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At the moment all the bulls are heading off on their annual visit to the girls! They’ll see who’s still there from last year and check out any new ones. This bloke is heading to a paddock with a some girls eagerly awaiting his arrival. We’ve been seeing the cows ‘bulling’ recently (which means, in…
Our ewes lamb from April through until early August. It gives us a range of ages and therefore we’re able to send lambs off at different times of the year. It spreads the risk and cash-flow! Lambing during winter can have its downfalls ifs a particularly strong cold front come through and there are lots…
We have a lot of Ibis around our two farms. They love getting in around the dams and putting that long, sharp beak to work, hunting out bugs! They come in together in huge flocks (I assume they’re called flocks and not mobs or ‘a murder’ (as in crows). They are so graceful and hang…
When we all go around the farm in Anthony’s ute, we all have special spots because it’s really only a three-seater ute. We’re four, plus a little dog who really thinks he’s human so therefore he can’t be left behind on the chain (oh, the shame!) Anthony drives, Rochelle sits in the middle, I sit…
Well it’s freezing here at the moment! A whopping 9.9 degrees! The wind has been howling and we’ve had rain! 25mm fell in our gauge, although I’m not sure how widespread around the Esperance Shire its been – some of our mates who farm a bit further north than us, only got 5mm, so we’re…
Life is cruel at times and farming is no different. Our old dog Rex is pretty much had it. Arthritis is in his elbows and his hearing isn’t what it used to be… or maybe it’s just selective and we haven’t worked it out! And as much as we love him and will miss his…
These Black Cockies arrive suddenly and leave just as quickly! One day the pine trees are quiet, the cattle are grazing without a care in the world… and then suddenly… “SQUARK, squark, squark’! They’ve arrived. I’m sure these attention seekers have got no idea how loud their call is and how frightening it is for…
Victoria Brown is a bush poet and a fantastic one at that! She’s a farmer’s wife who’s skill has extended beyond the front gate of the farm. Her talents have included Speaker of the Year for the CWA, to being a regular guest of the ABC radio and releasing her own CD of poems last…
What a magic view to wake up to! The fogs are indicating a really wet August as we’ve had mists every morning for the last two weeks, or maybe longer … time gets away from me! We can only hope this will be the case, since there hasn’t been any opening rains yet and August…
Among all the excitement of Red Dust hitting the shelves, our ewes have started lambing! This little bloke is one of many. Lambing is great fun to watch. Once they get a bit older they run, jump, pigroot and play around like nothing. Absolutely gorgeous to watch. But the other great thing about lambing (and…
Anthony and I went to a 40th birthday recently and we were really privileged to make some new friends. The invitation stated Aussie icon’s only, but no streakers. We thought that was fair enough, considering the forecast was cold. Kylie Mole, B1, B2 and the Original Aussie Farmer were the first few we came across.…
Now it’s time to sit and do some writing! The Community Fair is over, things are quietly tonking along on the farm and I think I’ve found the bottom of my washing and ironing basket! (For this week at least!) So, the writing… yes, but there’s still office work to do, cooking to fill the…
How strong are you? Have you got a team that could pull a tractor? Well we put it to the test on Saturday, March 21 with the Staines Esperance Tractor Pull at the Condingup P&C Community Fair. There’s $500 up for grabs – you should be able to shout the bar with that! There’s so…
Having just finished the last edit of Red Dust and farming, kids and just ‘life’ not allowing a lot of time for writing at home, I picked up my laptop and headed to town. Plonking down at a cafe on the Esperance Bay foreshore I started to focus heavily on Blue Skies for the first…
March 21 is etched in the Condingup Community’s mind. It’s the date of our annual fair that we use to raise money for our school. Its a day full of fun and excitement aimed at families. There’s a dog high jump and tractor pull, many competitions – cooking and photography and loads more that I…
Unexpectedly, a change in the weather netted us a couple of mm of rain. Looking out the window I commented to myself: ‘I’m not sure where that has come from.’ My little man, who’d run past as I was muttering obscenities about rain wrecking the dry feed and clothes on the line, did though. ‘It’s…
We live at the bottom of a huge big granite hill – well, not big compared to NSW, Vic and Tassie standards, but pretty high for around here. Most of this country is gently undulating. Anyway, back to the story. This granite hill is covered in thick native bush, poking out inbetween the granite. and…
2009 already! Where are all the years flying to? My mum used to tell me that I was wishing my life away — ‘I wish my birthday would come, I can’t wait for Christmas!’ and now here the new year is already! I really hope that the New Year brings all your hopes and wishes…
Well Christmas is finally upon us — again! Not sure where the year has flown to but school has finished and it’s heated up so the signs of Christmas have arrived, even if it doesn’t feel like it yet! This is our (WA) native Christmas Tree, or commonly known as the Munji tree. It’s a…
There is a sense of urgency in the air in the Condingup/Beaumont area! After a half a day harvesting, yesterday dawned bright and warm and there are trucks, headers and chaser bins moving on most of the farms in the district. The golden glow of the stubbles that have already been harvested are taunting the…
Ah … the weather! It often sounds like farmers are complaining about the weather, but so much of our business relies on it. It needs to rain in March/April so the ground is still warm enough to grow feed for winter. Even though it rains (or at least it should!) during the cold months, the…