28 June 2009

Today at last, one of the Dexter heifers arrived. It was all so exciting. She bellowed and bellowed and quickly caused a heap of attention from the other animals. The steers galloped up to investigate this new creature invading their space. Kiara is her name and she is a pure breed which exudes grace and beauty. After about an hour Johnny let her out into the big paddock to mix with the steers. There was apparently a scuff as the hierarchy was re-established which included some head butting but it was over quickly. I stayed at a very safe distance in the kitchen unawares of what was happening and was to hear the sago later on. I’m glad I wasn’t there to witness the scuff. About three hours later we checked on the herd and noticed that the heifer was attached to the steers already and had clearly settled in. No longer did we hear the bellowing as the paddock grasses filled her mouth instead. David explained that the other two heifers which were coming from Toowoomba would only be here next weekend. Apparently the rain had caused some dramas and hence the delay!

This afternoon passed quietly. Johnny put up the two plagues on the outside verandah wall. He also fixed the outside spotlights and spent some more time cutting up timber for next winter’s fire time. The children and I carried the cut pieces into the shed for storage. By this time the sun was disappearing for the day and it was time to get the animals in for the night and veg on the couch with a DVD I reckon. What a wonderful full weekend this was.

27 June 2009

The dentist visit was a very expensive appointment. It turned out the pain I was having was due to two cracks in the tooth. The dentist was amazing and calmed my raging nerves the best he could. I walked out 30 minutes later with a large bill and a very numb jaw but at least the pain is gone and the problem resolved.

Today is Saturday and my lovely husband is with us. We have many plans for today and hopefully the weather plays along too. The sun is out and it looks like the wet weather is over again.

We made a quick trip to the hardware to purchase a mortar mix, some turp’s and some plasterboard compound. At home we pulled out the old skirting and put in there place the newly painted, patterned ones. I enjoyed the completed sight of the walls. Next to get done was the mortar mix in-between the slate along the wall which was missing due to the bookcase that was there. Filling in the gaps proved to a very dirty job. My wonderfully patience husband was very frustrated and gave up soon. So there was nothing to do but for me to complete it. I grabbed some gloves and tackled the very nasty job. About an hour later I stood up after being on my hands and knees washing the excess mortar away for ages. At last it was finished. What a monumental job this was. I still have to go around the lounge edge to fill in by all the other skirting but that can be saved for another day. I was exhausted. Johnny had moved on to patching up the joins down the passage and finished up the repair job at the bottom of the passage wall. After that he repaired a part of the bathroom window sill which was damaged by water from the shower. He did a fantastic job.

Jonathan had returned home from his school camp exhausted. I think he fell asleep last night at six and only woke this morning about ten. I got snipers of information about what they got up too and I’m sure the rest will come out slowly. Boys and communication! I’ve learnt to be patient with my son and he releases the information at intervals. I will have to be satisfied with the story about being caught in a rip at the beach. Hair – raising! I tried hard not to react as a mother does and listened intently to the explanation on how they escaped the rip. Afterwards I managed to coerce him into chopping some firewood for us which he compliantly went to do. Ah, if only he was like this always. Never mind I shall enjoy the brief enjoyment of a compliant teenager for a short time.

The goats were let out into the big paddock again and they seem to enjoy it more today than before. They do not like to be left alone and make a lot of noise if I turn my back on them and walk away. They run frantically after me. It’s quite funny actually. They are like big puppy dogs really.

26 June 2009

This morning while making coffee, I glance out my kitchen window and low and behold, there sit Mr. Spot on top of the white cow. It’s so beautiful how gentle the white cow is with Spot. Most evenings he shares his grain with Spot too. The cows usually are laying down chewing their cud in the morning before I go down to let them out into the big paddock. Spotty looked so comfortable on top of him. It was a classic moment. Animals have a soft side to them aswell as the cruel side. I manage to snap a photo but couldn’t get too close or I would have ruined the moment.

The weather report last night reported more rain coming, starting with a very overcast morning. Oh dear, I wish for summer so much.

Well the animals are all fed and the washing machine is going. Outside the maple tree continues to drop its’ leaves and make a beautiful bed of autumn yellows’ and browns’. Nature is colorful on its’ own. The day is overcast as expected and the rain looks like its’ on the horizon. I need to prep my mind for this dentist visit. Oh boy why couldn’t it be over already……

25th June 2009

Last night Johnny brought home a bigger box for the chicks. The reason for this is because we lost another chick the previous night. It’s terrible. You go to bed and they are all happy, chirping and then the next morning you find a limb body which has expired! So for those of you who are doing the math, it’s down to six now. Johnny and I thought the last chick was trampled to death and hence the bigger box. Ingrid is ordering the four replacements and I should be collecting them Tuesday. The guinea pig and the chicks were moved to the laundry now that Spot is outside. I finally have my dinning room free of animals. Miss Alice (the guinea pig) is doing so well. She’s piling on the pounds and is healthy and round. She is so cute. We have a conversation every morning and during afternoon tea while I’m getting her food ready. I have made a dentist appointment for Friday. I’m such a baby when it comes to the dentist chair but I’m afraid there’s no getting away from this one. My tooth is aching and I can’t leave it any more.

Johnny contacted David again to enquire about the heifers. David says the bull doesn’t even sniff at her so she must be pregnant. I wish there was a better confirmation but there’s nothing we can do about it. The hopefully three pregnant heifers will arrive on the weekend if all goes to plan which is wonderful. At last Johnny will have his Dexter cows.

The day is really overcast and grey and I’m not very motivated to do much. Hopefully it warms up too as I’m freezing cold.

22 June 2009

Today I got another call from Jemma to say she had a friend wanting to sell their lambs and she wanted to know if we were interested. I said “yes” straight away and told her I would call back later to confirm once I’d spoken to Johnny. I was excited again and thought we would get the sheep after all. These ones were a Marino breed which was what I’d settled on too. This was great news! Later on more disappointment was to follow as I was to find out that the lambs that were available were desexed males only! Another let down. So the search is still on. I suppose it is just as well. The weather has been poorly these past few days. The rain has not stopped soaking the ground to capacity again. At least this time there are no cyclonic winds to knock over trees and such. It could be rather traumatic for the lambs though, so like I said its better they don’t come now.

The dog house that Johnny and Jonathan made over the weekend was brought onto the porch tonight for Spot. It’s like he knows he’s been booted outside and the only way he knows how to object is to stare me down. He and his sad eyes just stare at me – giving me a million words. He’s not impressed with the state of affairs at the moment. It’s a dogs’ life. What can I say?

The remaining seven chicks are doing well and I think we are over the only fatalities in this batch. The ones that survived are noisy, perky and very healthy. I can’t wait until they are old enough to go outside with the other hens. Come spring the guinea pig will be outside too. I’m done with animals inside my house.

21 June 2009

Today the rain fell softly through the day. Johnny managed to fix a paddock gate which was really oversized for the opening and rather heavy to lift. Now with some alterations and modifications, it fits to size and we all can open it easily. We painted the new skirting boards which have to be fitted still. Then we started painting down the passage. We painted late into the night and fell exhausted into bed tonight. It was a great feeling to achieve some more progress. My head hardly touched the pillow and I met the sandman. A good day.

20 June 2009

This morning Jemma rang me to say she’d changed her mind and was not selling them anymore. She is worried about the babies and might re advertise them after she has given birth. I’m so disappointed but it wasn’t meant to be I suppose. I had already got my hope up and was really looking forward to the arrival of these sheep. I suppose the good thing that has come out of this experience is that I know that I would prefer a wool shearing sheep. Maybe it’s a good thing too as I don’t know how well I would have done in winter with those tiny things. Johnny arrived home from work armed with the skirting boards I’d found and some more paint. Yes, we can get back into some more painting. It is starting to rain so I guess my plans to work in the garden have been squashed for today!

