Rain - our lambs have never seen it before

After 65 days without rain, the rain came - in spurts.



When the whole state was expecting good rains, we were hopeful of some. But the first rain band left us with just a few spits. Very disappointing.


And then, as it disappeared over the horizon, it dropped 3 mls - depressing when other districts were recording 30mls.

But the skies finally got serious, putting on a show (it always does that) but delivering on the promise this time.)


It all came in a storm burst... and we gratefully received 14mls. TOTAL: 17mls. (Less than others in the district, but blessed rain none the less.)




This rose had never seen rain before - just like the lambs.

Down by the river

This is the Cudgegong River. It looks serene, but it is sick. It has dwindled to a trickle of its former self. We have real fears for the polatypus family that lives around the bend. The only flourishing life form is the european carp that infest the waters like lice, eating everything. But this is our river. And it has been depleted by our wasteful ways with water... We need to learn respect for the blessing that a river is.
A Kookaburra looking stately on a post from the old tennis court. Sometimes they gather in a group of 5 or 6 and have a corroborie or singalong. Most of the time they simply hunt alone or in pairs.
The Grey Shrike Thrush has a wonderfully melodic song which it repeats in various combinations. It is very loud and you expect to see a big, multicoloured bird when you follow the call. This one was down by the river. They rarely come up to the house.
This is the first time I have seen a Rainbow Bird here. It is migratory from Northern Australia and New Guinea. What an exotic tail for a bush setting.

The Cockatoos always come and swoop down to inspect what we are doing whenever we are down by the river. They screech and generally act like boofheads.
Other wildlife found in the river include 5 year old boys who say when we get back from a couple of hours by the river, "What are we going to do today, Non?"
Try photographing a dragonfly. I could not capture them through the viewfinder. SO I resorted to shooting without viewing - ie. pointing the camera where I thought it might be next and shooting, taking pot luck.



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AS you can see, in 100 shots you can get one or two.



Finally this is a view of the old windmill down by the river, seen from the road up to the shearing shed. I like its painterly style and its composition. It works.

Lots of new friends at "Uamby"

UAMBY NEWS 16 October 2007 BBQ for our "Family"

Lynette from Grays Point summed up the reaction of our guests who came to Uamby for a BBQ on 13th October: "Alana and I had the most wonderful afternoon. We discussed the day's event all the way home. Thank you so much for inviting us to join your family. My husband now wishes he had gone along with us. It probably meant more to us than it did to you but it showed us the face and generosity of country people. We also enjoyed the opportunity to meet some of the other people who also really care about our farm friends and our photos turned out so well."

It meant as much to us if not more than it meant to you, Lynette. You and our wonderful 'friends of Uamby' saved our life here on Uamby and make it possible to keep going towards our vision of a place we can grow superfine wool, native grasses, and relationships with lovely people like you.

We had a spit roast pork/beef/chicken lunch (no lamb!) cooked by Col the Shearer. Sitting under the trees, we were spared the attention of the flies because of a slight breeze. It was perfect.

There were two main events of the day: a visit to the new lambs before lunch and a shearing exhibition afterwards. The ewes and lambs we have been handfeeding are fairly tame and came rushing down to greet the rather large audience. Then, just as fast, they turned around and ran back up to shelter under the trees. We laid out some grain and lupins, so a few of the braver ones came down. (They were the ewes without lambs, at first. Later ewes with lambs ventured down.)


There were many day-old lambs and just borns. Daniel - like the Pied Piper - led the children around behind the camp and get close to the new lambs. The enthusiasts (Miro and Tony) crept up alongside the feeding ewes to get better photos. The sheep were camping in the shade during the heat and were reluctant to leave their lambs. Even so, their taste for oats overcame their reluctance.

Coming back from the lambing fields, we had a tray load of sheep lovers. Others chose to walk the short distance. It was a fantastic day to be outdoors.

Later, in the shearing shed, Dan gave a masterful exhibition of shearing while explaining the process and the danger points. The display took 15 minutes and the ewe (who would, normally be held there for only 3 minutes) was very patient. Col also shore a sheep (5 who had escaped shearing last August were cut out from the lambing ewe flock.) He displayed how to pick up the fleece and throw it onto the 'skirting' table where all the dark discoloured bits are pulled off.

Carson volunteered to 'throw" the fleece and Col gave her a lesson, and she threw it like a real bush rousabout. Not an easy task.

Young ones got a hands-on feel for the wonderful world of wool.


Miro and Judy Cooper - our Kiwi mates - have taken home some Uamby quartz to place in their garden, as a connection device.


UAMBY NEWS 12 October 2007

The hot summer wind came blasting across the western horizon, shrivelling up the cape weed and drying off the lush green. The temperatures hit the 30s on some days, boding ill for Summer. We will have to hand feed or sell off the flock again. So we are gearing up - designing t-shirts and producing a DVD of shearing to add to our offering of adoptions of the new lambs. Here is a range of T-shirt images:





The new lambs are arriving in great numbers - our best lambing yet. Few losses because our ewes are so fit - well-fed, thanks to you and everyone else who sponsored them. I followed them up a rocky section of the hill paddock, as they moved to high ground to make camp for the night.


We have about 50 ewes lambing in a paddock close by and we hand feed them to keep them tame and comfortable with out presence. The other ewes are quite skittish and we stay away from them during lambing.

Meanwhile we are getting ready for the ADOPTASHEEP BBQ this weekend - Saturday 12.30pm at Uamby. Gardens have to be weeded, lawns mowed. Daniel and Xavier fixed one of our water tanks on which we rely for water to the house.


Last weekend we hosted "Mr Sustainable Housing" Michael Mobbs and Helena and Wendy and Julian, his son, and introduced them to "Carbon Farming" pioneer Col Sies. Michael is a famous designer of low energy/high efficiency dwellings and commercial buildings - fit for the era of Climate Change.


We also had a visit from Ciaran and Lenka, from Balmain, who are adopters. They were able to photograph the new lambs.