What's everybody doing today?

[FarmOR]

@ Sonja 123. Ended up with 30 lambs outta 17 ewes. Still have three replacement ewes to birth out in next couple months. Takes a year or so to synch with fall lambs like the others.

This lamb rate 1.76 is my best ever. I tried a version of "flushing" this year and it appears to have worked. Funny word flushing? Seems like coaxing is more appropriate? It's basically playing tricks with female biology so they drop two eggs instead of one.

 

[backlash]

I'm going back to the sportsman's show. This time alone. There is a walleye jigging seminar that I really want to see.
At the show yesterday I walked pass a large aluminum fishing boat.
The show price special was $189,900 on .
I looked at the fine print and you can finance it for $1098 a month for 240 months.
A 20 year loan for a boat. That's over a quarter million dollars for a fishing boat.
Oh, there are NO electronics included for that price.

 

[Peanut]

For that price the boat should come with fish!

Cold out again today so more music inside... in between dishes and laundry.

 

[zannej]

I did shoulder exercises (got my arm a bit higher again) and picked up mail. I'm about to figure out what mom wants to eat.
Took some pics of my truck to post on Ridgeline forums to seek advice about the black crud on the top and some peeling paint. I think I might have some sort of mold on my truck. Trying to figure out the best way to get rid of it and do touchups.

 

[INresponse]

Maybe you should move that rich top soil to your garden area and pour concrete or gravel in it's place...

That would require help from someone, anyone, and no one around here has any interest in helping. I started prep work late summer and early fall but gave up when everyone ese was busy sitting on their back side. On a plus side, one of the GF's sons wanted to get his car in the garage to do some work on it. I asked if it was lifted and 4 wheel drive. I got a funny look from him until I told him the mud and ruts were too deep for his little car, that resulted in a pissed off look. I was laughing inside though.

 

[INresponse]

Apparently the roller coaster is not operational. I think they shut a lot of the different attractions down during covid and they haven't opened some of them back up yet. They've been having concerts though. I heard that Carlos Santana played here earlier in January, and Gladys Knight was here last week. I thought those were pretty big names for a casino, but I looked at their concert arena and it holds over six thousand people so they can handle a big crowd...

Ahhh, forgot about the shutdown years. I would imagine Gladys Knight performs there on a somewhat regular basis, she lives in Henderson about 40 minutes away. It is a nice concert arena, been there a few times in the old'n days.

 

[montanabill]

Finally broke down and bought a heated waterer for my chickens. I have been putting out warm water in the morning but with a high temp of -2F I want them to have some water before it freezes.

 

[Amish Heart]

We;re coming into some really cold weather the next three days, so I'll be doing the frozen water thing, too. Did alot of mopping, vacuuming, cleaning up...emptied the dehydrators. Took little granddaughter into the bigger town for a hair trim. Her hair is extremely long, and she wanted just the ends trimmed. They were looking pretty ragged. Amazon dropped off the special tools husband needed to put in the new circuit board in the Harvest Right. I hope he feels like doing it soon. Saw a folding chair set up in my small greenhouse, so it looks like grandson found a new to him place to do his drugs. I guess it's getting pretty cold on the roof.

 

[txcatlady]

Went to funeral visitation this morning and a wedding this afternoon. Wedding was to start at 4. At 4:30 we were told wedding was moving outside as originally planned. Grab a blanket at door. Chairs were wet and misting so chilly at 66 degrees. Each had 8 attendants and 1 flower girl. All ladies wore long dresses that got soaked hems and shoes. Beautiful and short wedding. Did not stay for reception so could come home and close chickens up. Unusual to have deputies there. Open bar I guess.

 

[Pearl]

Went to funeral visitation this morning and a wedding this afternoon. Wedding was to start at 4. At 4:30 we were told wedding was moving outside as originally planned. Grab a blanket at door. Chairs were wet and misting so chilly at 66 degrees. Each had 8 attendants and 1 flower girl. All ladies wore long dresses that got soaked hems and shoes. Beautiful and short wedding. Did not stay for reception so could come home and close chickens up. Unusual to have deputies there. Open bar I guess.

