K T 's Farm Life

Where, What, Why and When?

2013-05-20T09:41:00.000+10:00

WHERE O WHERE have we been......down on the farm...busy as usual!

AND WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO.....farm work as usual.

A little more detail. It rained and by just adding water the countryside changed from brown to green and empty dams grew puddles. The dam cleaning came to a standstill. While the crops were sown.

BUT THEN THE RAIN STOPPED....AND IT HAS FORGOT TO COME BACK.

The countryside has once again turned brown and the puddles are slowly drying up.

We need rain and we need it yesterday.

The ewes are about half way through lambing and whilst the dry weather makes lambing a little more pleasant so too does green grass!

We have weaned all the calves from their mothers.

The crops are green but would really love a BIG drink of water.

and the dams are slowly shrinking away...making it difficult at times to get to water.

So why have there been fewer stories to tell....I have been very busy at school. So during the week I have very little time to get out in the paddocks and get down and dirty.

I leave the house at 8:00am to meet the school bus and do not get back home until 4:15pm. the days are very short and it gets dark very early.

Weekends are spent helping out on the farm or resting up for the next BIG week of school.

So for that reason my blog is going to take a break...

BUT

be prepared because I have someone watching and learning lots from me

about what we do on the farm and in a couple of years Mum and I will start a blog for my little sister Erin, and you can watch and learn how Erin learns all about farm life.

Mud Glorious Mud!

2013-02-24T20:20:00.001+11:00

Work with the animals on the farm has slowed down.

It is back to the dams...and mud glorious mud!

The tractors drag the scoop back and forth through the mud until they find the bottom of the dam.

Then it is time to call in a little more horse power.

BUT this horse power does not have hooves!

We are lucky that PopPop has his very own bulldozer.

It is his most favourite toy on the whole farm!

It can move alot of dirt.

Look at all this mud.....

We just need to get it finished before the rain arrives?

A few steers left to sell, this afternoon they got a special treat of oats.

A treat for me too......a close up with Clover, Freckles and Curly.

More treats....a ride in a.....

WOOHOO!!!!!!

Dad has been preparing some paddocks for sowing.

He has had to burn some of the paddocks because they have to much old dry grass for the combine to sow through. As soon as it rains Dad will be busy sowing oats for winter feed.

The weatherman says there will be rain this week.

That would make us all very happy and once again very busy!

I Spy with My Little Eye!

2013-02-14T15:00:00.001+11:00

It has been very busy on the farm .

There are dams being cleaned out, cattle being sold, sheep going to market

and lots of eye spying in animals tummies.

This week all the ewes on the farm have been scanned for babies.

All the ewes had to be mustered to the sheep yards for their appointment with the scanner.

Luckily Dad has finished the new yards, it saved the sheep alot of walking and Dad alot of mustering. Whilst getting all the sheep to the yards is a big job, scanning is a really important job on the farm. It helps us look after the ewes better. Ewes having twins need some extra special care. And those that are not having any lambs.....well....in a year like this....DRY, DRY, DRY the empty ewes have to go!

Scanning costs about 75 cents for every sheep.

"Money well spent!" Dad says.

Dad is really pleased with his new yards.

The sheep ran really well, about 600 sheep were scanned in one hour.

The man spied on 2209 ewes and in them he spied 2667 lambs.

The ewes joined to the rams quite well however this year not quite as many ewes will be having twins.

More cows to scan this week.

It seems we are spying on all the girls on the farm!

Where does a Little Farmer go for Fun?

2013-02-05T08:09:00.000+11:00

A farm of course..... but a farm where all of my dreams came true!

A special surprise from Mum and Dad a weekend of horse riding lessons.

We travelled to a farm near O'Connell, not that far from Bathurst in New South Wales.

Yarrabin Guest Property, a farm with lots and lots of horses plus a few other animals. Chooks, pigs, sheep, dogs and some very playful kittens.

I had lessons on three different horses: Milo, Coco, and Jock.

