Pumping from Shed Tank
I recently had a connection put into the tap system for the troughs so that I can pump from the shed tank to the tank at the top of the hill. That way I can save the water from the shed before it gets lost through the leak in the bottom of the tank. I had pumped up once before but since then my Dad has built a little pump house, so that I can leave the pump where it is used and not have to move it each time. I can also pump when it is raining. We had 33ml the other day and so I pumped until the pump ran out of petrol. It was coming in as fast as I could pump out. Today I will check the tank at the top of the hill. I suspect that it will be full now. The house tanks are also full. I haven't checked the front dam yet. But while I can pump fresh clean rain water I won't need the front dam.

2009 Wood
A few weeks ago I finished stacking my wood for next year. I bought a large load that was unloaded on the ground outside the wood shed and over about five afternoons I stacked it inside the shed. It should be enough to last me all year. Of course once Steve leaves I will have to chop it smaller for the stove by myself ... but that's next year. In the photo to the left behind the saw frame you can see a stack of branches a friend gave me. She lives on a bush block and decided to clean up fallen wood and sticks, so I also have plenty of wood just larger than kindling size. So basically I'm set for next year's winter and cooking.
I haven't taken a photo of my veggie garden yet because I need to do more weeding and plant my tomatoes and zucchini. Also, when visiting a friend recently in Moss Vale I was given some raspberry plants. So, I can't wait to plant them along the fence of my veggie garden. I think it will be a garden day tomorrow. I have a photo of my broccoli plants taken about a month ago. Unfortunately some of them have gone to seed very quickly and so I didn't get to eat all of them.

Sheep News
First of all, Bobbie was shorn on 21 September. I took him to a local alpaca farm, and not to the place where I had bought him like I usually do. I met the lady by chance in the Post Office and thought it was a sign that it was meant to be. Each year it is getting easier to get Bobbie shorn. This year, although it was hard to get Bobbie into the shed, once he was in there and we got the sheep out, he stood very quietly while I put the halter on him. We had no trouble leading him onto the trailer and this time he didn't try to get off again. When I arrived at the alpaca farm he let me lead him off the trailer and to the holding pen they had set up and was very calm and well behaved the whole time.
Spotty Ears' smallest twin died. She lasted a week and a half. I found her one morning next to the shed - the crows had got her. So we haven't had any of our sets of twins both survive.
Fluffy had a boy lamb on Sunday 5 October. So now we only have two ewes to go - Spotty Nose and her daughter, Boots. And if the size of their udders is anything to go on, it will be a while yet. (The photo is a long way off because she won't let me get closer.) I won't name (or tag) Fluffy's boy because he and maybe Spotty Ears' girl may become meat when they're older, including the lambs of Spotty Ears and Boots. (I can hear some people groaning but that's just the way it is - I can't keep them all.)

Other News
When my Dad came to visit in late September he used the wood I bought and built my garden! (I didn't ask him to. The mower needed to be charged, so he did the garden instead. It was a wonderful surprise!) I have planted some potatoes and bean seeds but not much has come up yet. The potatoes did poke through but we have had a few frosts in the last week - yes frosts - and they have had a setback. New shoots are coming through again though. I will take a photo when there is some greenery to show.

I will end with a photo of the north half of my farm from the top of the hill looking down towards the house in the late afternoon. Let it be known that when I die, in forty or fifty years time that is, that I would like my ashes scattered in this very spot on the top of the hill.

Weaving Workshop
I finished a weaving workshop a few weekends ago. It was four days in total, spread over three weekends with some weekends in between. I had completed a weaving workshop in 2006 with another instructor and I also wove my tea towels after that, but I had purchased a secondhand loom that I was a bit unsure of and had lost a bit of confidence in warping the loom in the mean time. We were given a warp that the instructor had wound previously, so there was no working out to do just warping the loom. Then we worked through some set examples to give us a variety of weaving experiences. Some of these were different and new to me. I have included a photo of my sampler. I particularly enjoyed the hem stitching effect and leno, Spanish lace, Brooks bouquet at the end of the sampler (apricot colour).
We then planned another project. I chose a simple scarf using some novelty yard and a variety of matching yarns to create a striped effect. I also skipped some dents in the reed to create an open look. While I'm weaving I am also not beating as hard also to create an open, loose fabric. I will include a photo of the completed scarf when I've finished. We are to finish our projects before the end of October and then all participants will come together for a show and tell.

