Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

It has rained the past 2 nights, and all day today. Luckily not torrential since the roofer has not gotten back to us with either a bid or a date to fix where we had leaks around the HVAC vents. The roof did not leak with this rain thank goodness.

Tuesday, I wrapped all the Christmas gifts and put them under the tree. I gave some of their gifts to DS2 and grandsons. Still have a few for when they return end of February. Looks pretty meager under the tree since there will be no gifts for children and no Santa gifts. Only gifts there are for DD1's and DD2's families. I have only one gift for DH under the tree. No idea what to get him this year. I might suggest that we go to some advanced Bridge classes.

Played Bridge today, then home to make 2 batches of Christmas cookies. Made room in the freezer for 3 film tins of cookies. Tomorrow I will do laundry, make Nicholas Christmas stocking, and bake more cookies with the dough I made Sunday night. I will also have to find more freezer space for those cookies.

DS1 said DDs called asking us to watch Annabel tomorrow. I said "No" because I have the tree up and she can climb over the baby jail panels. Also, all the gifts are under the tree. I don't want any toddlers getting at the tree and presents. After I said "no" DS1 said DD2 needed a sitter because Annabel had diarrhea! Even worse! If she is sick, I don't want her here getting us sick just before Christmas.

DS1 was going to see if DGS1 and DGS2 could come over and help move the 18' trampoline into the sheep pen. It is in the pen with Sage who is trying to destroy it. It makes a great cover for the sheep so DS1 thought we could probably pick it up and lift is over the corral panel into the adjacent corral. Today Sage ate some of the hay in the trailer. Then he amused himself by grabbing the rubber floor mat and pulling it out of the trailer. Since it had been raining it landed in the mud. DS1 was not amused when he had to manhandle it back into the trailer. Those things are heavy even it was only a 3' piece. Being covered in mud made it worse. Instead of a tranquilizer for the horse he suggested a bullet. I told him that would certainly calm Sage down but loading him would be difficult.

We are considering taking that old 18' trampoline to Texas to use as a rain and shade shelter. If it survives Sage. According to DS1 a couple of the legs have now been knocked off and need to be reattached.

I really am getting annoyed at this tail eating, mischief making, dog-sheep-horse biting, trailer mat removing, trampoline destroying animal. Even if we could load him in the trailer right now, we can't take him back to Nipomo yet. There is so much rain in the central coast area that there are flash flood warnings in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. All of which counties we have to cross on the way.

My cold weather crayons arrived yesterday. Since the sheep are out in the rain and the corrals are muddy, DS1 said he will wait to replace the current crayons until after the rain. If these crayons don't mark we will know that all the ewes are bred during the past 2 weeks. Not as good as knowing the date each ewe is due, but better than nothing.

 

[murphysranch]

I've been reading about the flood warnings from Ventura up. Amazing turn of events these last two or three years!!

 

[Ridgetop]

It rained last night and today it really came down. The roof started leaking in a few spots under the HVAC ceiling vents. DS1 and I ran around putting towels and buckets under the leaks.

The field is a mud pit. I wore my muck boots to feed and still got mud splashed above them. DS1 had DD1 stop by on her way to do Christmas shopping with the kids so DGS1 and DGS2 could help DS1 move the trampoline. Luckily the downpour stopped long enough to do that. I made the boys put on muck boots (we have various sizes outgrown by kids and teens). DGS2 kept saying that even his grandfather's boots were too small. Then I noticed that he was trying to put them on over his shoes! The two boys and DS1 lifted the 18' trampoline over the 5' chute fence and into the sheep corral. All but two legs had been knocked off by Sage. Or rather the trampoline had been knocked off 4 of the 6 legs. The legs were laying in pieces on the ground. They are pipe sections that fit into each other so were not ruined. DS1 and the boys fit them back together after I knocked the mud out of the ends. I was afraid that the round part of the frame might have been bent, but it was fine. One of the springs had come out, but DS1 was able to put it back. DGD1 wanted to come help so I sent her back in to put on bots. She helped reposition the trampoline once it was in the corral. DS1 and I decided we are going to take it apart and bring it to Texas to use for field shelter for the sheep. DS1 said that originally the upper vertical bars that held the safety netting fit through the round frame into the leg tubes. DS1 removed those vertical bars when he moved it into the sheep corral. We figure we can run pipes, dowels, or PVC through the frame and legs and secure them with screws for stability in Texas. DS1 said we will have to sink posts and attach the frame to them for stability in Texas. He said that the sheep like to rub on the legs, and they often come out. Anyway, the sheep have a dry area where they can all fit now. The sheep in the lower field have pepper trees where they shelter but also have another 18' trampoline that the kids use for shelter. The larger of the other two pens below the barn have access to a roofed structure for shelter. As soon as we washed off our boots, came into the house it began raining again. It has alternated all day between gentle rain no rain and huge downpour. There is flooding in Santa Barbara.

