Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

We are on a private road, as is our daughter now, so we could put some of the usable stuff at the bottom of our road on the street. It is how we got rid of a bunch of stuff before - shelving, cabinets, large children's toys etc. Our neighbor took down a tree and put the wood out on the curb for several days and it all disappeared too!

Good Will is now calling itself the "upscale thrift store". Last time we took a load of items they rejected all the baby items that had been stored in plastic and were like new, saying that it was for health reasons. Then they looked over everything very carefully and rejected anything with a scratch or stain, and in fact, rejected everything less than new! Apparently low income persons are no longer willing to settle for less than brand new items from the thrift store. That being the case, I will stifle my parsimonious streak and toss all the items I do not have the time to fix and recycle myself into the dump trailer to go to the dump.

Another real estate agent came up today accompanied by her partner. Again I was told that this property is "one of a kind" and that they will have trouble deciding on what it would bring. At least they gave us a figure higher than the previous agent. Of course, says the cynic, they all tell you more than they know they can sell it for, then explain why the market has "softened" and why you must lower your price when when they bring you a lower offer! They did give me the name and number of a real estate appraiser who has lived in Shadow Hills for years and I have a call in to him as to the amount he will charge to appraise the house. Hopefully it will not cost thousands to do an appraisal of the property but . . . .

I went on the online sheep equipment auction yesterday and began bidding on some stuff. I had looked up all the prices for all the equipment on line on the manufacturer's web site. When the auction started and the minimum opening bids were posted I was shocked! It was used equipment! I had downloaded the catalog and marked in what I was interested in and the new manufacturer's price. I had also put in the prices that I thought the items would probably start at and the max I would pay. I lowered my expectations of getting any "deals", but bid on a couple of items anyway.

The seller listed the equipment manufacturer on everything. Most of the sheep equipment was made by Schaul's in northern California, located about 1 hour north of the auction premises. There were 4 sets of double 5 x 5 lambing jugs with a walk thru gate into each one, so 1 - 10' panel with 2 gates, 1 10' plain panel, and 3 5' panels. Schaul's sells this basic double jug for $680.00. Add California's 10% sales tax and you will pay new $748.00 out the door at the manufacturer. It was a 2 day auction and on Sunday the bidders suddenly went berserk! My top bid on the jugs (which I didn't really need but thought an actual opening gate into each 5x5' jug would be nice) was $400. Buyers bid the jugs up to $875.00. Remember this was for USED jugs which the buyers had to pick up at the ranch which is 1 hour south of the manufacturer! They could have bought new for $125 less at the manufacturer!!!

Next thing I bid on was a blind alley and tilt table. 6 - 8' blind panels, 3 separator gates, one sorting gate, and tilt table. pried new, these items came to $2310 plus 10% tax for a total of $2541. Opening bid was $1700 which I placed and which lasted until an hour before close of auction. I eventually came up to $2000 grudgingly and was outbid for a final sale price of $2300! New price for old equipment although the buyer did save the tax! I am considering buying the Schaul's Tilt Table new later on. I was not going to bid on it but our friend Travis in Utah showed us his that he was using to trim the feet of his 500 sheep. It is a Schaul's. He loved it and said that it worked beautifully and easily so I took a chance. it was mine until 4 hours before the end of the auction at which point frenzied bidding drove the price up.

There were 8 - 6' hay and grain field feeders, Schaul's price new is $324 plus the ever present 10% California sales tax. Opening bid was $275. Final bids on all 8 feeders were $345-$355 apiece. New prices on used equipment. I must admit that I was guilty of buying one of these feeders . I really needed one, since it is so wasteful to feed on the ground, but I forgot to refer back to the new price I had written down before I placed my final bid. However, mine was one of the $345 closing bids, not the wasteful $355 bids!.

Next I needed some grain troughs. There were 4 extra deep heavy duty 8' ones which I really wanted. Long before the close of the auction they were out of my reach. Opening bid $150, closing bid $205 each. Ok, with the heavy duty ones out of reach, I turned my attention to the standard V grain troughs. These cost new $168, opening bid was $100 each. I was able to snag 2 of the first ones offered for $100 and $105 apiece. As the last of the 8 troughs were closing out the prices began to rise with the last few closing at $110 each!

