The Herd

Eszter ask to see the Herd :-)
Here they are, the 12 of them. They are doing well this winter, there is enough food to graze but they are getting "biscuits" too :-)) They love to eat the hay when it is cold. When they hear the ute coming, we get a few mooo-s signaling that they see us and they are THINKING :-) It takes a few minutes to process the information :-)) then everybody come running down the hill. It's impressive -and mildly frightening- how this several hundred kg thunders down on you. I always think... what if the brake will fail one day? :-)) but they inevitably put on the brakes... all 4 of it... and just centimeters from the thin, white line (the electric fence distancing us from them)... they skid to a knee-deep, muddy halt.
Sometime the bulls play-fight a bit on the way down :-) then around the hay bales there is some jostling, head pushing, horn pocking, [Only Fergus has horns. Interestingly -I expected the horn to be a dominant trait- none of his babies has it. We might be breading the Poll Highland :-) ] shoulder toss to establish ranks and decide who eats at what spot.
Here Peter has his curly head, Ibi hiding behind mum Ili.
Peter, the young bull
Fergus of Lachlan Mohr
Jazmin of St Imre :-)
and a more model photo
Lizi and the last baby,
Lenke De Sheep :-))

Pruning and house building

Paul started building the house. We have to move up there ASAP. Hardly wait....Here are some pics on the progress:
Old roof coming off:
First section of the master bedroom:
View from the master bedroom :-)) it's a bit (very) dirty at the moment but...this window will be a Gothic one, like the ones at the front. other window here:
bathroom and corridor: going down to the other 2 bedrooms. Skylight for lounge and my secret storage space:
New roof structure started:
It was variable weather today so don't expect artistic photos from me :-)) I've been pruning all day, couldn't get bothered to look for right angles for the pics. My hand is still holding up, no pain yet...Chris and Candy helping pre-prune the old ones
they are doing a very good job! Thanks! Look how much they've done already...here block 1 with mama ducky who ALWAYS can get out: and here's DONE:

Paul's eyes are a bit sensitive still, he has to wear the sunglasses while working, but so far so good.
Finished another paper on OH+S. Not quiet...still 2 more pages to go but at least I know where I'm going with it and done all the research. Geeezzzz, I HATE essay writing! Did I tell you before? :-))) 3 more to do soon :-(( just the ones we know about yet...I'm not complaining though. I really love school! Pat me on the back, because I didn't have to resubmit the Communication one and I'm a veritable expert now on fire hazards and even done an evacuation plan for the business :-))
It's time to put some food on the table. Bon appetite! And Anica and Craig...yes we are thinking of you when we'll rise the glasses tonight :-)

The Master Winemaker REALLY looks like a pirate now :-)

Another very busy week is behind us...
Bianka and Tamas left us, they are on their way to New Zealand, but not before they painted the wine storage and Bianka even devised some tagging system for the shelves :-) Thanks a lot !!!! We'll never forget you! Keep in touch.
We had a function. A great bunch of people celebrated a beautiful lady's birthday at St Imre. Thanks for picking us and we hope you all had a good time.
And now for the most scary and exciting event of the week...Paul had his right eye operated on. Dr F. Burgess changed his lens to alleviate the pressure building behind his cornea. He had to wear a patch over his eye for the day and we laughed ourselves silly watching the reaction of the people on the street :-)) He looked like a bikie after a bed night out :-) and he wasn't even wearing his usual bandana, only when we arrived home :-)) Look at him now: he can't deny his pirate origin :-))) Pity, the patch wasn't black :-) Doc took the facial accessory off today and the master winemaker can't believe how well he can see already!!!!! Fingers crossed, he doesn't collect an infection, because -if everything goes alright- soon he'll have the other eye done and he may not need glasses at all...
Cheers for now.