Jack and I are having a lovely 'horse day'. Due to the lack of rain and hence the ensuing lack of grass, things are getting tight. We have moved the stallion and Cuddles into their new paddock. 15 Acres of tree-lined luxury complete with water feature! JK MY Penny and her filly will be moving in there this afternoon also, and that completes that happy family. Penny's filly has really grown....and am still a little puzzled over the final colour? Definitely NOT orange.....but possibly not bay either? Time will tell.

The TB broodies are all well out the back. Thriving on neglect! I have decided that it is to be "Lady' that I will sell. She has the best conformation and the most potential for life outside the broodmare paddock, being only 7 and un-fussed with. Apparently she has a good 'jump' in her and will enjoy regular routine when brought back into work. Ducky was the obvious choice, but I am unable to part with her. She is such a nice size, very sensible and will be a useful farm hack if nothing else. (She is also very snuggly, leads behind the 4-wheeler and comes to a whistle...)

Red has had a few well deserved days off. We will concentrate on happy hacking as soon as the school holidays finish. We are having a saddle fitting this weekend so should be all go. It has been so hot and dry that the ground is like rock. We are all being driven insane by the most annoying little fruit-fly-type-thingums in swarms, sticking to every last molecule of moisture they can find, which is usually either inside your eyeballs, up your nose or GULP, inside your mouth. You DO NOT want to get 'caught short' out there right now!

The river level is dropping and the brown slimy weed has taken hold. Still plenty of fish in the backwashes, but they will be starting to taste 'muddy' and aren't worth catching. The vineyard is enjoying this weather too. A wee southerly blew in yesterday, lowering the daytime temp from 29 to 15 in 2 hours. We will get another cool night tonight, then should be back to blistering temps for the weekend. If we hadn't lost nearly 80% of the Pinot Noir in the early frosts, we would have been laughing. Last weeks dilemna was being at the mercy of contractors for the pruning: As we couldn't get a spray on until we were trimmed. Now we just need to fight the powdery in the Reisling and get the bird nets up. It all sounds a bit doom and gloom - but it's really not! We don't rely on the vineyard as a sole source of income. Yes, prices have dropped, yes, the frost nailed the Pinot. But the Reisling is looking great and the winery has indicated it may be suitable for a single block label. It is also great therapy walking the rows. No smelly sheep (unless we need them for leaf-plucking!) or bolshy cows. Totally horse-free. Rabbit-free, however, it is not.

And it's a big welcome to the latest addition to the family: Little Bunny FruFru. >sigh<