SageHill Ranch Journal

SageHill

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Been just keeping up with getting things done. A few more hooves to trim, all "haircuts" are done. I'm getting better at the shearing and developing my "own style" as flipping them is no easy task for me. Only have 3 that need shearing, the others all shed out nicely. The two older lambs from last year actually like to stand still while I pluck out the raggedy hair/wool - ha they probably think it's a massage parlor.
We added a big shade cloth over the lambs turn out. They of course had to help ............
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It's cute now, but I'm thinking I may have created monsters. Even the least friendly of the group comes up to me as soon as I walk in. They nibble on my pockets, my sleeves, my shirt-tails, my boots - they can be such pests! OH and Calico knows her name (I certainly didn't try to teach her either) I can call her and she will leave the group and come up to me, even when other people are there. I'm in trouble. :lol:
I set up a small creep area for the two remaining triplets. They're small. Of course they're almost 2 months younger than the oldest so there's that. They do enjoy their little creep.
Bigger news today is our worker guys are here to start putting in the fencing for two new pastures. There are a lot of rocks/boulders that my tractor can't do especially given the slope. It would be summersault city with the tractor :eek: . He's got a bobcat that can do anything we need done. He's actually the guy who put in the ranch road for us.
They'll be taking out some sumac too (sugar sumac, not the poisonous kind - that doesn't grow here). Exciting times ahead.
Canning season is almost here, my Early Girl bush tomatoes are full of nice size green tomatoes. Looks to me like a little warmer weather and less fog and they are all going to turn red at once. Garlic is ready to harvest, but I'll let the hard neck ones wait a bit so I can get some scapes to try cooking with. Now if those darned squash and zucchini would start growing -- I think it's been too foggy and too cool for them to get started. Gotta take what I can get.
Weather wise we're still on the cooler side for this time of year, but I can see the temps starting to climb up a little.
 

SageHill

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Ha ! Usually they take over. Got one started in the green house and put it in a garden bed. But surprise of surprises there are TWO squash plants growing in the middle of the sheep pasture - with nothing around them and the sheep and lambs have left them alone. No idea what kind they are.
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SageHill

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Work continues on putting in new pastures. This is in an area that for the most part I don't use much in grazing.
That bobcat is amazing. Drool worthy even. While not in this pic it's moving rocks/boulders that are as big as it. And doing it like they're pebbles.
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A lot of chainsawing and running of a giant chipper.
T posts getting delivered today, concrete and posts for corners and gates getting done later today. Fencing delivery
on Monday.
Plan is to have two gates in the same corner so both areas can be used at the same time if I want by leaving the yellow gate open. OR by using both gates I can have an easy "chute" to get the sheep in the P1 without them scattering or taking off into P2. Drawing not to scale.
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SageHill

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10 ft gates are not enough if you have to get in there with any equipment... I get the layout... but go with 12 or 16 ft gates if at all possible... you NEVER KNOW when you need to get in somewhere... even with the tractor...
The 10 footers work for our tractor šŸ‘šŸ¼ - though the pasture areas are a bit too steep for the tractor to do anything. Thatā€™s the big ā€œproblemā€ with a lot of the ranch steep hills.
 
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