First blood

Last night despite the wind, I went out with the rifle for a quick walk. Proved quite fruitful with my first hare being dropped, it was from about 50 yards across a gully. The hare was killed with a through and through head shot using Winchester high velocity ammo.

I had dawned on me recently that there hasn't been much farmy stuff in the blog recently, this is mainly because we haven't really done a great deal around the place. We've been really busy with the redecorating, but finally this weekend we got around to doing something.The weekend started on Thursday with me doing a few hours on Thursday evening because I couldn't sleep, and this reduced the amount I had to do on Friday (as I wanted to get to the sales). I had spent Thursday evening running an electric wire around the bottom of the orchard in preparation for pigs (we're hoping to get two). On Friday morning (around 5:30am) I started working, and because of the previous evening's efforts and the early start, I was finished by around 10am, which was great. Arround 11am we headed into the sales, Julia (our neighbour) came along aswell. There were a few pens of interest, a sow and 7 piglets, and another of 4 porkers, some lambs (but there were too many, the pens were 9 and 10 sheep). We hung around till the end to make an offer on the piglets, but unfortunatly they had all already been sold. But we didn't go home with an empty trailer, Julia picked up a pen of a 4 tooth, 2 tooth and each had a lamb.
After dropping the lambs off at Julia's and doing the drenching and vaccinations for them, we headed into town, we first went to "Hunting and Fishing" to get their new catalouge. Unfortunatly with it being fishing seasion, there was much in the way of specials on rifles. But I got talking to the owner, and after about a half hour, he offered me his Brno 2E, it's a very well made, very accurate czech rifle. It was made in 1989. After shopping etc (at the new Pak'n'Save) we headed back to the shop to pick it up.
When we got home it was too windy really to try it out, but later that evening the wind dropped away completly and Steph and I headed over to John and Trish's. John has quite a lot of experiance with firearms, so I got his opion on it, and he helped to sight it in. At 25 yards he was putting the bullet through the previous one's hole!Just before the light started fading, we tried it at 50 yards, and it was shooting high by about 1", and I had a grouping of around 1" aswell.
Saturday morning, rifle in hand, I went for a stroll to get me some dinner....oh well, I came back empty handed. I saw 1 rabbit and another hare, but the rabbit was too far away (and it was the first one, so I left it alone), and the hare was on the skyline, hence not a safe shot.
I got back around 8am, and Steph was just getting up. We had breakfast then started on making the tree protectors in the mound paddock, they've been rammed in for ages now, but I hadn't got around to putting the timber around the top. Within a few hours, we had all the timber done in the mound paddock.
Later that afternoon, we headed over to Julia's and Andy's for a coffee (tea actually), and Andy,Alex and I had a plink at Alex's targets with the rifle, I scored 6 and 8 (lower=better), Alex got a 6 and a 4 (I think), and Andy hit the bull twice! I've decided I need more practice.
Around 5pm I drove to Lake Ferry to try and catch some dinner. Upon getting to the beach there wasn't a person in sight (a very bad omen), but all was not bad, within a few minutes I was pulling in my first red cod. A while later, a tourist came over and we started chatting, and just as he was leaving, I got a fantastic bite (rod creakingly good), unfortunatly I lost it! That managed to get the tourist's attention again for a short while (whilst I got another good few bites). After he decided that he was going to go and get his rod, I hauled in another 3 red cod (threw 1 back). Finally got home around 8pm, and quickly filleted the fish (and managed to slice the skin of my knuckle,which is now VERY sore and swollen).
Sunday morning, I thought about heading out for another strole but decided I was too tired, and we had offered to help John and Trish move their bulls from their place down the road to a set of yards (ready for the van). At around 8am, Steph and I jumped on the bike and headed up to John's. The plan was to get the 4 bulls out of the paddock, and onto the drive, then he and I would drive them down the road, and as we got close to the other yards and driveways, John would zip ahead, and head them off, and I would then drive, meanwhile Steph and Trish were in the car slowing traffic etc down, and keeping a general eye out for us. After arming ourselves with big sticks, we started pushing the bulls out onto the road, once on the road it was basically easy, espcially when they started trotting and if you could keep them going. Occasionally they would stop and have a munch at a tree or the verge, but a few loud shouts and lots of waving the stick got them moving again. After about 20minutes, they were 900m further north and in cattle yards ready for the truck.
As the weather wasn't great, Steph and I quickly headed out to the paddock and started putting up the netting around the trees, it took us two attempts (we got rained off), but by around lunch time,we had three compounds all finished.
The original idea was to go fishing around 3ish on Sunday, but because of the weather, we didn't. This did mean I could cull on of the rabbits for dinner. I had previously picked out a large grey/agouti rabbit that was to be the first. I culled it, and then skinned and gutted it. After gutting, it yeilded 1.125Kg of meat. The hide is currently being salted in the garage.
Whilst tea was cooking, I had a 45 minute section where nothing needed to be done, and since Steph was in the lounge playing the computer, I went for a stroll with the rifle. Didn't even go far, and then I saw a hare, as I brought the rifle infront of me and went to cock it, I realised something was missing, the magazine, it had fallen out....I had a look around but couldn't see it.
On Monday I ordered a new one, and this evening (tuesday), if the weather is fine, John, Trish, Andy, Alex, Julia,Steph and myself will go out and have another troll through the paddock, hopefully I'll find it,
Anyway, almost at Wellington, so till another time...

