Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[thistlebloom]

So I see you're using your granddaughter as an excuse to build a doll house, haha!

 

[Baymule]

I am smiling at your description of your girlie girl grand daughter. I was never a girlie girl, I'm sure that comes as no surprise! LOL I loved Roy Rogers and had a stick horse named Trigger. Best of all, the little girl across the street was a tomboy too and we played dolls-our way. We'd ride our stick horses, our dolls were always the bad guys. They were bank robbers, stagecoach robbers or horse thieves. We always caught the bad guys, shooting them with our cap pistols and hanging them from the trees. I made a Jim Dandy hang mans noose. Where I acquired that skill, at such a young age, I have no idea. My dear, I sound like such a twisted child!

If little girls acted like that these days, their mothers would have them in therapy, the school wouldn't let them attend classes and it would go on their permanent record to hound them all the days of their lives, probably keeping them out of college and never having a good job.

 

[Ridgetop]

So I see you're using your granddaughter as an excuse to build a doll house, haha!

I plead guilty. When DD1 asked me to play dolls with her, I just rearranged the furniture in the dollhouse, cleaned the Barbie horse barn, built new pastures, and wondered where I could buy Barbie size farm animals! LOL

I was also a tomboy. Lest you think my granddaughter is a prissy girlie type other than liking unicorns, fairies and rainbows - when DD1 tried to get her to play with her baby dolls and care for them properly instead of dragging them around by a leg, DGD handed the doll to her mom and said, "Here you take care of her, I don't know how!" LOL
Apparently she will need to hire a nanny! She does karate with her brothers and is more interested in the farm animals and playing outside on the trampoline, swimming, and ding soccer. DD1 waited so long to have a girl to dress up and do girlie things with and instead she has a little tomboy in girlie clothes!

 

[Ridgetop]

More interminable ramblings . . . .

Saturday at 6:00 am Salvador's friend, Ernan, came by to pick up the 2 ewe lambs we had brought down for Salvadore. A few days had stretched into a week while he made arrangements to get them from our place. The dogs woke DH up as my phone rang announcing his arrival. I expected his friend to have some sort of truck with a cage, but he showed up in a newer passenger van! These are range sheep and wild as sin! Very spooky - although they have stopped trying to leap out of their pen when I enter the barn to feed – they run to a far corner rolling their eyes! First DH shook his head at the vehicle and told Ernan that he wasn't sure it was a good way to transport them. Then I went out and saw that there was not even a wire divider between the driver's seat and the cargo portion. Ernan was busily putting down the seats and laying out tarps to protect the area. I also shook my head and said it might not be a good idea. By now Errnan was probably wondering what his buddy had told him about these sheep. He said that Salvatore had said that they were just lambs. I told him that these were not little BBQ size lambs but large 9-10 months old ewe lambs weighing over 100 lb. I think he was expecting little baby lambs. While he finished laying the tarps in his vehicle, I called Salvador and told him that his friend was transporting the sheep tied up in his passenger van. Salvador said it was the only way he could think to get them. OK, not my sheep. I retrieved the health papers and the receipt for Ernan to sign that he picked up the lambs (alive) for his friend. While DS1 put up Rika and Angel, DH took Bubba inside the house and started the coffee. After he pulled into the driveway, I brought Errnan out a cup of coffee and filled his thermos with hot water. He said he was from Argentina and drank mate – a form of herbal tea. I had heard of this tea but never seen it so he showed the bag to me. Apparently, he orders it from Amazon. He said Argentines drink it all day long instead of coffee or tea. He said when they are hungry and don’t have anything to eat, they drink mate and they don’t need to eat! (I considered a diet of mate for a few minutes – need to read up on it first.) DS1 said that Ernan said he had driven over at midnight but the lights were off and the dogs were very agitated so he came back this am. ??? Who shows up to pick up livestock at midnight without calling first?

