Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Bruce]

I actually prefer tensioning all kinds of wire thru a gut strain. Lots easier to tie the ends off to the corner or end posts when the wire isn't under tension.

That is how I did my long run except I put a gate in where he cut and "grippled" the now 2 sections.

Not sure how he can say there are no fasteners in the fence (16:25 first video) when it has all the gripples holding the 2 sections of wire together.

Second video, looks like they don't hold to your rule about not running fence around a corner post but tying off both runs.

 

[greybeard]

That is how I did my long run except I put a gate in where he cut and "grippled" the now 2 sections.

Not sure how he can say there are no fasteners in the fence (16:25 first video) when it has all the gripples holding the 2 sections of wire together.

Second video, looks like they don't hold to your rule about not running fence around a corner post but tying off both runs.

No, he doesn't always follow my rule, but he's driving his corner posts a lot deeper than I do mine and his work is up in the mid west.Indiana mostly where the soil is not as soft and giving as mine is. That turn is into a very short run, looks like maybe 40' to a gateway, and his line posts in that vid are all 4" or bigger diameter steel posts. Otherwise, he also, makes a traditional H corner, but then does a diagonal brace down to a deadman post he has driven 4-5 ft into the ground, sometimes he drives them 8' deep.

For us mere mortals, with limited $$ and limited machinery, it's not feasible to set posts that deep or have the equipment to drive them that deep.
Makes lots of difference when the fence is tied off every 10-12 ft to 4'' or even 2 7/8'' diameter steel posts and not just to big corners but little line tee posts with the tees 'maybe' 2' in the ground. Tee posts aren't rigid enough and won't hold linear tension so the corners have to take it all but big line posts everywhere along the run take a lot of the pressure off the corners so you can go around the corners in those instances.

I know Luke from another board and he's a straight shooter and has contributed lots of help on that board.

By "no fasteners" in it, he means there is nothing holding the wire up except it's own tension....no post ties. (notice he shakes the wire to show it isn't tied to the line posts yet) He's trying to illustrate that a properly tensioned net fence will stand up on it's own.
I've seen people roll wire out, stretch it a little, then go along and stand the wire up on the posts. You should never have to do that if you pull it tight. It will stand up all on it's own when it's tight.
Decades ago, when I and my brother ran 2200' of a net fence along the highway side of my property and didn't know better, we did that too. It was a pain in the butt to do, standing it up along a few posts I had put in ....one about every 100 ft.. Nowadays, I don't and wouldn't do that. I did have about 1000' foot run of fixed knot net fence on my southern East to West fence, and it stood on it's own...pulled it all in one stretch too, but I took it all down after the first moderate flood came in 2012 and deposited an ungawdly amount of forest/river debris on it. (replaced that wire with HT barbed wire)

 

[Ridgetop]

OK, so now I need to research a "gripple" tool, "walking chain tensioner" (thank goodness Greybeard puts in maker's names - Strainrite), "strain gauge" and "gut strain" tool, unless "gut strain" is the term for tensioning shorter lengths from the middle of the wire run. I agree with Greybeard that having the right tools makes all the difference. Luckily since I have cleaned and organized my tool shed I have room for these new fencing tools - LOL! If we end up buying property and fencing/cross fencing it we will have to investigate the pneumatic clip/tie installer. $400 is cheap compared to crippling ourselves - sadly we are no longer young but are in denial. I keep telling DH that we are in the prime of life.

On our cruise we saw half the passengers on walkers and motorized scooters . The 4 of us agreed that the big downside of cruising was the number of old people on board!

The repaired ram pasture worked out just great! In 3 weeks they have grazed it completely down. Also, Angel was in with them and they have taught her to respect her sheep. She loves them and every morning she runs to them and kisses their faces before following them onto the field. Hopefully, she will treat the lambs more gently now since they are the same size as their mothers!


