Lots to do...and doing lots...

The worst paddock

Well..I know..but I've been busy! We had soil samples taken of the paddock and received the results back a couple of days later.

 

Fertilising then harrowing

It wasn't as bad as we expected, due to the huge amount of Lime we had put down before winter.  Yet, it wasn't as easy as just putting 'Super' (super phosphate) down (as everyone else around us does).  Due the farm previously having had horses, the main paddock's grass won't grow...(never been treated/re-seeded/harrowed - nothing) so we thought we might have to have it all ploughed and re-seed.  Talking to the specialist, we needed a specialised mix of minerals and fertiliser - which we bought and then applied. The Alpacas aren't allowed on the treated paddocks for two weeks, so there was much moving around (we even haltered the big boys and took them along the road to the top paddock) whilst we treated as many paddocks as we could. After the fertiliser had been put on, Hubby then had to harrow. Luckily (and unluckily) we are having the wettest spring recorded...so whilst we can't do much in other paddocks because we will get bogged, at least the fertiliser will be well and truly soaked in.

Wettest spring on record

Trevallyn Dam

One of those days when you just HAVE to get out, regardless of the weather...

The girls are really over the weather, so we let them into the back garden for a while, whilst I had some Mum's and toddlers over for a play date.  They are so used to screaming/shouting 2year olds (very soon to be 3y old!), that it didn't faze them at all to have five little ones zooming around on the deck whilst their Mum's took photos of them!

Malibu (grey) checking out the balls thrown on the grass

Lucky doesn't care...she just wants to eat...

Finally, I received my stick rake for the back of the ride-on mower (AKA Mummy's tractor)! So for the last two days that it has finally been dry, we have felled six trees in the top paddock (young ghost gums) and had one that was already down from last weeks storm (and 85kph winds).  As the farm is surrounded by gums, it gets very messy with leaves and bark EVERYWHERE...so I was really happy to have the stick rake which helped rake some of it up.  Actually there was so much, it took two days just to get the area looking reasonable.

The 'reasonable' paddock - still lots of gums to fell (to the right)

And..just before I go...Launceston Show is next weekend and we are off to see our first Alpaca show (and look for a new stud...), and we fly out to Melbourne afterwards for a few days to take toddler to Melbourne Zoo and Melbourne Aquarium for his 3rd Birthday :)

OOhhhhh...one more thing (LOL)...we are successfully toilet-training this lazy little man :D Nearly a week of successes with 'wee's' on the potty (after total refusal for the last few months - even with a Thomas step and toilet seat)!! The 'spiderman' undies have helped...but he forgets to pull them down in his eagerness to sit on the potty (maybe he needs a spiderman urine filter?) :D