celebration

And the rollercoaster goes up!

/ dairymilkmaid / 3 Comments

This was the farm 48 hours ago. Shrouded in smoke from the bushfires, the place was tinder dry.

January 25

January 25

I went to bed last night with 4 inches of water in the house tank and hoped like hell that the easterly over Bairnsdale would grace us with its presence. We had gone all out, after all. The cairn dedicated to Thor is almost complete, the washing line was full of dry clothes and, to top it off, Wayne left the quad bike in the centre of the lawn with his helmet upturned like a giant goblet, ready to receive the sacrament.

Thor delivered.

Almost 18mm of gentle rain!

Almost 18mm of gentle rain!

There is not a puddle to be seen but the place smells wonderful and the plants are already responding.

What a difference 12 hours makes

What a difference 12 hours makes

We had to celebrate!

The Thor Cairn was the perfect place to celebrate and pay homage

The Thor Cairn was the perfect place to celebrate and pay homage

What makes this rain even more special is that there is more rain forecast over the next week and not a day over 30 degrees. The cows will love it! Can’t wait to snap another panorama at the end of the week to see new life breathed into the farm.

The year turns the corner

/ dairymilkmaid / 1 Comment

Today’s very belated celebration with around 20 members of Wayne’s extended family of Alex’s birth in May and Zoe’s birthday in June signalled something else: the turning of the year in our family’s favour.

Back in June, we were beside ourselves. We were halfway through a marathon six-month calving period, welcoming a colicky new baby and coping with the wettest season in a very long time. Absolutely stretched to the limit.

We’ve finally turned the corner. Calving is finished and almost all the suckies are weaned, silage is well underway and Alex is a jovial, thriving five-month-old (mind you, no cake for his Mama thanks to his plethora of food intolerances).

Every dairy-farming family knows the annual cycle of crazy winter/spring workloads followed by the hiatus of December through to March. The heat slows pretty much everything on farm and is the perfect time to catch up – with everything from maintenance chores to entertaining friends. Summer is already in the air!