Well it's been an interesting few weeks, the odd weather continues, with heavy rain on and off for many areas in the south west and wheatbelt. Anyone cutting hay or trying to shear or harvest has been stymmied somewhat. Our oat crop looks good at least.
As soon as the feed dries off the rain is of little use, in fact it can ruin the dry feed if it is too heavy. It is good however, for those who need dam or tank water.
We are still trying to get our shearing done, but are struggling with wet days and a shortage of shearers.
As the season wears on the grasseeds get worse and we get more flystruck sheep as the jetting compound wears off. So we check our sheep regularly until we can get the wool off them.
On Thursday it was very warm so I could not muster the sheep until late and as the thunderclouds loomed we got them all in the yard ready to draft as my husband arrived to help, which was about 6pm
Men are not very patient at times and as the thunder crashed and lightening flashed we tried to draft the sheep as quickly as possible before the rain came. There was a bit of yelling and shouting as there often is during stressful times. Caleb and Angel did a great job I thought, for a pair of young dogs. Drift and Rio would have been better I suppose but I had used them with Dolly to muster the paddock and they were a little tired as it was hot and the sheep were difficult. Anyway we managed to get all the sheep under cover before there were divorce papers served and things calmed down.
My pups have had no work at all. We have shorn all the trainer mobs and they tend to be flighty after shearing, so will let them settle for a while, plus time is limited during shearing anyway.
Zinc had another look at sheep a couple of weeks ago but is not interested so I will let him grow up. Tonka is working but not shaping into the type of dog I want so he is going off to a friend to be trained as a farm dog. He is a lovely dog and I will be sad to see him go but I cannot keep them all and it is often in the best interest of the dog to go where they are best utilised and appreciated. He is very handsome, a lovely dark brown and will be quite a big dog too.
One of my Peahens has disappeared so I presume she is nesting somewhere. I can usually find them but not this time, hope she is not fox food already. I removed the eggs from the other nest and now have 11 peahen eggs incubating under hens.
 Still on the feathered things, we have adopted a small bird which was blown out of his nest. Not sure what breed, perhaps a Whistler or a Honeyeater. Cute little guy, we have been kept busy feeding him. We have exhausted our supply of moths from around the house so went to the garden and found a few slaters and a cabbage moth which he gobbled down. Seems to be hungy all the time. What a life mummy birds must have, spending most of their lives catching food for the babies. Oh well, I guess all mothers do the same, sometimes I think all I do is prepare food which disappears a lot faster than it took to prepare. Daughter Sam is having fun feeding the baby, she loves all animals and wildlife.
I seem to spend most of my time on the motorbike, checking the mobs for flystrike or grasseeds in eyes. (Although grasseeds can blind them initailly, they do recover with treatment.) Sometimes when bringing a mob in I have to take Sam with me which doesn’t leave much room on the bike for three dogs. So it becomes a bit like a "and they all moved over and one fell off" scenario, which means I have to stop and pick them up. If it’s hot day and if the paddock is a long way off I dont expect the dogs to run all the way, then bring the mob in as well so they get to ride to where the mob is.
Mango has been with me a few times around the mobs and is learning to ride a bike. They usually have a few tumbles before they learn to either balance properly or take a leap if they feel they are falling. I always go slowly at first and will hold them with one hand if they are unsteady. They must also learn to stay on the bike if I have to get off and treat a sheep. This can be a little more difficult for a young dog but I insist, . There is nothing worse than a dog racing around you while you are trying to hold a struggling sheep. I keep a leash handy too and will tie them on the bike if need be until they learn.
I gave myself a fright last week, when I nearly tipped the bike over trying to cross a creek. ATV's can be dangerous, and I am usually very careful. The crossing looked safe but as I went up the other side it was steeper than it looked and there was a hump of dirt, the bike spun its wheels and rolled backwards and sideways, almost tipping up in the process. I was ready to jump over the handlebars but thankfully after a quick prayer it righted and sat in the bottom of the creek and I breathed again with my heart pounding. I then had to get it turned around in the bottom of the creek and go out the way I had come in, which was tricky. I wil not be trying that again in hurry.
A busy week coming up again, with two truckloads of ewes to be loaded, and ewes and lambs to be drafted and kept dry as the weather still looks threatening. So will have to bite my tongue in the yard if things get out of hand again. Pretty hard though, when my dogs get criticised. Oh well!
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