TdF, 113 degrees, and the reason I have sheep ..........

First off thoughts and prayers to the families of the 19 smoke jumpers that lost their lives in the Arizona fires.

This is the first year that this creek never had any water flowing thru it.  Did see one small puddle once after it rained.  The sheep do a great job of minimizing the fire danger.  Anywhere there are still clumps of grass I spread out small amounts of hay.  What they don't eat they will wear it down just walking in the area.

Anyone need any large boulders, there used to be a lot more but I gave some of the smaller ones to a neighbor for landscaping around his pool.   In exchange I got a 120 bass accordion, which is sitting in the closet in it's case, LOL, I played a 12 bass in grammer school eons ago, 120 is a lot of buttons.

I rigged up some misters using hand sprinklers, then Saturday I found some really neat brass fittings that connect to the end of my hoses with 3 nozzles on each fitting.  I forgot to take a picture of them.   They come in 2 and 4 gallons a minute, I used the 2 gallon fittings so far.  We will see how my well holds up, I think today since I am going to be putting more out I will run them for few hours this morning, then turn them off for a while and turn back on later about 3 during the hottest part of the afternoon.

I bought some fruitless mulberry trees to plant around the pens, Dollar thinks this is a good place to stop and rest and wait for me.    With this heat, I think I will put up the fencing and at least get the trees out there in the pots til I get some more holes dug.  

I signed up for the 2103 Tour de Fleece on Team My Favorite Sheep, hopefully I will get thru this back of wool from Blain's fleece, and maybe finish a few others.  For my challenge I think I will try spinning some of my angora fiber.

 

 

Here is my very, very, first skein of yarn, lumpy, bumpy, kept falling off the niddy noddy yarn, I think I will do a pillow after I do Tunisian crochet and felt it.  I have this black and a white yarn with grey, maybe stripes would look good.

 

 

 

 

11:30 am and it is already 103 degrees, it is only cooling down into the mid 80's at night.  Think I will go blog hopping and see how many are whining about all they have is rain and green grass.

 

 

Stay cool and say a prayer for the firefighters out there where ever they are.

Happy Thursday ................... for lack of a better title

For everyone that is sick and tired of RAIN, and enjoying lush green grass, this is what I have been looking at since the first of April.  Total rainfall for this year has been under 7 inches, some eastern states got that much in hours.  We did have clouds for a few days, brought the temps down to the mid to high 80's but now we are in for another heat wave this weekend with temps in the 100 to 110 range.  

Cal Fire has arrested 2 people in the Coarsegold area for arson, can you believe and man in his 40's and a 46 year old woman.  What are they thinking.  I don't understand someone that deliberately does that.  Coarsegold had over 20 fires in their area in the last 8 weeks.  

The big fire in Mid Pines area is contained at just under 1800 acres and no houses or lives lost.  It was started by an abandon campfire.  WTG Cal Fire.

In the picture below there is a mountain just to the right side out of the picture, there was a fire in that area contained at 150 acres, haven't heard of a cause of that one yet.  It was put out in a few hours.

Last Sunday I decided to join the fiber group for a few hours and get in some spinning time.  When I loaded my wheel, bag of wool, potluck salad and assorted other junk stuff I left the door to the front porch open.  Monday morning Bella decided to have a hissy fit and run thru the house barking  then I saw the dove flying around trying fly thru a window.  So opened the door and left it open for about 10 minutes, while I made some coffee, (hard to deal with doves in the house before coffee).  Well didn't see it after a while so I closed the door.  Tuesday morning I kept hearing a noise like a very large mouse chewing on paper.  No mouse, just the dove still on the porch behind the curtains.  Found a wicker basket, trapped the dove, slid a broom over the top of the basket and put it outside on a log.  Had to find my shoes, then went outside to find a pan to put some water in for the dove .... it was gone.  Now besides bird poop all over my window sills, (and chair) I have poop all over my truck.  Right above where the dove is sitting there is a nest.  Yesterday I saw 2 big dove tails protruding out both sides of the nest..... these guys need to build a bigger nest next time.

So until next time, have a good weekend ...............

Those are not clouds in the sky

Tonight when I went out to do chores, I saw some smoke, didn't have my camera so after I got half of my chores done the smoke kept growing, went in and got my camera, for some reason I never remember to keep it with me at all times.  This is a wildfire burning in Madera County, and also one in Mariposa County,  the news said about 135 homes in Mariposa County have been evacuated and more put on standby.  Further up Hwy 41 in the town of Coarsegold they have had 17 fires in the last couple of weeks and suspect maybe it is arson, and there is another small one there tonight.