Piggies

Last night we picked up two piggies (and no they are not Pinky and Perky). Just found out from the neighbour that they have escaped and are playing havoc with the horse....

Uneventful weekend

Not a great deal happened this weekend, the plan was for me to go work on Sunday morning and evening, so Saturday was spent doing things like taking the rubbish to the tip, and just general stuff. Then we drove to Wellington and checked into the hotel, had a meal, and around 10:30pm I was rung up and told not to bother going in. I headed in for an hour on Sunday morning to do a little bit. Then today, after we got back (around lunch time), Steph worked Markissa, and then around 3pm I drove back down to Lake Ferry with the plan of doing some fishing, but unfortunantly the swell was too great and fishing was pointless. Thankfully I had caught a few fish on Friday afternoon, so all was not lost.

Not a lot of farmy stuff recently, the sheep are all fine, and growing really well; the rabbits are coming on nicely, Hollywood never gave birth, so next it's Snow White's turn again, the alpacas and goats are still around and doing OK. We have a few trees to finish fencing off next weekend, and then we can start to think about grazing the new paddocks (the grass is coming on really well), unfortunatly we have some penny royal in the paddocks so we need to either spray that off,or apply a significant amount of lime to combat it.

Fishing

 
 
 
  

Saturday again

 
 
  

Saturday

Well, this morning Steph and I played around with the conservatory, and roughly assembled it so that we could see how it went together and so I could measure it, because I am currently modeling that and the house in a 3D computer program.
Also after lunch when the GIB arrived we started putting it up, and as you can see, we've done about 1/2 the room.


On the farmy side of things, we've got an extra rabbit now, one of the cats brought in a baby bunny and left it alive in their food bowl! So it's now out with the others.

Then in the evening before tea, I quickly mowed the top paddock (the one with the new grass to try and get it to grow better, and to expose the Penny Royal, which we will need to spray off soon.

Anyway, till tomorrow.

 
  

Better baby photos.

Just had another checkup, and all is fine, these photos though are from the scan the other week.
 
 
 
  

A short synopsis of the weekend/

Quite a productive weekend, on Friday afternoon I spent several hours ripping the last of the GIB and then putting up the insulation, by the end of the day, I had most of the insulation up, and had used up an entire bag of batts.
Saturday morning saw the heat pump guys turn up (around 7:30ish!) and as they got to work, Steph and I headed into Masterton to do the weekly food shopping, and then down to Carterton to look at carpet.. We decided on a pale blue for the lounge, dining room and two bedrooms, but the nursery is going to be a dark speckled blue as it will hide spills etc a bit better.

By the time we got back the installers were just finishing up, and gave us the demo on the pump. Later in the day Andy, Alex and myself went down to Lake Ferry, but I managed to forget my reel, so I didn’t get to do much fishing…Oh well..
Meanwhile Steph worked Markissa.

In the evening we finally had our bonfire, it’s been building up and building up (lets just say the flames were about 5m tall) and by around 8pm it had all burnt down to a nice pile of ashes. Later that evening we had a good game of scrabble, I even managed a 7 letter word “estuary”, by the end of the game I had 306 points, but I had the “Q” still.

Sunday morning I got up and started mowing the lawns, yikes, I should really do it more often.
Later in the day Steph and I headed back down to Lake Ferry, and this time I managed to bring home two red cod, after releasing two too.

It’s getting brief, ‘cause this is all written on Tuesday evening, and I’m already forgetting the weekend.

Quite a productive weekend, on Friday afternoon I spent several hours ripping the last of the GIB and then putting up the insulation, by the end of the day, I had most of the insulation up, and had used up an entire bag of batts.
Saturday morning saw the heat pump guys turn up (around 7:30ish!) and as they got to work, Steph and I headed into Masterton to do the weekly food shopping, and then down to Carterton to look at carpet.. We decided on a pale blue for the lounge, dining room and two bedrooms, but the nursery is going to be a dark speckled blue as it will hide spills etc a bit better.

By the time we got back the installers were just finishing up, and gave us the demo on the pump. Later in the day Andy, Alex and myself went down to Lake Ferry, but I managed to forget my reel, so I didn’t get to do much fishing…Oh well..
Meanwhile Steph worked Markissa.

In the evening we finally had our bonfire, it’s been building up and building up (lets just say the flames were about 5m tall) and by around 8pm it had all burnt down to a nice pile of ashes. Later that evening we had a good game of scrabble, I even managed a 7 letter word “estuary”, by the end of the game I had 306 points, but I had the “Q” still.

Sunday morning I got up and started mowing the lawns, yikes, I should really do it more often.
Later in the day Steph and I headed back down to Lake Ferry, and this time I managed to bring home two red cod, after releasing two too.

It’s getting brief, ‘cause this is all written on Tuesday evening, and I’m already forgetting the weekend.

Baby