By Judy Barnet
How wonderful to wake up to a brilliant sunny blue sky after all the miserable grey days and showers of the last few months.
Fine days have been few and too far between lately.
Not that I will ever actually complain about the rain.
I only need to picture an empty dam and hungry animals, images that can never be erased from my mind, and they make me truly appreciate the scene from my window I wake up to everyday of Glenlyon Dam filled to capacity.
This glorious weather arrived smack bang in time for the arrival of Lottie, Tom, Andy, Lisa and Charlie. Every day is perfect for kayaking, swimming and exploring the farm.
Charlie, Tom’s cousin, is staying in Kermit the bus, having recently arrived from the UK, and he found looking out the window from the bed at night to see the
glorious night sky really astonishing compared to home.
Dora is really loving to see Tom and Lottie again and spends her days also kayaking and exploring the farm with them!
Peter and Jack are coming out this weekend to crutch the Merinos and it will be a great experience for Lottie’s parents to participate in this activity.
Charlie comes from a mixed cattle and sheep farm in England so he should be handy to throw the sheep!
In the garden I have had to replant yet again.
I suspect the slugs are eating the seedlings before they sprout from the soil. Beans are thriving though and a few Moon and Stars watermelons are off to a shaky start.
The plants I like the least – silver beet – are doing well!
At least the chooks always enjoy it though so nothing goes to waste.
Sam the retractables man came out and fitted a couple of retractable screens to our bedroom windows and they are just the bee’s knees. Frequently in summer I can’t open the windows in our oven of a bedroom and read as the insects are unbearable.
There are five windows in our room and over time I hope be able to save up and get them all done.
Either that or have an air conditioner fitted. It would be great to have at least one room in the house to go to and cool down in when the temperature goes
off the scale!
Yves and Monica, our friends in Tassie, mentioned to me that young Able was having reading difficulties.
So I thought I would write him a good old fashioned snail mail letter with the latest news from the farm and maybe put together the ten funniest animal antics.
I reckon it would have to start with one of the more recent ones – that Bloomin Goat jumping up and walking around on the roof at the Highfields Pioneer Village a few weeks ago.
Another one at the Pioneer Village was the day the bulling heifer tried to mount me in front of a crowd of people as I was doing a talk, although I don’t quite know how I will explain that one to a seven year old!
Still in the same location, Lottie thinks I should mention shorthorn heifer Tess jumping out of the temporary yard smack bang in the middle of Clive Berghoffer’s speech at the opening of the Big Cow a few years ago.
Off farm though, my favourite (although not so much at the time) was the day I was helping my friend Jess from Maryvale with her free range pigs.
A huge Large Black sow somehow managed to get through my legs and off I went, on her back for what seemed like ten minutes but was probably only two, on the ride of my life through the paddock before I was dumped unceremoniously on the ground with Jess laughing her head off!
Both on and off the farm there is no shortage of tales to tell!
Last Friday was Lottie’s birthday and a great day was had by all.
Lottie’s parents shouted us lunch at the Texas Hotel and it was excellent, delicious and beautifully presented.
In the afternoon we played frisbee and cricket.
Dora was a most excellent fielder and frisbee catcher.
Tom, Charlie, Lottie and Dora all went kayaking and we cooked a barbecue on the campfire, followed by a birthday cake for Lottie.
It was a memorable and special day.
What a Turkey! November is Turkey Month at the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and, would you believe, Australia has its own Turkey Society.
Unlike chooks and ducks which have many breeds and different varieties within those breeds, for turkeys there is just one breed in which Australia recognises nine varieties.
These are black, blue, bourbon red, bronze, buff, narragansett, royal palm, slate in Australia – different to slate in the US and white.
Besides the centrepiece of Christmas dinner, turkeys make a great addition to the farm.
Contrary to popular belief they are not dumb and they are known to be quite affectionate and social, loving to interact with people.
They have good memories and form social groups.
We think they just say “gobble, gobble” but in fact they have around twenty phrases.
Turkeys are sensitive animals that have good and bad moods.
You can tell the mood the male (the tom) by the colour of his throat and head.
When a male is excited, his head turns blue and when he is about to get into a fight, his head turns red. Crikey!
Imagine if men did that! Turkeys love music and will cluck along to songs.
Well cared for, turkeys can live for 10 years, not bad considering the size of the bird.
When I was living on a farm in New Zealand in the late 1990s we had hundreds of wild bronze turkeys that roamed the area.
They were hardy and smart and had no natural predators.
If you are considering keeping turkeys remember “turkeys ain’t turkeys” and consider breeding a pure Australian Heritage breed to keep them going.
For more information please contact Australian Heritage Turkeys turkeysaustralia.com.au
