Friday, February 27, 2009

Very slack

Well, after chatting to Paula briefly, I decided that it was probably time I put some more photos up, and a quick rundown of whats happening on the farm. Please excuse the terseness.

Steph, Connor and I spent a week up in Auckland, and had a great time (unfortunately I can't find the photos at the moment!), but Steph and I had a couple days away by our selves at a marine reserve and had a great time. Ken launched one of his boats, and we all went fishing (including Connor).

I recently did a "try dive" to see if I would like scuba diving, and thought it was very cool, now to find the several hundred dollars to get my certification.

Steph and I went out hunting last weekend, got 55 rabbits and 2 hares, admittedly it was for over 150 bullets, so pretty poor performance, too many long range shots.

We've decided to start making some changes around here, and consequently have felled about a dozen trees so far, and more yet to come down. This is in order to make a new lawn, orchard and vege garden. It will take a few years before it looks nice again, but that's the way with plants.

Connor is pretty much always sleeping in a big bed now.

I've almost finished making a passive infra-red motion detecting camera (for mounting in trees to photograph wildlife). Hopefully you'll see some cool snaps soon (fingers crossed for the microprocessor to arrive today).

We've got rid of the last of our two kiko girls, and acquired 4 more angoras, unfortunatly that means probably after next shear or kidding, we'll be culling one of our girls (she always has foot problems and is off iffy temperment).

Vege garden is doing well, harvested the spuds, and put another 2 in, tomotatoes have gone mad, so we're now making tomatoe sauce, and it looks like we'll have chilli's coming out of our ears too!

Connor's swimming is going really well, he can now move around the pool quite confidently with armbands on.

We've just lost 2 rabbits to rabbit haemorrhagic disease (or RCD). Had to do my own autopsy. Fingers crossed that the young ones will be immune (young rabbits don't tend to fall to RHD). Thankfully the breeding stock are kept in cages off the ground, the ones in the overflow run were two babies that I didn't cull in time and subsequently had babies.

We've started preparing one paddock for resowing. I sprayed it out early last week, and will put down another 100L of glycophosphate in a weeks time or so, then rotavate and sow (hopefully in time for winter this year). I don't think we're putting in a winter crop like last year though.

The plough restoration has come to a grinding halt (no pun intended), I need to get some bits made up, and I have to remember to take them in to a engineering place to get a quote for them, might do that this afternoon, as I'm in town to get some new electric fence ground pegs (2m galv rods!)

I think that's about all, but now you're all up to speed on the developments at Littlebush.

Connor and his hobby horse

 
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Connor decided that being inside on a rainy day was boring.

 
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Connor making some mods to his tractor

 
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Monday, February 09, 2009

Been a while since the last post

Hopefully in the next few days I might get some photos up from our trip to Auckland, and some news of what's been happening around here...