The year of the big wet

Friday, September 30, 2016





























 I'm fairly sure that in future years we'll remember 2016 for all its rain. (Well that, and the wild lawns & gardens...)  While winter was abundantly wet, spring has surpassed even that!   Roads are closed, creeks are overflowing their banks, paddocks are covered in water & even here up on the hill, everywhere you walk is accompanied by a 'squelch'! It's such a contrast from those drought years we had when we first moved here and I am oh, so thankful that we will be going into the hot, dry summer this year with dams full!

Farm work has been tricky with all the rain.  That, and it seems every weekend has been filled with plans.  But we have lambs that are in desperate need of marking & the boss (that would be Dave -ha) has declared tomorrow THE day (weather willing)!  We are going to have to bring up the sheep on foot & then draft the lambs off & put on the rings (tails & testicles) & give them their needles before we send them back to their mothers. It's my job to put on the rings & I get very good at counting to two by the end of the day ;) !

We also have piglets down in the pigpen!  2 litters - which is a first for us as we've never had them overlap before.  Delores had 6 surviving piglets a few weeks ago, and Miss Piggy had her very first litter with just three surviving (sadly one had crawled off & drowned in a mud puddle).  Our other sow Pompei is also pregnant, so in a few months we will have lots of little pigs running around!  The older piglets are desperately in need of castrating.  Dave holds them, I do the job - counting to two again.... (This is probably my least favorite job of all on the farm).  It will be lovely to have some fresh pork in a few months time as we are almost out of it.

We've had new chicks hatch, just today!  It's always so exciting when you hear their little chirps from the incubator & know that another little bundle of fluff is there!  The children love them & Mr. Preschool gets so excited every time we have a new batch.  It's such a miracle that you put in the eggs & 3 weeks later there are chicks.  I'm not sure he fully comprehends it all, but he is learning fast about farm life!

And finally, another birthday has come & gone for me!  We celebrated with good friends over & it was lovely & relaxing & the children were loud!  Both our families have added 2 more children in the past year through foster care & so we laugh at how much busier our get togethers are.  It's great though & we wouldn't have it any other way!  

Well rest time is coming to an end & the sun is beginning to peek out from behind the clouds which means I will send all the children outside - at least until the next rain shower travels through!  I must close here...

Have a lovely weekend friends!

 
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