SageHill Ranch Journal

[Ridgetop]

They ate our full grown Zucchini plants - complete with all those stickers!

Maybe these are genetically mutated ground squirrels from Wuhan set loose to bring famine. Between the Russians, the Chinese, and the illegals I would believe anything. DS1 said that Blinken has gone to China to pick up Biden's next check! Our country is in a bad way. Better stockpile groceries and "keep yore powder dry".

 

[Mini Horses]

Truly our food supply is in trouble....it'll show more next yr as replacements for current stock isn't there. Then supply/demand will again hike prices for what is there. Those farming -- just a veg garden, even -- will be rich. Save seeds!!!!

Those who have livestock, can butcher, milk, have them make babies. Yeah, you'll have new friends like you just won the Powerball lottery

 

[farmerjan]

Truly our food supply is in trouble....it'll show more next yr as replacements for current stock isn't there. Then supply/demand will again hike prices for what is there. Those farming -- just a veg garden, even -- will be rich. Save seeds!!!!

Those who have livestock, can butcher, milk, have them make babies. Yeah, you'll have new friends like you just won the Powerball lottery

I would like this but have to hit the sad... because it is so true. God Bless everyone of younger ages with kids growing up... I am glad that I am well past that stage... It would be hard to see kids not being able to have the opportunities that I had and I am really afraid @Mini Horses is right on the future...

 

[SageHill]

Seems like we've hit a stall-out / quiet time here. Not a lot going on other than the grove next to us being taken out. The plan there is still to replant. DH talked with the dozer guy (who happens to be married to a friend of mine - small town world) he's dozering in the grove roads and culverts and DH heard again the plan is to replant - though cost of irrigation is climbing (well duh - yeah just like everything else).
I've been trying to get more sheep - "dog broke" what I call test level - and there are just not any to be had. No one is letting go of anything. I can get a few yearlings but that's not even close to what I'm looking for. In the beginning I wanted to have a dual purpose flock - dog training and meat. It's just not happening. Time to re-evaluate. I love it here, I like doing the sheep thing, I like training the dogs. My personal dogs don't seem to need as much "training" as others, so they don't really need the "test level" type sheep. That said my dogs working my sheep - no matter how much - don't turn them into "test level sheep". I'm leaning towards going full on meat, though giving lessons has definitely paid my hay bill - which is where the rub is. Kinda need one to do the other ~I think. I'm still on the list for CA Red lambs next year - so time will tell on that (with my current luck - I'll get none).
I did let the ram lamb hang with the unrelated ewes and it looks like there are 2, maybe 4 that may be pregnant. If I can't find sheep I'll have to "make my own" - at least that's an option. My friend who has a huge training biz went and got 40 head - were supposed to be 2 yr olds, ended up with 8 month old at best. She's of the same opinion, and she swore off lambing a few years ago, but will be jumping back into that.
Also getting snagged into medical world - have a small encapsulated melanoma (the best of the bad) that has to come off - so DH is trying to get things pushed through the scads of paperwork pushers - requests for this and that for something simple. Good God help us, as there are cracks and ravines these things fall into through and forgotten.
I look at the medical world as one very sticky spider web and I'm trying to flail my way through to not get stuck. Seen far too many of my friends get caught up.
Down the road a bit the power company is replacing wood poles with metal ones. That's a good thing - esp in fire country. The funny part is ..... the road to our drive (the drive is asphalt and concrete) is dirt, gravel and ancient remnants of asphalt, bordered on one side by a cattle ranch (God I love it here) and a few houses on the other side. There are a TON of "No Parking" signs all along that road. SOOO Funny - no one parks there - the closest anyone comes to parking is moving to the side so an oncoming vehicle can get past. I'll have to take a pic (you all know me and my pics). So the gist of it all is they will be closing the road and diverting all traffic to our drive (the asphalt part) and through to the neighboring grove access road. It'll just be Saturday - so the excitement here will be watching the "traffic" Maybe I should set up a lemonade stand! If anything there could be "fireworks" from the guy who has the grove access road easement - he's a bit of a, well yeah he's that kind of guy.
.
Taught herding lessons today - everyone did great. I even moved one to the large arena and things were good! Ya' never know. One of my students brought me a bag of Gala apples from her tree. Yeah - July here is apple season, my first year here we had three apple trees - in July the apples looked good - and I ~though they'd be huge come Sept/Oct -- midwest girl thinking -- they rotted on the trees because I was patiently waiting . Seasons here are not quite the same - live and learn (that was like 35 yrs ago - never made that mistake again).
This on my walk to the barn today..... I will not get caught up .....