There was a sorting alley retailing at $1139 - 1 sorting 3 way gate, 2 divider gates and 4 - 7' solid panels. Opening required bid $800 and sold at $1000!

Numerous panels and wire farm gates (too many to tell here), all selling for almost new prices, even the ones showing that the pin together hooks were broken! Plastic hang over buckets that sell new for $11 on line sold for $20 for 2, etc., etc.

Anyway, In addition to my overpriced field feeder and grain troughs, I did end up with a digital Tru-Test scale and scale box for my opening bid of $1500. Probably too much but there was no bid on it at all, so I took a chance figuring if outbid I didn't care. I
also bought 2 lots of 3 - 15 gallon rubber Tuff Stuff grain/water tubs for $35 per lot, and a lot of 5 flat rubber grain pans for $45.

I was shocked at the prices those people got at their on line auction. A lot of stuff did not sell though. They sold 2 sets of Premier clippers for $235 each. Then they offered 9 sets of blades which they stated " MAY NEED SHARPENNG" . Sharpening costs a lot. Some of them sold for the opening bid of $50. The Heiniger battery clipper "for trimming faces and ears" for which they wanted an opening bid of $280 went no sale.

I have never seen such high opening bids and such high closing bids for used equipment. I can buy those lambing jugs, the blind alley and tilt table and a lot of the stuff for less BRAND NEW at Schaul's an hour north of where we have to drive to pick up the auction stuff! Selling it all at the auction was brilliant merchandising. They sold all their remaining spring ewe lambs for high prices, the buy of the sale was one lovely spring ewe lamb that went for $800. The rams not so good, they were left with 5 nice young ram lambs out of 7 they put up in the auction. I think they made a big profit on all their equipment since they had used it for years and then sold it for new prices. They also put their 2017 Denali short bed pick up truck (37,500 miles) in for $42,000 minimum bid, a 24' gooseneck low profile aluminum customized stock trailer, minimum bid $27,500 and a 16' bumper pull aluminum customized stock trailer for $8,500 minimum bid. There were no bids on the truck and trailers.

Gosh I wish I could do that - I seem to buy high and sell low.

So more on the moving front. The real estate appraiser will be up next Monday to do an appraisal of the value of the property. I think that will give us a better idea of what we can sell for since he appraises property for bank loans. I hope it is high, also hope the market doesn't crash before we can sell.

DS3 in Nipomo called today to say the dump trailer will be available for pick up the end of the week. We can pick it up on the way back from Sacramento when we pick up the auction equipment on Saturday. He also said we can come up there and live in our trailer - first he suggested we build a granny flat on his property and move there, but when I reminded him we were selling to G.T.T. he said ok to the trailer. I also told him to discuss it with his wife, my DIL whom I love , in case she didn't want her in-laws living in her back yard!

However, it is good to know that we can move our portable rodeo corrals up there and set them up. We will put wire on the panels and move the sheep and dogs into them while we finalize our move. Bubba is not welcome since DIL is afraid of him. We have to lock him up when the real estate people come over. He is extremely protective. After talking to DS3 I am beginning to wonder if we should plan a move to 60 acres or if we would be better off around 20 acres or so. I will go on line to see what is available. So much to consider.

I can't wait till the dump trailer arrives! Good bye rubbish!!!

 

[Ridgetop]

Miss @Ridgetop,

Beautiful pictures! I have always wanted to ride that train. My Beautiful Gal and I along with her parents rode the Cumbres and Toltic (sp?) steam narrow gauge railroad from Chama, NM to San Antonito, CO. My MIL was afraid during most of the trip! She wouldn't walk onto the Rio Grande River Gorge bridge near Taos because it is so deep!

I am glad you are making steady progress on getting ready to move. Mr. @Bruce is right, even if you have to pay capital gains tax, I can't imagine how that wouldn't be better than lowering the price, but maybe I am missing something.

Once you get to Texas, will you change your name to something like Cap Rock Annie?

 

[Ridgetop]

Will not change our names. As to capital gains, we like to know all the options if it looks like the market is going down, we need to know the bottom price and top price we can go. We don't want to chase the market if it tanks so knowing ahead of time our pricing options is valuable. We would rather take a little less and sell. DH says that usually your first offer is the often the best you get.

 

[Baymule]

Your DH is right. All too often people get the idea that their place is worth so much from the realtor or their own fantasy price, that when they get a real life offer, they turn it down. Then their home languishes on the market and they wind up selling for less than their first offer. If the object is to SELL the home, then G. T. M.!! GET THE MONEY!!

