Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

Ridgetop

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My knee is doing better. I forget sometimes to get into bed by sitting then swinging up my bad leg first. We have a high bed which I usually get into by climbing into it on my knees - ouch! But lately I have been able to do it. I also was able to squat down to clean the toilet in the bathroom. Unfortunately, I almost couldn't get up again. I considered calling for help but remembered that DH was at the grocery store, DS1 was working on sheep pens, and DS2 and DDIL2 were at work. OOPS! Bad timing. Then I considered trying to roll out of the bathroom and over to the bed but to what purpose? I wouldn't be able to pull myself up there. Then I remembered the shower behind me had handicap bars. I was able to reach them and haul myself upright. So glad we replaced that tub with a walk-in shower with bars for DH when he had his big knee operation. LOL I will have to start working on squats and lifts eventually.

The Dorper show from yesterday is being televised on the internet. Not too many sheep entered, but easy to place the top winners. If anyone wants to see it, go to


The sale will also be on line this morning at 10 am. You can find it at https://www.showbarnflix.com/watch-live at 10:00. Scroll down the calendar to July 10 and click it there. If anyone wants to see a Dorper show. Only a few White Dorpers there. DH, DS1 (unwillingly), and I are considering taking some young lambs next year. If we take spring lambs we won't have to shear! ;) I will take DGD1 to help show. She is only 9 but better than her older brothers because she likes the sheep and is not afraid to get her hands dirty! LOL DS1 says he will have her brothers clean pens, but to work with the sheep we need Elizabeth! LOL

When showing breeding sheep 2 people are allowed in the ring - one to hold the sheep on halter and one to set up the rear legs. Easier than 4-H shows where you don't have the animal in a halter, and have to stack it by yourself. LOL

I am going to watch the first part of the WDSA auction this morning on my computer. It starts at10:00 amwith White dorper rams. I remembered that I had some sheep money put away from selling that ewe and ram lamb a number of months ago. I checked and that money is still there so l have a good amount for a ram. Unlikely that the owner of the 2 rams I want at this sale will have forgotten to put a reserve on them, but I will be ready if the price stays low. You never know. :hide (I am a disobedient wife. I should have remembered to leave out that part of the vows. ;) )

The little ram lamb in the barn is just as nice as ever so I go down and look at him to console myself for not buying another ram at the sale. DH says I can't just buy ONE (like the potato chip). I told him that since the ram is half your herd, when I buy ONE RAM it just seems like I am buying 15 ewes. :clap

DH talked to TX Electrician John and wrote out what we needed to rewire the house in September. We will buy it and take it back now and lock it in the barn tack room. John also said that when we come back in September that he has someone who will help put in the fences. Also help run the electric to the barn and well underground. :celebrate Feels like it is getting closer. :D

My cattle tenant texted that there is a "No Burn" ban across Wood and Hopkins counties. The grass is very dry and the small pond has probably gone dry. That is the pond that the cattle had trampled the banks and I wanted to dig out anyway. The large pond still is good. The fence on the south side has been replaced (part of his responsibilities as tenant). The house and barn are on the north side and that is the part we will be fencing for ourselves and the sheep.

Colene (South African inspector/judge) said that she saw a lot of sheep flocks in this country being contained inside 2 strands of hot wire. She said that the sheep learn fast not to approach the wires. I thought about using hot wires to make the paddocks for the sheep allowing the dogs to run around the inside of the perimeter fence to keep all the sheep safe. We would only need permanent gates and ways in and out of the paddocks for the dogs that way. Much cheaper and would eliminate the need for keeping a couple dogs in each paddock.

We are leaving for Texas on the 22nd July. This is just a quick turn around trip to take Bubba to Erick. Erick will use him for breeding and collection until we move to Texas. He wants to keep Bubba's genetics in the tank since he says a lot of Anatolian breeders are breeding "soft" dogs. Erick feels that LGDs that are too soft (friendly) are not able to stand up to serious predators like cougar, bear, etc. By the way, apparently there is a bear running around in Lakeview Terrace - the town across the wash. Not surprising, since the wash connects directly with the Angeles National Forest. With this drought the cougar, and bears follow the deer out of the mountains. Haven't heard about any cougar - they usually show up in late fall, and the bear is several miles away across the wash.

We will be getting another puppy from Erick next winter or spring. He is breeding 2 lovely bitches in August/September. We can pick up our new baby girl when we come out in March for Kiley's wedding. :fl We will be a dog down until our Texas move without Bubba.

Rika is 10 now and had to go to the vet because she was not eating. Not losing any weight but had a lump under her jaw. She also wants to come into the house more now. Always a worry in these LGDs. :( However, needle aspiration of the lump showed a fatty tumor (not dangerous) and she is eating again. We figure she caught and ate some wild rabbits. The danger is always that the rabbits may have eaten poison bait or been sick. However, she is feeling better and back on her food. At 10 she is slowing down. Angel is 4 and is a good guardian but we will miss Bubba. Hopefully Rika will still be up to training the new puppy next spring. Sometimes older bitches get cranky with young dogs. Hopefully, Angel will come into her own. We tend to overlook her with Rika and Bubba on the scene, but they trained her and she is good.

