Categories: From the Farm This Week
      Date: Jan 22, 2014
     Title: 22 January 2014
Donk bong donk dunk bong ....blooming heck what's that ....Ummmm doze Donk bong plonk dunk ...What is that ..windy, full moon ..4 in the morning
PLONK plonk dong ZZZzzzzzzzz let me sleep   Donk donk plonk .....Get up turn the light on ..cock addoodle do cockadoodle  do.... cock adoodal do
all the rosters wake up ....PlONK donk cock a doodalle DOOOOooooo......Dress and go out side the big plum tree next to the house swinging in the wind and in the full moon light  i can see the plums hitting the house roof and the ute and stock trailer.  Plonk Donk Dong ........ Back to bed just about to put my head under the pillow as all the roosters are now calling thinking its time to get up and the Jack donkey due to go to a new home later today calls out
HEEE HAWWWW HEEEE HAWWWWwrrrr     and again and wakes the whole farm up ....MOOOoooo barrr quack    kwack DONK ....Not like i need the Sleep or anything ..........So im up doing this .....BLaaaa .

Its Been a livestock week with much moving and additions.The large black boar that Howard let us use over our 3 large black Devon sows was due to go home this boar is a stunning pig looking like the breed should with great temperament. He is Howard's Show boar and i can see why. .
The next job was to pick up Ila;s new Kuni kuni Gilt from Bruce and Nellrose  ..This pig i had sold to a family but they now want a real young one so Ila said ,,,,,John you know the bottom needs a pig in it .....Can i have another one ...So Bilinda the Kuni kuni is in the Quarantine Paddock with 4 Alpacas.
Yes you are seeing right Alpacas we have got them from Ying and we hope to breed for wool and Meat .....well Ila will be in charge of them.
The picking up of them was made easy as Peter gave us a trailer he had on his one acre. Land he is selling and as he is in England maybe full time, he gave us his trailer ...Its going to be put to good use at Avonstour.
I have started Dagging and Shearing just a few at a time when we get then in or move them. It will take a while but will get them done i hope.

As i drove in to Stratford a few days ago the Manuka was flowering and i was thinking it may well be a good season for manuka honey this year.
As i turned onto the forgotten  Highway at Douglas a large truck loaded with bee hives went past and then another and another 6 or 7 in total.
Heading further out east Taranaki ... hundreds of hives im not sure who they were and were they were going ...But to me somehow it just seems wrong sort of factory farming with bees UMMMmmmmmmm.

While out catching chooks the other night over at the chicken trailers, we shot a rabbit or two for the house and the older ones for the dogs.
Its great to live off the land,

Unfortunately We were to have 4 inturns start today, but the university they were funded from removed the funds ..This has left us high and dry for help and i have turned so many away to fit the 4 in .... UMM