Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

Yes! DS1 deserves the praise here. Not only in recognizing trouble, but in refusing to turn the 2 ewes out on the field again in the first place! It really did not take as long as it seemed to get him out, except that he was so big he was stuck. That lamb puller came in handy. The time to order those things is before you need them. In our 4-H days, I would order whatever I needed after the surprise emergency came up - i.e. prolapse retainer, lamb snare, umbilical clips, stomach tube, etc. Whatever the emergency was, it only happened once to us. LOL After each occurrence I would have the emergency item and never need it again! LOL

In this case, when she did not lamb on her due date, I decided that she would lamb on the next marking date due date. As it turned out she was just several days late. Unfortunately, since the lamb undoubtedly grew even larger in those 4 days. It is a good thing that we were not graining heavily as we usually do for the Dorsets. We had cut back on the grain for these Dorpers since they don't seem to need it. They were on small measures of barleycorn instead of the usual high protein lamb feed we have been using in the past. They did very well with the smaller amount of grain and I think we will keep them on barleycorn from now on. It is also a lot cheaper than the expensive lamb grower. With just 4 lambs to grow out, one of them a replacement ewe lamb that I do not want to push too much, I am going to try using barleycorn in the creep instead of lamb grower. The time to experiment with the creep feeding is now, not next year when I hope to have more lambs for freezer sales.

We will weigh on Thursday since that is the week mark for the other lambs, and time to weigh them again. We also will vaccinate and dock the twins. This younger lamb might wait another week. DS1 does not like to dock and vaccinate at birth. He prefers the lamb to recover from any birth trauma before vaccinating and docking. Lamb pix on Thursday! The new boy is not as long as the ewe, but then he is still in the tall gangly stage while she is about 3 weeks now. The sire is very long, as are both the Dorper ewes. Lots of loin and great legs! Anxious to hear the butcher's comments on carcasses this year.

I wired a piece of stock panel across the creep gate temporarily so the lambs don't get in with other mothers. New mothers can get very aggressive with lambs that are not theirs, and we don't want a lamb trapped in the pen with an angry mom and unable to escape from the creep. In another week we will vaccinate and dock this last lamb as well. Then we can ear tag, open the creep gate, and make the ewe pen larger so that the lambs can come and go at will into the creep. In another few weeks they can go out on the field after we lock up the rams in another pen.

So glad to have 3 finished. 1 to go if DY is actually bred. We will know next month.

My Christmas shopping is finished except for my son in law. I have part of my tax preparation finished, just need the end of year statements from different sources. I will do a few more batches of cookies since the grandchildren want to bake with me. I am hoping for a quiet and relaxing Christmas this year. So far so good. DH is watching every Hallmark show he can get on the TV. My big tough guy loves those sweet Christmas movies! He is a real soft hearted teddy bear. LOL

 

[Rammy]

My Mom loves those Hallmark movies, too. Freind of mine does, too.
Glad to hear(read) things are going good for you out there. Also glad to finally see the fires are put out in Ca. Sad so many people are missing or died.
Hope you holidays are great and you get to spend it relaxing and enjoying your family.

 

[Ridgetop]

RAIN!!!

It has been raining now for over 30 hours. We got over 5". Some highways have closed because of accidents or flooding. Airplane landing in Burbank (near us) today hydroplaned and skidded off the runway. Some of the burn areas are starting to have mudslides, including one on La Tuna which has closed that road. CHP closed the Grapevine due to snow and rain last night. This is a frequent occurrence in winter too. Not because people are afraid of the snow but because the grapevine is pretty treacherous since it is so steep, and gets a lot of black ice at night.

All normal things after fires, and dangerous. But I am still happy since we have been suffering a drought for about 7 years now. Watched "Skylark", the sequel to "Sarah Plain and Tall" on Hallmark last night. They had a drought on the prairie, the wells and the river all dried up. Then the barn burned. When the rain finally came they all went out and danced in it. I know how they felt!

Of course, the rains will not change any of our problems here with the water shortage and rationing. But I hope it keeps on and brings some green stuff for my lambs this spring. I hope there is a lot of snow coming down in the Sierras.

Going down to the barn to weigh the lambs today, vaccinate and dock the new ones, and check on them. I am so lucky to have a nice big (for southern California standards) barn to work in. First thing we will build when we come to Texas if there is not already one there. Second thing will be a great big workshop. I am hoping to get a property with some outbuildings already in place though.

Kris, our property manager and friend in TX, has just sent me 50 properties in the Tyler/Lindale area to look through. I don't know who is more excited about us moving to Texas - LOL - us or our Texas friends. Our grandkds are definitely upset. Last night I was thawing some spaghetti sauce and the grandkids wanted me to feed them spaghetti before they went home. I was informed that I would do it because I was a "good grandma and loved them very much". How can I leave that behind?

They will have to come with us.

 

[Latestarter]

Wow... looking at properties... Makes it sound like you're getting closer to actually making this move happen! Sure will be great to have another awesome BYHer in the vicinity! Tyler is a little far from me to make frequent visits, but close enough to get together every now and again! Hope you find the perfect landing spot over this way!

 

[Ridgetop]

Starting to look at what is available. Sadly, I understand Tyler is lacking in hills. I love our hilltop so we can see who is coming. A move like ours, with our livestock and STUFF is something that will need planning to accomplish.

 

[Mike CHS]

I would have a hard time getting used to flat land

 

[frustratedearthmother]

They will have to come with us.

Totally agree! Nothing better in life than grandkids!

 

[Bruce]

First thing we will build when we come to Texas if there is not already one there. Second thing will be a great big workshop.

Third thing will be a house!

 

[Ridgetop]

House and any renos on it can wait. We can do a lot at night inside when we can't work outside. Although DH's uncle in Kansas worked a job in town and rigged up lights in the fields so he could plow and harvest at night when he got home! Also, we have our 5th wheel to live in temporarily.

We actually will have electric & water hookups and dump site connected under a shelter (hailstorms) so we can live in the trailer and rent out any house on the property at first while we finish our move from California. So much to plan. Need fences and shelters in place before we move the sheep, dogs, and mule out. Not to mention moving our belongings and farm equipment. We can buy used farm machinery there, but a lot of our panels will come with us since they will be too expensive to purchase there.

 

[Bruce]

I understand that sometimes used machinery isn't much cheaper than new. Best to check that out and bring your existing equipment for those type items.