19 June 2009

Today I went to look after a friend’s daughter as her school had closed for a week due to a swine flu scare. Listening to the news last night, Australia has had its first Swine flu death in Adelaide. They did say he has complications but it’s really scary none the less. During the morning I got a call from Johnny to say he had taken Jonathan home as he was ill. He couldn’t keep anything down. Now the reason Jonathan was with Johnny was due to him taking part in a week’s worth of work experience. He really worked hard and the poor thing is not even going to be paid for it. Work experience is arranged through the school and it is totally voluntary. I think personally he was very tired and now has caught this tummy bug. He couldn’t keep anything down and wasn’t a very happy chap. He also had this raging headache. So it was panado’s and off to bed for him. Later on this evening he perked up and was able to drink a coke. Hopefully it’s just a 24 hour thing.

You might remember me speaking about getting some sheep. Yes, what can I say I’m on the hunt again for more animals. I’ve been searching and finally found two sheep for sale not to far from us. I felt rather silly though as I had contacted this lady in the beginning of the week and Johnny was under so much pressure at work he ended up working late each night. This foiled my plans to go and look at the sheep. Finally tonight we went and had a look. Now it was rather dark and it had started raining again. Jemma, the lady had a flashlight so the situation wasn’t ideal but I got to see them okay. You guessed it. WE WANT THEM. The female is pregnant and due to deliver mid July. The second is a 7 month old male from a completely different family which is so wonderful. I know down the line when it’s bitterly cold in the middle of July (not that it’s not now already) and this girl has her babies, I’m going to probably be complaining again. What am I going to do with a baby lamb or two? I don’t think they will survive outside. Well enough of that, I will cross that bridge when I get there. Where there’s a will there’s a way. The sheep are crosses between a Damara and a Merino which means we will have to sheer them. Jemma, has a man that comes around to sheer the sheep for a small amount. She said she would give me his details. He doesn’t mind only doing two sheep which is good. I must add once we have seen it been done I’m sure Johnny will like to try his hand at it aswell. I think it would been rather nice to spin the wool and possible use it to make some knee blankets for the lounge. How awesome will that be? To raise your sheep, shear them, dye the wool, spin it into balls and then croquet your own knee blankets. I think apart from the very hard labor it must be rather rewarding. So we arranged to collect them Saturday afternoon when Johnny gets home from work.

16th June 2009

We lost two baby chicks over night. It’s so sad but the way things happen in nature. Only the strongest survive. I lost my prize hen today too. She was a very special girl as she was my first egg layer and will be fondly remembered. I might have mentioned that she wasn’t looking too perky the past few days. Its strange how you get to know your girls so well and the slightest change in them you notice. Somebody suggested I get Apple cider vinegar and put that in the water as it could be from her eating her own poo! I know its sounds disgusting and try as I have, unfortunately not succeeded in stopping this from happening. I think that is the cause at least. Apparently it’s the bacteria in the poo that makes the hens sick. Well when I left this morning she was still alive but by the time I returned this afternoon with the cider vinegar she had died sometime while I was out during the course of the day. I have now added the vinegar to the water in the hope that this will stop any further deaths. The two baby chicks are going to be replaced as Ingrid the breeder guaranteed them for six weeks which is a good thing. She is all the way on the other side of town though which is a long trek! What can I do? I’m lucky to be getting another two I suppose.

It is so cold here at the moment. What did I say about those very hot summer days? Boy we still have a very long period to go and I must admit - I’m definitely over this winter thing. We continue to love our open fire. We light it most evenings, and for much of the weekend and it gives such a huge amount of pleasure. Warm, cozy, inviting and relaxing.

Another good piece of new to share is that my tomato plant looks like it just might make it after all. After I transplanted it into a pot it drooped madly and I thought I’d killed it. I noticed today new, fresh and perky leaves underneath. Yay, for the tomato plant.

11 June 2009

This morning Michaela woke up and could hardly swallow anything. Her throat felt like there were razorblades in it. I decided to keep her home and take her to the doctor. I had received word last night that the Austrolop chicks were ready for collection so figured we could collect them and then go to the doctor on the way back. The address was about an hour from us and so after making the doctor’s appointment Michaela and I set off to pick up the chicks. They are the most adorable little things out! They are black with yellow bellies. After this we went to the doctor. It turns out Micky has tonsillitis, the poor thing. No wonder she was complaining so much. We picked up medication and left for home.

I rigged up the light Johnny has made for the chicks and gave them food and water. They seem rather happy. My major concern is to keep these little things alive. It’s going to be intense for about the first eight weeks or so. Ingrid did say she guarantees the chick and if any die in the first six weeks she will replace them. She also said that if it happens that we land up with more than one rooster then she will replace them too. So all in all it’s a good service.

My muscles are aching from my superwoman activity yesterday. I think tonight I will take a long hot bath to ease my aching muscles. I’m definitely not going to do that job again. I need my head read as my Dad would say!

CHAPTER SIX

10 June 2009

My but the weather has turned cold. The mornings I look like a snowman from the North Pole. I must look a sight! My beanie is getting some use at last along with a pair of suede glove that Granddad Emeal gave me about three winters back. When it’s time to go out and tend to the animals the scarf is wrapped around my neck and partly up my face. I’m then ready to brace the bone chilling wind outside.

This afternoon I decided to be brave. I thought I’d collect the firewood and try and chop some up. This was quite a funny experience really but apart from how hilarious I must have looked, it was quite a strenuous attempt too. I felt like Kate Winslett in “The Titanic” with the axe in my hands. It was a case of hit and miss. Well firstly, the job of just getting the logs to stand up straight was a feat on its own. Then to hit the same spot twice if I didn’t dig the heavy axe into the log deep enough was the second feat. I built up quite a sweat I will tell you! It was time to peel off some layers. First to go was the beanie followed by the scarf and then the gloves and jumper were the last to go. I wasn’t even cold by then. I was sure that this endeavor was going to render me useless tomorrow. I could feel my muscles stretching to the limit. Once I had completed the pile of logs and turned them in firewood I stood back panting but admiring my handiwork. Sjoe was that hard work or what! I did it though which just goes to show you, one can achieve anything if you set your mind to it! Feeling rather pleased with myself I went to get my camera for proof. Jonathan was not going to believe that I did this. I don’t think I’ll do this job again though, that is for sure.

Make a Smilebox greeting

The top ones taste better I'm sure!

07 June 2009

This morning the fog had rolled in thick and fast. It was beautiful to stand in my PJ’s wrapped with a scarf sipping my coffee among the animals this morning. It was so peaceful. Really cold but lovely and peaceful. The fog lifted so quickly and the sun came out. The next minute I heard a rumble of thunder. I thought I was hearing things for a minute and then it came again. The sky clouded over and the rain started pouring again. It was the start of a winter storm which only hung around for about an hour at the most. We have had so much rain these past weeks; it’s both wonderful and annoying. I’m tire of spongy ground and I want it all to dry up. Come on sun…. Watching the weather forecast the temperature is due to dip a fair bit this coming week.

