Five Trees for Fifty Years
Yesterday we had the perfect conditions to do something I had been wanting to do for a long time. We dug out some seedling pine trees from the front of the property near the road and planted them in the wind break near the western neighbour's fence. It is winter so the trees are dormant and digging was easy because we have had some rain, and we also didn't need to water them in because we had good rain overnight as well. I didn't do this by myself either, as my whole family are visiting to help me celebrate my 50th birthday. Originally we had decided to plant five trees for my fifty years but I miscalculated the spacing and had to plant six instead, but that didn't really matter. The tree break does seem rather wide and empty, but in time I plan to plant some gums or maybe wattles in between the pines.

Bladey Grass and Woodpile
While Russell and I went on a short holiday from 21-26 May Mum and Dad came to look after the animals and the farm. During that time Dad mowed the areas of bladey grass to keep it under control. Since the photo Dad has used the whipper snipper on the grass near the fence.
He also sorted the wood on the woodpile. This woodpile has accumulated over the whole time we have been here and I think even before. Dad wanted to control the blackberries growing up through the wood and to do this he needed to move the wood. He sorted it into piles of different sizes and eventually was able to cut and dig out the offending blackberries. Then a couple of weekends after that Russell chainsawed most of the large stuff ready for chopping for the fire. (I have included a photo of the sorted piles and the chopped piles.) Even though most of the wood is not good quality, there were some ancient fence posts from the fence I replaced on the eastern neighbour's side and they are burning very well indeed. In time the aim is to use all this wood and clear the area entirely.

New Driveway
Some time in the middle of March the Council sealed the driveway leading to the gate from the road. With everything else happening this has taken a back seat but I thought it should be recorded as it has improved the look of the entrance and ease of driving through the gateway. I thought it was a lot of money at the time ($350) but the car doesn't bottom out any more. We did have a bit of trouble at first because they didn't pack down the dirt added before sealing, but it has hardened now and works well.

Nova gets away again
On the morning of 28 April when I poked my head out to get the cat food bowl I heard mooing. Not the normal far away not my problem mooing, but a closer to home come and help mooing. So I quickly got the cats fed and set off to the back paddock. When I got there I found Nova in the neighbours place at the back. Heavens knows how he got through the fence, I certainly couldn't see. He is turning out to be quite an escape artist. And of course to get him back in I had to unlock the back gate - I won't forget the key the next time I go down the back. After returning with the key I managed to get Nova out the neighbour's gate and into our gate without letting Star out. Cow and calf were very grateful to be reunited. Star was the one doing all the mooing, by the way, not Nova. After all the commotion all the other calves sidled up to their mums for comfort too. But that was soon forgotten and all the calves got together again. In the photos you can see how fast Nova is growing compared to the other calves.

Erickson is no more
Last Friday morning (12/6) I came out to feed the chickens and found three lonely black chickens and Erickson in a pile of white feathers minus his head. He was a very brave rooster and had fought many battles, which is why I didn't lock them away every night, plus I hadn't seen any foxes lately, either alive or dead on the side of the road, so I thought it was okay to let them waltz in and out as they pleased - but obviously not. I locked them in over the weekend while I was away and then Tuesday night as well. Then, thinking the fox would give up and go elsewhere, plus I was tired and it was wet and dark, I neglected my duties again and lost another chicken. So now I only have two very lonely black chickens who will be closed in every night or else I will lose them too. Before I get any more chickens I will build a proper enclosure, so it will be safe to let them roam as they please, plus so I don't have to trudge out in the dark and sometimes rain to lock them up at night.

Crutching, Shearing Rambo & Bobbie
The sheep were crutched by my neighbour on 14 March. Then on 2 April the shearer came to shear Rambo. I wanted to protect Rambo's fleece and keep him warm now that winter was fast approaching, so we put a cover on him. Now I don't know whether Bobbie remembered when Rambo first arrived or if he just doesn't like covers but he started attacking Rambo. The next day I got Rambo and some of the sheep back into the shed and removed Rambo's cover. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for Bobbie and he continued to spit on him and chase him and wrap his neck around his head and the like. So I moved the sheep to the next paddock and kept Bobbie separate and let him into the 'tree run' surrounding the middle eastern paddock. I kept them separate for three whole weeks, then moved them all to the top eastern paddock. Everything is back to normal now. I guess that means that I can never put a cover on Rambo, because I'm not going through that again.

