ADVENTURE'S DOWNUNDER OR FARMING IN PARADISE:An Old Rams view.

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day,welcome back and we hope you enjoy your stay with us.

Today(Sat) I got to start laying the paver's(I guess there are people who do this for a living)its a slow and difficult job(IMV),to get a straight edge and lay the first 2 rows took me 3 hrs to do 2&1/2 meters,in all today I got down about 7sq meters (about 20% of the area).

Q &A:Katie,thankfully you don't get to "eat" their "good looks",If you have seen any of our Sufffolks photo's you will note that our black faced Suffolks look quite different as well.Generally speaking AUS Suffocks are just a little taller than the British one's ,but "nowhere" the amount of "bone" that the US one's have(our aim is meat not "bones") and "Spyder Leg" does not occur down here.

~GD:I'm sure its just that our two country's use different "terms" to describe the same thing.......Foundations come in three vars
Slab on ground........Concrete and steel footings,bricked up about 3 courses,filled level with sand and then a concrete floor poured on top and "stumps",they used to be all Hardwood,but there are concrete one's available now and the latest is "steel stumps" and steel bearers and joists.(first chance I get I will crawl under the house and take a photo of ours).
Nearly all of our "frames" used to be "hardwood" ,then they started using "treated pine",but "steel framing" is really common now.All of the "wiring and water pipes" are in the wall cavity.....When building a Pole Frame House,you usually have find "guys" who do this sort of work all the time.Iron-bark require's "chain-saws" to work it and a 2inch chisel if you are "notching the poles"...If you look closely at the photo's you will see that the glass in the windows is "let-in " to the poles and it is held in place by a "flexible seal".These grooves were cut vertically with a chain-saw using a "string-line"and then evened up with a "very strong Router"(not a job for the "faint-hearted")
We live on the East-Coast,about 1 hrs drive inland about 1&1/2 hours drive to Canberra,ACT.(this is where we go for "retail therapy" LOL.)

DL:Hi,once again,when you were out in the "bush' in Georgia,what was the reason?(were you hiding out from the "law"?)....Composting toilets are not un-common down here,in fact a friend of ours has one...Down here out-door "dunny's"are inhabited by Red Back Spiders(some one even wrote a song about it)..That shed would work really well I think,as you say you can "vent" the roof area in the summer,consider how you can set the roof to get "winter sun"in and keep "summer sun "out.
On the sheep thing,IMO,most of the parasites and other health issues are "management "related,so good management will overcome a lot of the "common problems"with livestock.

Well, I think that just about covers it for another night,hope you have enjoyed it once again and you may consider returning again in the future,til then our best wishes,...............T.O.R........................

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Q &A:Katie,thankfully you don't get to "eat" their "good looks",If you have seen any of our Sufffolks photo's you will note that our black faced Suffolks look quite different as well.Generally speaking AUS Suffocks are just a little taller than the British one's ,but "nowhere" the amount of "bone" that the US one's have(our aim is meat not "bones") and "Spyder Leg" does not occur down here.

You are so right! Have you seen how tall some of the club lambs are here? You can't eat the air under them! I watched the BBC series "Victorian Farm" on Youtube and fell in love with the Shropshire flock they had. You can't find Shrops that look like that (well, maybe you can, but it's hard) over here in the US! They were just so solid!

 

[~gd]

