Baa, lamb, ewe…
No writing today…
NB: new camera and an amateur who doesn’t read the instruction book – sorry if pics are ordinary!
Drafting ewes and lambs through the yards.
Jackeroos having to hold hats in wind.
Crutching the ewes (taking the mucky wool from their bums so they don’t get flystrike in the summer), husband waiting to go into pens to drench the ewes (so they don’t get worms). Blurred image…
Historically, Australia was said to have derived its burgeoning economy from the sheep’s back. Our history is marked by the introduction of Saxon merino sheep to the colonies in 1804. Farming wool became iconic and superfine Australian wool became world-renowned, beloved everywhere for its softness and purity.
Things that bear closer observation:
Whilst having a midmorning cup of tea, we sat on the back verandah in the sun and watched the resident swallows. Have they flown all the way from Russia, we wondered? They have renovated their nest above the security light and twisted my horse’s tail hair all around. They take it in turns to nest, one in, one out. Whilst one is in, the other sits on the powerlines and they sing and chat with each other. Occasionally they fly off together, not far, but with aeronautic tricks and tumbles. They are old friends and we welcome them every Spring. We also noticed that the ewes and lambs had pushed a gate open and let themselves into the paddock that they had begun lambing in seven weeks ago.