told her no problem we can go to a motel. Our kids and grandkids want to go to Dallas Saturday afternoon since they are flying back Sunday. DS2 wants to go to the Cattlemen's steakhouse in Ft. Worth stockyards. Since the weather is so wet anyway, a short trip to look around will be enough for them. We will unload everything and I will do all the measurements then we can go to the motel and leave early to return to California.
Did not post before putting dinner in the oven, going to the barn and trimming 6 sets of hooves, vaxing, draining a small abscess, etc. Then we moved the newly trimmed sheep out to the field, moved the Texas Five up into a pen for their vet visit tomorrow, fed and watered, and I came up to the house to help DGD1 bake a birthday cake for her daddy. His birthday is tomorrow. We will make the frosting tomorrow and she will frost and decorate the cake with a Valentine heart (came in the flowers DH got me
). Then she can take the cake home for a surprise.
Update on the truck -
DH went by Galpin Motors and they told him that instead of being able to pick it up this week it won't be ready until the end of the month!!! That old excuse about not getting the parts is no longer valid since last week they told DH they had the parts and were almost finished with the truck. By now we figure one of the mechanics must have needed it to move or something since it has taken so long. Or maybe they are renting it out. Who knows. We will just come back with the stock trailer carrying the boxes, shelves, and the Texas Five. Inside the cab will be everyone's dress clothes for the wedding and the 3 of us - DH, DS1, and me. We won't spend much time back there, just enough to unload, set up the shelves, pack all the boxes on the shelves, unload the Texas Five into Baymule's trailer, head to Leander to see our puppy, then meet the family at the hotel in Athens. After the wedding we will head back to Yantis, show the kids the house and property, meet with the taxman, gardener, and utility companies to make sure to transfer the utilities, measure out the floorplan, and head home. Hopefully stopping in Arizona or New Mexico to pick up some hay for less than $30/bale.
Working on our taxes, collecting the paperwork, and writing everything down for DH to put into our work up. I do the rentals, he does everything else. This year taxes and insurance really went up in Texas. My insurance guy said that Texas insurance companies are still recovering from Snowmageddon and that insurance costs have gone up anywhere from 50% to 150%.
Insurance alone has taken a huge bite out of our income. I really want to claim the sheep as a farm for 2022 but DH insists on waiting until 2023. I am going to bring all the expenditures and income with me this trip and show them to the new tax man in Quitman. Maybe he will be able to encourage DH to file a farm tax return for 2022. We had the farm since 2021, we rented out pasture, I had some income from lamb and breeding stock sales, and I filed the USDA farm AG census. We had expenses for the farm but those can also be written off against the house rental - the main expenses are hay purchases for the sheep.DH and I will start trimming hooves this afternoon. We have 10 in the barn to do. I figure we can get 4 trimmed today. We also have to give booster vax to them. Then we have to move them around so The Texas Five can be brought up from the creep pen again for the vet visit tomorrow. It is chilly out today bu working will keep us warm.
My wonderful tenant called again and said they might not be out of the house by the end of the month. I told her not to worry. Apparently, their house is supposed to be painted tomorrow but with all the rain, they're not sure it will dry. They don't have electricity to the house either. It has been so wet and muddy that the contractor can't put the electric run from the pole underground to the house. He can't dig the ditch to put it in without the rain flooding the ditch! Told her no problem we can go to a motel. Our kids and grandkids want to go to Dallas Saturday afternoon since they are flying back Sunday. DS2 wants to go to the Cattlemen's steakhouse in Ft. Worth stockyards. Since the weather is so wet anyway, a short trip to look around will be enough for them. We will unload everything and I will do all the measurements then we can go to the motel and leave early to return to California.
