Archive for the 'Sheep' Category

Hello Fabio!

It’s tradition in our district to put our rams out on ANZAC day.

Our ovine girls were treated to a visit from a very elegant Border Leicester ram for breakfast. What a stud-muffin he is!

It was such a lovely morning to move a mob with my Kelpie, Rousie, and I was given plenty of time to reflect on our Aussie and New Zealand soldiers who fought for our country.

While my new novel The Cattleman’s Daughter is away with my editor, Belinda, at Penguin Books, I’m making the most of daydreaming behind a mob of sheep — allowing ideas for a fifth novel to come.

I’m on the home straight now with number four novel and my book will be out in October — around the time Fabio’s lambs will be arriving!

Happy Campers

Here’s our Merino ewe mob with their first cross lambs camped on a bank on the farm.

The drought has meant we have sold most of our wethers and these girls may have to be run as dry ewes in the bush next year.

If the lack of rain continues, there will be no extra feed for another batch of lambs so these girls won’t get to party with their bachelor mob of Mr Rams!

Let’s hope this showery December weather continues so the girls get their guy.

More lessons

My learning continued in May at a Low Stress Livestock Handling Course. We loved the course at Smithton so much last time, we went again, this time at our old stomping ground “Malahide” in the Fingal Valley.

Graham Rees showed us the easy, stress free way of shedding and penning up sheep. 

LSS instructor Nic Kentish and Malahide Manager Ian discuss technique of handling livestock. Some people may think being a stockman is a job for a ‘simple man’ but good livestock handling needs a person with self-awareness, intuition and many, many skills — from science to sensitivity. Get more information here.

Learning in life

I love the saying, ‘You are never too old to learn.’

I’ve been learning a lot these past few weeks.

I’ve been to an Ian Leighton horsemanship clinic, where my horse Jess and I were like two fat-bottomed girls bumbling about when compared to the horse-savvy Ian Leighton.

Truck ‘em out

With not one drop of rain in sight, it’s time to offload more stock.

Our sheep numbers were once around the 2000 mark. Now we are down to 900.

Here are a mix of culls waiting for the truck. We’ve sorted through and taken a handful from all our mobs to take pressure off the land.

Hopefully our ovine friends will be going to greener pastures.

Hard to stomach!

I love my ruminant animals and have lately been researching the function of the gut of the humble sheep in order to help them through the drought using mineral and protein supplements.

Even though I love my sheep I found it hard to digest this home decorating idea.

Check out this light made from a sheep’s gut entitled ‘ruminant bloom’. 

There’s no way I’d have the guts to put that style of lamp beside my bed!

They look even weirder when switched off.

There’s more here.

Hi from the sheep yards!

Here I am … or at least here’s my afternoon shadow.

Diamond and I have just yarded the last of the sheep for footbathing in the evening sunshine.

John is now over at the sheep yards in the dark putting the last of the mob through.

It’s little wonder we look blank when people mention their favourite TV programs. With our farming life, there’s no time for telly.

There’s no knocking off at five and putting feet up. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Barbeque lamb!

I picked this barbecue up for five bucks at a clearing sale thinking it would be handy for something! It turns out it’s a great place to put our stock licks for our sheep.

Here are our weaner ewe lambs enjoying the mineral mixes of Olsson’s lick blocks. A strange sight to see lambs enjoying a barbie for a change!

We’re experiencing very tough drought conditions at the moment.

To help our stock through on the dry feed, we need to keep their gut flora really healthy to help them digest the summer grasses.
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Sale-O!

We returned to Tassie to find the dams dry and no rainfall in the three weeks we were away.

It’s the second year we haven’t cut hay and dad has been busy trying to keep water up to stock as all the dams are dry.

This is unheard of in our district and the impacts of Global Warming — or whatever it is — is really hitting our enviroment hard.

My vegie garden is all but withered due to hot dry winds and we have been flat out selling our stock.

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Golden Fleece

Some of the wool this year was good enough to make you want to roll around in it — it was so soft and divine! It beats me that people go for nylon when you can wear woollen blends.

I saw a documentary on SBS the night before shearing about fossil fuels.

Nylon is made completely of fossil fuels and the process of making it and turning it into a garment is incredibly environmentally taxing.

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