Past Hurdles
I should have started this journal when Paul left. There have been a few adjustments to make and a few hurdles to struggle over since the end of April.
One of the first adjustments was having to get out of bed a half hour earlier in order to feed animals. And even though I do enjoy my sleep-ins when I do have them on the weekend, that half hour in the morning is sometimes the best half hour of the day. Of course the half hour always ends up being much longer on the weekends as I linger with the sheep or cows just watching them.
There have been a few distasteful things to cope with like burying dead chickens and lamb afterbirths. Although I should be very grateful that I didn't have to assist with any of the lamb births and all of the lambs have so far survived. There was a major panic when two taps burst from being frozen. But I purchased two new taps and replaced them. I also mended a broken fence wire by adding a ratchet strainer. And mended various tie wires where the cows pushed through. I've also almost mastered the ride-on mower - I always push it beyond its limits, I think. I've also become fairly apt at splitting wood too. We have to split it quite thinly to help the combustion stove reach maximum heat quickly.
Shearing also progressed smoothly, including selling three fleeces at a good rate. We are getting Bobby, our alpaca, shorn tomorrow, so I'll let you know how that goes.
The farm side of things seems to be progressing nicely. The grass is growing again, although somewhat slowly. A little bit more rain might fix that. But the cows aren't asking for extra feed now, so there must be enough grass for them. The sheep still ask for extra food but I think that's out of habit and maybe they're just greedy.