One Fine Day And Then Another

The other day after six weeks with no rain at all we finally had a downpour here in Tikokino. Well two inches of the wet stuff anyway. The next day you could see the fields practically green up before your eyes. But since then there has been nothing more but annoying beautiful mellow fine Autumn day after beautiful mellow fine Autumn day. Most farmers try to feed their animals with precious winter hay stores but there are others who leave their animals on dirt with nothing but mouldy black pea straw to eat.

This paddock has no shelter belts to shade the cattle from the sun as they pick their way through their own manure.

It's not unusual to see more and more empty paddocks as farmers downsize their stock numbers to try and cope with the lack of feed. Even areas that usually have a more constant rainfall are beginning to feel the effects of the drought. Smedley Road runs up towards the Ruahine Ranges and is renown for its rolling green hills covered with old Totara trees. It's now a paradise for artists with a surfeit of yellow ochre paint.

An old Totara coping with the driest summer in years.

As nights draw in and temperatures drop overnight it's becoming too late for the countryside to recover before the winter arrives. Even if rain arrived tomorrow the cooler days will mean the soil temperature drops to a level where grass practically hibernates. Great news for anyone who hates mowing lawns but not so great for those trying to carry sheep and other stock through the winter months.

The view from just before Smedley Station looking towards the Ruahine Ranges.

The flow on effect of a drought also impacts on small country towns as farmers have less money to spend on anything but the bare necessities.Stressful events such as a drought, often coupled with banks applying pressure to repay loans, has caused many suicides amongst the rural community in the past and unless people offer a helping hand it will happen again.

As I cart water around the animals by hand (usually because my own water supply is off due to repairs) I realize how precious a commodity the liquid stuff actually is. I lay hose ends in empty buckets which collect every last drop that leaks out before it's carried to water struggling plants. Nothing is wasted.

So it is with a sense of deep irony that I write of my excitement on receiving an unexpected gift yesterday. It is attached to a plank of wood threaded through a fence where Stig the Goat headbutts it in frustration. Each time I go past I touch it in awe and gaze at it longingly waiting for the day I can finally use it. It is a rain gauge.

Things That Go Spew In The Night

I regard myself as a patient person when it comes to the cats. Even when they insist in waking me at stupid o'clock in the morning to have their breakfast I figure I needed to get up for a "pit stop" anyway. If I do attempt to sleep in Gypsy will begin jumping over my head leaping from side to side and if that doesn't work she'll start batting objects off the dressing table. If I'm still sleeping Demelza will start her percussion practise by banging the wardrobe door repeatedly. Gemma and Kit meanwhile will sleep on till I'm ready.

So there I was at 3.15am this morning after seeing to everyone, sitting up in bed with tea and a gingernut reading my library book which was propped up on my knees. As it's getting chilly these days Gemma likes to burrow under the covers to curl up under my knees until I snuggle down again. But this morning she made a hasty exit and it wasn't until I grabbed the side of the bed that I put my hand in something wet. Lifting up the sheet in horror I saw that she managed to silently regurgitate most of her breakfast underneath me.

Gemma in her pre-Exorcist days

So that was how at 4am I was changing sheets only to find when I got back in that the residue must have permeated the wool rest beneath. I therefore spent the remainder of the night sleeping on a towel. Gemma just cuddled up with me again. We were both too tired to have a discussion about the incident.

Hawkes Bay Drought 2013

We've had a great summer this year just like the ones I remember as a kid. Days and days of blinding heat, sometimes up to 40oC, followed by nights where you took the electric fan to bed for relief. Unfortunately with six months of below average rainfall has come "The Drought".

Over my back fence this was six weeks ago.

Despite being hand watered every alternate day my garden is dying. I've lost my "French Lace" rose, "Apple Blossom Flower Carpet" wants to turn up her roots and "Margaret Merrill" is looking pretty seedy. The only advantage to the drought it that the garden has never been so weed free. But it's the animals who are really suffering. Good farmers are feeding out good hay but the couldn't care less variety are leaving their stock in tree free paddocks filled with nothing but manure occasionally throwing out some black pea straw.

Hard to tell what condition these sheep are in under their wool

Those in favour of the Ruataniwha Water Project (the immensely expensive dam proposed for Tikokino) are citing this drought as a great reason for building Central Hawkes Bay's very own Think Big Project. Yet the small farmer would not gain much from this since the cost of paying water rights has been suggested at ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 a day. This could mean only the big boys could afford to pay for accessing it- the same farmers who irrigate in the heat of the day so that 70% of the water evaporates. The same farmers who have pulled out all the shelter belts and trees on their farms to allow the massive irrigation booms to move across an increasingly barren landscape. 

The view from my back door at sunrise

Lets not forget that there will be an increase in dairy farms in the area leading to more pollution being poured into Central Hawkes Bay rivers. Considering it is not safe to swim in the TukiTuki River now it is easy to imagine what will happen with increased run off making its way down into our once pristine waterways. Building smaller dams around the district would be much more likely to help the small farmers who are struggling to survive in this drought. One which looks like it will not be ending soon.

Joey's Big Day Out

I haven't seen Joey's previous owners since they gave him to me in July 2011 so when I learned they'd be showing their dogs at an event in Waipawa today it was too good an opportunity to miss. Soon as he got out of the car and heard the other dogs barking Joey was in the zone. He sauntered along beside me while we tried to find his owners amongst so many tents, umbrellas and crates. Fortunately Lyn saw me first and walked over to say hi when Joey suddenly developed amnesia and became very shy. Then suddenly something clicked and he grinned and jumped up very excited to see her again. We went to Lyn and David's set up next to one of the rings where they had Joey's second cousin all prepped ready to be shown.

Joey's thinking "I'm not too sure about you"

Joey wasn't too sure at first although he definitely remembered Max their Affenpinscher as they had a mutual quick sniff and growl. Apparently they had a history as Joey used to force the other dog to the ground on occasion when they lived together. Who knew as he's always been such a big chook with me.

"Oh you're special like me!"

I also had a chance to catch up with Mishka's breeder Shirley Campbell. We reminisced about his puppyhood and obsession with water. It brought back memories of all his funny little quirks and how different two Shelties can be. She had some really kind things to say about Joey and it turns out once owned one of his relatives.

When we left I was worried Joey would want to stay behind in the world he knew and although he did steal one look back at his previous owners he seemed happy enough to trot off with me although he had one wobbly moment when he passed a great dane the size of a small South American country. And when we arrived home I knew he was in a good mood as he celebrated by raiding the kitty litter tray.