02-27-04

I am listening to the ABC's (our ABC, not yours) 1PM news on the radio, and also have Songbirds of Australia playing on the computer in the background.  It features the ABCs Symphony Orchestra, as well reasonably local bird noises, compiled by David Cundy.  It's very hard to not relax, even with the usual dreadful news going through the kitchen.

 
As you can see by the photographs, Heather, our new Scottish Highland heifer, is settling in very well.  She is a beautiful young lady, and the wispy tendrils hanging down her face only highlight that fact.  She eats delicately, unlike her new husband, who bellows at one if the food is not presented fast enough.  Muppet thinks, I believe, that food can be divided into two classes - bread and non-bread.  Naturally, neither beastie gets so much bread as to cause problems.
 
When we brought Heather back with us, we opened up the back of the horse float.  Heather was patient and then rushed out when she smelled Muppet, lowering her head to duck under the top gate of the float.  She tried to introduce herself to Muppet, but he was having none of it.  Muppet was scared.  Admittedly, Heather is a trifle bigger than he, but he has it all over her in terms of weight (Muppet is FAT).  So he kept running.  And she kept pursuing.
 
Eventually, Muppet managed to get to a position where the wind was reversed - and he smelled female Muppet.  Well, it was on for young and old, then!  He charged back to inspect more closely.  Trouble was, Heather decided to be coquettish.
 
They are friends, now, which is a good prelude.  Muppet is very protective, insisting that when the German Shepherds bark or are seen to be playing in the small paddock, it is time to move further away.  They scratch each other with their horns.  It's so cute.
 
Porgy is back with us, having done his boarish duty to perfection.  Apparently as part of the courtship, he beat up his new lady-love, and had to be temporarily separated.  The gentleman who borrowed him was a bit concerned that Porgy would not be able to bridge a slight gap from the back of the trailer to the cattle run.  Porgy literally took it all in his stride.  He headed straight for his old area, as if profoundly relieved to be back home.
 
Brian has since released Bess into Porgys area, on the basis that she needed to be separated from her piglets.  She was getting a bit violent towards them, and we believe it is time for her to be pregnant again.
 
Oh, the other pictures - those calves you see are our two Friesians - Greedy the freezer steer, and Smiley, another lady-in-waiting for Muppet.
 
The feathers have had a very restless night, and Beau is going off like a two bob watch (cheap watch that runs too fast and ticks very loudly), so I'm not sure what is going on.  I have just been out to check, collected a couple of eggs from the ladies, but still cannot make out the cause of the fuss.  Not to worry.  It took a while, but Beau has calmed down.
 
As you know, I love reading.  Well, my latest snippet is from an older copy of the Weekly Times, which always has fascinating reading for those on the land in Victoria.  It's about a Dutch family who emigrated to Victoria, and the innovations they have brought to the farm they have bought.  It also tells of the agri-shock of a far drier climate, as compared to the Netherlands.
 
There is an interesting box which tells something of the red tape for livestock in Holland.  The Visshcers had to:
 
  • Register the birth of every calf by phone (sic) to an authority within hours of it being born.
  • Ensure all cattle had two tags, one in each ear, in case one was lost.
  • Ensure all cattle had a passport, which went with the cow when it was sold to buyers in other countries.
  • Have a licence to produce manure.
  • Pay a fine for every litre of milk they produced above their milk quota.
  • Register by phone (sic) to an authority every movement of cattle off their farm (e.g. agistment, death, sale).
  • Be careful about the amount of feriliser they spread as it was limited to a certain amount per hectare.
  • Inject cow manure in the soil, as spreading on top was not allowed.
See, and you thought you had it tough!
 
Now, Peter Cundall has some gardening advice for all of you onion lovers - "When plants go thick in the neck, that's bad news.  If the entire crop gets thick necks, it's a disaster.
 
"It means the plants are bolting to seed instead of forming proper onions.  In fact they usually start to flower during early summer.
 
"When onions that have bolted are lifted they are virtually useless.  All are soft, fairly tasteless and, worst of all, have a tough, fibrous green core."
 
Peter then goes on to state that if they bolt it's because they have been planted at the wrong time of year.  Plant your long-keeping onions, if you can, in winter.  That will give them an increased number of daylight hours in the critical growing stage.
 
He states that he has been growing elephant or siberian garlic recently because with garlic, not only does it not matter about the plant bolting to seed, but the flowers are quite spectacular, especially in an ornamental garden.  We have our siberian garlic in amongst our roses.  I believe it reduces pests.  Of course, they do produce edible bulbils as well, and sometimes the smaller plants produce bulbils in swellings halfway up the stem - another curiosity!
 
Paddocks
 
Giant articulated insect exoskeletons
spread great gouts of water like clear ichor
 
The Hand of God passes over a crop
like a nap of velvet disturbed
 
Air so fresh it invigorates all who breathe it
 
and a sky bigger than imagination.