22.7.2023
We seem to have become owners of the puppy Josh got from Bo. She is a good puppy but over the last three nights she has had diarrhea and my first job in the morning is washing the floor in the mud room where she spends the night. She has been very careful not to mess inside up till now, but some stomach upset has made life hard for her and us. I am not surprised, she eats every bit of wombat, kangaroo and duck shit that she can find. I walk her through the creek forest every morning and I cut out any blackberries I find whilst she runs around. We had to miss one day last week because there was a heavy wind and gum trees with their shallow roots are prone to fall over. When we could go in the forest again yesterday several trees and branches had come down so I am glad we stayed clear.
Last week end Bo did the animals and Edd and I drove up to Bendigo to the sheep show. Thank goodness this is still a traditional agricultural show with plenty of sheep competitions and useful stores. We brought socks (for our feet) and copper sulphate for treating the sheep. There were lots of wool and craft halls. I was very tempted by all the glorious coloured yarns dragged myself past them until I found the people, I brought my loom from. They looked after me and I brought a loom stand and more shuttles for my weaving. The only negative event was that although Edd was well able to walk round the huge show grounds he fell whilst standing up from a stool and sprained his wrist. Next day it was still very swollen and I thought he might have broken a bone. It was not possible to get a doctor appointment and next day it began to come right, but he still had an excuse to avoid milking.
Our next battle was one concerning new equipment. Our old printer had finally failed after 13 years of service and we brought a new one but getting it working was far from easy. Edd tried hard but we were forced to call in Josh who is a bit of a wizz at this sort of thing. Our next issue was to assemble the weaving loom stand. It was all beautifully packed up the Ikea style instructions were Ok but it still took two of us most of a morning to set it up. The terrible fact is that new equipment is now a horror rather than a delight, an age thing, I guess. I did manage to complete my rug weaving. When I began it, I could not even achieve a straight vertical line in the pattern but by the end I got my lines straight and even did a pretty impressive diagonal! I have a lot to learn but the project was fun. For my next experiment I am now weaving a woollen cloth that I plan to shrink and over dye.
Edd has been doing leather work. He has mended family shoes, made a collar for the dog and is now working on sandals for me. The last pair he made me lasted for years but I lost them when our house burnt down. Edd taught himself to make these shoes when we worked in the desert because they were essential equipment and not easy to get. That was long before we ordered stuff from the internet. The nearest shop was 4-5 hours drive away, so a broken shoe was a major problem. We have spent our time over the last decade rebuilding and doing school camps, but now we have to move to a new life pattern. Our first step was deciding not to buy new point of lay chooks to provide the market with winter eggs. We have still had plenty for us and friends but with only 2 chook houses instead of 4.
The next stage will probably be reducing goat numbers. I hate this bit; it is a bit like selling family members. I am worried that animal feed is going to get more expensive with drier seasons and world grain shortages. Fewer goats would mean less hay and are needed. We are getting news about extreme temperatures in the northern hemisphere and El Nino could bring back those conditions here.
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