One of those days

January 11  2015

It is obviously one of those sorts of days when it is impossible to achieve anything. The house is a nice cool 25 degrees but if you venture outside it is scorching. Nearly 40, according to the news). Everyone seems to be getting muddled, going slow or forgetting things. (Having just written that I wonder what I have forgotten!)_ I have spent the afternoon on the phone with the lawyers who are trying to sort out the bush fire claims. The web site they directed me to would not open. The phone number they gave me was wrong, but when I checked up it was a genuine call!

Now the local fire tree informs me that a lightening strike has started a bush fire at Toolangi up the hill from us. It is not too big as yet but it is very close to where our friend Beni lives. I called her and she is driving back to work feeling rather worried.  It does sound as if things are under control so we are not in panic mode yet.

Now that the wwoofers are gone it is just Edd and I struggling to keep animals and plants looked after.  With all the effort required I thought today that any one would be mad to do all the watering unless you were producing food or running a business. For us it is about food. Every day we collect more fresh vegetables than we can eat. The stuff we sell at the market on Saturday brings in enough cash to get the next crop going and more so it is well worth the effort.

This week we are aiming to get the sheep all contained by Saturday when the shearer comes. Once they are shorn we can deal with lice and sort them out as keepers and goers.  We need a drastic reduction in numbers to cope with the present conditions. 

Edd ordered injections of drench and vit D for the alpaca that was due to arrive today but that went wrong too. As I said no one is quite up to par at the moment.  We have not kept alpacas before but I am told that vit D is essential to help them live at low altitudes.  Zulu has earned his place here so I must learn to fix his needs. He has a surprising habit of wading and goes quite deep into the dams to get green pick.  He has also eaten all the pumpkin plant that he can reach so he must love green stuff but not plot like the goats and sheep to raid the next-door space.