This weeks real lesson

This week our lessons were interrupted by this.

The arrival of new puppies.  I'm thinking this was a better lesson anyway!! And so much fun.  We've enjoyed twice daily visits to see how big the puppies are now.

If you know anyone that wants a new puppy in about 8 weeks, let us know.

Busy... Farm... Fun...

Yesterday my morning baking was interrupted by a very excited cry of "The cotton pickers, the cotton pickers, mum.  Can we go please?? NOW???"

Picking is a great time - very busy but lots of fun.  There is action everywhere, 3 pickers, 2 module builders and 3 very excited boys.  They like to 'help' me build modules, ride in the pickers with Dad, Uncle Matt or Pa (whoever is going past at the time) but the best thing to do is play in the cotton module.  We see all sorts of flips, flops and falls into the soft fluffy cotton.  This is the life we love!!

(Top 4 photos by Isaiah)

New Family Member

This (currently nameless) little fellow arrived this morning - just hours before these pictures were taken.  His arrival has been talked about for a few weeks now as his mum were showing signs of the impending birth.  However it was taking so long we had almost given up hope.  I'm thinking the wait was worth it.  We have 3 very impressed boys.

New friends

Here are some new, much loved friends we spent our time with on the weekend.

Isaiah spent much of the weekend in the box with the chickens he inherited from his daycare.  They were hatched at daycare and the kids enjoyed watching them grow for a couple of weeks.  The kids were allowed to take them home.  We ended up with two that were left without homes.  Isaiah was so excited to bring them home.  They spent the weekend in the box in the laundry. They are now outside in the chicken pen and are visited at least once a day.  They seem happy with their bigger space.  I'm just hoping they are girl chickens so they enjoy a long life on the farm. 

Our Weekend

We had a super busy, family filled weekend.  On Saturday we planted 199 trees along our little patch of creek.  Yes, not 200 but 199, don't ask me why, it's just how it worked out.  All the family was there plus a few extras helping out.  The kids did a great job, helping, playing together and generally enjoying being out in the sun as a big family.

I love warm spring weather and fun family projects. What a great combination.

Cotton Picking Fun

This is part of life on the farm at present,

While things are actually rather busy, the kids are able to have great fun.  

This is the farm life we love.

Flood reflections

I have been thinking about what to blog for a few days now and have been a little unsure what I should or could share. 

• I could show you more photos of our paddocks under water but I've already shown you that,
• I could show you more photos of our boys playing in the mud and water - but I've already shown you that - there has been soooo much of this happening
• I could show you more photos of the food coming from the kitchen - but I've already shown you that
• I could show you more photos of the garden - but I've shown you that (old photos, I know, but I'm not sure you want to see it every week)

It may sound a little weird but life here hasn't actually changed that much for us in the last week or so.  We still have lots of water over our farm, nothing in houses or sheds but many of our crops have been covered.  We had a little warning this lot of water was coming so the cupboards, fridges and freezers were all stocked and the generator was on stand-by for power outages.  We knew that our roads would be cut for at least a week. 

So it is a little hard to imagine what life is like for people whose house is being filled with water or in some cases completely floated away.  People who have lost family and friends and those who are waiting looking for missing people.  All I can do from here is pray.

I am feeling somewhat removed from the whole situation.  Even here on our own farm, my responsibility of mothering three young boys remains constant and my priority and prevents me from getting out and helping on the farm.  I was very thankful for my sister relieving me of my responsibility for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon so I could go and help start siphons and get my feet muddy!!

Anyway, whilst I was thinking about what to share with you last night, I looked out the window and saw this.

It helped remind me that there is some much good stuff happening out there, people opening up their houses to those who have lost theirs, people giving food to SES workers, people helping in evacuation centres and so much more that I don't know about.  So I hope that this helps brighten your day - whatever you may be dealing with.

Flooding Fun

As most of you know, Queensland has had some pretty serious flooding lately currently.  Dalby is one of the towns that has been declared a disaster area.  This is our closest town.  However, we have been really fortunate.  We haven't had any water in houses, only some of our crops went under for a day but most of it is still going ok.  The roads around have been cut and the power and phones do funny things so it can still be a little trying.  Thought I should show you what we got up to yesterday to help combat this.

So much fun to be had - even with a tinnie and an 18hp engine!!

More water

Today we were planning to head in to Toowoomba and catch up with some friends for Scott's birthday.  However, this morning we were greeted with lots of water and no way to get to town.  No matter which way we try to go there is water over a bridge, so we stayed home and enjoyed watching the water flow around our place.




The 'Mary River' broke her banks



The ditch beside the box tree paddock

 

The D7 is sliding down the bank - towards the sump full of water



Water is still rising when we took this



The cotton is in the creek



^^ Frank ^^

We are currently in the middle of harvest. 

Yesterday we went down the paddock and had a ride on Frank.

Otherwise known as a header, thank-you Cars (the movie) for giving it a real name.

Farm Report - Flood

This week we had some much needed rain.
Our cotton was well and truly ready for a drink.

With floods comes the need to get around the farm.
Sometimes a boat could be a better option.

This is our overland flow pump at the creek dam
That's the sump, not the dam.

Floods always bring out some wildlife.
I guess their homes got a bit damp.

Post by Farmer Smith