A Fortune in Fence Posts
I have included a frosty morning photograph of $1,000 worth of star pickets (the wooden posts are probably worth a bit too). I heard that the price of metal was going to rise in July and I intended to get some fences built soon, so I needed more star pickets and hinge joint. The first quote I received was $6.38 per post. The last time I bought star pickets they were $4 each. But I was given a tip that another supplier had old stock and that I might be able to get a better price. Sure enough the other supplier was selling them at $5 per post, so I bought 200. I may never need to buy a star picket again!
Tomorrow I'm going to buy some hinge joint and gates to go with the star pickets. I have booked a fence builder for next month but haven't confirmed the dates yet. Soon we will have even more paddocks to move the sheep between. I also have a frosty morning photograph of where I have mown paths to one section where I want to build the fence around the original wind break where we planted some of our hundreds of ill fated tree seedlings. Once the fence is up I will buy some more trees, maybe not so many and not so small. (In the photograph you can also see our neighbour's vineyard and newly erected shed.)

In other news I wanted to tell you about a scary thing that happened the other night while on my way to close the chickens in at night. My torch was getting dim but it didn't worry me because it was dim the night before and I still managed to get through my regular nightly ritual. However this night I got as far as the 'vegetable garden', just past the gate at the side of the shed, when the torch faded completely, leaving me in pitch black darkness (the moon wasn't even there to help). I decided to retreat with little baby steps to feel my way. I made it back to the house, found another torch and completed the task. (I can hear some of you saying that wouldn't have happened if I was using my wind up lamp - well I wasn't, lesson learned.)

My Cows are Back
I realise that they've been in our back paddock for about five weeks now but they're back down the front where I can see them now. Yesterday I separated my cows and Harry from the other herd (whose numbers were closer to 30 then 20 as I originally said). I came across Brownie first and after talking to her she called out to Harry, who was on the other side of the herd, he answered and came running. I then called out to the other four and they answered, although they didn't actually come over. So I walked amongst the herd and the other cows moved away, leaving my girls. Then with a few hand claps and encouragement I got them moving toward the fence. Brownie joined us and started heading for the dam, so we all just followed her. But when we got to the dam she continued on to the fence. (I think she went that way to skirt around the bull, who was actually between us and the gate to the other paddock.) Then I just walked ahead of them up to the gate. When I opened the gate they started running and kicking up their back legs, they were so excited about changing paddocks. Luckily there were enough of them to still feel part of their own herd and didn't mind leaving the other cows. (I remember how difficult it was separating Lady from a neighbour's herd, she had become attached to them and didn't want to leave.)
Later that morning our neighbours came and collected their cows and the bull. The cows did a good job of eating down the grass, which it badly needed. The dam has a bit of a beach, which is very churned up with hoof prints, but there is still quite a lot of water there (which I hadn't checked during their stay, so I'm glad). I'll give the back paddock a bit of a rest for a while.
And so now I just have to wait and see how many of my cows are pregnant. And then in nine months time we should have some baby calves - I can't wait!

The Daddy of My Calves (Hopefully)

I finally have a photo of our visiting bull (I probably should find out his name). He is in the photo behind Freda (left) and Jemma (right). At the time of the photo he was interested in Jemma, which is why he was in amongst the cows. Sometimes I see him way off by himself. Whenever I go to the top of the hill, and if the cows aren't too far away, my five cows and Harry all come up to greet me. They are a herd on their own and haven't mixed with the visiting cows as much as I thought they would and they sort of stick with each other. If there is a fence between me and the cows the visiting calves are very inquisitive. I can't pat them or anything but they come very close to the fence to say hello.

Mum and Dad visited from 21-27 April. (I realise that is a while ago but I have been very busy with typing lately.) I thought I would mention some of the jobs my Dad helped us with.