We all trooped into the barn where Ernan stared at the sheep as they bounded around the pen like ping pong balls. DS1 calmly said “Well, let’s get them” and entered the pen followed by Ernan. I handed DS1 a 5’ portable panel and he trapped them in a corner. Then the rodeo began.

Ernan did not seem anxious to grab either of the ewes that were struggling to escape from DS1’s impromptu squeeze and they both managed to wriggle free from the corner. By now DH had come down into the barn. Wisely, he and I both stayed on the outside of the 10 x 10 pen as the ewes rocketed around and bounced off the side panels. One ewe hit the panels right where I was standing. Since these were the lightweight Sydell panels, they immediately folded at the pin and caught me in the stomach. Ooof! Luckily, the ewe did not think to leap higher or she could have easily cleared the fence. DH stationed himself at the barn gate so he could ward off any sheep that decided to leap over. If they got out of the barn they would be loose on the field! Now DS1 had managed to corral the 2 ewes in another corner next to the walkway. I ran to grab one by the head as he fought to hold them in. Leaning over the pen fence, she kept avoiding my grasp. Luckily, I keep a sheep halter in the barn and grabbed it. Sliding it onto one ewe I quickly tied her to the side panel while Ernan tried to maintain his grip on the other ewe. Setting the panel aside DS1 hurried to help him but she slid through Ernan’s fingers like an eel and was loose in the pen. Turning his attention to the one I had hold of with the halter, DS1 said “Let’s take care of this one, then we can catch the other”. Grabbing a fistful of hay ropes, Ernan began to tie the ewe’s hind legs together as DS1 held her down. Thrashing around and kicking she kept managing to get herself loose. Finally, DS1 grabbed her and flipped her, holding her on her butt by the front legs. Much bad Spanish epithets were coming from Ernan and although I understood much of it, I pretended not to. I did, however, agree with what he was calling her!

Meanwhile, my two new bred ewes were staring shocked at the rodeo taking place across the aisle. The other ewes in the creep pen and their lambs were demanding to be fed. A lot of noise echoed around the barn. While DS1 and Ernan struggled to tie ewe #1, I fed the other ewes. Immediately silence filled the barn, only broken by occasional mutters from Ernan in Spanish. Again, I agreed with what he was saying about the ewe. Finally, we had the ewe’s front and back legs tied and could concentrate on the other one.

This second ewe was the wildest of the two. She managed to get out of the pen as Ernan opened the gate to get more hay ropes. Luckily, she was still confined in the barn. DH started to move forward to help catch her but remembered to stay back guarding the short wall that would be her way to freedom. DS1 and I moved her back into the alleyway and she ran back into the pen. Once again, the rodeo began until they had her flipped on her back and being tied. Those ewes kicked so much that they were almost impossible to keep the ropes on their legs as they were being tied. As Ernan finished tying the rear legs of #2, #1 with front legs tied together and rear legs tied together, surprised us all by managing to get to her feet and proceeded to leapfrog around the pen! Amazing! DS1 and Ernan almost lost their grip on #2, but luckily #1 fell over. I threw a towel over her eyes. It works for frightened horses, maybe it would calm the ewe down. It actually seemed to work since she lay still. After tying the front and rear legs and watching the other ewe still able to hip hop around the pen, the men decided to run a rope from the front legs to the rear legs on both ewes so they would not be able to scramble up. We were all worried about what would happen if they managed to get loose in the van while Ernan was driving to Indio on the freeway. Indio is at least 2 hours by freeway!

Finally, with both ewes tied, DS1 and Ernan each took a pair of legs and carried them up to the driveway to load into the van. They looked like hunters carrying their kill into camp. I felt like I should fetch them a pole on which to suspend the sheep. Once on the driveway the sheep continued to buck around. I got a roll of duct tape and fastened the rag over the first sheep’s eyes, leaving it off her nose and mouth. She immediately lay still. The men laid her in the back of the van and loaded the other ewe in with her. With the first one laying immobile, the second stopped struggling. We wished Ernan a safe trip as he drove away, released the dogs, and staggered inside to have our first cup of coffee. I heard later that they arrived safe.

