Sidste uge, fra onsdag til fredag, forløb med en del repetitioner. På Killara skulle nogle får draftes (skilles i to grupper, i dette tilfælde mødre/små lam og store lam), og derefter skulle mødrene øremærkes. Killara (og alle andre fårefarme, tror jeg) har nogle folde beregnet til netop det formål (faktisk tjener de flere; man kan både drafte, øremørke, og lede dem ind til klipning dér), og der bragte vi fårene op. Vi nåede dog ikke længere end til at skille dem ad, så øremærkningen gjorde vi den næste dag.
Ellers er tiden gået med at så raps, hvor Helle og jeg har skiftedes til at læsse/køre gødning i lastbilen til Bjarke, som har sået.
Et afbræk var dog da Bruce modtog små 500 får om onsdagen. Ham og jeg tog imod dem, og den følgende dag øremærkede vi dem.
Fredag bragte også lidt forandring, i hvert fald om formiddagen. Helle og jeg blev sat til at fjerne alt mudderet fra en dam vi havde tømt næsten helt for vand i ugerne forinden (dam scooping, som det hedder her). Man tager to traktorer, placerer dem på hver sin side af dam'en med scoopen spændt mellem dem, og derefter kører man bare frem og tilbage, frem og tilbage, frem og tilbage... Det kan nok godt være svært at forestille sig, men billederne nederst giver måske et meget godt indtryk.
Weekenden var igen stille og rolig. Jeg overvejede at lægge vejen forbi pubben lørdag aften for at fejre min fødselsdag, men lod være da jeg ikke var stemt for at enten køre bilen hjem beruset, eller sove i den på pubbens parkeringsplads.
Jeg blev glædeligt overrasket søndag formiddag, idet jeg både fik et kort og en gave af Bruce og Peta (et gavekort til en boghandel). Jeg har trods alt kun været her tre uger.
Og så i dag, mandag d. 10 maj. Ikke at der er sket noget videre. Det var mest bare flere gentagelser, med den undtagelse at det faktisk regnede en smule i dag. Ikke nok til at det gør en forskel, men lidt har også ret.
Efter at have kørt lastbilen med gødning til Killara om formiddagen, blev Helle og jeg sendt ud for at hente nogle får hjem så vi kunne drafte dem i gravide/med lam og store lam/"tørre" hunner. Vi fandt fårene i det fjerneste hjørne af paddock'en, og begyndte at presse dem tilbage mod farmen, Helle i Nissanen og jeg på motorcyklen. Det var vist det man kalder friskt vejr; det blæste en del, og solen kiggede af og til frem bag de lavthængende, grå skyer. Jeg nød virkelig at det for en gangs skyld ikke var pokkers varmt, og havde mere øjnene på omgivelserne end på fårene. Det betalte sig også, da jeg pludselig så ikke en, men to ørne lette fra nogle træer tæt på, og cirkle over mod fårene. Jeg har godt nok fået at vide at der er ørne her, men det kom alligevel bag på mig. Selv på afstand var de ret store, og gled bare stille og roligt gemmen luften, før de besluttede sig for at der ikke var noget nemt bytte blandt fårene og deres lam. Desværre nåede jeg ikke at få nogen billeder af dem, de var væk da jeg fik fundet mit kamera.
Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg har draftet får, øremærket får, kørt gødning og tømt en dam for mudder. Desuden så jeg to ørne i luften.
~*~
English for the Danish impared:
Last week, from wednesday to friday, came with some repetitions. On Killara, some sheep had to be drafted (seperated in two groups, in this case ewes/small lambs and larger lambs) and after thast the ewes had to be ear tagged. Killara (and every other sheep farm, I think) has some special pens or yards for that purpose (actually, they serve several purposes: you can draft, ear tag and lead them into the shearing shed there), and that is where we brought the sheep. We did not get further than drafting them, so we did the ear tagging the following day.
Apart from that, time has passed with seeding canola, where Helle and I have taken turns with loading/driving fertilizer in the truck to Bjarke, who has been driving the seeder.
A change of pace was when Bruce recieved almost 500 sheep on wednesday. Him and I were there ti recieve them, and the following day we ear tagged them.
Friday also brought some change, at least before noon. Helle and I had to remove all the mud from a dam we had benn emptying of water the previous weeks (dam scooping, as it is called). You take two tractors, place them on opposite sides of the dam with the scoop hooked to either with cables, and then you just go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I is probably har d to imagine, but hopefully the pictures below gives a better impression of the general idea.
