Apple Gully Farm: The Best Laid Plans

The year has nearly finished, so much has happened down in Apple Gully and now it's Christmas.
We know it's Christmas because Marilyn our feral fruit tree has changed her spring looks for a suitably brassy but classy Christmas makeover.

Marilyn the feral fruit tree last Spring

We also know that we are are into the festive season for another reason - one that we had not given enough thought to.
We now know that 'while shepherds watched their flocks by night' probably has some basis in necessity as well as scanning nicely in a Christmas carol.

We have, as you know, a fledgling herd of fine Herefords and though they are not fashionable we like having them. Everyone in our part of the world grows black Angus cattle because they do better in the sale yards. But we can't help thinking that once McDonalds tries to supersize you up to a Mighty Angus burger that the trend has run it's course. So we're a bit retro with our copper coloured cows, but retro is cool and the girls put on weight just by looking at a blade of grass.

Marilyn dressed for summer with mighty Angus burgers in the background

Last season we had a midnight visit from the neighbour's bull and a fine little out of sync heifer resulted, but the bull has since been sold so our guard was down. Plans for a Hereford rent-a-bull had been put in place, our girls were to be shipped over to him and a good time was promised for all. For no particular reason because we can, we decided to preg test the girls and -- you guessed it they are all pregnant again. Another phantom bull is on the loose. A friendly visit to our over the fence neighbours left us none the wiser, they have no bulls. So our rogue has wandered in from who knows where, jumped numerous barbed wire fences, not just once but multiple times as he got at each of the girls in turn and then, exhausted he must have staggered back over the barbed wire.

So Merry Christmas to you all and just remember that 2000 years ago they didn't know who the father was either, but it started a new trend. We think we're onto something.