And This Little Pig said More Show Photos

This is how you really win Champion Rose at a Show, you get the Rose Faeries to weave a special spell, a magic wand and faerie dust. My good friends Lyn and Michelle.

Better photo of the Champion Rose, more natural light, Mr Lincoln has stood up so well.

A view from the top.

Winning "Christmas Cake" in the decorated cake section, so cute.

Sat and watched some ring events, Pleasure Horse in Harness, I think my friend Sue took this photo, she had left her camera in her car, so we were sharing my camera :@

This one was mine... I think. Then we wandered off to the poultry pavilion, there are a lot of chook photos to come, but these are a couple of favourites.

Bonnie and Clyde... it just suited them.

Life Behind Bars

Does this guy look like a criminal, I think an Enforcer :@

Well off to bed, have to be up early in the morning, to do breakfast for Horse Day at the Show, hope to get a chance to take some more photos.

Thank you for all the comments, love comments :@
 
Talk soon LiBBiE in Oz

And This Little Pig said Sky, Nests & Eggs

I had an extremely busy weekend, yes Danni, I'm fine :D I worked on Saturday at a cattle sale, and this was the only photo I managed to take, before I was quite literally run off my feet. I was sitting at the registration desk, looked up and thought, 'really blue sky, should take a photo of that through the trees.' So I did. It was hot, started early, finished late, and did not turn on any computer until I went to work this morning. Don't think I have ever done that before.

When I got home this afternoon, the first thing I saw was that a nest had blown down and was sitting in the middle of the backyard. No baby birds or eggs, thank goodness.

The inside...

Closer inside, that looks like cow hair.

And what's a nest without eggs, even if they are chook eggs, Barnevelder eggs from the farm.

Love Barnie eggs, brown with lovely dark brown spots.

I have been stitching, will get update photos tomorrow, with hopefully my first finish for 2011 and my first Crazy!

Currently on puppy watch, even though Evie is not due till Saturday, she could go anytime from Wednesday onwards. So put the whelping box up tonight, just have to convince Evie this is were the puppies are going to be be born, not under the lounge-room chair!

Nite all... LiBBiE in Oz

And This Little Pig said Crazy New Year

Just thought I would take a moment to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. May the next year be filled with all the joy and happiness you can endure and good times ahead for all.

I have finally finalised my List for Crazy January Challenge 2011.

It consists mainly of Little House Needleworks, along with one from Country Cottage Needleworks and a lovely band sampler freebie offered by Kathy at 
Gracewood Stitches. All are just beautiful in my opinion.

Will be putting a list somewhere on the right hand side :D That's the next thing to do.

Still not fully prepared, brought all my threads in the post Christmas sales, just have to order a few speciality threads from America, oh and get all my material sorted and dyed... but apart from that all's well.

One last photo, taken with my new Sony Nex-5, a picture of my mother's hands. They are work hands, that is for sure, and Mum says she should be ashamed of them. I think they tell their own story.

Again, a merry, happy, safe and prosperous New Year to all... Look out 2011, the crazies are coming.

And This Little Pig said Farm Day 6

Well it's Day 6 or evening, and we are waiting on one or our old does to kid. This will more than likely be her last kidding, we will have to wait to see how she is after this kidding.

Busy sort of day, we ended up having to go back to Ag-Quip, we left behind a pair of hoof shears we had brought, silly us.

It had rained over night, which made parking in a paddock fun, it took us 20 minutes to get from the front gate to park, slip sliding all the way, it was very greasy.

A view from the back door, up to the sheds and poultry. The rocks were what attracted my parents to this place, the goats love them.

Our Buff Sussex on the roost this evening.

The menagerie has been added to today, pheasants! A ringneck, with the wrong hen. 

Golden Pheasant, please excuse the pen, but when they arrived this morning, they had been in their travel boxes for 36 hours. Food, water and freedom, where higher on the list of things to do, they had arrived a week early, and an extra pair, we had two pens ready, but not three.

Golden Pheasant hen, we have to move them tomorrow. 

And a very pretty, Ringneck, mutation blue, he looks like a peacock. He at least has the right hen, even though she was hiding.

Our LGD, Molly, she is a Maremma.

