Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[SageHill]

grandfather's old fashioned rotary pencil sharpener off the kitchen wall and pack it. Love that thing and it works better than any electric one. Only those of us who are Prime can probably remember them hanging on the cloakroom wall in the classroom. LOL

Oh yeah - I remember those --- and the cloakroom between classrooms.

 

[Ridgetop]

Heavy on the Blue Bell, you will need it!

LOL. I need to go easy on the Blue Bell - did not eat any sweets during Lent and have not started back eating much sweets. Lost a little weight so . . . .

Woke up at 5:30 am remembering items that needed to be pulled out of cupboards and packed. Got up and did that, then did a bunch of filing on my desk. The Trike-a-thon was this morning at preschool. The little kids pedal their trikes in a circle and you can pledge so much a lap We just give a flat amount after our first grandchild. We all pledged a dollar a lap - after all he was barely 3, how many times could he go around? He got tired and wanted to stop but DD1 ran out in front of him with a bag of M&Ms. Every time he wanted to stop she gave him a piece of candy to keep going! by the time he finished we had to donate over $100 each. Now we make a flat donation. This was the 7th grandchild in the Trike-a-thon at the preschool. My younger boys went to this preschool, I taught there, and all my grandchildren have gone there. I go to show the children that I love them, but I sit in a chair, read my book and wave occasionally as the grandchild goes around. Luckily it is only 5 minutes from the house so the half hour we spend there is no big deal. I am just tired out after attending every single activity for 5 children in school, being a room mother, church, and active in the parish, and 4-H and being a leader and President to the County Council, I was hoping to get a rest. Now I am doing the same with 9 grandchildren, I am worn out!

Got the Coggins results today. Negative so Skittles and Josie are ok to travel.

 

[farmerjan]

Just ordered another pint of Valbazen to worm sheep before shipping. Did first worming when vet was here so add 14 days and worm again on April30-May 2. Also ordered more ear tags in colors but blank tags so I can write in the number to replace tags that have gone AWOL. Vaccinated all the new sheep for CL and also the 2-month-old ram lamb. In a month they will all receive a booster, and the little babies will receive their first vaccination. I have decided to vaccinate all lambs and new members in my flock for CL. Did my research and in sheep the vaccine has an 80-90% efficacy so decided it would be worth it. Not all breeders vaccinate for CL, but sheep people don't seem to get hysterical about it like goat people. There is a good article about CL in flocks by TX A & M and what to do to control it. The vaccine is no longer recommended for use in goats.

Managed to vaccinate new lambs for CDT and Tetanus before docking, then got out the syringes for the CL vaccinations and realized that I am OUT of syringes. I am not really out since I have 400 in Texas! I am so busy loading everything I can lay my hands on to move that I forgot to refill my syringes in the med box. Oh well, no need for more vaccinations until we reach Texas. I did order some 60cc syringes when i ordered the Valbazen since those drenchers are pieces of cr*p! The metal drench ends don't stay on. I have about 6 and they all fall apart when using them. I decided to invest in a mechanical one that would feed from a large bottle of wormer but half of the reviews was that the plastic parts broke very fast and recommended ordering multiples. The only one that got really good reviews was the Phillips one from Australia and it was a couple hundred dollars! I thought i had found a place that had it for $63 until I noticed that it was 63 pounds! I may have to dose 50 head, but for that much money a $2 syringe will do. LOL

The reason I needed the blank ear tags is because I am having the flock inspected the end of May and the ear tags MUST match the registration papers. I can't just replace the missing tag with another one and make a note on the paperwork. I will have to remove the new ones that we put in for transport and replace them with ones with an identical number to the registration.

Tomorrow I am going to try to bring my farm logs up to date with expenditures and income. Also have to pack up everything ready to load next week. I wrote out a list of everything we are taking with us and remembered that I want to take my grandfather's old fashioned rotary pencil sharpener off the kitchen wall and pack it. Love that thing and it works better than any electric one. Only those of us who are Prime can probably remember them hanging on the cloakroom wall in the classroom. LOL

I remembered that I have to go cut off the small grain feeders I have zip tied to the corrals. I use them for feeding minerals. Also need to collect all the black rubber tubs we use for water and hay, and any feeders that we have not already taken to Texas.

I think my head is going to explode! but soon we will get to Texas! Blue Bell here I come!

I have one of those pencil sharpeners screwed on a piece of 1x6"x about 6" square, shelving board... keep it on the top of the roll top desk so I can find it when I need it... YEP... they work perfectly and get the pencils nice and sharp and it doesn't cost anything to operate them,....

 

[Ridgetop]

Got all the receipts entered in my logbook. I am missing a couple but when the next credit card bill arrives they should be in that.

Just found out that DGS1 got his SAT score. He scored 1570! He is getting confirmed this Saturday (tomorrow) and DSIL1's aunt came into town for it. DD1 was texting the arrival info to DS1 who went to pick her up. The text just read "1570 on SAT" and when we saw the text we thought he was talking about something happening on SATurday. LOL He wants to take it again to try for a 1600.

Starting to pack up the rest of my office. DH packed up the contents of his desk yesterday and I sealed the carton and moved it into the LR with the rest of the stuff. He is not taking his current desk. It doesn't have any storage so he will leave it here for DS2 or DDIL2. I am also leaving a vertical 4 drawer file cabinet for them.

