A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE OLD RAM

[Bruce]

I can't even imagine how someone with dementia or Alzheimer's feels when their memory fades in and out; grasp of past, present and future being fleeting.

They don't know that you CAN teach old rams new tricks? Cheeky youngins!!

 

[Ridgetop]

When my daughter tells me that I just don't understand how much work it is to take care of her house and 3 children, I just look at her in shock. I had 4 children, 5 dogs, a herd of dairy goats, small flock of breeding sheep, was raising market calves on the goat milk, driving 100 miles round trip 2X a month for feed, renovating our house for 10 years, building a barn, running a semi-commercial rabbitry, keeping a clean house, was a room mother at school, doing the laundry, was a 4-H leader for 10 projects, was on the 4-H County Leader's Council, AND working as a preschool teacher! Alas, our children think they are the only ones that have ever done stuff. And we did it without computers which meant trips to the Library for school projects!

Your daughter means well, but her concern leads her to believe that she should take charge of her "old" parents and give you the benefit of her guidance. Do what I do, smile and say "I'll think about it", and do my own thing.

Sadly this is the beginning of one of the hardest parts of Jenny's illness. The clinging to you means that you are the last familiar part of her world that she recognizes on a regular basis. Your absence terrifies her since she no longer recognizes her world. Eventually when she no longer recognizes you, you will be able to have a sitter or leave her somewhere with another caregiver, but then even more heartbreak as you realize that you have lost Jenny into her own dark world.

I am so sorry for you and wish there was something we could do other than just be your sounding boards. You can always tell us your problems without any fear of judgment. We are here for you.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day folks,the following is from one of two F.B. pages I manage...

G'day folks,this is the story of 3 FAT LADY'S.....Yesterday we purchased the 3 ewes shown in the photos (Our thanks to Emma and Maria).I thought this tale worth telling as a guide to others in the group as for some new sheep people it is an easy "trap" to fall into.These 3 girls are beautifully bred,but they were the wrong type of sheep for the farm they went to ( the new owners were un-aware of this fact at the time of purchase)...It is IMO necessary to understand the background of a breed and compare this to what is the reality of "your" farm to avoid situations like this......As most of you are aware I am sure, the majority of the Hair breeds evolved in a quite dry environment with at times "harsh" grazing range lands and so are not that suited to a wet,moist very rich grazing setup...I understand the attraction of these breeds to new and sometimes small holdings because of the easy management and low cost of production...So if you look at these photos and your sheep look like them,"they are way too FAT".Rather than being "kind" to them you are making life not only expensive for you in feed costs but the sheep suffer due to the strain on ankles ,knees and mobility issues.They ,in this condition will be difficult to "join" unless you have a very experienced and persistent ram,lambing with also present problems and when the "exhausted" lamb is born it may not survive.....We have added them to a small group of ewe lambs born on our place to show the new girls around with regard to water, grass and shelter.They are predicting "snow" for us later this week,I have also added an old ram who wont be capable of doing any damage ,but his presence will keep them moving around and this mobility will assist in their weight loss... T.O.R.

 

[Ridgetop]

OMG!!! I would say they have a "condition score" of about 50! LOL

Getting good bloodlines is a plus for you but you will have to take off a lot of weight before you can take advantage of it by breeding. On the other hand taking off the weight will be easier than putting condition on animals that are half starved. Nice addition to your breeding program.

You are so right about people rushing into livestock purchasing without doing their homework on which breed will be best for them or their facilities. Kind of like people who buy a puppy because it is so cute then find they have a huge dog for their tiny apartment, or a high energy dog for elderly people that cn barely walk around!

Always do your homework FIRST! LOL

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day folks,thought this photo worth posting.It was taken after we had had 173 mm of rain in 3 days. I collected this sample as the water exits our farm at the creek boundary....Even after all of the rain there was no debris on the boundary fence,so our system of capture at the top of the catchment and as it drains shows just how well our system works....

I am "tempted" to enter this in the POW ,as an example to all the livestock people of just what is achievable with careful management of water as it moves across your land...T.O.R.

 

[Ridgetop]

I love that your catchment system is working. As a southern Californian, we know the value of water!

Will you be able to use water lines to keep some of your pastures green year round? Or is the capture system mainly to keep enough drinking water on the ranch? I don't know enough about Australian geography to know which parts have water, but I do know that some of it is just as dry as our desert lands here.

Being able to capture water for future use when it all arrives in a matter of hours or days is so important in keeping the land fertile. We had our clothes washer draining gray water onto our lower pasture. It kept a nice green spot with a tree growing there, We had a plumbing problem and had a plumber out. As he was leaving he announced that he had "FIXED" our drain and reconnected the drainage back into our septic system.
No charge.

We have to have another plumber come back to disconnect it again so we can connect the water lines out front to irrigate the pasture!

 

[Bruce]

He was so helpful! Maybe making it code? Is greywater usage legal there? I know it is restricted in some places but that is just stupid as long as the only things connected to it are not toilets. I guess there could be excess phosphorus problems from washing machines.

 

[Ridgetop]

I think the shower/tub was also draining through the gray water. During the last drought Los Angeles made gray water legal to use for watering landscaping. You are not allowed to collect it and store it for later use which is understandable. We plan to attach it to water lines with holes drilled in them to water the front field. Hopefully, we can keep some grass growing year round.

 

[Baymule]

We are still working on water drainage and catchment here. That is a beautiful picture. It represents years of work and planning. I don't know about anyone else, but that picture is inspiring to me!

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day folks, sorry I have been a bit slow to reply. But I was laid low by the flu for a number of days. Had a Covid test and today it came back negative.

In reply to those who had questions about the water issue.Down here the amount of surface water you can store is regulated by your acreage and even if you pay for a "bore" to be drilled the water can only be used for household or livestock. If you have a bore every so often they will take a sat photo and if it shows that you are irrigating ,you can expect a visit from authorities.....To overcome this our system is designed to hold the water within the landscape through the creation of the underground weir which "traps" and holds the subsurface flows from escaping from our land.

The quality of the water captured this way is very good because we hold almost all of the surface debris and nutrient load in the landscape where it falls and this contributes to the enhanced growth at the "top of the catchment" which is the most prone to leaching and the management of your "tops" is key to supporting your pastures further down the slope...T.O.R