Shearing
A shearer came to shear the sheep on Tuesday 9 September (that was last week, time got away from me a bit). We also put in ear tags (that's the royal we, actually the shearing contractor put in the ear tags). I had to buy the regulation pink tags to indicate which sheep were not born on our property prior to ear tagging. They are printed with our PIC number, which is our property identification. I decided to put a blue tag on our merinos and a red tag for our cross breeds, so I could identify them at a glance. So the six sheep we had before ended up getting two tags. Plus we put rings on the lamb's tails and wethered our one little boy (which is a merino, so I'll keep him).

Twin Lambs
I went to check the sheep on Friday 12 September and perhaps try and milk Ebony. The shearers said that she had lost her lamb, even though we didn't actually see it. Perhaps it was born dead and Bobbie let a fox take it or something. But even though she didn't have a lamb her udder seemed to be getting larger and I didn't want her to get mastitis. But when I arrived I saw that "Spotty Ears" had had a tiny lamb and there was another one sticking out the back of her and she seemed to be having trouble. There was a head and one hoof out but not two hooves, as lambs were supposed to present. She stood still and let me try and find the other leg but I couldn't find it (everything in there was just slippery and smooth, nothing that felt like another hoof). And I didn't want to try and pull just one leg and the head. Well, I did try a little bit but didn't know how hard I could pull. The lamb was still alive and I didn't want to loose either of them, so I rang our next door neighbour, who came straight away. He acted very quickly, got her on the ground (of course she wasn't going to just stand still and let him help get her lamb out like she did for me), and with both hands reached in and pulled the lamb out. It appeared to be easy but I'm sure it was more difficult than that. Poor "Spotty Ears" was in a lot of pain judging by the noises she was making and was exhausted when it was over. Our neighbour rubbed some of the mucus surrounding the lamb onto her nose (so she wouldn't reject the lamb) and put the lamb up near her neck, while she lay there recovering. I stayed with them a while because there were crows circling. I hate crows. It didn't take long for "Spotty Ears" to get up and start licking her lambs and in no time they were dry, standing and feeding. Thank goodness for neighbours who know what they're doing! After a bit I picked up the lambs and with mother in tow I took them to the shed and set them down on a feed bag and left some food and water for mum while I went off to town and then to work. "Spotty Ears" is a wonderful mum. The other day it was cold and windy and sprinkling and all the other sheep and lambs were outside but she was in the shed with her twins keeping warm. By the way, Ebony's udder seems to be reduced in size today, so I may not have to milk her now. That's sad about her lamb, I was looking forward to a little black lamb.

Other News
I finished my weaving workshop this weekend. It was over four days spread over a month or more. We wove a sample, which included a few things I had never tried before. Then we wound a warp and threaded the loom for a project of our own. When I get a chance in the daylight, I'll photograph both my sampler and the weaving in progress of my project, which is a multi-coloured (maroon, grey, olive green and yellow) open weave scarf that I chose mainly to use the yarn I already had. Once I have finished this I'm sure I'll have the confidence to weave another set of tea towels. Then I can try something more challenging using a different technique.

Random Comment
Don't you just love the full moon. I came home late tonight after collecting my son from Kung Fu and I didn't need a torch when walking back from the shed after 8.30pm. It is such a surreal feeling being able to see at night.

Six Naughty Cows (including Harry)

I walked around the perimeter of the fence down the back paddock today and discovered that the back fence seems fine but my cows were no where to be seen. However, in the distance on our neighbour's place I could see two white cows and their friends. So I climbed through the gaping hole in the gully fence and went over to retrieve them (all of them this time, not just "Harry"). I had a minor hiccup when "Star" jumped another fence but I got her back through two gates. But other than that they behaved themselves and walked back through the hole in the gully fence. I then proceeded to herd them up the hill and through the gate into the front 'half' of the property. They are now in all three western paddocks, hopefully eating the long brown grass that I was thinking of mowing down before spring arrives. The problem of the back side fence and the gully will have to wait for a while, but it will have to be solved soon.

Today I purchased the sheep tags I ordered a few weeks ago. I had to order pink tags for the sheep that weren't born on our property but still needed identification. I also purchased red and blue tags. I (or the shearer) will put blue tags on the merinos and red tags on the cross breeds. That way I can identify them at a glance. Especially "Fluffy" and "Pinkie" who are cross breeds but look very much like merinos. Plus with this new generation coming along I may run out of identifying features. So far I have only named and identified "Floppy", the others may prove more difficult.

We didn't have any new arrivals today. We did get more rain, though, although with wet wool that means shearing will be delayed. I haven't yet set a day or even a week for the shearing, as we still have two sheep to lamb. I was thinking of going ahead despite that but now they are wet from the rain, but at least they're not cold and wet with lovely woollen jumpers.

