Happy New Year everyone and welcome back.  Can you believe we are already into the second decade of the century?  I still don’t know where the first one went.

It has been a funny mixture of conditions so far weather wise and most conversations with my  rural neighbours begin  with “we could do with some decent rain”.  Things are very dry and the grass just isn’t growing.  It’s so frustrating given how dependent those of us who have chosen a rural lifestyle since no rain, of course, means no grass.

It’s funny though – sometimes I think animals adapt to weather conditions better than we do.  Our cat for instance spends winter inside as close to a heater as he can get but when summer arrives he moves upstairs to his summer residence.

Our dog hates being hot so he enjoys winters and seems to delight in leaving big muddy paw prints on our polished wooden floors, but come summer he can usually be found in the coolest spot on the property snoozing the day away.

The animals in the paddocks also set themselves up for the weather. The sheep always find nice shady spots for summer and seek shelter in the winter. My steers and horses seem to have a gift for finding the best spots to avoid the wind.

Like most rural people we are keeping a careful eye on our water tanks, which seem to empty fairly quickly when there has been no substantial rain. I have been also carefully checking my troughs and pipelines for any leaks. A small leak for a few days will account for a lot of water going to waste. I located a stuck ball cock in a trough with a huge quantity of water wasted. Don’t forget that like humans, animals will also drink a lot more water in these hot conditions.

Of course there is more than just weather and water to discuss at the moment. There are plenty of other tasks requiring attention at this time of year. 

One of these is the thistles. I thought I had the dratted things under control in spring but unfortunately no. The ones I missed with my spraying are popping up all over the place.

At this stage really the only way to control them at the moment is to grub the roots or do as I do and put on some good leather gloves and pull them out.

In next month’s column I will revisit some of last year’s bits and pieces and look at continually improving areas of interest.  Also, in response to a reader enquiry about how my pond was developed I will take a look at some of the challenges that presented.

See you next month.

Brian Neben publishes Rural Living, and during the weekends is an avid lifestyle farmer.