A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE OLD RAM

Ridgetop

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I just found your site again and have been catching up on the past 2 months. I am so sorry that Jenny has gotten to the point of having to place her in residential care. Being forced to sell the farm for her care is terrible. Do you have medical care like England and Canada? Don't they provide anything for this type of care? What will you do for income?

Is this lump sum like buying lifetime care? Could you put her in a facility where you pay by the month instead? Having to sell your farm after all the work you put into it improving drainage and pastures will be heartbreaking, not to mention the sheep that you have been cross breeding for just the types that are profitable for you.

This is a horrifying situation. Not only have you essentially lost your dearest Jenny to Alzheimer's but now to lose your life's work too. I am so very sorry. You are both in my prayers. :hugs
 

The Old Ram-Australia

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G'day folks, so much has happened since the last post. Currently I have tested positive to COVID and are isolated on the farm,lucky for me my sister who lives in Queensland has for the last 6 weeks has come down to give me a hand.

But to return to where we left off,Jenny was going to go into 28 day respite and transition to residential care. In less than 3 hours of leaving her she was knocked over by another resident,at 8 pm the duty RN rang and said they could not control her and we should come and pick her up ,or authorise them to call an ambulance to take her to hospital (at this point we were about 130 kms away),so because of the knock she had received we had her go to hospital so we would know if she had suffered any sort of injury. A week ago she also contracted COVID in the hospitial, they are struggling to get her meds right,we have approached about 10 aged care places and to date ,no one will take her because of her care needs.

You all may have seen that the rain continues to fall across the state and we are fortunate that our farm (in the main) is not subject to severe flooding,but even our rising country is "leaking water" and driving is quite risky.

The radio program is going really well and each month now I include a segment on Dementia and its effects on both sufferer and carer,in the new year I think it will become fortnightly as I find more and more guests with a story to tell about their move from the city to the country.

It is planned (COVID permitting) to hold a workshop on the farm on the habitat requinements for a local endangered Parrot (Glossy Black).On the day an expert from Canberra will discuss their needs and we will do a farm walk to inspect our efforts over the last 22 years and our methods of regeneration of the landscape in a sheep grazing envirioment, plus a brief look at the Creek restoration program.....Really this COVID is such an inconvience .
The sale of the 40% of the farm went through without a hitch,thankfully, so when we do finally find a place the money is all set......T.O.R.
 

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farmerjan

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So, glad to get the update and to know that you are still doing well, all things considered. I am glad for you, but sad also, that the sale of part of the ranch went without a hitch so that you are financially able to take care of Jenny when you are able to find a place for her.
The catching Covid is really an inconvenience.... most people nowadays have not much more of symptoms than a bad cold... which is also a "corona virus"... and sadly people have less resistant immune systems with all the isolation from the past 2+ years.
I am glad that you seemed to have weathered the covid and hope that Jenny has been able to not suffer from it too much.
So very sorry, to hear about her being knocked over just after your leaving her, and am glad that you had her taken to a hospital for care...and then catching covid on top of everything else. I feel so bad that you are not able to find a place yet that can care for her.... prayers that something will turn up soon. I know that has to be so very difficult for you to not know... and worrying about her in general.

I think it is wonderful that your radio program is doing so well. I know that it is a great source of pride that you can help others; and to include the segments about dementia which so many can relate to in some way or another. I can imagine that there are many that are trying to go "back to the land" in some sort of fashion, as we all watch the world get more unstable and expenses for food continue to climb so people might actually realize that they can do things to become a little more self sustaining.
I have seen on the news that there has been record rain in Australia... There are a couple of cattle farmers on a forum I go on and they have talked about all the rain... yet there is another that is in part where it was dry? Maybe that was the guy in New Zealand? I can't remember.

How are all the sheep doing? Have you had lambs from some of the new rams you added yet?

Hoping for some settling of the situation with Jenny... thoughts with you and her.
 

Bruce

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Very difficult situation TOR :(

As usual you seem to be handling everything well though I'm sure it is all very hard on you. I'm glad you have the successful radio program to give you a polestar away from the more troublesome parts of your life.

:hugs
 

The Old Ram-Australia

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Thank you all for your kind thoughts.

Unfortunatly 3 of the new rams did not transition to their new envirionment.The other one is going really good and has established a harem of ewes.We have however had 3 lambs that we can trace to them,so it has not been a total loss.

I guess I can consider myself lucky that the sheep are so capable of looking out for themselves....T.O.R.
 

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