Thanksgiving week

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kathrin trying to pry open a steer's mouth to see how
many teeth it has

   This week has been very busy.  This Sunday we loaded fifteen steers onto the stock truck and drove them into Wagga Wagga for the cattle auction on Monday.  The steers were pretty wild, and it took us awhile to get them all marked with paint according to their age and then loaded onto the stock truck.  To determine a cow’s age, look at how many teeth it has. 

 

Sunset on our way to Wagga Wagga

After we arrived in Wagga Wagga and unloaded all the cows at the auction yards, we spent the night at a friend’s house there on the outskirts of town.  We slept in our swags, since there were not enough beds.  Swags are the Australian version of portable sleeping equipment.  A swag consists of a miniature mattress (none of those inflatable air things), a bottom sheet, sometimes a top sheet, and then a small comforter on top with a pillow.  All of these are rolled up inside a large piece of canvas and tied together with either an old belt or rope.  Swags are not really made to be compact like our American version of camping gear, but they sure are comfortable. 

On Monday morning we watched part of the early sales at the auction grounds.  The auction grounds have the facilities to sell cattle and sheep, each on a different day of the week.  The sheep yards are shorter and the auction usually takes place right outside of each gate into the yard so the buyers can feel the size of the sheep.  The cattle yards are then separate across a small street.  There are off loading ramps on one side of the complex where the trucks back their gates up to and off load the cattle down a ramp into certain yards.  There are about eight different companies that sell all the cattle and each company has their own assigned set of yards for the cattle they will be selling.  And each company employs their own auctioneer and spotters.  In the middle of the complex is a large building with a small center arena.  Above the arena on three sides are raised benches and seats for the buyers and on lookers.  Across from the seats is the platform where the auctioneer stands to name out the cows and barter for their price.  Above the auctioneer’s platform are three screens.  Each screen has the information about where the cow was bred, how old they are, how much the way, etc… for the current, sold, and next to be sold cows.   There is also a small cafeteria inside the main building.  The cows are let into the arena through hydraulically operated doors.  There are two “pens” inside the arena: one for the next to be sold cows, and one for the currently being sold cows.  Each “pen” has an attendant with a stick who prods the cows to move on either to the next pen or once around the arena and then out the doors at the end.    Once the cows are sold, they are routed out into the yards in the back where they are then herded by men on horseback through the maze of yards to the yard that will hold them until their buyer’s truck comes to pick them up.

Cattle auction building

Everything in the auction yard happens quickly.  The doors open fast, the cows come in, the auctioneer keeps talking into the microphone and then the cows are out and herded by riders into a new pen.  The auctioneers in Australia just call out in a very fast, but normal tone unlike the American auctioneers that call out in a singsong type of tone. 

Cattle yards, notice the man on horseback moving the cows

After we had watched enough cattle being sold and bought, we drove to down town Wagga to get groceries, and look at the shops.   We stopped in a bookstore, but I was very disappointed because the book prices are about double what they are in America.  We also stopped at a second hand store, and their book prices were much better.  After stocking up on supplies, Kathrin also had to stop for a quick business meeting with a loan expert.  Kathrin met the loan expert at his home, and while they talked business, Mom and I had a wonderful time chatting with his wife and six year old twins, a boy and a girl.  The twins were very bright and enjoyed talking about all sorts of things, but especially about the different places all over the world were their Dad had been.  The boy was very interested in all the native animals that lived in these different places and he could tell us all about their habitats and their particular qualities. 

Kathrin grafting Kiwi plants

On Tuesday morning, Kathrin worked on grafting female kiwi plants onto a male kiwi plant.  When Kathrin first planted her kiwis, she thought she had a few males and at least one female, but it turns out that all of her plants are males.  Therefore no fruit without a female.  So she spent an hour or so cutting the leaves off the male and making an angled stem, so she could make the same angle on the female stem and then tape them together. 

Kathrin trying to find a pipe in the middle of a field

 Later the same morning Mom, Kathrin, and I took some of the heifers (which are cows with calves) to their neighbor Jianne’s house to mate with her bull.  While we were there, Jianne asked Kathrin to find where a pipe was in one of her fields by water-witching.  Jianne wanted to know where the pipe was before she began digging to put in another pipe in the same area.  Kathrin used two copper rods, one in each hand, while walking through the field, and when the rods crossed then Kathrin figured that if they dug there they would be close to where the pipe was.  While we were at Jianne’s, Mom had fun playing with Jianne’s two puppies.  They are both kelpies, one brown and tan, the other black and tan, so Jianne has named them Black and Tan. 

Mom with Black

Feeding Ranger powdered milk

When we returned from Jianne’s we found a surprise awaiting us.  Barry had found a little brumby foal, only a few days old, lost and abandoned, so he brought it home.  I have named the little foal, Ranger, and I am in charge of feeding him four to six times a day.  We have Missoula back from the Johansens and we have been putting her into the chute or tying her foot back so Ranger can get some milk from her without Missoula kicking him away.  Missoula feeds Ranger twice a day, and for the other feeding times I feed Ranger with powdered calf milk mixed in warm water with a little sugar. 

Ranger getting some milk from Missoula

   Most of Wednesday was spent in preparation for our Thanksgiving celebration for the next day.  I baked three pies: apple, strawberry rhubarb, and pumpkin.  And Kathrin helped me make homemade vanilla ice cream. 

Thanksgiving preparations

   We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Kathrin and Barry invited seven of their friends: Heather and Rob Johansen, Tulip and his dog Bridle Pup, Desiree and Andres with their dog Teddy, Jianne, and Barry’s friend Dick.  For dinner we had ham, stuffing with bacon bits, scallop potatoes and yams, asparagus, salad, and rolls.  For dessert we had pie and ice cream.  After dinner Barry loaded everyone but Tulip and the Johansens, who had to get back home, into the ute for a scenic tour of the farm.  He added an old couch to the back so everyone could ride in comfort.  We did an off road tour and saw wedge-tail eagles, deer, the cows, and plenty of blackberries. 

The Scenic tour on the Ute

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  Today I think of how many things I have to be truly grateful for and realize most of them are be back home.  But while I am here I am discovering just how wonderful and precious those things really are.

With Love,

     Hana