Today Jonathan went back to rugby after been rather ill this past week. I kept him at home on Wednesday and took him off to the doctor. Gratefully the cold had not gotten into his chest and he didn’t need medication. The doc advised us to continue using the pump and taking panadol for the pain. Lots of fluids and rest too. Hmm, easier said than done. Johnny arrived home early that day too fill of the flu aswell. I got him some flu tablets from the chemist and sent them both to bed on Wednesday afternoon. Now they are both well again – thank goodness. Johnny is still coughing a bit but on the mend. As I was saying Jonathan went back to rugby today and his team won the game. Hooray for the saints!

Late afternoon after the game we moved most of the recent pruning done this past week to the back onto our bonfire. The pile is growing wildly. The weather hasn’t allowed us to burn much so it’s been growing steadily. It’s going to make a gigantic blase when the wood is dry enough to burn. We stocked up on our supply of fire wood in the process as well which is good. I sure do miss the long summer days when the light fades really late in the evening. Now we are limited to the time outside these days and it’s not nice. We did as much as we could. Tomorrow a public holiday being the queen’s birthday will bring more time. For now it’s time to retreat indoors to make supper for my hungry brood.

Fishing!

06 June 2009

Saturday morning, we went out to find a new feed supply store that David had referred us too. After driving up and down the road, we finally stopped at one which I’m still not sure was the right one, none the less we were tired of driving and it looked good. A very helpful man shared a lot of vital information on the cows, goats and chooks. We left loaded with a new type of grain for the cattle, a salt block for the goats, guinea pig food and the measuring tape for the cows that I’d read up about on the net. It’s supposed to estimate the weight of the cow. Not an easy task but the cheapest way for absolute beginners like us who don’t yet have an eye for estimation. I also scored a very handy book on chook raising which is good to have.

On the way home we pasted a farmers market and decided to stop. I love the markets around here. They always have loads of surprises. You are bound to leave with one treasure or another. Latterly I’ve been thinking loads about planting fruit trees and veggies. So it was my mission to look out for these two treasures. I found exactly what I wanted and left with a mandarin tree which was a true bargain I thought.

At home I set about planting my fruit tree and fertilizing the ground around the two new trees. I then moved on to plant my pumpkin seeds which I had been drying for the past few days. I replanted the tomato plant which was growing in a pot plant accidentally. How it got started I don’t know. I don’t remember tossing out any seeds. Now with a stake to coil around it, it will be better. I’m looking forward to the day I see a shoot sticking through the top layer of soil and I can transplant the pumpkin plants into the ground.

"What's the fuss it's not that cold" he says.

05 June 2009

Well the Dexter cow is being “attended” too by the bull so we can’t rush the procedure. Johnny spoke to David and reminded him we were waiting patiently. We have taken turns in taking the children passed to see the cow. On both occasions the bull was comfortably laying down. He didn’t look that busy! Silly old bull. Or just maybe he was exhausted – who knows?

Johnny ordered day old chicks over the internet. Ostralop chicks they are. Seeing that we have just started the winter months, it’s going to be a challenge to get them to a stage where they no longer need constant vigilance. Should be as fun as having a filing with no anesthetic! On top of this fun future activity he made sure that part of the ten; one of them must be a rooster. Now I don’t need to remind you about our last experience with a rooster! Well, I definitely haven’t forgotten but Farmer brown is head strong about breeding these chicks. They should be ready to collect in a few weeks so I’ll keep you updated. I should have some funny stories to share then.

A misty foggy morning on our farm.

1 June 2009

I’ve just gone down to see the chooks. They are all well and even Missy sore bottom is doing great. Her tail feathers are up again and she was pecking for insects. She is still separated from the other three (probably safer) but looking much better. I went earthworm hunting again and collected about ten or so juicy worms for her. She only ate two but at least it was something. I’m thinking the worms did the trick yesterday and perked her up. I’ll just keep doing this for awhile and hopefully things will look up.

Spotty’s nose is out of joint but that’s’ okay – he will have to just learn to stay out side the chook pen.

Fast forward to this afternoon. Missy sore bottom is looking much better. Her tail feathers are still up and she was strutting around again. I think she is going to pull through this ordeal. I got two eggs today.

Let me sleep! LOL

31 May 2009

May came in like a lamb and rushed out like a lion. Boy, where does the time go?

The inevitable happened with the pup the other day and I’m so angry about the whole ordeal. I really thought that if he grew surrounded with the animals that he would become accustomed to them and not worry about them. This is the story.

I’ve already told you about my idea to move the goats. My very bright idea to move the animals turned out to create a disaster I’m afraid, but I honestly had the goats best interests at heart. I was concerned that they might need some different scenery as I said before and it all started off rather well and then landed up bad. Well for one chook that is. I’ve learnt to keep them all apart in their own enclosures for a good reason. The goats will finish the chicken feed if they get in with them. The ducks mess the chicken’s water and dirty it terribly and the chickens just have it in their brains that the ducks crush is better tasting than their food, the laying mash. So you can see it’s quite a thing! Now back to the story. The goats were on the far left enclosure and I had to get them to the far right enclosure - this was a job but from the previous entry you can see was done. I won’t bore you with all the details but suffice to say I failed horribly at this rigmarole. I did manage to save all the food and water but the animals all landed up together in the far right area. I gave up trying to get them to go back and exhausted I stood watching them all. They seemed to be fine and were all co-inhabiting peacefully. I resigned to the fact that I would leave them there for awhile and then start the whole process of moving them back later on. The goats were clearly disturbed and didn’t like the idea one bit. Eventually they move around and ran up the sand mould I was telling you about before. They tasted a few leaves from the overhanging tree and made a lot of noise voicing their objections to the move. Well who likes moving? I certainly don’t so I understood. I wearily went upstairs to tackle the kitchen sink and watched from the window noting later on that morning all was well. I glanced at the gate and remembered that Johnny was digging there and there was a big gap under the gate that I hadn’t thought of. It pasted my mind that Spot was playing outside and may go under and harass the chickens and ducks. The goats have put him in place and he knows where he stands in the great scheme of things which is so good. So they weren’t my worry. My thoughts weren’t even cold and I saw the pup wrestling the chicken on the ground. He had done the exact thing I’d thought moments before. I charged out to rescue the chicken and only hoped that she would be okay. She just lay there. Spot got a real smack and I picked up my girl. She was bleeding abit but I think was just in shock. She wasn’t injured badly. I didn’t know if she would survive though. I was so angry with myself and spotty. Why didn’t I think about this? I guess I just hoped that he would become accustomed to the chickens and they wouldn’t worry him. I know its instinct for him and he is just being a hound but it doesn’t help reasoning this matter out. The chook is still hurt and so is my heart. I’m the one to blame.

I put her in the laying box and kept a close eye on her the whole day. She is eating and drinking and even laid an egg the following day after this incident. Her tail feathers are hanging down though and she’s not well. I’m not ready to cull her yet, it seems like such a brutal thing to do. You’re probably all thinking its part of farming! I know this but it’s still hard. Johnny tells me “it’s just a chicken babe” but she’s not just a chicken, she is MY chicken who I watched grow and I feed her everyday and collect her eggs too. I know it’s just a mindset. We eat chicken probably three times a week as part of our diet. Those were all chooks running around too!! What am I going to do? I think the first will be hard as all first things are tougher to do.

Right now she is still quite weak and doesn’t do much walking around. Yesterday I dug up some earth worms for her to try and stimulate her appetite. I don’t want her to suffer. She ate them but still looks unhappy. The other hens disregard her and bully her at the food dispenser. It’s like they sense she is the weaker one and peck her. It’s horrible! Nature is so cruel I think. A real learning experience again for me. She didn’t lay another egg after this but then the rest of the chickens seem to be having a break too. I think the cold weather has a lot to do with it. Yesterday I only got one egg.