• Dad and Steven cleaned out the house gutters (just before it actually rained, I might add). We had about 50ml last month during their visit and Port Macquarie had 100ml a day for at least two days while Mum and Dad were here!
• Dad and Steven cleared out the downpipe on the shed tank. It had been blocked for a while and I thought it might be able to be cleared by feeding a hose or wire through it or something. But nothing is simple and Dad (and Steve) ended up having to dig up the whole pipe and replacing two elbow joints. So more water gets into the cement tank now, but the tank still leaks because the cement guy hasn't returned my previous calls and I haven't had time to ring again - it's next on the list.
• Dad also built a floating island for the shed tank from wood and foam. Because the tank is open and the cats climb on the shed roof and sometimes skid down the slope, I worry about them falling in and not being able to get out. Now we have a floating island.
• Dad, Steven and I all helped replace the chicken wire on the bottom of the chicken coop and moved the chickens (and the coop) to another area with new grass. As you can see from the photo there is plenty of feed in the paddocks but it is very brown.
• And last but not least (and probably not all), Dad cleared the dirt and grass away from around the septic tank lid. A while ago Country Energy came to trim the trees from near the electricity wires leading to the house and they ran over our septic tank lid and broke one half in half. Because our septic is a non-standard size they had to get a whole cement lid (two halves) especially made slightly larger than the old one, so Dad cleared the dirt around the edges to make room for it. Yesterday they finally came and installed the new septic lid. The guys that came removed the old lid and after installing the new one they replaced the dirt and grass, leaving everything looking tidy and as good as new.

Of course, while Dad is outside fixing things, Mum is inside ironing, cooking and washing up. Mum also collects kindling and pine cones for the fire. I am very grateful for their help and look forward to their visits. Because their stay included Anzac Day we had extra time together with lots of cups of teas on the verandah and we even managed to play cards a few nights.

Visiting Cows
Because our neighbours allowed us to use their cattle yards and bull I offered the use of our back paddock for their cows and bull until they sell their bull. They were going to sell their bull in May, although may not do that until we have good rain again. So until then we have about 20 cows (with some calves) and a bull visiting our cows in the back paddock. It will be good to have the grass eaten down a bit, so in truth I'm probably gaining more than I'm giving. But they spell their paddocks, so everyone wins.
I have been walking to the middle fence along the top of the hill to check on them each morning but they don't stick together as a herd and spread out over the entire paddock, which is about 25-30 acres, so most of the time I can't see all of them. Today they were mostly together and luckily I had brought the camera. So I have included some photos. Our girls are in the foreground, as they tend to keep to themselves being the new girls. Plus I took a photo of the bull, as he was sort of on his own. I also took a photo looking back up the hill towards the middle of the property. It's a pretty big paddock. (Okay, I realise they are not great photos, but the cows were in an awkward position, where I was lower than them, and when I came closer they all crowded under the tree - well, that's my excuse anyway.)




Also, some sad news, we lost one of our Isa Brown chickens to a fox on Wednesday morning. I even saw the fox. He jumped a nearby fence with ease, so the low electric netting, which is probably shorting on the long grass anyway, is really no protection. 'One of these days' I'll pay someone to build a proper fence around them. In the meantime, I'm back to closing them in each night. We were doing that before but when there's no danger I feel there is no need. The local fox population has increased lately, evidenced by the increased number of dead foxes on the roads. We now have one Isa Brown and four Australorps.

