floods and flu

 16.7.2024

 

Last night it poured.  Flooding has closed the main route to Lilydale and the farm is a sea of mud. Even the sheep have sort shelter in their shed rather than go off to graze.  Our big shed floor has several melodious puddles which delighted the great grand kids until Andy slipped and landed plat out in the middle of one. Their mum had to strip off all their clothing on the veranda before they could go back indoors!

 

Stevo is feeling really sick with a flu bug he caught on a flight last week and Josh has picked up a bug somewhere else so work halted after lunch today.  Edd has been off collecting materials for the building work but he has had to drive a long way round to avoid roads that are closed by flooding. A job that should have taken half a day will probably end up being a full day’s work.

 

It does look as if the two goats we put in with the old buck are pregnant. We just took them to be mated when they were in season last year and they failed to produce kids so this year we have tried a different approach and let them live with the buck for several months. He has been very happy with this arrangement. The young buck has not grown tall enough to mate the does yet and we were worried the old buck was not fertile so things have worked out well.

 

The chooks are now laying well but we are worried about bird flu that has now reached Victoria.  It can be spread by wild birds and we have plenty of them. My worst fear is that the flu might spread to the goats.  I would hate to lose them.  We have lived with their families for years and could not find new goats so well suited to our conditions.

 

I am a bit shocked at how many people I know would have liked the Trump assassination attempt to succeed. It seems wrong to wish ill on anyone.