Forgot to tag the young ram lamb and the ewe lamb that I plan to keep. Need to tag them so I can send in the registrations. there is a $3.00 service charge each time I send in paperwork, so I want to send the transfers and registrations in together. One time I delayed, it got past the deadline, and I had to pay extra. DS1 said to pull the tags out, enter the numbers on the paperwork, and send it in and we will tag later. Risky.

Both Nicky (18 months) and Robert (3) have had colds. Nicky ran a temperature and started throwing up yesterday. This evening DDIL2 has a temperature.

I think DH and I will have to leave around April 28, and have the sheep shipped on May 2. That gives us a couple days to get there before the sheep arrive. Hopefully those ewes that are due early will lamb by then and the others will hold out until they reach Texas.

I sent an email to my vet to ask about using the online prescription service she has. I set it up (I think) but couldn't see anywhere I could request what I wanted. I need another bottle of Valbazen to do the second worming before the sheep leave for Texas.

Sad News. DS1 just came in to tell me to go to the barn since Snowflake had lambed and the lambs didn't look like they were alive. Snowflake wasn't due for another week or two. Split twins, both born dead, never breathed. Possible that they were injured or died when she was injured last month since they were very small, and their heads didn't look full term. Already passing the afterbirth. She lambed on her own with no problems except she is sad and looking for her lambs. The upside is that I don't have to worry about her trying to lamb in the moving trailer while she is still lame. She is my best ewe as well as being the most loving and tame. She was able to lamb on her own and suffered no internal damage that might have prevented her from being bred again once her lameness heals.

 

[Ridgetop]

Here are some pix of the creep that DH and I put up in the barn at one end of the inside pen. I redid
the panels to make a gate into the creep as well as one into the barn pen.
Far view and close up
The pen in the barn is about 15' x 40' and the creep is 15' x20'. Love this barn. And another whole 12' x 60' enclosed section on the side as well.

The wildflowers DG1 picked for me the day of the eclipse. And just because they are so beautiful a spray of roses from the old-fashioned rosebush in the front yard. I will make sure to prune it back next winter and it should come out even prettier.
I hope the rose is still blooming
when I go back to Texas. I hope to plant more roses next winter.

 

[SageHill]

Sorry about the Snowflake twins . At least it didn’t happen on the transport.

 

[Baymule]

I have serious barn envy. Y’all lucked out on that barn. I would’ve bought that place just for the barn!

I’m sorry about Snowflakes twins. Better yet that she will recover and can rest up on that lush grass in Texas.

Your sheep will not be used to the grass. Be sure to put out baking soda, free choice and replenished daily, to ward off bloat. Since you plan on keeping the ewes in the barn lot to start with, you can let them out on the grass for a couple hours daily, to start with. Offer plenty of baking soda.

 

[Ridgetop]

I would’ve bought that place just for the barn!

Sort of did since it is right on Hwy 154. LOL

The rams will be going into a pasture of ush rye grass. Worried but will also put out some hay. I have some hanging buckets that I can out on the pipe corral fencing and out the baking soda in it in several locations. I will have DS1 look for a 20 lb. bag of baking soda at Smart & Final which is a restaurant chain and carries stuff in 20-50 lb. bags.

Up at 5:30 am again. Made coffee and starting packing more office supplies and cupboard contents. This will be my last trip to Texas until the end of June when we come back for my knee surgery and all DH's appointments. He and DS1 will drive back, load the rest of the sheep corrals and equipment, along with the rest of the alfalfa, and then bring that stuff back after June 2 when he has a Sigma Delta reunion golf tournament. That will give me time to strip wallpaper, paint, order the cabinets for my island, put up the heat barrier in the tool shed and attic, and basically finish what needs to be done on the house without having to interrupt the process to take care of DH. I also want to ot the heat barrier in the attic while he is gone since for some reason he has decided to worry about y health?! He has "forbidden" me to go into the attic to put up the heat barrier. Forbidden - I wish I could replace all of the kitchen cabinets in knotty hickory, but too expensive at the moment. I considered buying new hickory cabinets for the island, but need other things more, like a generator, more fencing, new tractor with front arms for bucket and hay spears, still more fencing, haybarn, new well, fencing, etc. LOL

Confirmation at church at 11:00 am then out to lunch with family. Another rite of passage for the oldest grandchild - it marks the passing of the years.

 

[Ridgetop]

Just got a "Sale on Wormers" notice from Jeffers so I called them and they can ship Valbazen to California. Go figure! Got my order in so can worm before the sheep get on the transport.

 

[Ridgetop]

Just remembered that my AG card expired on December 31. I have to resend it to all mail order livestock suppliers I use. More paperwork, but I can do that now while in California. I already renewed at Lowes and Atwoods in Sulphur Springs, but need to go to others. Also have to check out both the feed mill grain and the Co-op grain to see which is a better price for the same thing. I do love where I bought my place, just 15 minutes into SS and there are 5 livestock supply places, and 2 grain mills tight in town! When i remember how I used to drive over 120 miles round trip for livestock and dairy supplies and bulk grain, I am smiling. Maybe dancing too! LOL With the price of gas that is really going to save me $$ and time. I used to allocate at least one day a month for that trip. The panel and gate suppliers are in Lometa TX, which is south about 4-5 hours between FW, San Antonio, and Houston. If I go there to pick up jug gates and panels I can stop in and see Erick and Dana! I can make the trip in one day instead of having to spend a night on the road. More dancing! Just have to see how close the auctions are and which one pays the best. If I go to the Waco auction I can keep going south to Lometa, pick up the panels, and stop for the check on the way home!

I am going to love my life in Texas. Just need a pool for summer but we can get an above ground one. It's all good!