High Ridge Lowlights

High Ridge Highlights

Well, I guess I picked the wrong title for this blog. I should have called it High Ridge Lowlights. Today was one of those days. I woke up at 2:00 a.m. with a headache. Taking my medicine makes me extremely alert. So I worked at the computer from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Then I went to sleep. The phone woke me at 8:00 a.m. It was my friend Sandy Stevens telling me that the shearer was coming to their house tomorrow. I have been calling the same shearer trying to get them to come on the same day that they come to Sandy's because she lives about 20 minutes from me. OK, that is another thing to think about.

I got up. Went to get the little dog and found her in the throws of a seizure. This is nothing new, but means that she will be literally glued to me for at least an hour. That slowed me down.

It was 9:15 before I got out to the barn. It is also snowing like crazy at this time. I need to get my ram and wether into their shed to keep them dry. After I got them penned in with a small gate and some binder twine, I decided I better check to see if the neighbor's sheep were inside. I hopped into my car, a little two-seater Suzuki X-90, and headed for Curt's house. I missed the drive towards his house and took the other side of the driveway. I started sliding and ended up half on and half off of the road, stuck about one foot from a utility pole. I was pointing downwards into the field and didn't understand why I had stopped. I knew I couldn't leave the car there because the road hadn't been plowed yet. I managed to slowly move the car into the field and proceeded a ways before I was stopped. I do not understand why I couldn't go further. I got out and walked to Curt's house.

Once I found his sheep, who were happily enjoying the barn, I managed to secure the gate that would keep them in the barn. Then I trudged home again, this time going across the field which is much shorter.

Now it was time to cover the door of the sheep shed to keep the snow from blowing in. I accomplished that with a blanket, some nails and a hammer. With this all finished, I could feed and water the cows and feed the ewe, who was already in the barn.

I don't even remember when I put in another call to the shearer to find out if they would be coming to me house tomorrow. I talked to the father who said he would get in touch with his son who was going to be the shearer. Well, that was not a "yes" or a "no", but I am used to that.

When I got in from the barn it was 10:30 and I felt like I had been wrung out and hung up to dry. The first thing I did was put on dry socks and shoes. The rest of the day was better, thank heavens.

Jake came home and used the Bobcat to drag my car out of the field. The Bobcat was even going sideways because that field is so hilly. We had to clean out a pen for the ram and the wether, and I mean clean!! Then we bedded it, made a few changes so that the sheep could not escape, and went out to get the boys. (Dickie and Tommy - after my favorite comedy team -- (I know, I am old) Jake managed to wrestle them into their collars and we led them happily up to the barn. There......they are happily munching on the new straw and comfortable for the night. I watered the cows and swept a place for the shearer. Oh, I forgot, in between cleaning the pen and after getting the sheep, I actually talked to the shearer, and he is coming tomorrow!!!! I am so happy! We were in the house by 8:00 p.m. What a day.

Now everything is quiet again. I hope that it is the same in the barn. I await the excitement tomorrow will bring, but I will rest more easily because of the raspberry cordial that Dave and Holly and I made this summer.