On a lighter note and the house renovations front, things are looking up. The lounge is receiving tender loving care. Johnny changed the light fittings and plugs to new ones and I worked on the final tit bits of painting. I just have one more coat to do on the cornices and then the ceiling. I know we probable should have painted the ceiling first but hey we like to do things differently, what can I say. My beautiful curtains just complete the place. I have another idea to change the skirting boards from the plain ones they are currently there to the fancy molded ones. I’m torn between leaving the old ones there and having the lounge complete but as Johnny says I won’t be totally happy until the skirting I want are there. Besides it’s not such a job to change. I’ll go looking this week for nice ones.

Okay let’s move onto the garden landscaping. Johnny cleared and pruned a lot more of the front and I got stuck into the rose bed again making a little more headway there. The further along I go on the bed I clear, the harder the growth of roots seems to be. My humble tools are battling and I wish I had more strength in my hands. I will persevere and each time I get a little bit more done. It’s seems like I’ve been busy on this for ages but there have been lots of interruptions with the weather patterns etc. We have cut down a tree overhanging the garage. The branches got chopped up for firewood. It is amazing how much more it lightened up the back garden. It’s good. The goats enjoyed the leaves and have completed cleaned up the vines growing on the fences in their paddock. They seem to enjoy the little purple flower growing on the vine. Any flowers now that I think of it. That’s goats for you. They eat anything. While I was busy in the garden the children were helping me. It was a wonderful time for us working together. They lost interest after awhile and snuck off to go watch TV. Johnny promptly collected them and chased them outside. It was such a beautiful day outside with the sun shining and they want to be couch potatoes! They didn’t win and finally got stuck in with me.

I’m wondering what’s happening with our Dexter cows? It’s been about two weeks now and we haven’t heard anything. Johnny is going to ring David and find out. As a matter of interest, can’t recall if I mentioned it. A heifer’s gestation period is nine months just like us! I’m so excited to get them.

Give me a break! I'm still waking up!

30 May 2009

I took my morning stroll down to the animals to tend to the chores that were waiting for me. The hens on cue laid four huge eggs. What beautiful girls they are! I decided to rotate the animals for awhile seeing that the grass and greenery was looking rather short. Plus a change of scenery for the animals is always good I guess. The goats were very hesitate at first and wouldn’t leave the area they were accustomed too. The chickens, cheeky little things that they are, rushed out and immediately tucked into the new insects around. I really didn’t want them out but it was hard to stop them and control the goats at the same time. The ducks enjoyed the change too and eventually I coaxed the goats out. So they all landed up together which I didn’t want but seemed to have none the less. The mould of sand was their first point to visit. As goats do, up to the top they ran. There they enjoyed the leaves of the overhanging trees. Bored with the new surrounding off they went back to the familiar environment. Creatures of habit I suppose. All was going well up to this point.

Gumboot heaven! LOL

28Th May 2009

This morning was one of those difficult mornings to arise and shine. Last night Johnny finished laying the section of slate on the lounge floor, I was the apprentice of course! Vacuuming up the dust and cleaning off the tiles that were lying in the garage for the longest time. The reason we had a section of untiled floor was because Paul the previous owner had a very beautiful bookshelf running from the top of the wall to the bottom in the lounge. I had admired it the first time I’d seen it. Unbeknown to us Paul was plotting on taking it out. Hey, thanks Paul! None the less with it gone the bare cement remained. An eyesore to me on a daily basis I must add. I’m grateful that he left the excess slate in the garage for us to use though. This is no longer an eyesore though, as my very talented and determined man has sorted it out. It is incredible how just seeing the lounge come together has caused my spirits to rise. I stood back and looked at the lounge. We are enjoying the sense of accomplishment immensely and are so excited to move onto the next item on the list. In fact so much so I had a problem summoning the sandman yet again. My head was swimming with ideas and as I lay in bed I shared my thoughts with Johnny. I received um, and yes, um and yes and then suddenly there was no response to my list of ideas anymore. He was sound asleep, a place I longed for right then. Of course my late night antic’s had an adverse affect on my morning routine. But that’s a story for tomorrow….

Check out this spider web I found in the paddock today.

27th May 2009

I had to taxi Jonathan to rugby tonight and because of this decided to sort the animals out when I got home. Not thinking wisely that perhaps it would be very dark when I got home we left to take Johno. Half way there I received a phone call to say the grounds are still closed and that practice is cancelled. We turned around and made our way home feeling irritated about the waste of time. Fast forward an hour and while sorting the food out at home I recall thinking that the cows must be rather hungry tonight as they were already up for the night. I also remember thinking it was a good thing as I wouldn’t have to call them in like I usually do. I wish I’d thought through what might happen next with a bowl of grain in my hand and two hungry cows! So ignorantly I moved into their section with the feed in my hand. T-bone the black cow came up behind me and knocked my arm quite hard. It was really sore. He was innocently looking for the feed and I received a large bump on my elbow in the process. I immediately moved away fast and both cows ran after me. I realized at that moment my hand was the target. I dropped the grain and threw the scoop the other way. I got such a fright and for the first time was truly afraid of them. They have grown so big and tend to be rather boisterous at feed time. I have a healthy respect for the cows and won’t fall into that trap again. It is best to sort out their feed earlier when they are still out in the paddock as I have been doing in the past. Ah, wisdom comes.

This is the tree in the big paddock that blew over in the wild weather. The cows are eating the vines that were growing on the tree.

25/05/2009

What a lot of water we have had these few days. We received one years’ water in three days to be precise. The dams are at last around 73% and the drought is officially broken. Another bout of heavy rain and many flash floods added to the mix. Allot of surrounding suburbs are under water and have major insurance claims to lodge no doubt. Those that are lucky enough to have insurance cover. We have been safe through it all which I am very grateful for. A few branches were broken off around the house in the gale force winds but nothing close to the house thankfully. The new duck pond overflowed and the top dams is at its brink. The ground has absorbed so much water it is spongy and soft. Even to walk on is difficult as you seem to sink almost as if it were sinking sand. During the cyclonic weather pattern many houses lost electricity. At one stage ours dimmed but never went out. It wasn’t very pleasant to hear the new reports of the devastation around us. The Premier declared Queensland a state of emergency due to the damage done. I understand more and more why the weather in Australia is regarded as extreme. Mother natures’ wrath is released in full fury at these times.

The ducks have refused to swim in the pond for some unknown reason. I declare I have never heard about ducks which do not want to swim in water. I have thought about this scenario time and time again. I had tried to entice them with bread and finally resorted to throwing them into the middle only to find them frantically fly out again. Me thinks there might just be an anaconda down in the water that the ducks know about and are afraid of. Jokes aside, what on earth could they be afraid of? It’s just water for goodness sake. It’s really strange.

