Squirt

We have a standard silver birch tree growing outside our bedroom window which is about 6ft tall. Each morning Squirt climbs up it's trunk and sits on top to have his morning wash.

Sheep

We haven't had any sheep on our farm for about 4 years now and I miss seeing all the baby lambs at this time of year. These sheep are on our neighbours place and they would have to be the most content sheep in the world. Paul and Amanda look after them very well by hand feeding them - as you can see there's not a lot of grass growing on the paddock! Normally sheep will run and scatter as soon as you drive near them, but these ones are so happy and calm that they just ignore you!

Spraying

Farmer Phil is spraying each paddock with herbicide before I sow them. The chemical being used needs to be incorporated into the soil for it to be effective.

Cropping Wildlife

Farmer Phil and I have been putting the crop in for the last week or so. We've sown 600ac of canola and 1200ac of wheat so far. We're about a third of the way through, so we should be finished in about 3 weeks.

I thought I'd show you some of the wildlife I've seen while sitting on the tractor.

These crows followed me on the tractor every row I sowed. They must have been after the grubs and bugs which are brought to the surface after the tynes on the seeder have turned over the soil.

This is an emu egg I found along a fence line. It's a few years old as it was bleached almost white - they're dark grey when first laid.

Here are some of the emu's which have made this farm their home for quite a few years. There is a mob of about 20.

And finally, a mama kangaroo and her joey. They just laid in the straw and watched me as I drove up and back, not moving until I came a bit too close.

Update on Graham's Quilt

I stayed up late last night and rose early this morning to get Graham's quilt started. I've Vliesofixed all the pictures to their backgrounds, so now all I have to do is blanket stitch around the pieces and then put it all together. Easy!!?? Graham will be 70 on May 23, so that gives me three weeks to get it finished. I should get it done as long as Farmer Phil lets me have some time off the tractor!

The "Inverloch" homestead.

Graham on his Massey Ferguson header.

The Bulldog Lanz tractor.

Graham and Aunty Eula.

A magpie and galah on a farm gate.

A bee with it's hive.

Chooks, ducks and rabbits.

The milking house cow.

Merino ram, ewe and lamb.

Sowing Time

As you can see, it's sowing time at last! We had 29mm of rain over the weekend so Farmer Phil decided to start sowing the canola. It's being direct drilled into last year's wheat stubble. The stubble is left on the padock from last harvest to try and conserve the moisture in the soil. It acts just like the mulch on your gardens.

I had to drive the seeder this afternoon while Farmer Phil went and dug the seed truck out of a bog! We use a GPS system called "EZ-Guide & EZ-Steer" which means that you don't have to physically steer the tractor. It is guided by satellites which then drives the tractor in a straight line.

The monitor shows you the paddock covered by the seeder so you don't miss any patches.

This is Farmer Phil filling the air cart with fertiliser from the semi. The pile of gypsum is to be spread in the paddock next door.

Lest We Forget.....

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Kiwiana

I received a parcel in the mail today which was a belated 40th birthday present from my gorgeous friend, Adrienne from New Zealand. Adrienne and I are friends from my 3 years at Pakuranga College during the 80's. We've kept our friendship going for 27 years but we've only seen each other twice in the past 25 years.

The parcel represents some Kiwiana which includes an apron featuring the world-famous Haka and it's words which will come in handy for the next Australia V NZ rugby game! The socks are really cute with the sheep baubles on the ankles. I can't wait to hang the Christmas decorations on the tree this year - the silver fern and pohutukawa tree. The "jandal" or thong as us Aussie's call them will be a great talking piece for my keys. And I've always loved the beautiful paua shell jewellery.

Thank you so much Adrienne - you're such a dag, and I love every single piece of Kiwiana!!

Spreading Gypsum

Farmer Phil is busy spreading gypsum today. It is supposed to rain this afternoon and tomorrow, so he wanted to at least get some spread before the rain so that it will settle into the soil nicely. He's also got about 250T of lime to spread before sowing of the crops start. Jack was acting like a farm dog today, taking a keen interest in proceedings!

Trees to Plant

Once we've got the pool finished off we've got all these trees to plant. We bought them about 7 weeks ago when the nursery was having a sale. Farmer Phil made up a corrugated iron enclosure to protect them from the wind and we've been hand watering them ever since. The plants include 8 Manchurian pears for around the pool, 3 silver birches, 4 olive trees, 8 willow myrtles, 5 liquidambars, a gorgeous lemon scented gum, 12 crepe myrtles, 8 chinese maples, and more coastal rosemary for around the pool perimeter. We'll be busy getting all these planted and the watering system set up too!