DGS5 is walking everywhere and climbing onto things too. Got to watch him like a hawk. If he gets outside, he makes a beeline for the sheep barn. He is FAST! DGD3 is finally walking. She was such a fast crawler that she didn't want to walk since it was too slow. LOL Now she is toddling everywhere like DGS5. They like to follow each other around. Heaven help us when they turn 3! DDIL2 is starting to get over her morning sickness. In her case it was evening sickness, and the smell of dinner cooking would set her off. She is starting to feel the baby move which is when, according to my grandmother, morning sickness stops. Her dad's birthday is coming soon and they are doing the gender reveal then. DD2 is saving all her baby girl clothes and Lolo (DDIL2's father) is hoping for another boy.

With ll the cleaning, cooking, and sheep inspecting, I was on my feet a lot last week and my knee has just now Saturday mostly laying down with my toes in the air and ice on my knee. The problem is when you overdo and it swells up, it takes 2-3 times longer for the swelling to go down that it did for it to swell up! One leg is normal and the other one is twice the size! Oh well, I can always cheer myself up by shaving my legs! :gig:lol:
 

Ridgetop

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Surgery was on May 19 so almost 2 months.

Should have bought the ram I particularly wanted. Had the money but as a GIFT for DH I held back. He went lower than I expected, and low for that breeder and bloodlines. And for his quality.

There is always next year when we hope to have built our flock to even better quality. I am keeping the ram I already have from that breeder. That ram only graded a 3
BUT 5 of his 6 daughters graded 5! He produces better than himself. Not all of his daughters that graded 5 were out of grade 5 ewes either, most of them out of 4s and one out of a cull ewe! So (with the pretty 3-month-old boy in the barn) we still have 4 rams. That little guy is super long with an elegant shape, lots of meat. Next year is soon enough to buy another ram.
 

Ridgetop

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:ep WOW!!!
Weighed 3 month old weaned ram lamb born April 5 that Inspector/Judge said to keep as breeding ram. !!!Weighed 88 lbs!!! Alfalfa fed only - no grain or supplements.

Weighed 3 month old ewe lamb born April 10 that Inspector/Judge picked out as exceptional conformation - she weighed 77.8 lbs! Again alfalfa only, no supplements.

Here I was thinking that my lambs were only weighing 50 lbs at 3 months. I need to start weighing again. If they gain like this in Texas, I will wean at 2 months/50 lbs. LOL

The mamas of these 2 lambs went to the breeding pen and have already gotten small marks on them from ram! Hopefully they will settle and not remark, and can go to buyer in 3 weeks. :)
 

Ridgetop

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Four ewes in the breeding pen have not marked at all. I need to check and see if I mistakenly left them in there and they have been served by the previous ram. Need to double check ear tags against my list. DS1 wants to replace the crayon since in this heat it may have melted or gotten clogged with dirt even though it is a "high heat" crayon.
 

Ridgetop

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Although the 4 ewes were not marked, they were in the breeding pen with MoyBoy for the month of 3/16 to 4/16, so it is probable that they bred but did not mark because the crayon got clogged with dirt. I have marked the first and last possible dates of lambing with MoyBoy on my calendar.
 

Ridgetop

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Got another 100 bales of alfalfa delivered this morning. We are feeding 2.5 bales daily. Need to get to TX and grazing. The hay delivery was a sore spot with DS1. He told me to arrange for it to be delivered on Saturday because he had some old stemmy bales he wanted to use up first. He told DH not to order it. I called and left a message. I got a call saying they were loading the truck NOW to deliver the hay. DS1 was really annoyed and called DH to tell him. There are too many chiefs on this ranch. I have backed off to let DS1 decide when we need hay, etc. He has 30+ years of experience with raising club lambs and breeding. He told me that going to Texas and raising sheep is fine with him, he just doesn't want to show sheep. That would entail shearing and I don't blame him not wanting to shear. If we decide to take anything to a show, it will be junior lambs that don't need shearing. The little guys are much easier to handle too.

DS1 seems to be getting more interested in heading to Texas since he is also disgusted with the crime, drugs, etc. that are right out in the open even here in Shadow Hills. This morning he stopped at the 7-11 at the corner and some guy sitting in his car was smoking marijuana on a bong! DS1 was not impressed.