Milo is a pony. I learnt how to brush Milo, put his rug and saddle on, and lead him.

I also learnt how to be safe around the horses and that you must always wear a helmet.

I spent alot of time on Coco. Coco was a much bigger horse and very quiet.

I learnt how to steer, and stop Coco in the round yard.

We even did a little trotting, that is hard to do!

Up, down, up down.

The next day I rode a horse called Jock even bigger.

I learnt lots about riding and looking after horses.

There is alot to know!

Riding is a little bit harder than I thought, sometimes the horse has a mind of its own.

Jock was a little hard to tell what to do, sometimes he was more interested in eating grass.

We went for two trail rides on the farm. I rode Coco one day and Jock the next day.

Coco was my favourite.

I was very sad to leave Yarrabin and our host/teacher Annie.

BUT I did get to take home a very special thing.....

one of Coco's horse shoes.

Hopefully I will go back to Yarrabin soon, it was the best place for a little farm holiday!

Patiently Waiting.

2013-01-30T11:11:00.001+11:00

It's been raining, not pouring but it has rained.

The smell of rain is very welcome, and the sound of water running down the pipes into our water tanks is like music to the ears.

Pitter Patter rain drops, ever so gentle. Slowly soaking into the dry, dry earth.

This morning it was lovely and cool after the showers overnight.

Mum and I went walking and discovered just how dry and thirsty the ground really is.

Enormous cracks in the ground. Waiting for lots of rain.

We have to be very patient farmers. We rely very much on mother nature.
The rain will come when it is ready.

Back to some stock work, the weather has cooled down.
The bulls left the cows six weeks ago so now it is time to take a sneak peek inside the cows......to see if they are having babies.

We have been busy mustering up cows, the man is coming tomorrow to scan them.

All the cows are in the yards waiting.

Not so patiently they are very noisy!

These cows still have big calves drinking milk from them, we have to separate them while the man peeks inside to see the new calf growing.

They miss their big babies.

It does not take long to look in all the cows, they go through very quickly.

The man has a special screen just in front of his eye, this is where he can see the baby calf.

Do you remember my pet calves? Three of them are girls.

Today they will find out whether they will soon be mums.

Stella is first to come through.....waiting....

Yes! Stella is pregnant!

Then Queenie.....bad news.... empty. Queenie will be sold.

Last of all Stinky.....waiting.....

Yes! Stinky is pregnant!

There are nine cows not in calf, they will be sold.

The summer has been so hot and dry with not much rain, we cannot keep stock that are not producing more animals. Sadly they have to go.

A Farmers Summer Uniform....?

2013-01-28T09:40:00.001+11:00

Firstly what does the farmer look like....well...

the farmer can be a boy or girl,

the farmer can be young or old or very, very old.

In the summer the farmer has to dress cool, BUT also protect him or herself from the scorching summer sun.

So his or her uniform looks a bit like this

From the top,

A HAT

the bigger the brim the better!

A SHIRT

with long sleeves and a collar...and don't forget to tuck it in!

SHORTS or JEANS with a BELT with a BUCKLE

SOCKS and SOCK PROTECTORS

to keep those spikey grass seeds out!

AND BOOTS all shapes, styles and sizes..

My boots to the left.

Erin's boots to the right .

AND Redbacks for Mum and Dad.

There are a couple of accessories that are never far from hand in the summer.

A WATER BOTTLE and plenty of SUNSCREEN

Slip, Slop and Slap
ALWAYS ON OUR FARM!

Who Let the Dogs Out!

2013-01-19T15:04:00.001+11:00

A word of warning...you may not like what you are about to see!

Today we discovered something awful....our wether lambs are being attacked by dogs!

We are not sure if someone owns the dogs or the dogs have no owners.

But we are not very happy about what they are doing.

The dogs are injuring the sheep and then leaving them to die.

It is very cruel.

Our farm dogs are always put back in their kennels when they are not being used.

