A Drive in the Paddock

By Ayesha Joy Clifford ©

VERY satisfying to be able to put our cows into a paddock that looks like this in the middle of winter.

Well most of our cows - there's always one. I don't know why this lovely Charolais girl was hanging back on the other side of the fence when there was great grass just metres away.

                                  


Perhaps like me she was waiting for the red-belly snake that was lapping up the sun to retreat back to the tree trunk.


                                  



I think of our farm as similar to gardening only on a bit bigger scale. We have been fortunate to be able to adopt pasture management here that is improving our soil and grass and reducing weeds.

The result is healthy cattle for less input. We rely on one-wire electric fencing for a lot of areas now. It's great because it's quick, simple and easy to do. Dairy farmers knew that all along!

It also means I get more time to sit up and enjoy the view and less time on that backbreaking work of weed control.

New Gardening Companion

By Ayesha Joy Clifford ©

THIS little fellow is adorable.

Bartholomew the orphan lamb has taken to life on our farm and has become my little "shadow". I rather fancy I've found my new painting and gardening companion.

Being from cattle country in Rockhampton, I have been researching sheep and discovered they make excellent companion creatures and can live up to 16 years.

My little companion has been out and about exploring the paddock and herb garden that will be his new home.

So far he's trotted happily up and down the garden path, 

helped trim the magnificent cream winter nasturtiums,

met his fellow gardening companions Tom Tom and Harley Barley, from a distance

then at a close quarters, and nibbled his seal of approval to the backyard landscaping.

He's already receiving visitors and photo requests but seems to be taking it all in his little stride.

The Lamb and The Lens

BY Ayesha Joy Clifford  ©

OVER the years I've had the good fortune to work with some amazing talent in front of and behind the camera.

So when I had a request for photos with Bartholomew the orphan lamb, I recalled that steadfast media mantra about never working with animals or children.

Working with animals and nature, every day is full of opportunities on-farm to capture and share a window into this life. It's a privilege to be able to live this lifestyle and I pinch myself some days at my good fortune. That doesn't make the photography any easier.

I could have used a couple of those great snappers or at least advice on selfies with a lamb. No time today for elaborate set ups, different lenses, light meters and location scouts. Cows to move, animals to feed, fences to fix. The shameless selfie will have to do.

Bartholomew being the energetic little fellow was quite shy and aloof to begin

a bit reluctant then,

warming up to the idea,

seasoned performer,

talent taking over show

talent tantrum as I'm photobombed out by the  lamb.

Finally a snuggle

and a smooch

and couple of nice quiet shots,

and that will do for now.

Phew!

Eyes in the sky

One of our breeding pair of wedgetail eagles has been missing in action for a couple of weeks.

Excited today to see a head peeking over their giant nest. They are often my companions soaring above me in the paddock as they did today. 

Will get my binoculars ready to watch for hatchlings. Sibling rivalry is tough in these families - the stronger chick often eats its weaker siblings to eliminate competition.

Favourite food at the moment though is breakfast rabbit which they devour from a favourite old dead tree, while keeping a watchful eye on me passing by on my morning walk.

Mind the Gap

By Ayesha Joy Clifford ©

GLAD we have nice quiet cows today.

A quick paddock change and they had to walk along next to where our one-wire electric fence is now suspended over a creek.

We've had three of the wettest rainfall years recorded in this area in the past four years.

The most recent big run really gouged out the bank despite our best efforts to keep cattle off them for the most part. This week another metre or so has tumbled to the creek leaving this gaping hole and an interesting bit of suspension fencing.

Fortunately the girls are a pretty quiet bunch. Some used to live in mountains at Marlborough and were mustered by helicopter only twice a year.

They get to see a lot more of us today. They quietly poked along very orderly "minding the
gap" but a couple couldn't resist sticking their heads over for a closer look.

They are curious creatures.

Repurposed

A quick bit of repurposing today.

One fast-growing lamb needing a new warmie plus one lovely shrinkie Merino cardigan needing a new purpose.

One warm little lamb and mission accomplished. I think Bartholomew looks pretty cute too.

One Tiny Life

Our first calf for the year - very beautiful and very dead. Lovely little bull from a Brahman Bull and Charbray heifer.

Seems such a waste of a little life. Thankfully it doesn't happen often. The little heifer has been back a few times to check on her calf.

Best part of living and working on a farm? The animals. Worst part of living and working on a farm. The animals!

Thanks Rural Miss

* OFF those geraniums now!

Wow isn't the web wonderful!

