Sheila is being an old lazy bones lately and it is not even hot yet.
I try to get her to come for a walk but she just goes from one lying-down-spot to another.
Her favourite being anything to do with compost. If there is a nice fresh cowpat thrown in she is especially pleased.
Poppy on the other hand is an affection monger. She follows me about throwing herself across my boots, literally grounding me so I have to stroke her belly for a while. She aggravates Sheila endlessly whining “Come for a walk, Come for a walk. Come on I can open the gate. (she pushes the gate until the hinges bend). Come for a walk!” Sheila says, No.
Sheila would rather go and talk to Daisy, another large animal who spends a lot of time standing around thinking.
The Red Plonker escaped again yesterday. I found him sleeping in a mud hole next to Queenie Wineti the Hereford Mama. When the cows get hot they pee into the ground then tromp it into mud – cooling their heels. The red plonker is thrilled to have discovered this. The flies as you can imagine are legendary.
And the flies trail Daisy into the milking parlour. A veritable feast of them. And Daisy is the feast.
I milk the cow wearing my long sleeved overalls so they don’t bite me. I have an organic spray for Daisy. It does not kill flies, (its organic), it repels them so after the cups are on and sealed, I spray her legs (they bite so her legs bleed and she will stomp and kick dangerously in the tiny milking room) – I spray and the flies rise up in a great dark whirring cloud, hover and like some kind of animated horror cartoon they turn their nasty heads, their beady sectioned eyes see me, they zero in, do that million dollar man beep-beep thing then the fly cloud, screeching in delighted unison, shrills across and settles down on every part of my body they can reach. Sigh. So I wear my boiler suit and boil in it. But I cannot bear the flies.
No-one talks about the fly followers. Farm=Poo=Flies. Ah well.
Sheila has no flies on her though. As you can imagine. Maybe I should cover Daisy (and myself) in Mud!
And then on our evening walk
I found this!
I hope you all have lovely day.
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
66 responses to “Sheila and the flies”
Ah, the joys of summer are upon you. In winter we long for the warmth of summer, but somehow forget that the warmth comes with the price tag of flies, bugs, mosquitos and other summer partners. I guess you can’t have one without the other…
It seems there is always some consolation for whatever you have to deal with.
I have something for you, a relic from my epic 2 hour mowing sessions in the height of summer, when every fly in New South Wales (and they are many, many) would home in on my eyes, nose, mouth and ears and swarm… If I can find it, I’ll put it in the post with a note. Kate xx
Oh kate, that sounds Bloody.. c
Was, but it doesn’t happen any more, which is why you can have my fly net. Also, it might be worth trying Neem Oil, which is a safe, organic insect repellant. Mix 2% Neem Oil with coconut oil as a rub for the cows. Neem Leaf insect spray for yourself also helps and is available commercially.
It must be horrid for Daisy, having flies bite her legs. I wonder if there’s such a thing as a fly vacuum to catch and dispose of them rather than have them attack you too?
What sweet characters these friends are! I love animals and all they can teach us. Great post!
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Hi. As you can imagine, there is no shortage of flies in India. We don’t need farm or summer or poo for them! Maybe this will work for a while for you … If you can lay your hands on a couple of cd’s and hang them up in the door and window of your milking house where sunlight can reflect off the shiny surface, it should deter the flies a bit. Or just a bit of water and oil mixed and put into a transparent plastic bag and hung up will do the same trick. But cd’s are less messy!
Ah, this brings back a distant memory of hanging bags with water .. hmm.. I am going to try that and the cds, you are right it is something about the water reflections.. thank you.. c
Cecila, do hope this works for you!
On another note, I just caught up with your posts for a month plus. I have been caught up in things … But just to say, thank you. I have just had a wonderful afternoon with you and yours!
On still another note, when you have the time, can you pop into my blog pennshutter. I re blogged a piece yesterday by Mark Deeble. It breaks the heart to read it. Yet, as an animal lover I just wanted to share it with you – and maybe your other animal loving group too. He is an awesome writer.
And finally looking forward to your book. If there is going to be an e-version, great. Else will need to have it sourced somehow … 🙂
You can also try pennies in a small plastic bag of water stapled to the top of the doorway. I’ve seen that work at the food stand at the local flea market. I purchased one of these: http://www.arbico-organics.com/product/solar-fly-trap-fly-lure/Fly-Pest-Control-Products this year. A little pricey but last year the house/stable flies were so annoying we could hardly enjoy the porch or the deck. It seems to be working like gangbusters, lots of victims already!
Was at our friend Karla’s farm yesterday, and the flies were awful already…poor Jimmy the Donkey was desperate for a soothing scratch on his back…
Have a happy Farmy day, C! Looks like Sprinkler Weather here! 😀
Oh the blue of those eggs, so beautiful, what a lovely find
Miss C have you put your DE curtains up yet for Daisy and Queenie? Or have flies become immune to the DE now? Are those Robins eggs and have your Red Cardinals returned yet? Laura
Yes I must get the DE curtains up, that might cut it down a bit. They look like Robins eggs and yes the cardinals are here and in great voice. I think I have more than one pair this year nesting high in the trees!.. c
A great big box fan running at full speed should keep the flies away during milking… or so I would hope.
Good idea, though i don’t have one, they are pretty expensive, i shall look out for one though.. c
I have two I picked up at a yard sale. I would send you them if I can find a box. They are rather dirty, but extremely cheap. And they do run well.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I have some little fans just not one of those huge ones. I shall look about here first, I might be able to track one down.. c
Okay…but I really don’t mind and I’m not using them.
Horse Flies…ugh. Hate those things. I have read that you if you coat yourself in garlic, they leave you alone. Of course, then Sheila might try to eat me because she will think I am a big piece of garlic bread, but it might be worth it. 🙂 I was debating about whether to bring my boots….not debating anymore!
always with the boots, we might get rain! c
My husband suggests that I take a suitcase filled with frogs…..for the flies. 🙂 Might just work.
Sounds good to me! I love frogs.. your husband has a bit of a sense of humour! c
The flies are driving us crazy here, too!! I had hoped the harsh winter would have knocked their numbers down a bit.
Those little birds are quite the engineers. Those nests will last for years, long after their architects have abandoned them.
This one is right at eye level too so we should be able to track their progression easily!.. c
I think it’s my favorite photo of all time. You’ve turned something we’ve all seen a thousand times into a work of art. Beautiful play of light, shadow, warmth. You are so talented! I need to come up there and learn from you.
You are welcome anytime – of course! c
Celi, are they Eastern Bluebird eggs? They are such beautiful birds!!! xo
I honestly don’t know, they are not small eggs, we will walk around there this afternoon and see if we can surprise the mama! c
Ah, look at that blue.