Thursday 1 September 2011

First day of spring – yeehar! However, looking out of the window it’s grey, windy and drizzly & feels cold and decidedly unspringlike. Despite the weather it must be spring as there are signs of it everywhere: our clumps of snowdrops are flowering (the only bulbs out of 600+ we planted, that survived), the swallows have returned (a week earlier than last year), two of the geese started sitting today and the hens have gone into egg-laying overdrive. Out of 6 laying hens, we are getting 5 eggs most days now. I’ve started saving some for the incubator. One of my high priorities now is to protect all our birds’ eggs from the rapacious cravens (forest ravens). One swooped into the hens’ run yesterday while I sat here working, nabbed an egg a careless hen had laid outside the coop & was off before I could react. The turkeys are further away under the trees and hence are even more vulnerable – particularly since they prefer to lay their eggs in the open, rather than in a hut. I have a plan to string fishing line from a tall wattle in the turkey run out to the fence, like a spider’s web. I’m hoping the cravens will fly into this & be put off from trying again.

It’s been a high-stress couple of weeks, even by my standards, with goats kidding, a job interview, making a book character outfit for Luke for school (a red goblin from Enid Blyton’s Enchanted Wood), muck-spreading, kennel-building, bird moving, transferring Vicky the pig from pen to trailer to another trailer – on top of all the usual tasks. I caught and moved the youngest 3 chickens from the peacock run into the interim-age chicken run with Henry the Wellsummer cockerel, from whence they promptly escaped. I found them the next day in the young pigs’ pen, which is where they stayed as I didn’t have time to recapture them. Eventually they found their way back where I wanted them, presumably because they were starving by that stage. The 2 oldest hens have moved into the main hen run with Nigel the Australorp cockerel where they are happy & have started laying. I’m now eyeing up 2 roosters who need to go to freezer-heaven in the next couple of weeks.

Nigel the Australorp rooster, pictured with Bertie bunny & Scruffy

 

So far we have just 8 goat kids, I’m sorry to report. It seems to be a bad year on the goat-front. Most of the mums who have previously had twins, have only had the one this year, one aborted early on and another 2 are looking worryingly like they may not have any! I believe it is all due to the run-away worm problem I had much earlier in the year. I had problems getting on top of it & I think it affected fertility. Plus I had 2 does who ought to have been pregnant but couldn’t be put to buck as they’d had kids too early, courtesy of Charlie the poison dwarf, who got through the fences at them. I’ve still got 2 older does that I bought a couple of months ago that should kid very shortly. But altogether the tally is going to be pretty low. Having said that next year should be a bumper one as I’ve got on top of the worm problem and we have an extra 10 or so does coming on which can be put to buck in March/ April. Still having feet problems – no sooner do I fix one hoof than another one gets sore. I really need a concrete yard - at present the feeding yard harbours diseases and it doesn’t stop raining long enough for the yard to dry out.

It is as wet as I’ve seen it here, the grass is sodden such that everywhere squelches as you walk, and my track up to the goats is almost impassable. In fact I managed to get the Suzuki stuck last week, a virtually unheard of incident. I then almost got the ute stuck trying to rescue it and missed sliding into the seasonal creek by the skin of my teeth. I had to take a rather scenic route to get to the Suzuki in the end and even that was tough. When I’d pulled the Suzuki out (Bronte asked who was driving the Suzuki – no one of course), the bog from which I’d extracted it self-healed, closing up the ruts - it was spooky to watch!

The weekend just gone was somewhat hectic with visitors, muck-spreading and pig-moving. A friend of ours came around on the Saturday morning with her daughter, who is Luke’s age. They played in the same room with different toys, without apparently interacting, for an hour or so, before finally the ice seemed to have been broken and they actually began talking to one another. It’s quite bizarre, particularly since they’ve been friends since they were babies. Then later another set of friends arrived for dinner with their trio of youngsters in tow.

I must say I excelled myself on the food front this time. As Lucy is an excellent cook I felt I had to make more of an effort than usual and I’d planned the meal for a week or more (cooking is not really my forté). We had home-grown and -made chicken liver pate with port and orange, home-grown and -made pork terrine (courtesy of the heroic Jane Grigson), with home-made French bread toasted in the oven; followed by home-made goat burgers (delicious) and potato bake (also delicious) and salad; followed by banoffee pie which I adore. That’s the one where you boil the can of condensed cream in water for 3 hours so that it turns to caramel. Even my pastry base (made with egg yolks) was a triumph. We were so replete afterwards we could barely move! Poor Bronte had to go for a walk late at night and slept part of the night on the sofa with indigestion – serves him right for being such a glutton! However, I was equally bad as I had 3 servings of banoffee pie the following day to finish it up! Yum. After the meal the kids were fired up and ran riotously around the house until it was thankfully time for their beds!

