Cash From Crap and Curious Kids

Argh where have I been? I would like to say that I've been off on some wild adventures that have left me no time for the comp but no such luck. The truth is that with work picking up I have been averaging about 15km a day behind the mower and by the time I home, get clean and get fed I'm so brain dead that I just do things that don't require a lot of thinking like crochet, colouring in or simply staring at the tele.
Today was just too interesting not to write about though and I actually had my camera with me so got some good pics. We were up at 7am again this morning (on a Saturday! It's a crime) because today was the day of our combined garage sale with a few of the other people from the village.

I was actually quite surprised at the amount of people who came out to see what we had. People were already waiting at the door when we opened up and there was a pretty constant flow until 10am. By then we were totally frozen through and rather over it, sitting in the cold isn't much fun with out customers so by 10.30 we started to pack up and cleared out. I kept an eye on the hall after we got home and only two cars showed up after we left so we didn't miss many customers.

 We made about $60 which I was pretty pleased with considering we were selling just crap. I have a terrible sense of what people want though it would seem. Things that I thought would be snapped up were totally ignored and other items that I thought were a waste of time carrying over were sold really quick. Who knew CDs were still popular? I took over a stack of mine that have been sitting in a draw for years thinking I would be bringing them all back and almost all of them sold, they weren't even good artists.

Some old comp speakers, a box of coffee jars, a CD player/radio clock, a breadmaker and a bunch of plates all of which I thought would be better in the trash managed to sell. It's amazing what people will buy.

 After the garage sale we went to my Uncles to drop off some pig scraps and while we were there I heard a strange but cute bleating noise from one of the sheds so went to investigate and look what I found! He has recently aquired about two dozen goat kids and they are adorable!

The chooks seem to think they are pretty neat too and spend a lot of their time with them, helping them drink their milk and eat their grain.

 They are cheeky little things and very curious. They all wanted to have a nibble at my camera strap, gumboots or jeans so needless to say I came away rather slobbery but happy.

Tongue out cuteness!

 For some reason this little chap was the only one with floppy ears! As a bonus he stuck his tongue out at me too! Cuteness overload or what?

 This cheeky bugger was trying to eat my hair while I was trying to get a close up of the others. He even climbed onto my knee to get a better chomp.

By the end I was totally surrounded, I had three chomping on my camera strap, one chewing my hair, another trying to climb onto my back and another sticking it's head in my gumboot! It was totally worth the mooch and I rather felt like I had stumbled across a free petting zoo. Great day.

Ducks and Dads

As ever my week has been unusual. For a start my Dad flew in to visit us for 2 months which means the guest room is in use! I picked him up from the airport yesterday lunchtime and he was pretty tired. He lives in England but segmented his flights by staying over in Bali and Australia so although his flight to New Zealand was only 5 hours or so he was on a night flight so missed out on sleep.

I took him shopping for some groceries and then he came back to work with me. I mowed lawns while he read a book (from my library) and dozed in the car. I don't really have anything too exciting to report at the moment apart from the fact that I hope I will have something exciting to report in the near future! I have signed up for another house stay over the long Easter weekend, this time for my cousin who lives about 2 hours away from me on a farm so that should be interesting but I shall divulge more when it happens. Make sure to stay tuned for more weirdness to come.

On a cute note we had lunch at the lake the other day and as ever we got surrounded by ducks. One cheeky chappy actually hid under the bench we were sitting on and would pop his head up every now and then to see if we had a tit bit for him. Of course it was so cute and funny that we couldn't help but feed him.

Hello, um, Human? Do you have anything to eat?

 Ooh! Whats this human? Is it tasty? Can I have it?

 *sniffs* Ooh corn snack! Yes please!

Not Your Normal Work Day

Tuesday was take the dog to work day! I had decided over the weekend that there was little else I could do in Troy's garden to improve matters without first weed spraying all the bricks and paths. I always figure that it doesn't matter how good the flowers look if the path to them is a mess. So first thing Tuesday morning I went round, loaded Rush onto the ute so that he was out the way and soaked that place with a good strong solution of weed killer. 

 

Now anyone with any sense should realise that poison and pets aren't a great mix but the general consensus around here is that so long as pets are away from the area for two hours or so and don't eat the plant material they should be fine. Hence why Rush came to work for the day! I had to have him tied up for most of the day but he was attached to a 3 metre long rope which meant he still had a bit of freedom and I let him off when I could.

It's really quite liberating having a job that is so flexible and although it wouldn't be ideal taking Rush to work with us everyday it seemed to go better than I hoped. He got a bit of exercise, got to meet a few people and sniff his way around the lawns we were doing so I think he enjoyed himself and I even took him to the river for a swim at lunchtime.

Before we dropped him home I bought him a huge bone from the local pet shop as a blatant distraction in the hopes that he won't feel the need to chew the foliage in his garden and it also counted as his wages for his first honest days work!

 

When we got home there was a message to say that our home kill sausages and pork joints were ready so we jumped back in the truck to collect it. Along the way a bumblebee managed to kamikaze it's way into the ute and onto Mum's lap which wouldn't be a big deal apart from the fact that she is deathly afraid of them and was operating a 2 tonne vehicle at the time. Luckily it didn't sting her on impact or I think we would have ended up in the ditch. I froze in horror for a moment trying to decide whether to rid mum of the bee or make a grab for the steering wheel but Mum seemed to be staying on course so I grabbed a cloth, scooped up the bee and shook it clear outside the window. Terror over (or so we thought) we continued on our way.

