Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Preparation for Arapawa Lambs Sale

Our Arapawa Lambs are now 4 months old and it's time to get them ready for sale and rehoming.

We've already weaned off and separated the ram lambs from the main flock as they had started to annoy the Mumma ewes. The Mumma ewes are also starting to walk away from the ewe lambs when they try to feed. The Mummas have had enough.

Before we Iist them for sale they all will be drenched, feet checked and bottoms tidied up if required. 

I also like to introduce the lambs to sheep pellets and hay. So when they are rehomed it's a bit easier for the new owners.

Today it was back to school with the Mumma ewes showing the lambs how it's done! 

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Maybe Volunteering

Since Parkinson's joined my life, I'm now pretty much retired at 45, so I spend a great deal of time by myself... and to the annoyance  of my sheep, a lot of that time is spent trying to be their best friend.

Recently our council has been advertising a volunteer expo and I thought what a great idea, so I would pop in to see what is on offer.

I rechecked the details this morning... 8th March, 8am to 7pm at Rangiora library. 

What a long day for the volunteers to be at an expo, so I decided to go about 3pm as hopefully it should not too busy then. 

So I arrived at 3pm and it was dead quiet. There was nothing there but a sign advertising expo from 5pm to 7pm. 

Of course it is! That makes a great deal more sense!

I was 2 hours too early. Parky brain has been at it again. 🙄 

I'm blaming Parkinson's, whether it is or not, I don't know,  but this sorta thing happens to me a lot these days. Seeing and miss reading or interpreting things.

I decided I might as well head home...as I wasn't feeling that charitable to wait around for 2 hours.

I haven't completely given up on the idea, and I will keep looking.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Parky Brain Discounts

I've been kicking myself all evening.

A customer collected his gates today and he got me when my brain wasn't sparking on all cylinders.

When I finish a gate, I type up an invoice with all the gate specifications and the price quoted and the amount due. More for my own benefit as my memory is terrible.

Once I have done that,  I message the customer to advise their gate is ready. I send them a photo of the gate, along with directions for collection and I advise them that I have eftpos available for payment.

Eftpos comes at a cost, but it would cost me $15 in petrol for a trip to the bank and I don't like having cash about incase I lose it, so the cost for convenience, is really a saving.

Today's customer took me by surprise when he said that he would pay by cash. Normally 99% of people pay on eftpos. 

I said to him that I couldn't remember what was due so I ran inside to get the invoice. I advised the customer that $430 was due. He said "here's $450". This again took me by surprise as I didn't have any change, but he said I can keep the change.

So here I am... confused as fuck, as I was still trying to work out what the difference in my head. So I thanked him, still confused and I then thought to myself... just put the money inside before I lose it. So I did that.

When my brain shuts down... things become very singular.

So I farwelled the customer and then decided to mow the lawns.

Have you realised what I have forgotten to do?

At this point in time I was still none the wiser until a couple hours later...as I was finishing up outside it dawned on me... COUNT THE MONEY YOU DICKHEAD!!!

Yup... he only gave me $250. 

He was a Facebook customer, so I have messaged him and he said he will fix me up. My fingers are crossed that he does, as there's not much I can do if he doesn't.

Thanks Parky Brain... that was a $180 discount I really couldn't afford... 3 days labour for free!! You stupid brain.

UPDATE.... CUSTOMER PAID! THANKYOU 🙏😊🙏😊

Drama over nothing... phew!!

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - A Proud Shepherd Moment

Today my small flock of Arapawa ewes put their trust in me, and I have not been prouder of my girls.

It's been a hot dry summer with the El Nino this year and the grass in the main paddocks has all dried up and withered to very little fodder for my sheep.

So I have been taking the flock across the dry creek bed, through the paddock and across a second swampy type creek, that still has water in it and at least one eel that I spotted while possibly accidentally standing on it. We are heading to the farthest corner that has really gone wild due to no vehicle access to maintain it, but there is plenty of grass. 

The girls love it and the lambs jump with joy playing in their food.

Well today as we headed across the first creek, the girls leading the way... when all of a sudden I hear my ewes snorting, which is an alert sound they make to warn the rest of the flock. There was a wandering wolf... ok a dog... ok... a small fox terrier running towards the flock. The mumma sheep snorted and turned around and the entire flock promptly came running back across the creek and went behind me, so I was standing  in between them and the ferocious wolf.

The flock turned to me and looked to me for help. Ohhh! I am so touched... my sheep respect me... my sheep love me! I have been waiting my entire life for this day!

Don't worry girls... I got you! 

I ran towards the wolf scaring it away!

After all the kerfuffle, it took a little coaxing to encourage the sheep to continue on with our walk to the farthest corner... but we made it, all safe and sound.

I'm feeling very proud of my girls. We worked together to stay safe.