New Fences & Pregnant Cows
I recently organised for a fencing contractor to finish the fences Paul started to divide up the large eastern paddock and create two wind breaks in which to plant trees for protection and shade for animals. The strainer posts were already in place and so the fencing contractor put in the star pickets and some in between posts for extra strength and a total of four gates with associated short mesh fences, and of course the wire and hinge joint. It took him less than a week in total time but cost me two months wages. It was necessary to be done, though, and he did a really good job. I now have three paddocks where I only had one. That means that the sheep can stay a month in each paddock and eat down the grass more effectively. It also means that I can move them around more frequently so there is less chance of getting worms.

A while ago I borrowed and read a book about a city lady who married and moved to the country. In the book she tells of her adventures and experiences. She also explained a quaint idea of how they named their paddocks after countries. So I had the idea that I would call the new paddocks Far East, Middle East and South East Asia (even though South East is actually north east but it is down the bottom). I think it's fun to take a light hearted approach.

Lately I have been having problems with keeping "Harry" in our back paddock, but now I hear this morning that "Star" has taken to going through yet another fence, the very back fence into the neighbours. I can't afford any new fences at the moment so I hope the neighbours can mend the part "Star" is getting through. I went down the back on Monday morning (after my pumping success) to visit the cows and check the hole in the fence over the gully. I discovered "Harry" on the other side of the fence by himself. I got him back through the hole and patched it yet again with bits of wood and bits of wire. Now I will have to go down there again on Friday to inspect the back fence to see how bad it is. While I was down the back on Monday I took a photograph of the cows to show how round and pregnant they look. By my calculations we should have calves in late November or December.

Veggie Tank is Full
I did it all by myself! I cut and connected the poly pipe to get the water out of the shed tank and to the pump and I started the pump and filled the veggie tank with no help and nothing went wrong! Yesterday we had 25mm of rain and the cement shed tank was half full. Yesterday afternoon while it was raining I made the intake pipe with the connectors I bought with the tank and put it all together. As you can see from the photographs the pipe had to go up and over the edge of the tank. Then I had to collect Steve and Lucy from town so I didn't get to pump yesterday. But that meant we had more water this morning, so that was okay. I took this morning off work to pump the water because there was no other time, unless I wanted to do it at dusk or in the dark. If I didn't do it today it would have leaked out in a few days and I would have nothing. I filled the veggie tank to a half rung from the top before the water in the cement shed tank ran out, so that was pretty good, and all before 9.30am. So now there is no stopping me, it's full speed ahead with the garden, there are no excuses now. And when I do have plants and I use the water and it rains again, I have the ways and means to fill the veggie tank again. I'm pretty pleased with myself.

No New Lambs
We haven't had any new arrivals but I took some photographs of the three oldest lambs. "Original Mum's" lamb is still very little and stays close to her. She didn't come over when I brought some food for them, whereas the other three mums came over this time (they didn't on the weekend) and the three lambs played while the ewes ate the pellets and chaff I brought. I have named one "Floppy" because one ear is bent and droopy. "Floppy" is "Big Baby's" lamb and she is a girl. "Cross's" lamb is a girl, no name yet. "Original Mum's" lamb is a boy, however he is a full merino, so I might keep him as a wether just for wool. But I don't know whether "Flystrike's" lamb is a boy or girl yet (photo above). All the lambs are lovely.
I have included a photo of the three together to show the difference between the cross breed and the full merinos. "Cross's" lamb is the one on the left with smooth skin and no 'wrinkles'. The other two are merinos. From my understanding the 'wrinkles' increase the surface area so you get more wool. But they also increase the potential for getting flystrike from flies laying their eggs in the moist folds of skin. Now, since mulsing is not allowed any more (not that I would have done that anyway), I will have to find out what the alternatives are for reducing the skin folds and reducing the risk of flystrike. One of our ewes, "Flystrike", got flystruck in the first year we had her. We had another lamb with flystrike last year (or the year before, I can't remember) when we did the crutching, so she had to be fully shorn - we caught it just in time or we would have lost her. It's pretty awful - the fly maggots start eating the sheep's skin. Needless to say, I don't want that happening again.
"Ebony's" pregnant belly didn't seem as big today. Maybe the lamb has moved and is getting ready to be born ... here's hoping.