T O R I think you are right on the terms being different for basically the same things. We have 3 basic foundations too.
What I described last time is fairly common where soil conditions, water table, and weather allows I will call it stumped (normally stump is what is left when we cut down a tree and often includes the root system. Thats why your reference to an infill with stumps confused me) much of the soil in my area is clay and is used in bricks and pottery, water table is high from 0 to 12 feet below the surface. 42 inches of rain is considered a dry year, winter temps -5C some nights but 15C during the day in the winter Summer days up to 40C. This variation is hard on slabs and groves are molded in or cut later to control where the slab will crack. Slabs work best for small houses and places with sandy soil or more uniform warm climates (in the south=warmer) in the north (= colder) basements are popular since living space is gained that does not require much heating cost. Basically dig a hole 8 deep and bigger than the foot print of the house forms are constructed and the walls are poured or only footer and concrete blocks are laid instead. Usually forms are placed around the interior of the walls and a slab poured afterwards. When the forms are removed you have a floating slab and a gutter next to the wall that directs all seepage to a sump with a float valve pump that pumps out the seepage. Different waterproofing materials will be applied to the exterior of the walls and the hole is back filled
What you call pole framing we used to do as timber framing sometimes called Post and Beam the timbers were sawn square or squared with a broad axe and/or adze often by wooden ship builders cutting the complex joints is pretty much a lost art and the craftsmen that do it are very expensive. Those two inch chisels are called slicks here and are mostly used to pare joints to exact fit after being cut with strong routers. Doing multiple passes takes most of the danger out of the cuts
Steel framing is starting to go into home building but is not very popular yet. The early materials were not engineered well and the results were variable. As the price of wood keeps raising more will be replaced by steel...

 

[dragonlaurel]

- "hiding out from the law" Sorry- Nothing as interesting as that. We were broke and knew the guy that owned the land. It was a tree farm and we did some work on the land in trade for staying there. We eventually moved on to the nearest town for better pay.

Outhouses do have their own little eco-system sometimes. We had a few spiders, but made a deal with them that if they stayed up in the roof edge- they could live. If they came down to visit us- they felt less welcome, and flatter ...
Composting toilets are starting to catch on here. It's about time. Using good clean water to get rid of poop never made sense to me. I'd rather not have to hope that the water was cleaned well enough between flushing and the tap.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day gang and welcome,today(Sun) we awoke to another "foggy" morning after 1&1/2 mm of rain overnight......After "brekkie"I compacted another section of the floor ready for the paver's.

After that I picked up the "dogs" and went off to check the sheep.The main group of ewe's are running on 80 acres now and they should be OK for another week or so......Took the opportunity to move the "maiden ewe's" to a paddock with a little more shelter......The "empty ewe's and the lighter wethers were let in to the adjoining paddock,which has a "fresh pick" and they will be right for another week also.

Q & A:~GD.your area sounds much like our's,how about you post a few photo's of your place?I for one would like the opportunity to see your place and the "ducks"...From your description the difference between P&B and our Pole Houses is that we do not "square" the poles before we use them....Expansion groves are used down here and they have a strip of some "black stuff" in them(about 1 in thick)...Steel framing is a good option if you are troubled by "termites".Sorry I did nor answer your question from a few posts ago about "gal Iron",it has always been referred to as Gal Iron when it is in fact steel with a coating ,you have to "specify" gal these days and pay extra as all the stuff now is Zucalume coated.

DL:Well, here we were thinking that"Bonny and Clyde" or the like were hiding in our "midst"(LOL)...Did you see how that top window could work as Summer shade,Winter warmth?....I'm still pondering that paddock fencing,had a few thoughts but want to think about it a little longer before offering some sort of a suggestion.

THE CHAT:tonights subject was inspired by a comment from Kate,Quote"You are so right! Have you seen how tall some of the club lambs are here? You can't eat the air under them! I watched the BBC series "Victorian Farm" on Youtube and fell in love with the Shropshire flock they had. You can't find Shrops that look like that (well, maybe you can, but it's hard) over here in the US! They were just so solid!".........
If you look at most of the British Breeds you will find that almost "every county "has its own breed.In the beginning they were "composites",bred to fit each unique locality...Then along come a few people who saw they could "benefit"from this composite and started a Stud Book,made rules and imposed fee's ...You need not look any further than the US Suffolk breeders for evidence of this ,its the case of a few making a lot of money from the rest.IMO The Suffock Stud Breeders Society exert far to much influence on the direction of US Sheep Meat Industry.IE:Only "Black Face" can achieve the highest grading in carcases.You have some very innovative breeders over there who are doing "great" work in "composite " development which will advance the industry as a whole ,rather than a "small" group of individuals.(these comments may not go down to well with them,but, "tough titties"guys).

Thats my little "rant" for tonight,so till we see each other again,our best wishes to you all,....................... T.O.R......................

