No wonder I don't accomplish anything ...........

This is Buster, and the other pile of wool beside him is Brock, they are right where they are supposed to be ............ but this morning instead of 2 rams with big curly horns in this pen there were 3.  No open gates no sign of entry.  I use stock panels for pens for the shetlands, holds up better that standard rolled field fencing.  I use T-posts and some hay rope which I have an a bunch of to recycle.  This way pens can be taken down, moved, cleaned with the tractor, put back or relocated easily enough.  However hay rope does not hold up to those big beautiful curly horns very well.  C'Oso had managed to break a panel lose and can crawl under.

 

 

After some temptimg with some hay I got C'Oso back out thru the gate into the alley and back into a gate in his own pen with the help of a few panels in the alley to block him from coming back to socialize.  It was no big problem I didn't have to get into any of the pens with the 'boys' but after an extra half hour out in the sun this morning once again something on my to do list did not get done.  Come winter when I won't have to drive T-posts into ground as hard as concrete my goal is to put double panels with a tree or two inbetween the ram pens.  But since they did share a common fence line there was not fighting between any of the boys, did see a couple of minor head bumps while they were together but I have Dorper ewes that are more aggressive than these guys.

 

Guess I better check that to do list, I know there is a lot of laundry to be done, maybe I can check off some of that this afternoon.

 

 

I heard a rumor that there is World Wide Spin in Public Day coming up .... good cause that is what is on my list for this Sunday afternoon, an afternoon at neighbors winery spinning with some friends.  That is if the sheep stay where I put them.

Unhealthy ............

This morning's local news listed the air quality in all 5 counties is it's broadcast area as unhealthy, usually it's just one or two and the rest are listed as moderate.  This is smoke from the still burning Rim Fire that has been burning for 3 weeks now and is 3 hours north of where I am.  It is still listed as only 80% contained but it has not increase in acreage.  If it's this unhealthy here imagine what it is like for the locals.  I noticed last night at sunset there was a streak of smoke across the valley but this morning it is everywhere.

Poor sheep are really not enjoying this summer, wonder if they make gas masks for sheep, may have to invest in some if this summer never ends.

Better Photos of the Newbie .......................

Mama cow finally came down from the top pasture to the water trough and gave me a better photo opp of the new bull calf.  There is a strip of green grass here, but only because I turn the water on to fill the  two tubs for the cows and then forget until hours later to go back and turn it off.  He found that was a nice cool place to hang out in the hot summer sun.

I even got to pet him on the nose and the top of his head.

Then he decided to lay back down in the cool grass.

Dollar wants him to come out and play with her, believe me, mama cow was close by watching Dollar's every move.

I emailed my daughter some pictures of her calf, got a reply wanting to know if I had brought him in the house yet.  Hmmm, no not yet.

Another Newbie ...........................................

 

 

This time it's a little white face bull calf, I have 4 cows here,  3 belong to my daugher, this one is hers, I was hoping she would have had a heifer, but we walked up this afternoon and double checked and it's a bull.

 

 

The winds have shifted and now the smoke from the Rim Fire is drifting this way, sky is not pink in the picture above but a dirty brownish grey.  Now everyone can see why I am so jealous of all the posts of green, green grass, my pastures will look like this for couple more months, been like this since April.  Just enough stubble left to keep the sheep and cows  from being bored in between twice a day feedings of hay.  Next 7 days temps are going to be mostly in the 100's....

 

I had company last week .... and since they were pulling a big travel trailer in to park/store for a bit I went out and moved the dumpster up the driveway to make it easier to turn in.  Well I was pulling it up to the gate with the Kubota and when I got out to push it over to the fence it was stuck on a clump of grass, so pushing wouldn't work, went around to the other side and pulled .... and ended up with a close encounter with the dumpster ..... yup, that's me all battered and bruised jusr above my left knee.

Looking forwatd to a change of seasons here, this one is the best, only one with 2 names, Autumn and Fall ..... maybe if I get out some fall decorations I can hurry it up .... Ya think?

