Good morning everyone,
It was another “cool” morning at the farm this morning, but probably warmer than in other parts of the country. I hope it’s not too bad at your place!
While it’s a chilly start to these winter days (with not a lot of grass growing), we have had some beautiful mid-winter days, so we really can’t complain! Our solar array is bringing in lots of kWh, which is fantastic whilst we are still in winter.
Despite the cold, each day I do see a slight improvement to the grass height, so it’s just a matter of holding our breath and waiting. As they say “good things take time.”
Our fencing and yards: The “good things take time” statement is very true when it comes to completing our fencing and yards project. We haven’t seen the fencers back to finish our project. While completing the fencing would be good, they have also been fantastic to us, and have done such a great job here. We are happy for them to complete their other jobs. before they come back. They have said they will be back mid-week, fingers crossed.
Some farm mapping and drone footage: With the changes to our paddock layout, we need to get an updated farm map done. This has all been booked, so it shouldn’t be too far away. We have now completed our specimen tree plantings, although the drone footage probably won’t show much as the trees are just sticks at this time. In the Spring we will update our website using professional drone footage, so we can share our new farm look.
Baleage feeding out: This has still been very stressful, with baleage we could not feed out on using the bale feeder. Interestingly, I have must have “acclimatised” as feeding it out has become, physically, much easier.
We have purchased some more baleage, which arrived yesterday. We tried out a bale – and it worked off our feeder – yeah! Whilst it is a lot drier than our current baleage, its a relief to be able to be fed easily.
My old High School Centennial: I went to High School at Hutt Valley High School, and this year is their centennial, with celebrations this coming weekend. Keryn and I will fly down on Thursday afternoon to attend the weekend’s festivities. I am really looking forward to catching up with some old (and “long lost”) acquaintances. We come back again on Monday. We have feed out in advance, so the cows wont mind. Our neighbour will shift them daily.
Spotlight on: This week we would like to spotlight one of our very special cows, Phoebe.
Apart from being a very special lady genetically, Phoebe is so super quiet and relaxed, that I am simply in awe. Docility is now at the very top of our “must have” cattle traits, and Phoebe pretty much leads the herd with her amazing temperament.
That’s all or this week. We hope you all have a great week ahead, and we will post next Monday from Wellington.
Colin and Keryn