The weekend once again came and went pretty quiet. I considered dropping by the pub saturday night to celebrate my birthday, but left it at that, as I was not in the mood for driving the car home drunk, or sleeping in the car, on the pub's parking lot.
On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised sunday morning, as I got both a card and a present (a gift certificate to a bookstore) from Bruce and Peta. I have, after all, only been here three weeks.
And then today, Monday May 10th. Not that anything out of the ordinary happened; it was just more repetitions, apart from the fact that it actually rained a bit today. Not enough to make a difference, but that does not matter.
After haven driven the truck with fertilizer to Killara, Helle and I were sent to bring some sheep home to be drafted into pregnant/ewes with lambs and "dry" ewes/big lambs. We found the sheep in the farthest corner of the paddock and started pressing them back towards the farm, Helle in the Nissan and me on the motorcycle. The weather was what you would call fresh; it was rather windy and the sun occationally peeked out behind the low, grey clouds. I really enjoyed that the temperature was not as damn high as usual, and I had my eyes on the surroundings more than on the sheep. That paid off, as I suddenly saw not one, but two eagles take off from a nearby tree and circle towards the sheep. I have been told that they have eagles here, but even then it surprised me. Even from a distance, they were quite large, and they just calmly glided through the air before deciding that there was no easy prey among the sheep. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures, they were gone before I found my camera.
Summary for lazy/busy readers: I have drafted sheep, ear tagged sheep, driven fertilizer and emptied a dam of mud. Also, I saw two eagles in the air.
/EMO
Damscooping:
Last week, from wednesday to friday, came with some repetitions. On Killara, some sheep had to be drafted (seperated in two groups, in this case ewes/small lambs and larger lambs) and after thast the ewes had to be ear tagged. Killara (and every other sheep farm, I think) has some special pens or yards for that purpose (actually, they serve several purposes: you can draft, ear tag and lead them into the shearing shed there), and that is where we brought the sheep. We did not get further than drafting them, so we did the ear tagging the following day.
Apart from that, time has passed with seeding canola, where Helle and I have taken turns with loading/driving fertilizer in the truck to Bjarke, who has been driving the seeder.
A change of pace was when Bruce recieved almost 500 sheep on wednesday. Him and I were there ti recieve them, and the following day we ear tagged them.
Friday also brought some change, at least before noon. Helle and I had to remove all the mud from a dam we had benn emptying of water the previous weeks (dam scooping, as it is called). You take two tractors, place them on opposite sides of the dam with the scoop hooked to either with cables, and then you just go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I is probably har d to imagine, but hopefully the pictures below gives a better impression of the general idea.
The weekend once again came and went pretty quiet. I considered dropping by the pub saturday night to celebrate my birthday, but left it at that, as I was not in the mood for driving the car home drunk, or sleeping in the car, on the pub's parking lot.
On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised sunday morning, as I got both a card and a present (a gift certificate to a bookstore) from Bruce and Peta. I have, after all, only been here three weeks.
And then today, Monday May 10th. Not that anything out of the ordinary happened; it was just more repetitions, apart from the fact that it actually rained a bit today. Not enough to make a difference, but that does not matter.
After haven driven the truck with fertilizer to Killara, Helle and I were sent to bring some sheep home to be drafted into pregnant/ewes with lambs and "dry" ewes/big lambs. We found the sheep in the farthest corner of the paddock and started pressing them back towards the farm, Helle in the Nissan and me on the motorcycle. The weather was what you would call fresh; it was rather windy and the sun occationally peeked out behind the low, grey clouds. I really enjoyed that the temperature was not as damn high as usual, and I had my eyes on the surroundings more than on the sheep. That paid off, as I suddenly saw not one, but two eagles take off from a nearby tree and circle towards the sheep. I have been told that they have eagles here, but even then it surprised me. Even from a distance, they were quite large, and they just calmly glided through the air before deciding that there was no easy prey among the sheep. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures, they were gone before I found my camera.
Summary for lazy/busy readers: I have drafted sheep, ear tagged sheep, driven fertilizer and emptied a dam of mud. Also, I saw two eagles in the air.
/EMO
Damscooping:
Sheep drafting:
Bruce og jeg modtager de nye får/Bruce and I recieve the new sheep:
har du fundet ud af, om du er et hatte-menneske endnu? :)
SvarSletNej, desværre. Jeg ejer stadig ikke en hat. Dem de havde i byen var ret sørgelige, og jeg fik ikke købt nogen i Albany. Men jeg skal nok nå dertil!
SvarSlet