It was wet out

 
Yesterday, M and me standing in B's place below our place surveying the back of the flood. Luckily our place (background past water)rises up to the ridge quickly.

Alexander Park Dressage

 
O at AP Dressage T-Shirt Day last Sunday. Check the t-shirt eh? My own design.

New Dam is Full

 
After a record low rainfall January, last night we had about 120mm of rain. It's full now.

Victorian Bushfires

This week marked the worst natural disaster in Australia's history. To those affected, rural people like us, our most sincere condolences. Words cannot express the enormity of this. So sorry.

New Bull

We have borrowed a black Angus bull called Michael from a neighbour to try and get our girls into calf. He's a little short. But we're hoping!

Cedar now a mature lady

 

Teddy

 
Seems to have grown in the year and a half we've had him.

Cedar Sharing a joke

 
Whispering in C's ear

Sunny beating the heat

 

Evie looking on

Swim Sunny Swim

 
30 year old gentleman, Sunny, having a swim on a hot day.

Louise is a lot better

Hoorah, the little love can walk again. S the Vet will be very happy when he sees her for her next check up. She's using the hobbles less and less as her leg muscles strengthen and her nerves for new pathways.

Curly and Toffee saying good morning

 

 

New fences

 
You can actually see the line of the old fence - diagonal to the new (only half-painted at the left at this stage) running towards the camera marked by yellow daisies. The fence affected the grazing / mowing pattern. Billy on the left, Win on the right.

Louise is a little better

After weeks of laying down on the rug inside, and having to be carried outside for "wetties" Louise is getting around on her own. She had her pins taken out of her broken pelvis, and within two days she's hobbling around everywhere. Really enthusiastically, and like smiling, like kind of really relieved she can walk again. Not well. She still needs hobbles so her back legs dont splay out. But maybe as she gets stronger she wont need those anymore. Fingers crossed. Good girl.

Louise run over!

Oh no, will the anguish our pets suffer never end. Poor Louise. 12 years old. Rather deaf. Asleep on the driveway and didnt get out of the way of the reversing ute our fence-builder was driving. He was very upset. Poor love, broken pelvis and surger for two pins to hold your leg bones on. Three weeks later and you still cant walk. Hops about a bit but lays down all day. Must hurt. Well you are an inside poodle now! Get well soon.

Post and Rail

What better way to dress up the place than with some post a rail fencing? Not cheap, but looks great. Half way through it.

And we now have a little dam over the other side so we dont need to siphon water over from the dam to the bath tubs.

Evie's adventures

O competed at Scone in May and at Berimah in June. Came 6th and 5th. Looking forward to competing in Sydney in July when the DAY BEFORE the competition, in our new yards, she decides to "follow" O who was walking over to Cedar's paddock and jumped the 1.8m yard fence - from a standing start! - and got stuck with the back legs still in the yard off the ground, and her from parts on the ground outside the yard. Evie was creaming in pain. O was screaming in panic that she might die. And everyone, neighbours (thanks L) M and me all running around tryingto think of how to get her off BEFORE SHE DIES! I got the circular saw fromt he garage and enough extension cord to reach. Sawed through four boards and got her off. Police arrived, just in case. M called 000. THey called off the SES. Newcastle Herald photographer arrived and chatted with O. 2KO rang. They'd heard a horse was impaled on a fence. She wasnt impaled but that was the worst case the 000 operator discussed with the emergency services.

The vet came - bruises, lacerations, but nothing broken. Antibiotics and she should be good for riding again soon. But of course the competition was off teh following day losing $190 in fees - for Evie and Cedar.\\

WE replaced the four rails the following day. Luckily we had spares from the recent building of them.

Cats against the wall

 
Stop hassling us dogs!

Riding Lessons

 
Mickey and Panda enjoying the morning.

New Dog

 
Meet Bronco, or TinTin. Wiating for the new 2 yearold's name to grow on us. Welcome aboard son.