 

[~gd]

TOR, Sorry no can do Photos for several reasons, I am one of few Americans that dont own a camera of any kind, I wanted to purchase one to record the damage done by a tornado last month but I couldnt get out of my neighborhood for ten days after the storm due to trees and other things blocking the roads. By the time I got out there were no cameras left in the stores and restocking has been very slow. Besides that I now live in a house in town and poultry are not allowed. I lost my farm to a highway put around our town by the state 3 years ago. In another 4 years I will be able to drive where my house and outbuildings used to stand. I still own 3.5 acres out there but without a water source I cant keep waterfowl. The ducks geese and customer list were sold to a lady that used to supply me. I help her with problems but I hate to visit. The geese still remember me and cry when I leave and try to climb in the truck with me. Call me a softy but the geese were pets, the ducks were stock.
My new neighborhood was carved out of a Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) Plantation back in the 1970s, most of the trees were 30-32 m tall and 0.3-0.4 m in diameter and had needles only on the upper 1/3 of the tree. The tornado broke most of them at the 5-10 m height and threw them everywhere. I had 13 of these trees in front and they landed on the houses on the other side of the street. No one escaped damage but me and the two houses to the left were relatively modest the houses to right were brick walled destroyed by falling trees. Of the 37 houses that I pass to get out of the neighborhood all but 5 are condemned and will need repairs and inspection before they may be lived in again.
I was pretty sure what gal iron was, tin roofs were popular here in the south, steel dipped in tin reflected a lot of sun heat. Tin got expensive after WWII so gal (zinc) was used, now gal is pricy and powder coated steel is in use.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I saw the friend that's the main spinner locally. She knows a couple people with sheep. One has Gulf Coast Natives in Louisiana. The other is in northern Arkansas and has one of the Scandinavian breeds. They were impressed about their fertility and are into the history of the breed.

I asked what kinds of wool she likes to work with, and she mentioned Corriedales. That one sounds familiar.

She hasn't tried working with Tunis wools but was curious, since she enjoys spinning long fibers and they are still in the medium micron range.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

2nd attempt,I just lost over 1/2 an hours typing SH##,SH##.I'm so annoyed,I was uploading some pic's and deleted all my text,I am so "cranky"...Anyway to begin again.............

G'day Gang,sorry its been a day or so since my last post,today(Friday)I have got quite a lot of the paving done after having to "pull up" about 7sq mts and start again,because when I was setting it out I used a piece of hardwood that had a small"bow"in it.Because of this I ended up with a "hump"in the middle(now I enjoy a "hump" as much as the next guy,but not in the middle of the floor,but then at my "age" you cannot be to "chose y" can you.).........Anyway I'm about 2/3 of the way through and hope to finish in the next day or three.

Picked up Jack and we moved the little "mob" of wethers that we were going to sell,back to the rest of the group.Because of the Live Cattle thing up north ,the prices have "crashed and there is a "flow-on" to the sheep job,so we will now wait for the end of Ramadan to sell them(lucky we have enough grass to "carry them" over)...Ruby is in-season,so she is locked up out of "harms way".

Q & A:..~GD:I can emphasize with you over the "geese",it was the same for me when I had to sell the Goats as I could no longer indulge my hobby,as I had to set about making a" living" from the sheep(it was one of the hardest days of my life).Its odd how our two lives have paralleled one another in so many ways...How come the state was not required to purchase your whole property at fair market value?.....Do you have plans to get back onto the land again in the future?...........You were so lucky to not get any damage from that storm ,but it must have given you quite fright.............Down here the powder-coated stuff is called Colorbond,if you are building in a village you have to use it .

DL:It may be worthwhile finding out if you can get "Naturally Colored"(Corriedales) ones up there,when we had them the color range was from black through brown/tans to silver /grey....
I have given quite some thought to your fencing because you want "hedgerows",I would select the plants with the biggest thorns I could find.When I was but a "boy" I worked for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney and I remember a plant called Pryacantha angustifolia its got "big" thorns and can be trimmed into a hedge,but I caution that the "hedgerows" be an aim and I would erect a high tensile wire fence with an electric stand-off on the outside to deter the "critters "in the mean time....Its worth remembering that these breeds that are over fertile require high inputs by way of protein to make the most of them...In our own case we work on 100% turn-off and our cost base is 50% of the return on our lambs.