Tarot Reading
This is a personal entry. If you don't believe in things like Tarot you could possibly stop reading now, unless you might be interested in what I think is important enough to include here.
I did the first Tarot reading for myself when Paul came home temporarily early last year. I won't elaborate except to say that the outcome card was 10 of Wands: "Some struggles are not worth the effort. Know when to walk away."
I did my second Tarot reading yesterday, and again I won't elaborate because most of it is personal and eerily accurate and appropriate. However, the very first card, which represents the past or the root of the question, was The World: "This is completion, success, arrival. Everything in your life is in harmony and you have succeeded with a big project. Share your insight and wisdom with others, while you are in this stage of enlightenment."
This doesn't refer to a physical project, I think this refers to the last two years of depression and working through that to where I am today. I don't think that I am truly out of it but I am at a stage where I can see a future and I can look back. What I wanted to say to anyone who is seeking advice on the subject, is that just because your husband doesn't love you any more it isn't the end of the world. We are stronger than we think we are. I acknowledge that I had support from friends and family and I am very grateful for that, but those who don't have that support will also find the strength to move on and start a new life. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it is a bright light.
I admit that I am not on my own yet, as my son is still living at home and will be for a while, but I am at a stage where I know I will be okay on my own and I am ready for that challenge. I feel as though I have risen to my challenges so far and I have been able to ask for and find help for those things I couldn't do myself. Unfortunately, with my increasing workload that is becoming more often lately. But I'm sure I will get back to a time where I will be more engaged with the farm and animals.
I may not be 'enlightened' or sharing 'insight and wisdom' or maybe I am and could, but I need to think on that a bit more. I would just like to encourage others to push on through the bad times, start making plans, dare to dream and work towards dreams and plans one step at a time.

Harry (a boy no more) and the Cows (visiting a bull)
This morning two local stockmen arrived on horseback and took our cows and Harry to a neighbouring property's cattle yards. They castrated Harry and attached his ear tag. They also injected Harry and the five girls with 5-in-1, to protect them against various diseases. Then we left them all there to run with the neighbour's bull for about six weeks. I am so excited that we will have lots of lambs and calves next year (hopefully). Below are the photos from this morning.

The Saga of Bobbie and Rambo
When our new ram first arrived he was understandably a bit unsure of his new situation and I thought this was why he was up one end of the paddock and my ewes were down the other end. When this didn't change after a day or so I started to suspect something was wrong. After a few days we realised that Bobbie was stopping him from getting anywhere near the sheep, thinking he was a threat. When the ram first arrived he was charging at the fences in an attempt to escape (which is why I decided to call him Rambo). Bobbie may have decided that this behaviour made him a threat. After a few days of Bobbie guarding the sheep our neighbours even commented on the screaming noise he was making. To try and solve the problem, I managed to get Rambo and the sheep into another paddock and left Bobbie where he was. Then Bobbie was running up and down the fence screaming and spitting at Rambo (I was so worried that he would try and get over or through the fence and hurt himself but he didn't). Also, the girls wouldn't move further into the paddock and stayed close to the fence to be near Bobbie, which meant the ram was also near the fence. After three days Bobbie calmed down and could see that Rambo wasn't a threat after all, so I let him in with the rest of them. Now they are one big happy family and roam all over the large paddock they are in and Rambo is just one of the flock.

A New Ram (and crutching too)
This afternoon we had the sheep crutched. Plus we also changed the covers on Ebony and Fluffy (or Pinky - I can't tell which is which now). Of course the usual happened: We ran around the paddock for ages trying to get them to go through the gate and in the end they followed me in with a bucket of food. I got them to follow me into the corral and then the shed when I first went out there but they immediately went back into the paddock before I could run around and close the gate and put up the wooden railings. My mistake was that I didn't give them some sheep pellets. I didn't think it would work since the paddock is knee high in grass. Never under estimate the power of 'special' food. After all the fuss in the end it took about 15 minutes and they were penned up ready for the shearer.
We also have a new addition to the flock - a ram. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. He seemed quite agitated when we first put him in the paddock and actually charged at the fence trying to escape cutting himself, but he should soon calm down (I hope). He is a good quality ram, however he had recently been unwell and so wasn't as saleable as he could have been. Because I want to keep his progeny from my three merinos I will only keep him for two seasons and will have to sell him when his first daughters are of breeding age (or keep them separate - I'll work that out when the time comes). We haven't named him yet and I don't know if we will since he is temporary. But Blackie only lasted three weeks, so you never know. As you can see in the top photo we put a cover on him, which seems a touch too big, but his wool will bulk it out after a while. In the bottom photo he is the sheep in the distance. My girls don't mind me standing among them if I'm still, but understandably he reacted like a normal sheep.

I have finished my jumper!