We stayed dry up north, I think we are keeping the ice!!

 

[Bacpacker]

Got back into the grape vines again. What a mess. Slow going they are so overgrown. But makin progress on them. I'm betting they'll be in better shape going forward.

 

[Spikedriver]

Got off work a little early. There is a Denny's restaurant in the casino on the first floor of the hotel so a coworker and I went there to grab a bite. We had to walk through the casino to go back to our rooms, and I'll be damned if a giant gust of wind didn't come right through the casino and blow me into one of the chairs at the blackjack table! Since I was already there, I decided to play a hand or two.

My wallet is now $45 lighter...

 

[Heartbroken]

Spent the day at my Mom's with my brothers and nephews and daughter, all to celebrate Mom's 81st birthday. She's pretty gimpy with the new knee yet, but walking without assistance or a prop. I made a giant pan of lasagna and took that along for dinner. I wasn't too happy with it, couldn't get my usual brand of noodles and the new ones were just not quite right. But everyone liked it and the nephews came back for thirds, so I guess I did ok.

 

[LadyLocust]

I finished separating and sorting lambs yesterday. Was a noisy night of milk hungry youngsters and milk bag stressed mommas.

Today, gotta tag everyone going to auction. Then load this evening so they're ready to go early tomorrow morning for 1.5 hour trip to auction. Prices have been volatile this year. It looked like a steady up trend until two weeks ago and reversed course. Then reversed course again. Not sure what to expect? Last year, I topped the auction at 3.15. Another good looking bunch this year. Did my part best I could, the rest is outta my control?

I discovered an economical solution for the farm truck battery going dead intermittently. It seemed that the key switch was not totally shutting off every single time. Instead of the expense and headache to replace that, I bought a twelve dollar battery isolation switch through eBay. That appears to be working great since I last started it at 23 degrees and it cranked harder than before?

Do you withhold water from the ewes for the night after weaning the lambs? It helps the mamas absorb the water and not make so much milk for that first night. If you already knew this, I don't mean to insult your intelligence - you just never know what someone else does.

Dad turned 89 today. A great uncle from the other side of the family stopped by, he turned 94 today (his son brought him). It was great to see him and my cousin. Anyway, took dad out for his steak dinner tonight, he’s been talking about it all week. We get there and he ordered grilled chicken fingers… go figure . Hey, whatever he wanted is fine with me.

Cold outside so I worked on music this afternoon, 52 songs on 4 new cd’s. Took all afternoon to figure out the key each is played in and add notes about each to its id3 container (metadata). Not finished yet, still have to add a 5 second delay and normalize the decibel levels for each file. Sooo, more music tonight…

This morning I happened to talk to the guy in Franklin TN who works on my guitar. Wished I hadn’t called… turns out 32 of the best bluegrass bands in the country are playing at the Nashville Sheraton hotel. A competition started this morning, held by the IBMA (international bluegrass music assoc). 3 days of good picking and I couldn’t go… darn. Maybe next year...

You have to plan for that now so you can go next year!!! Glad you are getting into some good tunes.
@snappy1 Hoping your Hubby improves soon.
@UrbanHunter Hoping Mrs. improves - I know she has health issues, but she doesn't need to be sick in addition to it all.

We went skiing today. It was fun, got snowed on

 

[Mountain trapper]

Awww, thank you. I don't have a picture. Basically I wore my boots and jeans and a flannel shirt and I have a long canvas coat similar to what you might see in old cowboy movies, and a cowboy hat.
Something like this, but more ruggedly handsome and unshaven.
View attachment 103219

Also known as a duster. I have three of them, a lined oil skin, an unlined oil skin and a leather one. I wear the oil skin ones in wet weather while riding a horse or sitting on my tractor during wet weather. It actually serves a purpose, and not just for looks.

 

[Peanut]

Got off work a little early. the blackjack table! Since I was already there, I decided to play a hand or two.

My wallet is now $45 lighter...

