Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Mike CHS]

I was resizing the pictures from this morning and saw one I didn't see earlier. It's Notag nursing her ewe lamb that is as big as she is. We don't wean most of our ewes if their condition stays good and Notag is one of those. We are pulling the lamb this week though if for no other reason the 'lamb' has to pick up her dam to be able to latch on to a teat. We only do one lambing a year so the sheep stay in condition fairly easy without much supplementation.

The ewe standing in front of me is spoiled. Even when I put out feed, she will come over for some petting instead of eating.

 

[greybeard]

I wasn't aware that there were gators in East Texas!

Oh yes, and they always have been here in East Texas, West Louisiana and all Gulf Coast states. Take away the state lines on any map of the south and southeast, and it is easy to see why they would be here, and they range as far North as the Carolina's and maybe beyond.

I might find a photo of it later, but several decades ago, there was a large one in that same pond, that had traveled in as a juvenile, grown for a few years on fish, wood duck and blue herons, & my father used to feed raw chicken to it, tied to a long cane pole. He had it 'trained'. Walk out to the pond's edge late in the evening, hit the pole end in the water a few times and the gator would swim right up for supper. If he had someone visiting, Dad would tease it some, by backing up the bank, until the gator was completely on land so his friends could see it how big it was.
Not sure exactly what happened except Dad said he became afraid of it and it ended up dead with a small hole in it's head, then carted around 1/2 the county in the back of his car trunk to show off. This, was at a time when they were still considered endangered, and he could have faced stiff penalties for that if he had been caught. Even today, you are supposed to have a State permit to catch or kill them and then only during a set hunting season unless one is a danger to humans, pets or livestock.
The first one that showed up here in 2006, I contacted Tx Parks and Wildlife and they came and 'relocated' it.........I suspect into their own freezer. I wasn't home when they came.they just left a note on the door. "Mr Y____, we relocated your gator today".
It is not unusual for alligators to inhabit small ponds as juveniles, especially the males. There are a lot of big males and females in the river, and as the little males approach breeding age, they find themselves out muscled by the big bull gators, so they most often find a small quiet place with a good food source in which to spend a year or two or 3 and grow big enough to fight, then they return to the river to claim some females for their own.

I have also seen several less than 1' long in the same pond, usually after a flood event. They, like the beavers, just end up in there when the water recedes. I have more than once, hooked one on a top water lure while fishing at dusk. (I also caught a bat while casting a hulapopper right at dark...that critter was a mess to get off that treble hook too, but it was kinda fun to feel him fight my rod.......up in the air.)

 

[Baymule]

Mike those are some real pretty ewes. What is your pet ewe named? They do creep into that soft place in your heart, don't they?

 

[Mike CHS]

Mike those are some real pretty ewes. What is your pet ewe named? They do creep into that soft place in your heart, don't they?

She doesn't have a name but she is our #5 and responds to Baby. She was from a ewe that we almost didn't breed since our minimum weight for breeding is 90 pounds and her dam hit it exactly. She is small but still growing but had beautiful twins that are large. Numbers work for us as well as names and for those we don't spend much time with they are easier to track. We still have 35 in various places and that will get thinned down some soon since we need to get down to 25 or 30. We still have 4 males that will be on the next sale trailer and have a couple of folks interested in a 3 month old that is already 90 pounds. Not too shabby for commercial.

 

[Baymule]

Like I said, really NICE ewes and lambs! Are you using another ram besides Ringo?

 

[Mike CHS]

Ringo has one more go at 19 of the ewes for this year in August or later. We won't breed this years ewes until January or later with another ram that we are working on getting. I can't make myself do the lambing 3 times in 2 years since I've seen how short their life span is. Once a year is enough for them to pay for themselves and a bit of profit which is all we want.

 

[Mike CHS]

I decided to make a soup out of the leftover roast that I smoked the other day. It is mighty tasty and also works with lamb and goat leftovers. Doesn't have to be leftovers

Leftover Smoked Beef and Barley Soup

I only had about 1/2 pound of leftover smoked chuck roast but you can add liquid depending on how much meat and barley you want to use. The base recipe is also a good start for a batch of chili by just adding the usual chili spices and leave out the barley. You can also make the base recipe and add Cajun spice and okra to make a pot of Jambalaya.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped onion
  
• 1 cup chopped celery (I was out of fresh celery but had some dehydrated that I used)
  
• 1 cup chopped carrots
  
• 2 tbsp butter
  
• 2 cups smoked beef finely chopped
  
• 2 - 4 cups water (depending how soupy you like your soup)
  
• beef broth or bouillon cubes
  
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
  
• 1½ cup dry pearl barley
  
• salt to taste (I added very little salt since the rub on the meat added as much seasoning as I thought it needed.
  
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, cook onions, celery and carrots with the butter. Once the onions and celery are tender, about 6-8 minutes, stir in the beef.
   
2. Cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes.
   
3. Add the water, beef broth and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and stir in the remaining ingredients.
   
4. Let the soup cook at a low rolling boil for 30-45 minutes. The barley should be fully cooked and the beef should be tender.

 

[Bruce]

PLEASE can I move into your shop??

 

[RollingAcres]

PLEASE can I move into your shop??

Why his shop? Why not his barn or his house?

 

[Mike CHS]

Why his shop? Why not his barn or his house?

Because he has seen my toys.