Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Mini Horses]

See comments in baymule journal. Silence DH.

 

[Ridgetop]

All these things your moving, prob never be used if left -- so take it all! ALL of it....have no regrets.

Never any regrets for reusing stuff! I love making something look great with old stuff on a budget! When we sold our last house and moved to this one, the house was torn down to build apartments. We sold with the provision that we could gut the house. We removed all the appliances, cabinets, ceiling fans, light fixtures, and even the solid mahogany front door. We removed the oak moldings, and the new double paned windows from our upstairs bedroom. I dug up plants (unfortunately they died due to PH of 9.) We took down our giant Doughboy pool and brought it with us. DH had laid a large brick patio in sand under the orange trees, and we pulled up those bricks - about 4 pallet loads of weathered brick. We even took the HVAC off the roof. We installed the HVAC here since this house did not have AC, just forced air heat. We installed all the ceiling fans and light fixtures in this house. The kitchen cabinets were installed in the garage. We used almost everything we removed on this house. We gave Daddy the front door and windows for the house he was building in Needles, CA. Not much of our house was left when we moved. My grandparents had bought it in 1920 and finished building it, adding more bedrooms for their family. My grandfather would never sell it since he had pulled all his money out of the banks and bought the house for cash about a month before all the banks failed in the big crash. It was a symbol of good luck that they did not lose everything they had in the crash and had an acre where they were able to keep livestock and grow vegetables to feed their family, including both sets of their parents during the depression. We bought it from my grandmother and spent 15 years repairing and remodeling it. We loved the house and would not have moved but it was on a busy boulevard (busier than Hwy 154 where the Yantis house is) and surrounded by apartments. The neighborhood has since gone downhill. When my grandfather bought the house, a big Swiss dairy was across the street. My uncle got in trouble with the dairy owner's son for smoking in the hayloft! Next door was another ranch with a roping arena where the same uncle learned to rope (he became a calf roper and went on the rodeo circuit). So many family stories! Before we left I took photos and made albums of the house to remember it.

Tomorrow we'll drive north to pick up the new sheep. DS1 and DH put the 2 gates back in the stock trailer to make 3 compartments for the ram, 2 mature ewes, and 3 yearling ewes with their lambs.

Anyway, we will leave early tomorrow morning. The trip will take us about 9 hours (480 miles) pulling the trailer, so we have to spend a night on the road. We spend the night in Willows which is about 20 miles south of Orland where Wes lives since Orland doesn't have a Best Western. Then first thing in the morning we will drive up to Wes' place. With doing so much back and forth to Texas, we always stay at Best Western and are members of their Loyalty Club. I called the motel in Willows, and they quoted me $168 for the night! I told her I had several deductions available to me - AAA, AARP, Military, and the Loyalty Club. She informed me that the $168 was the price with a 15% deduction. Then she said that she only had 2 rooms left and I should book it right now. When I complained she said she could get me a cheaper room in another motel but last time that happened (also in willows when we accidently went during a car show weekend) the motel was horrible. Anyway, I called the online booking BW people and used our loyalty points for a free night. (I like to save them for special things like going to shows, seminars, etc.) After that I asked the man what the price would be in cash and he said that the price would be $141 but with our deduction it would be $131! When I told him that the girl at the motel desk had said it would be $168 he was shocked. I wonder why she was trying to make me pay $37 extra! From now on I will only book through the BW main registration line not the motels themselves. Maybe she gets a kickback from the cheaper motel for sending people there.

I am bringing my pedigree/registration book so Wes can look at what I have been doing in my breeding program. Several years ago, I showed him what I had been buying and breeding and he laughed. He said I had been cherry-picking his best bloodlines. I want to get his opinion on my breeding strategy. I will know more about how successful I have been after the inspector comes out in May and grades the flock. She will stay with us overnight and then we will have to get her to either the next farm or to the airport.

