And This Little Pig said What Was in Your Driveway Last Night

So what was parked in your driveway last night? Bet it wasn't what I had parked in mine :@

Well this was sort of parked in the driveway, on a flat bed truck.

A David Brown 885 :@

I've grown up with David Brown Tractors (now known as Case tractors) my Dad has been a dealer for years, and still dabbles in them, this old girl was on her way to a new home. Forgot to ask Dad how old she is.

It's amazing, I still have people tell me your father sold us a tractor XX years ago, the old girl is still going.

See you next time... LiBBiE in Oz

And This Little Pig said Guinea Fowl

Ah Guinea Fowl, you ask, what is a Guinea Fowl? Well this is a Guinea Fowl keet or chicken.

We have never had Guinea Fowl this light before, and white Guinea's are very rare in Australia. So what do you think blonde or pale chocolate?

A couple of younger keets from a different hatching, can't wait until they feather up, with fingers crossed.

Just what are you two up to? Yes yes I have white feathers on my wing, big deal! Well my little soon to have more feathers it is a bit deal.

Group of keets, 4 standard pearl grey, 2 cinnamon, and the pale one.

Checking out the next door neighbour.

Some more ducks, Welsh Harlequin's, this is momma duck, and on Christmas Eve just past she went very close to giving her life for her duckling (below) when a fox came to visit, and she (the fox was a female) managed to get her snot through the mesh, and snatch a piece of skin and feathers measuring 2 x 3" off her breast. It was very nasty, you could actually see her insides moving. The piece missing was too large to stitch, so we moved her, hubby and the ducklings (12) to an inside pen, sprayed with wound spray, and prayed... a lot. I couldn't get her to face me, but you really wouldn't even know what had happened, she has a very small dent, but that is it. Oh and that is hubby hiding behind her :@  and one of the ducklings.

Well I've educated you all enough for tonight :@ No stitching today, busy doing the month end. Maybe tomorrow, I really want to finish LHN Silent Night. Oh and posts three days in a row, whoa :@

Catch you all later... LiBBiE in Oz

And This Little Pig said Goats Ducks & Sunrise

Remember our little Magic Trick at Christmas the miracle birth, or the virgin birth, well she finally has a name Madge.

Hasn't she grown, now 10 weeks old.

So if you haven't gathered, I had to go home to the family farm for the weekend, so here are some photos, firstly sunrise.

Some Muscovy ducklings, whites, blues, lavenders and chocolates.

Indian Runners with their grown up ducklings, pruning the orchard and some weeds.

Now you see me

Now you don't

Very much an oops, either that or it is the ghost of duck past.

So had a busy weekend with no stitching, no sewing and no blogging, but is Cow-Day-Wednesday tomorrow, and I hope to get some good photos if the cows co-operate.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post, sorry I have not replied to everyone, will do better next time.

Also have taken off the new blogger word verification, a lot of people seem to be having problems. If I get spam, which I did get once, I will have to go to modified posts.

Catch you all later... LiBBiE in Oz

And This Little Pig said Cow-Day-Wednesday

Well the first Cow-Day-Wednesday for 2012, and today was the hottest day of summer so far, 39-40C (102-104F), and I forgot my camera, so photos of cows from Christmas at home, with a few more farm photos.

Remember last year, I brought a jersey cow for Mum, well Dad paid for her, and I hadn't taken a photo. Well this is Alan :@ and she has put on weight, the bonus, we think she is in calf.

Alan has settled in really well, and she has been a real find, a lovely quiet girl. It took a couple of weeks for her lose the dairy herd mentality, and would follow Mum everywhere... then the old Jersey Miss calved and came up to the house paddock to feed calves, and Alan is now in Jersey cow heaven, she just loves the old girl.

The old girl... Miss will be 10 this year.

Miss' Lowline calf Ferrari, he loves doing fast laps around the paddock, he was hiding behind a 'big' bush so I couldn't see him.

The Chinese Geese had excess eggs this year, so Mum set some under the blue muscovy duck and she hatched out three gosling.

They are beyond cute, and nearly impossible to photograph, as she kept getting between me an 'her' babies.

Have started the 2012 Crazy January Challenge, right on schedule and started Day 4 today, will take piccies tomorrow.

Seeya soon LiBBiE in Oz

And This Little Pig said Cats and Dogs on the Farm

I decided it was time for the farm cats and dogs to have their own post.

This is Molly our LGD, she is a Maremma, this is the sight that usually greets Mum on her way up to the goats every morning.

She is a big bundle of love, well until you don't belong, and are trying to touch or take an animal that is hers. Or if you are a fox or strange dog, then she becomes all business.

We have six farm cats, that live in the milking bail, feed shed, and hay shed, this is the only ginger cat we have at the moment. And he finds the strangest positions to sleep in... on top of a bag of chaff.

One of the five grey tabby farm cats, taking a rest just off the path outside the feed shed.