It's going to be a long hot summer and the thought of someone deliberately setting fires is unbelievable, thinking of all our firefighters that have to be out there in this heat with all their gear and praying for their safety. 

It's my neighbors fault ........................

We went to lunch today and a little shopping afterwards, Tractor Supply, so I picked up a magazine while she bought a roll or wire.  Then on to Target, nothing there I could not live without.  But, then on to Home Goods, I found the big basket there to keep wool roving in and this adorable sheep planter or magazine rack, and I was not looking to buy anything.  You know I had to come home with it since it was a sheep.

For everyone dealing with excessive rain I wish there was a way to route it out to California, today was the first day of this month that was under 100 degrees here.  After 112 on Saturday and 107 Sunday, today's temp of 91 was a big relief.  I guess no matter where we live we cannot control the weather.

Put a fork in me .... I'm cooked

Welcome to Sunny Central California ................. since I started tracking high and low temps the first of June,  six days so far have been 100 degrees or higher .... and there have only been 6 days so far to track.  Weatherman says we are in for a heat wave this weekend, with tomorrow's high predicted for 110, don't think I will be going into town to participate in WWKIP day  It should cool down to the 90's next week.  Average days for weather to be over 100 in this area is 36, but last year there were 47, going to be a long hot summer ...... welcome to global warming.  For everyone in the east that is getting nothing but rain, you are getting more in one day than I got all this year.  I keep saying I am not going to whine, grandma told me nothing is so bad it could not be worse.  So many States are having weather problems that I cannot even comprehend what I would do.  So for now I will keep the critters water full, and play in the sprinklers, may go buy some new misters to put out in the willow tree to keep the woolies cooler.

To get me thru the summer I am keeping the fridge full of cold water, iced tea, and some coffee ice cream in the freezer.

2 scoops of coffee ice cream, cold leftover morning coffee, squirt of Redi Whip and some Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and who needs to go to town to Starbuck's.

Take care, in the meantime I am staying out of the sun as much as the critters will let me, they are trying to stay in the shade themselves.

Squirrel, Clouds, Lamb races, and other things

There was a squirrel chirping away under the chain cover on the manure spreader, looks like I have a bumper crop of ground squirrels this year..... front pasture is full of squirrels and what's worse is all the large holes they have dug everywhere.  

Dollar, Fancy and Sadie .... they know it is in there somewhere ...

Temps have come down drastically, thank goodness, thanks to these clouds yesterday, 

but, no rain, that's ok since they brought the temps down to the 80's.  It's too late this year to do the pastures  any good, won't see any green til next winter, but clouds are welcome anytime they block out the hot valley sun.

Every evening when I go out to feed, the younger Shetlands hold lamb races, so much fun to watch.

Forgot to mention I have a bottle baby, she heard me come out of the house, she is small enough to crawl thru some of the panels to the ewes pen.  Here she is greeting me at the back door, wanting her bottle .... NOW.  Even after I feed her she continues to crawl out of the pen and chase me,  I know she can run faster than 10 miles an hour when I go up the hill to feed the cows.  I call her PIA for Pain in A.. , she thinks she is not a lamb, and does not belong in a pen. 

and I have another new sheep to add to my collection, my cousin was here for a visit, decided his sheep needed to come live with my herd.  

and I saw another snake this morning .... not a rattlesnake, but about 3  ft. long green snake, haven't seen any that look like that before, need to get on the net and find out what kind it was.  Looks like I will be wearing those ugly black rubber boots all summer.

Dogs got skunked Monday night, Febreze has not helped Dollar's odor at all..  

I think the neighborhood wildlife is hanging out here to help themselves to the critters water.

When you're hot you're hot .........................

Last 3 days .... 101 on Saturday, 104 on Sunday, Mother's Day and 104 again today, Monday .... going to be a long hot summer, these are temps we usually see in July and August .... guess I better get those other 3 shade trees I have planted where the animals can benefit.

Daffodil, Dalton and Daisy are 2 months old, getting so big. 

Dillon, Dixon, and Diablo, the boys, hanging out in the shade, they are little over 2 weeks old now.

For Mama Pea and everyone that still has cold weather .... please send some my way ... I may have to spend the summer in a kidding pool or a water trough .......................