I have finally finished spinning the wool for my jumper and knitting my jumper. About two and a half years ago I bought a bag of cream carded wool from the Nundle Woollen Mill to spin and combine with other wools and be the basis of a jumper. Because it is such a long time ago I really can't remember when I actually started this project, so I will say it took me approximately two years. I also wove my tea towels in between, so I wasn't concentrating on my jumper full time. Plus I started full time work about eight months ago, so that slowed things down somewhat.

I plied the cream wool from Nundle with some beige carded wool for the tunic and sleeves and plied the cream wool with brown alpaca fleece for the bands (just so I could practice spinning alpaca), and then knitted the solid cream near the top, where it would be softer for my neck. I was spinning as I went and had started knitting before I had spun all the yarn I needed. Then when I went back to spinning I was spinning the yarn too thick (and had to 'waste' two balls of yarn), so I learnt a valuable lesson in how to spin using a sample of finished yarn as a guide. And at one stage I thought I was going to run out of white carded fleece. So next time I will spin most or all of the yarn before I start knitting (maybe).

The good news is that the jumper fits me and it is cosy and warm. So bring on that cold weather, I'm ready.

(I forgot to mention that the pattern is Design 6 from Cleckheaton No. 098. I have also knitted Design 2 in alpaca for myself and Design 1 in acrylic for my ex-husband in the years previous to starting this jumper. $4.95 well spent on a pattern book!)

(Edit: I don't know how news worthy this is, but our divorce was final on 16 February. It went through the court on 15 January and is final a month after.)

Dubbo Zoo
I decided to take my two sons (plus one son's girlfriend) to the zoo and so we went on a Zoofari. It was the best experience I've had for a long time. We had three 1+ hours behind the scenes tours, which included watching feeding (lion, tiger, hippos, rhino, elephants, hunting dogs, maned wolf, cheetah, siamang apes, tortoises, meekats, among others) and we actually got to feed a giraffe ourselves. It was the most magical experience. You're looking up and this great big head is all you can see and time stands still. We also spent hours watching the Siamang apes (well it seemed like hours). We were lucky enough to catch them in action and calling out to each other on the first day and were taken in. Although we didn't get a repeat performance the next day or even on our tour, they were fascinating to watch. Plus there were lots of different horse-like and dear-like creatures, and buffalo and bison and the list just goes on and on. There were even alpacas! The zoo is not just for kids!

A Freezer Full of Lamb
Last Sunday a mobile butcher came and killed six of our sheep (3 boys and 3 girls) and three of a neighbour's sheep, skinned & gutted them and hung them in a mobile coolroom left on our property until today.
(I decided to only kill six sheep because Boots was given a reprieve and I have decided not to name lambs ever again - unless they are girls and I intend to keep them.)
Today at six o'clock (yes 6am) the butcher returned and started sawing up our lambs. Steve took the meat from the butcher and put in on a little table, I packed it in plastic bags and Lucy (Steve's girlfriend) tied on the wire ties. I then took the packed meat on a large metal tray up to the freezer in the shed. That went on for almost three hours. Then our neighbour came and I helped him pack his three sheep for almost two hours. Then we watched with fascination as the butcher made sausages from the offcuts and then we packed the sausages into plastic bags. It was all over (including the cleaning) by about 12pm. So for $344 we now have a freezer full of lamb (including 12 lamb roasts!). We still have some beef left, so we can mix it up a bit. I have included a photo of one of our sheep hanging before it went into the coolroom (apologies for the blurry focus). I was going to take a photo of chopping and packing the meat but we were so busy I didn't even think of photos until it was all over ... oh, well.