 

[Bruce]

Last time we took a load of items they rejected all the baby items that had been stored in plastic and were like new, saying that it was for health reasons.

They rejected the diaper covers I took for that reason. Yet they will take used underwear????

I think they made a big profit on all their equipment since they had used it for years and then sold it for new prices.

They definitely made money since the new price when they bought it was less than the current new price. I guess all those buyers never checked to see what the items cost new. Hopefully they won't find out because they will get hurt kicking themselves in the butt.

 

[Ridgetop]

Actually, the word I received from a third party is that the manufacturer is backlogged due to one employee leaving. When he ordered his tilt table last year Travis waited 3 months for delivery. Maybe people just did not want to wait for the equipment, had the extra money to get it now, and paid a premium not to wait several months. I will have to order and wait for my stuff since I can't afford to pay more than I have to. In the meantime, when I get to Texas, Baymule - Queen of the Craigslist Deals - and I can shop auctions and sales.

On the other hand, I did get the Tru-Test scale for $1500. Only bid. At first I thought that was a lot to pay, but it has a scale box with doors on each end, is self-leveling, has the bars, battery operated with charger so you can operate it anywhere with no power. The scale is apparently one of the top models. It looks brand new too. In fact DS1 had me go down and purchase a cover for it to keep it nice. LOL I actually wanted to cover it to avoid dirt interfering with the self-leveling apparatus, but the cover is about 18" too short to cover it to the ground. I have a torn patio furniture cover that I was going to dispose of but now will cut off the bottom and stitch it to the new cover to extend it. Slip covers for my sheep equipment! The sellers also gave me 5 sheep rope halters, and a bag of elastrator bands. And I ended up buying a 50 gallon sheep water tub (shorter for lambs) and 2 other 15 gallons octagonal tubs for feed or water.

I thought DS1 and DS2 would be happy that we would not have to hoick 70-100 lb. lambs onto the sling scale anymore. Instead they flexed their muscles and said that it kept them in shape! Grown men going on teenagers! Last time I told them that as they were lifting those big lambs up, I just heard bad words! LOL

Anyway, I did not mention that when we went up to northern California to pick up the auction purchases, we had gotten a call from a Dorper friend about another 100 miles north. He raises Dexter cattle as well (a sort of miniature breed) and asked if we would be willing to take a yearling bull he had just sold down to the buyer in Ojai which is an hour from us. Naturally I agreed. He then said that the buyer would pay for transport.

On Friday 13, we left to drive north to pick up our auction stuff outside Sacramento. DH watches his gas consumption carefully and can usually tell to within a few gallons when to fuel. He has been known to put 39 gallons into a 40 gallon tank however, and I often get a tad nervous. When we left he said he would gas in Kettleman - he had almost half a tank and didn't want to stop before then. OK. We went through Kettleman and midway to Arven (where the cheap-for-California diesel station actually is) the truck lost power. As we coasted to a stop I asked if we were out of gas. No, said DH, we should be able to go another 100 miles since the red "no gas" light was not on. Also the battery light was the only light that was on. But, I said, I can see the red "no gas" light is on. It was hard to see since there was sun glare on the instrument panel. No said DH, it must be something else - we better call for a tow. When I got hold of AAA they said they could not tow the truck and stock trailer even though we had Premier RV service. According to the agent we would have to drop the trailer by the side of the freeway and then they could tow the truck somewhere. DH and the agent exchanged some testy words, then DH, having by then seen for himself that the "no gas" light was actually on told them to just bring 5 gallons of diesel. Half an hour later the tow truck showed up and put diesel in the truck. Worried that the truck would not start, since we had been told to NEVER run out of gas in a diesel, we drew a big breath of relief when the engine started. Although Twinkles coughed a bit she finally steadied into her sweet purr and off we went 2 miles up the road to the station where we filled up our thirsty truck with diesel.

