112%

The percentage rate of bred ewes that we scanned today. Considering that some are bearing twins, and some no lamb, when you average it together its around 112%. I hope that makes sense. Today was a beautiful day. Was real foggy first thing in the morning as you can see from the first photo. That's the sun rising through the fog. The little tent is where the guy running the scanner sits. We run the sheep in there, he scans them, then lets them out two different ways according to whether they have twins, single, or are dry. We did about 1400 today and it took around 3 hours. So they go through pretty fast. If you're wondering what I'm holding in my hand? It's a short section of plastic pipe with a plastic shopping bag tied on the end. You wave/shake it at sheep to get them to move. One more mob to scan tomorrow, then shearing starts September 2nd.

Dog Tuckers

Dog Tucker you're wondering? What's that? Tucker is a common Kiwi slang term for food. So you have plenty of tucker in the fridge, and its also what dogs eat. So Dog Tuckers on a high country sheep station are old, sick, lame sheep that you butcher for the dogs to eat. Last week Angel and I killed 8 one morning. So the dogs will be fed well. We cut it up and freeze the meat. They get fed it raw, along with normal dry dog food. The past week has just been a lot of feeding, with some fencing and other odd jobs thrown in.
I did manage to go for a hike Saturday after getting the feeding done. Up the Cameron Creek to a Station hut called the Highland Home. Cameron Creek forms a boundary for the station and the hut is perhaps 5-6 miles from headquarters. It was built in the 30's I think and has been refurbished on the inside. The outside however they have left original. So it doesn't look like much but is very nice inside.
We're getting ready to start scanning the ewes this weekend. The vet will scan them and we'll separate them according to whether they are "open" no lamb, single bearing, or twin bearing. The twin bearing ewes will start getting priority feed. Scanning is a sign of the looming spring. Next step after that is shearing which will start the first of September. The days are getting noticeably longer, some birds that summer in the mountains here are returning, and I think everyone is looking forward to the end of winter!!

Horseless

Oh how I'm missing my horse. Especially after last week. We brought a bunch of the mixed age cows and heifers in to the yards. We "drafted" (sorted) them then vaccinated, did pour on lice treatment and selenium shots. And some got a copper bolus as well. It felt really good to be around cattle again just weird not being astride my buddy Shrider. To bad I can't bring him here. I'm sure he'd love it. But the cattle respond really well to you on foot and I'm enjoying the exercise. In the second to last photo you see them going over the bridge. I can tell you there is a sign on that bridge stating a 4 ton weight limit. It must hold at least 15 ton as there were at least 30 cows on it at once. No problem getting them to cross it though. They just walked right across. And lastly, anybody dare to guess how many sheep are in that photo?

Mostly Mustering

This week is shaping up to be a lot of "mustering". The gathering or rounding up of stock. We've done two days so far with at least another day tomorrow. 3-4 of us head out and climb up the mountain and bring the sheep down to the valley floor. No 4-wheelers or horses. All on foot. Which I quite enjoy. Tomorrow we are going to bring a bunch of cattle down as well. Will bring them back to headquarters to drench and vaccinate. From the area where we were today back to Headquarters is about 6 miles. In the first and fourth photo you can see Mt.Sugarloaf very prominently. It's the big hill that sits out by itself. Remember that Station headquarters is right at the base of it. The picture of all the sheep with their heads down in a line are eating barley that I fed out to them. The last photo is of Sam. A young guy who comes up to help out here from time to time. He has 4 dogs. Today Angel had her 3, Sam 4, and Anne 1 for a total of 8. Neat to have so many around and it is really cool watching them work. Mustering would be impossible without them.

Heli-Biking

Today I got to go for a pretty cool ride. I flew with Phillip over the mountain to Glenfalloch Station where he picks up the Heli-skiers. And we put the mountain bike in the backseat and I rode it back. He did a really good job before we took off and during the flight of explaining to me how the helicopter works. It really isn't all that hard to fly one. We landed on a mountain top just above the station for a couple of minutes and he pointed out the general boundaries of the Station, and all the names of the surrounding mountains. And my ride back was just as great. 25 kilometers=15miles. And it had equal parts up and down. Took around 3.5 hours with a half hour lunch stop. And the weather was great. Full sun, a bit of a breeze, high 50's maybe even 60 degrees. If this is winter I'll take it!! It really has been nice all week. Low to Mid 50's all last week. Not sure what the upcoming week is going to bring as far as the weather and work.

A Heap of Sheep!!

Well I've survived my introduction into becoming a sheep farmer. Have done quite well actually. We did a lot of "drenching" this week (orally worming) You get them in the "yards" (corrals) pack them in the "race"(alley) then walk through them with a backpack on full of liquid drench and give them each a mouthful. Two of us did 1540 in about 5 hours yesterday. For the week we have done around 4500. So suffice to say I know which end is which on a sheep already!!! Just two people do the drenching at a time.
There are two other employees here. 20 year old Angel who has been here at Lake Heron for a year. And 23 year old Emma has been here about 6 weeks. Both from the North Island. That's Angel in the second photo with the mob of sheep. She has 3 dogs and it is really neat to watch her with them and 1000+ sheep at a time. She has around 600 in front of her in that photo. Both girls are truly dedicated to shepherding. In the second to last photo there is roughly 1200 in the photo. We had 1540 in the mob that day. The last photo is the family's house where I'm staying at the moment.

Headed for the High Country!

I'm about to make a BIG move here. Not in terms of distance, but geographically speaking. Monday morning I'm headed up to work at Lake Heron Station. About an hours drive from the farm here outside Methven. I've been hoping to get onto a high country station ever since arriving here and the time has finally come. It will be bittersweet as I've come to love the farm life here on the plains of
Mid-Canterbury. But those of you who know me best know that I'm most at home right smack in the middle of the mountains. And Monday that's where I'm headed! Working for the Todhunter family at their beautiful piece of New Zealand! Lake Heron is a 48,000 acre station running approximately 10,000 merino sheep for wool production plus around 450 angus cows as well. They also have a small guest operation hosting visitors from around the world. While Anne guides the guests on 3-5 day alpine hikes, husband Phillip is the chief pilot for Methven Heli-ski, a top notch helicopter skiing operation shuttling skiers to some pristine snow. With 3 school aged children they certainly have their hands full! Which is where I come in. They currently have 2 other employees as well. Looking forward to becoming part of another wonderful Kiwi family.
If you look just to the right of center in the panoramic photo you see a prominent dark hill. Station headquarters is just behind that hill. If you look closely at the 3rd photo you can see a few buildings right in the patch of trees. The place is quite remote with town at just over a hour away, and zero cell reception. But not to worry they have Internet so the posts should continue. For those interested, google Lake Heron Station. They have a very nice website.