Depending on what Colene says I might start taking some young stock to a few shows. I need to find someone to help me show though - preferably someone in 4-H or FFA who wants the experience for their record book. Or I can pay someone. I need someone spry! LOL Usually, the animals you put in the show go through an auction afterwards. The opening bid price is set by the show, but you can put a reserve on your animal. The entry is pricey depending on the show, but it gets your animals out there for people to see them. I guess I will also have to get some sort of website too eventually. I really just like breeding the lambs and selling them at the stockyard auction without having to do all that showing. I will have to see whether I want to be bothered. If I go the show route, I will have to shear any excess Mohawk wool.

My new puppy is due to be born in another week. Excited about that and I will be able to visit Erick to see the puppies in May. Don't know yet what sex I will be getting. I would prefer another female since Ozel is not going to be spayed and having an intact male on the premises is a pain. However, if there are no females available, I can take a male since I don't have any male Anatolians now. In another year Erick will start looking for a male for his young bitches and Ozel. Then we will breed a litter.

 

[Ridgetop]

See comments in baymule journal. Silence DH

Getting duct tape ready. He has a mustache and beard so this will not be pretty.

 

[Baymule]

See comments in baymule journal. Silence DH.

What did I say? I’ve slept since then. Now I gotta go look.

 

[Baymule]

Oohhhhhhj…,,,, yes, that.
I said, Have yall EVER had YOUR time?

And there is probably a special school in Sulphur Springs, perfect for Annabelle!

 

[Ridgetop]

And there is probably a special school in Sulphur Springs, perfect for Annabelle!

Bite your tongue girl!

Today I received a tongue lashing from DD1 because (she said) we did not tell her we were leaving yesterday for Orland to pick up the sheep we bought. We are now under orders to post our activities on the group chat line. DH was annoyed that we have to tell her everything that we do. LOL

I said, Have yall EVER had YOUR time?

Apparently not and now no privacy either!

Oh well, soon it won't matter since I will be 1500 miles away on my lovely farm with my lovely sheep and my lovely building projects.

We drove up to Willows yesterday and stayed overnight at the motel. This morning we drove the last 20 miles north to Orland. Wes looked at my pedigrees and breeding records and said I was doing a good job with my purchases and breeding. The sheep I bought will be perfect with what I have and the new ram will add new blood to my line breeding.

One ewe has a purebred White Dorper ram lamb. Wes will register it for me since he was the owner of the ewe when it was bred and lambed. He said that it looks like a really nice ram lamb so I will keep it to see how it develops. H is thick and long - at the moment. LOL I told him that my nice ram lamb out of 7088 I sent him the picture of now looks horrible. He agreed that they all go through some really ugly periods, then ok again, then ugly etc. He said that ne year he and Jane decided t keep one ram lamb and castrate the other ne. When they were another cue months der they decided they had cut the wrong one! LOL I will keep both ram lambs for another couple months and see what Colene thinks about the two of them. At least in Texas I will have room to keep young rams and let them grow out.
Yearling ewe with purebred White Dorper ram lamb

The second yearling I bought lost her lamb, so Wes grafted a fullblood Dorper ram lamb onto her. He is registering that lamb too and said that he will split anything I get over $1000 for him! I asked if he was worth that much and he said "Absolutely, he is a very good lamb, with xlt bloodlines, and his mother cost $6000"! Nothing like a little pressure. Now I am nervous about that lamb getting hurt or dying! Wes said not to worry about that since if something happened to him that was just the way it was. I asked if I should transport him in a dog crate to Texas but he said no he would be fine in the trailer. I told him that I would bring that lamb back when he was grown and let Wes sell him. LOL
Yearling ewe with grafted Fullblood Dorper ram lamb

The third yearling ewe had a mixed ewe lamb. She is really cute with the black markings on her head but can't be registered. She is out of the really good ram that sired the Fullblood so should make a good commercial ewe. Hopefully she won't be Black Head Dorper crazy. If she is, she goes to the sale. I will let DGD1 name her on Easter when they come for dinner. I will have DGD1 tame her down too. She can do it after school every day.
Dorper x White Dorper ewe lamb - cute face. They wouldn't line up properly so I just got the butt of the ewe in the picture. LOL

