Whew... it's been a busy couple of days.
For those of you who think you have a weed problem in your garden, listen up :) Gorse is a plant originally from Scotland and was introduced into New Zealand. It's very spiny and has pretty yellow flowers (think thistle on steriods!) I read that in it's native Scotland, it blooms once, therefore only having one set of seeds. Because of the conditions here, it blooms multiple times, meaning more seeds...seeds that can stay in the ground for up to 40 years and germinate at any time. Gorse is good for regenerating native bush plants because they grow to a certain height, creating a canopy for young seedlings and plants. Then the native plants grow up and over the gorse and smother them out. Good in some cases, but not if you have grazing stock. So our job is to go out in the field and clip small gorse at the base and apply a weed killer. It's a long process, but quite important.
Yesterday we gathered the sheep (lots of walking) and sorted the lambs from the ewes. This isn't quite as easy as it sounds. It's a little hard to explain....basically the sheep are kept in several different, connecting pens, with the center pen leading to a run. The run allows the farmer to let the sheep through, one at a time, and sort them out. I was knee deep in sheep and did lots of shouting and pushing, while Eckhard did the sorting. After that we had to bring the ewes back out to pasture. The sun was setting quickly so we had to move fast. I did a quick hike up to open some gates while Eckhard mustered them up from behind.
It's been very cold here. Yesterday, there was frost on the ground and the water in the horses pen was frozen over. I think this is unusual for this area. It makes me feel like I'm in Vermont!
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5 comments:
Great entry! Sounds like you're working hard. Remember to have some fun by taking photos for your fans back home!
Yeah! It would be great to see some photos! Why did I think you were going to work inside the Bed & Breakfast Inn? What you're doing isn't even close!
I've been trying to find out the temp in Onuku Heights. Since the water trough froze over, I guess that answers my query. When and if this adventure is over, you should take all your entries and publish a book! Great writing, Kelly.
nice, i can almost picture it now... you in a field shouting about sheep!
thought you might like to hear, smudge is taking matters in to his own hands, and fighting for his place on the team. he may stay a red devil after all.
take cake and have fun
Great post! Some important questions: I saw the entry about the veggie and lamb sausage dinner, what else have you been eating? Any vegemite? Have you met anyone else yet besides Eckhardt?
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