Tuesday, 5 August 2008 Monday afternoon Aaron arrived home with three 10-litre bags of cream. Knowing how much the pigs love cheese we thought they might find this a treat. We put an extra trough in the 2 pig paddocks and fed out 2 of the bags. The pigs just went crazy for it.
Tuesday morning all the pigs refused to eat. Tuesday afternoon they refused again. Wednesday they ate a bit of fruit and nothing else. It was, to say the least, very worrying.
Our piggies had clearly overdosed on fat and we were entirely to blame. The piggies were all exuding an awful sour milk smell and Aaron and I felt just absolutely terrible. Our lovely treat had turned into something akin to animal cruelty.
Thankfully on Thursday the pigs had their appetite back, except Belle. At 5am that morning I was in her house hand feeding her pieces of apple and rubbing her tummy. I was late for work but it couldn’t be helped.
Finally Thursday afternoon Belle got up and ate some dinner and by Friday afternoon all the piggies were back to their old selves. We disposed of the last bag of cream and made a vow never ever to give them cream again. They would just have to stick to their usual camembert and feta.
Friends In The Right Places
Last Tuesday I arrived at work and discovered a big box under my desk. My darling friend Erica is currently contracting to a clothing company and they were having a staff sale. She told me it was all small sizes and asked if I wanted her to get me or Aaron anything. I told her we had a budget of $200 and that I trusted her judgement completely.
She spent $105 on 20 items of brand new clothing. It was like Christmas and I was cursing the fact that I’d just spent $100 on clothing at The Warehouse only a fortnight before.
I'm Soooo Over Winter
I’ve struggled at work for the last couple of weeks. My general lack of energy and enthusiasm is affecting me at work as well. I just don’t want to do anything. I’m lucky I have my own office as a couple of times I’ve caught myself just staring at the computer screen doing absolutely nothing.
At the moment I get my job done and that’s it. Although I’ve established a reputation at work for being friendly and approachable I think I’ve probably been quite the opposite lately.
However, I’m trying to help myself a little bit. I joined a stair walking group a couple of weeks ago and now I spend every morning and afternoon tea walking the stairs at work. We climb 16 flights in the morning and 21 in the afternoon and I try to go at a fast pace. If I can get the heart racing and feel slightly short of breath I’ve discovered it gives me a mental high for between 1 and 2 hours.
There’s usually a group of about 6 of us and the faces change from day to day depending on who’s available. Still, despite this exercise I’ve still been a grumpy sod this week.
It doesn’t help that I feel like I’m getting behind on everything – from keeping in touch with friends and family, to housework to general property maintenance. I started searching the Internet on Friday evening to find out more about blogs. By Saturday evening I had set up this blog.
Obviously it doesn’t have the personal feeling of an individual letter but the fact is, virtually no one is getting correspondence from me anyway so it’s better than nothing. Aaron is now thinking of starting up his own blog. His idea though is for it to be solely a commentary on sport and for anyone to view it. With any luck it may just become a popular site, he’ll get discovered and become a freelance sports journalist. Stranger things have happened!
Whisky and Coppa
Friday night we decided to let the dogs sleep on the verandah instead of putting them away for the night. They seemed to like it and didn’t wander off anywhere. It also helps to have them on rodent and possum duty near the crates of pig food.
We kept them out the next 2 nights as well, although Sunday night Whisky decided to attack a sleeping Coppa and we had to get up to sort them out. I think we’ll just keep it as a weekend treat so at least Coppa can have piece of mind some nights.
Since we built their new run and gave them separate sleeping areas Coppa is now a lot happier but Whisky isn't so thrilled. We originally had it so that the 2 dogs could still see each other from their mezzanine floors. However, Coppa growled at Whisky everytime he caught Whisky looking at him. That then set Whisky off barking verbal abuse at Coppa and in the end we were getting stuff all sleep as we had to keep getting up to sort them out.
I nailed up a dividing wall and Coppa was happy. Whisky on the other hand has taken to sleeping on the steps to his mezzanine, presumably so he can keep an eye on Coppa during the night. I'm not sure if it's his "I'm the alpha dog and don't you forget it" thing or whether it's more a protective thing. Whatever it is the growling seems to have ceased during the night.
Saturday Chores
Saturday morning was dry so we fed out, cleaned the pig troughs and houses and then set up the electric standards on the DoC paddock, ready for the cattle.
