Firstly & most importantly, condolences to all the poor sods who have to work 'Carnival'
this weekend. Those whistles should be taken & forced where they can't be heard.
Had a good day today. After yet another lie-in (3 now) I weeded the bank behind the
pool & burned all the dead stuff.
Doesn't sound a big job but the bank must be 12 foot high & probably 4 times that height in length.
I took all day & still haven’t finished.
Good to be out though & very satisfying to see a tangible result to your labours.
Unlike cad juggling.
Lovely pasta carbonara courtesy of Eric & the chickens (5 eggs laid yesterday!) then
kids to bed & Michelle off to start night duty.
She had an interview today for the district co-ordinator for the whole of Waikato.
They were so impressed with her experience they offered her the job there & then.
The package isn't all she had hoped for financially but they are offering 4 weeks leave & working from home so she is giving it some serious consideration.
I had a call from Trelawney stud asking me to see their director tomorrow at 10am so I will let you know how it goes. Still undecided as to whether to take the job or not.
Another possible link into farming is Bill's sister. She knows a family in Matamata (doesn't everyone?) who have a large farm. He doesn't know what kind of farm it is but has said he may be able to put me in touch with them.
I am also going to put an advert in the local paper along the lines of 'I am .... & I would like ...' & just see how it goes.
Yesterday was a lovely day.
In the morning we tagged, tailed, marked & vaccinated the ewes & lambs.
Eric tags his ram lambs in the right ear (r = ram) & ewes in the left (l = errr).
This is so he can see at a glance without looking at the business end, which is which.
The equipment for tagging looks similar to the things you punch holes in leather
except that a yellow plastic tag sits in the jaws ready to go in the lamb's ear.
The lambs don't seem to object as long as you do it quickly; the ewes are obviously much braver than the rams. Only one lamb had serious reservations & as soon as I had put the tag in she kicked at my arm & tore the tag straight out leaving a split ear & Eric wearing a lot of blood on his t-shirt.
Tailing consists of stretching a very tight ring over the lamb's tail so that in a month's time the tail falls off. This is because leaving the tail on encourages fly-strike. They take tails off shorter here than they do in the UK & I can only think it's because they shear larger flocks more often & the shearers find it a nuisance shearing around a bit of tail.
Marking is when a ring is placed around the rams testicles; they too go the same way as the tail once the blood supply has been interrupted. An occasional ram lamb would lay down convinced he couldn't walk due to the ring. Cissies.
Vaccination was a 5-in-1 job for the nasties that sheep get. I have just asked Eric what they get & promptly forgotten & I don't want to disturb him as he is doing research for his job.
All the ewes & lambs were also given a dose of something yummy which resembled molasses as a tonic.
Michelle is a dab-hand with the foot-trimmers & so she got busy with some chiropody whilst Eric removed 'dags' with some hand-shears. A stripe of pink raddle on the head finished each ewe & lamb.
1. \Rad"dle\, n. [Cf. {Ruddle}.]
A pigment used in marking sheep, and in some mechanical
processes; ruddle. ``A ruddle of rouge.'' --Thackeray.
1. \Dag\, n. [OE. dagge (cf. {Dagger}); or cf. AS. d[=a]g what
is dangling.]
A loose end; a dangling shred.
Daglocks, clotted locks hanging in dags or jags at a
sheep's tail. --Wedgwood.
Pepper was also given a dose of the tonic as well as a jab of penicillin after her swimmimg lesson the other day. She seems to have picked up well now that she is segregated & she has filled out considerably in the last couple of days.
Hopefully, her ill health is behind her.
After our lamb-wrestling we went off to Tauranga & Mt. Maunganui which is North East of here for the afternoon.
Tauranga, city in New Zealand, in northern North Island, a seaport on the Bay of Plenty. Located on a main rail line, it is a major shipping center for wood products, wool, and dairy goods. Manufactures include processed food, building supplies, clothing, and printed materials. An Anglican mission was established here in the 1830s; the community then grew as a port and a defense post. The name is from a Maori word meaning “sheltered anchorage” or “landing place for canoes.” Population (1998 estimate) 89,800.
Mount Maunganui: "Mauao - Mount Maunganui literally translated meaning 'Big Hill', is the dominant geological feature of the Tauranga District.
Guarding the entrance to Tauranga Harbour the dormant volcano rises to 232m (761 feet) above sea level.
The plan was to walk around the Mount & head for the thermal pools. In reality we were all too knackered to do the walk so we did a gentle stroll on the beach & then went for a long,hot soak.
The pools were as busy as Eric & Michelle had seen them but we were comparing it to a similar type of place in the UK & saying that we could not imagine being able to find anywhere to sit if we turned up at 5pm on a Sunday at home.
