Mowing, Pruning & Planting
I brought the ride-on mower home today and mowed a path in the back paddock to the back gate and across the top of the hill. I also mowed around the outside of the veggie patch and at the side of the shed to reduce the risk of snake-surprise in the long grass when walking to the garden and feeding the chickens.
I connected a recently fixed energiser to the electric fence at the top of the veggie garden in readiness for bringing the cows in this area prior to their initial AI injection next Tuesday and the days following. We have to keep them close to monitor their cycles.
A week or so ago a very windy day dislodged some pine branches just above the area near our front gate, making it very difficult to drive in without scratching the car. This afternoon Steven and I went out there armed with a ladder and hacksaw and trimmed three branches the size of my wrist to clear a path. They really need to be cut off near the trunk but that's 15 feet up, so I don't know how that's going to happen. It won't be a problem until a truck needs to drive up our driveway.
Also this afternoon I planted two advanced tomato seedlings in the garden near the house tanks. These were given to me by a very generous neighbour who managed to save her tomatoes during the snow by putting sheets over her plants. The moral if this is to first listen to the weather forecasts and then be prepared. I was also reassured by the lady in the local hardware shop that my potatoes could possibly revive, so this afternoon I gave them a good drink of water and I will hope for the best.
All in all I've had a very productive day, together with herding the sheep back to their original paddock twice. This morning when I went out I had sheep in four different paddocks! They're worse than the cows. I'm going to have to give some thought to fixing those fences ... another day.