1st August, 2023

The nicest day we've had in months. And proof that a little sunshine is a big motivator. Don't forget you can click on the pic for more details.

Today I put the young bull back in with the steers, redid the electric fence around the silage, trimmed the grass off the fence around the ryegrass paddock, let Little Moo and Flora back in with the cow herd for the happy time of getting into a new paddock and let everyone in to the nice fresh grass in the ryegrass paddock. There was shenanigans, even heavily pregnant Jaffa was racing around with her tail in the air !

Then I ran a hot reel across the main paddock, locking it off for grass to grow, and put rescue floats in the troughs in the shut off area. These are pieces of wood that allow an animal or bird to climb out if they fall in. 

The sheep had spent the entire time since I set up the dry footbath sitting in the hayshed making googly eyes at me. So I got out the sheep crack (calf starter muesli, which is grains with molasses) and tempted them all down the race. They realised the gate to the sheep shelter paddock that Little Moo and Flora had been in was open, and they like a new paddock as much as the cows do.

While they were celebrating I put water and copper sulphate in the foot bath and worked the straw in so that it was firm to walk on but would allow the mix to well up around the sheep's feed when walking. 

They had no intention of coming back inside on such a lovely day, so tomorrow I will bring one of the dogs into the paddock to trick them into retreating into the shed. As soon as they are down the race I will take the dog out, reinforcing the "shed is good, race is worth braving" lesson. I figure if I do this once a day it should only take a few minutes and give their feet a good treatment.

I am not sure if I am medically affected by the cold and dark on the miserable days, experiencing SAD, or it's just that the cold and dark that make working unpleasant and my motivation is insufficient to overcome that. But I can certainly feel the difference in energy levels between days like today and days like yesterday.