Here I am on my farm needing help with keeping
my new little lamb alive and yesterday's plea to the
amazing Rural Miss drew a quick response from
her readers.

I know how busy we all are in life and agriculture.

Time is the most precious resource we all have.

How we choose to use the time we have says
much about who we are.

So I was deeply touched so many Rural Miss
readers took time to share great tips and be
generous with their animal husbandry advice.

It's only one little animal but to me and obviously to
others, it's important to do the best we can for the
animals in our care.

He has a much better chance of making it now and
I don't feel so isolated here on the farm.

And one more thing - you're cute little Bartholomew
but I'm taking some good advice here - you're
getting off those geraniums now!

Here's the link if you want to visitRural Miss and see the advice, tips and comments.

Funny Farm Lamb!

A New Arrival

Great excitement! There was an unexpected new arrival at the farm last night.

A two-week old lamb! Oh my, I am so taken with this little fellow.

He is adorable, feisty and such fun.

Being from Rockhampton - that's cattle country - I have a steep learning curve about lambs.

Isn't it amazing how the universe finds ways to deliver things? I have been thinking of getting a goat to keep a small back paddock mowed but I always wanted a lamb.

Brode was at a party the other night and a lovely couple, whose lambs we often watched playing by the roadside, asked if we wanted an orphan. His mother died from prolapse and his twin brother died also.

Isn't it amazing how when you put the thought out there, so often the answer arrives. Often it's not the package we expect but it's just what we need at the time.

I have just the paddock for you Bartholomew. And with his antics, I have hardly stopped laughing since he arrived.

He has already been out and about and is showing an enormous appetite for life - munching happily at my prized winter geraniums...

sampling the tough pine cones on display

and getting some sun while out exploring the front garden.

He may become our most photographed little orphan sheep. He already has us wrapped around his ecstatic little tail.

Mostly I am grateful he reminds me to jump for joy at whatever life delivers and to enjoy the journey here and now.

Welcome little Bartholomew!

Wild Ginger Boys of Marlborough

“I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.”

- Jean Cocteau

  

By Ayesha Joy Clifford ©

OUR FARMS are shared with an assortment of cats whose antics are working up to being worthy of a book of their own.

Take Harley, the huge ginger farm cat with a love of hats seen here snuggled up to Brode's work hat.

It's tradition for writers to enjoy the company of cats. It's probably an even longer tradition for farms to have cats licking the cream and chasing away rats.

Writing from home, I have shared my lap with a selection of snobbly little cats to help ease deadline pressure and tap inspiration. Harley the farm cat though was proving a different animal altogether.

Sourced from an Alton Downs family who specialised in breeding large, hardy cats for cattle properties, Harley and my beloved became dubbed "my wild ginger boys". Both exhibited the colourful temperament to complement their ginger-hued hair.

I determined both were a bit wild living up there alone in the hills of Marlborough and could benefit from some home comforts.

Settling into the early stages of our relationship, dreamily drifting off to sleep one night, I was rudely awoken by vigorous movement not of an amorous nature, on the other side of the bed. The sight of my beloved aiming a rifle through the bedhead and out the louvres of the small shed home brought me rudely and suddenly fully awake.

Bolting upright, I screeched just as the shot was fired.

"What the @#$#%^ are you doing! Are you a crazy person?"

"I think I got the feral cat."

"It's the middle of the night! You don't shoot things from our bed! What the ... And what do you mean you think? How do you know it's not Harley."

"It was the best place to take the shot," he replied sounding a bit deflated. "I've been waiting for weeks. Besides it's not Harley..."

A quick inspection confirmed a freshly-departed, large ginger feral who would have carted our house dog Gizmo, off for breakfast.

Feral puss had been sneaking into the shed, devouring food left at the "Harley Cafe".

Harley was wisely nowhere to be seen the rest of the week. I was fast learning it would be no simple task to "tame" either the cat, nor the man.

A Creative in the Country

As a journalist, I love the power of a personal story to create connection and empathy. After some lovely farm visitors at the weekend, I was considering how much in the country, our farms become an extension of ourselves. Our farm says a lot about us.

Perhaps that's why magazines such as Country Style and Australian Country and the Open Gardens Scheme are so popular. They're a window into the intimate life of someone else. They help us understand their story and in the process, we get to see ourselves from a different perspective.

As always it's the most personal touches that create the deepest connections. What's with all the white, the pine cones, how your yards are set up? Those welded letters on the gate. It's about us. It's about connection.

I was left inspired and uplifted to continue creating a home and farm that honours its history but also tells our story now.