Did not post before putting dinner in the oven, going to the barn and trimming 6 sets of hooves, vaxing, draining a small abscess, etc. Then we moved the newly trimmed sheep out to the field, moved the Texas Five up into a pen for their vet visit tomorrow, fed and watered, and I came up to the house to help DGD1 bake a birthday cake for her daddy. His birthday is tomorrow. We will make the frosting tomorrow and she will frost and decorate the cake with a Valentine heart (came in the flowers DH got me
). Then she can take the cake home for a surprise. Update on the truck -
DH went by Galpin Motors and they told him that instead of being able to pick it up this week it won't be ready until the end of the month!!! That old excuse about not getting the parts is no longer valid since last week they told DH they had the parts and were almost finished with the truck. By now we figure one of the mechanics must have needed it to move or something since it has taken so long. Or maybe they are renting it out. Who knows. We will just come back with the stock trailer carrying the boxes, shelves, and the Texas Five. Inside the cab will be everyone's dress clothes for the wedding and the 3 of us - DH, DS1, and me. We won't spend much time back there, just enough to unload, set up the shelves, pack all the boxes on the shelves, unload the Texas Five into Baymule's trailer, head to Leander to see our puppy, then meet the family at the hotel in Athens. After the wedding we will head back to Yantis, show the kids the house and property, meet with the taxman, gardener, and utility companies to make sure to transfer the utilities, measure out the floorplan, and head home. Hopefully stopping in Arizona or New Mexico to pick up some hay for less than $30/bale.
Mike CHS
Herd Master
What size are these $30 a bale hay?
Margali
Herd Master
I would tell them they have 48hours to produce the truck drivable or undrivable before I call the cops. That is crazy!Update on the truck -
And if it has a ton of extra miles when you get it back I would still call.
Mini Horses
Herd Master
Agree. 5 months????!!!! No way.
Baymule
Herd Master
YES! Write off the farm!!!!
Moving expenses can be partially written off! Duh! Every trip you make moving FARM equipment would be a tax write off! Ask the tax man. It makes no sense to miss this expensive opportunity.
HELLO!! HELLO!! HELLO!! (Baymule rapping on your DH’s forehead with her knuckles) HELLO!! BRAINS ARE YOU IN THERE??? WAKE UP!!
Moving expenses can be partially written off! Duh! Every trip you make moving FARM equipment would be a tax write off! Ask the tax man. It makes no sense to miss this expensive opportunity.
HELLO!! HELLO!! HELLO!! (Baymule rapping on your DH’s forehead with her knuckles) HELLO!! BRAINS ARE YOU IN THERE??? WAKE UP!!
- Thread starter
- #2,639
Ridgetop
Herd Master
That is the bale size - 3 strands, Alfalfa, about 110-120 lbs. in the bale. We have 300 left from the 1000 we bought last May. we are going through 100 bales a month. Hay is currently up to $30+/bale. Got to get these sheep onto grass in Texas!
Coming home yesterday we saw a stand of California poppies on the hillside near us. Bright orange. The native California lilac was also in bloom. Deep purple. Time for a drive into the hills to see the native flowers.
The Dorper Association is offering Judging classes. They are offering a junior (starter) group and a senior (becoming a judge) group. I am considering going and have asked DH and DS1 if they want to go with me. DS1 should actually go since he would get more out of it since he already knows how to judge a meat sheep. DH would go but with his hearing problems I am not sure he would be able to enjoy it. You have to be a member of the association to sign up for the classes so I have to check to see if they can come since I am the only member. At $50/year dues I only signed joined myself up. You have to be a member to register sheep. I will call tomorrow about DH coming. Maybe I can get him in as my driver since we have to go to different places for the classes. DS1's college friend bought a duck hunting ranch just outside the town where the classes will be held. He said his driveway is 5 minutes from town. We thought about staying at the cabins instead of the hotel but unfortunately, from the start of the driveway to the cabins is a 30 minute drive! LOL Since the classes start at 8am and we don't know the locations of the classes exactly, it could be as much as an hour away. I will look into it. Maybe just drive up with DS1, drop him off at his friend's place, and go on myself to the hotel and seminar. I don't mind paying an extra fee for DH, but the hotel will be expensive for 4 days.
The vet came out today and did the health checks. She is another young vet, DR. Lau. These young vets specialize in farm livestock. The girls all passed with flying colors. She will email me the Health Certificates. She said all the sheep looked in good flesh, even the ones just weaning their lambs. So glad to have found these young livestock vets. Did not get the last 4 sheep trimmed and vaxed, but will do tomorrow.
Made the chocolate/coffee frosting for DSIL1's birthday cake after the vet left while DGD1 did her homework. DGD1 frosted it and decorated it with strawberries. She is very excited to surprise her dad for his birthday tonight.