With those ewes gone, the 2 new bred ewes will go out on the field, each in with a different cleanup ram. I need to take down the jug panels, clean the barn, and lime it. Then we can set up the new barn arrangement with the panels. We have enough of our 10’ field panels to put up another 20 x 50 pen next to the others. Then we need 2 more od Dh’s favorite 10‘ gates so we can open each of those 2 pens into the holding pen that is connected to the chute. It only takes money and time! Guess which one we have! Won’t happen for another couple months.

No lime to be had at either Lowe’s or Home Depot, but Tractor Supply had it even cheaper at $3.48 for 50 lbs. DS1 drove out to return the 3 bags of lime I had and pick up the other lime. Since we will be cleaning out and sanitizing the creep pen in another month when the ewes and their lambs go out with the rams I have chosen for them he got 5 bags. TSC said they carry it all the time which is good to know since Lowes and Home Depot are completely out of it. When he came back DS1 said they had a type of lime called AG lime which was even cheaper and designed to be spread over fields. DS1 said it is good to break down heavy clay soil so maybe spreading it over our property would help grass and better forage grow in the rainy season instead of bitter nettle and mustard.

The crazy ewe with the lamb, has calmed down somewhat since moving her in with the other ewes with lambs. They rush to see us since we are bringing their food. She has starting coming in with them and crowding the feeder when I break up the hay flakes into it. I am giving all those ewes a small amount of grain - 1 cup each of barleycorn and ewe builder ration mixed together. Since these 3 ewes lambed 8 months apart, while the new ewe looked a bit thin, I am building them up a bit before breeding them again in another month or 2. I also want to have Dr. Rene order out some Bo-Se and vaccinate the ewes before breeding. I won’t Bo-Se any pregnant ones until about a month before lambing since it can cause problems mid pregnancy with growing fetuses. I will have to arrange for her to either come out several times or have her order me the Bo-Se if she will.

I can’t get any bags of loose salt at TSC! Apparently, they don’t carry it. I need it to blend with my 10 lb. bag of free choice sheep minerals which I bought some months ago. They need to be mixed with 50 lbs. of loose salt before being given to the sheep. I am not sure what to do about that. Maybe my feed store can order it for me. Otherwise, I wonder if ordinary uniodized table salt would do. Or Kosher salt which is a coarser ground salt. I do put out mineral salt blocks. The tiny amount of copper they contain is not a problem for my Dorpers.

DS1 is also picking up some rabbit deterrent for my roses. Josie the Mule is no longer able to get to them but the ones that were sprouting are now completely denuded of leaves. Possibly/probably rabbits? DS1 questioned that it was rabbits, but the sheep are not sneaking out of their pens to nibble the rose leaves off, and Josie TM is not jumping the fence to do it either. And FDIL said that something has been nibbling at the squash – the veggies, not the leaves. DS1 said he has seen rabbits in the garden area around thes quash and tomatoes. If the deterrent doesn’t work, I will have to order an electric garden fence and charger. Aaargh! They used to have a rabbit and deer deterrent that was made with mountain lion urine. It worked like a charm but was removed from the market due to animal rights activists claims that it was “cruel to frighten the rabbits”! A more permanent way to get rid of them is to shoot them, but apparently PETA didn’t even consider that anyone could be that mean.

We are inundated with the furry things. This morning looking out of the bedroom window DH said, “Oh look at the cute baby bunny!” They are not cute when eating my roses and veggies! If worst comes to worst, I will get out the pellet gun and sit up at night to take some shots at them. If you go into the barn at night, they are hopping all over the floor eating the hay. Not the hay on the ground under the feeders, but the good hay in the stacked bales! DH and DS1 are angry because the rabbits go into the hayshed on the field and eat the hay too. Since they are eating at the bottom of the stack, they end up chewing into the bales and causing them to collapse. May have to get some of the electric garden fence just to protect the hay supply from the rabbits. The dogs don’t bother killing them, they just ignore them! Gaaah! The last time they were this bad, my sweet little mother was staying with us. She was a gardening devotee. Seeing the “cute” bunnies descending on her plants in the evening she commissioned DS2 and DS3, then 10 and 11 to hide out with their pellet guns and “take them out”. She paid them $.25 per rabbit they killed. They would have done it for the sheer joy of being allowed to use their pellet guns wantonly. Bringing in 3-4 carcasses each evening, that sweet little old lady gloated “You won’t get any of my plants anymore! Hee hee ho ho!” She happily paid her blood money to my children.