Postscript: we have named him "Billy"

Alexander Park Dressage

 


Evie du Jour and O competing at the first Dressage event since the EI outbreak - also Evie's first ever event. Did ok. O also competed on Cedar.

New Cat

We have a new kitten. A little boy 8 weeks old called Panda. (He's black and white). And the sweetest little cuddly cat person we've ever encountered. The dogs love him and he loves to play running up and down the back verandah with them. Louise, our elderly poodle, is getting all maternal on him.

Update: More recently (Late March) he's grown so and is taken to SWIMMING in the dam!

New Horse

All horses got through the Eq Flu ok, thank heavens. Mac cut his leg on barb wire, daily dressings by owner T, and O. Coming along ok.

Big News. Bargain Thoroughbred, Evie, 16.5 hands. Arrived just now. Chestnut mare - looks very much like Cedar - who will be going into foal asap. Quiet, well mannered and talented jumper etc. C things O should be going pre-Novice on her by Feb 08.

Equine Flu

Despite almost two months of strict quarantine after two of ours (Cedar and Mac) went to Carrols Ranch and then managed to avoid the flu until this week. Despite quarantine measures even the vets are saying it is airborne. Made the local news our outbreak did being apparently the closest outbreak to Newcastle. Keisha got it first, followed by Mac, and by the end of the week everyone had it. Luckily it seems amazingly mild. No one is off their food. Hopefully it will pass safely.

Bandit the Beautiful Beagle 1995-2007 RIP

Oh, we were all out when somehow you wandered onto the main road on Lawson Avenue and got hit by a car about 9.30 pm last night. The RSPCA ambulance was called, they tried to help you. But your injuries were too severe. I picked your little body up this morning. We all stood around your fresh grave in the orchard as we laaid your life to rest. you will always be with us in our hearts and thoughts. Clever, funny, adorable friend. Say hi to Edwina. Love you, your family. Louise and Win are distraught also.

Carol's One Day Event Aug 07

 

O and Cedar had a great round here - came 13th overall in Introductory. Very pleasing. Less pleasing was the Equine Influenza outbreak that focussed here after somehow getting out of quarantine in Sydney. Luckily our six horses remain EI free two weeks later though the CFields are under a quarantine order for 50 days (because we were at Carol's Ranch then). We are luckier than many other there that day.

Horses Birthday Photos

     

Horses Birthday

Last Saturday we had a riding day at Cedars Fields to celebrate the 01 Aug Horses Birthday. We had five riders and five parents/guests to try out/watch the new dressage arena and the first jumps/obstacles/large logs over in the cross-country course/cows' paddock. It was a beaautiful day. I cooked the BBQ. Cedar and Mac were ridden through the dam in Cedar's paddock and even Teddy got in the act by tying up at the new tie up rail to watch the other horses and then he got another lesson to feel part of the festivities.

Well. The next day, O got a saddle on Teddy and very gradually put more weight onto his back. Until, hey presto, she was in the saddle and he was getting used to the new weight. He looked quite pleased with himself afterwards, like he had joined the ranks of the working ponies.

Teddy's Lessons

The Friendly Game. Teddy's had a shave. Only where his coat goes. See his hairy legs? Teddy is his new paddock name. He will remain Snowstorm, albeit CF Snowstorm, at competitions.

Welcome Snowstorm aka Snowy, aka Teddy

All excitement in our biggest foray yet into the wide world of horses this weekend. M and O found Snowstorm in Horse Deals at Michelago and V who works not far from there went down to meet Snowy and owner Mg down there a week and a half ago. So impressed was V that his phoned account and emailled photos to O had her agreeing to go and get him that very night.

So Saturday/yesterday M and V, O and C, drove the half sanded-back and partly refurbished Cubhorsefloat on the back of the front-end refurbished Holden Rodeo down to V's Queanbeyan townhouse where they instantly became his first people to stay there. Went to Soraya's Thai restaurant for a very pleasant meal and surroundings Saturday night and caught the last part of Prisoner of Azhkahan or whatever the Harry Potter episode is called. Got up early for the drive through the local fog to Michelago, where the clear mountain air had that sharp winter light look about the place.