Having dealt with one problem, we proceeded to run into constant traffic caused by several accidents, and a couple of breakdowns. The GPS routed us on and off the freeway to avoid delays, completely confusing us as to which way she was directing us. I resorted to the ma just in case but we finally reached the auction seller's place, only 3 hours later than we had expected. We loaded up and finally reached the motel around 8:00pm. They had a pool so we rushed into our suits and dashed over for a refreshing swim.
BRRR! Not a heated pool and in spite of daytime temps of 100 degrees plus the pool was frigid. We consoled ourselves with a hot shower, a piece of cold chicken from our cooler (no restaurants or fast food near the motel ), and went to bed.

After our 10 hour trip north, the next morning we whizzed along to Orland. After loading the bull, we found out from our friends that they had arranged for someone to transport their auction purchases up to them. That morning they received a call that that person was not going to be going there after all. We were bummed since we could have easily brought up their stuff when we drove up to get the bull. While talking to them, the bull tried to climb out the back of the trailer. Visions of Latestarter Joe's pig episode flew through my mind! I was afraid the bull would get a leg caught and break it so we hurried to leave. Anyway, we pulled out and drove south to Ojai and the buyer's house.

Sadly, I had forgotten that Ojai has 1 narrow, winding, 2 lane road serving the entire town. I also forgot that it is completely off any freeway access. After another 10 hour drive, we arrived at the buyer's house to deliver the bull. It was sunset. The buyer, who turned out to be a 17 year old boy, met us at the entrance to his private road. His house was half a mile down the road BUT they had nowhere to turn the trailer around so DH had to do a 3 point turn at the T, then back the trailer up a half mile of single lane road to their driveway. Halfway down that road the sun went completely down and he was backing up in the pitch dark. The backup lights on the truck were no help since they were blocked by the trailer and the trailer does not have back up lights. I asked the young man, Sam, if he had any flashlights since DH could no longer see my hand signals in the dark. He got 2 flashlights and we stood at each rear corner end of the trailer to help him back up. Unfortunately, Sam tried to help by shining his flashlight towards the front of the truck, catching DH right in the eyes through the mirror. I switched sides with Sam and told him to point his light at the ground. We finally reached the driveway.

Then DH was told they wanted him to make a 90 degree turn into an even narrower 8' wide dirt road between boulders and overhanging tree branches. DH checked it out and said he could make it. DH had to pull forward and back up several times to avoid several boulders, posts, guy wires, and bicycles stacked in the way. DH made that turn. After backing 75' down that road the buyer wanted DH to make another 90 degree turn to back up across a large deep dip into the pasture gate. At that point, I put my foot down and said "No. We would unload right there". The bull had not had a halter on since he was a calf, but Wes had made sure he was wearing one when he was loaded. I informed Sam that we would just block off one side of the road with the trailer gate. The other side of the trailer was flush with a telephone pole guy wire and shoved into what I discovered to be a pyracantha thorn bush. Ouch. The his dad and I would block the open end of the driveway which went further on into the darkness. That open end of the drive worried me since Sam had told me the day before on the hone that one of his cows with her calf had gotten away from him and run up that road into open country. it had taken him 4 hours to catch her, and I was not planning to stay and help catch this bull!

Sam decided that he could lead the bull out if his dad had one of the cows there for the bull to follow. We were now in pitch blackness, working with 2 small flashlights. His dad held the cow where I told him to go (blocking the open end of the road). I explained that cows don't really like to move much in the dark so if they shone their flashlights on the ground the bull would probably walk along with the cow into the pasture. Sam pulled on the bull who had decided by now that he really loved our trailer and didn't want to come out. I tried to reach through the side of the trailer and give the bull a gentle tap but couldn't reach him. Every time Sam got him to the edge of the trailer the bull would change his mind and retreat into the depths. Since the bull was a dark brown, it was hard to see what he was doing. DH called to me to come around to his side of the trailer and help with the bull. I was willing but held captive by the thorn bush, the guy wire and the trailer. I finally untangled my posterior from the pyracantha bush, and my leg from the guy wire, so I could go around and reach the bull. After falling into other bushes I finally was able to get to the other side of the trailer. Just as I was about to climb into the trailer with the bull in desperation and twist his tail to get him out, the bull gave up and came out. After collecting our $$ and explaining to Sam that he had to keep his transport slip (and any future ones) with his registration papers, we finally drove away. There was a slight odor of cow on my shoes due to having to scrape bull patties off the door of the trailer to get it to close. We had arrived at Sam's house at 7:30 pm. We left his house at 9:30 pm. It took us 2 hours to back down the narrow road, make that turn, back down another narrow road, and coax the bull out of the trailer! Our trips are fraught with adventure!
13 hours from the time we picked up the bull we arrived at home. That was yesterday. Today Travis called and said he was driving to the auction seller's place next Saturday to pick up the rams and ewe he had bought from them. He wanted to know if I wanted to drive up to their place and pick up the bred ewe I bought from him in Utah! I opted for the second choice - to meet him in 2 weeks in Victorville (which is only about 2 hours away) when he will be on his way back from delivering a small flock of commercial Dorpers to a date farm in Palm Springs.