We did see a kingsnake going into the barn the other day and got very excited. It was about 2-3’ long so we hope it takes up residence and begins to get rid of the rabbits and the rats. Yes, we have barn rats again. Our feral cat population has disappeared so at night when looking into the barn you can see those guys running across the barn floor too. Lately they have been outnumbered by the rabbits though. I am tempted to buy some more kingsnakes and release them into the barn and the gopher holes on the front hill. I actually have a Gopher Getter and the strychnine pellets to load it with, but don’t dare use it because of the dogs. I don’t want one of them finding and eating a strychnine killed rodent.

Speaking of dogs, we had Bubba collected Tuesday. It was not a success. The technician got very little ejaculate from him, and what she got was “abnormal”. Since he is 4 years old and has never been used, she said it is possible that he is just shooting out old dud semen and needs to be collected again. We go back in 2 weeks for another try. If the semen is still abnormal, then we will have to get together with Erick to decide what to do. He gets semen from Bubba as part of the purchase contract, but if the semen is not usable, he has already said we should neuter him. We will give it another couple attempts before making that decision. It will be a shame if he can’t be collected since his genetics are so good. Erick particularly wanted to breed him back into his dogs to retrieve some of the “sharpness” that is being lost in current day Anatolians. There is no denying that Bubba is a “sharp” Anatolian with strangers. LOL On the other hand, having him fixed means that we don’t have to worry too much about Angel coming into season. Right now, we are keeping a sharp eye on Angel. She came in at 12 months old and that was over 6 months ago. She hasn’t come back in season yet. If she is like her mother though, she may not have regular seasons! Aaaagh! Her mother came in at 12 months then did not come in for another 15 months, then came in 9 months later, etc. It is hard enough keeping males and females that are not neutered without having their cycles be all over the calendar!

June 15, 2020

Today is the day that the nail and hair salons are due to open!!!

I need to call and get an appointment asap. Long ago I promised my grandmother that I “wouldn’t let myself go” and she is probably rolling in her grave! It won’t matter that it wasn’t my fault, that woman didn’t accept excuses. If I can’t get an appointment, I may be driven to attack my head with the scissors myself. DS2 used to be the best fitter of dairy goats, maybe he can shear it for me. He did his own 2 weeks ago. Both DS1 and DH managed to find an open barber so there is hope.

This morning DH and I turned the new ewes out with the larger flock of sheep. I decided not to bother separating them since it would cause unnecessary stress for them (and work for us). I set up the Sydell panels into a chute – those panels are very light and easy to move, unlike the heavier and sturdier Shaul’s panels that I use for the jugs. Moving the sheep was easy-peasy! They went right up the ramp, out the gate into the chute and into the small sorting pen. Closed the access gate and opened the gate into the pen where the other sheep were waiting to welcome them. Done deal! Those ewes are so calm, they act like they have been here since birth! I love Wes Patton’s sheep – they have such calm temperaments! I love working with the right equipment even more! After moving the sheep into the larger pen with the flock, we took down the chute panels and DH then stacked the panels inside the dog kennel. Don’t ask – maybe so the panels would not escape? Or maybe so he can argue withDS1 about why he put them there when DS1 needs to put the dogs inside the kennel quickly? “Who knows what lurks in the minds of men?” That is a mangled quote from a book although I don’t recall which one.