We absolutely had to pick up our orchard trees from Koanga this weekend so I got out the scrubcutter and cleared planting areas in the back garden. Then Aaron and I dug big holes. It was hard going but at least it wasn’t raining.
We stopped for an early lunch and I put on some washing and some eggs on the boil for our 2nd lunch. With the holes dug we fired up the chipper and put through this week’s vege waste and several large branches of willow. Then I went inside the house to check the washing and was hit by the pungent smell of smoke and a crackling, popping noise. Turns out eggs can catch on fire if left to boil for over an hour!
I was sooo annoyed with myself. I am doing so many stupid things like this lately. With so much to do these days I’m constantly starting one task before another is finished and invariably forgetting things. I filled the blackened pot with water and opened all the windows. Burnt egg is not a nice smell! Worst of all, my next task was to clean the chicken coop. Aaron turned the compost and I started cleaning. I wanted to tell the chickens I was sorry but I was so embarrassed about what I’d done I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
Chook Chook Chook
I think all 3 hens have started laying now, although one of them has obviously only just started as she is dropping eggs in random places. The other 2 are taking turns in one of the nesting boxes.
For some reason the chickens have decided the 2nd nesting box is a chicken toilet. I scraped out the poo-covered hay and put the 2 nesting boxes together. Hopefully that might confuse the hens into thinking they’re both laying boxes.
The chickens are desperate to get out of the coop now. Every time I open the door one of them tries to bolt. I don’t blame them of course. There’s not much for them to play with in there. They’ve completely scratched away any plants, weeds, etc. We covered one of the raised beds in leaf mulch a few weeks back, which totally freaked them out. I had thought they might find it good to scratch in but it seems not. They do like the weekly changing of the willow mulch though. They absolutely love scratching through it and pecking it.
The chickens seem to be pretty much free of pests and I wonder if it has something to do with the willow. Perhaps it’s not only good for internal parasites? Several times a week I will throw in a large plant of puha or dandelion or a big bunch of watercress and they absolutely love ripping into it and gobbling it up.
I also make up bowls of finely chopped tamarillos and tomatoes mixed with a very small amount of crumbled feta. Unbelievably they are just like the pigs when it comes to cheese. They wolf it down as fast as they can and then take their time with the fruit. If I’ve accidentally dropped a big piece of feta in the bowl one of the chooks will find it, grab it and sprint away to a corner to eat its treat before the others get to it.
If we get lots of cucumbers from the orchard I will slice them in half lengthways and they will peck the skins clean. Unfortunately they are not the slightest bit interested in slugs or snails, which is the precise reason we got them in the first place. Turns out we need ducks or geese for that.
Once we’ve fenced off the back garden we will let the chickens out to forage. If we let them out now the dogs will have a field day. They hate birds and eat any they catch. We’ve had a cormorant in residence by the stream for the last month and the dogs go absolutely crazy when they see it. They bark and whine almost hysterically and then the cormorant takes off and circles above and the boys race frantically up and down the drive trying desperately to scare it off. The barking is annoying but they get lots of exercise in the process so I quite like the cormorant being there.
Hawks are another issue for them. They drift in lazy circles in the air in front of the verandah as they search for a meal on the flats. Meanwhile the dogs race up and down in front of the house barking furiously. More exercise! It’s all good.
Dad Visits
Saturday afternoon dad turned up for a flying visit but before he’d even got to the house Aaron had convinced him he had to stay. And so that afternoon we kitted dad out in Swanndri and beanie and he watched us feed out the animals.
Back at the house I assured him that now he knew what to do we would be sure to call on him the next time we needed someone to babysit the animals. Ha ha!
Dad and Aaron spent the rest of the day drinking, watching sport and watching the River Cottage ‘Pig in a Day” dvd. We had our yummy aged Dexter-beef sausages for dinner and then I made us some lovely chocolate brownies.
I’ve never been terribly impressed with any brownie recipe I’ve tried but Aaron had bought home a couple of cartons of mascarpone and while I was googling recipes on the Internet I discovered a mascarpone brownie recipe. I will definitely be making them again.
It was good to have dad there. He doesn’t visit enough. Admittedly I should have spent more time talking to him but as usual I was more focused on me and the things I needed to do.
Lazy Sundays
We slept in until 7 on Sunday and then fed out the animals and came back up to the house for breakfast. Dad was still in bed so we headed next door to collect the cattle off the driveway. We walked them sedately along the drive, trying to keep them as calm as possible. However, when they got to the gate at the bottom paddock they saw the grass, got all excited and started kicking and bucking and running madly across the paddock. “No! Stop it! Stop it!” I yelled. Too late. With the paddock so wet the last thing we wanted was for the cattle to run. They can do so much damage in such a short burst of time.
