The goatlings look very alike this year.
October 20. 2017
This is a very busy
time of year. Plant life is having
a growth spurt and the return of hot sunny days and purple flowers are a balm
for the soul. People are on the
move too. Last week we had good friends from NSW staying and had two years of
news to catch up with. The goatlings are trained now and come in to the milking
shed mixing with the older goats.
Learning to tell them apart was harder this year as they all looked alike.
The chooks are laying well and the kids are settled into a routine. We are hoping that the cow, Josie,
will move to her new owners next week end along with Phantom, the goat with
horns, who has terrorised her young herd mates.
We have had a new
plastic tank for dam water delivered and are now in the process of tiling the
dairy floor. I have already tiled
the walls behind the benches and completed the painting. Edd is working hard on the floor. I
tell him it is his penance for causing all the mess in the first place.
October 7. 2017
Stevo and Edd set up
the new small water tank to provide water for the sink in the ruins. We have an underground pipe from the
tank over flow to the old concrete tank by the mulberry trees but it is not
connected yet, still, we are half way there. This week Edd and Stevo worked on the donga. They built a new base for the wood
stove and put corrugated iron under the eves to stop the swallows nesting above
the windows and making them all shitty.
Luckily we had corrugated iron left over from building the shed in a
suitable light colour that gives a good clean look.
Whilst the men worked
on the donga I finished the painting work on the dairy walls and ceiling. It was not work I enjoy but it was work
I could do. The next job in there
is to lay the tiles on the floor and above the sinks and then we can move the
furniture and fridges back in.
I have also been working in the
vegetable garden. Everything has
started to grow fast so there were weeds to dig up and new seedlings to plant.
We are enjoying the last of the turnips and beetroot and starting to work our
way through a glut of cauliflowers. Lettuce, rocket and spring onions are doing
well and so far the cabbages look fine.
The snow peas have started to crop and today I put in climbing
beans. I am keeping a wary eye on
the cockatoos who pulled up lots of my parsley and are waiting to do more
damage.
The goat kids are
almost ready to go down to twice a day feeds. Even the small black one is sucking well now. I have plenty
of milk spare and have made the first two hard cheeses but I need to get the
dairy back in action so more production can go ahead. I have still not decided which vacuum sealer to buy. Josh
found a good one but it comes from America and would be difficult to take back
if it went wrong.
Today the goats and
the cow went through fences and got where they were not meant to be. We have
put such an effort in repairing and replacing fences that this is very
frustrating. The cow made big foot marks on the good bit of grass that I have
just mowed.
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