The Joslyn Senior Center is having a meeting of all the different groups the end of June. Burbank is hoping to open the center in July. I don’t know how many of the bridge people are going to want to come back to play bridge wearing masks and gloves. Or even come back at all after all the hype about the dangers. It will be difficult if not impossible to lay bridge wearing gloves and masks. I am sure they will insist on gloves since everyone handles the cards during play. I really don’t want to play masked and gloved either. So uncomfortable and we will be dropping our cards all over the place! So ready for this to end and people just get back to life! The Club was just getting ready for elections when we went into quarantine and I need to arrange those so I can step down from my position as president. I am not accepting any Board position next year so it would be freedom! We’ll have to see what their ideas are on opening the center again.

There was a cooling trend hitting us with the temps dropping from the high 90’s to the 80’s with a pleasant breeze out of the west. The hot winds come out of the east – the desert, while the cooler breezes come from the west – the ocean. I hope we can finish the planting troughs. We seem to have hit a stopping point for a week or two and need to get back to finishing it up so I can lay the artificial turf around the troughs and finish the garden area. The dogs want to dig in the dirt around the troughs causing us to fall into unexpected holes as we try to take care of our gardens. They also kick it up onto the patio with their digging and it makes a big mess. One nice thing about the “grass” on the main patio side of the house is that it keeps the dirt and dust down.

FDIL put down the rabbit repellent. I don’t think the repellent is really going to work too well. It is also for dogs and cats but says it is more effective “when used as part of a behavior retraining program”. I don't know how I am supposed to train wild rabbits! Actually, thinking about the “faux grass”, I just had a great idea! Instead of real roses and flowers I can go to Michael’s and get a bunch of “faux” plants and flowers. I can stick them in the garden and not have to worry about any rabbits or bugs gobbling my plants. I will cut down the watering and gardening chores too. I will only have to wash the plants off occasionally and replace them when they get faded. I am going to give this a lot of thought! It will also cut down on my Prozac prescription not having to worry about the flowers getting chewed. I’ll also save a lot at the garden store too what with soil amendments, plants, replacement plants, etc. One more thing to try before going into Plan B – Faux Garden – earwig poison. It is possible that the earwigs are eating my plants. When they are bad, they are voracious and will strip a plant in one night. I think I have some in the shed, otherwise back to Lowes.

The nail salon is open and I have just made appointments for a fill and pedicure for me and a pedicure for DH. What a relief to know I don’t have to get the Dremel out again! Have an appointment to get a hair cut as well and perhaps a “treatment” for my hair. Occasional “treatment are necessary to keep my natural platinum blonde locks at their best. Unkind persons in my family have been known to refer to my hair as “white”. That is a gross lie! It s p;atinum blonde, and is my own color! After all I paid for it! LOL To be able to return to the salon, see my friends, and be pampered is the best part of the end to quarantine! I can’t wait.

I painted the rose “carving” that will go on DGD’s canopy bed headboard. DH was sanding the head and foot boards so I could repaint the bed for her. The side rails unaccountably disappeared during the 30 years they have been in storage – possibly given to someone else thinking they were part of another bed frame. At any rate, this was DD1’s canopy bed when she was DGD’s age, which we have saved for DGD. She is going on for 7 and still using the youth bed and crib size mattress. Luckily, she is very petite. Or maybe just stunted by now from not having a large enough bed to be able to grow normally. DS1 ordered the metal parts for new side rails, bought the boards, and will make them, along with the support boards for the box spring. Once everything is painted, we will take it over and assemble it in her room. I had the original eyelet canopy and dust ruffle stored away in a cedar chest, so DD1 just needs to wash them ready for the bed. The appliqued yellow gingham quilt I made for DD1 to match the wallpaper in her room at the old house is also at DD1s house if she wants to use it. Otherwise, she can order a new one. DGD’s 7th birthday in in July, so we will get it done in time and decorate the room as her birthday present. I need to ask DD1 if we need to paint her room as well. Also need to look on- line about the wall decals – rainbows, etc.