Wrong game!!! I was sent to las vegas once to work on a catscan. Supposed to be an 8hr job then hang out for the weekend and expense it. It turned into a 5-day nightmare of 18hr days...

I was staying at the Excalibur, brand new hotel back then, had just opened. There was a quarter slot machine next to the elevator I took to my room. Dropped a quarter in it every time I walked by.

That slot was the only gambling I did but I won every time. I was up $100 when I left town. Too tired to spend it though...

 

[Spikedriver]

Wrong game!!! I was sent to las vegas once to work on a catscan. Supposed to be an 8hr job then hang out for the weekend and expense it. It turned into a 5-day nightmare of 18hr days...

I was staying at the Excalibur, brand new hotel back then, had just opened. There was a quarter slot machine next to the elevator I took to my room. That slot was the only gambling I had time for but I won every time. I was up $100 by the time I left town. Too tired to spend it though...

I don't mess with the one armed bandits. The first table I went to today just killed me. I switched tables and made back quite a bit of what I lost. I was on a heckuva hot streak for a while. At one point I won 7 in a row. Blackjack is the only game I play in a casino, because it's the only one where I feel like I can control any part of the outcome...

 

[INresponse]

Wrong game!!! I was sent to las vegas once to work on a catscan. Supposed to be an 8hr job then hang out for the weekend and expense it. It turned into a 5-day nightmare of 18hr days...

I was staying at the Excalibur, brand new hotel back then, had just opened. There was a quarter slot machine next to the elevator I took to my room. Dropped a quarter in it every time I walked by.

That slot was the only gambling I did but I won every time. I was up $100 when I left town. Too tired to spend it though...

I don't mess with the one armed bandits. The first table I went to today just killed me. I switched tables and made back quite a bit of what I lost. I was on a heckuva hot streak for a while. At one point I won 7 in a row. Blackjack is the only game I play in a casino, because it's the only one where I feel like I can control any part of the outcome...

I was stuck in Las Vegas 21 years. I have heard all the stories and all the arguments. The only thing I personally ever had luck at was Roulette. On vary rare occasions I could place a one time bet on either black or red and I would win. Never lost. When friends would come to town I would tell the story and of course they would say "Prove it" and I would watch the wheel for a few minutes and place a bet and would win. They would say do it again. Nope. One time and walk away. Same thing on occasion when out with my ex, I could walk around an look at the dollar versions of the red, white, and blue 7 slot machines. I would pick one out and hand her $20 and with in a few pulls she would hit for $100. SHE would pocket all the money and we would walk away. Although, in hind sight, maybe I did lose on those machines because I was $20 poorer and she was $100+ richer.

 

[Pearl]

Going to clean my building early then a fast grocery run. Home to prepare for the upcoming ICE EVENT we are having starting Monday!! This event is also known as a mini vacation, as I will not be leaving home until it's over!! Cold front will be coming through shortly, moisture tomorrow. We really need the precipitation!! Planning a nap later, probably not my usual 6-10min power nap, going for 30 + !!!

 

[Mountain trapper]

We only got about 6 inches of snow out of this last storm. The wind blew all night, I'll probably need to get the snowblower out today and clear the drifts off the road. It's about 5 degrees this morning. Yesterday my truck slid in to a tree when I was taking some diesel up to the bulk tank. Fortunately it hit on the flatbed so there was no damage. I'll get the tractor out later and widen that area. We have about 250 gallons of diesel for the backup generator now. Should last until spring.

 

[snappy1]

Up early to let dogs out before rain started. Rain will be all day.
No Church--staying home in case DH is released from hospital.
Will organize vitamin and supplement cabinet.
Make venison stew.
Stay inside as much as possible! We get the cooler weather starting Friday.

 

[dademoss]

It's Sunday . Breakfast, Church, then rest and relaxation. Make a pizza for dinner

 

[sonya123]

@ Sonja 123. Ended up with 30 lambs outta 17 ewes. Still have three replacement ewes to birth out in next couple months. Takes a year or so to synch with fall lambs like the others.