If dogs are let roam around on farms they can get themselves into ALL sorts of trouble.

The dogs that have done this better watch out....

We spend alot of time and effort caring for our animals....

we definitely do not want this happening again.

Dad is moving the sheep to another paddock where we hope they will be safer.

It's all about WATER!

2013-01-16T09:23:00.000+11:00

WATER....we cannot live without it. We need it to survive.

So do all the animals on our farm.

Every few days dams are checked all over the farm.

Dams are slowly shrinking away to puddles of mud.

When it gets to this level the animals cannot get in to drink water, without getting stuck.

Stuck in the mud and unable to get out.

Most of the dams on our farm are bigger than this and the animals can still get to water easily.

But the dams on our new farm are much smaller and very old.

Over many years the dams collect alot of mud, and need cleaning out.

So a VERY MESSY job begins.....silt scoopng.

It is a little like a game of tug-o-war using....

two tractors, a very long wire rope and a big, big scoop!

The scoop is dragged back and forth through the dam, each time removing piles and piles of sticky, icky, gooey MUD!

A tractor on each end of the rope pulls the scoop in and out of the dam,

UNTIL all the mud is out.

Once the mud dries out PopPop will bring in his bulldozer to make the dam even better.

I spent some time in the small tractor with Dad, but after a while it was time to explore.

Look what I found!

I also found another little playmate...my little sister came see what was going on.

I think she had better stay away from that big pile of mud!

Moving on, the pipe into the big dam that feeds all the water troughs needs replacing.

My own private beach...

Now I just need to master the swimming!

From Farmer to Fireman.

2013-01-15T10:11:00.001+11:00

Not alot has been happening on the farm during the hot, hot weather.

We have been in lockdown. Trying to limit the use of anything that may start a fire.

That includes all machinery even the motorbikes and farm utes.

The days have been extremely hot and the wind just never stops!

We had been lucky most of the week UNTIL....Saturday...when FIRE!

Dad is a member of our volunteer fire brigade....so he was called up.

Dad grabbed his fire gear and he was gone quick as a flash!

The fire was about 10 kilometres from our farm, but we were told to watch and act.

The wind is so strong and gusty it could take a fire anywhere!

Dad said that there were hundreds of fire fighters on the ground fighting the fire.

A grader and bulldozer were also busy pushing up tracks to form a firebreak to try and stop the fire.

There were planes and helicopters dropping water on the fire too.

The fire burnt 435 hectares and sadly a few sheep and cattle were caught in the fire.

There have been some terrible fires this summer.

Everything is so dry.

There is more hot weather forecast this week followed by some storms.

Fingers crossed we stay lucky.

And hopefully very soon we get some rain to cool things down!

Heatwave!

2013-01-07T14:51:00.002+11:00

It is summer and it is really, really HOT and very, very DRY!

There has been no rain on the farm for a really long time.

The grass is brown and crackly, the dirt is dry and dusty.

The feed for the animals is quickly disappearing, so too is the water.

Time to sell off some animals.

Woolworths have taken another load of meat lambs at $4.00 per kilogram.

My other pet lamb Racer was on that truck, he made $97.00.

The last of the lambs will go to the sale yards this week. They are either too heavy or too light for Woolworths.

So we will try our luck in the sale yards.

There are steers fat and ready for sale too.

When the days are SOOOO hot, Dad and PopPop start work early.

They mustered the steers early this morning for weighing.

Today it is a little cooler so I am off to help too.

All the steers are tagged and weighed. My job is to organise the ear tags.

Some of my pet calves are in this mob.

Curly, Clover and Freckles they have grown up very big. They are not as big as the ones that had their Mums to feed them but they are good. They weigh about 400 kilograms.

I think they remember me?

A man is coming to the farm this afternoon to check the steers and make sure they are good enough to sell. If they are good they will go on the truck tonight.

More animals will need to leave the farm, as the feed disappears.

I wonder who will be next?