Just got a text saying the DGD wants her room painted pink with a sunset over the bed and stuff on the walls?! What stuff? Rainbows, fairies and unicorns. OK. FDIL went on line and we fond some decals and also several wallpaper borders of unicorns, etc. I will order the border. DD1 does not like wallpaper (I love it since it transforms a room instantly) but the border will be ok. Those decals don’t always stay on the walls, and too many can look tacky. Painting DGD’s room is in my future. Think we can wash the trim and woodwork and just do the walls. I am thinking a pale pink for 3 walls and a deeper pink behind the canopy bed. The yellow gingham quilt won’t work now though. I do have a hand pieced quilt that is about 200 years old she can have, or will order something new. Probably will get a new one so it can be washed and dragged onto the floor, etc.

Only 1 hour and 45 minutes until my hair appointment. I can't wait to look human again! Is this the sort of mind games the psychiatrists do to prisoners - strip them of all vestiges of humanity? Totally remove their self respect? Is our government involved in some sort of mind control experiment? I really need to get to the salon. I'm losing it!

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Omg, I can't read your journal without laughing...........poor EMAN

 

[Baymule]

I sold 3 lambs on Craigslist one time. After waiting ALL DAY for the guy to show up for his 9:00 appointment, he drove up in a brand new van. He stuffed them in the van and drove off. I bet it no longer had that new car smell!

I am glad you can now get haircuts and tend to personal things that make one feel better about one’s appearance. LOL LOL My hair is white, you’ve seen it. I kept it colored red for many years because I didn’t want to be white headed at 34 years old. I finally grew tired of the white skunk stripe and the frantic efforts to cover it up, and let it grow out. What a horrible process! I wanted to shave my head! My beautician finally agreed to a very short haircut that still had red tips, a major improvement. So I know your pain and anxiety over a messy head of hair. Glad you can now feel beautiful again, but you are ALWAYS beautiful!

 

[Ridgetop]

Those of us with Livestock Guardians occasionally wonder if they are working. We hear them barking throughout the day and night, but are they actually scaring off predators or just enjoying friendly conversations with neighborhood dogs? Sometimes we are lucky enough to have a sighting of a predator or stray dog being warned off. Neighbors might tell us that they have seen the dogs going after predators. We have had both experiences, but our normal view of our Livestock Guardians during the day is finding them peacefully snoring somewhere on the property. So, we occasionally second guess ourselves, wondering if we are paying a small fortune for dog food and vet care that might not be necessary. Well, it depends on why you have an LGD in the first place.

We have suffered large losses without LGDs. We added a second Anatolian. Then during the aftermath of the Creek fires 2 years ago, the predator load increased about 5 times normal due to immigrating packs of coyotes. Even 2 Anatolians were not enough. We lost 2 lambs that summer. We added another Anatolian and hopefully we are well guarded now. Rika turned 8 years old May 12. Eventually we will have to add another Anatolian to take up more of the work as she ages. She won’t slack off due to age, so I won’t take a chance that the dogs will be overwhelmed and possibly lose her. The majority of LGD owners know that their dogs are working due to one simple thing. They have had no livestock losses. Most of them have had losses in the past and that is the reason they have invested in Livestock Guardian dogs. In the two years between losing our last Pyrenees and getting Harika we lost $8,000.00 in sheep. Ask me if I think LGDs are valuable.

The other day, as I walked out with DH to feed, Angel came flying past with a dirty piece of rug. She tried to entice Bubba to play with her and he chased her around a bit. Walking over to see if this was some household item I needed to rescue, I was surprised to find it was a dead coyote carcass. It was not fresh, but not more than 2 months old either. Obviously, the dogs are working well! LOL
Yesterday she had transferred it to the "grass". This morning there is only the tail out there. Angel is hard on her toys. LOL

The new ewes were moved out onto the field and have assimilated into the flock as if born there. The new schitzy ewe with the lamb has calmed down surrounded by friendly ewes. She comes up to the feeder when she sees me and battles for position with the rest. Her lamb comes into the creep along with the others and waits while I fill their feeder with hay. I really like her lamb. She will add a lot to my flock genetics. Snowflake no longer fits in the creep, but is growing well. She comes up to be petted. I will keep her with the younger lambs for a while longer.

