House sitting again and the joys of farming

We are now house sitting again.

We arrived here 5 days ago and it has been an intense learning curve. Water systems involving pumps, dams, sprinkling systems to be shown. Power systems with cords and connections going in every direction. Discussions of what to do in the event of storms, fire and floods. (Keeping fingers firmly crossed)

Four cows needing attention, 18 sheep of various ages and that included a ewe that had twins only a few days before we arrived. Two dogs and an ancient but lovable cat.

A large vegetable garden to be cared for (and eaten!!!) and acres of native flowers to enjoy.

I am in seventh heaven I didn’t realise how much I missed the farm life. During the 5 days I followed around taking copious notes.

This morning at 4am it was D day. We went with Kim and Deidre to the airport and waved farewell to them as they flew off to America. Then brought their car back home. Arriving back at 6-30am we were ready for breakfast.

Now we are on our own (well not counting all the livestock!!!)…

First to check the ewe and lambs, aren’t they adorable…

Then to count the other sheep, one’s missing. I walk round the paddock and way over on the other side, near the dam, I find her. But she was not alone. Standing beside her was a fine, healthy baby and she was very protective of him.

With Jack’s help I separate her from the others and put her in the pen with the other mother.

Here he is only a few hours old. What a lovely start to our 4 week house sit.

I check them a couple of hours later and he has had a feed and is looking very contented.

Meanwhile Seldon the border collie watches over them.

Being here is certainly an inspiration for me, going back to my farming roots.

I also think it is a transition for me during the next 4 weeks to be back on the land.

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Now it is 3-30pm and time to do the afternoon rounds of animals, gardens and dog and cat feeding.

 

Special Photo Challenge : Inspiratiion

What inspires me to blog? That is a very easy question….

The answer in a word is Matilda…

We found her when Jack spotted a small for sale ad in the local paper back in 2009. It was love at first sight…

Matilda and me

She became our transport, accommodation and constant companion during the next 57000 kilometres of travel around Australia. She enhanced my passion and love of travel giving us freedom to roam across this huge Australian continent we call home.

I also discovered WordPress and decided to start a blog to keep family and friends in touch with where we were and what we were doing.

Back then most people looked at me strangely and said “A blog, whatever is that?”

And so I created “Gypsy Life” … (Click here to see how it all started)

When I innocently entered the Blogosphere in 2009 I had no idea how addictive blogging would become. I now have a different perspective of the world around me because at the back of my mind lurks the thought “that would be an interesting post” I often choose campsites by their access to the internet. My evenings are spent doing posts and catching up with my blogging community. Travel now has a whole new dimension.

After almost 3 trouble-free years of travel Matilda had the equivalent of a coronary and we had to put her in for major surgery. In the tender care of Town Automatics she recovered. Now with new heart and lungs (gearbox and radiator) she is ready for more adventures and I am looking forward to blogging about them.

Daily post at WordPress asked us this question….What inspires you to blog? We blog because there are people, places, things, and ideas that we care about so much we can’t help but tell the world about them. We want to know what inspires you. For this special mid-week photo challenge, we want to see portraits of you doing something that inspires you to blog.

So this is my reply to that question…