Miracle Lamb
This morning I saw that one ewe was apart from the rest with a new lamb and went over to say hello, expecting it to be "Spotty Ears". But when I got closer I could see it was a merino, it was "Original Mum". Now, she had a lamb eight days ago, I called it "Sparkle" and it died the next day. Now she was having another lamb ... I have not seen nor heard of that happening before. The lamb seemed to be very weak though (above). Sometimes lambs are jumping around and bleating noisily within a matter of hours.
On Monday "Pinkie" had a very small and weak lamb (below). Of course I was hoping it would be all right but I found it dead the next morning and I wasn't surprised. Steven buried it for me. I know I sound blaze about it now, but I realise that it's survival of the strongest.
More lambs have died this year than in any previous year. We lost two the first year (one through a birthing problem and one after Polo died) but this year we have lost three already and we haven't finished lambing yet. Last year we didn't lose any. It has been pretty cold though and they don't have access to the shed. But even if they have access they don't always go in there for protection. It was bad timing. Next time I will time it so that they are in the paddock next to the shed, hopefully.

Another Lamb Gone

Today when I checked the sheep there were only three lambs. "Big Baby's" second twin was no where to be found. I have no idea what happened to it. I walked up and down the paddock and couldn't even find the poor little thing. We haven't had any new arrivals and have three ewes still to lamb. I have included some photos of the little mothers. One is of "Flystrike" and her lamb, who seems to be having diarrhoea problems. These photos were taken yesterday and today the lamb seemed better. In fact today the three lambs seemed bigger, more steady and faster. I have also included a photo of "Ebony" and her ever increasing stomach. This is her first lamb and so if she hasn't had her lamb or lambs by next weekend I am thinking of calling the vet in to make sure everything is okay.

Gained a Lamb & Lost a Lamb
Yesterday we gained a new lamb and lost a lamb. When I went out in the morning I found "Sparkle" frozen dead. It was a very cold night because that morning we had no water at all because the pipes were frozen. Sparkle's mum (Original Mum) did not keep her warm enough. The other lambs were fine, even the tiny twins. While I was standing with her debating whether to leave the lamb there for a while so that her mum could be with her for a bit longer, Tabby (one of our cats) came too close to investigate and she charged him and head butted him. She was okay with me though. I picked her up and took her out of the paddock and her mum let me do it.
Little Sparkle was beautiful, she was white as white and her fleece, what little there was of it, was glossy ... she would have been beautiful. Because I had to go to work I put her in a feed bag under some corrugated iron to be buried in the afternoon.
While I was at work Steve's girlfriend rang when they got home after school to tell me that another sheep had a lamb (she rang to tell me this to cheer me up). Also, knowing how upset I was, Steven buried Sparkle for me. He is very sweet and understanding sometimes.
When I came home I visited them again and saw that "Flystrike" was the ewe who had lambed that day. All the lambs seem to be getting stronger each day, jumping around after their mothers. The mums are very protective and won't let me too close, although I can get closer than Steve. It panics them when someone else comes into their paddock.
I have included a picture of "Big Baby" and her twins. I haven't taken a photo of "Flystrike" yet, maybe tomorrow. "Ebony" is due any day now ... I thought she would be first. I do hope she doesn't have any problems, she seems very heavy ... maybe twins.

Four New Lambs!
This morning while feeding the chickens I noted three sheep apart from the rest and sure enough all three of them had lambs. When I got there they looked like they had only just been born. The rest of the sheep and Bobbie didn't even know they'd been born. "Original Mum", a merino, had a beautiful white lamb whose fleece shone in the morning sun, so I will call her/him "Sparkle" or "Sparkie" if it is a boy, and it will be kept either way for its fleece. None of the mums would let me get close enough to see whether they were boys or girls. Maybe I'll have a better look over the next few days. "Cross", a cross breed as the name suggests, had one lamb too, although I thought she may have twins like last time. Her lamb was a dirty colour, but that was probably more from dirt that the colour of the fleece. "Big Baby", another merino, had twins like last time, although one seems a bit weak. I haven't included a photo of her twins, as in the photo I took in the morning one lamb appeared to be dead, which I took sort of as a record. But as I got closer I could see it was still breathing and it actually raised its head and bleated. In the afternoon just before sunset both twins were sitting together and seemed quite perky. I saw one feed but not the other, so I have my fingers crossed that the weaker one survives. Another ewe, "Ebony", my black sheep, is about to have her lamb/s any day. I thought she would have hers first but obviously not. Only 7 of my 10 ewes are pregnant (I think) but "Ebony" is the only imminent birth, as the others aren't any where near as big, so the lambing will probably be a drawn out process.

