13th July, 2023

Day ten millionty and three of cold winds, overcast skies and blowing showers. Blech. With the piggery paddock full of Leigh's steers getting Annie in and out for milking has been complex. Lucky she's halter broken.

Had an appointment with the tax accountant to decide whether to proceed with the farm as a business or a hobby. I can write a few things off on the farm, but in order to legally claim a loss from the farm I need to either turn over $20,000 a year or have a partnership with Geoff's electrical business. The fees for the tax return for a partnership are approx $1,000 a year. I'll have to sit down and crunch some numbers because while you might claim $5000 in expenses all you get back is the tax on that $5000, which will vary depending on your income threshold. Sigh.

Time to organise crutching and hoof trimming for the sheep. I lost the shearer's phone number when my phone was left accidentally under a running sprinkler. Hopefully I can track him down via facebook. At the same time the mobile butcher's facebook page has disappeared. I did manage to find his phone number but haven't been able to get through to him and I don't know whether it's the telstra outages or he's pulled out of the business.

Most of my big problems stem from people not doing what they've said they would do, so fingers crossed that's not a trend that is continuing.

While treating the sheep's feet I noticed Toot (one of my two wethers) is finding it harder to get around than he used to. He's been gimpy most of his adult life but I think the difficult angles in his front legs have taken their toll on his joints and arthritis is biting, especially in this cold weather. Food on tap and a warm shelter with soft bedding are helping him get by, but it's probably a only matter of time before he can't get up. If the butcher is still working I might add Toot to the tab for butchering day.

My lemonade tree has fruit all over it. When they ripen, which I assume is when we start getting some heat to put sugars into them, I will find out whether the fruit are from lemonade branches or from the rootstock. It's unusually difficult to tell with this tree, generally the graft collar is pretty clear. Taste will be definitive though, a lemonade is sweet enough to eat straight. I'll be able to sample the tangelo as well this year. Never had one so I don't know what it's supposed to taste like !