Saturday, December 31, 2011

Holiday Season

Here we are, New Years eve.  We had a good Christmas.  Marshall make it out for Christmas eve and stayed for Christmas dinner.. The weather is unusually warm and mild.  No snow ,but we can see snow on Terry Peak.  The skiiers can keep it there.  Brooke really enjoyed this her fourth Christmas.  Grand ma put a water tank in the living room and put 100 lbs. of corn in it.  Just like a sand box.  The kids had fun.


    Ran out of cake for the cows here so we started feeding hay every other day.  The cows at Ryan's have been enjoying hay for several weeks now.  We truned the bucks out with the last bunch of ewes so they lamb May 20.  Got the heifers number branded yesterday.  Windy today.  Predicted to blow 50 MPH but it is not that strong.  Been a while since it has been this nice for both Christmas and New Year.  Next week some time we should get a call to eye the ewes.  Eyeing ewes is shearing the wool from around their eyes so they can see.  If snow and ice gets in the wool it covers the eyes and they get blind and can't see.

A few pictures of eyeing.


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

early winter

Well the winter has been extremely mild. Snowed a little maybe twice.  Temperatures have been close to 60 degrees some days.  Feeding the cows here just 2 lbs. of cake.  The sheep got their last feed of cake yesterday.  They are through the first cycle with the bucks so most of them are bred.  With the mild weather should be lots of twins.  Getting ready to turn bucks out with the bunch on the ridge about next Monday.  They young cows looked a little on the thin side a month ago, but the mild weather and cake have picked them up and they look good.  We will run out of cake for the cows here at the end of the week so will start feeding hay. Only four months of feeding hay, that should be economical.  We have been working on a pole barn type calf shelter in the corral at the ridge.  It will be used for the heifers calves in March.  A place for calves to be warm and dry.  Will try to get tin to finish the building project next week.