Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

We went to pick up our tractor on Monday. Drove down and stayed with Baymule. She took up to a great Mexican restaurant. It took a ling time to rder because the menu was so large. I forgot what I had decided to order on page 1 by the time I finished reading the choices on page 4!

DD2, DSIL2 and granddaughters came over today. They were here for Annabel's birthday. DSIL2 made lamb stew, I made a salad and we bought a carrot cake. DS1 had gotten some play sand and we got out last year's wading pool from the shed. 100 bs. of sand and the girls had a ball. We had also got up some cheap sand toys for Annabel, and one of those inflatable rubber balls with a handle that you can sit on and bounce around. We thought about a ride on of some kind, but the lack of any paved surface in our yard made that a non starter. The bounce on seemed the better bet. we are still looking for a swing of some kind. Maysie and DD2 walked out to the pond to look for turtles. DD2 saw a snake slither into the pond and freaked out. She said it was a brown snake so possibly a cottonmouth. It was warm but then started raining. The girls ran out to play in the rain. LOL They got a bath after that.

The pump shed is coming along. The insulation is in, wiring and plumbing are done. Bryan is putting cement board around the actual pump, with plywood on the other walls. DS1 said we had to paint the eaves on the outside. I have exterior primer and white paint which I will use for the exterior eaves and also the interior of the shed. That will save over $100 in paint. The shed is going to be really nice for storage. It is plenty tall for the 10'w x 6't heavy duty shelving, and will have an additional 4' above the top shelf. I will install a 6' x 24" heavy duty metal shelf above the freestanding shelving unit. It will be perfect for Christmas items that we only access once a year. I think I might buy another folding step ladder to keep in the shed to access the top shelves. We will have plenty of space to put another heavy duty shelvng unit in the shed. I will also store my horse tack, saddles, bridles, etc. in the shed. I may even have room for all my canning jars (several hundred), 3 pressure canners, and other canning equipment in there. I need to remember to bring the 2 water bath canners back with me this time from CA. LOL I am very excited about havng some sealed and insulated storage.

 

[Ridgetop]

The pump shed is finished! I have to wait until it is all dried out (some rain on the interior plywood before installation) to start painting the interior. I will have to wait to do the eaves till it stops raining. Once I finish painting the interior, the shelves can go in and I can find my front entry again! There should be plenty of room for shelves to store stuff. The last of the plumbing needs to be connected and then DS1 and Bryan will lay in the water pipes to the barn, pastures, and garden areas. DS1 is installing the special no-freeze faucets.

About time too since it is getting crowded in the house. Yesterday DD1, DSIL2, and 2 granddaughters came over. Since it was raining everyone was inside and there were toys all over. I tried to make my wy through with a plate of cookies and of course, got tripped up. As I startd to fal over, I grbbed at DD2 who reached up to try to help me. I ended up falling right on my butt in front of DGD3, facing her, who stared at me in astonishment! LOL I was sitting on the toys she had been playing with. No damage although I might have pulled something trying to avoid falling on DGD3! Just like playing Twister!

Finally got some filing done in my office. I can see the top of my desk! LOL This week we will be sorting lambs and taking another group of rams to the auction. Also will sort out the older ewe lambs and separate them from the mamas. Time to dry off ewes and start conditioning them fir rebreedng. The need to have their hooves trimmed and some shearing done. Then another round of worming with Valbazen. After Easter we will start flushing the ewes and decide which ones go to which ram. We also have to set up 3 different breeding pastures.

 

[Ridgetop]

Massive thunder and lightning storm overnight knocked out power. Huge crash overhead woke me up. DH heard generator run for hours. Not a lot of rain though and no rain now.

I have gotten the list of definite ewe lamb keepers done. Based on dams and bloodlines, I have 7 definite keepers. Now just have to look at them individually and paint mark them. By paint marking them I will be able to pick them out of the flock as they run around for further study of conformation. I might decide to keep another one r two for myself as well. I have picked out one ram lamb to hang on to as a possible stud ram for later sale. Still not sure since I just realized that I have another ram lamb out of Junior in the barn. That last lamb born is starting to look nice and his mother is a grade 5 so . . . .

