Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Baymule]

Can you do an online auction for your proven ewes and lambs?

New well definitely the way to go.

Insurance is going up all over, plus companies are dropping policies. I’m just fine with my double wide, it doesn’t cost as much as a real house, so is somewhat cheaper to insure. Plus the county depreciates it on the tax rolls and taxes go down. Never thought I’d actually like living in a trailer, but it has its advantages. LOL

 

[Ridgetop]

Talked to the well guy today (the driller not the fitration guy. The well guy said that we are definitey sitting on the Carrizo aqufer. He said that if he drills and doesn;t hit water we dont have to pay. He also said that with a new pump and lines that we would not have the problem with the heavily iron water. Going to go ahead with the well drilling.

We are playing bridge again next Wednesday. Talked to DH about the trip to Amarillo to meet DS1 and exchange the car for the truck. DH said it is 14 hours and he would drive straight through. I suggestd that since we are not oulling a trailer and are traveling in the car we might take a more scenic route and enjoy the trip. He is considering it but said he doesnt want to spend the money on more motels.

Getting lists ready for myself on stuff to take back for DS1 (item 1 a mattock) and stuff I need him to bring to us (some business files). Will pack whatever we can fit into the car and DS1 can unload it at the ranch.

DH had a post op today on eye that had already had cataract surgery. The doctor had removed the film that had developed behind his cataract lens. Surgery on his other eye on Halloween. Robert and Nicholas got their Halloween costumes yesterday. Nicholas is a truck and Robert is a digger (backhoe?) Very cute costumes made of heavy costume felt. Robert wanted to go outside and pick up dirt with his digger and put it in Nicholas' truck! DDIL2 said "No" because it would ruin the costumes that were made of fabric and did not have a real truck bed or digger bucket.

DS1 is starting a list of which sheep he feels we should sell. A couple that have not grown properly, and another that he doesn't like her udder, etc.

Really bored here.

 

[fuzzi]

Talked to the well guy today (the driller not the fitration guy. The well guy said that we are definitey sitting on the Carrizo aqufer. He said that if he drills and doesn;t hit water we dont have to pay. He also said that with a new pump and lines that we would not have the problem with the heavily iron water. Going to go ahead with the well drilling.

We are playing bridge again next Wednesday. Talked to DH about the trip to Amarillo to meet DS1 and exchange the car for the truck. DH said it is 14 hours and he would drive straight through. I suggestd that since we are not oulling a trailer and are traveling in the car we might take a more scenic route and enjoy the trip. He is considering it but said he doesnt want to spend the money on more motels.

My dh never liked driving after he had a couple wrecks, so I got to be the designated driver on our longer trips. And I therefore got to pick the route. I've done 15 hours in one day, never again. When I closed my eyes at the hotel that time all I could see was headlights and the painted lines in the road. The farthest I will drive now in a day is less than 500 miles, preferably closer to 400.

 

[farmerjan]

Not advisable to do a long trip like that after the knee replacements...NON-STOP...... Only been what, 3-4 months???? If you get a blood clot or something, then DH will wish he hadn't been such a horses' Patootie... about one or 2 motels. Besides, how many more times are you planning to drive back and forth? Better stop and enjoy it while you can...

 

[fuzzi]

Not advisable to do a long trip like that after the knee replacements...NON-STOP...... Only been what, 3-4 months???? If you get a blood clot or something, then DH will wish he hadn't been such a horses' Patootie... about one or 2 motels. Besides, how many more times are you planning to drive back and forth? Better stop and enjoy it while you can...

That is an excellent point. Stopping every 1-2 hours to stretch and walk briskly to get the blood flowing in your legs would be best. IMO.

My surgeon was old fashioned, wouldn't allow me to ride in a car for six weeks after my THR (total hip replacement) but I didn't get any blood clots.

 

[rachels.haven]

Our water softener we just put in was for the pipes and any appliances. Expensive system.

 

[Baymule]

My dh never liked driving after he had a couple wrecks, so I got to be the designated driver on our longer trips. And I therefore got to pick the route. I've done 15 hours in one day, never again. When I closed my eyes at the hotel that time all I could see was headlights and the painted lines in the road. The farthest I will drive now in a day is less than 500 miles, preferably closer to 400.

