Foggy walk

We have lovely autumny-wintery cold weather here at the moment and in our area that means most mornings are rather misty. Usually by midmorning it's gone though. A few days ago however it stuck around all through the day and I snapped a few shots on our walk. The whole world looked soft, with beautiful light sluicing through the clouds in ribbons and making everything look like an impressionist painting. The scent was so clean, crisp and electric but everything was calm and quiet aside from the soft crunch of dirt and leaves under our feet. It felt like we were the only ones for miles around, walking between worlds.



These may be the last photos for a little while as my camera appears to have carked it. I took it with me to the herding trial and thought it was protected inside my purse but apparently not! *sobs hysterically*

Remember the Chinese curse?

"May you live in interesting times?"

We spent the past few days pretty much picking up and trying to continue preparing for if there was a shift and we had spot fires here. They had sent an alert to residents to be aware of and watch for possible impact but not a full warning for direct impact zone. At any rate, there is still more to do today so that's what I've been doing all morning and will continue to be doing. At least I will go into this labor very fit right??? *G* Mind you I'll be glad enough when things are boring enough I can sit down and just do a bit of crafting at home or go shopping for bubs. (I have been woefully slack in the later department... lol)

The good news is that after briefly raising the alert the other day they then downgraded it last night and through this morning it's stayed there, albeit we're getting a bit of ash from backburns. So Nic is back at work, which I'm less than entirely comfortable with because I'd much rather have him here to help me round up the critters and hitch the trailer if we need to leave. It'll mean I need to get La into the car, hitch the trailer (my main concern - very heavy and difficult for me to hitch) then load the dogs, kitty and as many of the birds as I can cram into carriers in the car/dog trailer with some of our (prepacked) stuff. The sheep I'd have to leave, hopefully they would be able to just move through the paddocks to clear areas as the firefront passed.

To inject a bit of humor, after the thought we might have to call 000 for fire, last night we did have to call 000 for nothing to do with fires! At 2AM, a guy comes pounding on the door to say our cows are on the road and one is hit. Initial 2 am brain fog (...but we don't have cows...) quickly vanished as the potential for trouble dawned (cattle in road+night+morons speeding around tight blind curves+other morons doing the same=BAD) so Nic grabbed a torch to wave people off while I rang the police. The guy left while Nic was grabbing the torch - have a feeling he had tied a few on and didn't fancy getting a DUI. Some minutes after Nic sees a big SUV coming and frantically waves them down before they round the curve. Turns out it's the police - not realizing they passed the crossroad they'd been given as coordinates and are about to plow full tilt into the cows. Eventually the cows got to where they belonged - the gates were wide open, so some idiot must've had a prank. The neighbors who own them are older and apparently didn't hear the ruckus of the cows being pushed through their front yard to the lane to the paddocks! I'm sure they are wondering what happened when they went out this morning and found the erm.... "evidence" of the cows romp liberally splattered all over their front yard! Roadside grass is evidentally a bit richer than the cows are used to...

It's a funny sort of birthday mood today. Still feeling a bit antsy about the fires which you'd think would make it feel just grim and serious but also very blessed to still be here and not in the situation others are in which is a pretty freaking awesome 'birthday gift' in and of itself when you think of it.

Space Invaders From Mars

This afternoon we were out doing some pruning and looking at the pretty flowers as the rhododendrons are in full display and quite lovely to behold whole trees carpeted in a riot of pink flowers.
Suddenly all four dogs began raising the alarm usually reserved for when someone unwelcome has snuck onto our property and I went out fully expecting to see the neighbors terrier had come through the bulls paddock. They know that dog is distinctly unwelcome - he has a history of harrassing poultry and sheep. I hollered for everyone to hush and instead of the usual response (silence) they only paused long enough to look at me like I was totally daft. Bark, bark, bark... "MUM CAN'T YOU SEE!?! THIS IS NO ORDINARY STRANGER - IT'S A DANGEROUS SPACE INVADER FROM MARS!!!!!"

So I go over to explore what the source of all this ruckus is and see nothing. No neighbors terrier. No one fence hopping. No, wait... a tiny bit of movement. A very tiny bit.

Meet our dangerous freaky space invader... Obviously a terrible threat to safety and wellbeing... not!

Wombat herding...

...is probably not something anyone would want to try.

First of all because I suspect the local version of the DNR would be dreadfully unamused. Second of all because the wombat in question was unamused. And third of all because Mr. Talbot's cows were also unamused and I've no fond delusions how it'd turn out should they come after the wombat and I be in the way...

To be fair I certainly didn't intend to herd a wombat. I really can't think why anyone would want to herd one either for that matter. I'd assumed that what Hope and Veri were so interested in the tall grasses near the dam was probably nothing more fascinating than duck poo until I saw both dogs circle the spot uncertainly, sniff, sneeze and look up at me with twin baffled expressions whereupon I spotted their unlikely "sheep".