The embryo ram is impressive. Can't wait to see what grade Colene gives him. You can't import live animals from South Africa or Australia so to get any new good stuff from either country you have to import frozen embryos or semen. This ram was a frozen embryo from the Dell Stud in Australia which Wes imported and had implanted in a commercial ewe who gave birth to him and raised him. I am lucky to have him in my breeding program. I couldn't afford to import an embryo let alone the cost of implanting the embryo in a ewe, etc.
Picture doesn't show length, but he is super thick with great head

I also bought 2 4-year-old ewes from Wes. They have been in his breeding program since he bred and lambed them and have given him some terrific lambs. With Jane's passing he is downsizing and switching into fullbloods only so was selling all his purebreds. Again, lucky to be able to buy a couple of top-quality ewes he has kept in his breeding program for the past 4 years.
These are really thick, long, deep ewes. Since I am line breeding on Wes' bloodlines, they closely resemble some of the best ewes in my flock. They are just what I am breeding towards, and I hope to get quite a few good lambs out of them.

Got home and got everyone moved down into the barn. The ram is not tame since he has not been handled, but ran in it and went into a pen without any trouble. He is in the barn with the ewes from the same farm and that he traveled down with, so he feels secure. Once everyone was in the jugs, they settled right down and started eating. When I went into the barn to take the photos, they were all laying down calmly. We will keep them in the jugs for a couple weeks to settle in. They can join the other ewes and rams after that, and the ewes with lambs will go into the creep.

Wes was very complimentary about my breeding program which made me feel good about what I am doing. I told him that I will be selling some of the young stuff after Colene inspects and grades it in May. I want to get down to just about 40 top quality ewes and several good rams. I will trade out and buy new rams every couple years to avoid inbreeding. Wes told me that in Texas I ought to be able to sell quite a few breeding sheep since the bloodlines I am bringing will be desirable and not many available. That made my day.

@Baymule suggested I advertise starter flocks. I am thinking of offering a registered trio consisting of a bred ewe, a ewe lamb or yearling, and a ram lamb.

DS1 got the prime rib out of the freezer. I am cooking it for Easter Sunday dinner. DGS2 will be making his special potato casserole. I will cook Brussel sprouts. I also have a package of frozen root vegetables which I can cook in the roast drippings. I won't do as extravagant a meal as Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it should be good. I have a cheesecake in the freezer for dessert. I am not buying any Easter candy for the grandchildren this year. I did buy 2 counting books titled The Little Lamb for the littlest grandkids.

The loveseat slipcovers arrived today. The light tan color is nice, and the dark blue is a good color too, not as dark as the navy which looked almost back. I think I will keep a set of each color so I can take off a set to wash and put on the other one. They were on sale with a 40% off coupon so were really reasonable. Unfortunately, the coupon was only good on one item at a time, so we did 2 orders to get the discount on both sets. I am very pleased to get the slip covers since I think they will give the loveseats a whole new look. I like the upholstery and it is almost new, but the colors don't go with the area rug or the other upholstered furniture. The solid colors will look much better. These slipcovers have a separate fitted piece for the body of the sofa, and one cover for each seat and back cushion. Things are coming along.

 

[Baymule]

If you will look at auction reports, the good auctions that is, you will see the lambs are listed as Dorper or Dorper cross. Then down at the bottom, woolen breeds and Barbados. Your Dorpers will be Very popular here and I would advertise them in West Texas and Oklahoma.

You have an exceptionally fine flock and your sheep will be in demand. Once word gets out that you have those bloodlines in this part of the country, you might have a waiting list. In fact, I would tell people that you will put them on the list and make them think you have a long waiting list. LOL

I know where that little mixed ewe would fit in……..

Once you really do have a waiting list, take non refundable deposits. @Margali can show you how to set up an app on your phone and link it to a special bank account set up for that purpose. Us old people in our PRIME need to get with the times! I’ll probably have to learn this myself.

Your new sheep are spectacular. I truly believe you will create quite a stir in this area with them and they will be in high demand. Texas has more sheep than any other state. So why aren’t there more shows here? I would show if I didn’t have to go 2-3 or even 4 states away.

