Frankie's Friday Farm Facts: # 1

Now that I am slowly weaning myself from social media (which has been surprisingly easy), I find that my excuse for visiting the computer at regular intervals has been removed. So, in order to force myself to sit down at least once a week and put "pen to paper", I thought it would be fun to introduce a weekly post to the blog.

A lot of you have mentioned that you miss the farm stories and posts on Facebook. Well, here is your chance to catch up on all the wholesome goodliness of farm life. As some of you will know, Frankie loves to come farming with me. If I leave her at home for whatever reason, she gives me the guilt-trip stare upon my return and then refuses to leave my side for the rest of the evening in fear that I will leave her behind again if I have to go somewhere. She is my constant companion and does a lot of farming as a result. So who better to update you all on farm life than this avid little farmer?!

We'll post some fun facts about farming every Friday, and some pics from the week to show you what we've been up to. We learn something new every day on the farm, and it is always entertaining to watch Frankie's reaction to a number of new experiences!

This week's fact:

Lightning is a force to be reckoned with!

Could you believe that a single lightning strike could make a huge oak tree literally explode?! Neither could Frankie...

Mother nature is pretty scary at times, especially when you work outside for most of the day. I remember one day walking through a paddock to check on cows and it was so misty that you couldn't see a metre ahead of you, and the next minute, all of my hair started to stand up with static electricity. Not a second later, a huge Pine tree next to me lit up with blue light and a deafening boom of thunder rattled my bones.
Needless to say, I dropped to the ground absolutely terrified, and once I had regained some composure (and checked that I hadn't actually shat in my pants...) then proceeded to sprint back to the truck and head for shelter!

In 2011 we lost 7 heifers in a thunderstorm - one bolt of lightning hit them as they were all huddled together under a tree together. In 2012, we lost a single heifer, and (touch wood) nothing since then. Battling the elements is a daily occurrence in farm life, but none are as freaky for me as those electrical bolts that can catch you unaware at any time.

And Frankie seems to agree. Every time there is a thunderstorm at home, she is on my lap seeking comfort and hiding from the bright flashes and alarming rumbles. Clever girl if you ask me...

To end off, how cute is the following picture of wild flowers growing in last Summer's tractor tracks? A splash of colour in the growing green grazing! Karkloof Farm is once again coming alive...