Snowy (a 13 hand pony that looks very Welsh Mountain) floated beautifully all the way. V got out in Queanbeyan and M drove the rest of the way back with O and C. They made the trip in five hours from Queanbeyan which is quicker than V normally does it without the float! A 500 kilometre trip each way.

Snowy will probably be renamed Teddy. He was put in the top western paddock
on his own with his own shelter, which he checked out. All the other
horses were interested in him and came over to say hello, but he was
intent on checking out the grass. Patted and fed by O, he will settle
in well.

He was seen after a while left to himself running up and down the fence with new neighbour Mickey, the minature horse with the impish sense of humour.

Flood aftermath

Well it's Saturday after the floods, flood peak went by less than expected Tuesday. No further flooding our place. Waters slightly receding. More rain forecast but flood warning passed. No great damage to friends. Taking in some more horses whose home paddokcs still flooded. Disaster elsewhere in Newcastle from flash flooding.

Photo: we're in the middle. Photo taken last Monday.

2007 Queens Birthday FLood

Well the Hunter wont peak at Raymond Terrace until tomorrow afternoon, but already we have three acres under water. One yeasterday. We took in seven horses from next door, who'd taken the whole refugee herd from Woodville, they got their horses out just in time and left all their belongings behind. Nice people. Put the two mature racehorses and family of four minatures in with our cows.

Flood is peaking about now in Maitland. Bigger than 1971. Have friends evacuating, along with half the town. Expected to overtop the levees. Any time now.

Hoping we dont lose too much more ground tomorrow.

Update - Bandit - Trees

It's been a while since the last entry. I guess it looks like I lost heart in the project, but no. Things were going pretty bad with the heifers Lola and Bambi dying mysteriously soon together. Then Bandit got so very sick, spent a week in intensive care. $2500 in vet bills that really cut into the budget badly. But he got better, to the amazement of the vets. He's bopping around happily, jauntily even now. So the money was worth it to see he smiling face around. I'm commuting from Queanbeyan during the week, so weekends are desperate for me to keep up with everything. We finally got the trees Maitland Council had promised us. 130 Casuarinas, eucalypts, callistemons and leptospermums. About four species of the last two. New fences to keep the cows and horses off them. I'll get some photos of the plantings.

here..

Bandit Hospitalised

Bandit, our 12 year old Beagle and Wonder Dog is desperately sick after eating what was probably unreasonably huge parts of poor Lola. The Vet thinks he has pancreatitis and he may not pull through. We left him, on Easter Sunday, at the EMergency Vet Hospital, on a drip with antibiotics and painkillers. Poor love. Please pull through. Gosh we've had some bad luck with pets recently.

Gooba's gone home... and Bandit's sick

Poor Gooba's gone. A beeautiful horse with a beastly desire to never get on a float. Ever. Unless its raining and he's getting wet and the float is the only dry spot. After three hours trying that was the only way P got her horse back. See ya Goobs. Hope the ringbone doesnt give you too much grief.

Meanwhile Bandit has been eating as much of poor Lola's remains as he can cram in. And he's gotten very sick. He's old too, so we hope he pulls through. Vomiting everywhere and looking frail and old.

Poor Lola second victim to mystery illness

We are all devasted today to find that despite O's careful nursning, little Lola, our cow-poet, has died aafter a bout of what the vet is calling viral diarrohea. Post-mortem tests will maybe find out what is happening. But we have lost half our small herd of heifers in two weeks. Survivors Toffee and Curly are not exhibiting any signs and are being kept away from Bambi and Lola's faeces in case it remains contagious. Lola was cremated in a bonfire this afternoon. Rest in peace little one. We loved you. This hobby farming is gut wrenching at times.