 

[Margali]

Agree 1,000% on how your Dorpers will be received. I urge you to join the Chisholm Trail Dorper Association and enter sheep into the annual spring breeding show. There is an Open category where you could show your own.

Regarding the banking stuff, fairly easy.
Setup
1. Set up a separate checking account for sheep sales at your normal bank. Do NOT link with overdraft protection to your main accounts.
2. Get an email address for sheep stuff
3. Set up PayPal account with that email and checking account.

Selling / Buying Sheep
- Get/give registration # of sheep being sold
- This info goes in notes field.
- PayPal sends both people receipt / proof of transaction.

- Bonus level: you can make fancy invoice with PayPal including terms and condition like "non-refundable for purchaser cancellation, refundable or transferrable to equivalent animal if selected becomes unsuitable per Breeder's determination before pickup."

 

[Ridgetop]

Once word gets out that you have those bloodlines in this part of the country, you might have a waiting list. In fact, I would tell people that you will put them on the list and make them think you have a long waiting list.

I love the idea of that idea of a "waiting list". I will have to do a website I suppose. More problems since I am technologically challenged other than the Word program. But there are a LOT of good Dorpers in Texas, although mainly in the western half.

Agree 1,000% on how your Dorpers will be received. I urge you to join the Chisholm Trail Dorper Association and enter sheep into the annual spring breeding show. There is an Open category where you could show your own.

I plan to join the Hill Country Dorper Association as well since they are in east Texas. I will look into joining the Chisholm Trail Dorper Association as well. I am keeping my membership in the Western States Dorper Association too.

@Margali: I will need to have you show me how to do that Pay Pal stuff. Will you be entering the spring breeding show with your Katahdins? Would your daughter like to help show my White Dorper lambs?

I know where that little mixed ewe would fit in……..

I thought of you when I saw her - she is adorable with those face markings. So far I plan to keep her - at least for a while. Have to see her conformation and mainly what her temperament is - Black Head Dorper wild or White Dorper sweet! LOL

Downloaded the application for shipping insurance on my sheep. Nver bothered with it before but shipping the entire flock commercially I decided it might be a good idea. You never know.

Also have to play with the paint branding irons. It is supposed to rain badly today so maybe we will practice paint branding on the sheep in the barn to see how the brands will work. I haven't done paint branding since the Fair and Jr. Auction. I will put the mother's tag number on the lambs.

 

[Weldman]

I love the idea of that idea of a "waiting list". I will have to do a website I suppose. More problems since I am technologically challenged other than the Word program. But there are a LOT of good Dorpers in Texas, although mainly in the western half.


I plan to join the Hill Country Dorper Association as well since they are in east Texas. I will look into joining the Chisholm Trail Dorper Association as well. I am keeping my membership in the Western States Dorper Association too.

@Margali: I will need to have you show me how to do that Pay Pal stuff. Will you be entering the spring breeding show with your Katahdins? Would your daughter like to help show my White Dorper lambs?


I thought of you when I saw her - she is adorable with those face markings. So far I plan to keep her - at least for a while. Have to see her conformation and mainly what her temperament is - Black Head Dorper wild or White Dorper sweet! LOL

Downloaded the application for shipping insurance on my sheep. Nver bothered with it before but shipping the entire flock commercially I decided it might be a good idea. You never know.

Also have to play with the paint branding irons. It is supposed to rain badly today so maybe we will practice paint branding on the sheep in the barn to see how the brands will work. I haven't done paint branding since the Fair and Jr. Auction. I will put the mother's tag number on the lambs.

I bought my first property here we live on, on eBay. Once you learn tech especially excel you can see results that are tangible such as realized gains and such. Will definitely help determine who is doing what in your stock and percentages of bloodlines. We got one going on with duck eggs on birds we have, how many are laid, how many are going out for sale, how many are incubated that hatch and make a profit. All these grain bins I used to build this place was found online. Actually everything here is from online including the wife