Yosemite, Stanislaus County and Toulumne County fire

Social Media, is playing a big part in the wildfires of California.  The current big  fire in Stanislaus and Toulumne County and has now spread into NW Yosemite National Park has been growing rapidly.  One of the major concerns now is the water and power system at Hetch Hetchy Reservior that supplies the Ciry of San Francisco 150 miles away.  Originally I thought this was due to the several lightning strikes that started fires all over California last week,  which is likely, but I see now the cause is listed as unknown.  Let's all pray for these emergency personnel that are coming from all over California and Nevada as well.  Fortunately our temps have dropped at least 15 degrees this week.

There are several Facebook pages set up one is:
Cal Fire.... https://www.facebook.com/CALFIRE?ref=stream&hc_location=stream
and another is:
Rim Fire Info .... https://facebook.com/californiarimfire?=stream&hc_location=stream

In addition there is a local group of horse and livestock owners have a FB page listing locations, facilities, and equipment available for help if someone needs help to evacuate with links to Animal Control and the Sheriff's Posse.

California has had more than it's share of wildfires this year and do to the extreme dry conditions these fires are huge.  There is some excellent photography on these FB pages as well as Satellite images.  Two minutes on local network news just does not capture the magnitude of this fire.

More kids

I have always kept my Boer billy in with my Nubian / Boer does all year 'round, they always kidded in February or early March, no problem.  I don't keep smelly or destructive billies so no problem keeping them with the does.  Well this doe kidded on February 12, 2013 with a set of twins.  I have noticed lately that she was much fatter than the other 2 does.   Then last week her udder started to inflate like a large balloon.

Saturday when I went out to feed this is what I found ...... another set of  twins, a little red billy and a nice little doe just like mama So, from February 12th to August 17th, that's only 6 months and 5 days ..... gestation period is 5 months ... must have something to do with the drought because Dorpers have been lambing at 7 months too.  Oh well so much for downsizing.  I really should put in more pens and separate off the billies and the rams and breed for February lambing / kidding only when there is some grass for them.  But I am sure they prefer to come into the world when it is nice and warm (HOT actually) and sunny vs. rainy, windy and cold.

I wanted some better pictures today than the ones I got last night, but these two just did not want to co-operate for a photo shoot, as soon as I would put them where I wanted to take their picture they walked away, only time they were facing me they were in my shadow.

This mama doe was one of a set of triplets that were all naturally polled, am hoping this little girl will be too.  The does are getting old and it's time to have some new ones.  I have been waiting for the last couple years for more naturally polled doe kids, all I got was one buck, did not keep him.  Will keep rubbing the top of her head like Alladin's Lamp checking and hoping for no horns.

As for the Shetlands I do keep them separate since I have more than one ram and they are registered, getting to be time to decide which ewes will go with which rams and who will sit out this year.  I will have to do something for the Pygoras soon as I have a young kid to wean and don't want him in with the does.  He may have to become a wether.

Lots of thunder and lightning last night, no rain, started as I was finishing chores, fortunately it was cloud to cloud lightning vs. cloud to ground and off in the distance, I do not like being outside during thunder storms.  No problems here but my daughter lost power at her house few miles away when a transformer blew up.  Still some clouds today but am hoping the thunder and lightning are done.

Explosion, the Population kind

 When I went out to feed, I take the Dorpers out to the front pasture to feed so they do not follow me around the other sheep pens and pull hay off the mule.  When I opened the gate for them to go out there I was missing one, hmmmm, Ms. Widebody was not with them.  I looked thru recent photos cause I thought I had taken a picture recently, guess I didn't take one.  Well I found her in the old falling down barn along with a set of triplets, one ram and two ewe lambs.  I shouldn't complain, these guys are what pays the hay bill around here.

And also had a new little Pygora doe kid born week and half ago, so the Pygora herd has gone from the 4 I bought to now 6.  I noticed mama was getting chubbier but since she came with an udder from her last kidding I was not expecting her to kid the end of July.  

Well August is now one third over with, still hot and dry in good old sunny California, but we are getting closer and closer to fall every day.  I will be so happy this year to see rain, if we ever get any.

Take care, I wish there was some way to divert those storms over Kansas and Missouri to California and help our firefighters.  I just saw on the news recently the 19 Smoke Jumpers families will not get full benefits for their loss due to they were considered seasonal workers.  I'm sorry but their lives were worth as much as a full time firefighter in the long run.  Even if it was their first day on the job, their families deserve benefits for their commitment to go in harms way.

Putting away my soapbox for tonight.