The lambs are now 100 lbs and will be going to the butcher on the 23rd of this month. Can you tell the lambs from the ewes? Other than the 100 lb wether trying to get a drink from mom. The ewe with the green collar has already begun her wool shed. Her son is doing a slick shed just like her. The sire is also starting to slick shed. Some Dorpers only do a partial shed and others do a slick shed. Slick shed is one of the things you want in this breed. I am considering repeating this breeding in hopes of getting a keeper ewe lamb. The younger ram has great genetics too, but doesn't look to be a slick shedder. However, he is barely 1 year old so might be after another year. Yes that is angel in the creep pen! Not a baby anymore She has grown considerably! She is almost 5 months old and approaching Roka in height. She has a lot of growing and learning to do still, and will be starting socialization classes too. She has a softer temperament than Bubba but one sharp temperament guardian on the property is plenty. We will be putting her loose on the field with Rika to learn more of the guardian techniques once we split the flock and rearrange them.

My friend took away her mule and 2 donkeys to start riding again and training them for Mule Days competition. Jose the Mule is soooo sad, she is weaving at the gate and crying. Mule crying is very heartbreaking. Cheryl said that if Josie pines too much they will come back and get her to be with Lacey, Nacho and Raven. We may have to do that if she is too sad. I went out and put on her fly mask and fed her some carrots. She looked like she was crying - hot today 90 degrees, but the sweat pattern didn't account for the tear drops rolling down from her eyes.

I will be excited to hear what my butcher thinks about the carcass quality of the Dorper and Dorper crosses. The sheep have been out at graze and only getting a small amount of barleycorn at night when they come in from the field. They look good and the ewes, although they are still partially nursing, have not lost any weight. We need to separate the lambs and increase the ewes' grain ration a bit before putting them with the rams.

While they were here I had Bubba kenneled since they were removing what he might decide were HIS equines. My friend's daughter works for the Animal Control service and I explained I did not trust him around strangers so kenneled him when strange people were around. She said that Animal Control had been coming across a breed of livestock guardians that were pretty vicious. They were Armenian Gamprs. Had to put a couple down for attacking people. She had been nearly bitten several times. I hope they don't become the new fad and give LGDs a bad name. Anyone ever hear of them or have experience with them?

 

[Baymule]

Funny how we think of "old" people, but we aren't old. Glad that Angel is coming along so well, she sure is a pretty girl.

Poor Josie, she has lost her friends. You may have to reunite them for her sake.

Those are some nice lambs. How old are they now? Are you going to put one in your own freezer or do you have them all sold?

I have heard of the Armenian Gamprs but know nothing about them. I sure wouldn't want a vicious dog.

 

[Bruce]

Poor Josie, she has lost her friends. You may have to reunite them for her sake.

Or get her another mule buddy!

Funny how we think of "old" people, but we aren't old.

Yeah, I noticed on the flights south that most people on the plane were younger than me. And yes, I did think "dang, I"m getting old!".

 

[greybeard]

and "gut strain" tool, unless "gut strain" is the term for tensioning shorter lengths from the middle of the wire run.

That is correct, tho 'shorter distances' can be a relative term. I wouldn't be afraid to gut stretch a 500-1000' run if it's on level flat terrain.

"sadly we are no longer young but are in denial. I keep telling DH that we are in the prime of life."
Most of the work done on this particular property, I did beginning at age 56.

 

[Ridgetop]

At 56 and 64, DH and I took on the raising of our 5th child. My cousin died and left her 14 year old daughter to us to raise. Hard work and thank the Lord we had already raised 4 teenagers or someone would have died for sure! I heard a quote the other day "Age and guile will always defeat strength and youth". Since age goes hand in hand with guile and wiliness, I think all of us "in the primers" are doing fine. DH hung a length of were fencing in Washington by himself with guile by using some tie down straps as a come along and to lift it into place. Not bad for an old guy with a bad leg! He is my hero. We really enjoyed the work we did in Washington because the property was flat! Maybe that is why we feel so old - dragging our sorry carcasses up and down steep hills to do the work is extra tiring and we can't use a tractor.

