16th January, 2024

Ok, it's been a bit of a haul. Five long shifts with plenty of hard yards, but I am now on a week off.

What's been happening ? I finished painting the faces of the doors in the craft room and now have to take them off their hinges to do the edges, once the paint is dry enough not to stick to whatever I sit them on for that job.

The hops that have survived the winter are now growing, two varieties are well up and already growing across the wires, two are coming back after a snail attack, as are the passionfruit. The cherry and pear slugs are making a mess in the orchard, next year I will paint the tree trunks with lime or chalk and see whether that stops them as advertised.

We have had some rain, and are supposed to get another fall tonight. There is plenty of green grass under the dried long grass, but I need to get that knocked down so the seeds can rejuvenate the pasture. I am still thinning the apples so they don't break the tree branches, two buckets every two days to the cows and sheep.

The fig has figs on it, I need to google when they ripen and how to tell. The plums are getting close to ripe and I should be able to take new spuds soon. I pruned the rosemary and bay tree by the front window. The bay leaves smell wonderful, I am thinking of ways to use them about the farm, maybe hang them in rooms that need a freshen. I also took out the cotoneaster in the raspberry patch and pruned back a bush that was making access to a tap quite a scramble.

Rosie the Roomba has proved to be as horrifying to the cats as any other vacuum cleaner, life is hard. I am preparing the back rooms for the next pair of vet students that are coming on farm placement. Also working my way through the house cleaning and cleaning out the fridges and freezers a bit a day.

We've had our covid boosters and hair cuts. Not related, but just ticking off a few things. Took Shadow for her vaccinations, she'd been on NEAST's account so I didn't get a reminder last year for her, so she has to have the double kitten vaccine again and then go to yearly boosters. At least she's been transferred to my name now so that should be fixed.

Having lunch with Kelly tomorrow and Robyn on Thursday, and I think dinner with Shane and Juliet on Friday night. 

My new mini drone has arrived, both the controller and hand set have been charged but I have to await the arrival of a phone from Aimee to use it. The phone interface has to have an operating system of 7.0 or above (mine is 6.0) and RAM of 2GB (Geoff's is 1GB). So I am contenting myself with reading the instruction manual.

 I continue with the lyraglutide, starting weight 97.8kg and now jiggling at just below 96kg. That's in a month at 0.6mg, slower weight loss is easier to keep off so I haven't done the staged increase up to 3.0mg even though it seems I would be losing weight faster and more satisfyingly. To be fair, nearly a kilo a fortnight isn't that bad anyway.

Sarge brought in a huge rat last night, nothing slowing him down. 

I think that's it.


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