The goats have sulked around and definitely do not enjoy all the wet. Johnny eventually cleared out a spot for them in the little shed we had in their enclosed paddock so they could take refuge there. The first day the rain fell, I kept them inside their enclosures where they sleep. This was one big mistake. I will not do that again. I declare goats are the smelliest animal I’ve met. The urine is excessively strong and nothing you laid down absorbs the smell. I’ve been thinking about all my animals and have come to the following conclusion. The chooks are the cleanest, the goats are the smelliest, and the ducks and cows are the messiest. Oh boy, nothing like overcast days to make one think strange thoughts! None the less, I approached the aid of my local stock supply store in the hope there was a product out there that could help take the urine smell away. I was given aglime but the gentlemen behind the counter could not guarantee it would work. What to do! I was desperate what can I say. I grabbed the aglime and headed home. Reading the information on the side I noticed it said it was used to improve soil. It didn’t say anything about smell! It didn’t work and Saturday morning Johnny mucked out all the woodcutting's which were holding the urine. He hosed down the area and the smells got much better. I’m sure as the sun dried everything out it will go back to what it was before all the rain. I’m not putting wood shaving back in their enclosures again. Johnny says pallet to take them off the floor would be better and to allow the urine to flow down to the drain and out of the enclosures is better. Well, that is the idea anyway – hopefully it works. Saturday the rain came on and off throughout the day. Johnny was attacking the trees above the garage and got quite a lot pruned. The lounge is still in progress however I’m happy to report that my curtains are finally up. They look wonderful. The painting of the lounge is about 95% done. We just have the final touches to the skirting boards to do. We planned to do some tiling to finish off the slate this weekend too but as usual the time runs away with us. Sunday, I at long last planted my orange tree with much deliberation from Johnny about where it was to be placed. The soil is waterlogged and it probably wasn’t the best time to be planting fruit trees but my impatient nature got the better of me. It’s in the ground and that is good in my book. I pasted a lazy Sunday, reading and doing my puzzle which once again, probably should have been spending the time painting or tiling or something constructive. I was lacking zeal though. Yup, reading was definitely a better choice.

Today the sun is shinning and busy drying everything out which is great. The pup is lying on my lap as I type here. Nothing likes Mom’s lap. He is stretched out and comfortable. It brings back sweet memories of when the children were mere babies. They used to fit comfortably on our laps and sleep peacefully. Gee, those days seem like a million years ago and yet it wasn’t so long ago. Time has passed. I’ve made so many adjustments and changes to my life since then. Who would have thought life’s’ highway would have landed me here on a farm on Australian soil? Spending a few moments looking back isn’t bad. It makes you grateful for all of the experience. Life has been stressful, busy, happy, sad, joyful but mostly very exciting. I’m grateful for it all and believe it has shaped me into the person I am. Well, before I got sidetracked there I was telling you that Spot was going for his next injection today and micro chipping so probably won’t be too happy later on. I figured a bit of spoiling now was in order.

Last night Jonathan managed to stroke the stray cat (now christened socks) and even managed to pick him up to pet. He was quite comfortable and we were surprised. I was extremely concerned that he may scratch Jonathan and warned my son of such. The moment Jonathan put him down; he darted out the door like a lightening bolt. He is definitely coming around though. Who would have though this could have been achieved? He probably thought okay that’s enough human touch for one night!

I suppose you could say I’ve started another fruit tree if you one of those people who think Avocado are fruit. I stabbed the pips with toothpicks and suspended them over a bowl with some water. I placed them on the window sill to get some sun which hopefully stays out longer the next few days and weeks. If I can wait patiently I will see some roots growing soon and the humble pips will land up producing many wonderfully avo’s in the distant future. I had great plans to plant pumpkins and tomatoes awhile back. I will get to that soon. I need the planting bug to bite and I’ll be on my way. I’m afraid I’m not there yet!

The fireplace was in full use over the weekend of course. We have discovered that you have to chop the wood into wedges for it too really take off and burn. Yes, this is an awful job and one left to the mighty men in my life. Can you imagine me with….. What’s that thing called - a wood chopper???? Oh no, that is just sad. Ah, now I remember, it is called an axe. Well I was saying that the fire needs to taste the inside of the log. It seems to burn easier. Perhaps it’s drier there and that is the reason. I’m not too clued up with this process (you can tell I didn’t become a scout) but I have faith that I will learn. To enjoy the pleasure of an evening in front of a fire one must endure the pains of preparation. Such is life.

LADYBIRD, LADYBIRD FLY AWAY HOME.

20/05/2009

Last night we went to see two breeds of dairy goats not too far from us. This couple who run the goat club. Their names are Elaine and Basil. They are on pension and this is their hobby. They judge a lot of the shows too. Their goats are show goats aswell. They are more into showing the goats than milking them. I asked her what she does with the milk. Mostly it goes to the kids and then to a new foal down the road and the rest to a friend of theirs that has puppies. The goats are incredible! She has two types. One is an Anglo Nubian and the other is the British Alpine. Both of these breeds have a very high percentage of buttermilk so it is very good for cheese making. The Nubian goat has the most incredible coat. My goodness but they have big ears. The ears hang down almost touching the ground! They are far bigger than the Boer goats although these goats are much older. The Alpine goats are black and have little white markings. They are also quite big goats. The strange part about the Nubians are their faces, well actually it is the bridge on the noses which are humped. It is the strangest sight! Elaine feeds her goats about a dozen different feeds to make sure the goats coat is perfect for the shows. I must say the doe was beautiful. She had just won first prize yesterday. In the shed where she keeps the goats, we saw two possums up in the roof. They just sat there and watched us out of big round eyes, waiting for us to leave. I believe we were interrupting their dinner time. Elaine told me that a friend of hers will be having a kid in the near future and she will also be having a kid, both will be the Alpine goats. Possibly they will be for sale. She took my details and told me she would let me know as soon as she knows something. It’s so exciting to know down the line I will be getting dairy goats. Then I will be frantically learning about cheese making. They are not as expensive as I expected which is another bonus. The heavens opened up as we were on our way to Elaine and continued to pour down through the night. The water tanks are over flowing again.

After we bid our new contacts goodbye, we received a call from David. David was the contact breeder for the Dexter cows we went to see on Sunday afternoon. He told us that his contact up in Toowoomba has more heifer’s ready to sell. He is willing to bring them to us free of charge and they will both be pregnant. So after sorting out the details and price we have settled on taking David’s one and their two. Hopefully by Christmas or just after that we will be the proud owners of six Dexter cattle. David said he will let us know when they can come down. It’s all so exciting and nerve- racking too. I know we have two already and the Dexter’s can’t be all that different but it’s still all so new.

I learnt another tip from Elaine about disciplining naughty goats last night. Goats do not like to get wet and a squeezer bottle fill of water will quickly sort out any misbehavior.

I climbed into bed and had such trouble summoning sleep with all these wonderful thoughts flying through my head of goats and cows. I eventually drifted off to sleep with the soft patter of the rain on the roof. What a start to the week!

17/05/2009

Well another weekend is behind us. The time flies by so fast these days it’s scary. I wake up on a Monday morning and blink and there the week is gone. I still have a long list of things I wanted to get too and the time is gone. I suppose I made a few changes. I changed the curtain hooks in Michaela’s room so they hang a bit higher and in so doing saved me another bout of sewing. The lounge painting (first coat only) is complete at long last and I have purchased the supplies to paint the doorframes and window sills too.

The grey water pipe repairs are still waiting to be completed. All my bright plans for Johnny this weekend came to a grinding halt as he had a breakdown at work and worked most of Saturday daylight hours. While I’m frustrated that it didn’t get finished I’m resign to being patience. A trait I seem to have less and less of as I grow older. The orange tree which I purchased two weeks back waits patiently to be planted in the ground. Oh where does the precious time go?

I have been reading up on the net regarding the diets of goats and I see that goats find lots of nutrients in weeds, so today while in the garden I plucked out a few dozen (boy do they grow like wildflowers) and recycled them to the goats. To my delight the goats found the weeds nice and juicy and munched them down quickly. The guinea pigs got the thistles and they enjoyed those too. Much of the front garden was worked in today and although the garden still has plenty to be done it’s taking the shape of our inexperienced hands nicely. Johnny attacked the far side of the rose bed with the tractor where the ground cover had just been left to run wild before. The roots were so deep and strong it was impossible for me to root them up with my humble garden tool. It was a Herculean labor and I was glad for the help of the machine. Perhaps there is light at the end of this tunnel after all. Thank goodness for tractors.

