Well,  I am back! Back in more ways than one.  I have been away on the most wonderful trip to Jerusalem and The Holy Land.  It was the most amazing experience and I am so glad to have done it.  I have definitely come back in a different frame of mind. I am still coping with the despair of losing Pete.  That hasn’t changed,  but I have changed my outlook about what I am doing with myself.  Things haven’t changed that much but I feel differently about them now.  Which is great!

Jerusalem!

The farm is toddling along and I am experiencing my second season of calving.  I don’t have a lot of cows, but the worry of them calving without any difficulties is one that keeps me anxious about them and I am checking on them twice a day to make sure they are all ok.  So far I have 5 calves and they have all popped out as they should, so, fingers crossed, I am hoping I have a smooth run this year with the rest.

Brand new!

I have been struggling with an old ute that Pete and I bought a few years ago.  It’s a Hilux and has so far done a good job, but it has definitely seen better days and after an extremely annoying incident where I was out looking at the cattle, I tried to reverse it back up the hill and ran over a large rock that split and cut a huge gash in the side of the tyre wall.  I sat there and just listened to the steady hiss of the tyre deflating.  Bugger!! So I got the dogs and we walked back to the house and once again my Good Samaritan, Chris, came to the rescue and changed the tyre and we brought the ute back to the house.  He candidly said that he thought that would be the last time I would be changing a tyre on it as it was ready for the tip or I would have to pay someone to take it away. Spurred on by his astute assessment of “Old Jim” as it is called, I started looking earnestly for a new one.  I found success at Lithgow with a 15-year-old Hilux in great condition with everything I needed.  So I bargained and got a good price and brought it home and I’m extremely happy with it.  The sheer luxury of power steering is just one of the great things about it.  No more yanking the steering wheel around in Jim!!

My new ute!

The dogs are very pleased with the new ute.

One big problem with retiring Jim is that I had a full tank of weed spray on the back which I needed to use before I could put him out to pasture. I came up with the idea of transferring the weed mix from my tank into my brother in law’s one, so Phil came over and we pretty well emptied it.  There was just enough left for me to poison the weeds around the gravel driveway and down the drive. At one point, I thought I would have a look inside the tank just to see how much was left and as I stuck my head down into the opening on the top I realised that my fringe had dipped into the red dye that had collected around the rim. When I came inside I looked at myself and discovered that i had given myself a pink tint which a lot of people have said is very trendy at the moment!  Must remember to tie my hair back in future!!

Punk pink!

I think Jim would make a very good jungle gym for my new addition to the farm.  I re-inherited a goat that used to live here when we were farming Boer goats a while back. Her name is Lulu and she was left here when we finally sold all the others.  She became a pet and moved from my place to my nieces property next door.  She has come back here to live now but goats are herd animals and unfortunately I didn’t have any “herd” for her.  She used to hang with the donkeys, but they are long gone now.  So I decided to get her another goat to keep her company.  What’s one more, I said?  So I ended up with  a little doe and a wether ( a neutered male).  They are a year old and adorable.  Lulu is quite thrilled with them and they have made themselves at home.  They were in the main paddock but I discovered that they could cross the cattle grid, just like the Billy Goats Gruff – trip trap right across the iron slats – cheeky little things, so they have been moved to the horse paddock where long overdue fence mending had to be done.  I spent nearly a whole day tying wire and twisting it to mend holes made by various animals from goats to kangaroos.  They are now happily at home there and I think Jim would make a lovely climbing gym for them to have fun on.  Goats love to climb and it will make them very happy!

The new arrivals!

My climbing goats!