Eh you - the emu!

Saw this old man on a walk with the dogs today. He lives permanently on our next door neighbour's place.

He was an escapee from a tourist pick-your-own-strawberries farm nearby several years ago. He lives with the sheep now, following them down to the shed at shearing time, waiting in the yards and trotting along in the middle of the flock on their way back.

There are many emus just over the hill in the Forestry lands. They hang about in groups,

but we've only ever seen this one here. The solo old man emu.

In the drinks queue

It's very dry here now and mostly very hot. All the natural water has long dried up, so the kangaroos often drink from the troughs.

Gem always gets first go as horses don't have any rules about ladies first, or showing respect to the elderly or any of that. He wouldn't give his seat up on a bus either. Then Princess drinks and then little Kalara. By this time Kalara's quite thirsty so she takes a while, and sometimes gets distracted.

Or falls into a reverie for a moment. The kangaroos wait.

Take time out to eat the roses

SO got home from work today to find the horses in the garden. Evidence suggests that they had been out for quite some time and the trail of extra fertiliser went all over the lawns, driveway, garden beds and courtyard.

As I had left for work some three hours previous I was given a stern talking to about the dangers of leaving gates open. This from the chap who went out to get a pizza one night, left the front gate open and discovered all our sheep in his headlights in the middle of the road on his return.

They had been in the sheep yards and the old pet lamb Angel had unlatched the side gate into the garden. After sampling various exotic plants they had made the familiar trip up the road en route to their old stomping ground. Luckily SO was just in time to head them off at the intersection and call for cavalry or we would never have known where they'd gone.

That was not to be the last time various stock decided the grass was greener on the other side of the house. I was trying for the elusive five-minutes-of-peace with a cup of tea on the front verandah when Annabelle and her entourage wandered into view.

They too had decided the half-dead lawn was tastier than their own dry paddock, sheep nuts and various hay rations and made off through the garden gate to sample it. A slightly warming if merry chase ensued and they were back in their yard before SO got home. This time.

The world is washed

After the incredible heat, dust and wind of the last few days the cool change arrived with gusto and Snowy and I took advantage of the lull in the summer to go for a long walk.

Recently it had been just too hot to do so. Snowy was delighted to learn that in her forced absence from the lanes lately a whole lot of rabbits had moved in. She spent some time inspecting their preliminary diggings.

We continued through the rain, gorgeous wet, cold, soaking rain to where the road ends in a three-way intersection. At the place on the corner we met the new neighbours:

They interrupted their browsing, grazing and dozing to have a brief chat over the fence. Snowy wasn't sure about the horses with such long ears but they were quiet and friendly.