THE WILD LIFE SPOT:

..

I took these photo's of two young Glossy Black Cockatoo's(most likely there first flight out of the nest)
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/Factsheet2GlossyBlack.pdf
http://www.glossyblack.org.au/

Each year we have one or two pairs nest and raise one or two young.we are lucky in that we have quite a few stands of the she-oaks which are there main food source and in the past have got Govt funding to protect and enlarge the number of these trees ,in the new funding grant we have applied for, it includes further protection for more of these trees. we en-devour wherever possible to provide habitat for all manner of wildlife,be they birds,reptiles or animals by setting aside areas where they can breed un-disturbed.Our efforts to develop our Woodland Grazing is one way of maximizing our production while ensuring our wildlife also benefits.

Well, I think this concludes another chapter ,we hope you have enjoyed your visit,so til next time our best wishes to you all............................T.O.R............................

 

[~gd]

RAM Getting rid of the geese wasnt bad because I knew they were going to a better place with a good owner. Going back to visit is heartbreaking because they remember me better than I remember them. They greet me like a long lost mother. The 2 pairs are still together and when I went back this spring they had to show me their current goslings who were not impressed at first. I got down to their level and when the goslings saw their parents climb on the big bad human they had to join in the fun. I suffered some pinches and was pooped on by the goslings but a good time was had by all.
The state is not allowed to buy land they dont need, the law is to protect the tax payers. The state failed to pay full market value as required by law. I hired a lawyer and sued, they settled out of court for full value plus damages that almost covered the lawyers fees. The land that was left has good frontage on a private road just outside city limits. Sometime in the future the city will annex the area and provide proper roads, water and sewer and building sites there will be valuable because of their location. If I decide to keep them I will plant hedges to limit the view and the noise from the highway. I am now 68 with failing health and no heirs so getting back on the land now seems improbable.
Actually I suffered more damage than I originally thought, at least that what the insurance adjuster reported. He recommended replacing one wall and the roof. He thinks the wall is no longer square and needs to be repaired. Though the roof is still shedding water like it should he claims the sheet goods under the roofing has shifted and will cause problems in the future. If I can ever get some workmen to look at it I will know better. Right now they are all tied up repairing/replacing houses with major damage. If I do need a new roof I will consider Color bond, the house across the street now has it and it is smart looking. Till next time ~gd

 

[dragonlaurel]

Love the cockatoos. Never saw the black ones before. The sulfur or the pink crested ones are fairly popular here as pets. They're beautiful birds, and are very affectionate- once they decide they like you.

Putting lots of effort into a post and then losing everything you wrote is always a pain in the rear. Been there a few times.

Redo-ing that section of road sounds like a lot of work. The hump in the road doesn't seem that bad.

Sorry the market prices are bad for you right now. Thank goodness you have good grass for them, so you can still get a decent price later.

I definitely like the colored sheep, especially the silvers and the moorits. I saw there's some people raising Corriedales in Missouri or Oklahoma, but I haven't found out yet if those places raise for colors yet.
Looking at all that wool on their legs makes me hope they don't get ticks.

I'm not trying for any of the Finn/Scandinavian breeds sheep. They are great in the cold countries, but my summer conditions would be too much physical stress for them to thrive. Since I don't want to move up north- I can use normal sheep or the warm climate breeds.

We have some Pryacantha around- they have impressive thorns. I was thinking the first year I get the land- plant the beginnings of the hedgerows with a mix of fast growing and extremely thorny shrubs and trees. Let them get a head start before there are many animals to try to eat it all. Some hot wires would help too. I'm hoping that someday when the fences grow big and strong- they will keep the animals in the right places even if the fence is off/shorted, etc.

What do you grow for good protein? Alfalfa hay is relied on lotshere but I'm open to other legumes and grasses.