Categories: From the Farm This Week
      Date: Aug 23, 2012
     Title: 23 August 2012
What a week, rain, hail, thunder, lightning so close the house shook - Flash bang with no time in-between. 1.30 at night and all i could think of were the Wiltshire Horn ewes flat out lambing and the old large black Devon sow due to farrow. It went on all night and on to the next day, every drain full, every pond full, the ground full, swales overflowing.
And yes the Devon sow had her litter in the A-frame and only one piglet just alive, a good nest and shelter but still flooded out. Thats life in the real world. So Beate took her to rear by hand so we (well i say we) but really Beate has a new baby BBB........ baby black Betty ......I think BBB may mean other words in the future. Beate is up every two hours feeding her and she is looking like a new mum and keeps saying "isn't she lovely". Beate is good with young animals, she is now looking after all the 4 lambs and 4 goats and Betty and doing her out work.

I have still to go up to the Wiltshire Horns but its so wet i don't want to move the ewes out of their shelter and hidey places with fresh lambs. The lambs have a far better chance if we stay away.

One good thing - lightning fixes tons and tons of natural nitrogen into the soil so it will give us grass.

I continue to move the other stock around and the cattle are looking like they do in September, putting on condition and licking their coats and losing their winter hair. All the early plums are in full bloom, the wild cherries are starting but the bees are too cold and its too wet for them to be out so i don't think we will have any early plums. But strange the wattle trees are in flower as they do at this time every year. Its like something is totally changing our weather pattern not in a smooth time change but spiking from one thing to another.

We just got set up at the Farmers Market on Sunday and with the bell down it came. Nadine came and picked up a Gotland ram, the regulars turned up (you know the regulars are our life blood) and it rained and was dead totally. Toward the end of the market i was getting very down and kept thinking of the farm, we packed up, loaded and i dropped Justin off and went in to look at his building work, walked in the back door and the phone went. I said that will be Ruth trying to get me. And it was. I think its the first time she has ever phoned Justin's place.
Hi Ruth i have been thinking about you. Its not me its Ila she has had a car smash. Instant panic in my head here we go, not hearing the next words, Ila's fine but the car's a right off. Where who how ....... John she's fine its just the car sorry i know you are under stress at the moment and you don't need this but i did not want you to drive up the track and see the car.

....So right im on my way. It takes over an hour and ten to get home and it seemed like a day. The car was sitting there when i got home looked fine from the back, walk around the front, not too bad bonnet, bumper, lights, maybe the guards can be fixed, hang on where is the number plate, bend down ..........can just see it in the motor. The radiator is totalled and the motor manifold smashed and the number plate in the block. A very upset Ila came out, what happened Ila ...well i was driving down the straight after the saddle, went around the corner and there was a farm ute on the road working cattle. Blooming heck how fast were you going? About normal it was pouring with rain ... Right lets go and have a look over the saddle down the straight
and just around the corner... glass ...You know i don't think i could have stopped in my ute and its got real good brakes and in the wet. I have never had anyone say Ila is a bad or fast driver ....And out here we keep each other informed about our kids.

Right o drop Ila home go and see the farmer who is a large land owner and has many farms. Looked at his ute, not a scratch just a bent pin in the long tow bar that went throught the radiator.
Yes its a bu..gg..er its her mothers car, we only have third party as we only paid two five for it. How's your insurance ......na its only a farm ute and she was driving fast and lucky no one was killed and we were all young once AND. The "and" is a big one and now i have a problem and i think we will be holding the baby.

Samuel has dropped his car home for Ila and Ruth to use for two weeks as he has a lift from Ben for two weeks so that will let the dust settle. Out here we are so dependent on transport unlike the old days when you only went to town once a month.

With this computer playing up now as well i think we may have to have a total rethink on how we run so we can keep going.