Sometimes we just like to drive around.....BUT there is always a hidden purpose to Dad's drives!
We had a phone call this morning to let us know that the neighbours cattle had been on our crops. So what better reason for a drive and an inspection of the crops. Most of the crops we have grown are on our new farm. They were once paddocks covered in weeds and NOW................
I couldn't believe my eyes....the crops have grown SO much. They look fantastic!
Oats in the White House Paddock......last year it was all weeds!
Triticale in Lucan Paddock....last year this was all Paterson's Curse!
CAN YOU SEE ME?
HERE I AM!
Triticale in flower....then it will fill with grain.
I wonder where we can put all this grain at harvest?
Dad has done a really good job with the crops.....all the weeds have nearly disappeared. He has had a little help from the fertiliser, sun and the rain. Hopefully they will make it to the finish line and fill all the silos with grain!
We secured the gate where the cows got through...hopefully that will keep them out!
On the way home we had a chance meeting with a shingle back lizard.
Dad and Mum take the bulls out, they are really BIG. One bull goes with each mob of cows, they will spend 6 weeks visiting the cows, then they will come home again!
left, right, left, right, march ahead!
Look at that dirty BUTT!
Now that shearing is finished there are a few odd jobs that need to be caught up.
The meat lambs that were drafted up for sale are now VERY ready! Mum and Dad have been busy in the shearing shed and have not been able to get them to the sale yards. Today was sale day and off to market they went!
Up the race....and
on the truck....to market, to market!
and off they went!
Dad gets to the sale yards early before it gets too busy, there are lots of lambs expected at the yards today 7000 or more. I hope the meat buyers like ours the best.
The lambs sold really well $134.00, that is great.
All the wool is pressed into bales....and ready to be trucked to the wool store. At the wool store it will all be tested to see how good it is, then it will be sold. It costs alot of money to shear and prepare the wool, $6.50 for every sheep and its fleece.
Hopefully the woolbuyers will love our wool and give us lots of money!
all stacked up!
The sheep are all cool with their wool off.
And they have already started growing wool for next year!
Finally the shearers arrive, only 3 days late and one shearer short, BUT we have made a start.
The sheep have to be yarded hours before they are due to be shorn, so that their tummies empty out. They will be alot more comfortable while the shearers handle them. I think the sheep are looking forward to having their woolly jackets taken off as the weather is warming up.
Every night we put the sheep in the shed, as there is nearly always a dew in the morning that would make them wet. The dogs have been VERY busy all week, mustering and penning up the sheep to be shorn.
Beau and Bear are nearly worn out, Beau has a very sore foot. He has a grass seed stuck between his toes, we have had to take him to the vet to get some medicine. Dad has to get the young dogs to fill in, Boy and Kirk love that idea.
The shearers travel to the farm everyday, they have to get out of bed very early. They start shearing at 7.30am, I am ready and waiting! Shearers are very hard workers, they have to catch and drag the sheep from the pen. That takes alot of muscles! They shear the sheep so quick. If you blink you nearly miss them. One shearer can shear a sheep in less than 2 minutes. He shears 200 sheep a day. That is alot! He gets paid $2.65 for every sheep he shears......he must be rich!
After the sheep are shorn Mum and the shed hands prepare the wool. The fleeces are thrown onto a table and the edges are skirted, they take off short, coloured and any other bits that are bad. It is very important that the wool is prepared well. The floor is swept all the time, and the short bits are kept separate. I am good at sweeping.
Mum looks at every fleece of wool on the table, she has to check its length, strength, colour and softness. Mum and Dad are very pleased with the wool this year, it is very long, each sheep is cutting about 5 kilograms.
The fleeces are put into a wool bin ready for pressing. Dad is the wool presser he operates a very noisy machine, he also has to pen up all the sheep when they call SHEEPO!
IN it goes
and squash it down!
Lots of wool goes into the press, each bale weighs about 190 kilograms. The press squashes all the wool in. I try to help Dad load the wool into the press, but my arms aren't quite big enough and my legs aren't quite long enough. When the bale comes out it is branded with letters and numbers. Then it is ready to go on the truck to the wool store.
Shearing is a busy time, it has taken the sheep 12 months to produce the wool, and within a matter of minutes it is all over for another year.
So we have not started shearing as expected. The shearers have been delayed at another shed, some farmers have flies in their sheep and they the shearers more than we do. We are now due to start Monday. Everything is ready, the shed is clean and ready to go.
Please have a look at the website www.yearofthefarmer.com.auit has lots of interesting information about different things that will be happening in 2012.
Mum and Dad have finished crutching the last of the ewes. Now all the ewes should have nice clean bottoms. Hopefully there will be no wee stain or poo in the shearing shed.
The stock agent came out on Monday and drafted our meat lambs for the saleyards. He found 115 that are nearly ready BUT not quite. Another week? The weather has turned very cool and the stock have stopped doing as well on the grass, once it warms up again they will boom along!
Drafting ready for sale lambs
Back to the paddock lambs.......got to get fatter!
Mum and Dad have also sprayed all the merino (wool) lambs with a special chemical to keep the flies away. It is a bit like the spray humans use in the summertime for flies and mosquitoes. It should keep them safe until they are shorn in January. Flies can kill sheep, amazing that a little insect like a fly can be so tough!
Merino lambs can be very diificult to manage, Mum says that applies to ALL young ones, animals and children alike! Once the lambs are one year old they become alot easier to look ater. Like all young ones they need to build up their immunity to worms and diseases.
Now a spot of cleaning in the shearing shed.....
we tidy up all the bits and pieces and give everything a good wash down. It is nice and clean for the staff that come to work. I would not like to work in a dirty, smelly place SO we do our best to provide a clean, safe working place!
You could eat off this floor!
Cleaning up a few odd bits of wool. Mum and I will take this to town tomorrow and sell it.
Catch this Dad....tying on the load
Loaded up!
And there is always time for a bit of FUN! Come on Dad!
Spring has really sprung into action, we have had lots of rain.
Things have changed alot in the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago we were really worried that the weather was too warm. Luckily it rained and it has changed everything! The countryside looks amazing! It is time to put our busy boots on....the next couple of weeks, are planned to be hectic.
It is nearly time to shear all the sheep! The shearers and shed hands will come to work in the shed. There will be lots of mustering work for the dogs. The meat lambs are ready for sale, so there will be a trip to the sale yards. Plus all the other normal jobs, feeding the chooks, collecting the eggs, feeding the dogs and playing with poddy calves!
My calves are growing very fast. I can muster them up all on my own.
Here they come, Stella, Freckles, Queenie, Stinky and Clover followed by Garnet and I!
They are fed twice a day, morning and night AND they know exactly when that is. They drink 4 litres of milk a day. WOW they will have strong bones! We have had one addition to the family Curly, his mum did not love him BUT I do!
The vegetables have all started to really grow.
Potatoes....hiding somewhere?
Lettuce, for summer salads!
Rhubarb, yummy cakes and puddings!
Asparagus....grows SO FAST....can you count them all!
Strawberries....summer fruits!
Spinach and Garlic gone CRAZY!
It seems everything loves springtime....including me....I wonder how much I will grow this spring!
I have spent the last few days travelling with Mum. We have been classing ewes and rams and going to ram sales. I have met lots of lovely people and had heaps of fun!
A very special treat on one of the farms we visited. A ride on a real PONY! Her name is Sally.
It was the 'bestest' FUN. I would love a pony, I keep telling Mum and Dad,
......................maybe a pony for my 5th birthday?
