The heifers looked fabulous thanks to our wonderful (now ex) grazier, and kind trucking.
It sure was nice to finally have some animals on the property, aside from my three goldfish and one chicken.
Chooky – who is about seven-years-old and is either Cluck Cluck or Maggie, but I can’t remember which – travelled down in a cat cage on the seat next to me. With a couple of stops for water and a feed, she even managed to lay an egg.
She resides in the laundry at the moment, much to TJL’s horror, and I’m keeping a sharp eye on the roosters over the road to ensure no untoward advances are made to her.
The heifers settled in quickly, as bovines are apt to do when their bellies are full of grass that hasn’t been grazed for some time.
The day they arrived we popped them into the closest paddock for water and a feed, and the next day I moved them to the paddock we wanted them in.
The races had quite a bit of grass in them so I opened the gate thinking the heifers would gently meander up the race to the paddock, cleaning it up as they went.
How wrong was I? They shot up the race at a very brisk walk and into the first break in the paddock. They’ll eat “proper grass”, thank you very much.
I don’t do mice or flies. Fortunately these flies aren’t the ‘land on and annoy the crap out of you’ flies, they just, well, cluster in very large numbers.
After the stress of buying a farm – in the middle of a low-payout cycle with cow prices dropping and heifers next to impossible to sell, which all significantly reduced our capital going in – I was dying for some time on my own.
Luckily I’ve been able to be based in Eketahuna, looking after the heifers and re-reading Anne of Green Gables (I mean unpacking) while TJL has been based in Taranaki, finishing the milking season and earning money to keep me in league jerseys (Dear Bank, I’m joking).
Without TJL around I’ve had to man-up a bit and check my own slippers for mice, remove deceased carcases from mouse traps and deal with a gabillion cluster flies.
I don’t do mice or flies. Fortunately these flies aren’t the “land on and annoy the crap out of you” flies, they just, well, cluster in very large numbers.
Hopefully by the time this goes to print the flying little buggers will have gone to ground, or wherever it is they go.
Of course that’ll probably mean the mice have moved in, in larger numbers, but at least TJL will be here to save me by then.
While you’re feeling sorry for me, surrounded by flies and mice, I’m also surviving without a fridge, the internet, and horror of horrors during league season, no Sky TV.
I’ve often blathered on about wanting to go “off grid” but this should be prefaced with when there is no league being played. I had to drive about two hours to my parents’ place in Waipukurau for the Anzac test.
Luckily they took pity on me and had prior warning I was coming since I commandeered their TV from 7.15pm, starting with the Kiwi Ferns’ game. Mum went to bed – I think I’m adopted.
By the time you read this TJL will also be all moved in, and I will no longer have to traipse up to Taranaki two nights a week where I’ve been catching up on as much as league as I can, packing trailer-loads of junk and cleaning house.
It’s going to be great to be able to walk over our land and discuss where we go from here. It’s going to involve a lot of fencing, planting and robust debate on dairying versus beef.
