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Where is everyone? Check-in? Dec 2018

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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.   :o
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 !! :)

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