RIP Bambi

AFter 2 weeks of ups and downs with "Three Day" virus, yesterday morning poor little Bambi was found deceased in the shed attached to the quarantine pen. It'd been very hot and she'd spent a lot of time in the dam. Her faver and aching joints. O had spent a lot of time keeing her moving and giving antibiotics. Sadly she's gone. Off to C's parents property for burial. The other heifers miss you.

Sick heifer

Last week O told me Bambi was sick. Laying down all the time. Livvy treated it and bythe time I saw them, all across from the other side and bunked up with Cedar, keeping the long grass (it's been raining heaps) down for Cedar, I couldnt tell which one was Bambi or sick, they all looked contentedly mucnhing long grass and BIG. They've grown in the 10 months they've been here. Good good.

The Goat .. is back

I was doing a portable radio competition in the unused horse shed on a rainy Saturday night. Weather was unpleasant but the new horse shed was snug and leak-proof.

Red kelpie, Winstone, ran down in and kept looking in on me, make sure I was ok, while he kept watch lookinginto the dark. Mare Keisha kept winnying worriedly. Something was up, but what? Next morning I could see, The Goat was back, happily sheltering from the weather in Keisha's shelter. I escorted it off the property, seen heading back to it's ramshakle farm.

It returned two hours later to the screams of panicked and flighty Goober. Yes he's still here. P this time escorted him away.

Six hours later, near dinner time, he's back, but this time Winstone had returned from O's cross-country lessons in Scone and he visibly panicked the Goat, for once, by chasing him all the way back across the adjoining properties. On the largest neghbouring field, Win must've reached 40kph. The Goat was hightailing it, but Win was easily outrunning it.

This morning he's back again! But curiously, M had the idea to put all the horses in the one, long grassed, paddock, which they all happily did because of the nast billy-Goat. Well, amazingly, he just turned and left of his own accord. Amazing!

The cows drained the dam

We went on a two week holiday to Byron Bay. It'd been two years since we holidayed on the beach and we'd earned it, M and I, and O and A. All hard working city folk, living on a smallish farm.

We arranged for T to come over and feed horses twice a day and water the cows aat least once every two days. Thanks T, nice job, we owe you. To simplify the process we left the gate over the pipeline open so the cows could cross and be watered at once of their batchtubs brought over near our home back gate were thoe hose could reach.

The gravity fed siphon hose was just left in the grass, tap off, for filling the other bath tub across the pipeline when we got back. But when we got back I went to open the tap but it was half open and it had been slowly leaking water, slimy water, and the ground all around was very soggy, with cows prints embedded. It wouldnt fill the bath tub easily at all. No pressure. Walking back up to the dam, our fresh spring dam that was always full. Gasp! Almost empty and full of weed. Oh no, it had drained slowly over the two weeks.

Wicked cows, playing with the tap. I tied the tap and hose up to the fence post with some string so they couldnt reach it with their wicked hooves. Now we are hoping for a good long rain.

(Postscript: within about 3 weeks a couple of hours light rain filled the dam again. Over the next two weeks some heavy thunderstorms pretty well flushed it out. Looking good again).

The day the goat came

Win woke us up barking out the back. There was a goat/ram whatever in the paddock with Keisha and Mickey both looking terrified. I raced down with a rope to try and catch it but forget it - it dive +through+ barbed wire like it was butter. But oww it must have gotten cut. Didnt do the fences much good either. Two hours later it was back, same place, though this time it dived through a difficult fence into Cedar's paddock, then back again, then into the big paddock with the boys, Mickey (now), Sunny and Gooba, all running around like girls screaming because the goat was *chasing* them. I'll give him chase - though it was hot and after running through three paddocks to catch the mongrel I was relieved to see it slice through another barbed wire fence and keep heading out towards the camels.

M came back and a neighbour told us it has been causing havoc with everyone's stock and fences since its owner went away for the weekend to Wollongong. Just shoot it, they all said. I had a very similar sentiment!

Poor old Gooba's gotta go

The farrier confirmed Gooob's got ringbone. Never jump. Like chronic arthritis apparently. Owners were sad to hear it but will take him back. Will miss the handsome thing. He is magnificent looking. Can probably do ok at hack. Maybe dressage, but definately not what O was after.

