State of the farm.

We had to buy more round hay bales this week as we used our last, feeding the main flock of sheep. There's a hint of green in the fields but this, on closer inspection is not clover or grass but weeds. The fields are looking bare but this is not a great problem, the lack of water is beginning to be a worry. We've had a few days recently of light drizzle, it gets things wet but otherwise not of any value. The rains stopped at the beginning of spring and we've been dry since. The dams have got lower or just dried completely so now the sheep have to walk to access water.

The front dam dried out completely over a two week period, while our larger main dam is lower every time I see it. I've been placing a stick at the waters edge and now have a row of eight or nine leading to the latest water level. It hasn't been this dry since the Millennium drought.

 

We have a spring on the farm and so far this is holding out and is the main source of water for the flock. They are hungry and will eat out a round bale of hay in a few days!

 

It's a waiting game now, the weathermen tell us the El Nino is over and we're to have above average rains this Autumn, however we're still waiting. The ground is so dry that when the rain comes it will soak into the soil and not run into the dams. How long it will take before the creeks flow again? So we wait.

My mother never like leather furniture claiming they felt cold so not nice to sit in. I on the other hand love them and have never found them cold, in fact I find them warm and inviting. So it's not surprising I have them in my home. I have a large, block like arm chair circa 1950's and the latest is a beautiful arm chair from the 1920's, so lovely to sit in!

I've heard of people finding unusual objects when they've moved into a new home but we didn't expect this bird when we bought our property 15 years ago: an emu! The locals told us the previous owners had removed the emu from a nearby dairy, to the property, as it was frightening the cows. Oh that was 10 years or so back we were told. This emu then has wandered around our fields now for over 25 years. She's semi tame and we only give her seed in the dry summer months. We had to learn how to move her when we wanted to move our own sheep, slowly by putting pressure on her shoulder like a cow. However cows don't stop to go through their feathers! We asked an emu farmer at a show how to tell which sex our emu could be and learnt that the female drum. Well ours drums deeply! She is a fixture if annoying at times and for how long we don't know.



We need to take more time to appreciate the beauty of nature. I've seen some wonderful sunsets recently which those around me seem to miss. As I get older there have been more aches and pains, and health issues appear ( gall stone pain is terrible). I feel the need to try and slow down and enjoy the simple things, like sunsets. Why is it we race around more and more, try and fit lots into each day and complain there's no time to do everything. Surely we are in control of our lives and therefore can make time just to stop and relax. All those gadgets we're supposed to have, just seem to me to used for games and pointless activities! It's time to step back and remember that your health, friends and family are the important things and watch the sun set sometimes.

A quiet moment! He's hoping I'm carrying a carrot!

After such a dry spring it was only a matter of time before our front dam dried just leaving mud. A bit of rain at the beginning of February only delayed the inevitable.  A green tinge has reappeared over our fields but the lack of water is a real worry. Deciding where to move the sheep is a problem. We still have a larger dam with water but that provides a number troughs, and then there's a natural spring. Anywhere else and we have to move water to those troughs and refill them when they empty, a heavy and tiring business. One of our next jobs is to sell our wethers now numbering around 25. Less stomachs to fill with water on hot days! It all stems from the El Niño which changes the water temperatures of the coast of Chile, affecting weather patterns and the result is our spring rain vanishes! This dam hadn't filled at the end of winter. Spring was extra hot which didn't help. Now we wait to see what happens over the next few months weather wise and if Autumn is normal and the season breaking rains will come.

 

 

 

 

At around 15 or 16 years of age I had to think about what I would do with my life. I had an interest in animals and natural history so thought a Zoo Keeper would be interesting. However Mum and Dad soon talked me out of that saying I'd be cleaning up after the animals and only feeding them. We know Zoo Keepers do much more than that, watching animal behaviour and doing research studies, but I took my parents advice and looked elsewhere. So it seems somewhat ironic that I'm now feeding stock and sometimes cleaning up after them too. I also help a friend who is a wildlife carer when they go on holiday, cutting up fruit and vegetables, mixing chaff and grains for a group of kangaroos and wallabies.