Farm Life with Erin

Farm Life with Erin

Sunday, July 31, 2016

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.




Sunday, July 24, 2016

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!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

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!


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.

Monday, July 18, 2016

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!


Sunday, July 17, 2016

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!

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Grey Skies.

Grey skies are going to clear up....so lets get busy!

Two days of clear skies before the rain returns. 

All hands on deck.... to inject cows with medicine before their baby calves arrive in one month, and wean the baby lambs from their mothers.




The animals on our farm are what makes money for us. 
We must look after them the best we can.

The cows get a needle that protects both them and their unborn calf from diseases.
All the lambs that are being weaned from their mothers also get a needle, that protects them from diseases and worms. 
People get needles too, it helps keep us healthy.


We have had so much rain in the last 10 weeks. The dam behind our house is nearly full.
Even when it is not raining the water is still running into it, the ground is SO wet!

The water is running every where.......the creek through our farm even has waterfalls!




This creek starts in our farm and flows into another creek called Limestone. 
Then that creek flows into a river called the Belubula. It is brimming full.
The Belubula then runs into the Lachlan River and it just keeps on going! 
I am not really not sure where it finishes...............


My big sister KT and I have made the most of the weather.
We have spent hours exploring and having fun whilst the hard work was being done!

Friday, July 8, 2016

Mud Glorious Mud??

Rain, rain go away....I am sorry.... we need you to come back another DAY!

We have had lots and lots of rainy, grey, dark days.
And everything is WET, WET, WET!

The sheep are wet, the cows are wet, the roads are wet and the paddocks and BOGGY!



It makes getting around the farm a little difficult. 
It is too wet to get lots of work done. 
Lambs need to be weaned from their mothers. 
Cows are due to have needles before their babies arrive..... and the list goes on!

In winter on our farm the grass barely grows, the dirt is too cold and there is little sun.
So all the animals must be fed extra food by Dad.


We make hay from the spring grass nearly every year and store it away in sheds ready for winter time. 



'Henry' Ford and Dad spend hours feeding out hay to the cattle.


The cattle love the hay, it fills their bellies!