Showers about the ranges

That is all the weather forecast ever says about this area, "Showers about the ranges". Great. Although in the past few weeks they have been wrong, much to my satisfaction. I actually managed to get sunburnt last weekend! Amazing!

With all this heat I am thinking that the more frost sensitive veges will be planted out next weekend. Namely the tomatoes, zucchini and possibly even the basil although it looks very happy in the greenhouse no matter how hot it gets. Really it looks like a soft bed of very thick grass - so much so that Marty announced he would like to lie in it (over my dead body!).

We started on our new vege patch the other day. It will be for things that the birds have no interest in like potatoes, pumpkins, spinach, lettuce, onions... basically anything that is not fruit. Here is the beginning...

While we were doing that we spent some quality time with our 'new' goats. Apparently the key in taming them is to just hang out with them without harrassing them in any way. No touching at all but just being around them so they get used to our presence. So they sussed us out from a fair distance...

Eidel is on the right, Fungus on the left. During the hour we spent with them, Fungus decided we weren't too threatening and came within a few metres of us to scratch her head on some dirt that had been piled up. Eidel was not so keen and loitered by a tree most of the time at the full extent of her tether. Hopefully they will help fertilise our new vege patch while it;s being constructed though. After that we will need to chicken wire the whole thing to stop any of the damn rabbits getting near our crops.

The equine therapist came out again on Monday to check all the saddles I had accumulated. Luckily one of them fitted Dino and I have now purchased it much to the despair of my credit card but Brother still needs a bit more work to calm him down. The new saddle will fit him as well but we want to get him back to his normal self first. He's been very twitchy around his back recently for some unknown reason. So we got the horses talcum powdered up...

The horses weren't impressed at being powdered with sweet smelling talc. As you can see by the look in Dino's eye! How humiliating! At least now he is comfy.

The lambs are getting funnier. They have recently adopted quite a dog-like habit about being scratched. Gizmo looks like she might pass out from scratching pleasure and Marley, if you scratch her and then stop, will paw at you until you keep going. All Marley wants is a cuddle and milk to be completely content with life. Soon she will be missing out on the latter though as we need to wean her off it in a couple of weeks. She won't be happy about it!

We have the floor layers here laying some highly unethical wood on the kitchen floor. I am actually quite upset about it but there is nothing we can do now. I don't want to go into it. They are doing an all nighter and will leave at about 1am. Crazy.

Next week is the Hawkes Bay A & P show in Hastings. I am very, very excited about it. I'm working Wednesday and Thursday up there so probabaly won't make it those days but Friday I will be there with bells on. One of the other interpreters in Hawkes Bay has a son competing in the equestrian events that day so it will be good to see all that. And then it is Labour Weekend and we are having our house warming party which is yet to be finalised. Must get onto that.

Anyway, time to go. Work tomorrow. And maybe a puppy :)