We are so torn about moving and leaving our darling grandbabies behind. We are rearranging some things, and adding some cross fencing for grazing, to see if we can hold out here for another couple years. Also checking into northern Nevada since it is only a day's drive from our children. Should have moved to Texas before the kids were grown I suppose but family ties held us here then too. We are still coming to Texas to check on ranch property this summer. DS3 bought a Texas rental townhome in FW and plans to bring his family to Texas this summer on vacation to check out what he bought. The trip will be tax deductible in part and he is interested in seeing Texas now. Will be traveling in his 5th wheel with DIL, and 2 sons ages 8 and 4. He likes to hunt so I am hoping he will be enticed by the pig hunting available and can check out some game ranches for other hunting. Maybe eventually move . . . ? DH hopes to travel with them for a couple of weeks, then they will go home and we can get on with our business.

We might have to take poor Josie the Mule over to Cheryl's rented field if she stays sad. She started grazing today finally. Maybe she will calm down, but she seems to come to the fence and wail for her friends every few hours. Angel has been on the field with her and Josie doesn't seem to be interested in her. On the other hand, Angel isn't running up to her either. She and Bubba are playing on the field now. I can see a large part of the field overlooking the gully from my desk.

Angel has stopped eating her breakfast. DS1 and DH were worried so I called the breeder who said she could be cut to 2 meals a day since she is 5 months old. I had told them that but they wanted the expert to tell them. She is 5 months old today and we will have to keep eye on her from now on in for when she comes in season. 3 seasons and I can make arrangements to have her spayed. I really do not want any accidents with her being a puppy and Bubba being so big! I do not want puppies at all! More to feed, fewer dogs to guard, and a big hassle and expense all around. I really need to get Bubba OFAed and collected so I can have him neutered too.

DH is turning over the garden beds and planning on making raised beds using the bottoms of some giant storage tubs. The tops cracked and broke but the bottoms are good. We used a couple for watering livestock but have a lot of them so will fill them with garden soil mixed with fine sand for beets and carrots. Root vegetables grow well in sandy soil. I have to check the Almanac for when to plant them. It ill also help to keep the plants safe from gophers. If it works, I might plant some roses in them next winter. DH said it is late for us to plant here (which it is) but just a week or so go they had hail while we were out of town! Next winter I will go to Habitat and get some old windows to use on top of the storage tubs for mini hot houses to start plants. Maybe lettuce will grow that way. Here the winters are so unpredictable that lettuce bolts even in January. One year I lost 2 rabbit litters when the temps shot up to 100 degrees for a couple of weeks in January/February! Lettuce is cheap here in the winter so probably it isn't worth planting any.

Angel had her first night in the yard out of the barn last night. The ewes were in the big pen on the top of the hill that is the summer night fold since the other equines are gone. This morning I went down to check my rams and find Angel. Rika was out on the top of the gully as usual sacked out after night of working. No Angel. In the barn checked out the rams. They are looking good and Lewis is shedding out clean already. No Angel. Walked around the house and woke up Bubba who was sleeping on the path behind the house. Still no Angel. Started to get a little worried when Angel got out of a flowerbed and came over to greet me. Relief. She is getting big, but still a baby. Later DS1 said he let out the ewes (she will be out with them for a while) and she went to each one checking them over before following them into the brush. Later DS1 checked on her and she was running with Rika doing rounds of the field. Teaching and learning - very good! Will check for any bloody marks on lambs tonight, but I think the rams may have educated her not to try to play with the sheep. Next step, separating the ewes into 2 breeding flocks. I am really torn about which ram to use with which ewes this year. Lewis is shedding out and showing terrific meat carrying qualities and muscle definition. I am tempted to put all 3 registered ewes in with him and try for another couple of ewe lambs. the one ewe lamb we got is so superior in type. I can put the last 2 Dorset ewes in with the young ram and see what they produce, or put the young ram with the Dorsets and the 1 Dorper ewe that gave me a ewe lamb last year and try for ewe lambs from him. I kind of go back and forth. I really need to have the shearer come out and shear those last Dorset ewes this year and have the young Dorper ram shorn so I can take a look at him as an adult. He was gorgeous as a lamb. He is out of a Hijo ram and was a quadruplet so any ewes out of him would be keepers too. Or I could put the Dorsets and the green Dorper ewe in with Lewis to try for a purebred ewe lamb. Greenie and Lewis made drop dead gorgeous ram lamb that we are going to eat. He was big and grew terrifically, great conformation, muscle, and slick shedding too. I would definitely like a ewe out of that cross. Then the Dorper ewe that already produced a ewe lamb, and the maiden yearling Dorper ewe could go in with the young ram, Ramborghini. (Used to be Lamborghini). I am hoping to pick up a nice ewe lamb at the sales next month to corral with my keeper ewe lamb from this season - hate keeping animals alone and she is too young to be bred so can't run with the breeding flock. Hopefully we will get them bred for October lambs.
Lewis, showing lots of muscle definition. They have only been getting forage - no hay - for the past month with about 1/2 lb. rolled barleycorn at night. Ramborghini is in background still carrying a lot of wool. I am worried that he will not be a slick shed ram. Lewis already looks like he was shorn except for a few bits on top. So pleased with him - his lambs are really nice too, hoping that they will get high carcass grades. Will be weighing this weekend before they go to slaughter on April 23. Ranging in age from 4 - 4 1/2 months old making 100 lbs. on forage only for last 2 months with 1/2 lb. rolled barleycorn daily each and no creep feeding.