While it is hot in the middle of the day Dad works in the shed.

Henry Ford is broken down. His radiator that keeps him cool is leaking.

Dad has had to pull Henry apart to get him fixed.

I do what I can to help...but it is pretty compilcated!

Henry Ford has alot of work to do soon, he has to help prepare all the paddocks for sowing.

But that will not happen until it rains.....I wonder when that will be.

Time to head back inside for me....too stinking hot! I am going to find a fan!!!!

Grand Opening!

2012-12-31T20:39:00.002+11:00

The big day has come.....although not quite finished....a few chains and springs needed here and there.

Dad's new sheep yards were opened for business today.

And like all grand openings there were some celebrations to be had.

Mum and I surprised Dad with a ribbon cutting and balloons.

Every celebration must have balloons!.

Everyone is very pleased with Dad's design and all his hard work.

Not to forget my painting!

The sheep loved the yards, they nearly drafted themselves!

The rams are due to come home, so we drafted them off the ewes.

Every ram has survived joining and they are all coming home.

Beau and Bear were a little confused by the new yards,

BUT hopefully they will get the hang of it.

A good set of sheep yards......make life with sheep alot easier, for everyone involved.

The people, the sheep and the dogs.

We could have bought yards already made for ALOT of money.

Yards to hold as many sheep as this cost about $25000.

Dad's homemade yards did not cost half as much as that.

But it take alot of time to build it all. And time is money.

We will have to see how they work out, as there is another set of yards on the farm in desparate need of replacement.

Back to Work.

2012-12-28T10:12:00.001+11:00

A couple of days off for Christmas cheer, followed by some light rain....it is back to work.

There is more harvest to be done.

Today we are helping get trucks, augers and field bins to the paddock and I get to ride in the big truck.

We do not have as much crop to harvest this year.

And the summer is hot and dry so the grain will not be spoiled by rain.

No need for big harvesting machines....this little guy should do the job.

Bad thing for me is...I cannot have a ride on this harvester.

Bad thing for Dad is there is no cabin that means no air conditioner, no radio.

AND lots of DUST and ITCH.

The new dams are nearly finished. Just a little bit of mud to move!

This is the bottom of the dam

This is the top of the dam...Can you see me?

This dam will hold ALOT of water, when it is full.

I wonder how much rain we will have to have to fill it up to the top.

Maybe we could get some fish for the dams.

It would make a great home for fish.

Christmas in the Aussie Bush!

2012-12-23T20:18:00.001+11:00

Christmas in Australia comes in the middle of a very hot summer.

There is no so sign of snow or reindeer...
but Mum did find some Santa's on her way to West Wyalong the other day!

Some farmers have been having some fun with their roadside mailboxes.

Santa on his reindeer

Santa playing hide and seek

Santa with Rudolph on a BBQ

Santa on Facebook

We will be spending Christmas on our farm.

Dad has only just started harvesting the oat crops.

We will hopefully catch up with more family once the crops are finished.

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

DAM, water, DAM, water!

2012-12-21T11:42:00.002+11:00

It is really, really dry on the farm.

We have not had a good fall of rain for a very long time.

There is still feed in the paddocks BUT some of the dams are VERY, VERY low!

Warm days and hot winds drop water levels in dams very quickly.

A new job for Dad and PopPop is to check the dams in every paddock.

If the dams get too low it is very difficult for the stock to get to the water, the edges get very muddy.

Over time the dams can collect alot of mud and sometimes big storms can cut gullies in the banks. On the farm that we brought there are two dams like this. Dad is making the most of the dry weather and making these dams bigger and better!

A big bulldozer is busy at work.

This is the dam before....

and the gullies around it....

and this is the NEW dam....

Now all we need is the water to fill IT!

The next dam on the list....

and more gullies....

Dear God...please send us some rain....AMEN

Shopping List....garlic and lamb.

2012-12-18T09:35:00.001+11:00

Saturday afternoon....garlic harvest.

