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.

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.

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!

Waddling Wombats!

As I was going to preschool today I saw a wombat on my way!

What a very exciting way to start the day. 

We have never seen a wombat on the farm before. He was in a really big hurry!

I thought wombats only waddled ever so slowly but they can run REALLY fast!

I go to preschool two days a week Tuesday and Friday. I catch the bus with my big sister.

We must drive to the bus stop it is 6 kilometres from our house.

I LOVE going on the bus and I have the 'BESTEST' bus driver in the world, Ken.

When I am not going to preschool I help Mum and Dad on the farm. 

The sheep are lambing now and the weather is dry. The paddocks need rain to make the grass grow so that the ewes can make milk for their babies.

Dad has sown lots of oats for the sheep and cattle but it really needs a drink!

Today I found a little lamb lost, far away from all the other sheep.

 I ran really fast to catch him and we returned him to the mob, ...

hopefully his mother will find him.

Short Back and Front PLEASE!

In three weeks time the ewes will start having baby lambs.

Before that happens there are a few jobs that must be carried out. 

It is time for all the ewes to visit the sheep barber, at the shearing shed.

The shearers work hard, they must drag every ewe out onto the shearing board and trim the wool from their eyes, udder and bottom!
 

They do the trimming with a hand piece it holds a comb and a cutter and is very sharp. 

  

Dad gives all the ewes a needle. The needle helps protect both the ewe and the baby lamb growing inside from nasty diseases.

 
 The ewes are now prepared to have their baby lambs. They are put back in their paddocks. Now the waiting game begins.

My big sister KT and I have been exploring in the timber whilst Mum and Dad have been working.We cannot wait for the baby lambs to arrive.....we LOVE baby lambs!

 

Peek A Boo - We Can See YOU!

It is time to take a peek inside and see what we can see.
We breed babies on our farm and lots of them.....today all the female sheep (ewes) have been mustered to the sheep yards for scanning. 

It is going to be a big day....there are lots of ewes to check..... 2500.
We start work early.

The sheep yards are full of sheep ready and waiting for their appointment with the scanning man.
 

Once again the ewes must queue in line and wait patiently their turn.
They step up, and the man places the scanning piece under their tummies and....

  PEEK - A -BOO.....we can see you!

 The screen tells the scanning man whether the ewes are having one, two or no babies. 
The ewes are split into different mobs depending on how many babies they are having.
The ewes having no babies are to be sold. This year very few have failed to get pregnant.

We are expecting lots of babies.....expected delivery day mid April through to late May.

 

Click go the Shears!

We grow wool on our farm and this week we are shearing some young merino lambs.

The lambs were born in May 2015 and this is the first time they have had their fleece shorn.

There are three shearers hard at work shearing the wool from the sheep. 

The weather is hot, I think the lambs would like having their woolly jacket shorn off!

The wool is soft and smells of lanolin.

  

After the wool is shorn from the sheep, it is prepared on the table by my mum and other shed staff.

 Wool that is short, coloured or has lots of grass seed is removed.

The wool is then ready to go into the wool press.

 

  The wool is pressed into really big bales that weigh up to 200kg.

 When all the wool is pressed a truck will take the wool away....

it is nearly ready to be sold!

Coming to a Woolworths Near YOU!

Ready for a ride north....

 after eating lots of grass and lots of grain, the lambs are ready for delivery north.

 

A  big red truck arrived early this morning to load the lambs.

 

 

The lambs are lining up to board the truck. 

It looks like they are excited to ride on the big red truck.

These lambs have been sold to Woolworths.

And in the next week they may be coming to a Woolworths near you!

  BUT not this one...

or these ones....

These lambs are our pets and we love them dearly...they are our playmates!