The mind of Zoe moves in mysterious ways. Today she requested pictorial evidence of her sartorial elegance. Perhaps for a bet? Here ’tis:
Zoe models steel capped orange gumboots at Araluen 2008
Rooster sez my food so hen takes evasive action
Since I started my Apprenticeship (farm studies, majoring in applied ecology and construction jobs of all descriptions) I’ve begun to feel a strange compulsion, nearly as strong as the attraction of female flesh that beset me at adolescence. And like puberty, it has been a lonely period of self-doubt, shame and finally acceptance and rejoicing. Now I feel confident enough to come out and say that I have become a connoisseur of fences. I find it hard to keep my attaention on the road as I drive through the country admiring the firm, perky lines of a fresh young fence, the timber not yet bleached to grey by the sun, wire taut as a violin string; or a stately old hand-made post and rail bulwark possibly 100 years old, lopsided in places but still holding strong, defiantly resisting the ravages of tiem and termite.
Like cars, once you get your eye in, the variety of styles and designs begs to be catalogued, so here is the first of perhaps more than a few extracts from my new but growing collection of fence photos.
In this one, a round gatepost is stayed against the strain of the wire fence by a horizontal beam and a tensioned diagonal wire. Notice how grooves have been cut in the posts by chainsaw to guide and hold the wire. It is perhaps a little overengineered but that is a hallmark of the hand of Simon Stenhouse.
A nice round post strainer assembly, Deua river, downstream of Araluen NSW
In a scene reminicent of the horror movie Revenge of the Herbivores a herd of Murray Grey x Limousin calves mob an innocent cattle dog.
A pasture-fed steer standing in the field. His coat is shiny but he still has to develop muscle in the rear and across the back
Buffalo flies converging on the eye of a steer
A horse-drawn hay rake. Simple design, simple to operate: Strap your horse in at the front, sit on the seat, raise and lower the tines of the rake to make bale-sized windrows. Perhaps we'll see this machine in action one day?
Dad inspects the bank after recent heavy rains. The river is up but the trees are holding on.