SageHill Ranch Journal

[SageHill]

Great coyote/Obi moment! I know you are so proud of him!

FB bully huh? Good work on the write up and pictures.

Thanks! LOL and I didn't write about the coyote because that was when we were done grazing. HA - I'm sure the FB bullies would say Obi should have chased the coyote away. Definitely a no-no around here - his job, sheep. My job, protection and personal ranch hand . I also include the pic of Obi and the baby lamb .

 

[SageHill]

Years ago I showed goats and one of the other exhibitors (who won tons) shredded his alfalfa hay (stems and leaves) before offering it to his goats. He mixed some grain with it and they scarfed it up. No waste! He also offered grass hay in it's natural form for the long-stemmed roughage that ruminants need.

I haven't thought about mixing it with grain - though I already put alfalfa pellets with the regular flakes in the evening - they grab that first of course! @Baymule suggested mixing with some molasses - sounds good - but I would be a chef to the sheep - not quite ready to head that direction ..... yet.
Goats - yeah - sigh - I know I could get a few, but not exactly what I have in my plan. Trying hard to be flexible while still sticking with the plan.

 

[SageHill]

What a grand morning it is today. Temps 47-72. Blue skies. I love this time of year. Sorry ya'll with that white stuff, I've finally got green stuff . Our "seasons" here are green and brown. .
I've been reading everyone's posts about their pastures, the number and size, rotation, fencing, etc. Reading and thinking OMG I'm doing this wrong - I need to fence up a lot of different areas. I admit my head was spinning a bit on that. Then, this morning, I realized the way I do things here is different. I do do "rotational" grazing of sorts. But the difference is I take my sheep out and about the ranch, choosing different areas almost daily. We're out first thing in the morning (after I grab a quick breakfast and tea/coffee) taking the sheep somewhere for their breakfast. They get to the "diner of choice" and settle in to have a leisurely breakfast. When they stop munching for awhile we nudge them a bit into a slightly different area. It seems they like to eat different things (yeah - my picky sheep). Once they move a little and find course #2 they settle in and eat some more. When that doesn't work and they all stand there and look at me I know they are done. Then we go back to the barn/corral/turnout-pasture.
This morning we grazed one of the hills off of the south ranch road. Those hills, as are many, are thick with last years wild geranium. Tall (knee to thigh high) thin crispy branches that the sheep would prefer to stay out of. I don't blame them - nothing like a "stick in the eye" when you got to grab a bite. My task is to whack them down with my stock stick. Once they are down to ankle height or less the sheep are more than happy to munch on the fresh greens below. If I was a golfer I'd have a heck of a swing! HA - probably like those people who say their dog would be a great herder because s/he runs around their kids
Peaceful and quiet (except for the thhhhh whack of my stick ). No coyote today - yay - must've hit the mark yesterday.
Time to get to town for some T-Day preps and a few other things.
Have a great one everyone.

 

[Baymule]

Your cross fencing is Obi. ‘Nuff said.

 

[SageHill]

Your cross fencing is Obi. ‘Nuff said.

 

[SageHill]

From our ranch to yours -
Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[SageHill]

Yesterday - day after Thanksgiving - DIL and I went to our favorite artist's fair - a small one but the craftmanship is always the best. It was a sad one though - very few of the artists were there. We know one of the potters said last year she was retiring (think she said she was 87 ?) - so that was expected, but so many others were not there. Add in the artist whose home / studio / lakeside property (several acres) that it is always at (last 20 yrs) said that this is the LAST show. . We bought some things and are now wondering what we will do next year. It's become a tradition with us. Every other show around is no more than people going to the craft stores and going wild with glue guns . The sheep spent the day in the green turn out pasture.
Today Obi and I took them to the roadside /driveway to munch down the greenery - they did a good job too. Then moved down the ranch road to a slope area where the sheep munched, Obi turned into a fence, and I brush whacked with my stock stick. We made it down to the meadow for awhile - but by that time the sheep were just hanging out and not munching so we went back to the barn area.
Drove over to a friend's where we did our usual Saturday morning coffee, chew the fat and solved the world's problems or at least we felt better ourselves and made plans to plant in her hydroponic greenhouses Dec/Jan. That will be fun - and I'll learn a ton. Great people, good friends and good times.
A quick trip to TSC for dog treats and checked out some working vests and jackets. My old ranch jacket that I LOVE is wearing out. Picked it up in Vegas when I was shooting for PBR - and that was many years ago. Should've bought 2 way back then. I'm sure I'll find something - but it's hard letting go of a fave.