I measured the depth of the truck bed to see how high I can stack the boxes under the sliding tonneau cover. Then I measured the boxes, and I can definitely get everything in the bed under the cover. I will load the rest of the plastic bins and the shelving units in the stock trailer and can get everything loaded that I planned. It might not be as comfortable riding back with all 3 of us in the cab, but I think we will have enough room for the dress clothes, overnight bags, cooler, thermoses, blankets, etc. We will have to make this a fairly fast trip, then load the flatbed and another load in the stock trailer for a second quick trip to Yantis. Since the tenant will be out of the house by then, we will bring back some furniture on the second load. Third trip will be the tractor and implements, and a stock trailer load full of tools. Then fencing can begin in earnest.
DH surprised me with more flowers today!
That darling man is so sweet to me. Guess I better go fix dinner. The days are still short and evening catches me by surprise. Cold here but no ice, and only a few showers the other day.
Coming home yesterday we saw a stand of California poppies on the hillside near us. Bright orange. The native California lilac was also in bloom. Deep purple. Time for a drive into the hills to see the native flowers.
The Dorper Association is offering Judging classes. They are offering a junior (starter) group and a senior (becoming a judge) group. I am considering going and have asked DH and DS1 if they want to go with me. DS1 should actually go since he would get more out of it since he already knows how to judge a meat sheep. DH would go but with his hearing problems I am not sure he would be able to enjoy it. You have to be a member of the association to sign up for the classes so I have to check to see if they can come since I am the only member. At $50/year dues I only signed joined myself up. You have to be a member to register sheep. I will call tomorrow about DH coming. Maybe I can get him in as my driver since we have to go to different places for the classes. DS1's college friend bought a duck hunting ranch just outside the town where the classes will be held. He said his driveway is 5 minutes from town. We thought about staying at the cabins instead of the hotel but unfortunately, from the start of the driveway to the cabins is a 30 minute drive! LOL Since the classes start at 8am and we don't know the locations of the classes exactly, it could be as much as an hour away. I will look into it. Maybe just drive up with DS1, drop him off at his friend's place, and go on myself to the hotel and seminar. I don't mind paying an extra fee for DH, but the hotel will be expensive for 4 days.
Absolutely! Since this is the year we are actually moving to the farm I think we should claim it. Maybe cut our tax bill quite a lot since we don;t have much income from the sheep. Although the prices on the 8 I took to auction were good. $220+ apiece for the 4 larger ram lambs (80-100lbs.) and $125 for the little guys (40-50 lbs. And they are no longer eating up hay.
The vet came out today and did the health checks. She is another young vet, DR. Lau. These young vets specialize in farm livestock. The girls all passed with flying colors. She will email me the Health Certificates. She said all the sheep looked in good flesh, even the ones just weaning their lambs. So glad to have found these young livestock vets. Did not get the last 4 sheep trimmed and vaxed, but will do tomorrow.
Made the chocolate/coffee frosting for DSIL1's birthday cake after the vet left while DGD1 did her homework. DGD1 frosted it and decorated it with strawberries. She is very excited to surprise her dad for his birthday tonight.
I measured the depth of the truck bed to see how high I can stack the boxes under the sliding tonneau cover. Then I measured the boxes, and I can definitely get everything in the bed under the cover. I will load the rest of the plastic bins and the shelving units in the stock trailer and can get everything loaded that I planned. It might not be as comfortable riding back with all 3 of us in the cab, but I think we will have enough room for the dress clothes, overnight bags, cooler, thermoses, blankets, etc. We will have to make this a fairly fast trip, then load the flatbed and another load in the stock trailer for a second quick trip to Yantis. Since the tenant will be out of the house by then, we will bring back some furniture on the second load. Third trip will be the tractor and implements, and a stock trailer load full of tools. Then fencing can begin in earnest.
DH surprised me with more flowers today!
That darling man is so sweet to me. Guess I better go fix dinner. The days are still short and evening catches me by surprise. Cold here but no ice, and only a few showers the other day.
Baymule
Herd Master
Don’t forget to write down mileage. Definitely use the farm as an expense.
