Sweet scent of autumn

Hello friends, how nice to be back at Rivergum3851.

Sunrise

It certainly has been a while and I wish I could keep up with all the tasks I want (need) to do, but alas, I have failed. I suspect, I am like most people who have high expectations of what is achievable, despite the reality check that says 'Your Dreaming Sunshine' in bright red letters. We become accustomed to re-prioritising and pushing out deadlines. Naturally, I find it gets even harder to be motivated once I've sat on the couch in front of the fire and poured a generous glass of red, after a long day at the office. Oh, how I would  love to only work two days a week, outside of the farm, if only the wage equated to full time pay.
Maybe one day, but for now let me update you with our progress.

Life is sweet here at Rivergum and Autumn is showing her beautiful colours. The temperature is dropping and you can feel the 'crispy' creeping into the air. The scent of the fire draws us home and is a welcome addition to the season. It's time to find the gumboots and remove the spiders, before long we will be trading our steel caps and dust for rubber and mud.

Fencing - Daryl style!

New chook yard

Hens will love it

Since the "tractor incident" Daryl continues to work on the farm-rebuild in between the everyday chores around the farm. The chook yard is progressing and it is exciting to see the new fence go up.  Naturally this project has its challenges. Fencing is always easier with two people, but given we need to pay our bills, I had to go off to work, leaving Daryl to do the hard yakka. Unable to tension the wire on his own he managed to get the ute to assist (see photo for explanation) A fine job in the end. The cows also appreciate it, thinking they now have new scratching posts. I suspect the electric fence will follow swiftly. For now the cows are banned from playing in this area. 
The tractor saga continues and today we finally got the good news it will be repaired and NOT written off as they wanted.Yikes! The damage bill is hefty and apparently close enough to the limit to consider not repairing it. For us that would be disastrous. It would leave us without a good tractor and not enough payout to buy another comparable machine. So the green beast will go for repairs next week and we will get a loan tractor to use (Daryl is not allowed in the bush with this one!)

It certainly hasn't been all work and no play.

ACDC 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle 

Sand and sea

Funny girls - Bek & Beth

Hens helping with the planting

We did get a few days away at the beach thanks to our friends Carol and Zac who did a farm stay,looking after everything, including some naughty escapee calves.  We also spent an enjoyable day at Farmworld bringing home a few goodies including some steel-capped boots for me. Did I mention my toe is not broken, but I have significantly damaged the nail bed - surgeons referral in my bag, along with a good supply of pain killers! We picked up a heap of native tree tube stock to start creating some wind breaks around the house and in the paddocks.


Following our first unfortunate venture into horse ownership, we have welcomed  "Kiwi", a very handsome horse to our home. He is Bek's baby and no doubt shall provide some stories down the track.

And finally Daryl bought an Ag bike yesterday, as you do when go to a clearing sale with your father-in-law!

 Until next time,

Cheers
N

Tractor Trauma

The front and rear windows have blown out and the rear light dangles from the one remaining wire. The roof is fractured and the tyre guard broken. The interior is covered with shattered glass and rubber seals hang limply without any glass to hold. The driver is shaken, his shoulders and arms glinting in the sunshine from the tiny shards of glass sprayed all over him. There are only a few trickles of blood down one arm. His faithful kelpie sits beside him, wondering, I'm sure, what the hell happened and why is there a large tree resting on top of the tractor they where sitting in moments before. 

I received the call late this afternoon. It was the tone that gave him away. Daryl has particular tones for different circumstances and this one caused my heart to stop, for just a second.

It turns out while felling trees in the morass, one didn't read the rule-book and landed the wrong way - smack bang on top of the John Deere. 

A relatively simple task, the chain was attached to the partially sawed tree (largish around 30 metres) and Daryl began to pull the tree down with the tractor. He had placed the tractor on the safe side of a second tree to ensure that he was not in line of the fall, however as the fall happened, the top two-thirds of the tree split away from the trunk, slid down a different tree, which was on a lean, and the impact directed the broken portion onto the top of the tractor, with Daryl and Mia inside.

In the space of three seconds a very productive day was shot and we were once again reminded how  vulnerable we can be.

 In a strange coincidence last year on the 12th of April, Daryl had another accident with the then newly purchased tractor and a tree.

I think next year we should go on holidays between April 10th and 15th - just to be sure!

