Friday 24 May 2013

Fine Merino wool

Most of you who follow my blog know that I come from a farming backgroud of which I am very proud.  My parents farmed wheat and sheep in the central wheatbelt district of Western Australia and the tradition continues today with my brother and nephew.

In recent years the weather has played havoc with wheat yields as the rainfall has either fallen at the wrong time (summer) with very little falling in winter, the planting and growing season for grain in that part of the world.  Despite the difficulties and challenges my brother continues to face, he is constantly looking for better ways to farm.

One of the areas in which he has excelled is with the quality of the sheep he is breeding.  There have been hard years of work to improve the the skin of the sheep from wrinkled (typical of the Merino breed) to smooth.  This is helpful on a number of levels.  They are much easier to shear and the chance of a sheep becoming fly blown is dramatically decreased.  With pressure from animal warefare groups about the practice of mulsing sheep (which is done to help prevent sheep from being fly blown, a hideous condition), my brother has endeavoured with the breeding programme to eradicate the need for this with the smooth skinned sheep now only needing to be crutched.   Another benefit of the breeding programme has been the increase in fertility with a ewe more likely giving birth to twins and sometimes triplets.  

So where does the part about the fine Merino wool come into all this.  A week or so ago my brother received a letter advising him that wool from his sheep sold was chosen by Qantas to contribute to the making of their new flight attendant uniforms.  Isn't that the most AWESOME news?!!  The wool they chose was of a very high quality and deemed perfect for the job.  The quality of wool is measured in microns, the link has an explanation far better than I can give. For my brother who has worked so very hard to improve his sheep on so many levels including wool quality, this is HUGE  and he deserves the recognition of people in the wool industry.  GO BIG BROTHER!!

Here is a peek at the new Qantas uniform which I believe will make it's entrance early next year.



All photos Google images.

Here is a small sample of the type of wool that will be used for the Qantas uniforms.



CONGRATULATIONS big brother on your achievement.  You ROCK cob!!

Anne  xx

Monday 20 May 2013

My tree

One of the last things I did before leaving Western Australia to come back to Melbourne was visit my tree.  It was late afternoon, the light beautiful as it always is that time of the day.  The walk took me down the track I use to walk to the school bus many years ago and along the creek bed.  I came around the bend and there it was.


My standing up when falling down tree.  Every time I see it I marvel at how this tree was dying and then grew up again.

I couldn't resist taking more photos of salmon gums.




 
I love the colours in this foliage.



 So I'm back on the other side of the country now where the trees look like this.  The Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans)

Photo - comebirdwatching.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/sherbrooke-forest-day-in-wet-forest-of.html
No wide open spaces to be seen here.

Today was catch up time at home  A big grocery shop, laundry, baking and a quick coffee with a girlfriend.  Hoping to have something to blog about soon.

Anne  xx

Sunday 12 May 2013

A day out

Yesterday Mum and I went into town as Mum's car needed four new tyres.  While the tyre people were hard at it, I took Mum out for an early Mother's Day lunch.  I have a lovely photo of her but she is shy of being on my blog so I've not posted it.  We had a lovely time together chatting, eating good food and drinking great coffee.

After our lunch we were walking along the street and came across this enormous dog who was very friendly.  He looks so sad but was in fact very happy just sitting in his Masters van.
 

When we finished our errands and picking up the car we went for a short drive to the top of the town hill.  I remember climbing the hill years ago as part of a physical education class at high school.  I had forgotten how lovely the views were overlooking the town and surrounding country side.






On the drive down I snapped a few more photos.



 
Not far from home I stopped to take of photo of these two magnificent Salmon gums.  They are so beautiful.


It was lovely to go out and just as lovely to come home and cosy up with a cup of tea sitting  near the heater.

Anne  xx

Thursday 9 May 2013

Late afternoon walk

A few days ago late in the afternoon I went for a walk with camera in hand.  The the light was beautiful, the cloud formations gorgeous.  It was lovely to get out in the fresh air, to do some thinking and revisit the spot where I helped Dad cut up an old dead tree in August last year.


I sat on the stump and shed a few tears, remembering how Dad would love to have a roaring wood fire going, so much so that we would have to strip down to t-shirts in the middle of winter.


I said hello to this lovely Gum tree he planted some years earlier to replace others that had died.


A lone Kestrel was sitting in one of the dead branches of the tree below.



The dam water was tranquil with just a few little ripples made from insects.


I found beauty in simple things like old fencing posts and rocks from the farm.



This silhouette of of wild oats on a darkening sky caught my eye.


These old Palms were planted by my Grandparents way back in the mid to late 1920's when they started farming the property where my Dad grew up.  The same farm he worked and lived on all his life.


We do get some lovely sunsets in country Western Australia, this one is no exception although my camera doesn't quite do justice to the intensity of the colours.


In the last few days we have had a little rain and my nephew is out in the paddock planting oats this afternoon.  It's nice to hear the rumble of the tractor as he works in the back paddock behind the house.  It reminds me of when I was growing up, I use to love hearing the tractors working away at night and you could see the tractor lights dotted out on the surrounding farms.

I hope all is well in your world.

Anne xx

Sunday 5 May 2013

A happy moment

I've just realised that it is week 18 of 52 weeks of happy.  I've lost a few weeks but wanted to share one happy moment I had the first week I was home.  While doing some laundry in the outside laundry room, I happened to look up and through a gap in the wall saw Hector the cat sunning himself on the seat.  If you look very closely you can see him.  In amongst the sadness and grief of that week, this was one beautiful moment that made me smile.

Taken on my phone.

Have a lovely week everyone.

Anne  xx

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Thank you

Thank you everyone for your love, support and prayers during this past week while I've been in Western Australia visiting my Mum and Dad.  I would not have had the strength to go through what I have, supporting Mum, looking after Dad after he rallied on Monday and then coping with his passing on Thursday morning, without knowing that all my wonderful friends in blogland were with me every step of the way.  I can never thank you enough for your kindness and love.

I will be staying in Western Australia with Mum until mid May, hoping that my presence here a little longer will be of some comfort to her.

I am going to finish this post with some photos in remembrance of my Dad.  

Take care everyone and remember to tell your family you love them.

Anne  xx