Disappearing Dams

I have been very worried about the water situation for the sheep and cows.  The front dam has been dry for months and the back dam is the lowest it has ever been.  I have been checking it every couple of weeks.  But then when it actually did rain, I was surprised at how much water the back dam collected with two episodes of rain, so it’s obviously in a very good position, unlike the front dam.

27 May

 

7 July (after about 50mm)

New Biocycle

I have had a lot of trouble with my septic over the years and finally decided to spend (borrow) some money and buy a new one.  As I am in a drinking water catchment and laws for these things change, I researched and found that I had to put in an aerated system.  I chose a Biocycle and it was installed on 4 May.  I took lots of photos and have included enough to tell the story.  Due to the position of the outgoing grey water pipes a new hole had to be dug with the old septic tank being filled in.  As is it aerated there is a 75W pump that runs 24/7 and it pumps out treated water via a hose every now and then.  All the water from the house goes to it, including the shower and washing machine.  It will take some time to install all the necessary underground pipes and sprinklers, so in the mean time I have a soak hose on the front lawn.

Shed Guttering and Downpipes

Also on 17 April, with help from Dad and Steven to cut a hole in the guttering and silicone in the start of the downpipe, I installed a second downpipe to collect the water halfway along the shed eastern guttering in order to capture the maximum amount of water. This is a low point in the guttering and water would overflow into the shed when it rained, never making it to the tank.  It is supported with four bits of wire extended from nails or holes in the corrugated iron.  I also cleared the gutter on the western side and fitted more plastic gutter guard.  Now, all it has to do is rain.  

 

Shearing Plant Backing Board

In October 2010 I raised the shearing platform the height of a pallet to get it out of the dirt.  Since then the shearers have been complaining that the shearing plant is too close to the flooring.  So with the help of Dad’s know how and Steven’s strength on 17 April we raised the shearing plant by 160mm with three thicknesses of 12mm thick ply bolted together. 

Goodbye Arnie!

Arnie’s granddaughters are six months old and so it was time for him to go.  I had been thinking of selling some crossbred wethers too, so they all went to the sheep sales today (17 April).  Dad and I managed to get them into the yards but we needed Steve’s help to get them onto the trailer.  Unfortunately, they didn’t sell for much money – $25 each for the year old wethers, $15 for a seven month old lamb and $15 for Arnie.

Fence Mending

On Sunday (7 April) Russell and I walked along the western back paddock fence and along the gully to the dam and then back.  This was Russell’s first long walk on the farm since his hip replacement and he managed better than he had thought.  The purpose was to mend the boundary fence where the neighbour’s sheep have been getting through.  I had previously mended two obvious holes on 11 & 17 March.  But with Russell we did a more thorough job.  The dam was quite low, possibly the lowest I have ever seen.  The cows ignored us the whole time.

Dad and I also added droppers to the western fence in the top paddock (14 April 2013) in an attempt to stop the neighbour’s sheep from getting from the fruit tree run into my paddocks.  I don’t mind them in under the plumb trees, as it would be a major job to fix or replace the western lower fence, but I still need to stop them from getting into where my sheep graze.

Driveway Top Up

On my Monday (25 March) morning off I bought aggregate myself.  After driving home after work I ended up shovelling all of the aggregate onto the driveway all by myself – thank goodness for daylight saving.  I had also taken off the cage the previous Thursday afternoon all by myself – it took an hour.  The driveway looks great and will be able to cope with any amount of rain.