Now this is someone I have never told you all about, this is Chobe, my old man, he is a Hungarian Vizsla. And yes he does live with me, but he is a kennel dog, not an inside boy. I should say he is a yard dog, as he spends most of his day out in the yard, only going back to the kennels at night, he has full access to all runs. There are four, and a main yard, so he has four different kennels to sleep in, and he does rotate around them all.

Chobe is my last show champion, and will be 13 this June, still as active as he was as a puppy, and he survived a snake bite 5 years ago, that really should have been the end of him. But he powers on, with no real signs of slowing down. Don't you wish you were this fit at... lets see the first dog year equals 10 human years, and every year after that equals 7 years... So 7 x 12 = 84 + 10 = 94!

Chobe has never much enjoyed the farms "big dogs", but as long as he is close to me, he is willing to be brave.

Oh Danni, a dewlap on Luis is like one big double chin :D

Nite LiBBiE in Oz

And This Little Pig said Some Goat Photos

You know my blog is about stitching mainly, but with everything going on, I have had very little time to do so, Mum is off to the Doctors tomorrow and she is feeling much better every day.

Anyway as my profile says, Mum has been breeding Dairy Goats for over 30 years, so I took the opportunity last week to take some more candid photos.

The breeding season is about to start here, so there is a lot of sparring and fighting going on among the does. This Shay Luisa, the upcoming breeding season will her second kidding. Here's hoping this year will be better than last year. Can you believe she had C-section just under four and a half months ago.

Luisa was putting on quite a display. The head butts just make you shudder with the force that they hit.

Shaylarna, is Shay Luisa's younger half sister, this will be her first year breeding. We don't breed our young does until they are 15-18 months, so they kid for the first time around two years of age.

The girls get molasses every morning, and it is a real mob scene, it's all frothy and looks like very big buckets of cappuccino.

This is my Shaylina, she is a very colourful girl, and is recovering from a very nasty case of mastitis, her show career will be over, but she will live on to breed for us.

The girls out for a graze, they are from left to right Shaleah, Sailah, Shaylarna, Ethena (white goat), Shyla, Shaylina, and one of the Saanen goatling it's either Cyerra or Callie. Sorry can't tell from the rear view :D

The boys said, don't forget us. This is Ted, he is usually lovely and snowy white, but... well don't ask... breeding season. Oh and they are rather smelly.

Ted giving a profile shot of his beautiful beard.

Ted's son from our beloved Jenny, this was her last gift to us, his name is Connery S or Sean. He is only six months old, don't you just love his forelock, and the beginning of a beard.

Last but not least a silhouette of the Old Man of the shed, Luis. That is not a beard but a dewlap, a breed feature. We sold Luis three years ago, and part of the deal was that if he was ever offered for sale that we had first right of refusal, image our surprise 12 months ago, when a good friend of ours rang to say he has just brought him, and could we pick him up from a show we were attending. Thankfully he allowed Luis to remain with us :D

Puppy update... they are not happy with me, tonight was worming night, I am definitely not there favourite human :(

Nite LiBBiE in Oz

And This Little Pig said Cow-Day-Wednesday + Puppy Photos

First a puppy photo to wet your appetite, and yes it is Podge, taken tonight :D Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, neither will her paw!

Also an update on Mum, she is doing well her blood pressure is down, but still fluctuating, she has a doctors appointment on Friday morning, my cousin, Mum's niece Lynda is going with her, and we have made her write down a list of things she forgot to tell the doctor last week. Thank you for all your lovely comments regarding her health, she will get better.

Cow-Day-Wednesday are photos taken at home this last weekend. Firstly Alan the Bull has come to visit the girls. He is a Lowline (Angus).

Missy is our 9 year old Jersey, she rears calves, our other calf rearer is Alexis, and I didn't get a chance to photograph her, she is mostly Friesian with a touch of Jersey.

Maxine is a calf we reared, she is roughly three-quarters Jersey, she is approximately 15 months, this will her first calf.

Alan will be visiting Hectavena, but not straight away, she is Missy's last calf, by a friesian bull, named Hector, my youngest sister (who is 30 by the way) named her, Hecta after her father, and only heaven knows where she came up with the rest of her name.

Keeping Hectavena company in the goat paddock far from Alan, is another calf we have reared, she is a little Santa cross, she doesn't have a name apart from The Red Heifer, she won't go in calf to later in the year, probably around September, and she will have to be visited by the AI technician.

Now for the main attraction, photos taken tonight, Evie with the brood.

Chocie boy, all relaxed and chilling out.

Yes it's Podge again, with one of the chocolate boys.

The other black and tan girl, she is going to live with a lovely family in the country. They lost their old girl last year, she was 15 years old, it is a great home, and they are so looking forward to her coming to live this them.

That laid back chocie boy again.

Oh I forgot, I have managed to get in a little stitching... little is the word plus I left my LHN Family Sampler at Mum's, just after I had started stitching it again. I am hoping my cousin's husband can bring it down next week.

Nite LiBBiE in Oz