The wombat decided perhaps it'd best take it's dinner elsewhere and made a steady amble for the fence-line. The dogs looked up at me clearly wondering what the heck weird kind of sheep I'd brought them out to! Veri sneezed again and seemed to be thinking, "Those crazy Texal ewes were bad enough but mum's gone off the deep end this time..." I told them to leave it and watched as the wombat barely wriggled it's rump loose from under the lowest line of barbed wire, only to run straight into Mr. Talbots cows. The cows took one look at the furry brown intruder and circled up to it sure that it was out to get their babies. The poor wombat by now decided it had absolutely enough and for a furry, brown, brick-shaped tank managed a surprisingly fast clip for the back paddocks where it could eat in peace!

The "Quiet Country Life"

Yes, these are horses. Yes, they're in my paddock. No, they're not mine. I promise I'll explain at the end!

The morning started out with the gas cylinders which supply our oven and hot water being empty when I went to turn it on. Apparently Nic forgot to switch it over to the other cylinder before it fully ran out and while he did flip it after he forgot to start the pilot light again. So that was annoying but when I went to start the pilot light again... bupkiss. Tried again. Bupkiss. Tried resetting it. Bupkiss. So no hot water and both La and I needed a shower - me for my hair which was dirty and La for the fact he'd had breakfast and had jam, yogurt and banana smeared liberally through his hair. That ended up being done by heating some water and using a deep bowl to wash our hair...

At this point we were already late for playgroup and I notice one of the ewes is looking distinctly unhappy and having big old contractions and needed help. One leg was poking out and one nose, when they're ought to be two legs poking out. There was a long rubber glove, KY jelly and a lot of shoving involved, along with one VERY unappreciative mumma sheep. 'Nuff said!

After all this I'm figuring the day has already had it's share of excitement. We eventually get to PG at Box Hill, have our fun, PG's over, so I decide to stop at the aquarium shop in Boronia on the way back to pick up a few more fish and drive back cutting through Emerald which is always a pretty drive.

As I get out and let the dogs out, La is sound asleep so I start putting stuff away. I notice a whole bunch of cars stopping in front of my house. I notice two horses running in front of my house. I am more than occasionally forgetful and all too often my memory blips out at the most inconvienient times but I am *fairly* sure I do not remember buying two horses anytime recently. Or, you know, actually EVER.

There are nevertheless two large horses running around in front of my house and looking rather panicked - tossing their heads, whale eyes, dancing about. So I swing open my gates and call them in, sending up silent prayers to whichever deity is around to tell Murphy to piss off for awhile and pllllleeeeeaaaasssseeeee let these horses be friendly and not prone to biting, kicking or other such delights. Thankfully they are happy just to get off the road and upon seeing the gate swing open they trot at a fast clip into the paddocks - straight over to the hay. Figures.

So I lock the gate behind them, lock the paddock gate and then notice my sheep and Clancy the idiot alpaca who thinks he's going to play guard-alpaca with these horses who outweigh him ten times over. He's got guts. I'll give him that. Brains, no... but guts a plenty! With visions of maimed sheep and difficult explanations in my head, I jump the gate and run like hell for the sheep and alpaca, chuck them in the OTHER paddock in case these horses are ones that think biting sheep and alpacas is a good sport.... which the wooly buggers don't appreciate! Run back as fast as I can seeing as how La is still asleep in the car to check on him and the lovely lady who has stopped to help me shoo the horses into my paddock ask me if they are mine. Um. Nope. I just figured horses on the road where Mack trucks frequent at high speeds is a baaaaad idea!

So.

Now I've got two horses in my paddock. And they're eatting MY hay. But they're not mine.

Huh... what the hell do I do with this?!?!?!? Who do you even call? I imagine calling the police to tell them I've found two stray horses. "Yes officer, I found two horses. I've no idea where they came from. Why no, I haven't been drinking today..." What would the police even do with them... lock them up in a squad car? LOL Hm. Don't think they'd fit! I'm not sure we've even got an animal control let alone what their number is. And with this whole horse flu thing I do not need to be stuck with horses for a month! I don't know my neighbors number but I walk over to knock on the theory that if they're hers she'll be glad to have them back and if they're not she might know whose they are. At the very least she knows about horses so she'd know who to call.

Problem. She has three unfamiliar horses in her driveway loose behind her gate. This is not where they're supposed to be and I don't recognize them anyhow but they nixed my idea of going in to knock on her door as they pinned their ears at me and weren't looking very friendly. So at this point I remember we've got the same real estate agent and HE might have her number. Ring him, explain what's going on, get her number from him and at that point someone comes running up the driveway.

I know it's probably redundant but I had to ask... "Um. Are you missing two horses?" They were. Whew. One of them had been hers since she was a child and she'd been in an absolute panic about them. Apparently had broken through the fence and got spooked on the road, which made them run. The two had made it at least a good two kilometers from their paddocks before I'd gotten them penned! Holy crud... how do two big horses (these guys were 16 hands if they were an inch!) run down the road for two kilometers without SOMEONE noticing and calling the authorities?!?!? O_o

So I asked where they lived, knowing they must live nearby. Apparently they are my neighbors... not my next door neighbors but the neighbors' neighbor. So far every neighbor I've met has been when one of their animals strayed onto my property - Talbot's and their cows, the other neighbors and THEIR cows, and now these guys and their horses.