 

[Mini Horses]

Adult sheep are hard for you to buy?? Any idea why?

I'm wondering -- it's reasonably quick meat for lamb sales. All small livestock i.e. sheep/goat/swine are faster than beef. And didn't CA just pass of laws affecting swine? Do you feel economy, weather, repro issues as being part of the availability?

There's plenty of sheep for sale in my area, it seems. Although no known herds of hundreds close by....within say 150 miles.

Small herd owners often sell primarily lambs vice adults. Adults usually cull for age, downsize, etc, but few compared to offspring. Keeping a breeding herd basically.....own freezer, offset feed costs are the basic sales.

 

[SageHill]

Adult sheep are hard for you to buy?? Any idea why?

I'm wondering -- it's reasonably quick meat for lamb sales. All small livestock i.e. sheep/goat/swine are faster than beef. And didn't CA just pass of laws affecting swine? Do you feel economy, weather, repro issues as being part of the availability?

There's plenty of sheep for sale in my area, it seems. Although no known herds of hundreds close by....within say 150 miles.

Small herd owners often sell primarily lambs vice adults. Adults usually cull for age, downsize, etc, but few compared to offspring. Keeping a breeding herd basically.....own freezer, offset feed costs are the basic sales.

No idea why. Maybe there aren't that many here??? When I was looking for CA Reds in earlier this year all I could find were in the middle of the state -4-5 hrs away. I got one answer to go on a list, all the others didn't respond or said 'find someone closer' -- well there isn't anyone closer for the reds.

 

[Baymule]

I hope you can get the ridiculous paperwork done so you can get proper treatment. Insurance is awful. You should not have to fight, in order to get the treatment that you need.

Yea, I want to see pictures of the no parking signs!

No sheep? There’s plenty here! What is a test level sheep?

 

[SageHill]

I hope you can get the ridiculous paperwork done so you can get proper treatment. Insurance is awful. You should not have to fight, in order to get the treatment that you need.

Yea, I want to see pictures of the no parking signs!

No sheep? There’s plenty here! What is a test level sheep?

Test level -- they are not very reactive to dogs. They've typically been worked by a lot of good dogs and haven't been chased. They react for sure, but when the dog is over-exuberant or makes a mistake they don't do something crazy like run into fences or other not good things like try to make it to the next county . They tend to be forgiving. I swear they say to their buddies 'Just look at that silly dog, wonder when he'll figure it out.' For me, they actually work better doing the grazing - they see the dog and figure all is well and keep eating. Sheep they use for the herding trials are more reactive - they see the dog and say "let's move NOW" and stop eating and try to escape.

 

[Mini Horses]

So you can raise and train your own!

I swear,.I have my goats trained -- come to feed call/rattling bucket, for sure -- but now a new one! As they've been getting out of bed fence spots, I've taken to going down an access drive I have to the back of the farm...& Blow the horn. They have associated that with "get the heck in the fence!!" and go running back in! At first thought it was luck but, even my tractor horn works. start toward them, blow the horn, a stampede to top fields.

 

[Baymule]

So you can raise and train your own!

I swear,.I have my goats trained -- come to feed call/rattling bucket, for sure -- but now a new one! As they've been getting out of bed fence spots, I've taken to going down an access drive I have to the back of the farm...& Blow the horn. They have associated that with "get the heck in the fence!!" and go running back in! At first thought it was luck but, even my tractor horn works. start toward them, blow the horn, a stampede to top fields.

That is hilarious!! Your goats are weird, but hey, it works!