Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

Mike CHS

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It looks like winter has finally gotten here. We got a very rare snow last night and the temp is in the low 20's. It is still nice since we don't have any wind which is also rare around here. I posted this same view several years ago when we got a little more than 4" of snow and the local kids were sledding down this hill at the edge of our place.

Snow 1 Dec 2020.JPG
 

Bruce

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It is 50°F here today :p
It is actually pretty appropriate, today is our 30th anniversary. It was 50°F in Stowe the day we got married, WAY not normal. My sister from So. Cal. had to take her 2 year old up to the Notch to see snow.

But the cold is coming up from the south, temp will drop to below freezing tonight. We won't likely see 40°F in the next week and probably not after.
 

Ridgetop

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Just catching up on this posting!
Cooper was a 4H ram and is almost Ringo like and leash trained.
It makes the entire sheep thing easier when they are halter or leash trained.
I can back a huge trailer but the smaller one I use for transporting sheep jack knifes so easily it's nigh impossible to get into tight spaces.
I could ever back up our little 2 horse Miley, but have no trouble with the big bumper pull 16' stock. Longer trailers are easier to keep straight - either the wheel length or tongue. DH would know. He also says that 5th wheel style trailers are also easier to maneuver but they turn differently. I do know that knowing how to drive ad back up a trailer myself, makes it easier to guide DH - particularly since now he is deaf and we have to use hand signals. It is always hard to hear over the diesel truck engine but add in deafness and it becomes a real problem when he insists on backing the trailer himself. Luckily he is a fantastic driver and used to drive big rigs so is able to put the trailers where he wants them by himself.
 

Ridgetop

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Congratulations on your start to lambing season! I notice that your ewes are mostly white now. Have you gotten away from spots and color? You have some nice thick ewes there. Breeding for length and thickness as well as parasite control is the way to go. More meat on the carcass means more $ in the wallet.

Now that our 2020 lambing season is over, I will register all the ewe lambs. Easier to do it now when I am still working with their weights, tagging, etc. We have 2 Lewis sired ewe lambs and 4 MoyBoy sired ewe lambs. All Axtell's lambs were rams. The final 4 ewes are not due until January. Two are bred to Axtell so it remains to be seen about his get. I am still not sure about him. The ewes that are bred to him have produced some excellent keeper lambs so what they produce bred to him will be the deciding vote. I am prepared to sell him if I get an offer.

We have a couple of really nice fall ewe lambs. I will have to make an effort to have Elizabeth and David halter break them. Daniel doesn't like animals! Strange! Could he be a Changeling? LOL I will have Elizabeth start halter breaking Snowflake since she is very gentle and already tame.

I plan to go through last spring's crop and send several to the auction along with a couple of yearlings. Cull heavily and don't falter! Luckily Snowflake has turned into a lovely eweling and is as large or larger than the others her age. We were worried that she had been slightly stunted by being kept in the barn jug for so long due t her mom's prolapse.

Good start on lambing! Great start on reseeding grass too. If you reseed just before a snowfall, I have read that it is good too. Not sure what the benefit is for the seed, but it s supposed to bring the grass up very lush when the snow melts. DH wants to seed the front pastures with a pasture grass mix. I told him he should do it just before the first snowfall to get the best results! He looked at me very funny. :lol:
 
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