Week beginning 21 July 2001

For days past, rain, rain, lightning, rain, thunder, rain, rain, hail, rain, wind, and more rain.

Some of our friends have loved it....

ducks in a big puddle

a solitary cloud

Only in Diggers Valley could the sky be completely blue and clear everywhere else apart from directly above one's head, where a small, innocuous looking wee cloud hovers and rains.


Some of the days have, however, been quite clear and fine. So we brought nearly all the cattle in for a copper injection (necessary because there is interaction between the iron and copper in the soil and plants and thus the animals need a copper supplement; injecting it ensures that each animal receives enough for its best bodily function). Unfortunately we're both rushing about like mad things while we're doing it, so there are no photos.

The same applies to that fantastic sight of all the sheep following Ruth to the yards with Stephan bringing up the rear. Some people use dogs, we use a bucket of maize; the half-dozen hand reared sheep come running for it and the others, as sheep tend to do, follow. We weighed and drenched them all and split them into two lots, pregnant ewes and "the rest".

Next Week there will hopefully be some wee lambs on view.

the end of a Fantail in flight

...Catch a Fantail by the tail...

Can you imagine how long I had to stand around to catch one of these? They're pretty fast!