Just as we turned into the village where the butcher lives Mum gave a squeal and stopped the truck in the middle of the road. Again, luckily, we were on a quiet country lane. Turns out the stinger from the bee had been on her neck and as we turned it stung her. I dived out and ran around to her side of the ute and on the door where she had flicked it was the bum end of the bee (which is disgusting, just so you know) I searched her shoulder and top to make sure there wasn't a second bee and then made her get out so I could check the seat and floor and get rid of the bum end. Mum was in half panic at this point because as a kid she somehow got a bumble bee trapped in her armpit and it stung her repeatedly so she was waiting for the extra stings.

Once back in the truck I delved into our first aid kit (the glove box) and used the witch hazel spray on her neck. It doesn't really do much but it's cooling and it helps mentally.

After that we were finally able to go see the butcher and collect our small order of 80 kgs of meat! We now have two chest freezers full to the brim with sausages, pork patties, pork roasts and various other cuts. It's all amazing for the first month or so but soon enough I'll be desperate for some beef or chicken or lamb or anything that's not pork!

By the time I got back to the Waites and sorted all the animals I could hardly be bothered to feed myself. As I wandered through the garden I picked an asparagus shoot for my starter followed by a cob of corn for my main and then I grabbed an apple off the tree for dessert. This really is my favourite time of year and there's something special about being able to forage your dinner, even if it is only from a well tended veg bed. 

 

Meep! Sheep!

It's high time I introduced you to my favourite pets, my sheep! They are also my only pets but that's just a technicality. Our current mob are all between four and six years old and are very friendly. They like to be petted and when at home they follow us around hoping for treats. Jack is our only boy and my personal fav as he is such a fuss bucket. He likes to lean against my leg so that I can scratch the top of his head and if I stop too soon he chews on my tshirt to remind me to carry on! He's a cheeky chap but amazingly gentle considering he weighs more than I do. 

 

Monday was sunny and hot so in the evening so we went to check on the flock of 5 pet sheep who are currently grazing in a neighbours orchard and since we have had so little grass growth we took them some hay and apples as a treat. I was leaning on the fence enjoying the antics of the chooks who were running in and out under the noses of the sheep to try and get some apples when Ruffles came up towards me and did a graceful little pirouette. I couldn't help snort a laugh at her but realised as soon as I laughed that dancing sheep mean trouble. 

 

I called Mum over and we both watched her for a few minutes, she was wagging her bum around and licking her lips and side stepping her back legs which would be hilarious to watch if we didn't know that it usually means fly strike. So we raced home for some supplies and were back in the orchard within 5 minutes with some more apples to coax them over. I'm the official sheep holder and Mum does the doctoring just because having kids makes her less squeamish and means she has more experience when it comes to patching things up and I'm younger and better on my feet so firstly I'm less likely to fall and secondly, if I do, I should heal quicker.

Once everyone was distracted munching on apples I, rather unceremoniously, grabbed Ruffles by the leg and then got her head into a lock between my knees. It's not very dignified for anyone involved but it's the easiest way for me to control her without hurting her. She's not particularly bothered by the whole idea either since she's gotten used to it over the years. In fact she's so relaxed about it that while Mum prepped her gear Ruffles happily nibbled on tit bits of apple from my pocket.

Treating fly strike isn't a fun job but luckily we had caught it early and we have a magic liquid that you pour into the wool and all the maggots just up and leave on their own accord. It's hideously fascinating to watch and very satisfying to see your pet so instantly free of such horrible pests, if only they had something similar for fleas. Once the procedure was done we reassured everyone with lots of ear tickles and bum scratches and of course they obliged me by posing for some photos. I'm always pleased when they still like us after we have to do something unpleasant to them and I like to think that they know we are only doing it to help them. After all sheep are so easily frightened and once the fear grips them it takes ages to calm them down, perhaps it just goes to show how much time we put into them as lambs has desensitised them to us and our weird ways. 

 

A Bit Of A Freak Storm

So Today Was Odd...

It started out well enough, a little cloudy and some light drizzle which cleared up quick enough to not be too much of a nuisance. I did some chores in town in the morning then returned to the Waites for lunch. I was over ambitious in my estimation of how hungry I was though and made enough for two which I nevertheless ate by myself anyway even if it did take me an hour.

At 12.30 a creepily sudden wind started up like I was in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie with trees creaking and branches snapping and leaves flying through the air. The sun disappeared and dark clouds rolled in. And then the rain came and it poured! I was getting pretty freaked out listening to the house groan so I abandoned ship and headed into town to spend a little time at the library which I hoped would be quieter. I was there for about 2 hours and when I emerged it was brilliant blue skies all round, bright and sunny like an innocent child’s smile after a temper tantrum. It really was bizarre.

I headed back out the farm and wandered through the gardens inspecting the damage. A few large branches had come down but luckily not anywhere too inconvenient. Multitudes of small branches, twigs and leaves litter the lawn and a fair amount of fruit had been sacrificed too. 

 

Inexplicably there was also a bucket in the vegetable garden, I've got no idea where it came from but I put it to use collecting the fallen fruit. I'm actually not much of a fan of fruit and I knew I would never be able to eat a whole bucket load so I treated Mother and threw it over the fence into her paddock. Turns out cows like oranges, who knew.. 

 

As ever Mother cow wasn't keen to share even with her own calf who came over to have a look. Although after a third orange, which I assume was horrendously sour because she started to drool and didn't seem so keen to take a fourth, she allowed the calf in for a look. Little baby cow is only young yet so whole fruit aren't really manageable for her but she did eat the leaves off one of the apples and seemed happy with that. I stood talking to them for a few minutes, taking a few pics and then left them to it. It remains to be seen if they finish the fruit.