Tagging, Ringing and Visiting
Yesterday, two stockmen took our cows and calves to a neighbours cattle yards about 2km up the road. They tagged all my new calves and put rings on the two boys. Then we left Harry with the neighbours steers and brought our cows and calves home via the road together with the neighbours handful of cows and their bull. Harry is being collected by the butcher later this afternoon. The neighbours steers are keeping him company until then, then they will be let out into the paddock. I have completed my very first Vendor Declaration from my own special booklet. Then in a few weeks I'll have a freezer full of beef - we'll be able to eat steak again!
I have included a collection of photographs of the process. Of course when the cows were closer and when they were tagging I was too engaged and busy to be taking photographs, so the camera missed the good bits.

Coco
On Thursday 5 March a neighbour wool producer gave me a coloured lamb. She was only just due to be weaned, so she is quite young. I have named her Coco as she is multi-coloured, white and brown. Bobby and the other sheep are not sure of her yet and have been giving her a bit of a hard time, but I'm sure they will settle down soon. She will probably be on the fringe until there is another newcomer. She is very cute.

Fruit in Season
It's blackberry and apple season. The last couple of years I haven't really paid a lot of attention to the blackberries or the apple trees. But this year we have had a bumper crop of both blackberries and apples. We were down picking blackberries near the dam and to my surprise there were two apple trees laden with apples! Not all of them were edible but about a third were perfect for eating, although some were a bit tarty (maybe because I was a bit eager and picked them too early). I don't know what type of apple they are but the flesh is white and juicy.
I have also included photos of some of my blackberry haul. I have eaten them raw on cereal and stewed on ice cream and I have made two lots of jam. Of course I should be out there every day picking them so they don't go to waste ... but I'm not. I am enjoying the fruit I have picked and eaten, though.

Brownie's Surprise
A neighbour rang yesterday to tell me that Brownie had had a boy calf (because the cows are in the back paddock their children noticed the new calf first). I didn't even think that Brownie was pregnant! But sure enough she has had a small black/brown boy calf. I have named him "Rusty" after a new friend of mine. So I now have five calves. I have also been talking to my neighbour about the possibility of his bull visiting again - at his suggestion (they were going to sell the bull but haven't yet). And in the same process I could possibly have the calves tagged and the boys 'taken care of', plus have the butcher come and take Harry to the abattoir! All this has to be confirmed with the stockmen, but it could be soon.