Today I baked 3 of our favorite varieties of Christmas cookies. Two varieties are German butter cookies with almond flavoring. Those are recipes from Aunt Johanna, the wife of my grandfather's oldest friend. My grandfather and Uncle Hans were both sons of German immigrants, born in the same neighborhood in Dubuque's Germantown. They both spoke only German until they went to the same kindergarten and learned English. Those recipes are traditions in our family. Christmas isn't Christmas without those particular cookies. I also cleaned out and rearranged the laundry room freezers to make room for the cookie tins.

Sorted the laundry and have the first load in. I also folded the load that DDIL2 left in the dryer when they left for the airport. Two or three more loads to go tomorrow. Also, tomorrow I will get to the sewing I need to do. I can't believe that I did not finish a stocking for Nicholas last year!
Bad Grandma! I had cut it out, and I cut out the letters of his name yesterday ready to applique so I will get to it tomorrow. My sewing machine needs to go to the shop for a tune up but hopefully it will stay working long enough to get this stocking finished.

DS1 mailed off several Christmas packages today. The local post office was closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to some sort of computer shutdown. He picked up DGD2 from school on the way home and her mom picked her up here about an hour later on the way to get DGD3.

Christmas is only 4 days away!

 

[Ridgetop]

Update on trailer training Sage. The first day he wouldn't even put his head in to eat his hay. It was in a rubber trough. When I fed the next morning his flake of alfalfa was not even nibbled on. I took it out of the trough and put it on the floor about 3' in from the end of the trailer. He reached in to eat some of it but was still not willing to put his head too far inside. DS1 fed that night. Next morning, I put the hay flake on the floor again and this time he reached in, grabbed the flake, and pulled it out onto the mud. I retrieved the flake and put it in the rubber tub which I placed about 3' inside the trailer. Might have had a breakthrough. DS1 fed tonight and said Sage was eating from the tub and had actually put both feet inside the trailer!
We will have to see if he continues putting his front feet inside to reach his hay. We are not going to rush him on this since we want him to lose his fear of the trailer. Trailers are big, scary, dark caves and they rattle at you when you try to step in. No wonder horses are scared of them until they are trained to enter them. We will continue feeding in the trailer for a month to let him learn that the trailer is not going to eat him.

 

[Baymule]

That’s how I loaded the first feeder pigs I raised. We backed that red trailer in the garden, where I raised them and I blocked off the sides and front so they couldn’t chew the wiring. I fed and watered them in the trailer, didn’t take long. But after that I used boiled eggs to lure them in the trailer. Pigs stomach make them fearless.

It will work for Sage too. Horses aren’t as greedy as pigs but he will eventually load up.

 

[Ridgetop]

It is how we taught our old horses to load. 16 year old gelding and 18 year old mare had only been in trailer at age of 1-2 years when they went to horse auction. Owner bought and trained them. She lived here in Shadow Hills with plenty of trail access to hills and National Forest. She never bothered to train them to load in trailer and didn't even own a trailer. My friend and her family wanted us to go horse camping with them, so she came over and helped me teach them to load. I didn't give them a morning feed, and we put the hay in the front feed bin in our new, used horse trailer. They were very trusting horses, and it only took a couple of days and they would hop in the trailer! The older mare, Dazzle, would actually load herself if we left the trailer gate open while cleaning the trailer! I think they must have had a lot of fun camping with us and seeing new trails because they loved to load in the trailer and go places. We were lucky to find these two horses, they were being sold as part of a divorce settlement. Older, but so good natured and well mannered, safe with children. We only bought Rusty (16) first but I didn't want the mare who was 18. The owner offered her to us for a low price so they wouldn't be separated but I wasn't interested at first. Within the week we went back and tried her under saddle and I bought her. The owner was so happy that they were going together that he thres =w in all their tack, equipment, and 6 bales of alfalfa. (Alfalfa was only going for $7.00/bale at the time, but still what a haul.) Dazzle became my horse and I adored her. She died at 32.

At any rate, Sage had pulled the tub out into the mud and I had to replace it in the trailer. I had barely put the alfalfa flake in the tub and gone out the safety door when Sage was getting the front half of his body into the trailer. In another couple days we will move the tub further back. No need to be hasty, patience will pay off.

It rained heavily yesterday, and heavily all last night. This morning it the clouds looked like they had cleared but as soon as I was outside in my boots it started raining again. The mud is slick, but when it stops raining for any time, it becomes sticky. Our soil is heavy clay so when it gets wet, and has manure and hay bits in it, it turns into adobe. Too bad we took Baby 'Bota to Texas - we could have scraped off that liquid mix, made adobe bricks, and built an entire barn! I wonder what the friars used to coat the walls to keep the adobe from melting during the rain. Anyway, I struggled to wheel the wheelbarrow with hay flakes around to feed the 4 pens of sheep in corrals far from the hay Connex. Luckily it rained so much that I didn't need to water. Just as I finished feeding the last pen, the rain let up and a gorgeous huge rainbow stretched across the valley and mountains! It was so pretty that I just took several minutes to enjoy it. Small pleasures make a huge difference in our lives.

