Margali's Griffin Wood Ranch

[farmerjan]

Yes, the rest of the family will stay in Cleburne at our ranch. I would be home probably every other weekend.


That is so sweet! I think Cassandra and Alexander with help from hubby can do general care for the herd. They already have to since I have lifting restrictions until end of July. I will probably put off breeding though. Late pregnancy and newborn lambs are the most labor intensive times.

Wow... and bless your heart. Well, got to at least look into what the job would entail, and what it has to offer... never know... and it might not be anything what you want after you check into it... or might be something to springboard you to a much better level if you can deal with it for the year... The only big concern is the kids health issues with your DH working an hour away at his job... But you guys need to have all the info before jumping to conclusions or panicking over it... Never know if any can be done remote... even 1 day a week or something so you could stay home for a 3-4 day weekend type deal...

 

[SageHill]

Ditto @farmerjan said. Wow - a year away from home with only every other weekend to be there. That is very tough. I don't know if I could do that. With technology today with facetime and skype that would certainly help some.

 

[Mini Horses]

Well, our awesome military families go thru these situations more often than not!! So there's no doubt that -- IF this is the job selected -- that family will adapt and survive

Remember that many of us gasping now were at that age & stage, somewhere back there in time. Things will work out. Choices are still open.

 

[Margali]

@Ridgetop Can you give me an idea of what commercial transport for your sheep cost? There are a couple of out-state permanent postings that would require moving.

I think I could fit up to 14 head in our personal setup but it would be tight. Truck with 2 rams in bed crate pulling horse trailer with 6 ewes. The Highlander with 6 ewes in crate on flat trailer.

 

[Ridgetop]

We used Bob May (530-200-0866) to transport.our flock from Los Angeles, CA, to Yantis, Texas. The one way mileage was about 1,550. We shipped 2 equines, 3 full grown rams, 40 ewes, and about 20 newborn lambs. 15 more ewes were in the process of lambing or were due any day and needed extra space. It was a 26-28 hour drive. Bob and his assistant took turns driving and did not stop. The final cost was about $9,100. That did not include the $1,000 vet cost for the health checks and blood work on the animals to cross state lines. Since you are transporting within the state of Texas and your sheep all have your TX scrapie tags, you may not need the health checks and blood work. BUT you will want to separate the rams from the ewes during transport. Transport charges are based on mileage.

The distance from Cleburne to Corpus Christi is about 379 miles and about 5-6 hours driving time. I would not bother with commercial transport for that distance. Instead I would check around for a rental livestock or horse trailer. Transport during the heat of summer would be hard on the sheep, but you could transport at night.

Corpus Christi is in southern Texas near the Mexico border so you might be running a risk of screw worm infection from Texas.

Frankly, I would just leave the sheep at home, rent a room/single in Corpus, concentrate on making $$$, relax, and go home every 2 weeks. Here are some reasons not to take the sheep with you.

1. You will be working a new job with new responsibilties. Taking care of the sheep alone will be a lot of time. stress, and work.

2. Renting a property with properly fenced land to keep the sheep will be difficult to find, and more expensive to rent than a single room or single apartment.

3. Setting up new shelter for the sheep and possibly fencing will be a lot of work, time, and expense.

4. Since you are looking at returning home every 2 weeks, you would have to find someone in Corpus (or wherever) to take care of them when you want to go home to Cleburne. More expense and worry.

5. Since you are thinking about not breeding for a year you would not have to worry about being home for lambing.

Great that you are getting inquiries about employment! Good luck on choosing the right one - maybe one closer than Corpus.

 

[Margali]

@Ridgetop Thanks for the info! I also have permanent job opportunities popping up in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Ohio. So wanted to have an idea for out of state moves. I agree the sheep will stay at ranch if I'm only on a contract job.

I do need to get @Baymule to order me a custom scrapie compliant tag for Aria from Premier for ~$5. She has to place order for Premier to imprint the scrapie ID. Aria is my only tagless sheep.

 

[Margali]

@Baymule FYI, you need to update APHIS with new address, 1-866-USDA-Tag (866-873-2824). Otherwise, I could order the tag since I know your scrapie # but it would ship to old Lindale property...

 

[Margali]

We'll see if new endo is worth anything next week when she responds to my message. I had labs done which show no antibodies and plenty of insulin production so Type 2 diabetes. She said it was just "pre-diabetes" based on my A1c. She noted my lipids are bad which they are and suggested lifestyle modifications. This was my reply:

Regarding lifestyle modifications, I have been eating lower carb since 2012 first gestational diabetes diagnosis along with exercise. I currently average 1,800calories per day and about 200g of carbohydrates. I do not have soda, chips, candy, or other junk carbs. This leaves me hungry most of the day and does NOT stop weight gain. The 5 years on metformin showed no response on weight gain, fasting BG, and A1c slowly crept up. Please see attached summary of historical labs, 30day diet, and dexcom log.

Can we please trial some of the other type 2 management drugs to assist in lowering my fasting BG and manage insulin resistance.

I think that was polite enough...

 

[fuzzi]

We'll see if new endo is worth anything next week when she responds to my message. I had labs done which show no antibodies and plenty of insulin production so Type 2 diabetes. She said it was just "pre-diabetes" based on my A1c. She noted my lipids are bad which they are and suggested lifestyle modifications. This was my reply:

I think that was polite enough...

Today's generation of physicians don't read beyond protocols, think beyond test results, and they copy & paste a lot. I speak not just from personal experience as a patient advocate for my husband but as someone who works with physicians.

Can you get a second opinion?

Article you may find useful:

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/05/29/food-additives-raise-type-2-diabetes-risk.aspx

 

[Margali]

@fuzzi This is already 3+ opinion. She seemed okay on our first virtual visit when we discussed things and ordered the labs. I gave her 30day food log and 8 day DexCom log which can't be faked easily. So hopefully she will look at the hard data presented. Otherwise, I will have her document in notes that she refused to follow ADA guidelines and try again...