I made contact with a very helpful lady who runs a goat club and has dairy goats at the moment. I’m rather disappointed that I didn’t get hold of her before I bought the Boer goats. I’ve enveloped them into my heart and there is no way I could swap them for two dairy goats in stead as she suggested. I’m going to try and convince Johnny to have both. What is the harm? These nanny goats have won my heart and are part and parcel of our family now. None the less Monday night we will visit her and see her goats. I’m rather excited about it too.

This afternoon we went to look at the Dexter heifer which is in calf up the road from us after David contacted Johnny and told him that he has a heifer for sale. She is the most beautiful creature and very friendly. She has never calved before but she looks healthy and strong. A cows gestation period is nine months so we should have a baby around January. David reckons she had run with the bull for about a month so he’s certain she is pregnant but to be on the safe side he will put the bull back in with her to make sure. This means we will have to wait a few more weeks. I suppose it doesn’t matter really but we are eager to get her home. We gained a fair bit of insight from David about where to find cattle stores and fly tags which are used to keep the buffalo fly off the cows. Apparently the flies attack the cows’ eyes and cause a lot of damage there. New experiences and learnt information have become so part of us that it’s easy to forget that we never knew them.

The stray cat is making more and more relaxed visits. By george, I think it’s becoming domesticated! Its favorite place at the moment seems to be staring at us through the double sliding glass door in the kitchen. Jonathan was able to hand feed it tonight. He has named it socks due to the white feet. I’ve given it much thought and don’t have the heart to be a willing participant in its death. The RSPCA will not be able to re-home it and its fate is in my hands. Having a cat is good as I’m sure the snakes are kept at bay due to the cats’ presence. Okay another animal to the list.

I’ve been spending a lot of time down at the pond feeding the ducks and taking a few moments out each day to read my book down there. It’s wonderfully relaxing. Today the birds tried to get in on the action too but were rather wary of me. They stayed in the distance watching and waiting for a piece of bread to fly astray their way. I even had a Galare. That is a pink and grey cocker too like bird.

Jonathan came home from his rugby game and was rejoicing because he scored a try in the game. He really enjoys the rugby game so much and it’s wonderful to see his excitement and enthusiasm about playing.

13/05/2009

The chicken’s adventures have come to a halt! They are now kept away from the first fenced paddock with the wall and are resigned to the fact that they must stay inside the fences at last. I had the ducks, chooks and goats all together up until today. Lady and Carla have now discovered the chicken’s food is rather tasty and I guess the line about “goats eating anything” is true. They get quite annoyed with me when I stop them from eating the grain. I mean goats are meant to eat the grass and weeds aren’t they? So now they get separated from the ducks and the chickens. They don’t appreciate being left out of the feeding scheme. So at night I give them a little handful of cattle mix that I give to the cows to keep them happy.

T-bone has what I would call an ox picker permanently around him laterally. It’s a large white bird. Johnny doesn’t think we get ox pickers here so it must be another type of bird. No matter its name, he is enjoying the flies hanging around the cow and doesn’t stay too far from the black cow. Yesterday I was washing up the dishes and looked out to see the cows and the wild kangaroo’s interacting. It was amazing and yet again I wasn’t prepared with my camera. It would have been an amazing shot! The kangaroo’s looked quite aggressive and had there fore arms up ready. Nothing came of it and they eventually left.

The past two nights Johnny’s been working on the lounge. Using filler and plaster to fill in gaps. The builder that built this house didn’t finish off the sealing well so no wonder the bugs thought this was their hotel – nobody stopped them moving in! Slowly but steady we are moving ahead in the lounge. Now that it’s so cold in the evening it’s harder to want to work. One would much rather slouch on the couch and enjoy a fire and the telly instead.

Yesterday I ordered some stone and it was delivered. This weekend Johnny can lay the stone down and close up the gapping holes in the ground for the grey water system. I will be very happy to see this job complete. We got some more rain yesterday and our tank is overflowing again – yay!

I finally got around to buying my first fruit tree and I have chosen an orange tree to start off with. Hopefully this weekend it will find a home somewhere in the garden.

08/05/2005

Who says animals are dumb creatures? My hens are far too intelligent for my liking! Even after we cut there wings they still are escaping….. How I do not know yet but I’ve investigated any possible holes in the fences but alas, there are none. The remaining possibility is the flower bed that has a wall around it. The height takes the chicken around half way up the fence and I see they like to sit and perch on this wall. I now think they are using the wall as a spring board seeing that they can’t fly over. How else are they getting out? It is truly a mystery. Today I didn’t let them into the area where the wall is, so let’s see it that solves this mystery.

Lady and Carla are becoming so used to us now and on the odd occasion they allow us to stroke them. They are such beautiful creatures and have some real attitude too.

It was so cold last night that when I stuck my nose out of the blankets it felt like it was so frozen it would fall off. The cold weather is making its appearance slowly. Even the animals appreciate being left inside a bit longer.

07/05/2009

Today I am happy to announce the arrival of our beautiful goats “Lady and Carla”. Johnny and I finally decided to hire a trailer and make the hour and a half trip up to Billy Joe in Lowood to collect the goats, after nothing came of my post box drops. After seeing the children off to school, it was a quick runaround making beds and general tidy up. The weather was threatening to rain and I was hoping it would hold off for our trip. Hiring the trailer seems to be a breeze and we at last set off. Traveling through Ipswich was lovely and scenic. It is really rural out here which is always lovely to see. Once we arrived it was a case of decided which two to take. Billy Joe had a very young buck to sell aswell but Johnny thought it would be wiser for us to get used to the goats first before we jump in head first with the breeding. So it was settled, we would take Lady and Carla. Johnny carried them into the very big trailer. They looked so very tiny in the bright red trailer. We got caught in traffic caused by roadwork’s on the way back and doubted whether we would make it back with the trailer in the set time. There was nothing we could do but sit and wait as the traffic crawled along. Finally we made it past the road works and were on our way home.

At home we off loaded the goats. They made a lot of noise showing their unsettledness. Johnny and I rushed off to take the trailer back and got back just in the nick of time and so avoided the late fee charge.

The afternoon past with me snapping photos of Lady and Carla and them meeting Spot. The puppy has very quickly been put into place by the goats. They will not put up with his nonsense like the ducks and hens do. It is good that they are not afraid of him. The cows were rather curious too this afternoon and sensed something was different. They ambled up earlier than usual to stare at the goats. The hen’s wings got snipped at last and they weren’t too happy with us. They squawked for awhile but finally settled down. That’s the end of their flying days, at least until the feathers grow back that is. For now we are safe.

The children arrived home and were surprised to see the goats. Michaela spent most of the late afternoon in with the goats and eventually came out to have dinner. Unbeknown to me she had left the gate of the paddock open and the inevitable happened. I was rather exhausted from the day’s events and the rushing around early on and so was a bit slow at putting the animals in for the night. I got out eventually but it was dark already. I walked down towards the animal kennels and noticed the front gate was standing open. My heart sank as I could see the goats nowhere! The following few minutes the four of us frantically searched the garden in the dark calling and calling making supposedly “goat noises” but definitely sounding more like sheep. The gates in the top garden were all closed properly so I knew that the goats could not have escaped the property. They had to be hiding somewhere. Each minute that went by my hopes sank lower and lower. I could not believe this was happening. Just then Johnny had the wonderful idea of looking under the porch and low and behold there they were resting without a worry in the world! We picked them up and took them down to their own stall. I laid out some wood shavings and made sure there was water and some grain around. Michaela got the lecture of a life time again – the poor kid! I think she’s learnt her lesson though and the gates will all be bolted from now on. The importance of bolted gates is crucial on a farm and I think we got this point across to her well.

