Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - RIP MAX

This morning we lost our very much beloved boy Max. 

Max was the child we could not have. Our lives were planned around Max's as he always had to come first.

We adopted Max in 2009, after I had finished my chemotherapy. I looked at the situation as a sign of hope and that there is more to this life. Max was my late father's name. Max the cat needed a forever home. I was in desperate need of hope. Having Max join our lives was a meant to be moment.

But after nearly 14 years sharing our lives together, and many adventures... it breaks our hearts that this journey has come to an end. We treated Max as our son.

At about 5am this morning I heard Max struggling, I jumped out of bed and discovered that he had lost the use of his rear legs. Yet the poor fella was still being the amazing cat he was and was trying to use his litter box.  I had never seen him like this before so I phoned the vet and I was barely keeping it together, as I knew he wasn't coming home. 

We rushed him to the after hours emergency vet and he was having heart issues and the vet believed he had formed clots which caused his legs to fail. Something along those lines... all I was hearing was this is the end... I knew this day would come but Max had been doing so well in his old age. We had built him steps to get up and down from the bed, we setup a litter box, he was drinking and eating well.

I was hoping that he would die peacefully at home someday. Sadly that was not the case and the vet said that he would be in pain and putting him to sleep was the kindest thing to do. So we stayed with Max until the very end.

Thankyou Max... Thankyou for being the greatest cat son we could have ever wished for! 

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Celebrating 181 Years

Today, 15th March 1842, the first Andrews arrived in New Zealand arriving aboard the immigrant ship Bolton settling in Nelson.

My Dad's side of the family have been Kiwis for 181 years and I am the 7th generation here. My sister and brother have continued with the 8th generation.

Mr William Andrews age 42

and his wife Mrs Mary Ann Andrews age 33 and 6 children aged from 1 to 19 years  of age, traveled some 5 months departing Gravesend England 29 October 1841 and arriving Nelson the following year on the 15th March 1842.

Sailing aboard the Bolton, a 540 tonne 3 masted ship captained by J.P. Robinson and 285 passengers. 

I was unable to find a picture of the ship but did find a deck plan, see below. Note where the single men and single women are kept.

There is a written account of the voyage by a passenger Sarah Sharp.  "We had a nice time till we got out of the Bay of Biscay, then we had a fearful gale. The sea was mountains high. It commenced on New Year's night, it kept on for three nights; we were all battened down below". ☆

The masts were broken in two, the sails gone, and nearly all the top deck had disappeared. They were adrift with not enough timber to repair the ship.  Miraculously a French ship appeared and stayed by the Bolton for 3 days supplying materials and helping to repair the Bolton.

After arriving in Nelson the first few days were not pleasant, and Sarah continues... "There were a lot of little huts made of rushes and flax... my brothers took it in turns to beat the rats away"☆

Nelson was in it's infancy and the Bolton passengers soon discovered building materials were a problem. 

However, despite the challenges, some of the men from the Bolton became successful farmers as did William Andrews.

"William Andrews exhibits of wheat and barley drew admiration when they were displayed on Nelson's first Anniversary Day. He had a splendid garden in the Wood area, and later established a farm at Wakefield where he ploughed his first acres with a team of goats, as bullocks were beyond his means. When he

built a bakers oven to supply bread to neighbouring farms, he used the goats to pull a bread delivery cart. A man of many parts, Andrews built a windmill to grind wheat, joined the

Massacre Bay Coal Association, and went to Motupipi with six others to dig coal. He also tried his hand at timber-milling and boat building. He was active

in church affairs and in December 1842, conducted one of the first services in the United Christians Chapel. In later years the citizens of Motueka had dif-

ficulty in getting regular preachers from Nelson, and according to C.B. Jordan

in his 'Yesterdays of Motueka Methodism', .... In 1857 Mr Andrews became a recognised missionary, or hired local preacher. He was paid no regular stip-end, but so greatly was he respected by people of all denominations, that he was in semi-jocular strain, known as 'Bishop' Andrews. To the utmost degree of his strength, he sought to discharge all the duties of a regular minister, preaching at Motueka and neighbouring settlements, leading classes, visiting the sick, burying the dead, and attending faithfully to the spiritual needs of the

people during many years.'

A pioneer of the highest calibre, some of his leadership qualities were passed on to a grandson, Sir Ernest Andrews, who became Mayor of Christchurch, while

other descendants still live in the Waimeas".☆

My Direct Heritage Family Line:

William Andrews

b15May1799 d18Aug1873

married Mary Ann Vaisey

              ⬇️

Charles Lewis Andrews

b01Jan1820 d02Sep1888

married Lucy Bedford 

              ⬇️

Edwin Robert Andrews

b03Jun1850 d28may1922

Married Ann Elizabeth Eden

              ⬇️

Edward Robert Andrews 

b8Aug1874 d01Jun1951

Married Cara Stratford 

              ⬇️

Gilbert Lyall Andrews 

b31Aug1911 d23Jul65

Married Elizabeth Norma Wilson

              ⬇️

Max John Andrews

b20Nov1951 d16Jun1995

Married Elaine Atkinson 

             ⬇️

Then Me... Ricky Andrews 

☆ source book Pioneer Passengers written by June E Neale.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Keeping It Simple

With every new order I will ask a few questions and reconfirm the details and quote the order. Reasonably straightforward.

So I recently made this....

But I was meant to make this...

There was a little miscommunication with the order. But all ended well as the customer could still use the smaller gates. So I was back on the tools quick smart to make the bigger gates.

I like to keep it simple.  No deposit is required for small orders, and with all the gate orders, the customer is under no obligation to purchase the gates if they are not happy with the finished product on collection.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Paddock Change With New Lambs

Summer has arrived again, so it's time to change paddocks in search of the trees for shade. Our roadside paddocks have the best tree cover for shade, so when it's hot it's off to the front paddock we go.

