Boy, doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun! It’s hard to believe that Harriet’s school holidays are almost over once again, with Christmas flying by & we’re almost through the first month of 2009.

We have had a busy & productive time here at Bokhara Plains with most of the family having Xmas day out here with us, followed by ‘boxing day’ up with Heather & Angus at Wodalla, and then New Years Eve with Mark & K.A. in Goondiwindi. Lucky to have my liver survive through that period which also included several parties leading up to the end of December as well…

However in the first 10 days into January this year Cathy, Harriet & I completed half of the fencing plan for Bokhara Plains that we had mapped out. That included one week where we got almost 30klms done and turned 4 paddocks into 16. Before you think that I’m some sort of slave driver… the deal with my girls was that we would start early in the morning but they could finish fencing for the day by midday & that is how we did it. Turns out we make a pretty good team on a tough job in hot weather. Nothing like a bit of pressure to bring out the best in people or livestock….

I must say though that I did have my reliable mate “Lobby� here for a week leading up to the Xmas break & we got stuck in with the old “Fergy� tractor, post hole digger & crow bar etc to put in all the end ‘assembly’ wooden posts. So that gave us a head start to put all the steel posts and wire up this month. We now have half the place broken up into paddocks that are from 50 to 75 Hectares (120 to 170 acres) and the cattle were moved back this way into the intensive area just last week. We have ‘moved’ the cattle, which is currently a herd of 512, forty two times since I got home at the end of October, and are now almost moving them every day with the exception of a few good paddocks that I stretch out to two whole days!

In among all that I managed to drop a trailer on my foot, cracking a toe, & then jumped onto my daughters kayak on Xmas day (post several lunchtime beverages!) and I’m pretty sure I busted a rib which is still giving me grief.

As I write though, beautiful light rain is gently falling on the roof and we have had about 13mm since yesterday afternoon, with the forecast potentially being for a good chance of more right through till the middle of next week. We had 65mm here at the house end of the place the weekend before last giving the grasses in the front country a great boost & it is the best I’ve seen those paddocks as far as quality of forage goes. This follow up will be fantastic with the cattle due up here in about another three weeks. One draw back with this intensive grazing scenario though… is that we have to go out this afternoon in the wet to move the cattle. I’ll see how wet it gets through the day to decide whether we take the horses as per usual, or whether I just take the four wheeler over there as they are about 8klms from the house and the horses are more inclined to mess the road up. It has been really good for us to use the horses so far as I find it very therapeutical to be quietly riding around contented cattle watching closely how the landscape is responding to this fantastic rain. It’s even more pleasurable to be able to share it with Harriet as well. May have to get Cathy back riding when our little princess heads back to school next week, particularly with the cattle close by for two months and hopefully another 300 joining them in the second week of February.

The “Obama for President� phenomenon that I witnessed in its infancy in the States last year came to a spectacular climax yesterday when the man with the weight of the world’s high expectations clocked on for the big job. I only hope that he can work his way through all of extraordinary hype, rock star status scenarios & wannabe celebrity hanger-onners to actually deal with some of the real issues confronting his government. And more particularly the effect they can have on the rest of the planet that too many in the good ‘ol US of A tend to forget even exist.

No doubt about him though, he has a way with words as an orator, & has an incredible ability to make Australian politicians look even more dull and insignificant then I thought could be possible.

Try watching one of his speeches & then look at our Ruddy give a press conference and I guarantee the words “insincere, fake, & maybe even ‘muppet’ will spring to mind. No disrespect intended towards our esteemed leader…

Mind you, all that Hollywood hype surrounding the inauguration made me feel a little uneasy as well. The $150,000,000 price tag for the whole setup certainly helps spread the word about the need for everyone to ‘tighten their belts’ with unsustainable spending doesn’t it?? 

Only in America….

I’m a big believer in setting some goals, and especially at the start of a new year with all its hope and promise, to at least get off on the right foot. This time I thought I’d try and make up for the extravagance of last year where although it involved lots of travel, work & learning, there was also way too much good hospitality and the gaining of ‘unwanted pounds’.

My major goal is to of course spend much more quality time with my wife and daughter (hence all the ‘fun’ fencing together!), and to also really focus on business, with the grazing control being a major priority.

However, like many, I also like to challenge myself when I think there is a need so I’ve decided to give up coffee (to hopefully result in more sleep, bit of a problem there!) and to give up on sweet biscuits & sugar on anything. That was going to be “any sort of sweets at all�, but hell………lets not get ridiculous about it! Going completely cold turkey on ‘Ice Cream’ for me would be a bit like living my life without good dogs…quite possible I guess, but I just don’t like to contemplate it.

Cheers for now with one from Kit Pharo that reflects the state of the economy…

Cowboy Logic: “Most people spend money

they don't have to buy things they don't

need just to impress people they don't like.