There is another part of the story I almost forgot to tell. Before the butcher killed the sheep Steve and I had to actually use the sheep yards and separate the lambs from the ewes. After chasing them and Bobby around the paddock for way too long we put up an electric netting to funnel them into the yards. Then came the fun job of getting them into the run. We allowed only a few in at a time and closed the gate, so we could make sure we separated the right ones. Originally I had Steve manning the gate to separate them and I was going to 'shoo' them down the end but once the end gate was closed they all put their heads down facing away from the separating gate at the other end and stubbornly refused to move. So I had to man the gate (at least I knew which ones I wanted to get butchered) and Steve had the job of pushing them towards the gate. After we had done this a few times Steve said, 'Hey, this is fun.' That made all the effort worthwhile - he was away from his computer and he was actually enjoying himself - and helping as well! We separated five lambs born last year plus a whether from the year before and they stayed in the small yard until the following day for the butcher. After we let the ewes (including a few girl 'lambs') back into the paddock we went to open the gate for Bobby and to our amazement from standing he leaped gazelle-like over the sheep yard fence, clearing it by at least 10cm, to join the ewes. Steve and I looked at each other, 'Did you see that?' We won't have to separate the sheep or get them butchered again for a while, but we know we can do it now.

In other news, I bought a second hand car yesterday. I took out a personal loan and bought a white 1994 Commodore VR Series II though a private sale. Our old Cressida will sit in the garage until I can organise (summon up the courage) to sell it. Why do I get so attached to cars when other people can sell their cars every two years or so? Hopefully I'll be able to sell it to a mechanic or someone who can fix it for less than I was quoted. It is a shame, it is such a lovely car.

New Fence & Harry
I have included a photograph of the new fence. As I said I think it's wonderful. I got the fence guy back to have a look at the yards fence and he said it wasn't worth him building a new fence and gave me some instructions on how to fix it myself. However, I found out that he also makes cattle and sheep yards, so who knows down the track ...
So, today I restrained the top wire with a ratchet strainer and added five recycled star pickets from the old neighbours fence and attached the top wire and the top of the hingejoint. Tomorrow I will add another wire between the top wire and hingejoint and I think it will be secure enough for the sheep. I rang the butcher and confirmed that he is coming next Sunday. Two other local small farmers will also be bringing a few sheep for butchering too.
I have included a photograph of Harry. He is now two and a half months old and thriving on Brownie's jersey milk.

New Fence, Snake & Cows
Last weekend we dismantled a portion of the fence between us and the neighbours. I spent four hours on Friday afternoon, two hours on Saturday morning and then on Sunday our neighbours and Steven helped remove the last of the wire and posts.
On Sunday when Steve and I were removing the last of the fence Steve picked up an old piece of squashed metal and threw it on the pile of old wire. We think a snake was hiding in there because Steve later said the metal was heavy and the snake suddenly appeared rearing up at Steve. Then, just as quickly, it decided to retreat and slithered away. The snake was about a metre long and brown. It was pretty scary, but we got over it and finished off taking out the posts and wire.
Then on Tuesday a fencing guy came and built a new fence for us. The new fence is excellent - there is nothing quite as impressive as a new drum tight fence. I have a photo here of the old fence (I had already removed most of the old rotted wooden posts and some barbed wire before I took the photo). I will take a photo of the new fence and add it later.
Today I had decided that Steve and I would get little Harry into the sheep run/yards and put on his ear tag and put a rubber ring around his 'bits'. Well, after a lot of running around the paddock we eventually got Harry in the yards, although Jemma was also in there because we couldn't get her out (we got all the others out). But I think Harry is going to be a difficult one when he gets older because he tried to get through any fence available. He actually jumped over the sheep yards inner fence. We got him back in there again and this time both he and Jemma pushed down and jumped over the outer fence. I thought the fence was higher and stronger than that but I was mistaken. So then we had to chase Jemma right around the clothes line and back around and back through the gate to where they started from. (All that took an hour and nothing was achieved except a broken fence!)
So now I have to get this fence fixed or rebuilt before we get the sheep butchered next month, because we have to use the yards to separate the lambs and then keep them in there overnight and contained for the butcher to do his thing.
Life wasn't meant to be easy ...