Slope graze

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The dead wild geranium I'm whacking out....

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Heading down the south ranch road to the meadow

 

[SageHill]

Just a normal day at the ranch. 48 in the morning, 71 in the afternoon. GREEN GREEN GREEN - and loving it. Took the sheep out with Obi and grazed on one of the south hills. Did a little land maintenance while they grazed. Whacking weeds, moving old board from the long gone grove, finished by grazing the roadside. Through a few gates to get back to the barn - all was picture perfect. THEN --- opened the gate to the corral, not one that the sheep typically use, and they decided it was time for some hijinks. Sigh - and it's something I realized could happen before it did - minutes or more before even. DUH - the gate on that side of the corral is fine to get through - though getting to the gate is tight quarters betwee, the tractor, wheelbarrow, spent hay bin, a couple of palettes amd buckets. Yuppers those sheep turned into mountain goats going up the 2/1 slope for no other reason than "just because" and of course the slight obstacle course. Obi - bless his soul - quickly had things under control and with the exception of 2 sheep had them safely parked in the corral. Two others decided to split and run. Once each got to where they wanted to be - opposite sides of the pasture turnout -of course outside the fence - they started baaaa-ing. Opened all gates to the corral and the turnout pasture and Obi worked each back to the rest of the flock. Silly Sheepies.
Had some friends come over to grab the spend alfalfa hay straw. It's supposed to add nitrogen to the soil - sounds good to me - and they will spread it over their garlic field - they can take lots more! YAY. Oh - and her garlic is YUM. Way way better than store bought.
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"We're ready -- what's taking you so long?"

 

[Baymule]

I love Obi!

 

[SageHill]

Beautiful day in paradise today 48-57 and overcast. Probably some sun in the afternoon.
Took the sheep out and grazed around the south side where they seem to like the greenery a bit more than the north side of the ranch. We must've gotten some moisture last night as Obi had "working feet"

I snagged a few pics of the sheep snacking on the sugar bush (a type of sumac) that I'll use for my sheep cards that I send out.

"Trust me this is really tasty"

.
Lined up at one of the many sugar bushes. I do believe they all agree - TASTY.
.

Every day we go out. And I am always calmed by it. I see things no one else will see,
the birds waking up and flitting from tree to tree, or some wake up from the ground and fly
to bushes and trees - those are usually doves of some sort, or sometimes the California
Quail there their little Dr Seuss deely boppers on their heads. It is quiet. Sometimes I
hear the birds twitter, or a hawk calling from above. There is always the sound of Obi's breathing
- the tell tale sign the someone (Obi) is working. The air is so fresh I can smell the sumac,
the sage, and other things as we change areas of the ranch. This land is blest.
On our way back to the barn I decided to stop and whack some more of last year's
wild geranium that was around a giant red boulder. I want to see the boulder from the house.
So I whacked a lot of it, looked up to see Obi bringing back that one sheep that's a retired
trial sheep. That wether can be a pill sometimes and he figured he'd lead the way back
on his own. I was too busy whacking the crispy weeds to see him make a break for it.
But not Obi - he was on the job, and made sure that he wouldn't get far.
Seven weeks ago today I found this guy in the stall with his sis and mum -- though he was a lot smaller!
I think he's looking pretty good.