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

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day gang,There's nothing much on TV tonight so I thought I could update the rest of today and then I can watch a movie I've got recorded.

So I got myself down to the paddock to continue the spraying(It took every once of motivation to get me started today),so now I only have a small strip to finish that paddock,I needed to come in from the other end to finish ,but after 3 hrs I had, had it,my back was aching
and I had "no desire" to keep going......I think it was "caffeine deprivation"(LOL)...So the dogs got a big run this "arvo",we were down on a 30 ac paddock which has NO baits and only the Rams on it.....Jack "spooked" a fox and in an effort to get away from him ran straight towards me and Ruby,she hit it side on and grabbed it by the throat and knocked it off of its feet ,Jack was right behind it and he knocked it down again.It was up in a flash and off again with the two dogs in "hot pursuit",Ruby gave up after about 100yds ,but Jack stayed on his tail,through our boundary fence ,at which point I lost sight of them...When I got to the fence Jack was about 1/2 a mile away,down by a creek,I called him back and he returned "puffing and blowing",I doubt the fox will return in a hurry.

I think by the look of the ewe's that next week could be a "big one",they say we will get some rain over the next few days.

As a footnote to the Tom story,we had sent the pic's off to some sheep-farmer friends in WY and they said that their granddaughter(about 10 and a" crack shot "with a .22) and him would make a great pair of rabbit hunters......Wish we could help you out Free.

So much for today ,we hope to see you all again next time,regards.T.O.R..........................................

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day to you all (friends and ghosts alike),Today we awoke to find it was a little "foggy",but it soon cleared to a funny sort of a day ,a cool wind ,cloudy but after lunch it got quite warm (a sign of rain ,I think).so first thing was to take the photo's for the grazing records,and while I was at it check some of the fox baits,so I'm walking one of the fence lines,when I stopped short and there in front of me is a Red Bellied Black Snake,fresh from his/her Winter sleep,it had "shed its skin" and was "shiny black"(took a pic,post tomorrow night ).......I forgot in last nights post to say that I had come across an Echidna in the paddock I was "spraying",its a big fellow and one I'm sure I see on a pretty regular basis (he was the "high" point of the day),I know we have at least one breeding pair on our place and we consider them a real bonus.

Of the baits I checked I found we had lost at least another 3 since the last check,but I have delayed replacing them because of the predicted rain in the next day or so....Its really hard to keep track of the lambs as the ewe's hide them in the grass and around logs and such,but the numbers seem to be increasing,there was no "bellowing " as dark approached so everyone must have found each other.

It takes about 1&1/2 hours to get around the photo points in all of the paddocks each month and now we are past the 12 month point each new lot can be compared to year ago(its going to be a wonderful record in years to come)and will a great endorsement of our methods.

Nothing much else to add ,so til next time best wishes......................T.O.R................................

 

[dragonlaurel]

Hello again. Had some trouble with the internet connection lately. I could get online sporadically, but can't access lots of stuff.

I realized I only had the first section of that Graziers Guide and the other parts don't want to download for me. It tries, then times out. They may be having server problems. It's good info, so I will try to get the rest of it later.

Found some of the state colleges here have grazing info downloaded from their ag departments too. Checking to see what info from them would fit the local situation. I also want to learn to recognize the local grasses and forage plants by sight. That would be a handy skill for human needs too.

We finally got a break from the heat. It feels like it's time to get the fall crop planted finally. The seedling I tried to start for it, died from the heat, so I'll be direct seeding into my raised beds. We have about 2 months before any frost, so that's fine.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G;day gang, well the predicted rain has not arrived yet(Tuesday afternoon),but the wind is up and making being outside vey uncomfortable. The last 2 days have seen some more lambs born and seem to be lively enough, although a little on the small side, but having said that the early lambs are growing really well and are gaining weight at a respectable rateThere are benefits to a lower birth-weight, the reduced stress on both ewe and lamb and as long as there is sufficient cover to prevent hyperthermia if there is a chill attached to the wind and it appears that as long as they get those first one or two drinks in a timely fashion all seems to proceed without any dramasThe forecast for the next few days is a little concerning however ,a cool-ish change with some showers tonight ,but fine tomorrow but by Thursday evening a much colder change with rain and on Friday they only expect it to reach 10C.It all depends on the wind direction ,as two of the lambing groups are a bit exposed to the wind north of west.The indications are though that it will be east of south.

I got to do my first planting today, some Garlic corms, the main vege is already to start and the next lot of compost is all stacked up. Depending on a trial strip of compost I have laid on some native grass pasture near the shearing shed I am looking at making a big compost bin(6X1mt bins) as I get enough raw materials each year to make at least 1 or 2 batches. This sort of volume will allow me to spread it on some of our paddocks to boost fertility and grass production in both spring and autumn.While I was out the other day doing the grazing pics I came upon this sight .

Now its not uncommon for us to encounter environmentalists who come from the lock everything up and get rid of everything non-native and the land will repair 200 yrs of change..The land in the foreground is part of normal grazing rotation, but the land above is part of an area under conservation to protect habitat and is only grazed for a max. of 8 weeks per year.Now I ask you if you are a animal looking for a grassy feed or a parrot looking for seed ,where would you rather be?

The other pic is that snake I met the other day.

Q & A:..DL. On the download thing you may have to take it one chapter art a time?(I will have a look later and let you know).We are glad the weather is being a bit kinder to you now.On the local grasses thing ,down here they run 1/2 day classes on grasses both pasture and native ,a group turn up and they show you say 10/12 different ones in a paddock,they talk about each one and you have written notes as well,then off you go to another spot and you have to work out from a list which ones you are looking at,perhaps your local Ag office would run one if there was enough interest locally?(I will look up the course and try to post a link)

I have some other stuff,but my try to do it later,regards,...................T.O.R.............................

