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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Catch Up and don't forget the giveaway

 
A bit of a busy week to-ing and fro-ing. I managed to do some  Christmas shopping on Thursday and donate blood as well. Then it has been farm work which was made a little less pleasant by the heat. We have had temperatures in the high 30 deg C and have been told to expect the low 40s by the end of this week. I'm not looking forward to that. Although I like to embrace the seasons as they come, I really don't like excess heat and if it is coupled with humidity then it is not for me.
 

Heads down enjoying their hay
 This week we marked the lambs. That is tail docking and castration of males which aren't suitable for breeding. Our lambs are ear tagged when they are younger to enable us to keep track of their pedigree which is important when dealing with registered pure bred animals. It really isn't a pleasant task for farmer or animal but necessary for longterm animal welfare. Sheep with tails are prone to flystrike which can be deadly quite quickly. I know in some cooler climates where flies aren't the problem that they are in Australia, sheep can keep their tails but not here. Anyway, we carry out the procedure quickly and with care and with the animals' best interests at heart.

 We had a red bellied black snake make a visit on Thursday afternoon. I had  been over to the turkey house to visit mother turkey and her new chicks and all was well. Forty-five minutes later there was much ado in the house. Our male turkey, the other female and mother were flapping and carrying on a treat. I initially thought they were attacking the newly hatched chicks (although they have never done anything like that before) but no, the three were teaming up against the above snake. I know they are defensive but I had no idea that they would fight off a snake in defense of their young. The good news is that no birds were harmed though the snake didn't fair as well.

After a lot of craft and sewing being done recently, I haven't even toched any fabric until tonight. My mother gave me a bag of squares which came through the op shop she volunteers at. They are gaudy and bright, 1970s looking and not my style but they apparently belonged to someone who cared about them so I'm not letting them go to waste. I do need a bit of inspiration working with bright fabrics and there is plenty to be found here. I hope to have this little project finished by Tuesday night because come Wednesday, I am heading off on a big train trip to Sydney for Tom's birthday and also to bring him back home next weekend. I lose my sewing zone then because he will want his room all to himself I'm sure.

Don't forget the giveaway. It is only small but good things come in small packages. Right?
Tracy

5 comments:

Janice said...

It is so true that marking lambs is necessary in our climate - just unfortunate that some people don't understand our climate. Your turkeys were very brave. I'm glad they are all OK. We don't seem to get any black snakes these day - only browns and tigers.
Have fun with your fabrics. There are some cute quilts lately using the retro fabrics.

africanaussie said...

Oh I think you are doing a great job of that quilt, it looks very pretty. Wow I am impressed with your turkeys - it looks as though they are earning their keep! I didn't realize that you got humidity as well as that high heat there. I thought it was only in the tropics that we got the humidity. I wont complain any more - our temp really only gets into the low 30's

Tania said...

I think it is amazing the instincts of animals...they are much the same as ours, protect our family to the death if necessary. Snakes are always a worry...

That is a nice lot of fabric that your mum picked up for you, love the old patterns and colours. Cant wait to see what you do with them :)

x

trishie said...

Love that the turkeys fought off the snake! It's amazing what animals will do to protect their young.

Zara said...

The bright fabric is lovely. Looking forward to seeing what it becomes.
Your beautiful christmas ornaments arrived today and they are so sweet. The little additions to the gift were a lovely suprise and very 'me'. Thank you.
I'm enjoying looking through your blog.
x