Another busy few days. No rain, hot and cold, plenty of wind. Keeping the water up, hate to see the Tas Water bill at the end of the quarter but trees take a while to grow and it's better to keep them alive.
I've been taking 5 litres a day from Annie, with the back quarters varying quite considerably. I have a bucket turning into clabber for the chickens and I poured 5 litres in with the calves pellets and chaff today. I had to milk at 12.30pm as I had a shift from 9am to 12pm. The calves were horrified at first, the liquid not being how pellets are supposed to feel. But some face stuffing got Joey eating the mash, and he's as close to a rock in intellect as I have seen in a calf. Star wasn't having a bar of it, but hopefully she'll come around watching him eat.
I found an egg cache right next to the feeding area for the chooks. The cows have eaten that corner down because it's a bit greener thanks to the grey water channel from the house, revealing a spot that I didn't even see. Those eggs were too iffy even for the dogs, so I took them down the paddock for the crows, if they want them.
I went to a climate change seminar at Winnaleah on Wednesday night that was focussed on northeast Tasmania. It was very interesting and gave me alot to think about with preparing the farm to become 25 acres and sustainable into the future. Specifically there is likely to be less winter rain and more summer rain, in more intense falls. This means I should be taking steps to slow the flow of rain across the landscape and retain it on the farm long enough to soak in properly. I might need to put in a few contour banks.
I think Poppy's tablets are starting to work, she's getting out and about more and seems a little less stiff.
Beanie's calf, Selkie, managed to get in with Annie's group somehow, so I shifted Beanie in with them for the night and then worked the two of them back out the next day. This ended up with all Annies group bouncing around in the hay shed and I had to do some roaring and hay fork waving to get them all out.
I hadn't seen my cows over on the 75 acres for 48 hours so I took the quad and went looking for them. Turns out Leigh had closed them into the bottom dam pasture when he wanted to bring his calves up for marking and hadn't let them out. They had food, water and shade but checking on them meant either a long walk or a quad ride as opposed to seeing them at the water troughs at the top of the hill every day. So I let them out and made a note to check if I don't lay eyes on them every day.
Charlie came around today and hung the gates in the ranch gateway and the boat shed. It's great seeing some progress around the place. Brad Hill came and mowed all the driveway with the zero turn mower and it's all tidy and clean now. The Jensen boys came and mowed the front and back yard and did some of Calab's too.
The ciders, and Sarge
The orchard
The front yard
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