Well what an up and down few weeks we have had. The weather is either fresh to freezing or balmy to hot and you never quite know which one you’re going to get! Yesterday was 23 degrees with blue sky and sunshine and it was hard to believe we were in Winter! No doubt the season will kick in properly soon and the wood burner will be in use 24/7. The best thing was we finally got some much needed rain. Two whole inches of liquid gold and a full rain tank for my chooks and veggies. Hopefully the weather is still warm enough for the grass to get some last minute new growth before it all comes to a grinding halt for the farmers. We were SO happy to see these rain clouds on the horizon!

I was walking Bailey down our lane last week when I noticed a strange shape near the portable hay feeders for the cattle. I was rather concerned as you can never tell if cows are just having a lie down or the worst has happened. I ventured into the paddock to check it out and found a rather gruesome and sad sight. Two cows were dead, each one with their heads buried into the hay and I wasn’t quite sure if something had collapsed on top of them or if there was an issue with the hay itself and as the other cows were still trying to eat around their deceased mates I made a hasty call to the farmer to let him know. Sadly he told me that it happens from time to time, apparently they get their heads stuck in the feeder structure and end up suffocating. They were obviously just the right ( or should we say wrong) size to get trapped. So here we have yet another of the 101 ways for the farmers to lose their stock, and yet another reality of living in the country.

I’m not sure it’s making me any tougher to be honest…..

The arrival of our little grandson cheered me up big time as it’s hard to feel sad with him smiling and cooing and gurgling at you! He seemed to like his little tour of our garden and meeting the chickens and most of all he loved being thrown up in the air by his Daddy! We had a couple of days with him before heading up to Sydney for a couple of days of golf for the MOTH and a city stay with our close friends. Dinner in the big smoke with friends from New Zealand took us back to our old neighbourhood in The Rocks area of Sydney and a trip down memory lane. The Coathanger is visible from most streets around there and you are never far away from Sydney Harbour. A magic spot.

It was a great opportunity to do some city things and I had a nice catch up with my 93 year old Father in Law and paid a visit to some of the shiny sparkly city shops (where I nowadays get completely overwhelmed and end up only buying something ridiculously boring like a pair of socks) and enjoyed a lovely dinner at a local Italian with the golfers and their partners.

We were soon zooming back down the freeway to The Meadow where our son had been house sitting for us while we played in the city. He enjoys pottering about the property and looking after Bailey and the chooks and it is lovely for them to be able to escape from the big smoke without it costing them an arm and a leg. Some friends of his with a one year old joined them so a good time was had by all. I was a bit concerned as we haven’t had to baby proof the house just yet but little Angus was a perfect guest despite the temptations that were on offer at ground level!! To make our long weekend even more special Sam and Liv stayed another day and that meant one more morning with a tiny person being delivered to my bed for early morning baby snuggles which really is the very BEST way to start the day!

Things in the chook yard are still weird. Le Rod, who looks magnificent with his height and glossy plumage, is still being a wuss and seems scared of everything including his shadow. When we throw scraps out to them he runs away unless something actually lands at his feet and at night he is always the last to get up on the roost, often spending 10 minutes walking up and down underneath the perch trying to work out where to jump up with the ever bossy Trunchbull pecking him every time he passes by! I am actually feeling rather fond of him now as he seems to be a bit of an underdog and has so far not even managed the smallest of cock-a-doodle-doos which is endearing him to me. However in the scheme of things he is a bit useless to us if he can’t father any chicks so I’m hoping he will man up a bit soon….

We were talking about how hard it is to get family photos which include the Mums as they are usually the instigators of photos with Dad and bub but rarely manage to get in any pictures themselves for various reasons. We decided to make the most of having an extra pair of hands and have an impromptu photo shoot in the garden in that golden 20 minutes after Cooper wakes up and before he gets hungry! Thank goodness for digital cameras as it is really quite hard to get a 3 month old to look at the camera! We are pleased with the results and cannot wait to do it all over again when his cousin flies in from Vietnam in July to meet the extended family! It really will be a miracle if they both look at the lens at the same time!!!!

Happy Days!!