Tomorrow I will have to set up my lambing jugs ready for the 3 ewes that will be lambing starting next Sunday. One is definitely due then, and her bag is huge. The other 2 have additional marking dates showing them to be due October 3. The FF is simply enormous and she is not due until October 3, another 2-3 weeks! Time to set up the jugs. Also tomorrow I will put a marking harness back on one of the bucks and turn him in with the ewes to service the 2 yearlings. Also as a catch up ram for anyone who is not yet bred. I haven't decided which of the 3 to use yet. It may be the one we catch first! Hopefully, the rest of the ewes are all bred and settled. When the new ewe arrives, she will go in with him as well and if she is not pregnant, she will get bred too. I thought about keeping them open, because of the possible move, but DH said even if they lamb during the move they need to be bred. He is right, since if you don't breed ewes young enough you can end up with erratic breeders who don't become reliable brood ewes.

Looking forward to seeing what I get out of these ewes since I bred them to my young ram. He is very long and I hope to see that in his lambs. He was lovely as a very young lamb, then in April though June when I bred him to these ewes he went through a really lanky, ugly period. I was considering selling him but decided to wait and see what he produced. He has grown out since being away from the ewes (less stress?) and has put on some weight. He is looking much better now so I plan to keep him. Also his bloodlines are excellent, he was a quad so I am hoping for heavy multiples from any daughters, and he has a very mild temperament. All good things, so since he is just a yearling himself, he should improve even more over the next couple of years as he matures. Just have to wait and see.

 

[Baymule]

That is some very poor planning on the part of the Dexter bull buyer, NOT to have a place to turn a trailer around. I bet they never find anyone as accommodating as you and your DH on delivering any kind of animal. When you have a farm, trailers kinda go along with farming, not making room for a trailer turn around is stupid in my estimation. I don't know whether to cheer for your DH's excellent backing skills or say he's nuts for doing all that backing up for people with poor planning and no room to turn around. Either way, he got it done and y'all got the bull unloaded at his new home.

I hate to run out of fuel. I can just hear the exchange of words over THAT one! My DH and I were squabbling over lag bolts in the aisle in Lowes yesterday, when a young man offered to help us. I asked him if he was married, he said no. I told him to NEVER get married! We squabbled some more and finally with the help of the nice, but confused, young man, we selected the bolts and he bagged them up for us. I can just picture us on the side of the road, out of fuel.

Glad you got the equipment and got it home, even with the detour.

 

[Bruce]

You have to wonder how the prior animals got to Sam's house! Given the length of the driveway/private road, they surely have enough property to create a circle for turning around.

 

[Mike CHS]

Isn't Ojai where the Six million dollar man (or Bionic Woman) supposedly the home in one of the shows? That's going back a ways in memory.

 

[Ridgetop]

Apparently he had them delivered too. Those people had a 24' gooseneck and arrived at his place at 11:30 pm! They were delivering a cow. I wondered why he was so quick to offer me $400 to deliver the bull! Sam is 17 years old and these Dexter cattle are his 4-H project. Nice and small but not large enough to fill a freezer with meat for a family I wouldn't think. However if you want to work with cattle in limited space these might be interesting. We don't really like working with cattle except for bottle calves. And they are delicate and chancy. Replacement heifers raised as bottle calves are ok too, but our land is too steep to feel safe working with steers and cattle. No where to escape to if you get knocked or pushed over the edge! Like my DS1 said about going to Texas and having to raise cattle - "We are sheep people not cattle people!". Young Sam doesn't even have a mini truck, or any kind of stock trailer so I am not sure how he expects to get his cattle to the Fair or stock shows. Actually, with show cattle that are used to a halter, he could easily lead the animals down the narrow private road to the pasture. If he gets the bull trained he shouldn't have too much trouble If I were him, however, I would put a gate across the open end of the driveway that runs up into the wild hills!