Septic Mended
Mum and Dad went home on Sunday after a week of visiting and helping on the farm. Dad toiled every day on fixing our broken septic pipe and blocked drainage pipe. It was a lot of hard work but it saved us lots of money. Steven has also been helping with filling in the trench. During the week Steve and Dad (and me a bit) also fixed two short fences broken by Star (the troublesome heifer), we moved the chickens to another area, Dad fixed the sagging shed gutter, built a set of metal shelves for the shed and mowed. We also had another attempt at getting the pump pumping up to the tank on the top of the hill, but that problem still hasn't been resolved. We did have the float fixed so that the valve now sits properly, effectively stopping water. Dad thinks our problem is air locks, so I'll have to work on that over the next week or so. I have also been very spoilt with Mum cooking some lovely dinners over the week and generally cleaning up.
The picture shows the path of the drainage agriculture pipe with a white bucket and broken clay pipes at the end for extra drainage. I have bought some little shrubs to plant near the new pipe to protect it from being driven over, which is how we think this problem started.

My Hands
I don't know how many of my friends I have told about my hands, I suspect not very many. In about May I started getting pain and stiffness in my elbows and knees. Then in July my hands and wrists developed pain and stiffness. I thought it was due to the extra workload after having started working 35 hours which involved extra work using the computer mouse. Then my ankles started swelling, and I knew there was something else involved and decided to see the doctor. By this time both my hands were swollen and extremely painful. My GP initially diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis and sent me to have blood tests. The indicator for rheumatoid didn't show in my blood tests and my thyroid blood test was also not right, so after taking an increased does of Oroxine and also taking Mobic, Glucosamine, fish oil and Caltrate and Panamax for six weeks I returned for a second blood test. In the meantime my doctor made an appointment with a rheumatologist. Although the indicator for rheumatoid arthritis didn't show up again the rheumatologist said it was obvious that I had an inflammatory arthritis (or rheumatoid arthritis) and prescribed me Prednisone (together with a few base line tests to monitor for side effects).
Now, before I started taking Prednisone I was in constant pain and I found it difficult and painful to do even the most normal things, such as washing and drying my hands, as my fingers were permanently bent. Not to mention washing up, driving, using cooking and eating utensils, even putting on shoes. Of course the list was endless. I also developed carpal tunnel syndrome because the swelling was restricting nerves to my fingers. Plus it was really upsetting me that it was so painful to knit and spin. Steven was having to help me more and more with farm things. Although with pain killers and just putting up with pain, I was able to manage. But the pain was getting me down.
Prednisone has taken all the swelling away, and although I do have pain occasionally, it is nothing like before. The problem is I can only be on Prednisone for six months, as it is a strong medication with side effects, and then I have to be weaned onto another medication called Methotrexate. I sure hope it does as good a job as Prednisone, and that I don't develop any of the long list of side effects, because apparently I will have to take this medication for ever and I guess my hands will never be the same again.
You just never know when things like this will come along. Although they don't know what causes rheumatoid arthritis, stress combined with my thyroid being out of whack may have contributed. I realise this isn't strictly related to farm news or my craft activities, but it has consumed me for four months. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, I just hope I don't have to go back there again.

Bales of Wool
I sold our wool the other day and received the grand sum of $159.49. That is from 13 sheep - we have 16 sheep but one was shorn in July because of flystrike and I kept two fleeces, Ebony's and one merino to have a go at spinning raw (if I don't get around to it, I will sell it next year). It worked out at around $25 per merino fleece and $7 per cross bred fleece, plus the pieces.
I have come to the realisation that it doesn't really pay to have cross bred sheep for wool, merino wool is worth so much more. I haven't yet had the experience of selling cross bred lambs, I may change my mind when I see their worth for meat.
I have applied through the MLA for a LPA number, so I can obtain NDVs, so I can sell sheep and cattle. There's lots of lingo involved and even more know how to learn, but I guess once I have sold the two Murray Greys it will become easier each time, once I know what to do. And again that will be a whole other story.
In the photograph the large bale is full of cross bred wool, plus one of the green bags that I couldn't fit in. The merino fleeces are on the table. The two white bags are belly wool and skirted wool (which I also sold) and of course the front green bag is Ebony's wool. (I will eventually send that away to be washed and carded for spinning.)