My Meah.

Normie was getting upset that the puppies were getting all the attention. You can see how stressed and put out he is, simply inconsolable. 

Cheeky.

Paw on macro.

Nose on macro.

And This Little Pig said Farm Day 3

Day 3 on the Farm, no more kids today, maybe tomorrow.

So here is Boy No 1 today, having one of his 4 of 5 bottles for the day.

Here is Boy No 2, still not standing up, or drinking well, but he is brighter, and able to hold his head up. He is actually bigger than his older brother, and while not out of the woods, things are looking up.

We have several pieces of rock salt blocks tied up for the does, and we believe it makes a big different in kidding and getting rid of all the after bits of birth.

We actually try to hatch out the bulk of our chickens in late winter through to mid-spring, our last hatchings are usually in early October. While we have cold winters, and can get as low as -6 to -8 degrees C, we have disgustingly hot summers up to 45 degrees C. It is just too hard to raise chickens, it is hard enough keeping adult chooks alive.

So some Buff Columbian Wyandotte chickens in the brood boxes.

Farm cat in one of the warmest places in winter, on top of the brood boxes.

Peach or Nectarine in bud.

And what would a posting be without Dachshund puppies, they go on Friday, but Tilly is staying.

Puppy pile, all trying to sleep on Mum's winter rug.

Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths.

This is probably the best photo I have taken of Tilly's colour, it is a real light chocolate, so different from my Quincy who is so dark. We decided today that Tilly was milk chocolate :D

Well I didn't take as many photos today, but am off to Ag-Quip tomorrow, which is the largest agricultural field day in Australia. My feet are aching already. 

And This Little Pig said Farm Day 1

Okay it's not day one, but day two.

I did not arrive until 5pm yesterday, and it was nearly dark, so that does not count.

I made up for it today!

Had a great day, went shopping with my cousin, we had a wonderful time, coffee, lovely piece of carrot cake, with icing to die for! Brought myself a nifty new travel mug made my Maxwell Williams, it's a double walled mug, ceramic called... coffee*to*go Great rubber lid in lime green, must remember to take a photo.

The pups have grown, and are very, very active, don't worry I took a few photos today... well 157 photos :)

Does have not officially started kidding, although one young goatling (1st kidder) went 12 days early with twin bucks, which did not survive. But Cee Dee is milking   very well, and we are very pleased, she is the spitting image of her dead grandmother.

Well onto the pictures, don't worry there are not 157. Cee Dee is first, she is a Saanen doe.

Shenika, Anglo Nubian, 1st kidder, due at the end of the month.

Shenika's older sister Shyla, a truly beautiful doe, a big milk producer, she is not due until Sept 22. And yes wouldn't you know it, there is one in every crowd, that is my Shyandra hamming it up in the background, this will more than likely be her last kidding. Pray for does.

WIDE LOAD! Shaylah, she had quads last year, looks like she will do the same this year, she is due on the 18th.

Shaylina, you know there are some days you just need a helping hand or rock to reach that itch, especially when you are pregnant.

Sai-Lah, one of Shaylah's quads from last year, with Callee... I think?

And some days you have and itch in a very unusual place, I watch Shaylarna do this three or four times, it took me a while to work out what she was doing. I thought it must be some new goat yoga, I didn't know about. 

Our Welsh Harlequin ducks, a very pretty little breed, she is sitting on around 12 eggs, and he did not like me taking photos at all.

Our beautiful blue muscovy ducks, such soft girls, a new drake came for them this afternoon, not sure they were too impressed. 

Chinese Geese

Guinea Fowl, self blues, we have lavenders as well, along with cinnamon/brown.

One of six farm cats.

Polish bantam rooster, he was so much fun, he kept 'looking' at me.

With his hens, they are such a docile little chook.

Some Chinese Silkies, we have had this little black hen for about three years now, she was very poor, and had bad leg mites. We call her Mother of Many! She has been a great little bird.

Puppy photos... action shot!

There she is our Tilly girl, the chocolate, can you see her smiling?

See I was kind, only 20 pictures! Sorry I am only working on a lap top, and don't have my favourite editing program.


Until tomorrow... LiBBiE