Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

What is your final convoy looking like? Both trucks pulling trailers? If so, you could pay to have it shipped?

Probably. If so, DS1 will have to drive DS2's truck back so he can take DH back and DH can drive our car out with DD2? We'll figure it out. Eventually. 🤪 Just one of the many things that make you crazy when you move 1400 miles away.

 

[Baymule]

Y’all won’t have to drive at break neck speed, spending hours on the road to save money on motels. That should make the trip a bit more enjoyable. Hopefully yall can leave this morning and be home by Saturday.

 

[Ridgetop]

We are staying for a week this time to try to get some more corrals up - one for the rams at least. But super windy this am here, been blowing all night - woke us up several times since our bedroom is on the north end of the house. Checked the weather and most of the wind advisories are to the north. The advisory across San Bernardino and area we have to travel only on until noon so maybe this afternoon we can leave.

 

[SageHill]

Safe travels!

 

[murphysranch]

Heard it was mighty windy down your way. Glad to hear you're on the road this morning.

 

[Ridgetop]

We left late afternoon so 3 nights on the road. Outran the really bad winds but caught a tailwind which was nice for our gas consumption since hauling the 5th wheel burns more gas, not to mention the load I had packed inside. Since we were pulling the 5th wheel we slept in our trailer instead of motels. We have a "sleep number" inflatable mattress. Unfortunately, I forgot to air it up and since it takes electricity to do so, and we couldn't extend the trailer I couldn't start the generator to inflate it. Not so bad the first 2 nights but by the third . . . . We made it into the ranch around 2pm Sunday. One of our tires was flat and DH was peeved because it was the tire that was flat in CA. He took the truck to Galpin to check his turn signals which were not working for some reason. He told them to remove the tire and check it. Instead they just aired it up and told him that they checked it. It went flat by the second day. Luckily it was one of the rear duals. The Ford people told DH that the turn signals was a burned-out fuse but when we hooked up the trailer we had no brake lights on either the trailer or the truck! Apparently when fixing the turn signals they either disconnected the brake lights or didn't notice that they stopped working. They were working before the truck went to the shop but not when it came home "all fixed". Combined with the tire that they did not remove to check (per the Ford guy in Sulphur Springs) that went flat again, DH is not too happy right now with the mechanics. The tire was damaged from driving with it being flat (even though we have duals on the truck) so he had to buy a new tire. He has an appointment to have SS Ford check the brake lights tomorrow am. Not a happy camper.

Anyway we arrived safely and he helped me unload all the stuff except the filing cabinet from the trailer and set everything in the car port. His back was kicking up, so I gave him a muscle relaxer and some pain meds and made him lay down while I got everything inside the house. Fixed dinner and we went to bed.

Next day was Monday and Baymule drove up with my "California contraband" that can't be shipped to California. We had a nice visit and she spent the night. The next our friend Larry came by to help DH drop the trailer in the field. DH got the trailer through the gates with only a minor incident that I won't mention. That branch was not in a good place on that tree anyway. Bay and Larry stopped hm before too much damage occurred and he backed up and went through another field. Luckily Bay and Larry were there because DH wanted to drop the trailer in a low area on the field - they told hm that if we had more rain it would get stuck so he pulled forward to higher ground and we dropped it. Larry had to leave for an appointment, and Bay had to leave to get home in time to feed. After they left we took out the hitch and put it in the shed. Then DH took the truck up to town to see about the tire, and I started painting the family bathroom. I had painted all the woodwork and wainscoting but needed to paint the walls above the wainscoting. Got it started and will finish tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will make a pan of brownies for the bible study group potluck at Jeremy's house. I'm also going to take my 30-cup coffee pot over for the group.

Kris is coming for a visit on Friday. He wants to see what we have done. Other than the fencing and ceiling fans, only the 2 rooms and bathroom will have been painted. But it is a start. I am looking forward to finishing this move. The vet is booked for April 16, and Bob May will set a date the first week of May to transport. Some of the ewes will probably lamb in the trail, or before, but it can't be helped. If there are losses, it comes with the job.