Our animal menagerie is slowly growing and we could not be happier!

06/05/2009

My goodness, it’s so hard to believe that almost six days have gone past and I haven’t written in this diary. I suppose it’s an indication that life is settling into a nice pattern. We have done heaps of stuff over the past week. To name a few, one was to unearth the grey water pipe which wasn’t functioning properly. After solving the septic tank issue and finding the culprit to be a mass of roots that were growing comfortable inside the pipe, I had a sneaky suspicion that this could be the same inside the grey water pipes aswell. After heaps of digging and lots of hit and misses we struck gold! As suspected the roots were causing the blockage again! We gained a fair amount of knowledge on the whereabouts of the pipes and how the drainage field is operating which is always good. We cleaned out the stables all ready for the horse to come, which I must add is not arriving as quickly as I would have liked. As far as my plans for the goats and sheep, I have made contact with a few breeders but unfortunately most of them are at least two hour drive away. Added to this dilemma is the fact that we do not have adequate cartage equipment. So either we use expensive animal carriers or hire a trailer and go and fetch the animals ourselves. This way is safer as you get to see the animals first and pay cash up front. We have to work out the details of the collection time aswell as booking and collecting the trailer. It’s all so exhausting! Down the road from me is a man who has what must be 100 goats. I think I’m going to slip a note in his post box and see if he is willing to sell me two. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could do this! Let’s hope. Failing this Johnny has said we can go and collect the “boer goats” which we have found in Lowood. This is an area 1 and half hours away. I have learnt so much about the breeds of goats in this process aswell as make a total idiot of myself too. I will fill you in on one very embarrassing conversation with the goat breeder I had made contact with. Her name was Billy Joe – how’s that for a real country name. Anyway wearing my ignorance like a crown, I was asking her if she had a boar (thinking this was the name of a male goat). She quickly corrected me and told me the male goats are called buck or Billy’s. Where was my English training now? Where was the memory of the story I learnt as a child – The three Billy goats gruff’s….. Oh boy, there is help for me yet! So in the suspicion that a lot of you out there are like me I will give you a bit of an English/biology lesson. Here goes….

Female goats are called does, and as stated above the males are called bucks. Boer goats which are a breed actually originate from South African and are hardy, good starter goats for a small holding/acreage. They are predominately for meat eating and not milking but you can cross them with a milk goat and you will get the end result. The Asian countries eat goat meat and there is apparently a huge export market out there. The meat I’m told is something like venison and quite tasty. Most people I’ve spoken too don’t eat the meat but like I said there is a big export market to hone into if ever we decide to go the breeding route. Apparently most people keep the buck away from the girls and introduce him to them around Feb to April which in turn insured a five month gestation period and kids are born after the cold winter and hence a better survival rate.

Now on to the cow’s. The contact we had has gotten tired of waiting for us to make up our minds and I have a sneaky suspicion we have lost them which is annoying as it was a very good deal but our own fault at the end of the day. I’ve emailed him and have tried to make contact but I’ve been unsuccessful. So we still do not have a milking cow. Argh, it is frustrating.

As for the sheep, there seem to be very little about, however I have found a man just around the corner from me who will sell me a ram and some ewes later on in the year. Johnny says one at a time so I guess if the ram is still here in a few weeks, we may follow up on this option too.

Well that is the update on the animal front. As for me, I’ve been sewing curtains and working in my rose garden each day. Slowly but surely I’m gaining ground back from the weeds and moving in on the pests i.e. the caterpillars. They are so pesky and ruin the new buds. They spin a web like patch over the new buds and completely suffocate them. Each day I am watering the roses with the soapy dish water and it seems to be helping. Whether it is the complete solution or not I’m yet to see, but I will persevere.

This past weekend I tried to lift the little bit of paint that had been left behind on the porch partly on the wood but mostly on the cement strip with the painter stripper. What a tedious job this was and I wasn’t very successful. I gave up shortly. Johnny says we should rather use a sander for the cement part and then rehire the wood sander again to complete this job, so for now that’s the plan. I’m not looking forward to the dust again but what’s a girl to do!

The evening and early mornings are chilly and I have completely removed all summery nightwear and replaced it with our flannel PJ’s and fluffy slippers now. We make fires most nights and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere it creates. It is wonderfully to walk outside midday and enjoy the rays of the sun and not worry that you are being burnt to a crisp for a change. Even the flowers seem to be relaxing.

Spot is doing well and slowly learning his lessons in life. Michaela comes out with the funniest things sometimes. Yesterday spot got hold of her school shoe and carted it outside to hopefully have a good chew on. I had warned her already early on to not leave her shoes there but the ears were ornaments again. When she discovered that the one shoe was gone she then had to take the torch and go outside to search for it. This is a task Michaela detests as she is a big scaredy cat in the dark. This “country dark” is a whole lot darker than the city as you can imagine. She retrieved her shoe and thankfully it wasn’t damaged. She then took spot to the laundry and gave him a stern lecture and closed the door. I asked her what was going on? She replied “Mom I am disciplining him as he has been naughty. I had to keep a straight face but inside I was giggling madly. Poor spot had forgotten completely about the shoe but put on the saddest face ever.

Okay I’ve been pro-active. I’ve gone and dropped notes off in the post boxes and hopefully will hear something soon. If this works out it will save us a heap of trouble and will be so wonderful.

CHAPTER FIVE

30/04/2009

The hens are starting to copy each other and I now have two hens outside the coop most days and two inside. I think it’s time to cut one of their wings. This will be another new experience to learn. I made a mental note for this task this weekend. This afternoon I took spot for our usual walk to take the ducks for their swimming time in the new pond. It was so peaceful sitting on the side of the pond just watching the ducks. They prune themselves and then dive under the water again and again. They come out of the dive and stretch their slim bodies up above the water and flap their wings. The baby yellow duck that I had a few weeks ago is gone and it his/her place is this graceful white beauty. Spot is learning not to chase them but he looks eagerly at them none the less. I’m really confused about the sex of the ducks. I thought we had a male at one point but I’m not so sure anymore, perhaps they are both females.

I must add that it looks like the level of the pond is dropping, not fast but substantially which is really discouraging. It means we have to reline it again. Not an easy feat!

Tonight was really nippy and we made a fire inside. The flames were mesmerizing and the warmth of the embers heated the whole lounge nicely. I love my fireplace! Well it’s hard to believe that the end of another month is upon us again. As I reflect back on April, I note that things have settled down a lot. I’m happy about a lot of things these day that have been achieved and not as wound up about the “to do” list anymore – I’ve relaxed abit. I think I’ve realized that none of the “lists” really matter in the great scheme of things. They will get done along the road.

Another beautiful sunset!


28th April 2009

This morning was very nippy. Nothing, I’m sure of what’s to come though. I looked out the kitchen window and there in the back garden I saw T-bone and Mince happily munching on my hedge! T-bone flashed me a smug look of satisfaction! A quick look around showed the gate closed and I am really at a loss as to how they escaped????? I quickly threw on a jumper and gumboots and charged outside before anymore of my beautiful hedge was demolished. Armed with a stick and shrieks I chased them back out to the big paddock. I sure wish I knew how they got out????? Silly cows, they have a huge paddock to graze in but the want the places out of bounds. I suppose it’s the age old human problem all over again. We want what we can’t have. Blondes generally want to be brunettes and brunettes want to be blondes. If we have long hair we want short and visa versa. Okay I’m rambling now but you get what I mean. It appears the cows are not exempt from this dilemma in life.