Harry's Meat
Harry stayed at our neighbour's yards overnight with a few young steers to keep him company and the butcher came to collect him the next day 9 March. I collected Harry's meat on 20 March, just over a week later. The total cost was $409. His carcass weighed 256.8kg and we received approximately 160.2kg of meat.

So he was 37.6% bones, which was good

compared to Patch and

Lady's meat to bone ratio. The actual meat cost

me $2.55/kg. By the way, his steak is beautiful.

Love at last
I have been 'off the air' for a bit as I have been rather preoccupied. I have fallen in love with a wonderful man who loves me very much. I think we suit each other very well and we have been spending every weekend with each other since about the middle of February. His name is Russell and he lives in a neighbouring town about 1.5 hours away. I firmly believe that everything that has happened in my life has happened for a reason and to bring me to where I am today. I am happy with who I am.

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

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

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

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

In Memory of TK
We lost one of our animals today. We had him euthanased, as he was not able to fight a respiratory infection because he had FIV (the cats version of HIV). Apparently it can be in their system for a long time, then when they get sick they get really sick. TK (The Kitten, originally) may not have been a productive farm animal but he had been in our family since he was about a month old in November 1997. We sort of adopted him from next door. Although he was very cute he had a fighting spirit in him and after he attacked an old lady up the street when he was about two years old (I found the note the lady wrote to us) we kept him in a cat run with a tower, a tunnel and a large flat area with access to inside a shed at night. While we lived in Sydney he lived in his run with the occasional respite inside. Of course when we came to the country he calmed down considerably and enjoyed the peaceful surrounds. However, in the last six months or so he has been going down hill, not venturing very far and not cleaning himself as well as he used to. The photograph was taken April 2008 after we had his ears trimmed due to cancers on the tips. Recently he had a few teeth problems and eye problems and then this week he developed respiratory problems and got very sick very fast.
Goodbye TK.

Good News & Bad News
The bad news is that I won't be milking Jemma and I was looking forward to that. The good news is that Jemma had temporarily misplaced her calf! She hadn't 'lost' her after all. I didn't get time to visit the cows on Sunday but on Monday night I went up there with the stainless steel bucket expecting to be able to milk Jemma and there were four calves including two little black calves. I did try to milk but Jemma wouldn't stand still like before. I think on Saturday she had left her calf sleeping somewhere and had forgotten where she was ... or something. Anyway, everything is okay now - we are back to three girls and a boy. I don't have any photos yet, as I hadn't taken the camera with me - maybe next time.

Milking Jemma
I thought I would leave Jemma and her calf for a few days since all the other cows were so protective at first, plus I was busy with work and other things. Then this morning I saw the cows at the top of the hill, so went up there to say hello. The first three calves were being looked after by Star but there was no sign of Jemma's calf. Thinking it may have been asleep somewhere nearby I asked Jemma to show me where her calf was. Now I know they don't understand what I'm saying but they do understand, if you know what I mean. Anyway she started walking away down the hill, stopping to look around to see if I was following. I followed her to the middle of the top eastern quarter of the back paddock, where she started to look around in a large circle. I am thinking this is where her calf may have died and where she last saw her. There was no sign of her now. She then walked over to the large pine in the middle of the paddock and then back up to where the rest of the herd were. The poor thing. She let me pat her all over and her udder was quite large and tight. And she actually let me milk her a little. So I went back, had my breakfast, and returned with a freshly washed stainless steel bucket (purchased years ago for this very purpose), a warm clean cloth to clean her teats and a clean tea towel to cover the bucket on the return walk.
She was very good and mostly stayed still. I just knealt down near her (no stool) to milk one teat at a time with my other hand holding the bucket. The only time I tried to use both hands she kicked the bucket over. I couldn't reach the teats on the other side, so I had to milk one side and then go around to the other side. In the end I managed to milk half a cup, which would have been more if I hadn't spilt some. I'm going to try again this afternoon and maybe every day. At least until I know she's not going to get mastitis or something. Maybe next time I'll bring a halter. It's a pitty I don't have the cattle yards and milking bail.

I have strained the milk and it's in a jug in the fridge. I intend to have it on my breakfast tomorrow. I might even get more this afternoon. This is quite unexpected. It's sad that she lost her calf - particularly since we can't even find it. But a new adventure has started.

I thought I would include two photos taken the day Jemma's calf was born (or the day after), because the previous photo I included you couldn't see that she actually had a calf.

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.

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.