My phone app says it’s 726 miles to @Mike CHS and Teresa’s house, 10 hours and 36 minutes. APPs are liars. When I went to pick up Rocky, drive home was 13 hours. But I was pulling a trailer and stopped to fuel up every 350 miles. Time to get there didn’t really count because I met a friend in Little Rock, Arkansas to deliver a ram lamb to her. Plus a leisurely breakfast. LOL

 

[Ridgetop]

Luckily DH loooves to drive and won't let me drive for more than short periods. Apparently I "scare" him. Not sure about the trip. He says he can go alone but I don't want him to drive that far alone before he has his cataract surgery. Still talking about it.

Today I went out, folded up, an put away all the moving pads that were hanging over the fence drying out and the large tarp that was left in a pile on the field. Then moved some of the tools that DS1 wants us to bring back to Texas for him with the fences for loading in the car when we go. I have more stuff to take back, and will gradually pack all of it ready to go. There will still be more stuff to pack - cooking dishes, etc. to do in November. At the moment I am putting the packed boxes in DS1's room. I am considering bringing my saddle and some of the horse items back this time if we have enough room in the car. I don't think we will have shelter for the horse and mule this winter so may have to order water proof outdoor blankets for them. No need for that in California but not sure about Texas. There are trees in the pastures, but no barn shelter since I will be using the barn for the sheep and the side barn for the jugs. Once we are back there I might be able to figure out a small area in the barn they can go in for shelter.

Sunday
DS1 said the spear worked fine until yoi had to tip the bale upright. He managed to get it upright, but said it took some maneuvering. I wonder if putting the forks that clamp on to the bucket on Baby 'Bota might work to tip the bale upright. DS1 loaned them to Bryan several weeks ago. Told him to get them back and try it.

I went out and gathered some more garden and building items to transport to Texas. I found some weed cloth rolls and pins, plastic edging and pins to hold bricks in place, T-posts, 50 very large bolts with nuts and square washers for putting cross arms (4"x5") together, hardware cloth for protection from gophers, etc. Heavy stuff but it will fit in the SUV and Rick can unload in in the tack room in the barn. Also a double jack and some other barn and garden tools. I wil leave soe here but we have a lot because when all of us were working we needed not only spares, but spares for the spares! LOL I will get a carton and pack some of the smaller garden tools including a large bottle of the B1 vitamin starter, etc. Speaking of the brick edging holder, I would like to bring back the 50 concrete edging blocks from the field. Maybe if there is room in the trailer we can bring them back in November. They would be useful for landscaping and while we can buy more in Texas they have gotten pretty expensive at $3-4/brick.

DS2 got a free baby Navel orange tree from a friend and planted it this morning with Robert and Nicholas. He had 100 lbs. of planting mix but he had to go back to Lowes for another 50lb. bag of supplement since he said he dug the hold too large. The trunk diameter was about the size of a pencil! LOL He took Robert with him for daddy/son bonding at the hardware store. DH used to to do that with the boys.

 

[farmerjan]

If you are feeding the roll of hay outside, you should NOT tip it so the flat side is up. That allows rain to permeate down through the hay. The rounded side will shed some of the rain. It's not like you are on hilly ground out in TX and have to worry about it rolling down a hill.
While the hay is on the spear, up off the ground, take and cut one side of the net wrap and unwind it off the hay... then feed it with the rounded side up and the flat sides on the sides. Just like it is on the tractor. The sheep will also be able to eat from the flat sides alot easier than to try to eat from the rounded part if it is sitting on the flat side. If you are putting it inside, to peel off layers, then putting it on the flat to unwind like off a spool makes sense.

 

[Ridgetop]

@farmerjan
Thanks for that info. I did not think about that. I will let DS1 know right away.

Still trying to find out information on the water quality in the Carrizo acquifer. We are sitting on top of it in northeast corner of Wood County, Texas. I still think that drilling a new well woud be the best use of ur money but DS1 wants me to call the other people and talk to them about the fitration system, etc. I keep trying to tell hm that the 400' of pipe int the acquifer is pitted which is letting the iron and other impurities into the water but he said I should discuss it with the other fitration people. The well is at least 30 years old, maybe more. The current Mr. Folmar (in his 50-60s?) said his father dug that well and did later work on it so the actual well may be even older. DS1 said that the testing people disconnected the tank from the well and pulled the water out from the pump directly. It ran clear but had high levels of iron so he thinks the sediment in the tank is the problem and thinks that putting in the filtration system will fix it. Fine! I will call the filtration people, but I really think we need a new well drilled. I don't undertand why they can't put a new smaller diameter pipe down the original 400' pipe but maybe it is too deep to do that.