New face and old feet

We have met a new hay man through Megan and Carlos. His name is Max. He’s a feisty 83 year old with feet of leather. The first time we collected a bale of hay, he was perched on top of probably 100 or so square bales of feed. He had a customer at the bottom of the barn and he was tossing them down to her as she picked them. The second time we collected hay, he came out barefooted and jumped onto the tractor to go about his business. He loves to talk so we can never quite make the trip a short one. He lovingly talks about his land and I marvelled at his bare feet. Right on the spot where the hay is loaded onto the Ute is an ant hill. Max stood right in the middle of the ants barefooted as they began walking over his feet. I warned him of the impending bites to come, but he just laughed and said. “Don’t mind my ants, they are rather tame”. His feet made me think of my Dad’s leathery feet. He too would often go barefooted around the yard. Feet that had travelled many miles in life.

Auctions continued

Auctions can be storage bins for history really. This weekend at the auction we discovered so much history. Desks that were older than us, newspapers that held events and calendars before we were even born.  As I rested on a rocking chair, I didn’t think twice about, a lady came up to me and asked ever so politely, if she could have one last rock on her father –in- laws rocker he had made himself. I obliged of course and watched how the saddest look came over her face as she lowered herself into the chair. She explained that her daughter had bid on it but lost the bid. She told us about how the chair was hand crafted especially for his wife, made just for her measurements.  She shrugged her shoulders and sighed. It’s gone she said and walked off.  I sat back in the rocker with a new affiliation to it now.  How much love and time and effort had gone into this chair.  I wondered where it would go after this, what was to become of it?  What about all the other pre-loved items in this shed.  Each one with a story to tell.  I guess we will never know these stories.

To an auction we did go!

 Sorry folks got a bit behind with life recently. I have had an awful dose of the flu which knocked me down physically for a few days but life goes on regardless.   Routines and plans are on the move again. Today was an awesome day. It was my first farm auction ever attended. The auction was held in an area about 70 minutes away. I’d never heard of this area and was taking in the rolling hills and fertile countryside as Johnny, Michaela and I made our way over to the auction.   This was farming land definitely! The soil was rich and as far as the eye could see there were crops growing on the land. At the show grounds, we milled around looking at all the items for auction, listening to the locals, catching any tips rolling off their lips. The auctioneers began promptly at 10 and we had all gotten our bidding cards ready. I’d asked for an explanation on how the system works and there was a very kind lady behind the desk who patiently explained the process.  It was pretty simple really. The biggest thing to remember was that as soon as the hammer goes down the item is sold and the buyer should remove it immediately to safe guard it. Johnny and I moved with the crowd as the auctioneer rattled off like a gun. Words flowed faster out of his mouth than I’d ever heard before. I had to listen carefully to the description and sometimes got lost, but caught on once he held up the item. It takes a trained eye and ear for an auction. There was every item you could conceive. There were tractors, ploughs, slashers, pumps and wheels. Household items and much more. The reason we were there, was too find a possible round yard on the cheap. We left with nothing physical but a lot of knowledge and a real education. With a tip of the hat from the farmer standing next to us  we bid farewell to the auction. Next time I’d be better prepared.

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

 My kitchen is distinctive in the sense that it’s got very different things sitting on shelfs and tables.   At present I have twelve incubating eggs brewing.   The chooks downstairs grew into big birds and we are keen to introduce the bigger size into the flock.   The big black rooster had three big girls to himself for the past week and a half and the result is twelve beautiful big eggs to incubate.   Hopefully each one is fertile and we should have 12 fluffy babies in the near future.  Unfortunately I still do not know how to candled the eggs or sex the babies which is a skill I’m keen to learn about.    Today I let the birds out together as the total amount of eggs wanted was collected.  It was time to re-unite them. The roosters had a boxing match with each other.   There were  plenty kicks and pecking going on and at one stage it took all of my control to stop from running down to put an end to it.   The red rooster had the black rooster subdued on the ground.  He lay so still I thought for a minute he was dead!  I knew that this friction fight was to happen if they were to establish the pecking order again now that the black rooster is back on the scene.    Later this afternoon I examined them each to see the war wounds.   Each of them had blood drawn around the head area but both were not to worse for wear.   Best of all they established that the red rooster is “chief sitting bull!”

