Categories: From the Farm This Week
Date: Jul 21, 2011
Title: 21 July 2011
So 6 frosts in a row this week, the pipes in the pig shed have been frozen and so have the washing machine pipes so can't do the washing or clean the pigs until 10. To make things worse the pigs are missing Beate as she left on Sunday and i can't sing to them (well i can but im sure they like a female voice). On Saturday night we rented the Huiroa Hall and had a celebration on the completion of the back fence and a farewell for Beate. It was a fantastic night about 40 attending. Those that helped with the fence and those that had met Beate on her many visits along with our friends. Lots of food as it was pot luck. We must do this more often.
The Wiltshire horns started lambing with the usual early ones, i think we will have more next week.
The Damara ewes are still lambing. These are the Egyptians and are hair sheep and come in all colours, brown, cream, roan, spotted and whiter than white. It sure makes lambing interesting. Today the oldest Damara ewe (about 15) was down and dying so i had to put her down and take her lamb caesarean so now Ruth has another pet lamb. Its a female, dark brown with a white top to her head all hair no wool. We won't name it for 3 days to make sure she lives.
Sina and Elton have turned all the compost and planted heaps of artichokes in the food forest.
Its school holidays - Samuel has work down the road fencing and Ila has a Ag course this week.. At night Ila has been flat out sewing coats for the dogs and the pet lambs and is also into making hot water bottle covers multi-coloured from fabric my sister Pat sent down.
I have been carting and sorting sheep so i can get some finished to keep the bank happy, doing fence maintenance and starting to feed out hay each day. Did a run to meet Nico with meat.
O yes on the rarebreeds front Michael Trotter found 2 more Canterbury blue pigs for us, a boar and a sow. Julian has picked them up and will be keeping them down there
to breed so we are on the way with breeding plan. Keep you posted on that and See Ya Sunday.