19 years!

27th April 2009

This is a very special day to Johnny and I. Today we celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. Being a Monday it was routine as usual with getting the kids off to school and general chores around the house. My “to do” list never get any shorter. The moment I cross one item off - at least two more are added. The morning passed without any eventful news and then mid morning Johnny arrived home to surprise me.

Our weed eater is finally working again after Johnny tried to start it according to the instructions. Never in my life have I seen such a lengthy start up. We have to turn the lever to 2, pull five times, turn the lever back to where it was and then pull the chain. It started. Now the strange part is that up until two weeks ago, Johnny was starting it with one pull of the chain? Strange, but none the less I am ecstatic that we do not need another one for awhile. Who says you’re too old to learn new things?


I finally worked out that my car can fit into the garage and is not too high as I anticipated. I guess it’s taken me awhile to get around to this part – it just wasn’t that important a few weeks ago and if it wasn’t for Johnny’s accurate eye, she would still be outside. It’s a tight squeeze but will suffice for the meantime. I’m glad that the girl is out of the elements at long last.

Going back to my anniversary meal, I decided to set a table and cook a home cooked meal. My table came out really nice. I made sosaties, chips and farm fresh eggs. Okay, I know that’s not too romantic but convenience is nice. I would have liked to had prawns and a fantastic desert but hey I settled for being at home with the rest of our family. We opened a bottle of bubbly and celebrated 19 years watching the sun go down. Ah, the good life.

My anniversary dinner table.

26th April 2009

“People with goals succeed because

they know where they're going" - Earl Nightingale

Johnny didn’t work today and being Saturday this was awesome. With the above inspiration we decided that the projects on the cards for this weekend were two fold. We decided to work on the duck pond and eradicate the pile of pruning which has been lying on the side for so long now I’m sure the cuttings have grown roots! Thank goodness for the tractor. It was used to build up the walls of the pond. Johnny dug in to use some soil and he hit clay. The children and I sat on the side lines making clay objects with the bits that were tossed out which was fun. They didn’t last too long as Johnny rode over them with the tractor pretty soon after we left them out to dry. What a pity as I didn’t get to take a photo. I suppose the clay in the ground is good as not much water will get through. Johnny got busy with the backbreaking work of hoeing the ground in the pond, as there was grass growing in it. After that we laid some plastic on the bottom of the dam, which proved useless as we were to discover later on. After that my clever husband remembered that Paul (previous owner) had mentioned that he thought there was a pump and pipe at the top dam which would feed the pond now. Now to find the pipe was going to be a challenge. Johnny sorted the pump out first and by sheer luck located the pipe which led all the way down past the pond site. Hooray! We were in business. It wasn’t long before the pond was filled to the brim.

Now the next thing I’m about to tell you will make your hair probably stand on end. My beautiful children decided they would like to snorkel in the pond! Out came the snorkeling equipment and flippers too! My first thoughts were “oh no you’re not” but after whining and wearing me down which seemed like forever, I confess I gave in. After all it would create a funny memory and as Laura Ingall writes and I quote

“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” – Laura Ingall

What’s more simple fun than a swim in a newly laid pond on a crisp autumn morning!

Sunday morning we had our first double yoked egg. I was so pleased. After breakfast, the men in my life went off to complete the pond. They discovered the plastic had lifted and water had gotten underneath. It wasn’t doing much good so we decided to lift it out, fold it up and hope for the best with the water. The ducks swam in the pond most of the day and enjoyed every minute of it. They sure appreciate having there own water hole after all. We are still to put a gate up and clear out the chicken hutch which is currently storing what must be a hundred logs of wood.

The pile of cuttings was burnt to a cinder and at long last the ground is clear of pruning in that spot. It sure does look good. We made so much smoke that I thought Iris would call the fire brigade at one point. But she didn’t and this afternoon she waved vigorously at me. She’s obviously very please that the eyesore is gone too and was quite willing to put up with the smoke. Bless her heart!

Just look at Michaela's expression.... How could I say no to that! -26/04/2009

26/04/09 -Seperating the pile of tree cuttings!

24th April 2009

The animals are amazing to watch. They all have what I would call them own pecking order. You can distinguish the main hen from the rest immediately and then the duck even though they are almost as big as the hens now are bitterly afraid of the hens. They won’t come near the food if the hens are about. Even the pup knows its place. I’ve been taking him with me each morning as I tend to the animals. He’s rather comfortable with the hens and ducks by now. He gives them a run for their money but seems to understand he mustn’t hurt them. He chases them around and even got a peck on the back of his neck from the one black hen once when he wasn’t watching. It didn’t bother him in the least. He just has to charge the hens and they scatter. Yesterday I introduced him to the cows. It was a magical moment. He knew instinctively that the cows could hurt him. It was a classical photo moment but I was unprepared. I’ll have to explain it the best I can. We were standing on the one side of the gate and the black cow was on the other. The cow was looking intensely at the pup with his head down to the ground and the pup was gingerly reaching up to smell the cows’ nose.

I’ve started working on my rose beds clearing the weeds and ground cover. Each day in the late afternoon the pup and I spend a quarter of an hour or so gardening. It’s a wonderfully quiet time of the day and a good opportunity for Spot to romp around in the garden. He loves it and isn’t too eager to come inside after this. I’m horrified to find my roses being eaten by something. So I’ve done what I know best to do. I’ve pruned them right back and treated them each day with soapy dishwashing water. On the weekend I will ask the nursery what she can advise too. The one rosebud was covered with a web of sorts which was so sad.

22 April 2009

The last few days have passed peacefully. The pup has settled at last (in the laundry) and not crying all night. I think it had something to do with the big fluffy blanket I relinquished in the hope he would think this it’s the bed! The chickens are well and they’re all just going about their chicken business, doing chicken things.

The children have happily gone back to school after a very quiet holiday. We spent the last few days visiting friend back in the old neighborhood and was nice. Yesterday Jonathan decided to take the ducks into the big dam for a swim. Michaela eagerly joined him. Unbeknown to me they planned on taking the tinny out and then release the ducks in the middle away from the dangerous reeds. Jonathan however forgot to check the plugs were in place in the boat. If he had he would have seen one was not there. Oblivious to what was about to transpire, he pulled the tinny into the water and they proceeded to climb into the boat. You can imagine that it didn’t take too long before the boat started to fill. Michaela had realized by this point what had happened and in typical girl fashion started to yell on top of her voice. I’m sure the whole farming community heard her voice.

I raced down to the dam fearing the worse and I must add didn’t have time to put on the boots. I found Jonathan drenched, with Michaela crying her eyes out. “Mom” she yells, we’re sinking and I have a wet bottom! I can see the funny side of this scenario now but at the time though I was fuming at their ignorance. My feet had got so sore from running down there and I was not impressed! Well Jonathan managed to get the boat out – don’t know where the missing plug got too! After chasing the ducks around the dam he finally retrieved them and came back up to the house sulking and sopping wet. The ducks were none the wiser to the commotion.

The past few nights we have been painting the kitchen. It looks wonderful! I’ve decided to change the splash backs to difference tiles and will go looking for tiles soon. The kitchen is slowly coming on.

This morning the garden looked like an aviary. I must have had about 15 cockatoos and lorikeets flying around in the garden and in the surrounding trees. It was so beautiful.