Destructive Cows
The cows have been fine in the back paddock, that is until Star decided that the grass in our neighbour's place looked better or greener or something. So she would just lift her front legs and half jump, half walk over the fence. The fence is ancient and really only good for sheep. I hadn't realised it was that bad before. Then we were told that our neighbour had planted tree seedlings in this paddock and had kept his sheep out until they grew. Star had weakened the posts with her frequent visits next door and the fence was floppy and laying down. So we had to mend this fence and in a hurry. I bought a post mounted solar energiser that was supposed to be good for 2km and we used the star pickets I had ready to use for another fence on the other side. Steve was the labourer and I was the supervisor and at the suggestion of our neighbour we threaded the star pickets through the old fence and pulled it upright. Because of this Steve had to turn the fence post driver upside down to bang the post in. At the end of the day his arms were mighty tired. But I kept telling him that I was doing him a favour and helping him build his muscles. We threaded through three lengths of wires, one of them through black plastic insulators for the live wire. Our neighbour said he will also add a row of barbed wire on the top as an extra deterrent. We rigged the energiser up, together with three galvanised star pickets for earthing rods, although at this stage Steve's arms were unable to bang the star pickets in any further than about a foot (and they needed to go in 1.5m). Needless to say, the energiser didn't work. I thought it could have been because it wasn't charged enough and left it all connected and on, hoping it would be working the next day. I went up on the Monday morning to find that the cows had chewed right through the green wire and damaged the red wire. I think the fence is adequate even without the electric fence but I would like to get it working. So I will need to do some more work on it or find someone who knows about electric fences. But that's for another day.

Summer Coats
Bobbie was shorn last Thursday and the sheep were shorn last Friday. Steven and I managed to get Bobbie into the trailer by ourselves. I couldn't have done it without Steve though, he was a wonderful help. I pulled Bobbie and Steven pushed. Then I had to get out of the trailer without Bobbie following me. Anyway, it's over for another year - and I have a beautiful bag of chocolate brown fleece.

I have so many garbage bags of sheep fleece that I think I will buy a proper wool bale from the wool buyers to put all the crossbreed fleeces together. This year I am keeping one of the merino fleeces (or part of one) to have a play spinning it raw - it is just so white and fine. This year I also bought some sample sheep covers of different sizes and put one on Ebony and one on her mum, Original Mum. Although, at crutching time I may have to put a bigger size on both of them as the fit seems a bit neat.
The shearers were making jokes about how fat our sheep are compared to the merinos they usually shear. I thought the wool was making them look fat but it was also their big tummies. I think I will have to go easy on the sheep pellets next winter. The lamb on the left in the picture is the one shorn in July when she was flystruck. I also have a large bag of lovely black fleece too. So much wool, so little time.

Welcome Harry
On Monday morning Brownie had her little calf, probably not long before I got there at about 6.30am. I even got to see him before the rest of the cows and witnessed them sniffing and licking him. He seems to be feeding well and Brownie certainly has plenty of milk for him. I don't think I will be milking her or buying another poddy to share her milk. If the new poddy didn't take to Brownie or vice versa I would be left mixing milk twice a day and I don't fancy that.
The cows seem to be happy down the back but Star has been venturing into the neighbour's place, so over the next few days I will have to raise the height of the fence where she jumps over with extra star pickets. Star was going to be the next in the freezer but we aren't eating meat all that fast and so I might have to consider selling her, as she seems to be more trouble than she is worth.

Happy Cows
With a new batch of batteries the camera is working again, thank goodness. I have included a photo of Brownie, showing off her full udder. According to the dates, Brownie is due to calf at the beginning of October. Although I don't think her girth has increased substantially, her udder is starting to take shape. So, I'm pretty excited that we may be getting a birth on our farm this year after all.

The second photo is of Jemma (left) and Freda (right) down near the southern fence of our property. The green grass in the background just above Freda is the next door neighbour's. I just hope it's not too tempting and that quantity is more important than quality for the cows. All the little trees seem to be okay so far.