[Ag-eq] New member replying was

Wed Apr 17 00:25:30 UTC 2013

I have only 2 goats now, Heidi and Minstrel,  born in 2008.  There was a  third in that birthing, 
raggamuffin, but he died.
They are crossbrebs, their dam, Sophie, having been a cross Saanen/alpine and their sire,  Pan, a 
purebred Toggenburg.
Heidi is Toggenburg brown, while Minstrel is alpine black;  both have the typical swiss markings of 
white knee high stockings, a white snip on the face, white ears, white stripe down the back and a 
white tail.
I used to have a herd of 12 goats years ago, which I milked by hand:  fool that I was:  but, 
eventually, I was able to buy a milking machine that had been adapted for dairy goats.
I froze a lot of milk that  I used over winter when the goats were dry, and at one time, I also was 
able to feed 3 calves.
i first started with a goat when I was still living with my parents.  Then when I moved out on my 
own, I lived in a seaside suburb of Christchurch so was unable to continue with goats until I moved 
out to Belfast 7 years later.
I have had goats, continuously since then and that was 1972.
I don't have a buck so Heidi has not had kids, and as she is 4 and a half, it is abit late to start, 
but I am thinking about getting another buck and perhaps a couple of does so that I can get back to 
my beloved goat's milk.
Years ago, I broke my leg but I only wore a cast for 3 weeks and then a knee brace for 1 before I 
was able to do all my usual jobs outside and was just using a walking stick.
I always creditted my lightning recovery:  I was 55 at the time:  to my having drunk goat's milk for 
so many years prior to my fall into the Mataura River.
and now, quickly, to answer your other questions:   Your assumption that * chooks are chickents was 
right on the money.
When I was able to walk well, I could get into town in quarter of an hour.
As the crow flies, I don't know just how far Gore is from the coast, but when my sister had a 
cottage on the Mataura estuary, it was about an hour's drive, meaning that that would be 50 miles.
New Zealand is in the South west Pacific and holds the unique position of being the most remote 
country in the world, with its nearest neighbour, apart from scattered islands being Australia, 1200 
miles to the west of it.

Jewel

--------------------------------------------------
From: <nfoster at extremezone.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 12:32 AM
To: "Agricultural and Equestrean Division List" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] New member replying was

Jewl:

I love learning about new people and new places, so am excited that you joined
our list.

Thanks for explaining a hectare.

What kind of sheep and goats do you have?

My goats are Nubians, which are a dairy breed.  I use the milk to make cheese,
yogurt and soap.  I also cook with it and drink it.  I'm not sure what kind of
sheep Oliver is; he's white with a few very small black sponts on his face and
shoulders.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but are chooks; chickens?

Thanks for telling us more about New Zealand.  I'm embarrassed to say that I
wouldn't be able to find it on a globe!  How far are you from the coast?

Also how far are you from a town?

I also have a small crop of healthy weeds going.  Some types of weeds seem to
even thrive in the desert.  I've never tried hydroponic gardening and know very
little about it.

I look forward to reading your future posts.

Nella

Quoting Jewel <jewelblanch at kinect.co.nz>:

> Nella!  Apart from my good friend, Jody, yours is the first post I have had
> from this list:  what an
> honour!
> I have forgotten, exactly,  how many acres plus square yards there is in a
> hectare, but it is just a
> bit over 2 acres.
> I now have 10 ewes, and 2 goats.  I have also had cattle, a couple of free
> range pigs and a number
> of free-ranging chooks!
> Jody knhows all about chooks don't you Jody!
> Guideon is a crossbred German Shepherd/Labradolr, but I try to forget that
> half of his genes are
> those of the Lab, and, to his credit, he makes the forgetting of that
> disagreeable fact quite easy!
> New Zealand is a very long country, being 1000 miles from North Cape:  that
> is the northernmost
> point:  now who would have guessed that:  to Slope Point which is the
> southernmost, but it is,
> likewise, very narrow:  no place being further than 200 miles from a coast.
> I have been told that our land area is roughly that of California, but we are
> a very
> lightly-populated country:  and long may it remain so:   having only the
> barest tick over 5 million
> inhabitants:  a third of that live in the combined cities of greater
> Auckland.
> Being so long, New Zealand encompasses several climatic zones, so we go from
> subtropical in the far
> north to cool temperate in Southland, which is where I have lived since 1986.
> I am rather embarrassed to have to admit that much of my 2 * gardens are
> occupied by thriving
> plantations of weeds with which I am, constantly, at war;  However, I have
> been told, and like to
> think that it is true that healthy weeds denote healthy soil, so my soil must
> be very healthy if one
> is to use the health of the weeds as a yardstick.
> For the past 3 years, I have been trying to grow vegetables hydroponically.
> Many people have great
> success with the  system, but I am not one of them so I have given up!
>
>        Jewel--------------------------------------------------
> From: <nfoster at extremezone.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 3:59 PM
> To: "Jewel" <jewelblanch at kinect.co.nz>; "Agricultural and Equestrean Division
> List"
> <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] New member replying was
>
>
> Welcome Jewel:
>
> So glad you joined us.
>
> Do you know how large a hectare is; I know it's larger than an acre, but not
> sure how much.
>
> What type of live stock do you keep?
>
> I live in Phoenix Arizona, keep some live stock and a garden.  I have a
> horse,
> an elderly mule, 5 goats, 1 sheep and 9 hens.  I have a couple of citris
> trees
> and a small garden that I grow in raised beds.
>
> Phoenix is in the desert, so there are a lot of things that just won't grow
> here.  I have to water everything and it frequently gets over 112 degrees.
>
> I look forward to hearing more from you.
>
> Nella
> Quoting Jewel <jewelblanch at kinect.co.nz>:
>
> > New member out there somewhere?  Guess that's me: folk:  Jewel Blanch!
> > Jody invited me to join this list as she thought that it might be right up
> my
> > alley, so I did, and
> > now it is up to you to see that she spoke nothing but the truth.
> > Just a word or 3 about me!
> > I live on the outskirts of Gore:  a small town of 7 to 8000 inhabitants:
> > being the only town of any
> > significance in Eastern Southland New Zealand.
> > I own a property of 1.1 hectares plus; the plus  being the floodbank which,
> > many years ago, belonged
> > to the former owners but was bought by Environment South, the body whose
> > responsibility it is to
> > manage floodbanks etc.
> > Actually, when I bought the property in 1986, I was shown the cheque for 10
> > cents that Environment
> > South had paid for the floodbank, and which, not surprisingly, the Grahams
> > had never bothered to
> > cash, but were keeping for a rainy day, or perhaps just a rather misty one!
> > I call my spread the BlanchRanch.  This was just a fun name at first, but
> is
> > now official and is the
> > name by which I trade at my stock and station agent.
> > I have a long history of keeping livestock, but more of that in later posts
> > because, without
> > counting, I feel sure  that my personal allocation of * 3 words must have
> > been reached and exceeded
> > some time ago.
> >
> >       Jewel
> >
> >
> >
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