More Drought Gifts

It’s just one damn thing after another with this drought. As if lugging water for unimpressed ewes and hosting ever-thirsty steers with our very own water supply isn’t enough, now I discover ‘toma’. I hope I am spelling it correctly but it is no simple matter.

It all started last Friday as I sat in the kitchen playing tickle bunny with Naavah.  Yael was busy making bread (yes, super woman actually makes bread every Friday. I need a nap just watching her.). Anyway, Yael casually asked me, “Did Dan warn you about tomas when you are walking in the paddocks?”

My head snapped up. “What’s a toma?”

“I think you call it a sink hole.”

Yes, folks I definitely call it a sink hole. And now I have to walk prodding the paddocks with my cane before stepping forth.  This drought – the worst in over 50 years – has so depleted the water table that our limestone based land is now filled with air holes rather than water holes.

Farmers are losing stock into these sink holes. I assume Dan is afraid he’ll lose stock and perhaps a mother at the same time. But the fact remains that he didn’t warn me. Yael did. Perhaps I need to remind him that I carry no life insurance.

The possums have become so daring that they actually climb onto the deck and eat my cherry tomatoes from my pot plants. They are hefty little devils too. The drought doesn’t seem to be bothering them! Perhaps they see this as an opportunity to expand their horizons; brave new world, aka the Lords' deck.

The birds, specifically my beloved doves, have left. I hear the larger birds like ravens and hawks but the gentle wrens, etc. are gone. I don’t know if they are victims of the drought or if they have gone in search of water farther south but gone they are. The rabbits are also gone. No great loss there!

The omnipresent rats are still around and more visible than ever. I was looking out the window and a rat sauntered by on the roof abutting my window. The next morning I opened the garage door and there was a rat; perhaps the same rat. I don’t know. We didn’t exchange visiting cards. I just screamed at it. It turned its head and surveyed me for a moment before deliberately turning its back to me and walking slowly off. Have I ever told you how much I hate rats? Well I do and now I have sink holes to hate as well. My cup runneth over. Thanks drought for the endless parade of gifts.

 

Bad News And Good

I have always wondered what types of people pick the bad news first as opposed to those who want the good news first. I think there’s a thesis in there for somebody.  I am in the bad news first category.” Get it over with”, I say.

 So in that spirit, my bad news (and it is very bad indeed) is that RAMbo is dead. We had been watching him decline, rally, decline, and rally for a while now but I think a combination of several fly strike attacks and the drought were too much for my old nemesis. I actually cried when Yael brought me the news. The place doesn’t seem the same without him. The ewes certainly aren’t the same. Well, part of it may be that we separated all 3 rams from the ewes. Anyway, whenever I traverse the ewes’ paddock, they stand their ground and just watch me. No more running away. Either they are wrapped up in their grief or they have finally realized that the Grim Reaper is a more serious adversary than I could ever be.

The rest of the bad news is that the drought continues to take a toll on everything including my garden. Dan had me put in 2 varieties

 of heritage tomatoes, Bloody Butcher (who thinks up these names?) and Black Krim.

Bloody Butcher has been producing well but the fruit is only slightly larger than the average cherry tomato. Our cherry tomatoes are only popping at about half their rate of last year. And then we have the laggardly Black Krim. I just got our first fruit yesterday. Four plants and we have gotten 4 tomatoes. They are normal sized but nothing to write home about (or blog about for that matter). What they are is gorgeous. I have included a picture of one next to 4 cherry tomatoes so you can see the difference in both size and color. I wish I could paint. They are striking in color and have a slightly bland, sweetish taste. I’ll try them again next year; hopefully without a drought.

 

Fashion Forward Farm Wear

Things have been super hectic here for the past few weeks. On the 10^th, Yael gave me my first grandson, Jesse. I was called down to Auckland at 2 am to take over with the girls and just sort of hung around for the next few weeks while baby and parents wrestled with feedings and sleepless nights.

I am back on the farm now and while I enjoyed the quiet, I missed the family. So after one whole day of aloneless up came all 5 Lords. And back into the chaos I jumped. I love every minute – well most of the minutes anyway.

Yael had brought me a present. It was a ‘thank you for all your hard work’ present and deeply appreciated. Throughout this blog I have complained about my wellies. The first pair – the purple ones – didn’t stand up to the rugged terrain. Into the trash went shredded purple rubber. The next pair, sturdy, heavy black boots didn’t fit right. Dan and I had scoured New Zealand but I couldn’t find a comfortable pair of wellies.

I had sounded off about this to Yael after I broke my toe. Wearing boots that are too big is an annoyance unless you’ve broken a toe, in which case it is painful. You see, my foot kept slipping around in the boot with the result that I was in constant agony.

So here I am with the only fashion forward farm footwear around. You can see the picture below. I look pretty darn snazzy in them. As long as you don’t lift your eyes beyond my knees. Above the knees, the view  reverts to grass stained khakis, crumpled T-shirts and floppy hats.

In case you were wondering, ‘yes’, we still have a drought and a scary thing it is too. But there are other liquids besides water that my wellies protect me from. Most of them abound in the paddocks and my dainty, well fitting wellies  are holding up well.

The Prime Minister has made it official. New Zealand is having a drought. Thanks to Dan’s obsessive water saving measures, we are doing well. The same cannot be said of our neighbors. One family will be buying water starting this coming week. We are now having forest fires (ring a bell, Prescott?). There is a ban on all outdoor fires. One massive fire was started by people target shooting. I’m not kidding, it is getting serious.

 In a country this small, the impact is huge. Food prices will first drop as farmers rush their stock to market since there isn’t enough water for them. Then, there won’t be the stock to sell later in the year. Prices on fresh produce are already zooming and I can see why. My tomatoes are small. Often I get only cherry sized ones from the vines that are supposed to be producing full sized tomatoes. The birds have left and ever more possums are coming down from the forests in search of food and water. Living on a farm has made nature’s impact very real and very immediate.