New Calves
On 16 January Sandy had a little black girl calf. They look like Yin and Yang together. Sandy is also very protective and mooed at me until I left the paddock and took photos from the other side of the fence. Then on either 27 or 28 January Jemma also had a little black girl calf - well I think it's black or dark brown, as I had moved them to the back paddock and with the grass being so long and Jemma not letting me within 20 yards of her I didn't get a very good view (but I think it's a girl). I will go up there tomorrow and have another look and hope that she is up near the fence. They let me come right up to them when there is a fence in between. I have also included extra photos of the other calves, although Chrissy is so shy that I haven't taken a close photo of her yet.














































Vegie Garden
I have included a photo of my vegie garden, although it was taken a while ago and the potatoes have died right back and the beans and tomatoes have grown heaps. I pumped the last lot of rain up to the vegie tank, as I accidentally left the hose running and used two rungs! Consequently, I didn't need to water for some time. I still haven't dug the potatoes up. They shouldn't be damaged as they were up the high end away from the water.
I have also included a photo of my broccoli going to seed. I have never let this happen before. I planted them too late and they bolted to seed before I could eat all of them. The seed pods are interesting. Although, they are taking a while to mature and dry - but I'm patient.

Mum & Dad's Visit
Mum and Dad have recently visited for almost a week. They had to stay an extra day just so Dad could mow, as the weather and other commitments prevented it earlier in their stay. While not mowing Dad busied himself with all the usual fix-it jobs. He fixed my side gauze door so that it now closes and locks. I think the house moves quite a bit due to differences in moisture in the ground. Dad also adjusted the poly pipe for the shed tank pumping so there is no excess pipe between the tank and the connection to pump to the top of the hill and the vegie tank has its own poly pipe that can be pulled down when needed. We also had a little four legged visitor in the roof and so Dad very bravely climbed into my roof space and scattered naphthalene flakes in the ceiling to deter the critter from living and scratching on the ceiling. I would have done this but Dad is lighter than me and probably more agile even at 81, plus I hate ladders. When he mowed the usual lawn Dad also mowed in places we have never mowed before, making the place look tidier. [Edit: I forgot to mention that Dad also spent a whole day fixing a small persistent leak from the toilet cistern. He replaced a seal and added plumbers tape to another and now the wood on the floor is drying out after years of moisture dripping.] One of the main jobs that I really needed two people for was mending the gully fence.

Mended Gully Fence
The last time I had the cows down the back paddock they all pushed through a hole in the fence crossing the gully into the next door neighbours paddock. So I moved them to the front paddocks to help the sheep eat the grass. But we are down to two rungs in the top tank and the back dam is full. So the gully fence had to be mended. I was going to get Steven to help me with this but didn't get around to it before he left. (I was also going to pay someone to do it before Christmas.) The actual mending of the fence wasn't hard or strenuous, however getting the star pickets and the post dolly (banger inner), tools and extra wire down to almost the furtherest part of the property through waist high grass was a challenge, especially for an unfit 'old girl' and an 81 year old. But we did it. I have included a photo of the mended fence (I forgot to take a before photo). After we finished Dad suggested we take a 'short cut' up the hill. With lots of rests and a longer rest for Dad at the top of the hill, we made it. I possibly could have done it by myself but I would have had to have made the journey there and back four times to take the necessary bits.

So the cows and their calves are now in the back paddock until I do something about a cattle yard so I can send Harry to the butchers and get Nova marked (I think that's the term for castration - although could be just for sheep) and all the calves tagged. I hope there is enough grass and the cows are busy being mothers to try and escape to the neighbours for a while.

I thought I would include the mother cow's names, birth dates and calf's names for the record.

Freda - 25/12/2008 - Chrissy (girl) - brown
Star - 10/1/2009 - Nova (boy) - grey (changing to fawn)
Sandy - 16/1/2009 - Blackie 1 (B1) (girl) - black
Jemma - 28/1/2009 - Blackie 2 (B2) (girl?) - black/brown

Two New Calves
Freda had a little brown calf on Christmas Day (or maybe the day before) and my sister named her Chrissy. I thought I had already put this up but with my family visiting over Christmas and Steven and Lucy moving out on New Year's Eve and starting back at work, I have been distracted. Freda is a very protective mum and Chrissy is very shy, so thank goodness for a zoom lens. I have included one photo taken on Christmas Day and two on New Year's Day.

Then today Star had a boy calf. He is a beautiful grey colour with a white star on his forehead just like his mum. I haven't come up with a name yet - I'm calling him Mini-Star for the time being. I have been checking with binoculars each morning knowing the three remaining cows were due soon and this morning I could see Star by herself and sort of swaying her backside and I had a feeling something was going to happen. And when I was out feeding the chickens a bit later I could see that she had already had it. I went inside to fetch the camera and as I was walking up the hill I could see that the other cows also knew something had happened and they were all hurrying to see the newborn. I stayed up there watching Star licking him all over. I also went the other side of the fence so she didn't feel threatened, but I don't think she will be as fiercely protective as Freda. On the first day when I was trying to take photos of Chrissy, Freda almost charged me twice. And Freda used to let me pat her, although Star hasn't let me pat her for a while.

While all the other cows were milling around, I thought I'd take photos of my other cows too. Below left is my fine specimen of a steer, Harry, with Sandy and Star behind. And on the right we have a very pregnant Jemma, and a beautifully coloured Brownie, with Freda and Chrissy in the background.