Got the last two loads of laundry done. The last one is drying now, the others have been put away. I will need to wash my barn jacket and a couple other things, as well as doing sheet and towels tomorrow. A woman's work is never done. LOL Leg of lamb for dinner tonight. DD1 said they wll have their regular ham for Christmas dinner but she can't decide if we should do a turkey or prime rib roast. DS1 says he wants turkey since 9nce it is in the roaster oven, it is the easiest to do. I agree with that, but there is a lot of cleanup. On the other hand, there is also leftovers and soup. When I cleaned out and rearranged the freezer I found a package of giblets and 2 Ziploc bags of chicken juice from when I bake chicken. I save that juice so I have it for gravy. I will check with DS1 since if we decide to do a turkey it has to come out of the freezer today!

I feel like I am coming down with a cold thanks to the small boys currently being spoiled by doting relatives in the Philippines. They both had colds and runny noses before leaving. If I come down with a cold on Christmas, I will send my family to DD1's for dinner and go to bed with a large glass of eggnog and rum, and my Christmas cookies. Granny Wahl's Magical Eggnog will heal me.

I just have to find the recipe!

 

[SageHill]

Well sounds like you got a ton more rain than us. Original prediction was 3 1/2 inches over two days. We got ..... less than 1/2 inch. At least we don't have storm clean up.

 

[Baymule]

I’ll be happy to give you the recipe for

Mamma Wall’s Eggnog

12 eggs, separated
12 heaping tablespoons of sugar
12 shots bourbon
1 pint whipping

Beat egg whites until stiff
Beat cream until stiff
Beat egg yolks, add sugar, 1 at a time. Beat well.
Slowly add bourbon to yolk mixture, beat well while adding bourbon
Fold in whipping cream
Fold in egg whites

I only use 6 shots of bourbon, full strength blows my head off. @Bruce agrees.

 

[Ridgetop]

Thank you! I printed it off this time. Do you think I could substitute rum?

Luckily, I got all the baking, tree decorating, gift wrapping, and laundry done by Thursday evening. Friday afternoon DGD1 came over to learn t sew with a stuffed doll kit that DS1 gave her last Christmas. We had already done the pillow, so she did the doll this time. The stitching pulled out and she had to do some hand stitching in order to put the side seams back together on the doll so she could stuff it. It turned out pretty cute. She still has to sew up the mermaid tail, the skirt, and stuff the pillow. We will work on those pieces after Christmas.

I still feel like I am coming down with something. I have been coughing and my nose is sort of draining.

I spent Saturday in bed resting and am feeling better today. Hoping to make it through Christmas. Got up this morning, made cinnamon rolls and coffee, finished beading Nicholas' Christmas stocking, chopped celery, onions, and started the stuffing for the turkey. Put the giblets and turkey neck on to cook. Still need to chop the giblets, do final mixing on stuffing, and stuff bird. DS1 will get the roaster out and get it ready for turkey to go in tomorrow. Need to check what time DD1 plans to serve dinner so we know what time to start cooking it. DD1 said they would like prime rib for Christmas since they are tired of turkey. DS1 is doing a ham. I am not forking out $6.00-8.00 sale price on a prime rib for a dozen of us when we have 3 turkeys at $l/lb. in the freezer. I feel that if I cook a prime rib roast, it ought to be the only meat on the table to appreciate it properly, and I know there would be no leftovers. If DD1 wants prime rib she can buy it. I am getting meaner every day. Anyway, I made up the cookie plate to take to DD1's, (no pies this year) and will finish the stuffing. Then have to make something for dinner. I wonder if I have any leftovers in the fridge. I will go check.

Hardly any gifts under the tree. We won't do gift exchange with DS2's family until they come back. We will take DD1's and DD2's family gifts over tomorrow. DD2 is meeting us there for dinner. DD3's have been mailed to them. DH and I asked for Amazon gift cards for our Kindles. DS1 is getting a computer. DH is getting 2 T-shirts. Actually, I am enjoying this really low-key Christmas! House is clean with small children gone to Philippines, sink cleared, and clean. Miss them but

Sage is now hopping into the trailer all the way for his hay. In fact, he hopped in then out then back in again yesterday when DS1 went to feed. DH is all excited and says we will take him up to Nipomo right after Christmas. I say no hurry, be patient and let him get completely used to the trailer. In another week or so we will put a halter on him and leave it on. Then eventually when we want to try loading him, we have some head control. While I want to get him off the property, rushing it could lead to a backset. Very pleased with his progress, don't want to screw it up now!

Yes, that is mud on his legs, in the trailer, and thick mud in the stall. My boots sink in about 2-3" when feeding. And Sage's tail is the only one longer than 15"!

 

[Baymule]

Your granddaughter is precious.

Have a good Christmas with your family.