Okay to start off, the best good news: we passed the trial period for this job and the boss is going to make up a more permanent contract! It's been a stressful, hectic, exhausting few months since we started - getting home late from shopping in town on a "day off" and still having to feed and medicate the sick calves, freezing nights out in the paddock trying to save a sick cow in ankle deep water while the dew turned to frost around us, getting to work at 7am to find all thirty calves in the shed have come down sick overnight, long days, too many late nights. But I guess through all the mistakes and struggles, we actually did a good job because we didn't get fired.
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And now, the weather. At the end of July we were commenting on how little rain we'd had this winter. But August brought all the usual wintery weather we hadn't had for the first two months of the season. Rain, sleet, hail, destructive winds, frosts, etc. We only had ten days the whole month without any rain, and this month so far only three days without rain.
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And now, the weather. At the end of July we were commenting on how little rain we'd had this winter. But August brought all the usual wintery weather we hadn't had for the first two months of the season. Rain, sleet, hail, destructive winds, frosts, etc. We only had ten days the whole month without any rain, and this month so far only three days without rain.
June: 12mm, 16 days of rain.
July: 48mm, 22 days of rain.
August: 71mm, 21 days of rain.
And so far for September: 55mm, 15 days of rain.
Most of the paddocks are now covered in ankle deep water, with some areas more than knee deep. Parts of those paddocks are inaccessible by motorbike and by foot. That's when a good dog comes in handy, they don't mind going for a swim even though it's often less than 10*C. Unfortunately Sparkie doesn't quite have the drive to take on a stubborn cow anymore and Skuggi's not trained enough to take over yet.
After weaning the oldest group of calves and moving them down the road to better grass, we were able to shift the second group to higher ground. The boss has been saying for weeks now how bad he felt about the state of the paddock they were in, since it's low lying and slowly turning into a swamp. But with only three paddocks on the property suitable for young calves and all of them in use, we had to wait until weaning day before we could shift them to a better place.
Looking at the forecast though things may be drying out soon, with temperatures this week expected to sit between 18-20*C with minimal rain for the most part.
And here is a video of our life on this new farm.
And here is a video of our life on this new farm.
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Logan and his friends are now 15 and 17 months old, so they're getting their training gear setup for ground driving this week, ahead of being able to ride them next year. More videos and photos to come as their training progresses!
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Skuggi is also getting his adult working gear soon, his training is going so well and I think he's finally maturing. He's so confident now. With Sparkie showing signs of arthritis this winter and reluctant to work some days, Skuggi's been doing most of the outings. Once he turns two in December, he'll get to use a better harness, for guide work.
