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...