When I got back home on Monday, Herbie helped me getting Parrot loaded, oh wait, he only helped lift the ramp once he was in the trailer after attaching the trailer ! I backed the truck up, then took it out back and positioned it, then I took my toe ring off as I was going to be walking through knee deep mud (didn't know it was knee-deep), went and got behind Parrot and shewed him down the channel, then pulled the cattle panel gate closed behind me, getting shocked as it touched the electric fencing and I was standing in the mud, then pushed another gate up close behind him to get him into the trailer. Drove over to Mikes as I cannot easily lift the ramp by myself, and could load the sheep through the front door the next morning.
Hopefully I'll be getting a decent cheque for them, but one never knows. Yesterday morning, after I'd dropped them off, Mike called to say I didn't have the scrapie tags and that he didn't want to take them. I'd pulled the truck and trailer around on the back lawn, opened the ramp so that I could clean it out. Took the horses in it a month or so ago, then the bull on Monday and the sheep on Tuesday, so had a trifecta of poop. Had to go close it by myself :( when I remembered that I'd taken last years lambs down to the Mt Hope auction, and didn't have them tagged then. Called Mike back and told him, but he wasn't sure, so I left to go meet him at the dairy around the corner from us to fetch my lambs. Just pulled out the driveway when he called saying he'd spoken to them and they could supply the tags, and what was my surname ? So I drove to the Catholic Church on the corner and turned around in their parking lot and came home.
Went to Darlene in the afternoon as arranged last week, for pickling cucumbers, beetroot, tomatoes, onions and spanspek (canteloup) She didn't have any green beans :(.
Today I started with the refridgerator pickles, and tonight I'll do some brine for the bread and butter ones.
Herbies youngest arrived to visit today and I wasn't aware she was coming. Just about died of heart failure when the back door opened and someone came in !
Got the new channel from the veggie garden, existing channel and original pasture to meet up with the channel I put in earlier this year for the milk girls to get to the lower barn. Had to wait for the rain to soften the ground so I could pound some fence posts in. Tried a week ago and those buggers just wouldn't sink.
Eleanor was in fine form in the milking parlour tonight. She actually stands sideways in the stall and poops so that it splatters me and the milk bucket, the stinker. Maybe she's on heat as she was just impossible. When I did eventually get the milker on to her, she stamped it off in about 10 seconds and stood on it. Got it cleaned up, reattached it to her and she gave about 3 tablespoons of milk. I know I was late as I was doing the channel, but dammit, she was just difficult. Pooped 4 times and pee'd twice in her stall ! And just yesterday I was so pleased that there weren't any poops to clean up in the whole lower barn, never mind the milk parlour. Brought Dolly in to tonight to check on her udder. Her one front teat is completely cut, looks like a penis head. Cleaned it off and put medicated fly spray on it to keep the flies off it. So she's down to 1 teat with 3 non-workers. Once Taxes is weaned, she'll either be sold or butchered. Herbie is against her being butchered as he thinks she'll be too tough to eat at 6 years old. As a cull cow we'll only see about $700 for her so she's worth more to us as meat. I was thinking the fillet steaks and then just hamburger for the rest of her. Maybe get the rump muscles to make biltong :)
So frustrated with the tractor. Bought a new battery from WalMart last year, and it's been nothing but trouble. Herbie had to take the first one back as it didn't work at all ! So I have to park the tractor where I can reach it with the extension cord so that I can jump start it every time I need to use it. Sometimes daily. Also had to jump start the zero-turn mower, twice ! But the lawn is looking fairly decent, for only the 2nd cutting this year :). Did some weedy whacking with the new wheeled whacker, around the trees and under the fence line. Still need to get out there and attack the thistles in the pastures with it.
Well, off to bed for me, it's been a long and exhausting day.