Talents

 A few weeks ago on a Friday morning Michaela and I were travelling in the car and she casually started talking about people’s talents. She asked me what my talent was. She caught me off guard.   To be honest, I don’t really know what my talents are but what I do know is that I love variety and loads of different tasks.  I love all of it and the challenge of the completed project gets me motivated and excited. Could that be a talent?  I don’t really know but as I pondered the question she piped up – I know what Dad’s talent is! That’s not hard I was thinking. Anybody within a ten foot radius, watching Johnny work, could tell you.  She blurted out - Dad can do anything, and that’s his talent. I smiled at the simplicity of her words. That afternoon I relayed the story to Johnny while we were working on the house.   He smiled and was quiet for a bit and then he said “if you adopt the principle that God gave you hands, nothing is impossible”. The words sank into my heart as I picked up the sander and started sanding down another frame for a patio chair.   Yes he was right, nothing is impossible if you believe this.

The roof restoration and the back side of the house are almost complete. When this project is over, I will smile.  It will be a smile of achievement, perseverance and pleasure.  When you stand back and look at it, it appears no different to hundreds of other houses now. We know though the time, the effort, the blood, sweat and toll it’s taken to get this far.  It’s all been good and I’m the first one to say it’s been life changing. Climbing onto the roof and facing my fears, has made my fear of heights, a thing of the past.  No longer will I fear the heights I must tackle, but slowly and steadily, we will accomplish this task, fears or no fears.

I'm back!

Saturday afternoon my two Dexter heifers returned home safe and sound.  They looked happy and content and I beamed from the distance where I was standing.   They had a pregnancy glow!   Carlos says he's certain they both took and there's been no sign of them coming back into season.   We watched them push each other around for a few minutes which is normal as they need to re-establish the roles.   After the sun was off for the day we retreated inside to a warm fire and some good fellowship.   What lovely people we have meet through this process.    A friendship which will grow in years to come I hope.  Carlos told us over dinner about how Caesar, aka Sabbath, took out some more ribbons and trophies at the last show.  He sure is a celebrity in the show arena!  There is no mistaking that he's a beauty of note .   Conversations flowed over a simple meal of home style lasagne and a crisp green salad accompanied by garlic bread.   I learnt allot through just general conversation.   I heard about a  new food for Aussie to try and I learnt how the breeders get their cows ready for shows, the qualities they look for and the run down of how the judges mark the cattle.   It was a pleasant night for us all.   By Sunday morning the cattle were all settled in and as I glanced out the kitchen window I saw them congregating around the hay bale contentedly.  It was almost as if the past six weeks didn't happen at all.   Now the count down begins.   Nine months from now (roughly end of Feb beginning of March we should have two healthy babies.

Home sweet home

 The girls are coming home today and I’m having Megan and Carlos over for dinner to say thank you for everything.  They will bring the girls with them.  Last week Megan said she is confident that Kiara is pregnant but not too sure about Queenie, so we decided to leave them there another week.  This week will be the sixth week they have been boarding with Sabbath.  Incidentally, I realised that Sabbath was just his show name and he is affectionately known at home as Caesar. Personally, I prefer Caesar. 

Megan told me that she would take the girls to the vet, if I wanted them to get  tested for pregnancy, or we could just wait the old fashion way and see if they come back into season. I think we are just going to wait the old fashion way and hope for the best.  If by some chance one is not pregnant, there is the other option of getting a needle to bring the one back into season immediately and hopefully that will do the trick.  All these options are hanging in the balance and hopefully they will not be exercised.  For now, I will anticipate the girls arriving today.  It’s going to be rather interesting to see the four of them re-establish the pecking order, as while the two have been gone, Crystal has taken that role on herself. I expect there will be a few scuffles before they settle in back at home.