Life Gets Busy Again

8 November 2009

Well, it was bound to happen. We decided to take a break from having HelpXers and suddenly there aren’t enough hours in the day again.

This weekend Aaron and I worked really hard, but although we achieved a lot it wasn’t enough. It’s spring and suddenly we are swamped with stuff to do. I would take a few days off work if I thought it would help but Aaron can’t and won’t. And so inevitably we discussed the possibility of having HelpXers in again, if only for a week, and after discussing our list of things to do we both agreed to host again.

Quite frankly we’re both enjoying the break from guests and Coppa has been the happiest dog since we have been guest free so it is not an easy decision to make. However, there’s a truckload of compost and a truckload of woodchip sitting on the drive and they need to be shifted into our new permaculture vegetable garden. We have to extend 2 pig houses and also fence Stanley’s paddock with chicken wire so we can let the ducks in.

Pig Business

As yet we haven’t sorted out any deal with the local butcher but we’re taking the plunge anyway and increasing our breeding stock to 6 sows. It’s a big step and a lot of pigs to look after but we’ve crunched the numbers and if we can sell our piglets at a fair price we stand to make enough money to help us pay the mortgage off that much faster.

It’s no get-rich-quick scheme and in fact most financial advisors would probably advise against doing such a thing. However, this isn’t really about money. Now the farm is set up to raise pigs, as long as we don’t lose money from hereon in then we are happy. For us it’s about the sheer enjoyment of being around pigs and about knowing the meat we eat is of an extremely high standard.

So we’ve agreed to buy the Wessex Saddleback sow from Kaipara Workwear and Safety Clothing in town. She’s getting on a bit but we may be able to get one or two litters out of her. We just hope she gets on well with Mabel.

As for the other 2 new girls, we’ve decided to keep 2 gilts from Mabel’s litter – Emily and Olive. They’re both very sweet, friendly wee girls and they will be raised together.

So now we have to divide Mabel’s paddock into two and add extensions to the van. Quite frankly I’d like to get rid of the van altogether and start again but Aaron thinks it will be too difficult now the big shed’s between it and the driveway. Not a problem of course if we had a helicopter or possibly a great big 4WD tractor but we have neither and without an axle or wheels there’s no pushing it either.

A Lamb Goes Missing

A couple of weeks ago Thyme’s ram lamb went missing. It was very odd as he is still quite young. We briefly considered that he may have gone through a gap in the fence and run away but we quickly dismissed this as a highly unlikely scenario. The most obvious scenario was that in trying to cross the stream he had miscalculated and fallen in.

Aaron walked the length of the stream twice and checked paddocks on either side. The ram was nowhere to be found. I then arrived home and decided to take a look myself. Coppa came with me and we walked up and down the stream, looking in every nook and cranny, staring long and hard at deep patches of water trying to catch a glimpse. I was dreading catching sight of sodden wool but I could see nothing. We crossed the stream and again walked up and then back. I followed Coppa as he sniffed his way along the bank and for some reason I turned to look at some trees, and there, lying very still in the long grass and weeds was the lamb.
“Hello!”
I moved towards him and he leapt up and then I could see why he’d disappeared. He struggled and jumped in panic trying desperately to free his leg from between the base of two small willow trees. He would have been stuck most of the day and although I wanted to look at his leg he was so panicked that all I could do was prise the trees apart as quickly as possible to release him. Finally free he ran off in a panic to the far end of the paddock and then back again until eventually he found a place to cross the stream and be back with his family. We couldn’t get close then, his leg was clearly quite swollen but despite this he had no hesitation in running if we tried to go near.

And so the swelling has reduced now but he is limping badly. It can’t be broken as he puts some weight on it, but there must be some muscle or ligament damage. I had hoped it would improve after a week but it is not looking good. I suspect we will have to get him in the yards for a better look. Not that we can really do anything. I’m not paying for surgery or casts and despite the discomfort he must be feeling he’s not having any major difficulty getting around. I don’t want to shoot him because of discomfort. I’m guessing it’s the same as when I sprained my ankle and had to hobble around for a couple of weeks.

I’m just grateful we found him and he didn’t die a slow, agonising death. If I hadn’t spotted him when I did I suspect we would not have searched any more.

Fluffy Little Ducklings Perhaps?

Two of our ducks and one hen have gone broody. Amazingly one of the ducks has built a nest right in the middle of the duck house we built. It’s the first time it’s been used and I’m quite chuffed it’s been chosen as a duckling nursery. Unfortunately the other duck has made her nest under a fern very close to a large drop off into the gully. As for the hen, well with Marty gone it seemed highly unlikely she’d ever hatch her eggs so I took them off her and replaced them with 5 duck eggs. She squawked and flapped and no doubt called me all sorts of names but eventually she calmed down and embraced the duck eggs as her own.

So now we have 3 potential fluffy duckling days looming – 15 November, 22 November and 30 November.

While my head tells me that we’re unlikely to have any real success I’m can’t help myself but get excited at the possibility.