Moving Right Along

Things have been moving right along here lately. Our driveway is finished and is fabulous. No more potholes, no more mud slides, nothing but solid gravel. I think the kids could even ride their trikes on it.

The porch has steps again and the first coat of enamel is on and hard. Of course, one of the handrails is not yet attached but one can’t have everything and we rarely use that porch anyway. In the Spring we plan to put a bench out there and survey our domain. If we ever have the time to sit down.

So far our days are spent standing up and running from one job to the next. We have our first lamb of the season but several other ewes appear ready to pop and that calls for added vigilance. I don’t quite know why since there is nothing to do but call the vet in case of trouble but we all feel better checking the flock frequently.

The yearlings have settled in as if they had been born here. Dan and I shifted both flocks and the steers last week and it all went pretty well. The steers were the easiest. They trotted around the paddock, shied at the gate, and played hard to get but then ambled through and started grazing. No problem there.

The old flock (with all those pregnant ewes) was pretty placid too. The borrowed ram ignored us completely and the rest had that ‘above it all’ look they get whenever I come anywhere near.

The Suffolk sheep are wild beyond belief but even they eventually made it into #2. They ran up hill and down, outflanking Dan as they went. I had the tougher job of standing beyond the gate to prevent them from bolting down the wrong paddock. I did very well. I could apply for a job at Buckingham Palace as a Guard any time. "We also serve who only stand and wait". Dan gotten pretty winded tho.

I spent a few days down in Auckland with the family and an unanticipated additional day due to a dental emergency. I had not left enough food for that additional day for Smudge (cat pet and mouser extrodinaire). So I fretted that she would leave home and never return.

This led to a number of derogatory comments from my son and my daughter-in-law. Some of the kinder were to the effect that no cat ever had it so good. That I paid more for Smudge’s food then they did for the kids’ food. Not true but this Hill’s Science Diet is ridiculously expensive. But the best was that Smudge in 2 short months has gone from a sleek, slim cat to a ‘rotund’ tubby. Not true; she just has a very thick coat.

So I get back to the farm and race up the steps to my apartment and fill the food bowl. Then I go help Dan unload the car and put away groceries. When I return to my room, the cat bowl is half empty and Smudge is sitting there washing her face. I pick her up for a hello cuddle and she belches right in my face. Perhaps I have been overfeeding her just a tad. Til next time!