Our First Bonfire, Docking Tails, and Gender Bending

Well Myles is back to work today after getting the all clear from the Doctor. Apparently he had Pneumonia which is much better than getting some weird flu from an animal. My back seems to be getting better thanks to some core muscle exercises - I swear they are hard though. The Physio told me to imagine pulling my balls into my stomach WTF! My fitness ball is ready for use this afternoon so I shall be watching TV etc while sitting on the ball.

Safety first - hose nearby

Meanwhile in the valley...

We finally decided to light our huge pile of trees and branches on fire. When Myles and I arrived the whole property was overgrown and we spent months trimming and chopping down trees. We asked the local Fire Brigade to burn one of our piles but they are yet to show up even after 6months! So we spent a fair amount of time trying to get the fire going but it didn't seem to catch - too wet. Finally after a few nice days we have been able to light it and have been enjoying watching the fire at night. Myles says it reminds him of his childhood which is interesting because he apparently never had a bonfire. However, I am reminded of Guy Fawkes in New Zealand. I have no idea why they celebrate Guy Fawkes in New Zealand? I am reminded of the Guy being dragged into the street on the back of a wheelbarrow, the bonfire being built and the guy being chucked on top of it. Originally it must have been a first to burn an effigy as you see in protests now. There were always loads of fireworks on that night too - New Years Eve was nothing in our household but Guy Fawkes held a special place. There is probably only another night of the bonfire left then we can move to the next one!

I read that you must dock the tails of lambs in their first week of life. Naturally Myles and I had never done such a thing and were a little apprehensive about hurting the cute things. It is necessary to complete the task or the sheep will be in more pain in the long term. So like all good farmers we Googled how to do it and saw this awesome little video. Myles and I spent a couple of hours running around the paddock trying to catch the lambs and slide the rubber thingie on tail. Many old crumpets were used to get the sheep to go where we liked - they LOVE crumpets! It is all done now and the lambs appear not to feel anything - WHEW!

Finally a neighbour came around to check on our bonfire and saw one of the goats in the paddock. He commented that the goat must be pregnant because of her size. I was looking into the paddock commenting that you can't tell if a goat is pregnant but it was indeed possible because the Billy had been a little randy. Myles wondered over and overheard the neighbour and pointed at the brown goat and asked if that was the pregnant one? The neighbour confirmed he meant the brown one. I had thought the neighbour was talking about the white goat - the brown goat is a boy! And proved that he couldn't be pregnant by standing up and showing us his jewels!

The Catch-Up

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I know it has been sometime since my last post. I seem to have lost enthusiasm since I hurt my back which also means not a lot has been happening around the property.

Myles is Sick

Myles still has time to wave hello from hospital 

Last week I had a meltdown and told Myles I was pretty bored - mainly because all I was doing was sitting in a chair watching TV due to the back-pain. Myles told me he would book me into a Physiotherapist the next day to sort the problem out... Yes I know I could have done it myself but sometimes I need a push. At 1am the next morning I was woken by Myles getting up to put on his dressing gown and getting back into bed. I asked him why he was wearing the dressing gown to bed and he commented he was so cold. I took his temperature which was slightly raised but nothing to worry about. I feel back asleep and was again woken at 2am with Myles sweating profusely, shivering and claiming he was freezing. I took his temperature again and he had hit 38.4 degrees. OK know I knew there was a problem.

At 7am Myles' temperature had hit 38.8 degrees - I booked him into a Doctor's Surgery as an emergency patient. The Doctor referred him to hospital because of his symptoms. We saw a ED Doctor almost straight away - a young Doctor who hadn't had much experience. Blood was taken from Myles and he was put on a saline drip. While he was lying there I commented that today was meant to be about my back and he was just stealing the limelight - that produced a giggle. The blood test showed he had an infection but not what was wrong - so the Doctor decided to administer a lumber punch. Everyone was concerned that he had Meningitis and a spinal tap is the only way to find out.

The Junior Doctor tried 3 times getting the needle into Myles' spine and finally had to call a more senior Doctor to complete it. I couldn't watch! The outcome was that they didn't know what was wrong and that he would have to ride it out with painkillers. So we got home and I made a huge batch of Chicken Soup.

Myles is getting better but not normal yet.

My Back

The Before Bedroom Shot

I went to my first appointment with the Physiotherapist on the Friday and discovered that my bottom 3 discs are not moving as they should be. I am not allowed to sit down for more than 15minutes and have some back stretching exercises to complete. Next appointment today so hopefully I will feel better soon.

A Room Finished
When we moved into this house the interior design was not to our liking. It may have taken sometime but we finally finished one room - the Spare Bedroom. I will probably finish the Office in the next day or two - which I must say is looking pretty darn good.

After - using a bad camera

When a Child is Born

After harvesting the Lemonades I made cordial and marmalade. Both of which are delicious and should last a few months. Each day I check on the sheep in the hope they will give birth. The udders have been getting bigger and bigger - so I know the time is nearing.

Last night the lovely Heather stayed over once again, but arrived just as it was getting dark. Over some low-alchollic wine we talked about the sheep and decided to check on them before Heather left - praying there would be a birth. Yet that morning we had breakfast and Heather left without paying the animals a visit - which was a total shame! I finally went down at mid-day and what did I see? Mascara had given birth to a beautiful lamb. After so much death this year I am over the moon.

If the lamb is a boy it will be the most fantastic lamb roast. If she is a girl we will call her Heather - because she was here when the little critter was born.