Time to dig,

clean

and transport for drying.

down to the dark, dark shed for drying. It should be ready in a month.
People are asking for it already at the shop.....it is very popular.

Sunday morning....loading lambs for Woolworths.

These lambs have been sold to Woolworths, for $3.80 per kilo.
They are leaving the farm today on a big truck. Rocket, my pet lamb is on this truck.
He has grown up as good as all the other lambs.

These lambs will end up in Woolworths shops....
perhaps you will even buy some...
Is lamb on your shopping list today?

Hot in the Country!

2012-12-10T19:56:00.001+11:00

Summer on the farm, hot, dry, brown, flies, grass seeds, harvest, dust, water.

The hills are now brown. The hot sun and warm winds have dried the grass out and it is no longer green.

The flies swarm all over our backs and under the brim of our hats.

Annoying sticky little black flies.

The animals spend most of the day sleeping under shady trees, they will graze the grass now in the cool of the mornings and early evenings.

They will perhaps visit the dam or water trough sometime during the day for a drink. Every paddock on the farm has either a dam or a water trough for the animals to drink from. Animals drink alot of water when it is hot.

The hot sun and winds have made PopPop's oats ripe and ready to harvest.

So too is my garlic crop...time for me to get busy.

Gibbo has moved in and made himself at home.

And Beau is tickled pink to have the newest member of the team on the farm....

Meet Beau's son.....MONTE...born 20th October 2012.

The hot weather makes Monte very tired!

Big Smoke!

2012-12-03T11:27:00.002+11:00

We offered our wool to the buyers last week in Sydney.
We decided to pack the car and take a little time out.
We drove all the way to Sydney town, the big smoke!

Day 1....Selling our wool. Our wool left our farm in big bales, now a little bit from every bale is in a box for the buyers to look at. The shed is enormous and there is wool everywhere...some in boxes and some stacked in really heavy bales ready to be shipped.

We look at our wool in the boxes to see how it has been prepared.
There is always things we can do better.

There are lots of things to see and learn here.....
You wouldn't believe what they have found in the bales of wool after they have left the farms.
All this rubbish!

I was very lucky, and got to sit in the room when they sold our wool.
I was going to write the prices down BUT
It all happens very fast, lots of numbers and hammer banging.
I couldn't keep up, I was a little bit nervous.

You can listen here....can you keep up?
The buyers call out the amount of money they are prepared to pay for the wool, they bid against each other. The man next to me calls it out loud for everyone to hear.
When the bidding stops he bangs the hammer, that means it is sold to the highest bidder.
It is called an open cry auction.
Our wool could end up anywhere in the world, there are buyers here from all countries. The main buyers are from China, India and Italy.

We sold some of our wool and some we have kept. The market for wool goes up and down all the time. It is not too bad now but we are taking a bit of a gamble and hoping it might get better.

After the wool sale finished I was ready for some fun.....in the sun...

and a little bit of sight seeing

All the boxes ticked....some wool sold....a drive over the Harbour Bridge...lunch by the Opera House and a bit of fun on the beach. Sydney was fun. I love the beach and seeing some of my FarmDay friends. I can't wait to visit again!

Back to the farm...the weather is REALLY HOT.
We have only been away a few days and summer hit hard. It is really dry.
Dad says that may be the last trip away for a while, the risk of fire this summer is bad.
The last two summers we have had alot of rain and the risk of fire was low.

Now we need to keep our eyes open and look out for big smoke!

Flora and Fauna.

2012-11-18T20:25:00.000+11:00

A walk on the windy wild side, Sunday afternoon.

A couple of years ago I helped Mum and Dad plant some native trees along a creek that has been fenced off to animals on PopPop's farm.

Today Mum noticed a flowering beauty in the tree lot. So we went to investigate!

The grass is very long, it is a bit of a jungle to get through.

BUT look what we discovered!

and more....this silver wattle is loaded with seed pods.