We moved the cattle up onto the hill. They were supposed to go on the flats but 9mm of rain overnight had left the ground absolutely waterlogged.
With the electric fencing all in place we went back up to the house. Dad was up and doing the dinner dishes. He left shortly after that, taking with him some of the aged Dexter beef cuts for mum and Jo.
We put the dogs in their run and took the car across the road and picked up our fruit trees. Elaine was behind the counter as per usual. We chatted for a while and discovered she was contemplating getting a pet pig. We invited her over to see our piglets when we have some at the end of the year.
We took the trees home and worked out where each should be planted. It had rained overnight and all but 2 holes were full of water. I emptied the water out, but I’m worried now that our trees are going to drown in the next big rainfall. I hope not. I had the same misgivings last year when we planted orchard trees, however they all survived so fingers crossed for this lot.
Aaron filled the wheelbarrow with compost and wheeled it over to one of the holes. While Aaron tipped the compost I planted the trees. The idea was to incorporate the dug out soil with the compost but the heavy rain the night before had turned it into sticky mud. It stuck to my gloves and my gumboots and mixing the two was impossible.
I became overwhelmingly frustrated and annoyed and cursed the mud and the rain. Hole after hole we repeated the process with me getting more and more irrational about the mud. I ranted and cried and hated every minute of it.
At one hole Aaron tipped the wheelbarrow, the wheel lost traction on the mud and the weight of it yanked it forward, catching his little finger. While he didn’t think it was broken he has bruised it very badly and it started to swell up slightly on Monday. With the job done I’d had enough of being outside. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the laptop, editing my last 2 newsletters and continuing to set up my blog.
Monday, Monday…
Early Monday morning Aaron’s alarm went off but he was too exhausted to get out of bed. In fact he stayed in bed for at least another 5 hours. While it’s been blindingly obvious that I have not been coping with this winter, Aaron has struggled as well but in a less dramatic way. He’ll be very quiet at times, stressing about something happening on the block. The last few days though he’s been very snappy (although apparently not as bad as me).
Quite frankly he needed a break to get back on track. Monday we took it easy. Late morning we went for a drive down to Warkworth to collect vegetables. We made various other stops on the way and got back for a late lunch. The dogs came with us.
Coppa especially loves going for a drive. At 100km an hour he has one paw on the door arm and one on my shoulder and his head’s right out the window. He seems to love having his fur streaming behind him and all those smells rushing at him. Whisky on the other hand is a 50km an hour dog. He likes a sedate travel where he can get a good look around. As soon as we get anywhere over 50 he lies down on the back seat or tries to lie between the 2 front seats, headbutting whoever’s elbow is convenient, making it quite clear that a scratch would be very much appreciated at this stage thank you.
The Most Annoying Creatures On The Planet?
When we’d got home and sorted out the latest fruit and vege scraps I made up a bowl of chopped fruit for the chickens. I added a kiwifruit but it seems they don’t much like kiwifruit. I was pleased to discover 2 eggs in the one nesting box. As always I thanked the girls and told Roosty he was a handsome boy with a wonderful crow (lest he feel left out).
Despite not liking chickens, now the hens are laying I feel more affection for them. I don’t wish to name them but I do want them to be happy. As for Roosty. It’s not really a name but somehow has become one. A bit like 46 and 51 really. Aaron pointed out it sounds very like Marty’s surname. Perhaps we should call our Rooster Marty? I wonder if Marty would be offended?
I can’t believe we own a rooster. Of all the creatures I was never ever going to live nextdoor to, and now I’ve got one in my own backyard! Not that it was intentional. He was supposed to be a hen. The sound of a rooster is one of the worst sounds on the planet until you actually own one. He competes with one of Frank’s roosters, having crowing duels. And although Frank’s rooster is older and far more experienced I do believe Roosty’s crow might be slightly superior.
It’s bizarre. I can remember on more than one occasion debating the merits of having children with mum. “They’re so annoying” I would say. “But it’s different when they’re your own” she would reply. Yeah, whatever! And though I don’t have children I have somehow ended up with a menagerie of animals that apart from pigs, all used to annoy the crap out of me in one way or another, and by god mum was right – it is different when they’re your own. Not that that means I’m going to have children. Let’s just make that very clear. Children definitely are annoying.
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