A Carpet of Green.

The farm has turned into a carpet of green grass. As far as I can see there is green.

It has not rained for a week, and the grass has really loved seeing the sun. It is growing.

Whilst the sun is shining there is lots of work to do. Mum and I have been mustering for shearing. 
Mustering is fun, I love to walk along behind the sheep and climb on rocks. 

Yesterday shearers came to the farm and shore some old ewes that are to be sold.

Most of these ewes are 6, 7 or 8 years old. They have had baby lambs every year of their life since they were 2 years old. They will go to the sheep yards to be sold in a few weeks.

I spend some time in the shearing shed watching the action, some time sweeping up the wool on the floor and some time squashing wool in the bins. It can be a lot of fun!

Yesterday there was an extra special treat, a set of mysterious twins appeared in the mob.

Dad and Mum have no idea how they have appeared. 

None of the ewes are meant to having babies now. 

I spent lots of time cuddling them, they even fell asleep. They are so CUTE!

 

Shearing is finished in the day and the shearers head home, and

Dad takes the ewes back to the green grassy paddocks.

Short Back and Front Please!

Have you noticed that sheep have four legs and no arms?

How do they ever brush their teeth, clip their toenails, comb their wool or wipe their bottoms? It is IMPOSSIBLE to do with no arms.......

Lucky for us there are very skilled people we pay to do some of these jobs.

The young ewes on the farm need to be crutched.

 The wool is growing around their eyes and they cannot see where they are going and...

their bottom is getting a bit dirty too!

All the sheep are put into the shearing shed overnight where they are kept dry.

The sheep are dragged from the catching pens onto the shearing board.....

where they are crutched,  a short front and back!

The wool is swept away and sorted good from bad!

I like to help sweep the wool away, you have to be very quick!

The sheep are returned to the paddock.

They are very happy with their short front and back.

They can see where they are going,......

and they have really clean bottoms TOO!

I Want my Mummy!

It is a very wet winter. All week we have seen grey skies and light rain.

Finally the sun appears for a weekend.....so our fun for the weekend is all about sheep.

The baby lambs that were born in April and May have grown up.

 They are now big enough to leave their mums.

All the lambs have another needle that will help protect them from diseases and worms. This one is their booster shot!

Mum gives all the lambs an ear tag, it has a special number on it that belongs to our farm.

The lambs look like they have an ear ring now!

The lambs are all put onto oat crops now to help them grow big and strong.

They are very noisy, crying all the time. I WANT MY MUMMY! Their mums are noisy too.

I am still a little small to help in the yards, but I love to play in the nearby timber.

There is lots to explore.

New Life.

The first calves have arrived.

This cow got a REALLY big surprise, double what she was expecting not one but TWO!

Yesterday as we checked cows we made this exciting discovery!

Only just born and already able to walk..

Not like human babies they are quick to their feet and very alert.

 They are a little wobbly at first,...

 but their mother is patient and helps them by softly nudging them with her nose.

They are very quick to find their mother's udder and fill their tummies with milk.

The first milk is very special it is yellow and is full of special ingredients that helps make the calves strong and healthy!

Calving time is exciting lots of new life on the farm!

All the Rivers Run....

We saw the sun......and we made the most of it!

A glorious Sunday afternoon spent in the fresh air. 

Moving our meat lambs to new paddocks, off the crops to make room for more.

There were other creatures out soaking up the sunshine too.

SPOTTO... a shingle back lizard!

All of nature was alive today!

The paddocks are very wet and water runs from dam to dam through all the little creeks.

On the way home Mum and I followed the water to see where it all comes from.

We started at the bottom of the farm and worked our way up.

From one dam to the next the water overflows through pipes and trickles its way down to the next dam and the next dam and the next dam.

 I call this dam... Big Barrie's.....he is a giant fish that lives at the bottom. He eats boats!

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All the dams are full to the top.

The dams are important to the farm. They hold water for the animals to drink.

They provide a home for water creatures.

They also help filter lots of natural things before the water reaches the rivers.

What to Expect?

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning Jack Frost has been to visit. 

He lays a blanket of ice across the farm, and the puddles freeze!

Work starts early when the sun shines, lots to be done.

The last of the cows are getting their needles and medicine before their babies arrive.

 These cows are called heifers they are about to have their very first baby.

I wonder if they know what to expect......

Soon they will be mothers and they will have a very big job ahead of them!

Stuck in the Mud!

Farmers will often tell you that there is money in mud!

Not this time...just POP's tractor!

You must think carefully about where you try to drive on the farm at the moment.

Feeding the cows and sheep can see you stuck in the MUD!