We just got back from Lowes. Lowes is not the store it was when we were doing all our apartment and home renovations. They don't have the moldings, or cabinets they used to have. They have discontinued a lot of the stuff we used to buy and are not carrying the good stuff under their store brand. Instead, they are carrying high name brands which are twice the cost. Really disheartening. I will go to Contractor's Warehouse and see if that place has the moldings that I need. I wanted some batten molding to cover the seams in paneling for when I put the oak panel pieces in the 5th wheel to cover the access doors that used to open under the seats of the dinette. I salvaged the paneling from the dinette booth. No batten moldings, hardly any oak moldings at all. Really disgusted. Finally found a flat metal floor bridging piece in oak finish that will screw in. Maybe. Not sure. Will have to match it up and if no good return it. :mad:

The nice woven blinds they used to carry that I needed to replace the mini blind in DS1's room are no longer carried at Lowes. I can get a woven blind, but it is a Levolor and will cost $189.00!!! For a 60" wide window!!! The last blind like that I got was only $39.00!!! Two years ago!!! :somad Lowes was my "go-to" store but not anymore.

Came home and on the way up the hill saw what looked like one of my ewes in the breeding pen sprawled out on her side. She looked dead. DS1 went down to check and said she was not there anymore. DS1 said she was either ok, or another sheep had dragged her body off and concealed it. :gig I hate it when they sprawl on their sides looking dead! Bad sheep, no biscuit!

DH called and said he was on his way home from dentist. He was going to go by Costco and get a BBQ chicken for our trip to Texas. NO! NO! NO! I had told hm to get it next week since that is when we are leaving! No point getting a BBQ chicken a week ahead of time! I had told hm that 3 times already! :he Sigh . . . .

Good news on Rika who had not been eating. All her bloodwork came back good. The lump under her jaw is a benign fatty tumor. The 3/4" lump on one toe is also benign but might have "spindles" that could eventually turn to cancer. They thought we might want to remove it. Rika is 10.4 years old. Anatolians are very sensitive to anesthetic. If we remove the lump which might or might have cells that could in future turn cancerous on her toe I have to confine her so it does not get dirty and infected. Confining an LGD to "light duty" is almost impossible. The surgery to remove the toe lump could release any cancerous or future cancerous cells into her body. The cells might not be malignant. The cost of the surgery would be in excess of $1200.00 -$1500.00. Really have to consider whether to take a chance on releasing possibly future cancer cells into the healthy dog's body or to let it go and not take any chances with my healthy 10.4 year old dog. Have to discuss it with DH.

Called the AKC today and got Bubba's DNA number. I had sent in the DNA test kit when we had him collected 2 years ago but never received the documentation from the AKC. Discovered it when making copies of all his paperwork for Erick. Bubba is heading to Texas to stay with Erick for a while until we move to the ranch. Apparently, the AKC had a wrong address on it and it was returned. They are sending it out to me again. Erick will need the number when he has Bubba collected for stud purposes in Texas.

DH is trying to figure out how to get to Leander, Texas, which is a 22 hour drive from our house without spending more than one night in a motel. And without arriving at Erick's place in the middle of the night. :hu So far he has had several ideas - one of them being that we will drive all night long for 22 hours. :th Not happening. I figure we need to stop twice on the road in order to arrive at Erick's in the middle of the day to introduce Bubba to the property and other dogs. Particularly since we will be traveling into TX time change of 3 hours later than CA time. That means we will be arriving 3 hours later than the 22 hour drive time because of the time change. We can make it home with only one night on the road because we have an extra 3 hours traveling west. DH also wants me to drive while he sleeps. :gig:lol: DH does not sleep while I drive. Instead, he remains awake to criticize my driving until I nearly go off the road! He
hates for anyone else to drive him. Even when he was so sick with the staph infection, he was practically unconscious, he complained about my driving on the way to the hospital ER! :rant Nope, we will stop for the night. Twice. Bubba will be fine in the motel room. We won't leave him alone and will get takeout food before checking in. For the first night we will have food that I will pack in the cooler. Brought in the medium small suitcase today to begin the packing marathon and see if we need a larger case. :\
 

Baymule

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I’m so glad Rika is ok. Me, I would not disturb the place on her toe. At her age, she is nearing her life span. Let her live it out a happy dog. Had I known Trip had cancer, I wouldn’t have tried to save him with torturous cancer treatment. I would have given him pain meds, if needed, but I wouldn’t do to him what people have to suffer through. Not to mention the initial cost then treatments that would make her miserable. You know about it, watch it, it will be what it is.

Can’t wait to see y’all! Yes, spend 2 nights on the road. Use your knee as an excuse! STOP! Knee hurts!! I’m guessing y’all will spend a couple of days with Bubba.
 

farmerjan

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Traveling with the knee replacement it is imperative that you do not spend too much time in one position. You should take a few extra breaks to get out and walk around also. They won't hurt so much being still, but then all of a sudden it will get so stiff that it will HURT being in one position. I KNOW. And a car is going to be smaller than the truck for movement.
DO NOT sit for any long length of time... blood clots can still happen. They suspected one about 2-3 months into my rehab at home, got checked and not... but still.....I don't panic but I was careful.
 
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