This lamb rate 1.76 is my best ever. I tried a version of "flushing" this year and it appears to have worked. Funny word flushing? Seems like coaxing is more appropriate? It's basically playing tricks with female biology so they drop two eggs instead of one.

Congrats on your lambs ! What kind of sheep do you have? We have Katahdins. They usually have more lambs but gain weight a little slower than other breeds. We had one ewe with 4 lambs last year, all survived at first ( lost one to pneumonia later) but most of ours have at least 2.

 

[sonya123]

Raining all day so a crappy day. Yesterday was very nice sunshine and not cold. Wished it would have stayed that way
I am going to start working on our taxes. Have to enter all our receipts and stuff into a spreadsheet to send to the accountant.
Plus probably going to make pizza.
I'm thinking about starting some seeds now, since the weather hasn't been all that cold. Indoors for now but in about a month I will try planting them outside so we have an early start on the market. Probably going to start bok choy, lettuce, kale, beets and broccoli

 

[FarmOR]

I raise dorpers and kathadins cross. One of my rams is 3/4 Kat and the other ram is dorper. Most of my ewes are some imperfect mix of dorpers and kat. My lambs grow about 20# a month. Low birth weight and fast growth has been an objective. Hybrid vigor?

I used to raise hamp/Suffolk crosses. 15 years. But this group of "hair" sheep have been the easiest keepers and most profitable.3 years.

Cold and very windy today. The cold is welcome but not so much to the wind. We've gotten extra moisture but until now wasn't freezing so the mud and muck have been unpleasant.

 

[backlash]

Wrong game!!! I was sent to las vegas once to work on a catscan. Supposed to be an 8hr job then hang out for the weekend and expense it. It turned into a 5-day nightmare of 18hr days...

I was staying at the Excalibur, brand new hotel back then, had just opened. There was a quarter slot machine next to the elevator I took to my room. Dropped a quarter in it every time I walked by.

That slot was the only gambling I did but I won every time. I was up $100 when I left town. Too tired to spend it though...

I went to Vegas in 1994 to repair a Cat scanner and I also stayed at the Excalibur.
The doctor that owned the CT was so cheap he declined the repairs. He said the ring artifacts weren't all that bad and he could still read the scans. He did that to me twice and both times I had him sign the service report stating he had declined the repairs because I just knew he would try to claim I didn't do what he was billed.
No hospital in town would accept his scans. They did their own.

 

[Amish Heart]

Amish church next door this morning. It was so cold out, and windy, our neighbor asked if he could house the horses that didn't fit in his barn, in ours. So there's about a dozen in ours.
Not much happening today...just keeping up with animal chores every few hours, since things are frozen over. We should thaw out on Wednesday, I think.

 

[Pearl]

All ready for the icy mess coming my way!! Winter storm watch in effect through Wednesday, I am home!! Got the generator ready, extension cords in the house, a lot of firewood handy, coffee happening now! Made it through Walmart early, pretty quiet then! A Mr. and Mrs. Karen who were loud and wearing matching red flannel PJs made the shopping experience horrific! They were needing attention and a good shower !! Deciding if I want to make chili or a meatloaf!!

 

[The Lazy L]

Run the live streaming for Church.
Missionary Speaker.
Carry in dinner after church as a meet and greet for the Missionary.
Sleep during the pregame football “show”.

 

[Patchouli]

Daughter said the huskie broke more of the fence down this morning while I was at church. The fence is rotting, so while it still is in position, if messed with, it easily tears away from posts and cross posts. She put some heavy flower pots with soil in them up against the slats, stacking the pots. This is the area where the rot is the worst and where the neighbors had makeshift repaired it previously. In a wind storm a few years ago, two panels had blown over in a different place and they repaired it sufficiently. The neighborhood kids used to walk along the top of the fence supports to get into each others' backyards, I don't suppose that helped.

Trying to stay warm, near freezing outside. Hope the freezy icy rainy weather will not be a big deal this week, just a cold inconvenience and still have to go to work.