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A warm puff of spring

two cows

Cows watching the grass grow. This is what cows do when they are locked up in the yards. Watch the grass growing.  I need to clean these yards off again this week. Four cows is a good amount of manure. And our gardens are fertilised from the previous winters manure. Soon the cows will be out on the fields full time. We all can’t wait.

poles

John has come up with the great idea of making a flying fox (zipline) so I can leap across the ditch that used to be a creek the dogs running through below me. The ditch is about 70 feet wide and  probably about 15 – 20 feet to the bottom of the creek and we have agonised over how to build a bridge which would be massively expensive and just will not happen. Then he thought of a flying fox.  Yesterday he put the  first two poles in.   In New Zealand we call this a flying fox though a Flying Fox is actually an Australian Bat.  Here in America what John is building is called a zipline.  Below is an image I found  on the internet to explain the zipline.

viper-deluxe-backyard-zip-l

This image comes from the site highlighted above. But this is pretty much what John is creating. There will be two lines  so I can fly there go to work in the West barn then  fly back home going the other way. The poles are old telegraph poles.  It will be a long project but with luck it will be finished this summer.

All this so I can walk from my own property across the creek and walk through our own fields to the West Barn as the crow flies,  instead of walking all the way out to the road to that bridge and around again.

dexter heifer alex

And for those of you who care to  watching the development of  an udder here is Alex from behind. (An unfortunate angle but I spend a lot of time looking at animals bottoms.) She is due in late June but I am thinking early June. That udder still has a ways to go.  Lady Astor has just begun to develop hers too she is due in May.

poppy

Poppy.

DSC_0482

As an extra bonus Aunty Sheila and Tima seem to be rattling along ok.  So I am going to leave them together. They are both on the same diet of grass, hay and kitchen scraps so it works well as long as Tima eats faster!

Good morning. This morning we are going out to the field behind the West Barn with tape measures and stakes and big orange ribbons  to measure up the new two acres of hay that I  am taking out of cropping and putting into pasture.  I am putting all grass hay in this year.  With our inclement weather all the alfalfa hay,  except the last cut, I brought in last year was woody, past its used by date,  and not terribly nutritious,  and the cows hate it – they prefer the grass hay this year, it is so easy for haymaking to go wrong. Grass hay is a better option for pregnant cows anyway.

I use the alfalfa hay to fatten up animals in the winter. Pregnant cows should not be fattened of course.

This afternoon I hope it is dry enough to top sow the alfalfa hay field out here by the house. Most of the alfalfa is gone, weeds are developing and the wet has left it with great gaps. So I am top sowing with a grass blend.  Then it will rest for a while, I will cut it once or maybe later in the summer.  Then we will see.  Maybe it will continue being a hay paddock, maybe I will fence it and let the cows fertilise it.  We will see how it goes.

I hope you find loveliness in your day.

Love celi

 

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80 responses to “A warm puff of spring”

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  5. I was struck by a mental vision of you zipping over the ditch on the flying fox, astride a broomstick. You must be a witch, it’s the only way I can think of which lets you get so much done! Now THAT would make a Farmy Christmas card worth having! Perhaps John or a WWOOFER will oblige with Camera House – back view only, of course…? You’ll be installing a ferry next, on a cable between the two poles, a nice wooden raft for transferring dogs, hay, errant pigs and dubious cows….

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  6. I’m wondering if John could add a chair for you–like for a ski lift.
    And Ton! Who knew he doesn’t care to be seen eating. How did you ever discover THAT about him? So many secrets!

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  7. I’m wondering if John could add a chair to your biplane–like a ski lift chair.
    And Ton! Who knew he doesn’t care to be seen eating. Such a subtle knowing mistress you are. How did you ever discover that about him?

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  8. I was thinking so you could have your hands full. I just read yesterday’s comments about Sheila and I’m remembering her throwing her food bowl out her window when she was through with it–and picking it up in front of that man who was there to assess her motherliness.

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  11. You are a strong woman, from what you post, so we are not worried about the zipline for your need. After all , you were rock climbing in NZ just the other day, so a mere 70 foot zip should be a piece of cake. You Aussies are tough people.

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  12. What a brilliant and fun idea! You will be the talk of the barnyard! Get ready for hoards of kids to show up! 🙂 speaking of kids…does the Cadet still come to the Farmyard or has she moved away? Hope she is doing good! Sounds like you are though.. Gearing up for your busy season and getting ready to go zipping!!

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  13. A zipline? I can just imagine what you will look like flying across the pond in your clown suit early in the morning! Sorry but I can’t stop laughing (not at you, ok, maybe a little ;-)). The fields are starting to look like spring, sadly we’re still winter up here. I am looking forward to warmer days for sure.

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