So is the lucerne tree. Perhaps I could collect seeds and grow more trees?

Not sure what this healthy one is, I shall have to check with Dad.

Dad tells me I need to wait for the seed pods to dry before I can collect them.

Planting trees on the farm is important because all the old trees will eventually die and we need young ones to replace them. Trees are important because they provide food and shelters for birds and animals. They also provide shade for our sheep and cattle.

They also help keep the soil healthy.

There are lots of birds on the farm.

I wake up to the sounds of birds every morning.

Remember the parrots....that nest in the hollows...

they also LOVE PopPop's OATS!

Hay IN, Rams OUT!

2012-11-17T09:03:00.001+11:00

Busy times on the farm.

Making hay while the sun shines.

We have been really lucky with the rain, it has stayed away.

The hay is baled.

Some of the hay is in big round bales..

and some is in little square bales.

The big round ones have to moved with the tractor.

The little square ones can be moved by Dad and PopPop.

It is not every year that we make hay. The grass has to be very good to cut hay.

We put the hay in a big shed where it is protected from the rain and sun.

Sometimes on the farm it does not rain for a long time and there is not much grass for the animals to eat. We feed them hay from the shed and grain from the silos when this happens. It is very handy to have it.

It is like having a pantry of food for the animals.

Time for the rams to go out with the ewes and make babies.

For every 100 ewes in the mob we put 1 ram. The rams have a big job ahead of them.

The ewes are a little shy at first.....

then they are a little bit curious.....

and then they are happy to meet them!

The rams will spend 5 weeks with the ewes then they will return home for a rest.

SHOW and TELL.

2012-11-15T19:42:00.000+11:00

Thursday is my show and tell day and guess what I showed today....

"SCRATCH"

Mum was very kind and brought Scratch into school.

The children in my class were very excited to meet Scratch.

I told them all about how we found Scratch and how we are looking after him.

Most of the children had never been so close to a galah.

So here are some facts about galahs you might like to know....

Their back and wings are grey and they have a pink face and chest and a crest of a very light pink.

They often form flocks of a few hundred or more and they can be fairly noisy in large groups. They make a distinctive high-pitched screech.

They are strong fast fliers and are often seen indulging in aerial acrobatics in large flocks. They can sometimes act like a bit of a clown, this is probably why in Australia if someone is clowning around or acting the fool they can be called a bit of a Galah.

Breeding time varies according to their location but generally in the north it is February to July, and in the south it is July to December. They usually lay three to four eggs, which both parents incubate for about 30 days.Both parents care for the young. They mate for life unless something happens to one of them, in which case they will take another partner.

Now we all know a little bit more about "Scratch" and his family.

Scratch and Rake!

2012-11-12T09:52:00.005+11:00

The wet weather came and went...we had rain...just enough for now.

The hay is still on the ground drying out. A little hard to see now...

but after raking...here it is

a little more drying and it will be raked into bigger rows ready for baling.

After the rain the clover has started to grow again, the lambs will get to enjoy this clover.

Another addition to the family on the farm....meet Scratch the baby galah.

We have been looking after him. Feeding him, keeping him warm at night.

Mum found him on the road all alone and brought him home.

They are lots of creatures out in the paddocks at night that would gobble him up, like foxes and cats.

He sleeps in the laundry at night and during the day he wanders about in the garden.

Scratch can make alot of noise especially when he is hungry.

So much noise that....something amazing has happened... his parents have found him.

The only problem is that Scratch still cannot fly.

Each morning we let Scratch out of the cage and his Mum and Dad fly in and feed him. They fly in and out of the garden all day, visiting Scratch.

I love Scratch and I do wish I could keep him,

BUT I think his Mum and Dad love him even more and it is important that they be a family.

Home for a Bird or ?

2012-11-08T10:15:00.000+11:00

Our farm business is about growing food and fibre for people.

BUT it also provides habitat for lots of creatures.

While Dad and I were mustering sheep the other day, we noticed some very old trees.

