One of the things we really enjoy about our farm and the Stud is all the new experiences it brings. The new and interesting people we have met who come to buy sheep and the other breeders. Skills we have refined such as giving injections , drenching, and honing in on the sheep that needs attention. And now shearing.
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Things are looking up. The Council will be here today to finally mend the road. The contractors say it will take 300 tons of rock to fix that big muddy mess. That much rock should mean that it stays fixed. The paperwork has arrived for the new internet service, so once that is installed we will be back to normal. The dryer weather has also meant that we have been able to get some sheep work done. The commercial flock has finally been sorted and the last of the lambs weaned. We are now selling off our old ewes to reduce the number of sheep we will be carrying into the winter. The old girls still have the potential to give another lamb or two, so they will be a good starter for anyone just wanting a few sheep.
Things will be a little shaky with the blog over the next few weeks, the satellite dish and server have come to the end of their life and we can now only access dial up. Slow but better than nothing. We have been instructed to contact the National Broadband Network about getting a new system, but they tell us it will take between 4-6 weeks. So the blog can only be updated when I am in Canberra. We will do the best we can.
The update on the road is that the Council will be here any day. Aleast when they fix the road it is unlikely to be a problem again. None of the areas they have repaired in the past have caused problems during the big wet. With all the rain, and a motorbike/4wd event up the road, our road on both sides, has become little more than a mud wrestling pit. At least 13 vehicles have become bogged to the axles since Sunday. Four phone calls to Cooma shire have bought no result, as have two phone calls to John Barilaro, (member for Monaro) not even a courteous return call from either. My frustration is unimaginable! We have sheep to supply, sheep to oversee on the other block, and no one gives a damn. No wonder I'm a grumpy old man!
We have decided we need to find softer homes for our old F3 ewes, they have been great producers in our commercial flock and popped out a lamb every year. We don't want to send them off on a truck to the saleyards, where they will be pushed around. Nor do we want to carry them through the winter here. It will be much better if we can find them a home that can fuss over them a bit and feed them a few nuts (our daughter calls them sheep crack). They have been running with Stud Dorper Rams and should start lambing in May. So for the right person at $60 we think they would be a good buy.
We are back! The long drive home takes the shine off a bit (11 hours), It was worth it as we had a wonderful time. The Amarula Dorper sale went extremely well, with all the dorpers selling for good prices, despite the false start with the floods, there was plenty of interest and plenty of buyers. We brought a beautiful type 5, confirmation 5 young ram, the best ram in the sale, (we think). He will fit perfectly with our current genetics and has excellent lambplan figures. (Top 1% out of ALL sheep breeds, for eye muscle)! Terraweena's dispersal sale was the next day, unfortunately we were unable to stay, it also went very well. Lots of very nice sheep have gone to new homes and can only enhance people's existing white flocks. Sad to see such an excellent stud disperse.
We missed Friday's blog and we will not have one for Monday as we are having another attempt to attend Amarula's Sale. Enough of the roads are open to for the buyers to get through. But the bridge near Warialda with it's approaches washed out will take months to repair according to the council. That much mess must be a nightmare for local government.
It is another gloomy morning, misty rain and cloud. With the memory of the big dry not that far away it seems ungrateful to be sick of the wet, but a bit of summer would be nice. It is also not the favorite weather of sheep.
This time of year we like to travel north to Inverell where we visit the family, check out the grand kids and attend Amarula Dorper Stud's annual sale. We were present at their first sale, and it is inspiring to see what hard work and dedication can produce from small beginnings. Every year the sheep for sale are a little better than the previous year.
The country side is very green all the way, and the days are as damp here as at home. Feels like we have skipped summer and gone straight into autumn. There was a big fall of rain overnight, hopefully not enough to interfere with access to the sale, as the country is flat and the soil black and sticky. With black clouds building in the early afternoon, I did all the outdoor chores and retreated to the house as it started to rain. Only 6.5ml in the gauge, nothing compared to the battering that Northern NSW is receiving. Then instead of doing the bookwork, accounts and getting the BAS done, I indulged in a holiday afternoon with a nice cup of tea and a read. Bliss.
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