I set up the new jugs and limed everything. With the right lime - thanks to Misfitmorgan! Four 5' x 7' jugs and one 5' x 10' pen at the end behind the grafting panel. I put the grafting panel between 2 pens so I will have double use of it if necessary. Naturally now that everything is in place it will be years before I need it again. LOL The barn is now ready for September lambing. 6 ewes due to lamb then. Then another group between October and December. The ewes that just went in with Moyboy have not marked at all. I knew several of the ewes were in season 2 days before we turned him in so he just missed catching them. They should cycle again tomorrow or Monday. We will have to change out his crayon today as well. 2 weeks of laying on it in the dirt and it will be so dirty it won't mark. No need to change Axtell's yet since he only had one open ewe in with him and has marked her. Maybe next week. Axtell won't get any more ewes until the 4 in the creep go out with him. Definitely new crayon then. Poor Lewis is al alone his pen. He gets to watch the girls go by each day. Don't tell PETA - it would probably rank as torture with them!

This evening I will weigh the lambs again. They look like they are growing well. One of the ewe twins is a complete hair lamb, and very large. She is a keeper but I need to check her out though. One of the twins seemed to have a lump in their groin and I need to check it again. In Ridgetop tradition, “Oddities We Have Seen”, we may have a hermaphrodite and the lump may be a displaced testicle. Hopefully not, and I only will know by examining her vulva. Even that may not show up until she is older. If she doesn’t breed by the time she is 12 months old, it is auction time regardless. We have had 2 hermaphrodites in 30 years, both Nubian goats, never any sheep. Very interesting though.

FDIL has been gardening like a whirlwind. I finally got another trough ready to plant. Last night DS1 uttered a loud exclamation while looking out the office window at the troughs. Angel was curled up in the newest filled planter. Luckily not planted yet. I will have to get out and make a wire cover for it to keep her out. Silly dog! She didn’t even fit completely inside! Bits were hanging over the edges!

The weather has cooled off to the low 80's and high 70's. So nice!

DH and DS1 are going to the store to get steaks (requested by DH for his Father's Day BBQ tomorrow). We have not yet gotten our steer back from the butcher. DD2 and Doofus will becoming down for the day. I may have to change Doofus' name if he continues his classes as a cable installer. He is doing well, likes the work, and DD1 says they will be moving into an apartment soon. That is if anyone moves out of one. Tenants are staying put due to the Covid thing since they didn't have to pay rent for 3 months. California has a bill right now allowing tenants to take until 2034 to pay their back rent! I don't know if that Bill would mean owners can't evict them for that long but it really is a stupid Bill and disastrous for landlords.

The government in California hates us. Gotta move out.

 

[Baymule]

Angel had a coyote frisbee!! What a great toy! LOL that is funny. Gotta love these dogs! Sheba is laying in front of my recliner. She pounds on the window or door when she wants in. What a spoiled brat.

Y’all have a great Father’s Day and enjoy the BBQ.

 

[Ridgetop]

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY – INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Yesterday morning I went out to feed the ewes in the barn. DH had already fed the rams and turned out the ewes from the night fold. The ewes and MoyBoy were all crowed round the large gate to the driveway staring into the gully. Angel was also at the top of the gully with them. She was not acting playful as usual but was sitting in a watchful pose right next to the little flock and looking into the gully. Puzzled I looked in the gully but could not see anything. Looking over to Lewis’ pen, the ram was also staring towards the gully. Usually Rika is with the sheep, but she was nowhere to be seen. I went into the house, leaving Angel still sitting next to the sheep watching the gully. I asked f anyone had seen Rika that morning. Bubba was napping by the other door. DH thought he might have seen her before he let the sheep out of the night fold. No one had seen her since then. DS1 said that the dogs had been busy barking in the gully all night so something had them upset. Rika had not reappeared by the time DH and I left the house, but DH said the sheep had scattered into the gully and were at the bottom, grazing. Later I called home and Rika was back with the sheep as usual.