The tractor has now been limped back up into the shed, awaiting the insurance assessment, the tree lays where it fell and Daryl is thankfully minus the million tiny specks of glass and safely sitting in front of the fire.

The result could have been very different. How truly fortunate we are tonight.

What do we learn from this experience?

• Always carry a phone with you when working alone
• Preferably do not work alone when felling trees
• Material items can be replaced, tractors can be repaired
• Lives cannot be replaced
• Daryl should not use the tractor in April - ever!

Until next time.

Cheers
N

Autumn days

Clearer tracks, greater access

One of many loads of wood

Another very busy day at Rivergum, at least for Daryl who continues to toil away on his 'holidays'. The cooler Autumn days are a perfect backdrop for slashing long grass and clearing fallen trees for firewood. The clear tracks will allow safe riding spaces for Bek and her new horse Kiwi (Yes, I did say new horse!) and it promotes new growth of pasture. The logs will provide strong fence posts (woodcutter booked for two weeks - yeah) and a healthy supply of wood for friends, family and ourselves.

We have also bought some laying boxes and we are very exciting about the prospect of a new chicken run and chicken house to match.

Free range at its best

There is much discussion at the moment on the radio about what constitutes free range eggs - I have no doubt many of the current 'free range' labels are exaggerated and this classification should be reviewed. Our flock of 22 hens love to be outdoors; they scratch and peck their way around the farm blissfully. I am quite surprised when I hear poultry farmers talk about chickens who choose to stay inside a shed and not venture outside. They are clearly exposed to a different lifestyle from our chickens.

Fallen trees galore

Certainly an interesting debate.

 Our plan at Rivergum is always to allow our animals to live as well and freely as possible while they are in our care. They are well fed, safely housed and protected from the elements and natural, as well as introduced, predators. They provide us with food, fertiliser and a lovely feeling of worth and contentment.

 Til next time ( by the way my toe is still red, swollen and incredibly sore..just saying!)

Cheers

Natasha

I think I broke my toe and other tales

Well finally I am sitting, in front of the fire, yes the nights are getting chilly and I love it. Nothing like the smell of  wood burning, watching the flames flickering in the firebox and that dry heat that warps its way into every fibre of your being - relaxing and caressing you. It's absolutely orgasmic.
Of course a couple of good quality reds help....everything, but not my poor big toe. It's currently throbbing (and swollen)  after the gate and said toe collided this evening. Following a call from Daryl(hubby) this afternoon, while I was at work, telling me we left a calf with his mum when separating our calves from their mothers on the weekend, we needed to get this little steer off his mum urgently and get him into the calf paddock.

Lovin' my new toy

Now, just to put your mind at ease, these calves are bigger than their mummas, who are hopefully pregnant. Picture Daryl on the quad bike tearing around the paddock rounding up this calf while Bek (daughter) and I waited to steer the calf into the yards. After lots of dust and cow crap flinging in the air the calf ran through the gates; in my haste to close the gate before the herd of angry mumma cows charged through, I heaved the gate (picture gate hanging off one hinge and bloody heavy) as hard as I could while my foot was still in motion and kicked the bottom of the gate with my boots (minus the steel capped toe). The squealing which followed was worthy of an Oscar and could be heard at farms far and wide.

Hen's have found a new hobby

Anyhow enough whining for now.

On a positive note we did get a new toy for the farm - our quad bike. This purchase has caused some heated conversations in the family circle regarding their safety and poor stats about people killing themselves on them. Despite these stats we have purchased one, mainly so I can get around the farm,with relative ease. It has already served its purpose multiple times. Daryl has rigged up a purpose built trailer to go on the back of the quad to collect firewood.

Making life easier

This carries up to four wheelbarrows full of wood and means  I don't have to try and push a wheelbarrow full of wood  during winter, a task made very difficult with dodgy hips. The quad factor also means our daughter is keen to use it - yeah for us! Like any effective piece of equipment, it is perfected through trial and error.

Bit heavy to go cross country

And our wood trailer is no exception. Our first load, stacked just beautifully, promptly fell sideways after the quad tried to go through a hole - unsuccessfully. With the 'help' of our chickens we reloaded and successfully parked our first load at the house.
The rest of the weekend took us to the rose garden and then the veggie patch for some autumn planting.

Loaded and ready to go

Nice crops

It is always satisfying to plant a new crops and work in the rose patch.  We had an infestation of aphids and some other unidentifiable black little critters on our roses causing them to wilt. We trimmed, fed, watered and sprayed the remaining roses in the hope of revitalising them. They thanked us by digging in their thorns at every opportunity.

