Where is everyone? Check-in? Dec 2018

[Chanda]

Been a little quiet lately.  Where is everyone?  What are you doing?

Not too much going on here.   We planned to ship calves this past weekend, but the weather and roads went to crap, so we have to postpone til next weekend.  Sale is on Monday, so the trucker is picking up the calves on Sunday.   We preg-checked last Thursday, not too many opens considering we lost a bull mid-season (he broke his leg, unfortunately it can happen with as rough as the bulls can get during breeding season).  We weaned the calves, they are doing fine on hay while waiting for their ride on the truck.   
We didn't ship calves, so I thought great I can go to my December Quilt Guild meeting and not miss the Christmas Party; wrong...  pea soup fog that got worse the further I headed towards town, so I ended up turning around and coming home, as it would have only been worse after dark (after the meeting).
Horses are doing fine, despite the craptastic hay we have due to lingering drought conditions.  Ok protein and low sugar/starch, but the calcium phosphorus ratio is way out of balance, very high calcium with almost nonexistent phosphorus, so I'm actually using an alfalfa supplement (vit/min supplement for balancing alfalfa hay) and it still needs extra P, so feeding some wheat bran.  They are enjoying their bran mash, had to special order the wheat bran, as it's not stocked locally; the horses are enjoying their mash, I haven't made on in like 20+ years, as beet pulp is the go to mash these days, but it's not suitable with it's high calcium content.   Belle, the baby, is my best eater of the bunch, she even eats her icky tasty phosphorus supplement, she needs even more than the adults, as it's more important for a growing baby to have pretty tight Ca:P ratio.   Balancing this craptastic hay is a bit more expensive than what I normally spend of feeds and supplements, but they'll come out the other side doing better, so should be worth it.   I'm a little behind on hoof trims, I still have two November trims to catch up on, Belle and Sophia, so need to get in gear and get it done; oh, guess I have two others, but one needs Dorm gel, which I didn't order in time, so they'll be behind too.
I've been doing a little bit of quilting, but not quite as much as I'd like.  Did do a little Black Friday shopping, and bought a quilt kit, not sure if I'll use it as is or use the fabric for other patterns; plus I also got some pre-cuts.  Then, the same shop had a BOGO sale the other day, so I got two more kits and saved about 75% over their retail price, as they were already marked down.   So, I have plenty of fabric to last me awhile.   
House cats have a bit of cabin fever with the snow and cold, so are getting obnoxious.
And, as soon as I'm done here, I have dishes to do.
So, what's up with you?

[Ryan]

Glad you started this Chanda, Ive been checking in daily , but been so quiet here. Just figured everyone's been super busy this times of the year.

I hope the weather holds off for you this weekend so the truck can collect the calves. My "tribe" love a bran mash, especially my biggies. They get a hot bran mash in their dinner during winter mixed with a tiny bit of molasses.

Cant believe its snowing already, Im sure we just talked about it starting to warm up there    Its crazy to think "How fast" this year has actually gone.

Ive been really busy at home , I finally got the last of my fencing done, 4 new paddocks. Now Ill start saving so I can put loose boxes in the paddocks and plant some trees for shade. Until then, Ill use them when its not too hot. I have ordered my winter hay for arrival at the end of Feb. Our feed prices have just risen here by 20%. I think a bag of lucerne (alfalfa) chaffe is now $34.00 a bag. A bale of it is around $30 each. Plain grass hay is getting close to nearly $23 a bale. I managed to secure mine at $11.00. Its meadow hay, so nice and soft on the pallet for the little ones. Like Montana, we are also in severe drought , shocking fires have already destroyed a lot of Queensland. The next two days are supposed to be around 38 degrees Celsius here. I do like summer but not when its not that warm.

Not sure if I mentioned, but one of the swans was injured a while back and we had to call Wildlife Victoria, as we noticed an injury to its leg. A local rescue came out and took the swan into care. They spend some time in an enclosure so they can be fed and rehabilitated. Once they are better they are moved into a larger area with no roof. If they are feeling well enough, they can fly off or stay until they are fit enough to do so. I called the local rescue to see how the swan was doing and then called a couple of weeks later. The second call they informed me that the swan had flown off that day.

Two days after I called, one of the swans arrived back at home. I woke up the next morning and it was gone. About four days after that , I went to feed the horses and to my surprise they had found each other again. They both left again and had been gone for the last two months. They had been nesting elsewhere. I only found that out as Wildlife VIc called to see if I was happy with the service when they came to rescue the injured one. They also told me , Swans are mates for life and will only breed with the same one.

Both swans , which I have named "Harold and Betty returned two weeks ago and have been building their nest.

Thats about it for me atm, No veggie garden as yet, I got stabbed in the joint on my finger with a needle on a palm branch and it got infected. Ill hopefully get in there in the next few weeks.


Hope everyones doing well

[Holly]

Good to hear you both are doing good.
We've been so busy. Grandkids keep me tied up. River turned 1 today!
Rest of family doing great.
Daisy puppies almost 4 weeks, having to supplement as they are growing so fast
Sassy is big as a house, few months left till foal watch starts.
Pretty sure precious and pepper are both bred too.
I am very excited to see my Storm foals!
Family coming in town this weekend too, I expect things to slow down after jan1, 2019!!