On the Sunday Bronte & Luke went out while I saw to the animals and loaded up 30 or so heavy bags of goat manure onto the ute. Later Bronte drove the ute slowly around the hay paddock while the automatic muck spreader in the back (me) threw the muck out. It didn’t take long but was somewhat exhausting! Now Bronte has to do his bit and harrow the paddock tomorrow before the grass gets too long for it to make any difference. I’m onto my last 2 bales of hay now, so I’m hoping the grass grows fast – I don’t want to have to buy more for the goats. I plan to eke it out by cutting them some extra browse (blackwood and wattle for instance). I’m afraid the goat fence-line for the new paddock has not progressed since the last entry.

Later in the afternoon the buyer came for Vicky the sow (she was able to collect before mid-Sept after all). I’d got Vicky into the trailer on Friday surprisingly easily and I wasn’t about to let her out again. Manoeuvring the trailer into place had been a delicate operation as there were several evil blancmange-like areas I had to avoid. Then I had to set up gates either side to ensure she couldn’t make a bolt for it. Connor made things awkward by getting in too, but I managed to poke him back out. Vicky’s greed was her undoing – once she tasted the food I was able to put up the back ramp and bolt her in. Then the Suzuki managed manfully to pull the trailer back up the hill and I parked her in the tractor shed. Vicky was so cross at being shut in she systematically set about wrecking the trailer over the next 2 days. I’ve since had to carry out repairs on the flooring. I felt bad about her being shut in such a small space, but then remembered with a shock that most pigs live their entire lives in even smaller areas. We really should be ashamed of ourselves.

The following day I moved the 2 small pigs into the run next to Connor so that he wouldn’t be lonely. That was a labour-intensive task as I had to set up a laneway with electric fencing. Luckily once I’d constructed it and baited it with a line of cooked potatoes, they happily – and of their own volition – trotted down it into the new pen and were promptly locked in. The laneway then had to be broken down and tidied away. Once I’m sure they are used to one another I’ll open the gate between the pens and let them all be together.

The interview was for Business Development Manager at the Huon Valley Council. It was a 2-day/ week job and therefore might have been possible for me. It fit squarely into my areas of experience and frankly I could have done the job standing on my head. In fact I could have brought a whole lot more to the role than requested, given my previous jobs. However, I have just heard that I was not selected. Apparently, I scored highly on technical skills, but not so well on planning and organisation or on customer service! What a laugh! I’m possibly the most organised person I know and I plan everything I do meticulously. It’s hard to imagine that the person they’ve chosen could be any better. Not that I want to appear immodest but I do know my strengths (and weaknesses). And customer service is also another strength, goodness all my jobs have been customer-facing and I complain bitterly about the complete lack of customer service generally exhibited here in Tasmania. I wasn’t even asked about customer service at the interview. I can only imagine that these are excuses and that the real reason is that they didn’t think I’d fit in or they didn’t want me for some other reason. Most likely because I stir things up – just this week I had a long letter on forestry issues published in the Huon Valley News, sent in response to the diatribes published the previous week, courtesy of some of our more right-wing politicians.

In my spare time (ho ho) I’ve continued with my marketing consultancy work, which has hotted up a bit recently, carried on with the deluxe 5-star rated double kennel, and crocheting in the evenings when watching a bit of telly. I’m disappointed the kennel isn’t finished yet, but it’s so nearly there. Trouble is the spec has changed with Bronte insisting on a hinged (but still insulated and wind-tight) roof. Sigh. On the crocheting front I am busily fastening together 156 squares to make another big, colourful quilt. It will make my last one look like a pale, dull object in comparison! All my wool comes from oddments found in op shops and also from unpicking hand-knit jumpers. I’m crocheting it together with a lovely vibrant gold colour from just one of these jumpers. My neighbour wants a crocheting masterclass – not sure I’m the right person but will do my best!

Saturday 20 August 2011

We’ve now got four little goat kids – twins Esther & Ditsy were born to Dusty yesterday and Ginger had tiny Coriander a few days ago. Looking up the hill this morning I see that Super-White has a little mite with her that I need to ear-tag and whose navel needs disinfecting. The mums all have to be drenched once they have kidded too. I try to give the babies names that either rhyme with their mum’s or has some other connection. That way it is easier to remember which kid belongs to which doe without looking it up.

It’s a rather less stressful enterprise this year because I’ve gradually weeded out the rotten mums or those that have required help with kidding. I had one doe that would always reject one of her twins, going so far as trying to squash it against the wall of a hut, such that I had to restrain her until she accepted both. Even then one would never get as much food as the other. Another doe refused to feed her babies at all – I tried my hardest but in the end had to put the kids down because her milk dried up & they wouldn’t drink from a bottle or lap from a bowl. This time the only uncertainties are the two young maiden does and the two does I bought in kid a few months back.