New veggies

Man of many talents

On the whole we are making slow progress at Rivergum. Daryl, with the help of his 88-year old father (he's amazing)  has finished the stay-sets for our new chicken paddock and we are now waiting for fencing wire to arrive. Of course if we didn't keep getting injured we could progress faster. Apparently today Daryl tripped over, in the paddock, while holding the chainsaw and various other tools, narrowly missing cracking his head open on the old bath/trough, only denting his knee (large bruise presenting now). His poor Dad nearly had a coronary!

Negotiations with the neighbour for a new boundary fence have been successful  and the contractor is being organised along with wood man who splits our trees for posts.
It's all very exciting in a farmy kind of way. 

Our new chooks have settled in and are supplying us with up to 18 eggs a day.

Funny little fowls

Always keen to help

We can find them in all sorts of places - the shed, the wood pile, the old rusty boiler drum and even the laying boxes on occasion!! Looking forward to expanding our eggs production and being able to supply true free range eggs.


My toe is throbbing and no amount of red wine is helping.


 
'Til next time.

Cheers

Natasha

Pecking order

We are now the happy owners of 16 new laying hens. Our surviving six hens are not so impressed with the new additions, but it seems the pecking order is getting sorted. No blood shed as yet and only a few ruffled feathers. We collected them late evening, long after the sun had set, when they are at their most docile and transported them home in a large cage in the back of the 4WD. By the time we finished the 30 minute drive the car reeked of bird poo and the hens had finally stopped squawking. The quiet lasted only until we started moving them into the new pen.
Pitch dark, muddy soil underfoot (thanks to some welcome rain) and a very curious Kelpie made the transition ...interesting. With torches strategically placed, including one atop Daryl's head, we successful transferred the new girls  into their home. At the end of this adventure Daryl and I were covered in scratches (from flapping wings and stray claws) and I had suspicious looking, wet, gooey liquid running down the front of my jeans.

So despite the mess it is lovely to watch them scratch their way around the farm. The new girls are not used to roosting and persist in sleeping on the hay at the bottom of the roost. They must not be used to laying on straw either as for the first few days they insisted on scratching all the hay out of the laying boxes and laying on the base. The old girls did not seem impressed. Situation fixed and we are please they are laying on hay once again.This keeps the eggs cleaner and has less chance of breaking.

While we prefer our hens to remain unaltered we had no choice (if we wanted them to stay alive, that is) but to clip their wings, so on another very dark night we were once again disrupting their rest as we gave them a feather trim. For now their pen is not ideal and they fly over the fence if we don't let them out early enough, unfortunately they either fly into the dog pen (bad move) or into the open paddock (foxes playground when we are not home). The new pen is under construction and hopefully it will be habitable in the very near future.

Fresh eggs are now the order of business - free range and fabulous.

Until next time,

Cheers N

Tetchy tales

Well it's been a while, nearly two weeks in fact since I've hit my keyboard, at least for this purpose. The problem is when you spend a large portion of your day in front of a computer screen for work, the enthusiasm to have more screen time at home is a trifle waned. I have a new job and while this is great, it means less time at the farm and another task to juggle.

I must admit I've also been struggling with what to share with you. Some days the farm is so busy that I could write everyday and then there seems to be a lull and it all presents as rather humdrum. This past couple of weeks have been  a mixture of the two.

We were fortunate to have a few days break and enjoyed some R&R with friends at Lakes Entrance. Sleeping in, playing cards, dining, wine-ing, fishing and shopping were luxuries we enjoyed and definitely no longer take for granted.

Hoping for some fish fillets

The farm was ably looked after by my daughters and all animals survived, despite the water being accidentally turned off to the trough!

Good friends, great times

The farm continues to improve, at a slower rate than we hoped. Daryl is trying to rebuild the place, mainly on his own and that is no mean feat. Complications from my hip replacement are rendering me useless for most outdoors work.

An old truck base ready for some remodeling

The frustration is immeasurable.

 But Daryl continues to cut trees and prepare posts for new fences, continues to ensure the cattle are well fed and moves them from paddock to paddock, using the portable fences to keep them in (which look electrified but are not, thankfully tricking the cattle).