View from the "Air"

Actually Google Earth, looking East, eye altitude 554 feet (above ground level).

The Tractor tried to Kill Me

The new sheds are up despite the inclement weather. Those three guys from E-d worked like heroes sticking to the quote. So now have five animal shelters, a four horse in the far right/west. The old three horse low ceiling in Cedar's paddock with the half a dam. The new two horse in the neighbouring two paddocks with the lane to the other half of the old low ceilinged horse shelter with the other half of the dam directly in front/south of the back of the house. And the new five horse shelter in the big/jump paddock with Gooba and Sunny to sniff around it. Five days later the horses are just starting to be compfortable to step inside for their midday siesta. But we havent had any major storms yet to test their real purpose. Oh and the old cow shelter with extremely low ceilings on the other side of pipeline (east) attached to the cattle yard and loading ramp.

So after repairing and installing new bits and pieces to the electric fencing, digging trenches and putting the cable into sealed plasting tubing underneath gates. I decided it was time to ride the tractor and slash some of those big old weeds that are coming up.

I rode around to the back lawn to the exit gate, but was NOT happy with all the fan belt squealing going on under the hood, so I stopped at the gate and lifted the hood. Ahah! The fan belt is turning but the fan is not. It is stopped solid and fan is smelling like rubber burning. At that point, with my head close studying the problem the gusty windy conditions catches the upraised hood, which hingers 1.5m up in the air from the front of the tractor and crash, comes crashing down towards me. I jerk back, but the sharp edge catches me on the side of the neck! It HURTS. I reel back in shock and alarm, catching the gash on the side of my neck and wondering if my jugular has been severed. I run shouting to O who is saddling up Cedar for an afternoon ride. Oh thank god, there is not much blood, but I get her check out the size of the cut and if there seems to be any subdural damage. No just a bad scratch and a terrible scare!

I spend the following day tearing apart the engine covers, battery compartment, hoses, fan and find the waterpump has a jammed bearing. I will attempt to replace the bearings myself after ordering the parts which will arrive on Friday. Just before Christmas.

Seasons Greetings!

Developments

Changed browswers and for a while there couldnt post, wouldnt accept changes. Ok now, settle.

New horse freaked out (understandably) in a massive thunderstorm and went through two fences. Injured legs, skin off, vet bills, care, antibiotics. Better now, might heal without scarring.

Same day I fell off my motorbike and was at home, injured when it happened. Hopping around with the vet in disbelief. I'm ok too now.

Repaired all the fences. New horse shelters go up today!

Cat in charge

O, M and myself were all out in various parts of the back garden when it happened. O had bought the dogs pigs ears as a treat. Winstone had finished his in a wolfish gulp and tried to coax Bandit into parting with some of his by tugging at it while eating. Bandit dont take kindly to big pup's stealing his food so a snarl and a bite turned into a nasty - savage even - barking and snapping occurence that had all of us there turning and shouting and running to break up the fight before there was any wounding done. Tinsel got there first. As a cat, even though large, she is smaller then Bandit by half and a quarter the size of the kelpie pup. Without blinking she jumped onto the beagle's back and hung there by the claws while she hissed and yelled and leapt onto the kelpie scratching and biting all the while. The dogs immedieately stopped in deep surprise - as did the rest of us - so she jumps between them, snarling and rushing at each in turn so that they run away - in opposite directions. Unnoticed in the true melee, Louise the poodle trots through calmly and makes off with the contested ear.

Flumoxxed with our cat.

New Horse

We drove to Denman, 130 kms up thee Hunter Valley, to pick up Goober a beautiful black gelding Thorough/Std cross on a 3 month trial to act as 2nd horse for O's eventing ambition in her contest year next year.

Took almost an hour to get him onto the float whcih wasnt a good start. But he's not that travelled.

Up to six horses now. Three of them ours.