I got a call from the fellow wanting a couple ewe lambs. He said that he also wants a ram lamb and his dad wants a couple too. He is talking about buying 5 so I will drop the price closer to $200 apiece without papers. $200 is low, but the lambs are only a couple months old, and $200 is higher than my best ram lamb auction price. And no commissions to pay. I am taking the rest of the ram lambs this coming Saturday but no ewe lambs. I will talk to the auction people (auctioneer) then about prices on ewe lambs going through the auction. It may be better to hold the ewe lambs to 4-5+ months old on pasture before taking them to the sale. If I have any old ewes I might try selling them at the auction with papers to see what price I can get. I will talk to the auctioneer and the fellow who prices the animals.

We need to put the fencing back up to make the separate pens to wean the ewe lambs, and breed the ewes. We want to get that done by Easter.
New pump shed. It is 10' tall but Bryan said he laid it out wrong so instead of being 10' ix 10' inside it is only 9' x 9'. 10x10 exterior.
Inside we will build in a loft on the short slope side to the right. The higher area at the front of the loft gives better access. Also building in the loft puts it over the well pump (blue thing on right). The 9' wall on the left will have mounted shelves at the top and a 6'h x 6'w x 18-24" deep heavy duty shelving unit. The wall facing the door can fit a 6' w unit as well. I will put a 4'w mounted shelf above that shelving unit. There are electrical outlets in the shed and on the outside wall. D1 nd DH are considering how to put in a turbo fan for air circulation. There is one in the roof but it is in the wrong spot and got covered up by the interior ceiling. They will mount something through a wall. DS1 plans to build a low casing around the pump to protect the PVC piping on the floor. He has enough scrap lumber and plywood to do that.

Soon on to the next project which will be a Ditchwitch to run the water lines to the barn. No more buckets and hundreds of feet of hose! Hazine thinks they are snakes and kills them.

Speaking of the dogs, Ozel has stopped chasing the lambs. She has become an adult. Hazine is in season for the first time. I still haven't caught Ozel in season. Ange got bitten by soething and has an infected place in her neck. I thought I had doctored it last week but it is worse now and there seems to be a second infected area. We will take her to the vet on Monday and have it checked. Also get antibiotics. I need to get Hazine microchipped and arrange for an OFA test on Ozel. I don't plan to breed her before next year whe she is 3, but need her CHIC number in place.

Erick called me last evening and said that one of his bitches, Tavir, got bitten by a rattlesnke protecting a litter of puppies. It was in heavy brush and she got bitten in a rear leg. Apparently that is a bad pace to get bitten since the venom can damage tissue. He said the safest place for a snake bite is in the face. Go figure! Anyway, I will make appointments for all 3 dogs to get the snakebite vaccinations. They get one, then another booster a month later, then one each year. It is supposed to be fairly good protection. While it is not perfect it does mitigate the venom and give you more time to get the animal to the vet for treatment. Erick had to take Tavir to the emergency clinic in Austin where they MADE HIM WAIT 45 MINUTES BEFORE GETTING THE ANTI-VENOM SHOT while the vet sat and chatted with him about the dog! This was after they checked him in with no one waiting! Then it cost him $1700 to be seen and get the anti-venom They wanted to keep Tavir overnight for observation in case she needed more anti-venom and charge another $5000!
Erick was furious that they kept him waiting for 45 minutes before giving the anti-venom shot. With this warm weather, the snakes are waking up and becoming active. I figure since DD2 saw what was probably a Cottonmouth going into the pond last week, getting the vaccinations are a must to protect the dogs. They go into brushy areas after predators while the sheep and horses mainly graze on the grassy pastures. They have been really worked up about something at night lately in the back pasture. I did find a dessicated possum skeleton and skin in the pasture. They move it from place to place - probably a new toy for Hazine. LOL

I got a recommendation for a good farrier from the owner of J&J Meats. They have mules and quarter horses. Skittles' and Josie the Mule's hooves look fine but I need to have them checked. It also occurred to me that they are about 16 now! Time flies! I probably need to have their teeth floated, or at least checked.

 

[SageHill]

With our snake bites last year I had a nice chat with my vet - the vaccines don’t make them immune from the venom, they just buy you time to get treatment. I know you said too. He did say that once bitten that acts similar to the vaccine.

 

[Baymule]

Nice pump house! I know you have diabolical plans for storage!
That’s awful about Tavir getting snake bit. Poor girl. I need to call Eric and chat with him.

 

[Baymule]

Get Ozel and Hazine OFA tested! Buford T Justice is waiting! LOL
I’ll be getting quotes on a barn roof (I can put up sides) this month. I have plans formulated in my twisted mind, for a visiting female suite. It will be walled with horse panels, floored and covered, no escape!