I have GOT to quit meeting my neighbors this way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Especially as the other neighbor I haven't met keeps ostrich!

We had our first actual guest over today... Nic's friend Justin, and enjoyed the heck out of the lovely weekend.

So... what's been going on lately.

Well first is that we're really enjoying our lovely ducks and chookies. The chooks are pets, though the ducks are not as we need them to work on herding and very tame ducks aren't any good for it. The one duck, the Aylesbury, is however going to be a pet. None are what you'd call tame yet though! (Needless to say I have visions of The Bailey's Chicken Camp here! LOL) Laurent loves them all! He finds everything the ducks do hilarious... if they poke their heads up and waddle or waggle their tales or quack softly to themselves he just cracks up! He quickly picked up the word "duck" but hasn't quite mastered the "quack" sound. The chooks however he calls "beep beep" (his word for the finches) and is calling them, "thook thook thook" after hearing me call them "chook chook chook" when I bring their 'treat' food. They've got pelleted stuff available 24-7 but we've got a grain mix as a 'treat' to help tame them as right now handling them results in scrambling chickens yelling in alarm.

I've also got my first bits of work to do as we're now semi-unpacked (read: there is a higher walking space to box ratio than previous) a lot of the trees in the garden need a bit of pruning and a lot of the twigs that have fallen as a result of the winds need to be put through a chipper. Of course, I've got to buy a chipper and snips first because we don't have the former and can't find the later. I also need to get in contact with a fencing contractor and get the front yard fully fenced off so it's safe for L and Cade. I need to finish up the chooks run which is mostly done so they can go in it from their little enclosure. I need to build a bigger chook house for the run so I can get a few more chooks eventually. I also need to repair a section of one of the paddock fences as yesterday I looked out back to check on my ducks and while admiring the ducks also saw the calf in the paddock nearest our house. No... you didn't miss anything faithful readers - I do NOT own a calf. However I did have one in my paddock. I double checked to be sure it wasn't just in the little laneway next to the paddocks and nope, there was definitely a calf and it was definitely in our paddock. I go outside and hear the calf sounding rather distressed about the whole situation. In fact he's pacing the fence line next to his equally unhappy mother, trying to work out how he got in this predicament. It seems part of the fencing was missing some wires in a hole just large enough for a few week old calf to hop through and seeing as how the grass is always greener on the other side, this little fellow decided to do just that.

So, the question is how to get the calf back where it ought to be. My neighbor doesn't seem to be home so I can't just ask them to kindly fetch their calf. We do have a gate but it occurs to me that it's probably not a great idea to try to haul the currently cauterwailing calf up to the top of the pasture and open the gate to shove him through before his mumma comes through as she is currently NOT happy and seems to reckon I'm the problem rather than the solution judging by the bellowing. That and there are several other cow-calf pairs and a Very Large Bull in the same paddock I'd be shoving him back into have come up as well and they could also push past me with his mumma and things would probalby Not End Well if several angry cow-calfs and a Very Big Bull cornered me. I don't know much about cows but I know that!

I couldn't simply LEAVE the calf there till my neighbor got back though... well, first of all it's not how I want to introduce myself to my neighbors ("Hi, my name is Amanda and I'm not a cow-napper but um... I've got one of your calfs. Can you come get it?") Plus it's going to get distressed being away from it's mum and it could try going back through itself and get all tangled up and break a leg or something that would result in it having to go to the knacker early and even though it's destined to go there anyway, going there as a baby seems sadder. Most importantly... I didn't reckon mum mightn't just push through fence in an attempt to get her baby in which case I'd have a bigger hole and a lot more cows wandering into my property and I'd have to run faster than I'm good at for the gate out which was all the way across the paddock.

The best option seemed to be attempting to guide the calf back through the hole. Problem 1: this isn't a nice tame little petting farm calf or a sweet little 4H prospect that leads and ties nicely. Problem 2: I have no way of catching it, let alone shoving it through a hole. It might be little for a cow but I'm fairly sure it still outweighs me. So I sort of walked toward it so it went toward the hole to move away from me. The calf took one look at me approaching and ran repeatedly into the fence, panicking and bawling, till it hit the spot where the hole was pushed it's way through, white eyes rolling and tongue out and slobbering (which sort of ruined the cute-little-calf image) to get away from me. For a moment looking like it was going to get it's hind leg tangled and I had visions of getting kicked by pointy black hooves but with a final little kick, the calf went back through the fence, ran to mumma, who promptly sniffed it all over it's little black body to make sure I hadn't done anything horrible to her little baby and they quickly melted back into the circle of other cows and calf and the Very Big Bull who'd been standing uncomfortably near by during this whole thing.

So. As I said, we need to fix the fence. The cute little calf was bad enough, I don't want him whispering to his buddies to come through and visit!