A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE OLD RAM

The Old Ram-Australia

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G'day folks, we all need a "smile" now and then? Because the BOM never seem to get it right,i thought i would offer up the following..

WEATHER FORECAST for the period 8 Mar/30 April for our local district (or there about's).

In preparing this forecast I had to travel deep into the forest until I came to the “Cave of Wisdom”, in which I set a small fire to boil a billy of fresh rainwater to make the “magic tea”. While sipping the tea I consulted a small notebook of recent observations by the light of a “flickering candle” and proceeded to read the leaves.

It seems unlikely that a return to very hot weather is unlikely and daytime temps will be around the mid 20’s and nighttime temps in the 7 c/9 c region. These are ideal for the growth of the Clovers in your pastures along with infrequent light falls of rain. I do not expect a “frost’ before Anzac day, but be warned this winter will be a “cold” one, so get to work with the chain saw and fill the woodshed.

The recent rain has given the Bracken Fern a kick along and we will be “burning all the current growth” off as soon as practicable, so the resulting new growth can be “burnt off’ by the frosts. Those of you who practice the style of farming which maximizes the penetration of rainfall at point of impact and allow gravity to slowly move the moisture down slope should have good soil moisture for the return of spring weather.
So there you have it folks, it stands as good a chance as anything the BOM can put forward ,based on their “appalling “ efforts so far this year.
Look forward to reading your comment “for or against “in the coming days…Frank.
 

The Old Ram-Australia

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Hi everybody,so yesterday Jenny and I went out to the other farm to have a look at the fencing and flood damage.

Here are a couple of photos to illustrate the level of damage. As you can see the first 6 show the extent of the fire damage,the fact that it is "green"is the recovery of the pasture after the flood...The last 4 show some of the flood damage..We are hoping to get some help with the flood repair from Water NSW,because our creek drains into the Sydney water supply...We have already made the decision to not stock that 80 acs for about 14 months to help with the repair of the in-flow and exit overflows from the dams .All of which are on one drainage line which has 4 dams in total.

The boundary fencing is 5500 mts (5 and a half kms) and then there is the sheep-yards and loading facility's and internal fencing too......Total cost in the area of A$80 K....Insurance was not an option for us because of the annual premiums,it will be up to us and our neighbors to undertake the repairs.....T.O.R.
 

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Baymule

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Wow, that is a lot to deal with. At least the pasture is green. The trees are burnt, the fence is burnt and the washouts from the floods don't help either.
 

The Old Ram-Australia

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G'day bay, the trouble with that "green" is it is 80% water and almost no nutritional value.Some farmers down here are actually "losing" breeders to a flush of weeds that are high in Nitrates because they are turning out "empty" sheep who will gorge themselves on anything green after so long on in some cases "dry feed " and low quality hay...T.O.R.
 

Baymule

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Too much green after dry lotted and on hay, is a sure recipe for bloat. After everything else, this is tough.
 

The Old Ram-Australia

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G'day folks,i would like to depart from the current "doom and gloom" for just a minute and relate two recent instances which may cause some to think.

We were parked in a supermarket car park recently when i observes a lady execute an "perfect" reverse park.later as we shopped we passed the same lady of mature years and i said to her ,"bravo, to you, that was the best piece of parking i have seen for years". She gave me a "surprised" look and smiled and said "thank you"and we both continued shopping.I have no doubt that when she returned home all of her family and some friends would have been told about the incident while shopping.

The other occurred on another shopping trip a few weeks later,we were walking in a shopping mall,when i noticed a lady of mature years approaching us .She was wearing a tailored bone colored slacks,a crisp white blouse ,a pretty face with short cropped blonde hair and a "tidy" figure and a shoe heel which gives a slight "swing of the hips".She was aware that i was "checking " her out .As we got to a few paces of one another she glanced across at me with the hint of a smile ,i smiled back and we passed each other without a word.

Now i am sure that a younger female would have taken "exception" to my actions,but it seems to me that when a female reaches that period of late 40's early 50's she appreciates someone acknowledging the efforts she has made...T.O.R.
 
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The Old Ram-Australia

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G'day folks ,first lamb for 2020.3 days old W.H.Dorper mum ,no idea of Dad.


Today we completed a "new" structure on the creek.We got the stone for free from a local garden.It is designed to "turn" the flow at right angles (from the near side to the far) and reduce the speed of the water by 50%.We just have to wait now for a "rain" to see how well it works.The old frame was to set the wall in place and to not allow it to move in a heavy rain event...T.O.R.
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Bruce

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Congrats on lamb #1 for the season! I hope your diverter works well.
 

Baymule

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That's a nice looking lamb, congrats on the first one for the year. What a score on the rock! I see you put it to good use.
 
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