 

[dragonlaurel]

Glad the new lambs are doing fine. I hope your weather stays good enough to get all the little ones off to a good start.
That much compost with be quite a blessing. One of my friends owed me a favor and repaid it by giving me a wheelbarrow load of manure. I was very happy about that.

That was a pretty big snake. Is he poisonous? Most of our common snakes stay a bit smaller. I'd rather see most of them than have a bunch of rats around.

They had broken that file into five parts. I downloaded the first section. The other sections were timing out- instead of downloading. Their server may be having problems.

This Ag office has lots of pamphlets of the grasses and they have an area in front of the office where they grow patches of different grasses so people can see what those varieties look like. The tour like you mentioned would be more interesting though.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

Hi ,just a quick one for DL,..............byron.stein@dpi.nsw.gov.aubyron.stein@dpi.nsw.gov.au Is the contact.This is the course,if your guys wanted more info..http://www.hn.cma.nsw.gov.au/multiversions/3892/FileName/goulburn pp brochure.pdf.

Yes,these snakes rank pretty high in the poison stakes(I think we have two more which are more poisonous than this one).They do eat rats and mice ,but are a real danger to your pet dogs.

Now for the rest.

Just after I posted yesterday the "change" came through and the temp dropped about 8C in about 15 min,after dark it rained lightly for about a couple of hours but its fine this morning if a little chilly.I have got to do the fox bait round again,so that takes care of this morning.

Here ear the pic's of the paving in the conservatory .

the little dog is "Tess".

This one is the new step outside.

OK gang I had better get and do some work,so til next time we chat ,our best wishes .....T.O.R.....................

 

[dragonlaurel]

Something like that course would be very interesting. I'm sure that the more Ag oriented universities probably have courses that cover it, but I haven't heard of one at the county Ag office.
They tend to have studies about everything, and publish pamphlets on the subjects instead. Some of their findings also seem to be promoting the products of corporations, that are quite generous to them. I should leave that statement a bit vague since it could ruffle some feathers.

Nice work. That conservatory looks really good.

We got chilly too here. Hurricane Lee didn't come anywhere near us, but the disturbance made it easier for some cool weather to finally arrive. It's been cooler for a few days now and it was chilly last night.

We can find 6 kinds of venomous snakes in Arkansas, but I've been lucky enough to rarely even see any. I make a habit of stepping heavy and carrying a walking stick when I go in woods. Most of the snakes slip away is they hear/feel you coming- so I'd rather warn them. The walking stick is because I like to make my own path.

 

[~gd]

Is Little Tess one of the dogs you work sheep with? Or is she just a house dog? I will slip in from time to time with short comments and questions but I am out of the "novel' business for now. ~gd

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G,day Gang, welcome back to you all , as we proceed down lifes journey you will get to experience our life on the farm through the journal. We do hope you find the experience interesting,enlighting (as to life on the farm)and at times amusing. We know there are those of you who yearn to make the break from city life and escape to a more sedate existence, but be warned its a life filled every day with challenges ,from paying the bills to life and death in the livestock enterprise you have chosenNow where did I finish up last time, ,Mmmm..OK lets press on .

Wednesday: First thing was to go around the fox baits(its a tedious task I know ,but very necessary),replaced a few and set out a few new ones .There was a mob of about 70 ewes in one group which would not have enough feed to get them through in the paddock they were in so I decided to split them, so while the bulk of them were grazing a laneway I opened the bottom gate and let about half with there a lambs go into the paddock next door. So now we have 5 groups lambing, so next year we will go back to lambing 4 weeks later and just have to risk any fly problems.
Thursday: Market day, enough said!
Friday: Back to winter weather, checked the sheep and gave the dogs a short run and a feed, by lunch the temp was still less than 10C.The afternoon was a TV and rest in front of the fire afternoon.

Q & A :Neco- chan.. I asked about that jicama at 2 Asian shops, and both times I got that look, they had no idea what I was on about. Can it be grown from seed? Can anybody tell me its botanic name?

~gd. Jenny nearly fell off of her chair at your comment about Tess. How we came to get her is a tale in itself. This chap we know from our sale yard used to breed these little dogs, so we arranged to swap him a ram lamb for a bitch pup, a win win,he sold the ram for $200.00 and Jenny got her pup. Good to hear from you again (dont leave it to long, we love your input).

DL. Thank you for the comments on the conservatory, we are really happy with the result .On the subject of your local Ag office, how did you get on with the sheep man? When you talk to the plant man, explain that the Paddock Plants concept is a way he can interact with local land managers and can encourage better overall land management practices and create improved environmental outcomes. It is also a way of showing the locals, that they are there to help.A heavy step and a big stick go a long way to avoiding contact with snakes.

Well I think that will suffice for this post,hope to see you all back again next time,regards,.............T.O.R......................

 

[dragonlaurel]

Jicama reminds me of water chestnuts. Nice crunch and a light flavor but the root is much bigger. I googled it for a source.
http://herbalistics.com.au/shop2/ca...d=665&osCsid=a34b27c9f29f4d9fa1762e2790ab5392

That guy at the Ag office has been impossible to reach. He seems to work away from the office more than in it. I'll keep trying.

My walking stick is a nice think fistful of hickory that's about my height. Makes a nice thump when I want to warn critters there's somebody coming. It's on the heavy side, but fits my hand just right. Hickory is very sturdy wood if I ever need it for an emergency. It makes really nice nuts but they aren't sold commercially cause they are hard to get into.