Gardening with donkeys

Apart from the obvious benefit that donkeys provide for the garden, they can actually be a bit of fun while you're gardening if you plan it right (and nothing unplanned happens - like a low flying aeroplane or any sudden noise, really).

For some reason, fresh donkey poo doesn't seed like horse poo does. But I still don't put it directly onto my garden because it's, well, lumpy and doesn't break down well. So I add it to my weed juice container (refer previous post here).

Yesterday, the boys helped out with a few other things.

Firstly Guinness mowed the lawn. Now you have to be careful with this, he loves cooch and will rip it out by the roots, leaving large bald spots on the lawn (we learnt this last winter).

Then they both helped me moving the palm fronds to the compost heap.

I think Caruso thought this was the best part of the day. I'm always careful not to give them too much of anything that's not in their natural diet but they do enjoy a pile of sweet potato leaves, a couple of banana leaves or boysenberry cuttings.

Finally, there was a little unscheduled rosemary hedge pruning.

I was a little over zealous last time I pruned it with the trimmers and it's taking a while to kick back. Might need some weed juice.

Roman was supposed to help but couldn't drag his sorry ass off the day bed (seriously, that Dogue thinks he's a Shitzu!)

MOTH took down #5 of 7 huge palm trees that have been leeching the goodness out of my veggie garden beds. It was HUGE and didn't come down without some effort. Thankfully it landed exactly where it was originally supposed to (we had several contingencies).

And finally, all of the diggy dogs were very excited last Sunday when Colin M Schnauzer, Claudia and their baby brother Zed (a 4 month old Russian Black Terrier who will end up making Roman look like a midget) came over for the afternoon. After initial greetings and bouts of bossiness and jealous from the little one, everyone had a lovely afternoon. It was impossible to get a good photo, they didn't stop moving!

Life is never dull at Upsidownimal Farm...

RIP Irwin as terrorism strikes Clear Mountain

Sad bit first...

After 8 weeks, the neighbours gardner and dog found Irwin while driving down our shared, very long and steep driveway. Actually, the dog noticed him first (or smelled him first). Peter, God bless, went and found him. He had fallen into a deep hole, kinda like a cave about 8 foot deep, and broken his neck during the fall. When I went down and checked on him, he had obviously died instantly, there was no sign of struggling or anything. The ground above the hole was incredible steep and had lots of ruts in it caused by rain over the years, covered by dense grass. It looks like he'd tripped in a rut and fallen to his death. It was incredibly steep above the hole.

We went down there today to try and fence it off and MOTH declare it too unsafe. Guinness had also found him, with a few piles of relatively fresh poo sitting just above where he lay. So, we are confident the risk to the other two is minimal (as long as Guinness is as smart as he makes out).

The support and help from our local community was amazing. Through a couple of Facebook and poster campaigns and signs on local roads, there were quite literally thousands of people looking for him. I received more than 500(!) personal messages, many from strangers, on Facebook when we had found him. In fact even today, I had a man at the hardware store (who I didn't know from a bar of soap) give me his condolences over Irwin. Irwin went missing on 30 November.

RIP Iwrin.

Now, onto the other comings and goings on the mountain. The Terrorist (some call her Bella) has quite simply taken over our lives (cats and dogs included). Who'd thought something so small (1.2kg when we got her, now 3.5kg at 16 weeks) could cause so much havoc! But, we wouldn't have it any other way - she is simply adorable!

Bella helping me garden today - she would dig like a madman and then eat the worms - ew!

Last weekend Bella tried her hand (or should I say jaws) at electrical work (was plugged in)

No trying to kill (sorry - play) with Max the cat

Cleaning Roman's jowels and teeth - again, ew!

House training is 90% there and she is learning some basic commands. Just need to teach her not to touch cane toads or snakes (not sure how to do this but am keen for suggestions). I'm thinking screaming like a banshee might stop her initially and then the fear of hearing another banshee might put her off...

Anyway...

We have also had a new addition to Upsidedownimal Farm. Meet Caruso...

He turned one on 31 January and arrived just days before we found Irwin. Guinness was brave enough to pop into the horse float and travel 2 hours to go meet and bring home Caruso so he wouldn't be too scared alone in the float. They have quickly become BFFs and are inseparable.

Caruso will grow to be much bigger than Guinness so he's very happy to be the boss - for now.

Over the past few months, MOTH has progressed from making chutneys and cider to cheese - yummy cheeses, fresh cheeses and now - smelly cheeses. He has even surrendered the bar fridge from the shed to convert it into a cheese cave (blah blah blah keep cheese at the right temperature) but I know there's Stilton in there so Mum's the word.

Today's freshly made Haloumi and some ready to eat on the plate - it was yummy!

Guess who I got a cuddle from on Australia Day whilst at the neighbours place for a BBQ?