Visiting Playmates
Yesterday morning the cows were at the top of the hill in the morning and I started to count them as I usually do and there were two more. My fence mending skills are obviously not good enough, as the two little steers from next door have decided to come through to visit Harry at his place. I don't mind them being there but we will have 'fun' separating them when the time comes.

New Vegie Tank

Last Friday I had a new tank installed in the vegie garden. Instead of getting a stand made, the guy at the tank shop suggested I put the tank on an earth ring. Which is like a two foot slice of a corrugated iron tank filled with crushed 'blue metal' or road base. Because there isn't enough water in the shed cement tank at the moment, I connected hoses and poly pipe and filled one rung from the tap being fed from the tank at the top of the hill, just so the tank didn't blow away. The guys who installed the tank said it wouldn't blow away but I just had to be sure.

Then on Saturday I started weeding my vegie garden. It is going to take me a lot of weekends to get the garden free of weeds and ready to put on the wooden sides that Dad helped me buy. But with the temperatures we are having at the moment, it is a long time until Spring. I am a bit worried about whether my hands are up to the job, though. I take medication to mask the pain of my arthritis but my hands don't seem to have the strength I thought they used to have. I guess I will need to build that strength back again. This is a before photograph of my garden, so that later I can see how much work I have actually done.

I have another little story from the weekend. On Friday morning I walked down the back to visit my cows. Since I don't have time to visit them in the morning and it is dark by the time I get home, I don't see the cows until Friday and the weekend. When I got down the back I could only see five of them, but I could hear Harry mooing off in the distance ... the neighbour's paddock! I knew the tank guys were arriving mid morning so I thought I'd have an attempt at getting him back but if it didn't work I would try on Saturday. In the neighbour's paddock Harry was hanging out with two young steers about his age. They seemed to be in this paddock by themselves - there were no other cows but there was a mob of sheep over the other side. I think Harry had been having a fine old time with his new found friends. I found a low bit of fence that he could have jumped over but as hard as I tried I could not get him to try jumping back over again. I gave up and came back on Saturday. This time I walked further down to see if there was another low spot in the fence, and found a gaping hole in the fence across the gully. I had checked this not long ago and thought it was sound, but obviously not. I pushed back any sharp ends and climbed through myself. Harry and his new friends saw me coming up the hill towards them and they got to their feet. I told Harry to say goodbye to his friends because he was coming home. I had a little bit of running around to separate them and then got Harry heading down the hill towards the gully. But that's all it took, as soon as he saw the gully he went straight down and through the hole in the fence and ran off mooing looking for the others. I had a bit of bale twine with me and pulled the mesh wire down and patched the hole by tying a bit of wood to the bottom. It took practically no effort at all getting him down to the hole and through. It was as if he knew that the game was up and he had to go home. My eldest son says that animals are stupid and that they don't think like humans, but I sometimes think that they know what I'm saying and they know what I want them to do. Maybe they don't but sometimes I wonder.

Garden Plans
Mum & Dad have just gone home after visiting for a week. They wouldn't normally visit in July as it is too cold for them, but I went down to Sydney for four days including driving to attend a 40-Year Rotaract Reunion and asked them to be here for Steven. Then of course Dad proceeded to do the multitude of little fix-it jobs that needed to be done while Mum generally pampered me by cooking and washing up. I also took the week off work (mostly) and helped Dad, and also slept in when I could.
Earlier in the week I also sold our old 1991 Toyota Cressida for parts, which was disappointing but I am glad it is not my problem now and has gone to a good home. On Thursday Dad helped me select and measure some seconds wood from the Recycled Yard for the borders of my vegie garden. The photograph shows the wood propped up in the trailer ready for me to put them to use when I start weeding the old vegie garden next weekend.
Today I cleared a six foot diameter patch in the vegie garden area for a tank that will be delivered on Friday morning. The plan is to pump the water from the cement shed tank when it rains and store it in the new tank, before it has a chance to leak away. I will access this water via a tap and water the garden with either drip irrigation or the good old fashioned watering can (which I prefer as it is all part of slowing down). I have also included a photograph of the area that I cleared. I hope it is sufficiently cleared for installing the tank, which is going to stand on an earth ring instead of a stand. I will include a photograph when it is all finished next week.
Today we also moved the chicken coop to a new grassy area, and believe me the chickens appreciated the new area, running around pecking at the grass. I also have plans for a new chicken enclosure, but one thing at a time, I'll have to save up again following the tank and wood purchase, not to mention the fencing. By the way, the fencing hasn't started yet but will start next week, hopefully.

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!