With little grass growth hay is a welcome treat

He continues to salvage machinery and turn them from rusty wrecks to functional features.  Most recently he discovered more damaged water lines and found himself elbow deep in mud. Fortunately the repair work is reducing the flooding around the house. It seems the water pipes are riddled with joins that continue to leak underground. The pipelines are another job on the ever-growing list of things to be replaced and restructured.

Ick! The stench was just awful

Daryl did wonder why anyone would be a plumber!

Adding the cranky factor to frustration is the heat. With temperatures still soaring and humidity at an unusually high level,  I am wilting, while my grumpy-levels are rising. I cannot cope with the heat and 'tetchy' has become my new descriptor; Daryl relishes the heat and you can imagine the fireworks that follow us.

I say, bring on autumn ( the cool version) and winter - open fires, cool days, chilly nights and lots of chunky soup.

Until next time

N

Bring on winter 

 

12 months and one day

Many people were sending flowers and chocolates this weekend to mark St.Valentine's Day, but for us at Rivergum, this weekend marked 12 months since moving onto the land. It's been quite an adventure and now we look forward to the next phase.

Daryl has started clearing the morass, restoring tracks and cutting down the water reeds which have taken over the land where pasture once grew.

Hidden in the thick foliage is any number of branches in many shapes and sizes. These make great firewood, dry and are ready to burn this winter.

The morass has potential to feed more stock and provide shade against our harsh summer. It is already home to a variety of wildlife including wallabies, kangaroos, koalas and sea eagles to name a few.

We hope this wild bushland will be restored and in time provide a sanctuary for many more critters and an enjoyable bush walk for nature enthusiasts and bird-lovers alike.

In other progress, our new secure chicken yard is being constructed. In time, it will provide a fox proof home (as much as possible) for our feathered flock and their alpaca friends. Shady with lots of grass this, with the rest of the property, will make for some very happy hens.

Next week begins the final stage of removing the last of the old house. Piles of concrete, smashed bricks, bones and all manner of debris will finally be gone. We can then start the discussions and planning of our new backyard. This will no doubt take some time for Daryl and I to agree on the layout. But more of that  later. It's late and tomorrow is a work day.

See you next time

Cheers

N

Less savoury side of farm life (warning graphic pictures)

Green pastures, grazing cattle, gum trees abound with blossoms, while the Kookaburras sing, are some of the beautiful aspects of life on the farm. It is quite picturesque and can be very soothing to the soul when the days are tough. 

However, as always, there is a flip side.

This time of year snakes are in their element, both urban and rural residents are reporting them, yet we have been fortunate to have encountered only a few during this past year. With rubble everywhere, low lying bushes and a large expanse of bushland it is expected to come across a few of the slithery suckers - Tigers and Browns are most common, along with a few Blacks.

I must admit none of them are welcome.

Young Tiger not overly impressed by my attention

All venomous, with the Tigers particularly aggressive, shovels are strategically placed around the farm - hayshed, wood pile, old dairy and off course the back and front doors, just in case we need to do some self defence.
The dogs should be our best defence against snakes, announcing their proximity, however our little Kelpie, would prefer to antagonise them and go bite for bite with a mad Tiger snake. The old Lab also thinks its amusing cheering her on (until they are both screamed at by the boss).

A large black snake spent Christmas day with us, only metres from the festivities (hiding off course!) It's unknown presence created a little extra spice and mystery to the occasion.

Like a hose but more poisonous

We have found them resting in the shade of long grass, crossing the road and sliding through the paddocks - which explains why we are noisy and very observant while plodding in our work boots, and long pants despite the sweltering temperatures.



Our other major issue is rabbits, you know the cute fluffy kind. Hundreds of the little vermin  run over the paddocks, at dusk they are out in force and wreak havoc on the ground.They dig up everything, everywhere, ruining the land around us.

One of hundreds

I don't know why they are so bad this year but they need to be gone. Rabbits and feral cats are equally challenging.

Feral cat, well fed and mean

Eating native birds, lizards, frogs and other wildlife, they are aggressive and continue to breed! Unfortunately we have our fair share of them and they too must be gone. Foxes are in this category too, but to date they have escaped the fate of the others.

And finally the lice of the sky - Indian Minor Birds. 

Lice of the sky

These introduced pests spread diseases amongst chickens, steal their food and take over the nests of native birds, pushing the babies out to die.one pair of these birds can reproduce up 220,000 off-spring over ten years, nasty business.
The only way we have been able to successfully reduce their number is by trapping and then drowning them.

It is a losing battle but we continue to try.

Til next time

N