 

[Ridgetop]

With our snake bites last year I had a nice chat with my vet - the vaccines don’t make them immune from the venom, they just buy you time to get treatment.

Made an appointment for hazines microchip and angel's visit for her infection. The vet tech said they do nt stock the rattlesnake vaccine which surrised me. She said that is is very expensive and othere are very few instances of rattlesnake bites in this area. There are more Water Mocassins and Copperheads but relatively few bites. I told her about the snake DD2 saw going into the pond and she said that there are a lot of water snakes. At any rate I have decided not to bother with the rattlesnake vaccine since it does not make the dogs impervious to the venom. My dogs like to kill snakes that they see but have never been bitten so . . . .

Hazine must wait until she is 2 years old for OFA. I will make enquiries about Ozel. Ozel is a problem for breeding - I have never caught her in season! Without a resident male, it is harder to tell unless the bitch in season gets PMS and starts fights. Not called "bitch fights" for nothing! When males fight they often back off after demonstrating their superiority. Bitches will fight until one is dead or severely injured. To quote Kipling "The female of the species is more deadly than the male". We caught Hazine because she was laying on her back and was bleeding on her pale fur. She is on the calendar now and we will chart her seasons. She is not cranky about beig in season, but is still a puppy at 1 year old TOMORROW!

332's bottle lamb, now christened "Brownie" by DGD2, is officially weaned. I decided that the last time I made formula she would be weaned when it was gone. Finished off the gallon this morning so she s weaned. She has been going out with the other lambs and ewes for a couple weeks, and down to one bottle in the am only. I have also been diluting that bottle half and half with water. Weaning most of the ewe lambs by this weekend. One or two that are younger might stay with mamas for another couple weeks. All the lambs are over 2 months old and can be weaned except the surprise ram lamb.

The gopher/Tremors tunnels did not disppear overnight. They are still here waiting for the water lines to be laid in them.

Starting at the well pump the lines trail out front the length of the garden to the street. There will be 3 hydrants/spigots in the garden area for irrigation. The huge dirt area is where the well digging took place. We need to reseed it.

Continuing on from the pump in the opposite direction, the trenches travel across the barnyard pasture to the driveway where there will be a water connection for the 5th wheel (and any visitors who come to see us). That connection will also have a T so we can attach hoses and water individual fenced pastures running frm the driveway to the far side of the fenced property.

Finally the trenches travel over to the barn where there will be 2 hydrants, one on either side of the barn, then across the night pen to the back of the barn for a 3rd spigot. That spigot will allow us to divide that area into smaller rotational grazing pastures with a water supply.

The anti freeze hydrant can be seen to the left sticking up in the air. These are one piece hydrants buried deep in the trench and are made not to freeze so water will flow even during another Snowmageddon!

Since the trenches and the well digging have resulted in removing a lot of the pasture grass, DS1 wants to reseed those areas. If we can find some good sheep pasture mixes (including red and white clovers) we may decide to distibute it over all the pastures next winter as well.

I was going to buy a couple peach trees, a fig, and 3 more roses today to plant. However, since we are supposed to have a massive 4 day storm arriving on Wednesday, and DSI and I have to spend today and this week in the barn sorting lambs, I have decided to wait to buy the trees and roses until Sunday or Monday. I will have to get them in the ground immediately though since we are leaving for Duncan Thursday am. And fence around them with the garden fencing too. LOL I would like to try some Peonies, daffodils and tulips or other bulbs eventually. I will have to plant most of everything in the front of the house where the dogs can't dig anything up. I have 3 good spots for Camelias and ferns. I am trying to decide whether to plant some sword ferns or asparagus which looks very Maidenhair-like as it grows, but would supply asparagus tips. It might be better to plant the asparagus in the actual garden though. The garden will take place next year. Have to get through the water lines, well, barn, and additional fencing stuff first. Eventually I want to put in some planter areas in front of our large front porch. This house has a pretty front porch and entry but no landscaping. It also needs a front step onto the porch and a walkway to the driveway. So much to do, so little time.

 

[Baymule]

Have you thought about cut off valves for each run of pipe?

 

[farmerjan]

For God's sake... please do cut offs for each run of pipe.... we are going through tea total HE// at doug's
farm with only 2 cut off valves for 6 different water troughs, long runs of pipe, and leaky water troughs right now. Also... if for some reason the water pressure is too high, you can use the cut offs to cut back on the amount of water going to certain places...

 

[SageHill]

We’ve got cutoff valves for each run and also the short run for every spigot.