Forage this year is exceptional. Praying we are going into a wet winter cycle in California after 15 years of drought. Poppies and lupines are blooming in the hills along with the mustard and other wildflowers. Haven't seen California poppies and lupines in several years!
Forage is higher than the trampoline! Front pasture where one set of breeding ewes and ram are going this weekend. Main pasture showing lots of forage still growing! Obvious why the Spanish thought this was the "Golden Land" back in the days they discovered it. Wonderful grazing when we get rain.

The wind has started howling here. Sand and dust blowing everywhere but the wind is cold - out of the north. Everything is green so not too much fire danger right now with the wind. Looking across the valley in front of house looks like 25 years ago when smog used to cloud valley! Or smoke from fires! Just dust storms though. Stuff is starting to blow around here and scaring sheep back into gully. Time to put them up, feed some grain, and make dinner.

 

[Baymule]

Those are some nice looking Dorpers!

 

[Ridgetop]

Thank you. I will save you a nice ewe or ram when we move to Texas if you want.

 

[Ridgetop]

The wind hasn't stopped blowing and the rain we were expecting blew further south. There is still a huge amount of forage available for the sheep though. Today DS1 noticed a bee swarm in the tree over the patio. He thought there was a hive, cut the branch down into a trash can, but apparently it was just a swarm. I would have told him to ignore them and they would continue their migration after they had rested. There are still about 50 or so milling aimlessly on the patio. We will not be going out there until after dark when we will feed the dogs.

Tomorrow or Sunday we will put a breeding harness and crayon on one of the rams and put him in the front pasture with the breeding ewes I choose for him. The other ram will get a marking harness and go out with the others. We will separate the lambs, and weigh them for the last time. I will breed the Dorsets again for the last time (I plan to sell them after they lamb or this summer) and hope to pick up a ewe lamb or yearling ewe in the online sale this May. I would also like to get a yearling ewe in the October sale. A yearling ewe bought in May can go right in with my breeding rams after her 2 week quarantine, while a yearling ewe bought in October can go in with the rams when we breed again in the spring. I will be emailing the breeders I like to make sure they are putting lambs and ewes into the sales.

We need to put in some extra fencing for grazing pens to keep the 2 flocks separated. Also have to put up another A frame style shelter for the sheep from the old corral covers. Have to wait until this extreme wind calms down though. Probably next week. I also have to out floors inside those shelters. This rainy season the rain made a complete mud hole inside the shelters. I think I need to put some sort of ridge cap on the shelter since the 2 corral covers are just leaned together and clamped in a teepee shape. However the sheep do like them for shade and wind protection. The donkeys liked them too! They would go inside and stand in them. The mules actually could fit inside one at a time also.