HB A&P

Marty and I have spent a fun filled day up in Hastings at the A & P Show. It's been on since Wednesady but today was the only day we could make it. I love A & P shows so even if it means 4 consecutive days driving up to Napier (work on the other 3) it is worth it.

It was so hot when we got there and the temperature gradually increased as the hours passed. First we went to the rodeo arena to see some calf wrangling...

I'm still not sold on this 'sport' because I feel bad for the calf and the horse but it was interesting to watch. That was also our first introduction to the dust that billowed about under the animals' hooves. SOme of the horses were absolutely gorgeous! Big stocky cowboy horses.

And there was barrel racing which put Marty and I to shame (we did some barrel racing at Kiwi Valley when we were having our lessons). Most of them finished in 16 seconds...

Then we went over to the Oval where all the showjumping was happening. The junior class was good and the jumps enormous for the seemingly tiny horses but later on in the day the full-sized, top competition, ridiculously amazing class was on and the jumps were HUGE!

One of the members of the Olympic team was there riding Dunstan Hairy Maclary. Unfortunately we didn't stay to see who won but it was awesome to see. Not many people went clear in that round so it would have been interesting. There was one jump, a big castle, that was about 6ft tall...

In amongst the horsey madness we observed the wood choppers...

which was impressive. Those guys got though some gosh darn mighty logs in very little time. And the little old man next to me was also highly impressed by their hard work.

And then we went back tot he rodeo arena for another coating of dust and to watch the actual rodeo...

This guy face planted quite badly. A lot of the riders barely made it out of the gate and the rodeo clowns spent a lot more time trying to round the bronco up afterwards. Those horses can jump though! One horse went straight up in the air, all 4 legs off the ground, about 4 feet. Pig jumping and bucking all over the place. Brother would be good in a rodeo...

Anyway, even though our Labour Weekend fiesta is looking slightly emptier people-wise, we will still be having a few people over for some rabbit stew and good times. I think everyone is arriving tomorrow.

Ont he vege front, our mushrooms have sprouted which I am over joyed about! One bucket has a cluster of fast growing fungi in one corner and you can see the other bucket pushing a few things through as well. All 5 cherry trees now have tiny little cherries on them, the strawberries are in full flower, the basil is a thick forest of green and purple and one pumpkin has survived transplantation and is poking a leaf through the soil. Our second vege garden in the arena paddock is well under way and hopefully we will finish it off next week so we can plant more potatoes etc...

The goats have gone fee range in the shed paddock and so far (touch wood) haven't escaped. We had a bit of a drama the other day with Eidel getting her foot caught up in the tether really badly and cutting off a lot of circulation to her foot. So I picked her up, untangled her and decided that the tether idea was finished. In the process, while holding her, I felt her stomach moving around so I;m pretty sure she is pregnant. And possibly Fungus as well but I havn;t picked her up. Eidel was surprisingly calm when I was holding her though. They are much more comfortable with us around now - not enough to come anywhere near us but at least they don't take off anymore!

Ok, bed time for me... work in the morning.

K :)