Thursday, August 29, 2013

What's wrong with my ram???

 I was getting the water hose hooked up out back at the well pump and saw clumps of black wool on the ground. Abraham came walking over to me and I saw a few places that looked like fluffy wool. So I pulled and I got whole handfuls of wool. Just pulled off so easy. On both sides too. But there is a small healed wound right on the shoulder. You can see it here. The white spot. The wool underneath is very smooth and soft. I have never pulled wool off like this before. And I could have pulled all his wool off, it look like. He'd probably love it, as hot as it is right now.








There is a pile of wool right here. I have no idea why it's coming out like this in clumps. I did see John Henry and Abraham at each other yesterday. Maybe John's biting him? Maybe he's stressed? He wants to go back in with the ewes, but I'm waiting til Oct. And I want to get the lambs in a separate area first.






If anyone has any ideas as to why Abraham's wool is coming off so easily, please let me know. I hope he's ok. He had been really sick about a month ago. Had to give him worm meds and antibiotics. Could that be why? Come to think about it, that's about where I gave him the shots.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

More hay today

71 more bales of hay today. I had help loading it form Abby and her brother-in-law Johnny and Heather and Kansas. I had to unload it all myself though. I unloaded the trailer first on the driveway, then drove the truck over to the barn to unload and stack all that inside. I only stacked yesterday's hay 4 bales high because it was darn heavy, which took up half the room. So could only get 40 bales in tonight. I stacked that hay 5 bales high. It was much lighter. So the rest of the hay will have to go on the porch. I'll just use it first. I am not going to be feeding hay til probably November, the way it looks right now. So maybe this will last til spring. 140 bales. I was going to go back and get another truckload later but don't have room now.

So yesterday was all about hay and grass. I mowed the sheep's pasture later yesterday afternoon. That took a few hours. It looks so good now. And the pasture the sheep are on now needs mowed. It's full of that foot high grass with the tall fluffy spike on top. I need to look it up to see what king of grass it is. They don't like it apparently.

This is where we got hay today. At the foot of Lookout Mt. behind the middle school where my kids went to school/ It's so beautiful here.



This is Garry's tractor. It's usually broke down.  It was just resting then.




And this was just a little notice in the thrift store bathroom today. It just cracked me up! Tomorrow is farmer's market day. I hope to get the rest of that hay put up in the morning, then take the truck and trailer back and get my Trooper so I can load it up for market. I hope I make some money to make up for what I spent on hay and going to Colorado.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Being busy

Why is there always so much to do?

While I was in Colorado last week, I had nothing to do. Except drive and wait on people. Absolutely nothing to do. We did a lot of shopping and driving and eating there. But nothing like what I do here.

I have such a long list of things that HAVE got to get done. Or started. And yesterday we went and got this load of hay. 70 bales. Well, 4 must of fell off somewhere along the way. It was way up on Sand Mt. where we went to get the hay. On a very hilly field. They could of fallen off there. Anyway, so this is priority this morning. I was going to butcher 25 Freedom Ranger meat birds. But that will have to wait til tomorrow.

And I have at least 5 batches of soap to make. I'm running low for the market. And it's supposed to be nice and sunny this week, so was going to get out in the garden to til some rows for fall crops. Plus Wednesday market, which takes me about all day to pack up and pick veggies and get to market by 3.So Wed. is only about market. Tuesdays I run errands and pay bills and go to the bread store and go have lunch with my mother. I need to take my youngest grand daughter school clothes shopping. She starts school tomorrow.

And here I sit. I don't want to do a single thing. But I have to. I had to unload that trailer so we could get the truck over to the barn. And the top bales are still wet with dew. So they need to dry first. At least I don't have to haul all this hay across the yard like I usually have to do. That wears me out. Now the truck is backed right up to the porch, so all I have to do is walk onto the truck and take it inside. And those bales on the truck weigh at least 80 pounds each. Really heavy hay.





This is some of the veggies I picked yesterday for dinner. We had the whole family here for a home cooked, fresh from the garden dinner. I had roasted one of my chickens with some kale and garlic and rosemary. Also roasted some red potatoes with garlic, rosemary and lots of butter. Then had fresh green beans, field peas, fried okra, rice and tomatoes. And I made a blueberry cobbler from berries I picked up the road at my friend's place. A very good meal for sure. And filling. It lasted til we got home last night with this load of hay at 9:30.



So, I need to go and unload hay. Or make soap. Or til some rows.... Happy Monday, y'all!