I’m having a lot of trouble with the goats’ feet at present, owing – presumably – to all the rain & the ground being so soggy underfoot. Three of the young ones have persistent problems despite all my efforts with betadine and formaldehyde. The problem is there is nowhere dry I can put them to recover. At first I could see nothing wrong with their feet, but when I looked more closely it was the gap between the cloven hooves which had become sore. Unfortunately it is the most skittish of the young goats that are suffering, hence it is a nightmare catching them for treatment.

It’s been a while since I updated the blog, as we had a guest from the UK staying with us for a few days & then Bronte & I succumbed to an evil stomach bug that she’d brought with her from Brisbane. She arrived somewhat under the weather, saying she’d had food poisoning, but it turned out to be of a very contagious kind! So last weekend was a complete write-off with both of us groaning and incapacitated. My stomach’s still feeling rebellious despite copious amounts of probiotic and Quickeze.

Before the bug struck, our guest and Luke & I (Luke fortuitously had a ‘pupil-free’ day), went to Pelverata Falls. Despite being here 7 years we’d never done this walk before. It turned out to be quite a marathon and extremely muddy. Towards the end the path was quite treacherous involving scrambling over rocks with a steep drop-off to one’s right. However, it was all worth it as the Falls are quite spectacular. We anticipated a good flow given all the rain we’ve had but hadn’t imagined the setting itself to be so awesome. The first glimpse of the Falls is on arrival at the look-out point – from there you look up and left to a towering escarpment, from which the Falls thunder down 114m to the valley floor. The walk was signposted as 3hrs return. Luke and I managed it in 2 – but we’d kept up a fairly fast pace to achieve that. Even Rosie-dog was a little weary! She accompanies Bronte on his fitness runs and never breaks into a pant.

Slippery Falls - visible just before getting to Pelverata Falls

 

My current project is making a double kennel for the dogs, which can sit on the deck outside the laundry door. I am so fed up with clearing up poo and pee in the mornings I plan to banish them outside as soon as the kennel is complete. Rosie seemed to get much better but then Bruce suddenly started up (I’ve since treated him for worms and he seems to have improved) and now Rosie has started again. They will sleep outside now until next winter when hopefully they’ll be better behaved. However, like all my constructions the kennel is turning into a mammoth labour of love. I decided to make it double-skinned for insulation, which seemed so simple a concept, but turns out to be decidedly complicated in execution. Oh well, I shall persevere. I haven’t told Bronte yet, but I’ve incorporated the slats off an old pine double bed of his which was stored in the garage. Frankly, I thought that if we hadn’t missed the bed in 7 years, we never would.

I thought I had sold Vicky & Connor, our main sow and boar. However, it seems that the purchaser now doesn’t want the boar and can’t take Vicky until the middle of September. I’m wondering whether it is worth selling them at all now, since Vicky is due to farrow mid-September and I’ve already had to feed them for a month since the sale was agreed. I may as well just keep on. I could always sell Vicky after the babies are weaned. The main problem (besides not getting more time to spend on the goats) is that their pens are decidedly boggy. I don’t have a spare pen since destroying the pear-tree paddock with the ute (see earlier blogs) and don’t want to spend time making another when I should be concentrating on goat fencing.

Talking of pigs, I’ve been listening to various debates about meat and the long-term sustainability of eating meat in the quantities to which we are now accustomed. There is an interesting concept of ‘default meat’, ie meat from livestock which are grown without using feed that could otherwise be used to feed humans. For instance, there is a great deal of waste food that can be fed to animals plus there are grazing animals grown on rangelands which are not suitable for any other sort of agricultural production. The argument is that as a rule it takes many more resources (land, feed and carbon) to grow animals than it takes to grow the equivalent nutritional value of vegetables or grain. Therefore, growing meat is depriving the world of extra food that could be used to feed the starving millions. But if you can grow animals using waste food (or byproducts from other industries) or use land fit for no other purpose, then you are adding to the world’s food harvest, not detracting from it.

Our pigs fit neatly into this category. They take up little space and are fed almost entirely on waste products – mostly potatoes and apples that would otherwise be dumped, supplemented by dairy products past their sell-by-date and cast-off salad veggies. What wonderful creatures pigs are! The goats, however, do not yet fit into this category as they consume a great deal of grain grown on land which could otherwise be used to feed humans. Once I have more paddocks and they are feeding off the land, we’ll be more eco-friendly, because our land is virtually unusable for growing crops.