Some of them nestled amongst lots of young trees and some stand alone proudly.

They look very scraggly and tired.

Hidden deep inside the hollows are birds nesting and looking after their babies.

These trees are an important part to the farm. They provide shelter to birds.

We have lots of birds living on the farm. In these trees all sorts of parrots are nesting.

Galahs

Cockatoos

Crimson Rosellas

Corellas

These grand old trees are also home to other creatures, possums, bats and sugar gliders.

I think I would love a tree house.

BUT I think I would have to grow wings to get in the door!

Fields of Clover.

2012-11-05T13:58:00.001+11:00

The weather has really warmed up and the grass has started to turn from glorious green to burnt brown.

It first changes around the trees and then the hills and finally the flats.

It is a really tricky time with the weather...rain would be good and BAD now.

Good to keep the green grass green but REALLY BAD for Dad's hay.

With no rain at all for some time Dad decided it was time to cut the clover in Wombat Paddock for hay. It looks beautiful.

Remember this is what it looked like before....

and after.

All done.

Now we wait and wait and hope and hope.

The clover has to dry out, the sun has to take all the moisture out of the clover.

It then needs to be turned over with a rake so the clover underneath comes to the top.

Finally when it is dry enough Dad will put into bales.

And while we wait, the rain needs to stay away.

If the clover gets wet the hay will be ruined.

Dad says, "it is the hands of mother nature now"...."out of our control".

It seems that this mother nature lady is very important when it comes to making hay.

I do hope she is kind to us!

Spring Frenzy!

2012-10-29T20:14:00.001+11:00

It seems there is never nothing to do on the farm....springtime is one of the busiest times!

There is always a fence that needs mending, weeds that need spraying, seeds to sow, hay to make and sheep and cattle to care for.

The list goes on and on!

Dad has been spraying some paddocks, so that next year he can sow new pastures or crops.

He need sunny days with no wind to get this job done.

The bulls are out visiting the cows, and they are really happy about that.

The weather does not bother them too much at all!

Springtime on the farm is all about green grass growing fast!

This year it is green but not growing that fast and it is starting to dry out.

The weather is warm, a bit too warm for spring. We need rain and we need it NOW!

On the weekend we had to go and pick up another bull for the cows.

And while we were there, we came across a man with a dog......

After watching him in action .....he came home with us!

Meet Gibbo!

He is a lovely dog, he is really friendly and Dad says very good natured!

The man has been working him with sheep and cattle and he is a bit of an all rounder.

Dogs are really important workers on our farm.

I really do not know what we would do without them.

And they are really good mates TOO!

Gibbo is just visiting for a while to see if he likes us and we like him.

The man is selling Gibbo....$1200.00 will buy him.

Dad says, he would be a good investment!

Sox...the Father of all Fathers!

2012-10-21T20:27:00.000+11:00

Something very special arrived at the farm yesterday....a couple of brand new rams.

Today Dad had the very big job of shearing them, the shearers have moved on from our farm, so it is up to Dad.
Lucky Dad is a jack of all trades!

We have named the ram Dad is holding Sox, we think he is pretty special.

Mum and Dad have been looking for a special ram for a long time.

We hope Sox will be the father to lots of lambs on our farm....maybe even some rams.

He is mighty big, weighing just over 100 kilograms and he is still a lamb!

I am not sure how Dad will go shearing Sox. Sox is much heavier than my Dad!

Slowly but surely Dad gets Sox shorn, he is very well behaved.

We really like Sox's wool it is very soft, long and white
and has lovely little crimps.

There is plenty of it. He has cut 6.5 kilograms of wool in only 7 months.

I wish my hair could grow that fast. It seems to take forever!

I hope Sox likes our farm.

Big news tonight...Beau is a DAD...Tilly the girl dog that came to stay, has had her babies, all 7 of them..

Congratulations BEAU.....perhaps a puppy will be the next special arrival on the farm!