Frankie's Friday Farm Facts: #2

Dale enjoys being on the farm. It was one of my biggest concerns when we decided to come back farming - taking him away from the sea to live in the rural midlands. But he loves it out here. So much so that he has invested in a small beef herd this Spring...

This week's fact:

Karkloof Farm has a beef herd!

These 30 little guys arrived last month and will be fattened up over the next few months, then sold before the Winter arrives. The idea is that they get fat on the veld and then we get more for them than what we paid when we sell them in Autumn. When it works, its hugely rewarding, but it can be a big gamble too! 

But they're so pretty to look at...

  

Frankie is not too sure about these little brown bovines though...she prefers stalking the heifers through the fence at home - much safer!

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...

Farewell to my furry little friend

When the first great cause of things left man to evolve with time, he put a lesser body, a fragment of love divine, to give to the poorest beggar a love that would make him a king. To kiss the hand that is empty, when fortune and friends take wing. As a name for the small creature, reflecting the love of God, man spelled his creator backwards and called his small likeness DOG.
V.M Elgey (Thank you Graham)

I fell in love with my little golden doggy the first time I saw him eight and a half years ago. We met under dubious circumstances as I had just been burgled in my little flat in Stellenbosch, and feeling extremely violated and vulnerable, I rushed off to the SPCA to find myself a ferocious guard dog.

I came home with Luigi.

 

He chose me I think...I was caught off guard by the mass of golden curls. With no manners to speak of and gorgeous big brown eyes, he stole my heart from the word go. An unlikely choice for a guard dog, he actually surprised us all by being fiercely loyal and a companion that I knew would keep me safe as long as he lived.

Probably the most travelled pooch in the whole country, anyone who knew us during varsity days will know that he went almost everywhere with us; to the beach during study breaks, on wine tours, up the wild coast for weekends away - he was a remarkably adaptable traveller who never made any fuss about being in a car for long periods.

The great trek home from Stellenbosch to Nottingham Road was undertaken with ease, and the trip always felt a little bit shorter with him riding shotgun, his happy little head hanging out the window with his tongue flapping in the wind.

He crept into our hearts, and the hearts of all of our friends.

Always the happiest little dog, even to the end. You will be missed terribly my boy, I'm so sorry you are gone, but I hope that you are resting peacefully and in no more pain. May you finally be able to jump off balconies and fly after those annoying hadedas, and may your heaven be a big mud bath that never ends. Thank you for teaching Guinness and Frankie all about us and regaling them with your stories about your adventures - I'm sure they will miss you as much as we will.

Sleep well little dog. Good boy.

Hope when you take that jump
You don't feel the fall
Hope when the water rises
You built a wall
Hope when the crowd screams
They're screaming your name
Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Hope that you fall in love
And it hurts so bad
The only way you can know
You gave it all you had
And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain
Hope when the moment comes,
You'll say

I, I, I
I did it all
I, I, I
I did it all
I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places, the things that I did
Yeah with every broken bone
I swear I lived

Hope that you spend your days
And they all add up
And when that sun goes down
Hope you raise your cup
Oh, oh oh
I wish that I could witness
All your joy
And all your pain
But until my moment comes
I'll say

I, I, I
I did it all
I, I, I
I did it all
I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places, the things that I did
Yeah with every broken bone
I swear I lived

With every broken bone
I swear I lived
With every broken bone
I swear I

I, I, I
I did it all
I, I, I
I did it all
I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places, the things that I did
Yeah with every broken bone
I swear I lived

 (One Republic - "I Lived")