Normally paddock change with the sheep is over and done with in a matter of seconds... but with lambs not so.

Mumma ewes rush towards the open gate, then madly stop remembering that they have their lambs... so then panic ensues when mumma ewes can't find their lambs amongst the chaos.

So it's slow going... forward 3 steps back 2 steps. But eventually all make it to the new paddock.

The pond has finally dried up.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Girlie's Generations

In the above photo we have Girlie who is the ewe sitting down with her two lambs from this season.

Standing next to Girlie is her lamb from last season, who at the time of the photo had just gone into labour for the first time.

She was rather vocal about it and she wasn't sure what was happening, and was seeking comfort and support from her mum. She followed her mum about for sometime bleating. 

Kinda cute, and just another example of why Girlie is such a great mum, still there supporting her adult children.

Come this morning she finally had her first lamb, and I hope that this first time mum becomes a fantastic ewe mum just like her own mum, Girlie.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Well That Lasted All Of 2 Seconds

I was just saying yesterday how great lambing was going... well last night while checking the lambs and ewes, I spotted an abandoned lamb. After a short chase through  the paddock, over the fence, down the drive the lamb was caught and reunited with mum.  I think mum just forgot that she has 2 lambs to mother.

Then I noticed that her other lamb was rather wobbly with her rear legs, dragging and bending them unnaturally backwards.

So after penning mum and lambs in the yards, I checked first that mum had milk, and that lambs were feeding. Then  I inspected the lamb. She could walk and keep up with mum, but the legs would bend backwards... very creepy like. She wasn't in any pain from what I could tell. She seemed rather healthy all in all.

So we went to the vet today. The lamb was a model patient. Very patient and much loved by the staff. She was even attended by 2 vets.

It seems while in her mums womb, or during birth, her tendons/ligaments may have been stretched so they are all loosey goosey rather than tight and firm. The vet said something that they see in foals but unusual in lambs.

So both legs are now in splints and bandaged to help correct that. Hopefully things return to normal after a week or two.

Fortunately when reunited with mum all went well. Lamb was straight on mums teat.

I think I will wait a day or two before reuniting them with the flock... just until the little lamb finds her new feet.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Lambing Season Summer 22/23

After such a long wait, we are just over half way through our lambing season. So far we have had 14 healthy lambs from 9 ewes. 5 lambs popped out last night, a busy night. There are 5 more ewes to drop their babies.

We tried things a little different this time. Instead of having lambs in the middle of winter, we are, well we should have had lambs in November, towards the end of spring. But I am guessing that our ram Whiskers took his time to enjoy the ladies, as the lambs only started appearing after Christmas.

So far... touch wood, everything has gone super well and we have 14 healthy lambs.  I haven't had to worry about frosts or the lack of feed or exposing myself to the elements.

For the first week of the lambs birth the mumma ewe will keep her newborns well away from people and anything potentially dangerous. The lambs will obediently follow mum wherever she goes. At this point I am just worried about whether the lambs are up an feeding. So I am keeping a close watch to see if the lambs are finding the udder and then if they are drinking. Generally if they are getting milk their little tails will be wiggling at a million miles.

After about the first week mum starts to relax and I can get close enough to see what sex the lambs are. By about this time the lambs have found their feet and are running circles around mum. Jumping on and over mum while she is resting. The lambs have started to interact with the other lambs and now its mum running after her lambs.

Come the second week of age the lambs have formed a gang, and new entrants are enlisted as they become of age. You are able to get close enough to pat the lambs if they allow and mum isn't bothered by your presence. 

It's by this time I can start to relax, the lambs are big and healthy. 

I am still keeping a close eye out for hawks and wandering dogs. 

I spotted a wandering dog the other day in the lambing paddock. At first I thought it was an Arapawa sheep, similar colour and size, and I thought why was it out on it's own. As I got closer I realized it was a dog, so I yelled at it to "go home". Hopefully a familiar command all dogs are taught. The dog left the paddock but only to get stuck in the fence and needed assistance to be freed. It's collar somehow latched itself onto the fencing wire. After I just yelled at the dog, I approached with caution, and fortunately the dog was friendly and let me untangle him. He was then on his way running down the roadside... accompanied with my parting words "go home go home".

I am just loving this lambing season. 

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Hay Season

This year I thought I would try to be a little organised and do things a little different. I wanted to have the grass cut a little earlier this time around with the idea that the grass seed heads remain intact before they go to seed. As always it's a rush to get the grass cut, dried, baled, and stacked in the shed before the weather ruins everything.

I must thank 2 awesome guys, Josh & Derek... they were coming around to buy some of last season's hay, I had 15 bales left over to move. On arrival I was nearly halfway done of loading the trailer and stacking the new hay in the barn, and they jumped in to give me a hand. They both had previous experience which was good as their stacking skills were better than mine. Before they arrived I already had 1 fall from a 4 bale height. So their skills and banter was greatly appreciated.

Despite my allergies I rather enjoy hay season. It's a good work out and the paddocks look great after.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - A Rat!

Well that was my first thought when I spotted something moving along the ground underneath the fallen hay on the barn floor... A big f#@king rate!!

But no, I went from a ewwww emotion, to a ohhh you poor fella feeling...

It's a hedgehog!!! 

But I think I have destroyed it's nest, as I was clearing out the barn getting ready for this year's hay.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Farm Gate In Town

DWL Farm Gates can also be used in a town setting...

The customer has a little boy, so the gate is to stop him running out into the street. 

I think it also adds additional security to deter people and other animals from just freely wandering up the drive.