Back at work

We've been back at school for a few days now and we've only missed the bus once!! Due to lost shoes, they were not where they were meant to be placed ready for the next day.

I have spent my lunch breaks running about town delivering bags of decluttering to the big charity bins. We have several different ones and I have spread the joy between them all. Last Thursday the boot and back seat of the car were so chocka block full that I felt really bad when we had to go into town and Miss MDK had to squeeze in with her face against the window......not really, we took some out so that she was safe, but if I hadn't that would have been the picture!!!!

I've still got tonnes to do!!

I have some takers at work for the knitting wools in the shipping container that I want to cull. I was going to take it to the local library where a knitted squares program is run, this suits me better.

If I live to be 300 years old I won't be able to get through knitiing or crocheting it all!!

Ford the poddy Calf is doing well

as you can see he is well protected from this cold weather.

Sometimes he gets his very large dog coat off.

Itty Bitty MDK has pretty much made it his responsibility to mix up the milk and feed him.

He does like some company down at night in the dark.

I think he might looove ford.

On the weekend Mr MDK and Big Boy MDK went plane galavanting.

Big Boy MDK got his students plane license last week and then got to ride in several different planes in a few days.

This Glider was pretty special.

He had a pretty good time in the passenger seats.

We had a fair bit of action here tonight.

This little Cairn terrorist

Yes this sweet little scruffy dog, caught a feral piglet tonight.

A neighbour drove in and said that he had chased a group of piglets across the road and they had then cut through the corner of our house block when Jake here chased after them.

We went investigating and could hear lots of squealing in the paddock, his sister came running back when we called her but we went into the paddock and started chasing after the eyes we could see glowing.

I stopped and called the kids back thinking that a big pig could turn back and go after them.

When I stopped I could hear a lot of heaving breathing and panting.

I shone the torch around thinking a big pig was going to get me, and then I found this little dog sitting very, very still and he wouldn't look at me. I thought he'd been hurt and we all went to check him, and that's when I saw the piglet which was about the same size as him. He was sitting on it and wouldn't move.

We were able to catch the piglet and dispose of it.

That's one less in the Paddocks.

Who'd have thought I'd bred a new variety of pig dog!!!

This big tough guy had no idea what was going on.

Nice cool, crisp, winter skies around here.

Weekend capers

We did a bit of renovating in the paddocks over the weekend.

This involved the big guns.

This little old John Deere was a great buy 15 years ago.

It's been very good to us!

We needed the tractor to move these cat tyres.

This one had a twist and MR MDK drove in circles trying to get it to untwist.

Eventually we did it by hand.

The aim was to get them alongside the water trough so the cattle wouldn't move all the soil away from the bottom and perhaps expose, then break the water pipe feeding it.

first side is in place

Then the second and a bit of fine manouvering to line it up close to the trough. I thought it should be really close so that no hooves would get stuck!

Ta Da! very nicely done!

We had an audience! they are very inquisitive

 Hello beauty, you are doing well on these oats.

The boys had a close up look at the steers. We were waiting for the yelp when they might touch the electric fence- they were too smart for that.

A bit of rain would be great please.

Then we took the tractor to the yards. 

We've got some more tracks to lay up the race and in the crush.

Apparently they are easier on the cattle's feet.

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When we got home, miss MDK got her artsy on--

drip

drip

drip

drip, (this one is my fave)

drip

drip

I think she missed the cue with this one

and this one!!!! eewwww!

let's see it again

nice eh!!

I have a car  full of garbage bags- the product of my decluttering, boot and back seat. More to do tomorrow!

Right now I am watching Joan Rivers on Movie One.

I think she's great, though a bit too crude at times. Learning heaps about her. Recently I've been watching her in How'd you get so rich and have liked that.

Just watched her signing checks for her employees' children's private school education.

I like her opulent house, I see no clutter there!!

It's cold outside

I think this raging fire will do the job.

I got too cold to do anything today.

I should have had this ramped up last night.

Give a boy a camera

The other day, after mustering, while we were looking through the cows and calves in the yards, the 2 boys asked if they could go for a potter around on the Quads.

To make me happy, they said,"we'll take photos for you!!!"

Here's what I found on the camera.

Cattle fattening on the oats. I like the colour of the purdy creamy ones.

More cattle fattening on oats.

Artsy windmill shot.

a full dam.

We put 3 yabbies in this dam last year. they were the only survivors out of 200 in a charity yabbie race. I hope they are breeding up, that's if there was boys and girls.

these ducks have probably eaten them!!

artsy shot of a toppy.

and the neighbours sheep!!

This looks like full throttle to me!

I don't think there was too much pottering around going on!!!

Preg testing and a new arrival

The cows and few calves were all mustered the other day from the big paddock ready for the vet on monday. I took our youngest son down to have a look. He was keen. I had to get changed into jeans and boots rather than leggings and dress (a town appointment was cancelled). Itty Bitty MDK announced to me approvingly you look GOOD!! I think I shocked the vet coz he usually sees me in teacher work clothes, not farm get up.

This is the screen that the vet could check on, its new and it has a long yucky probe attached- I don't think you'd like to see it!  Sometimes he could tell there was a pregnancy though couldn't see it clearly enough, we were trying to age the pregnancies, so that we could split them into different paddocks and have the 2 groups calve out at around the same time.

So with the cow confined in the crush in the yards, when the probe wouldn't reach, the vet had to occasionally do the testing the old fashioned way - by hand- gloved of course. 

Then to the right went the cows close to calving and to the left went the empty and midway pregnant ones. Each cow got a spray of paint along their back to indicate their status. The empty ones were later drafted out and sent to town and sold this morning at market.

while the mummas were still waiting to be scanned, I let the little fella get in and have a cuddle with the new babies. This wouldn't worry the big girls.

We worked the gates and helped out for a little while. Itty Bitty wanted to push them up the race, I thought he was a bit hard so had to remind him these were cows with little babies and we were going steady, steady so there'd be no stress.

However, one little fella didn't get mothered up after it all. I got the phone call, do you think the kids would like a poddy, in other words are you up to morning and night feeds or do we leave the calf a bit longer and it might get mothered or it may starve. I chose to not take the risk. This is what arrived at my house on Tuesday morning.

He hadn't mothered up after the event. I am hoping that he was one of the twins seen with a big white cow that was left in the paddock. She was a little bit too silly to muster and it wasn't neccessary.

Morning and night this will be my task, though this morning while I lay in bed reading blogs on the Ipad and giving myself a headache (too close and no glasses on), Miss MDK did it all by herself- yay! Though I did rush out to check that she didn't have the milk too hot. All was good. At this stage we worked out that thongs were not going to cut it around him, he likes to step on toes, enclosed shoes from now on!!! We've put him into a Big old goose yard next to the chookyard. We don't have any geese any more. This will stop the dogs from annoying him too much until they are more used to him. The boys did a good job cleaning it up so there'd be nothing he could get hurt on, as all the spare metal is also kept in this yard.

He's very lovely and the kids have been giving him plenty of looovin'.

When I was in the yard, I noticed this was going on.

The Mulberry tree is starting to sprout it's fruit and leaves.

The frost will turn them black, its all too soon.

This English Oak hasn't even lost all its leaves yet.

A new flower. There's not many going on around here.

And these strawberries are now fruiting up.

The silverbeet plant I put in a month ago are going well, despite the chooks getting out and having a go at them.

Back to my decluttering of the linen press! 

xx MDK