The beach was beautiful at Tauranga, white sand & ickle scattered islands of lush vegetation. It's possibly the most posey place I have been to since arriving with a long, wide, boulevard in front of shops. Needless to say the young kids had gravitated there to cruise in their cars & show off their shiny wheels & wide exhausts. I would have done just the same at their age (except I always had Minis, not the same pose value)
Even so, the mood was lighthearted, no Old Bill being heavy-handed & just the one overly loud car stereo. Michelle said good afternoon to 5 Maori youths. They were dressed in the regulation street-wear, surfer shorts, huge trainers or barefoot. Every one of them returned the greeting.
pics 627 & 628
As I type this, one of the labs, Ben, is snoring contentedly. He is sleeping head-to-head with his brother Inca, like bookends & I have just taken a lovely piccie.
Will try again with my foties after this. I have asked Q how to insert my pics directly onto Blog without having to e-mail them to him 1st so fingers crossed you will get to see some of the Tanners environs soon.
As I was weeding today, I heard a car arrive home & my heart sank.
I wondered why & then realised that I used to associate that noise with Trish returning home. I hadn't realised it was so engrained in my sub-conscious. It was good to realise that the car belonged to Michelle & that I was looking forward to hearing how she had got on with her job interview.
Things are so much more together here. I would love to see Michelle take charge at the Redwoods & show Trish how to really organise a household. It is only 8pm here & yet the girls have been in bed for 30 mins. Zoe would routinely be arguing about going to bed at 10pm. The girl's lunch-boxes have been prepared by Eric & the kitchen is clean & tidy with the dishwasher humming away.
I don't think I ever started Blog earlier than 9, despite officially finishing work at 8pm.
Mike's news from Marfell Downs is that the sum total of horse exercise done this week was 30 minutes for Honey (the She-Devil). I can't imagine why this is as they are now employing someone specifically to do the neds but I will ask when I next speak to him. He delivered 160 lambs this week, losing only 4 to wet & cold weather on Friday. One of the deliveries was by Caesarian. Would love to have helped with that one.
He has said he will happily provide a reference for any farming job I apply for.
It's been a while since I left any messages here so by way of apology for my outburst yesterday when I was feeling badly done to, here are some quick name-checks.
Lindsay - Great aid parcel thank you. It was well-worth the wait.
Can't decide whether the tt's are most appreciated or the pic of BM
(which has always been my favourite as you know)
Ang - Poor you, updating your CV on a BHW. You still haven't told me what's happening
at work but if you are updating your CV I am guessing it's more of the 'drowning not
waving' scenario. Chin up poppet, come & do farm-work with me, long fingernails
are so over-rated. Thanks for the incredibly regular mails & the consistently
entertaining 'funnies' you forward.
I don't always have time to reply but I appreciate them hugely.
Especially loved the 'keeping warm' one.
Trudes - Yes, it was weird, will e-mail you separately, loads to tell.
Di - Where are you ????? Are you deep u/c ???? Good luck for 27th.
36 weeks to go.
Stu - Fantastic news about your sister (say hi to her for me) Your folks must be thrilled.
Can't believe she has actually decided that town-life sucks after all.
Good luck in the new job, think you start this week ?
Remember, flares & platforms obligatory though not necessarily the matching
tie & sister's dress thang that your Mum was so fond of.
Aim 'Burnside' & you won't go far wrong. Slaaaaaaaaaaaaag.
Weeny - Do I need to commence a f.585 or are you just bogged down with moving-type
stuff ? Neeed tales of Murphy & smelly office Kylie-fan.
Cocky - Know you don't have access to e-mail so I don't know if you know about the stud
yet. They asked if I had any Irish in my ancestry whan I went for the interview.
Apparently the prospective owners love to hear a bit of Blarney.
I told them that I knew some Irish people & did that help ?
Mum - To clarify my text. He had 2 young kids in Oz & his wife had taken them there to
prevent access. He wasn't truthful & I got some very bad vibes about the situation.
If, in real life he is a sweetie we can laugh about this later.
Anyhow, the Subaru rep sounds much more promising.
Have written Granny's card, just need to get my ass in gear to post it.
Andy - You must have some credit by now. Come on, don't be a stranger.
KW - Introducing him back to the public. Who needs protection from who ?
Missing the BHL double-bubble but not the hedge-clipping disputes.
Please forward some 'must-sees' for me via Q when you are not doing
hours of interminable paperwork (ha) How's the golf going you bandit ?
Lovely Col - Mentor ? Mental more like. How's it going ? Acquired any more bike bits
to test Mrs.Colin's patience or still trying to shift the last lot ? I am thinking of
buying a bike as everyday transport rather than a car for over here. The weather
is more conducive to a bike than the UK & doing the off-road stuff really
whetted my appetite for bikes. It won't be anything flash like the Blade but I
am seriously thinking about it.
Finally, I felt upbeat enough last night to look at my little going-away package of cards & foties for the 1st time since arriving. Mistake - blubbed immediately, especially looking at a particularly gormless one of BM with her looking like she had borrowed a bigger dog's tongue. Oh well, Mums always recommend having a 'good cry' don't they ?
Bye for now, off to soak my poor aching back in a deep tub.
Take care everybody,
Cx
No comments:
Post a Comment