Speaking of cattle keeping in Texas, Baymule gave me great joy when she told me that we do not actually have to raise cattle on our AG property in Texas to qualify for the AG exemption. Since we are buying property planted in coastal hay, we can just continue the haying operation and add our sheep! I feel like dancing! Not gracefully, but enthusiastically! DH, DS1, and I were all relieved.

Speaking again of the sheep, after our intense weekend, I relaxed by cleaning out the barn and setting up 3 lambing jugs for my ewes that are due to lamb. Then I installed shelving in the Ikea cabinets DS1 had installed in our front entry while we were gone.
That evening DS1 came in and said the first ewe looked like she might be starting to lamb. DS2, DS2F (DS2's Fiancee) and I came out to help DS1 separate the lambing ewe and the other 2 enormously pregnant ones. Sure enough she was losing her mucous plug. This doesn't mean she is in labor though since I have had does and ewes slip their mucous plug up to a week in advance just to annoy and frustrate me with fruitless trips to the barn to check on them. They smirk as I come in the barn.

My chart (filled out religiously) showed lambing date of 9/7 and 9/22 according to the marking dates. I had checked her tail head and udder earlier that day and she was bagged and the tail was separating so we moved her into a jug. At which point she ignored anything happening n her nether regions and proceeded to attack the hay in her feeder. Obviously not in hard labor! She lambed that evening with no problems. DS1 and DS2 decided she was the best ewe in the flock by 1. Not lambing in the gully, and 2. Lambing while we were at supper so we could go to bed at our regular times. I, on the other hand, had just completed my shower, had to resume my barn clothes, and iodine the cords, getting slimed in the process. As I too my second shower I considered that this ewe just had a perverted sense of humor.

In accordance with all Ridgetop history, this ewe had 2 very different looking ram lambs. If you remember I mentioned how years ago a large Suffolk ewe produced a giant lamb one night and the next morning produced 2 normal sized twin lambs. We were present at both births and I had reached inside looking for more lambs the previous night so we know that these were 2 different pregnancies in separate uterine horns. As you will see in the photos I am posting, the same thing apparently happened again with the main difference being that apparently with 2 different breeding dates!

So the first born lamb was tiny, scrawny, almost no hair or wool (pink in the pix) although lively. The second born ram caused his mama more problems, being a huge hairy lamb covered in mercomium - that orangey stuff you can also see in the pix. Both were dumb as boards, the scrawny one refusing to allow me to help him to find a nipple, while the larger one just stumbled around the jug. Typical brainless ram lambs! (DS1 tried to excuse this by pointing out that they were less than an hour old, but having acquired slime I was unforgiving.) The scrawny one showed a lot of liveliness in spite of being about 2 weeks younger, and kept looking for the nipple. He finally found it and I figured I could go for my shower. This morning both have full bellies and are more alert.

Pinky is the scrawny one, and Orangey is the giant one. I will weigh them today.

Here are the next 2 to go. The one facing away has the same marking and due dates at the first one to lamb, as well as a 3rd date of October 3. Her udder is not too big yet, nor is she, although this is her second lambing, so maybe October 3 is correct on her. The ram was young and a maiden so he may have been shooting blanks at first. It happens when they haven't been used for a while. The one facing has 2 marking dates, with due dates on 9/6 (obviously not happening) and October 3. She s ginormous as a FF but not too much udder enlargement yet. Sure hope for twins, I don't want to have to try to pull a lamb as big as she is out! On the other hand she is actually my largest ewe so hopefully will be ok. I am going to turn my Lewis ram out with the flock today now that these ewes are in the jugs. I have 2 yearlings to be bred and he gives me low birth weight, high growth rate lambs. Also, we lost his only daughter so I have no offspring from him. Hoping for a ewe lamb since he is a slick shed ram. As you can see a couple of mine have "bad toupees". Since we have little shade on the field, I don't mind the personal sunshades they carry around. If were going to exhibit them or sell them for breeding stock, I would shear them off but no need. No sunburn either. I saw a ram at the WSDA show that had been shorn to the skin, then transported in direct sun in a truck cage. OUCH! Poor thing was so sunburnt he was bright red and could hardly be handled in the ring since he was so tender.
Anyway, lambing season has started! Weights on next post.