Now called Vege Burger and a little bigger than he used to be

Last weekend we were all battened down for Cyclone Marcia, which ended up being pretty much a non event at our place, except for more than 500mm of rain in two days. Slight landslide (nothing too major and the Great Gabion Wall of C stood up to its reputation).

Rain pouring into the driveway drains

Bella was very keen to help MOTH digging the drains in the lawn (to manage the run off).

The rain was pretty intense and the animals were starting to climb the walls. The donkeys got a little creative with interior decorating their stall...

Lucky for them, the farrier had been only the weekend before so their feet looked fabulous deerrrrlllling...

Guinness has a bit of a crush on Peter the farrier

It's still early days but I think Caruso already likes him too

And yesterday MOTH and I, along with femme mini MOTH (now a learner driver) headed to the vets with all 5 inside animals for their annual vaccinations and checkups. Only took one and a half hours for the consult and it all went off without a hitch. The vet was stoked to see such an integrated "herd" of animals who all get on.

Just remember peeps - what doesn't kills you makes you stronger (except for bears - bears will kill you!)

Terrier-ism hits UpsideDownimal Farm

Several years ago when MOTH and I were considering properties to buy we also discussed in detail what breed of dog would suit to keep Baillie (Dogue de Bordeaux) company. So we decided on a Jack Russell Terrirer, known for their big-dog-in-small-body attitude to life.

Then we bought Roman, the mentally challenged Dogue de Bordeaux - he really is handsome. Roman is, without a doubt, a small white fluffy dog in a giant red dog body. Matter of fact, he just now got stuck in the stock yard fence as I was typing this - true story!

Anyway, the time has come where Baillie is entering her senior years and has significantly slowed down over the past few months. She is healthy but nine is very old for a Dogue. 

Dilemma - let Roman teach a new puppy/dog the local tricks or get a new puppy now? The answer was pretty obvious. So, introducing MOTH's Christmas present, Bella...

Since joining us TWO LONG WEEKS AGO she has taken over! We love her to bits and she was very young (7.5 weeks) when we got her but man oh man, she's got UpsidedDownimal Farm sorted!

Max the Manx, who suffered a snake bite Christmas Eve has now worked out what's it all about and realising in a heavy duty play toy. They love each other. [sorry, couldn't upload video]

The Dogues are very patient and don't really like being barked at in their faces (nor do I - and my hearing isn't what it used to be two long weeks ago) but they are very patient.

Moët, the princess cat, kinda likes her cause she's a baby but also does not hesitate to give her a quick swat.

MOTH is totally besotted in his baby girl and she can do no wrong (although I have started to broach the suggestion that she really might be a terrorist)...

So, she slept on the bed for the first week or so. And with a 2am and/or 5am trot outside for a quick wee, everything had been fine. Then we introduced the concept of sleeping in your own bloody bed - did not go down so well. But I learnt that I can apparently sleep through anything - MOTH, not so much... Last night he weakened and at 4.45am I was woken from my deep slumber by a pull on the ponytail by Miss Bella. I didn't let her on the bed - just sayin'

We have a cunning plan to keep her safe when we return back to work but nothing under .5m may ever be the same in our house again. Antique rug has been put into storage.

No news on poor Irwin, which leads us to think he was more than likely stolen. It's been really sad, especially since Guinness has taken up opera singing... The whole valley is also now really sad. Who knew donkeys were that loud? Have started looking for a new friend for Guinness but it's slim pickings this time of year and I would rather put the effort into restoring a rescue donkey's soul and faith in humans than just go out and buy a new one.

Anyway, happy new year to you all. Let me know what your plans and dreams are for 2015. I think I might write a book!

Aliens abduct donkey

Irwin is missing, vanished into thin air. There's no clues, nothing.

The local community has been awesome helping to find him with lots of Facebook postings, letterbox drops and signs going up but, no donkey.

Let me tell you a little about Irwin...
Irwin came to us about 5 years ago from a cattle farm near Boonah where he was one of 6 donkeys guarding a herd of cattle. He was too big for the ladies who had him to look after and so he was offered to me. When we went to pick him up I learnt 2 things about Irwin - he loves a good scratch and he does NOT like floats. Prior to living at Boonah for a few years he had been rescued from the doggers pens on the day Steve Irwin died with another donkey. Steve now lives near the Gold Coast and last heard was learning how to pull a cart.

Irwin came to me with a few trust issues. Whilst he's let me halter and rug him, pop a lead rope on and he'd freeze, with pure panic in his eyes. After about 3 and a half years we sorted that out and now he'll do anything for me (even if he is still working out how to deal with other people).

He is about 15 years old now, which isn't old for a donkey - they live to be about 50. We've fixed a few health issues along the way - bad feet and a bit of a weight problem - and I was only commenting to MOTH last Sunday morning what good condition they both were in while they played next to the house in their paddock. That was the last time we saw him.