On a serious note wandering dogs, especially pet dogs are a real concern around sheep, especially with lambs at foot. 

Sheep being killed by wandering dogs is a very real thing.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Life With Parkinson's 4 Years On

Firstly I very much dislike the term Parkinson's Disease... I dislike it as much as the disease itself.

Is it really a disease? I didn't catch it, I wasn't infected with it. I prefer to think of it as a "condition" or "disability", whereby my body is failing me, very much the same as age does to ones hairline, which I am inflicted with that condition too.

So how am I doing, 4 years in from my diagnosis? I am doing alright I guess. I have some regular issues that are constantly with me... tremors, walk/shuffle, balance and stiffness. There are another 30 or so issues that present themselves randomly from time to time. The issues can range from crying for no reason to struggling with spacial awareness when trying to park the car. So no two days are the same with Parkinson's.

Medication has been interesting. The main purpose of the medication is to try to replenish your dopamine levels that my body isn't producing. However the medication comes with some nasty side effects, and after 3 attempts with 3 different medications, with all 3 affecting me badly, I am currently off medication, by choice. I have a fourth medication here with me at home to start, but I am very hesitant. See the attached picture below with the very real side effects. The last issue was vomiting, violently. So my current position is that I can live a relatively ok lifestyle unmedicated. I can manage my symptoms day to day. So why do I have to gamble with the side effects of medication. The medical professional has advised me that I am over thinking it... really?? A neuro degenerative condition that is not curable... bloody oath I am going to over think it. From diagnosis I believe that you only have 10-15 good years, so I don't want to be adding to my issues with additional side effects. Plus the neurologist said that the medication will do nothing for my tremors.

My Parkinson's is very visual and for that when I meet a new person I am having to introduce myself and my Parkinson's. My line is "don't mind me, I have Parkinson's and my tremors have a mind of their own". I think I do this as I don't want to be mistakenly viewed as a junkie or alcoholic. For the record I don't really drink and have never done illegal drugs.

Parkinson's is also a very lonely condition. When I am on my own my issues are generally very minimal. However as soon as I start interacting with people it sets things off, and Parkinson's is extremely exhausting when it's all go. Even when a customer collects  a gate, just the 5 minute interaction can drain my energy levels. I believe it's an anxiety issue. So when I do leave home I generally have a precise plan of attack. I'm winning when I can get in and out of the supermarket with out any interaction with people. Hallelujah for the self checkouts. So yeah it's the quiet life that helps me cope and I'm ok with that.

Parkinson's is mentally challenging, in that it's an extremely frustrating condition. There's no cure, medication may or may not help you, you may have a long life or not, and you never know what one day will be like to another. 

A good example of this is Gary might suggest on Wednesday to have lunch with friends on Saturday.  Well that's 3 days away... I just can't foresee that far ahead as to what Parkinson's has instore for me. This requires a restuarant reservation and a commitment to our friends... that  is a lot of anxiety for me to make a decision. 

Parkinson's is very frustrating for me, but sometimes I feel more so for Gary as he looks to me for an answer... and I just don't have one this time. I am a very calculated person, and I generally always have a plan in life, but Parkinson's has taken that away from me.

Another very real daily challenge is Apathy. Parkinson's effects your emotions  and your interest in daily life... the lack of energy and willpower to care about anything. The "why should I bother?" I find with myself I'm constantly challenging myself to stay motivated and interested in life. 

So yeah, 4 years in... I just wish that the people studying Parkinson's would bloody hurry up and find a cure!

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - 300!

The last 50 gates seemed to take forever...

but today I finally knocked out Gates # 300 & 301.

A slightly different design to my standard gates. I try not to stray to far off from my standard style farm gates as my Parkinson's brain just doesn't compute. It's a bit like watching a movie with  slow internet, my brain is forever "buffering". So there tends to be a lot of standing around and wondering "what am I doing". 

The above X style gates took me 3 full days to make. If I had been making my standard design it would have been a 2 day job. I don't know how I can monetize the Parkinson's factor when building the gates a little different.

But hey... it got me to 300 gates! 

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Arapawa Fertility

We have had a couple little surprises this morning.

This ewe is Karen... and she only just had twins in early January 2023.

We are now mid August 2023, and she has popped out another set of twins.

I only put the ram, Whiskers back into the ewe flock at the end of June 2023.

So who is the Daddy?

Playboy,  Party boy Blake... who is supposed to be a whether, but he is obviously a total charmer.  I did have my suspicions that he might be functional... and now we have the proof. Blake doesnt really take any interest in the ewes so he runs with the ewe flock all year, but that might have to change.

Interestingly, so Karen has given birth to 2 sets of twins in 8 months. A busy lady.

Arapawa's are very good breeders but I prefer to only let them become pregnant once a year... as the ewes need a break.

The only question that remains... is how many more little Blakes can we expect?