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Henry set the alarm for 4.45 am and off he went to work with Mark. I heard the alarm, chose to ignore it, and promptly fell back to sleep.
Nevertheless I was up at 7.30 to join Mary and Julie for breakfast and we set off for Ashburton, to take Mary to work (a local hairdresser) and I was her first customer. It was great to chat to my neice, read gossipy magazines and look so much better on leaving. Off to get a pedicure another extremely relaxing experience. You sit in a chair which massages your back while your feet get a jacuzzi, followed by a massage, then finally painted any colour you wish. I chose a very bright pink. Thank you Julie.
Christmas window shopping for handbags, so much choice so no decision made. Met Mary for lunch and then back to the farm. Julie wisely advised us both to book the Interislander Ferry to Wellington for tomorrow, we chose a 6.05 pm crossing to arrive at 9.30 pm and booked accommodation in Wellington and the return crossing for the afternoon of 17th December.
Relaxed we all went out for a delicious meal at the Water Park and so to bed.
That was Nicola's day but mine was spent on the farm. We picked up Christian and his sister, Paoula and started milking the first herd that Daryl had brought into the yard at 05:00. The process is very slick with cows moving freely onto the rotating platform and 50 cows are milking in no time. I managed to do my fair share of "cupping on" with Paoula while Christian was on the opposite side of the platform taking units off once the cows have finished milking. Meanwhile Mark was checking for cows that were on heat so that they could be served by artificial insemination (AI).
Once the first herd (415 cows) had been milked I set off on the bike to bring in the second herd. It was great to feel the wind in your hair and as I followed the rear of the herd I practised my finer bike control.
In the end both herds (830 cows) had been milked by 08:30 and the process of washing down started with me taking control of the 4inch hose to clean the collecting yard - all that power as the water gushed round the yard.
We were having breakfast with milking and AI complete by 09:30.
After breakfast we checked on the installation of a soil moisture sensor. There were 3 to be installed in 2 locations. One is horizontal at a depth of 500mm (below root zone) and measures the water being lost to the grass. Another is installed above the first and is set on a slope between 450mm to 50mm. This sensor is measuring moisture as it moves through the root zone. The third sensor is similar to the second but in a different paddock so that the overall moisture of the farm can be better assessed. Altogether nearly $6,000 will have been invested and while it may sound a lot it can be recouped with lower irrigation costs within a year.
Fascinating.
- comments
mark chat fascinating to farmers yes, I prefer hearing about nicola's hair n nails!