Advertisement
Published: February 13th 2009
We are Family
Wally, Trixie and Kimba. Wally and Kimba are Trixies Mum and Dad.Day 97
Just after getting into bed last night I heard a noise, I am paranoid about snakes so I am wondering what is in the bedroom, apart from Andy that is, the wind was blowing the blinds against the window frame, I was comfortable with that noise, what I wasn’t comfortable with was the noise of things moving on the nearby bookshelf.
Flicking on the torch and scanning the area I could see nothing “I must be imagining things”, there is nothing there. Switching off the torch I lay back down to go to sleep.
A few minutes later another noise alerts me as I heard a rustling of the papers that I have in my bag next to the dressing table, laying still I listen hard then hear a scratching noise on the door. Quickly I flicked the torch back on just in time to see a mouse drop to the floor and scuttle underneath the cupboard door.
What a relief, at least it is not a snake! Seeing it run under the cupboard door I was hoping that it would either sleep or just disappear from whence it came. But no! This little mouse
Alert
and ready for action. Kimba has plates in one of her hind legs, she broke it badly once. She walks a little bit wonky but it does not affect her work. decided that it would be fidgeting for the best part of the night. It was very good at acrobatics, you would hear it scuffling around, it would scratch the carpet in the corner, climb the back of the bed head and wander round the windowsill climb the blinds, every now and again I would flick the torch around to see where it was an what was happening. I did not want to wake up and find this little critter on the bed. You would also hear it drop from a height, thudding as it hit the carpet.
Andy asked me what I was doing, I explained about the mouse but he was little interested and went back to sleep, until early this morning when he asked me for the torch saying that he thinks the mouse just ran over his shoulder, though I think Andy was more worried about it being a spider, especially as we have seen a lot of Redbacks around here in the past few days.
It was nearly getting up time for Andy; he was off to market with Robert this morning with some ewe’s, and hopefully when he comes back we can spend
Shoo Sheep
Sheep I had to shoo, Wally just laughed at me the rest of the day together. He worked very late yesterday and we really need to sit down and talk about our plans.
There is no smoke in the sky this morning, for the first time in 3 days I can see the mountain in the distance, the temperature is at a very cool 23.4 this morning, the coolest it has been in ages for this time of day. Kimba is sitting outside the kitchen door while I sit here typing.
I was up bright and breezy this morning, I was out of bed at 5.50 and went and made tea, I sparked up the laptop just to see how many had read our blogs. This morning we had to load the sheep in to the large crated truck, and take them to the Wagga Wagga sales.
We loaded the dogs on to the back of the ute and went up to collect (Round Up) the sheep. Robert said I could either get out and “Shoo” the sheep down the field with the help of Wally. I innocently asked Robert how I was to get in to the paddock, as the gate was right down the other
The large sheep transporter
This is what we took the sheep to Wagga Wagga in end, where the sheep were to be driven to. Robert said he would back the ute up to the fence and just jump over. I gingerly jumped and Wally flew, but we both ended up the other side in the paddock with the sheep.
We started to walk towards a large flock of sheep around 300mtrs away and Wally walked with me, out of ear shot of Robert I said to Wally, “go on do what sheep dogs are supposed to do” Wally just looked at me, wondering how long he could hang on whilst I make myself look stupid. We get closer and start to shoo the sheep, clapping my hands and shooing, Wally still walks laughing under his breath. The sheep are still moving towards the gate and Wally still walks. As the sheep go through the gate, its just like a switch been flicked and Wally takes off like a bullet from a gun, Robert is driving down the track, the sheep are through the fence and Wally is doing his thing. At the end the sheep are all rounded up, and in a yard ready to be tagged and loaded.
Jason brings the truck
On the Job
Kimba does what she does best to the loading ramp and jumps out; I have got the “Woodstock” tags and applicator gun. Jason wrestles the sheep and fires a tag into each ear, some wince, some don’t but they all get done, we open the walk way and start to drive the sheep in single file towards the truck. Sometimes they hesitate some turn around, some run the other way, it can be chaotic, as they seem to panic. I tried to grab them by the scruff of the neck, but when they don’t want to move its like trying to wrestle an open bag of cement.
137 ewes are loaded on 2 levels of the truck; we are left with 3 ewes on their own, which were frail and lame. I heard Robert say to Jason take them to the yard, and cut their throats. I quietly asked Jason how he was going to dispatch the three and he said he would do it with his knife “Excalibur”. I love working on the farm, with all the vehicles and animals, but I could not dispatch a living animal, I haven’t got it in me.
Robert and myself get to the Wagga Wagga stock
Market Day Blues
Where are we going? sales and unload the sheep, we walk around for a while and see loads of sheep being sold. The auctioneer didn’t spend more than 2-3 minutes at each pen before they were sold and he moved on the next pen.
On our way back through Wagga Wagga, I was sitting in the truck and looking down the road I saw a greenish mini bus coming the opposite direction, I thought to myself how much It looked like Bill and Pauline’s bus (Shiread) as previously mentioned in day 85, 31 January’s blog and as it went past I am absolutely sure it was Bill and Pauline.
We get back, and I wash the truck down, Caroline has come down to watch we are getting all the sheep deposits off the wagon as is has such damaging effects.
I need to spend some time with Caroline as the last couple of days, I have just been working and I want to take on board the planning Caroline has been doing. We need to move on soon, or else the trip will stall. We have fallen in love with the farm and all who occupy it, but we need break
Tagging
Jason tags the sheep. Every sheep that goes to market must have a tag. the spell, it has been fantastic.
We have our lunch and I sit on the veranda, the next thing I know is I have nodded off the sleep, and the boys have gone back to work. I wander back in and lay on the bed the next thing I know Caroline has woken me with the promise of a cup of tea, as I have been asleep for two hours.
Helen has had to pop out to the Chiropractors, and when she gets back hands us a brown paper bag, and tells us she has brought us a present, inside is a stuffed Wombat, a Wombat Glove puppet and a book mark. Helen and Robert have been exceptionally kind to us and I just hope they have enjoyed us being as mush as we have enjoyed being here
We complete the blog and are sitting back out on the veranda when it starts to rain, and rain is what this farm needs. It came down quite well, and when we went to put Kimba in hour pound yesterday evening, the rain collector showed 8mm had fallen.
Helen asked if we could go and give Jack his
Loading
Loading the sheep tablets, and gave me the food that hides the pill. When I get to him he takes the meat and eats it but goes in side his log and doesn’t want the rest of it. I have to give the rest to Wally, Trixie and Toby. Jack is inside his log, shivering and looking really down, so we come back and tell Helen, who asks us to bring him over so he can sleep on the Veranda.
Helen rustles up a big cushion and a couple of blankets for him, and we wonder if it’s the residue of the anaesthetic in his system. Poor old Jack I have to carry him over from the opposite side of the paddock and put him down on the soft bed we have made up for him.
Five minutes later, we have a waggy tail and he is as bright as a button. Cheeky Jack, we think he as fooled us, but then he does deserve a little bit of love and care as he has been rather poorly recently. His stitches must hurt him still.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.085s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0386s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
