Well it was time to get the sheep moved over to Hermiston for the next two months. They eat down a lot of very green grass and that means that the spring hay cutting is premium and the property gets fertilized by the sheep also. Annmarie helped me sort the sheep into three groups, ewe lambs, ewes & rams and whethers. Our plan was to pull the three rams off the ewes but they kept trying to breed the ewes in the barn so we figured they were not done. This is going to spread out our lambing season but we have to check on the herd twice daily during the winter to lock them up at night and let them out in the morning. We need more lambs! I am hoping these whethers sell for $200/each at auction when we take them in December.
I am a firm believer that prior to a couple paying for marriage counseling they should have to sort sheep. I have narrowed it down to sheep as cows can be dangerous if not done correctly and you can mostly just get mowed over by a sheep. The couple in “animal therapy”are not allowed to quit until the job is done, regardless of how long it takes or how hard it gets. No one is allowed to walk off either, both parties have to stay within speaking range of each other. Annmarie and I did get the sheep sorted and it only took a couple of hours. We decided on three herds. The whethers will go to the small field in Hermiston, the ewes/rams to the large field and the ewe lambs will stay on the farm and go up with the breeding cows.
There are virtually no flowers this late in the season except for our Jerusalem artichokes, they just bloomed this last week. When it gets cold I will need to dig them up. We have started to feed the bees again in earnest. I will need to pull the hive from field 1 this next weekend and get the gutters on the bee enclosure.
I still have not played with the new mini excavator. I ordered a DeWalt grease gun. It was time to get one and then I can grease up the entire machine, check all the bolts and nuts and fill up the gas and give it a whirl. I have vacation in ten days so I will be using it then. I have to cut hay and bale it during my vacation also. My next weekend is for working on the greenhouse. I have had three panels blow out already. I need to watch those videos and see what I can caulk to hold the panels in place. Because the metal clips are not working by themselves.
I was able to get all the sheep moved in two trips on Sunday. I had to get the electric fence working in the small field and get the temporary fence installed in the larger field. We only have 25 ewes and we want to get to 40-45. I would love to take 60 lambs to market every year. I think I need to look at the diesel pickup and check the power and lights to the trailer plug. I don’t think they are working. I will add this to my list.