[dcwolcott]

I'm here of course, but have been really sick with a cold and flu.  Babysat little Ryan several times while he was sick, and he was finally diagnosed with the flu.  Such a loving little boy wanting to share with his grandma!  Apparently I accepted his gift, and am finally in the recovery mode. 

Thanksgiving was such a busy, fun time with the whole family here it was like summer vacation again.  But now, busy in another way trying to select gifts for 10 grandchildren and my kids.  Still trying to get my mom's house ready to sell, and it's still slow progress.

Florida hasn't decided what kind of weather it wants to have.  We've had some delightful days in the low 60's and high 50's at night, and staying in the low 70's mostly. So much better than the 80's+.

Stay warm everyone!

[Ryan]

Sorry to hear you have been unwell Diane, I hope your on the mend. Holly that is Crazy River is 1. Where has the year gone !!

[Holly]

Sorry you've been sick Diane!
Yes  this year has gone way to fast!

[dcwolcott]

Thanks Chanda.  Working my way to recovery, but it's sure taking a long time.  I hate being sick!

[Ryan]

Whats been happening with everyone ?

Been back at work a couple of weeks now. Feels like such a long time since xmas break.

Its been crazily hot here over the last month. My FIL has had temps at 44-48 degrees (118F) everyday for the last month. I am a little further down south, so not quite as hot but still over 40 most days. I have failed on the veggie garden this year. I only got things into the ground on Jan 4th, so im about 2 months late planting. Knowing that they are fast growing , I put zucchinis and cucumbers in, but thats as exciting as its gonna get

My fruit trees havent done as well as last year either. Blood plum last year gave me so many I could make jam. This year "1" plum.  .  I have plenty of apples and Nashi pears are starting to grow.

I have four extra mares at home now. All Thoroughbreds. I agreed to two coming to board but now theres 4. One of the mares is due to Foal in Aug so will post some pics shortly.

Whats everyone else been up to ?

 



 

[Rocklone]

Hey! Been a bit quiet for me cause i could not log on to the forum for a while. Been a bit of a time. I lost my aunt so that was rough. Jed and I moved yards, which has been great. Not much happening with the minis just the usual daily life i guess!

[Ryan]

Sorry to read of the loss of your Aunty Hayley. Its never easy             ( sending hugs from Oz)

I see you have been riding Jed heaps ( and he looks great)

[dcwolcott]

Yes, we've missed you bunches!!!!  So glad you're back, and very sorry about the loss of your Aunt. 

So how are all your gems?  Will you be showing this year?

So happy you're here again!

[Ryan]

I am booting Chandas thread up again to see how everyone's going? Been a little quiet on here. I hope everyone's doing well. I am getting ready for the warmer months to arrive here, parts of our country are already in the chaos of bushfires ( which I think you call wildfires in the states). Especially where Carly is up north. They are getting in the 40 degrees Celsius temps which is Crazy for so early in the year.  Its still really cold here (14 today)  but we have been having some great spring days. Winter coats are starting to drop and my pastures are growing   Its supposed to be a nice weekend and its just about dry enough for me to go for a ride on fitzy

[dcwolcott]

Well, I know Chanda has been busy at her place, and know that she'll come on and fill you in herself.

I've been fine, weather in the 80's with rain most days, which is still to be expected with our rainy season.  I'm recovering nicely from my major heart attack in late August,  no additional problems, just a bit slower and more choosy in my work load than I used to be.  But all is going well for me -- although all my kids are "hovering" as it was so unexpected it threw everyone for a loop!  (especially me)

Hoping others see this check-in, as it really has been a bit quiet and I miss all the conversations!!

[Chanda]

Perhaps with winter coming to the northern hemisphere, the board will get busier.
Harvest ground to a halt with fall rain and cool temps, then it snowed yesterday with temp around 24F, pretty much squashed harvest.  Don't know if a dry, warm spell will allow harvest to happen.
One good thing about the weather, I have had time to quilt sooner in the fall. 

[Anna]

Oh dear Chanda, you really are having weather problems aren't you - will it affect the supplies you need to put aside for your cows (and of course the minis)? Hope your weather gets warmer soon Ryan but not as hot as elsewhere if possible. We seem to be having nothing but rain and wind over here in the UK - I expect it has also been causing Hayley in Ireland some trouble as well. There has been a lot of flooding in the area but we are lucky here as we are some 800 feet up in the forest so just get 'streams' rushing past us down into the valley below. But being high we do get the wind and it can get pretty violent at times. Due to the weather any outside work that we were hoping to do has been halted and we are back putting finishing touches to the indoors. Got the family arriving on the 18th for the weekend. Granddaughters hubby Chris is a cross-country cyclist in his spare time (raises a lot for charity), but that weekend he is just coming for the pleasure of riding the trails that run through the 50,000 odd acres of the forest we live in. He's bringing two other cyclist friends with him so I expect the tree of them will be off all Saturday and Sunday - regardless of the weather leaving us ladies to supply hot warming food for when they get back! Still it will be good to see them all again. Take care all of you - keep warm - dry - cool - whatever, and Diane you look after yourself. x