Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the photo page. All sent in by Simon.
Yesterday was one of my favorite days of the year. No wonder the Druids celebrated the Winter Solstice. I don’t mind if it had rained, snowed or even if there had been a hurricane, it was the shortest day of the year and the days will start getting longer telling Spring is on its way. Mind you I just went to look for one of our Emu in the Horse Field. It was so misty I could not see more than 3 feet in front of me.
Emu in the Horse Field. A week ago when I checked the Valley camera first thing in the morning I saw what I thought was a Deer in the distance. On zooming in to the Deer it turned out to be an Emu. We went to try to catch it fearing that it would start to run as soon as we went close. To my surprise it wanted to follow me, but it would not cross the Bridge over the Stream as the gap was to small. After twenty minutes of coaxing it to within just a foot or so of crossing we decided to go a different way just in case it got bored and decided to walked away. We decided to go through the gate in between the Valley Field and the Horse Field to make our way back to the Emu Field. It was our only option but the gateway was a lot wider allowing the Emu to see through from one field to the other. Without any calling or enticing it followed us for nearly four hundred metres. I didn’t push our luck to try to walk the Emu up our drive from the Horse Field to the Emu Field as there are a few places that it may have decided that it would rather go other than the way we wanted. So the Emu has been in the Horse Field ever since. Normally it waits by the gate when it here me going to feed the Mob of Emu on the Quad, but this evening I forgot his bucket. When I returned to feed him he had disappeared and the mist had come in and it was impossible to see where he was. The Horse Field is big, but I eventually found him and he followed me back to the gate. I take it that it is Male and that it was chased by another. How it got out of the Emu Field I really cant make out.
The Emus are producing lots of eggs, 57 up to now. We have 31 in the incubator and more to go in. I am not to sure how many of the first eggs
are fertile, or if any have been affected by the cold. Tonight just before dusk I went to collect a couple of eggs, the first time so late and for the first time I saw the Emu mating so I am sure we will get some Emu Chicks. I must admit the Emu are nice to have. They are very friendly, inquisitive and seem quite intelligent.
All of the other animals are doing well. The Horses are rugged up and stabled at night having the freedom to walk about in the corrals in front of the stables during the day. We did part with the Bagot Goats. The only place for them was in the Paddock with the Rhea. Although we fed them at the same time, the Goats wanted the Rhea food so we were spending nearly two hours a day stopping them. We made a pen for them to feed in, but they didn’t want to go in. The Rhea were not getting the amount of feed that they needed so the Goats had to go. They have gone to a nice home with young Children and a Field full of Sheep. Thornton is doing well. It is to cold for him of a night and he barges his way in very early.
Don’t know what dialect this poem is written in, but I am sure one of you will tell me.
Talking Turkeys. A tribute to Dennis who is still running about the Farm Yard at Denbury and he wont be going in the oven.
Be nice to yu turkeys dis Christmas
Cos’ turkeys just wanna hav fun
Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked
An every turkey has a Mum.
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas,
Don’t eat it, keep it alive,
It could be yu mate, an not on your plate
Say, Yo! Turkey I’m on your side.
I got lots of friends who are turkeys
An all of dem fear christmas time,
Dey wanna enjoy it, dey say humans destroyed it
An humans are out of dere mind,
Yeah, I got lots of friends who are turkeys
Dey all hav a right to a life,
Not to be caged up an genetically made up
By any farmer an his wife.
Turkeys just wanna play reggae
Turkeys just wanna hip-hop
Can yu imagine a nice young turkey saying,