Cairns holiday

September 4 2014

Last month was very busy. The lambs kept coming and now we have 14. They have all managed to survive in the paddock under Zulu’s care but we have given a top up bottle of goat’s milk to some of the triplets. Most of the lambs are white but we have two black and one brown and also one that looks totally different to all the others. It has a wiry wavy coat and a mixture of colours. She has a very broad head and big eyes. Strangely her twin brother was quite normal and white with the same tight curly coat as all the rest.

The goats are now in the middle of their kidding period but we did manage 12 days away. In theory we had planned this for the week before the kidding started, but the goats could not wait and five had kidded before we arrived home. Before we left we worked really hard to get things in order. We managed to get the two new vegetable beds full of compost and manure so that they would be all ready to plant out. Then we put up the new dog yard and I planted out the rest of the young trees and made tree guards for them.

Finally we got off and flew from Melbourne to Cairns where Josh and his partner are living. They made us very welcome in their extremely well kept and organised house, and we had a real holiday from everything. Josh did almost all the cooking and made very tasty food and they took us round and showed us places they liked. Everything was interesting, even the streets because they are all lined with fantastic tropical plants. It was absolute heaven for a bromeliad addict like me!

During the week, when Josh and his partner were working, Edd and I started exploring in the car we had hired. We went to Paronella Park and walked round the ruins and gardens and we marvelled at the botanic gardens. One day we went out on a tour to an off shore Island and viewed coral from a glass bottomed boat. We gave the snorking a miss but enjoyed a nature walk and swimming. Needless to say all week the sun shone and the temperature was delicious. I think coming home this time was the first time I did not secretly feel glad to get home.

Whilst we were away Al, Bo and Indi looked after the farm and managed the first of the kidding. Luckily Bo is an expert at this sort of thing and Indi actually lived at the farm so everything was more or less fine. We are now having the usual battle to get the milking machine going again and dealing with the kid weaning process.

There must have been more frost whilst we were away because several plants are damaged but the vegetables are powering ahead. The first of the sweeds are ready to eat and the snow peas and broad beans are growing well. We still have loads of salad, rocket and spinach and we have already had a meal of asparagus. I left all the grass mown and under control, but it has grown a lot and needs doing again. Today, though, it was so warm and sunny that I got the bromeliads out and re-potted some and planted the brom pups that I had brought home from Cairns in my suitcase. I hope they survive.