A very sad week

I found the remains of an old tree that died in the 39 free that I though would be all burnt in 2009

The earth moved back round the carport is all green one good thing from all the rain

A new grave

 19.6.2022

 

We have endured another wet miserable week. On Thursday the dog, Flynn, looked much worse than he has been and I could see he was really struggling to walk at all.  We have done everything the vet suggested so I could see it was time to let him go.  Flynn obviously had the same thought because by the time we had fed the other animals he had completely disappeared.  We spent half the day in a mad panic searching for him before I finally found him under a bush  near the ruins.  He had obviously gone there to die, so later in the day Edd put him down and we buried him at the top of the drive next to Amy dog’s grave.

 

It is a relief not to be worried about him all the time, but we have a dog shaped hole in our lives that is difficult to ignore.  He has been a wonderful guard dog ever since the fires’ and would always let us know if a stranger was on the property or an animal in the wrong place.  I am not sure how we will manage with out him, but we do not plan to get a new dog straight away.

 

With the weather so bad I have spent every afternoon by the fire working on the accounts.  Edd has been in his shed sorting stuff out and working on the old ride on mower to try and get it running again.  Gradually all the junk we dumped in Edd’s shed  is being sorted out and put in order in the new storage shed.  We have special spots for Tiles, Paint, fencing materials, Plumbing and pipes etc. which should make finding things much easier.

 

On Friday Sev helped us move the buck, Barrak, into the little goats’ croft. We moved the little goats in with the main herd earlier in the week and they are now all trained to jump up onto the bale for their food.  They are very friendly and have no fear of noise or people in the milking shed.  The only trouble is that some of them have horns and the white kid keeps getting her head stuck in the hay rack.  Strangely some goats are coming into season now. Last year they came in in March which is more normal.  I usually get the goats I want to sell dry and pregnant but I have not been able to get this organised yet.

 

I have to say that it is wonderful having Sev back from his holiday. We get so much done with his help that we are making visible forward progress again. He also chops and stacks a week’s supply of fire wood for us in the passage into the house and keeps all the animals water containers full and clean. Having this help is better than a holiday for us.

Not nice conditions

 13.6.2022

 

The weather is miserable, cold and continually raining. Going outside to feed the animals is not something we look forward to at all. The only upside is that I feel very happy when I am back in the house again.   We have moved the horses onto the hill where there is more shelter and the goats are staying in the shed all day where they can keep warm and dry.  Luckily, we do not have the large numbers of sheep that we had last time the conditions were this bad. I am planning to move the buck so that the sheep can use his shelter shed when they start to lamb.

 

The dog, Flynn, is not getting better, we have followed the vet’s recommendations and more, but we have now given up hope that he will recover the use in his back leg.  It is very sad. He has been such a healthy bouncy character that we thought we would have him for years yet.  He must be at least 12, but our last desert dog died in the fires age 18! I miss our daily walks. He comes up with us to the dairy some days but he is not able to walk very far and I will not walk alone in this weather.

 

Al and his family are in Spain, which seems a very sensible place to be. Next, they go to visit Arj and then they have a conference in Switzerland and a trip to the UK.  I am going nowhere at present because the windscreen wipers on my car broke down a week ago and we are still waiting for a replacement part.  Luckily, I was on the way home having done the months shopping when they broke down so at least we have food.

 

Food is actually quite an issue. With the rise in fuel prices some basic items like lettuce are unaffordable.  Now we have people who can not afford housing or food which is not a good look. The renting situation is bad here, with only short-term leases available so the landlords can regularly raise the amount to be paid.  More and more houses are being brought as investments for Air B&B and several in our valley are now just used as weekenders. So, we have had fire floods and plague, so I suppose we now have famine and war to go!  We are lucky that we produce so much of our own food and can get firewood off the property.