On a happy note, Baymule and I walked around part of the pasture and she pointed out all the good herbage, plants and grasses that the sheep would love to eat. I was very happy that there were no poisonous plants in view. KNOCK WOOD! With all the rain the grass is looking great. We also found that both the pear trees had actually survived and were leafing out along with a Granny Smith apple. I will need to check to see if the apple needs another apple tree as a cultivar. It looks like the other apple, the peaches, apricots, etc. did not make it. Still the pears had looked dead last summer. so having them survive and look healthy this spring is a good sign. I was going to transplant the fruit trees to the garden but luckily these three trees are in the right spots along the fence line so I won't. I will just add more along the fence line in the garden. I wanted to plant some more trees while we were out here, but could only get standard size trees - 30'-40' high when mature. I prefer semi-dwarf since they are not as tall and are easier to prune and pick the fruit. I decided to wait and see if I can order some bare root trees next winter. DH got very enthusiastic at Lowes and bought Better Boy and Early Girl tomatoes, crookneck, and cantaloupe seedlings. I suppose I will have to plant them for him. Since we have a terrific stand of winter rye in the newly cleaned and double dug garden (in January) I guess I will plant them in front of the house in the flower beds. If they survive until I return, I can transplant them to the garden. LOL DH is very excited about his garden and had me save all the cardboard egg cartons to start seeds. Too late for seeds in the garden now, since it will be May before we are out here for good.

The old falling down house next door has been demolished so we are wondering if the property has been bought by someone. Hopefully not someone thinking they are going to have absolute peace and quiet around them because when the sheep and dogs arrive the silence will depart. LOL

Rika is her old self again according to DS1. He picked up another prescription for her and the vet said since she was doing well to wait and only give her pain pills if she has more pain. I am so glad that she has recovered. I was steeling myself to have to put her down if her suffering did not improve. I will be euthanizing Lewis though. He is getting worse on his legs, and I don't think he will stand up to the journey on the trailer.

When we get back to California we will be leaving for northern California to pick p the ram and 5 ewes I bought from Wes Patton. The 3 yearlings have lambed. One has a white ram lamb that he said looks really nice, while the other 2 had black head Dorper lambs. One of the lambs did not get cleaned off properly and died but he grafted a purebred black head Dorper ram lamb onto her. Wes knows which ram lambs got in with them so the white one can be registered. Wes said it looked really nice so I will keep it as a stud prospect along with 7088's lamb. That way those 2 ram lambs can be in a pen together until they are yearlings, and the big boys won't beat them up.

 

[farmerjan]

Glad to get the update. Things seem to be going along about as expected for moving and all that... issues with mechanics always seem to crop up. Maybe the ones in SS will be better for you.
Good that some fruit trees survived... wait until later this year before pulling out the others. never know...

You will probably not be able to transplant the vegs to the veg garden... you will not be back for over a month... they will be too established and if you move them that late, they will not flower or produce any vegs for you.

Good to hear that Rika is doing better... and Lewis .... well, he has been a good ram for you.... not much else anyone can say. If it's time, it's time...

 

[SageHill]

It’s soooo close. You’re almost moved now.
Excellent news on Rika ❤️. You could probably check realestate listings using a “recently sold” filter and see if the house (now torn down) was sold. Of course there’s the “neighborhood” hotline which would probably have more info. Or maybe it’s another get away from CA person.

 

[Baymule]

We had a great visit and stayed up past 1:00 AM talking our heads off. On the way there, winds were trying to blow my little car off the road. I thought I had a low tire, pulled over to check. Nope. Front end out of line? Caught a “tree canyon” for a short stretch and let go of steering wheel, it stayed straight on the road. So, it was the wind.

I delivered her ill gotten contraband and she was happy. We had a great visit.

At least your DH had his window down and either heard me and Larry yelling STOP or else he saw us in the mirror waving our arms, and he stopped. Minimal damage done, but need to have that kinda crumpled spot fixed because if you try to haul it anywhere, wind will rip off the siding. That tree needs some serious trimming or cutting down. Find someone with a sawmill to cut it into lumber, it’s a huge red cedar and would be a shame to waste the wood.

 

[Finnie]

Just Google the address next door, and it should come up on Zillow. Zillow should have info on all the times it has been sold in the recent past. Zillow might even show you “similar homes nearby”, and then you can find out info about more of your neighbor’s houses! 🤭