OK, LGD owners: Three guesses as to what was going on.

If you guessed that something in the gully worried Rika and she had parked the sheep at the top of the gully by the gate until she checked it out, give yourselves a Gold Star! She left Angel on duty watching the sheep while she went to make sure everything was ok. Bubba, having worked all night was off duty but could be summoned by one bark. Angel, at 18 months, as the younger and least experienced LGD was left to protect the sheep at the top of the gully. Once the danger was determined to be gone, the sheep were brought into the gully to graze.

If you doubt me, I have seen her do this before. What incredible dogs these are.

Have fun celebrating our independence - hope we have it forever!

 

[Ridgetop]

Well! So much for Governor Gruesom Newsom and Mayor Garcetti (still need a good name for him-any suggestions?) and their proclamations forbidding even family members to get together to have 4th of July BBQs. All public fireworks displays were cancelled SO . . . .
We went to DD1's house where my two sons threw their nephews and niece around in the pool and had a blast, ate hamburgers and drove home at dusk to feed. Wow! We were met at the gate by several very upset Anatolians! Not only had DH not fastened the gate properly resulting in the field sheep being in the yard and barn having their very own 4th of July celebration on our hay stack,

but there were also private illegal fireworks going off all over the Valley! Gorgeous display but it sounded like we were under attack by an invading force! Usually the Anatolians are used to gunshots since we can hear the reverberations from the local gun ranged of thunder and lightning. For the past week M80s have been going off in the Valley at night which they don't lie but it simply causes them to bark and patrol more heavily. These fireworks were close and noisy and never stopped! Also there were close ones that flashed like lightning. Rika was extremely upset and even came inside the house! Bubba was also upset and very vigilant. He was so on guard that if a stranger had appeared he might have bitten him! We all congregated on the patio to watch the display which lasted over 2 hours. Angel went into the barn with the sheep while DS1 put Bubba and Rika inside with a chew. When DD1 and the grandchildren arrived to watch the fireworks, Bubba insisted on being outside with them.

The fireworks were beautiful and lasted forever. Each time we thought they were over, another round began.
Finally, around 11:00 pm the children lost interest and their mother took them home. I went in to bed and turned on the TV. The fireworks were still going on although they had died down and were more sporadic. Several were set off right below our neighbor’s house. Suddenly there was a lot of shouting from their house. They are ¼ mile away, but downhill and sound travels up here. I smelled a lot of smoke, so I got up and looked out all the windows. Nothing. With all the fireworks in the Valley we were starting to see haze from the fireworks anyway, so I assumed I was mistaken. Then DS1 came in and said that he had gone out to investigate and at our neighbors’ house the fireworks their neighbor had set off had started a fire right below their house! Lots of dry brush there and fire travels uphill! Lots of shouting at their stupid neighbor as they got out hoses and called the Fire Department. They put it out quickly but WOW! Fireworks are illegal here in the San Fernando Valley and have been for many years. Apparently due to the Covid quarantine which had been lifted then reapplied for this holiday weekend (all beaches and parks shut, not even family gatherings allowed, etc.) people decided to have their own fireworks. Best display we have seen in years. The entire Valley floor was covered with them. Lots of big ones too. Don't know where they got them since those really big ones that go up far are restricted purchase even where fireworks are legal. Beautiful end to a lovely day with family.

For some reason Governor Gruesome and Mayor Garcetti keep releasing us and re-restricting us every few days. No one can keep track of the current restrictions and frankly, most of us no longer care. We have been obedient for a long time, but now having seen the Mayors of many towns approving of protests of thousands of people who are not social distancing, while forbidding us to even attend church or go to a family member’s home, we are all sick of their restrictions!

Anyway, a lovely day ending with lots of excitement that ended well. Hoe everyone had a happy 4th!