He and Guinness get on a bit like two grumpy old men, they occasionally annoy each other, play, and sometimes Guinness (who is only 9) runs away leaving Irwin very upset. When this happens Irwin comes up to the house and brays a very forlorn tone. He's a bit of a scared cat and would never go near the electric fence - that's way too scary for a big grey donkey.

Being a TV star on Totally Wild (he wasn't as into it as Guinness)

Which brings me to the alien theory (which several people have now suggested)...

Initially we feared he'd been bitten by a snake, but after extensive searches of the property, no donkey. And Guinness doesn't know where he is. I've channelled Guinness' Lassie and Skippy but no result.

So, either wild dogs have pushed him through the fence and now he's list, injured or dead OR aliens took him. Here's hoping we find him soon... (Guinness won't shut up)

How to make weed juice and other stuff

I really do plan on writing a blog every week but there are always some shiny things that distract me along the way.

So, this time I thought I'd share something worthwhile with you all - how to make weed juice. Weeds, when broken down can make an excellent source of nitrogen and when mixed with other waste stuff like animal poo and other green waste then broken down, makes an excellent liquid fertiliser that I call Weed Juice.

So here's how it's made...
Step 1 - Get your hands on a large container like this one with a loose lid (so there's no gas build ups). I know that most produce stores sell them. Buy a tap, an O ring and a clamp (to put on the inside and hold the tap in place) then drill a suitably sized hole to match the tap. Add a little silicone or plumbers tape to ensure a seal and put it together. I bought this stand from Bunnings years ago but you can also use an old bucket.

Step 2 - Fill it with water. I'm using the (Council made me do it) water tank off the new shed and have placed the Weed Juicer next to it for ease of access to water.

Step 3 - You need weeds and poo. Guinness and Irwin gladly helped out here and I've put one and a half barrow loads of donkey poo into the container. I also added weeds from the garden.

The poo and weeds will float until they start to break down and then become Weed Juice.

Step 4 - Pop the lid back on and let it do it's thing. The heat from the sun, combined with the water will start breaking it all down and in a few weeks you'll be able to extract weed juice from the tap to fertilise your garden.

NOTE: Mix weed juice 1 - 10 parts with water cause it's concentrated. Then just water it on your garden.

Step 5 - Keep adding weeds, animal poo and any other green waste as you get it and top up the container with water. Horse poo works well and it won't seed if you use this technique.

Meanwhile, it's also been hotting up there in South East Queensland. Last weekend was record high temperatures for this time of year and outside my car got as hot as 46.5 at one stage - crazy! The weekend before I'd given the animals all a good haircut - bet they were thanking me for that (even if they didn't appreciate it at the time).

Baillie was particularly keen on keeping cool last weekend.

Meanwhile Guinness thought it would be fun to play in the cold ashes in the fire pit. He does this to keep the insects off (although no one else does it) and he seems to have an unnatural attraction to fire when we're burning...

Roman had a brain fart one day a few weeks ago and decided he needed to eat Max. A night at the vet and Max it was decreed that Max had used up a few of his nine lives, having only two bitemarks (it must have been bloody close - you could see where the other teeth didn't penetrate his skin). So, no more inside dogs. Roman seemed particularly put out about this when we were all inside last Sunday in the airconditioning during the heat wave and he was outside on the deck.

This morning Max seems to have totally forgotten about the incident and was playing and smooching with Roman like they used to. Don't think he's long for this world, that one.

This weekend it's been hot again (nothing like last weekend, thank goodness) so I've had a chance to get into the garden. The bees were keen to help out when I cleaned out the fountain. There were literally hundreds of them and it's good to know they have a water source on hot days. I've planted lots of bee and insect friendly plants so they can help me with pollination when I need it (win/win). Am keen to learn more about bees and maybe get a few hives.

The eggplants are going nuts!

 The waterlillies are starting to flower as well.

I've been splitting a few herbs as well and have a heap of lemongrass ready to share. (Happy for anyone to come pick one or two up). My comfrey just keeps on giving and its ready to be split again (I've done it 3 times in the past year).

My tomatoes have been a bit disappointing so far this year and I've had to resort to spraying them today for bugs that are eating all of the romas. Interestingly the other breeds aren't being eaten. Fussy bugs?

Lost a couple of chooker moles to a goanna (it wasn't pretty) a few weeks ago. I've had a good chat to Red Rooster about toughening up and he seems to be taking it on board so far.

It also looks like we're going to have bananas up the ying yang again in coming months. MOTH peels them and then freezes them on a metal tray and then pops them into a container. That way they stay separate and we can grab a couple for smoothies, etc. and they don't go brown.

Can't believe it's Christmas season again - where did the year go?