Come on a Walkabout...

My catch-phrase of the day:

"Never pat a puppy when you feel you have the upper hand - it makes you meekly sweet."

I have discovered it is entirely useless and impossible to be terse with someone whose done you a dis-service, when you have a lap full of wriggling puppy thant's little more than huge ears and feet and longglangling legs!

Had to work out at the site where I terrefy the cows on my miniscule motorbike, the place is guarded by about eight dogs, none over a few years old and everyone one of them as friedly as ever - rekon half of them would lead you right to the valuables if anyt were lying about!

The cute young bitch that guarded the paddock gates is a gutsy little thing, looks to be a cross between a border collie and a kelpie, much like my OJ-pup back in Tassie. I rocked up on the bike that causes bovine stampedes, clad in leather with my helemet on...and she still comes running as close as her chain would allow, all waggy-bummed and glad to see me. Your average dog would take one look at the leather and helmeted freak on the loud thing comming for them and snarled in fear - not this girl, she was half way into my arms before I'd gotten off the bike!

From this....

To this...

Hehe...sorry I couldn't not....this was a good three or four years ago...I imagine he's probably quite a big, sleek boy by now - so long as he hasn't been spoiled!

Just about caused my own motorbike accident today I was laughing so hard, almost lost the bike in the gravel and grass! hehe

I had to work out on an old Dairy, it's being given back to the community and we're turning it into a Working-Wetlands, but right now while we're working on is regeneration, its being used to graze beef cattle and black-faced sheep on.

We rocked up on site nice and early, and it was pretty clear a fair amount of paddock-bashing was in order to get out to the area we were working on that day....so off we went, with the van in the lead, and me following along behind on my wee bike - which is NOT I have to say, a dirt-bike!

Once we got out into the paddock area's we had to pass through several herds of cows - big heifers and their calves, and young bulls. Now most farm cattle are used to a certain amount of transport movement - the work ute, farm bikes and the like....so it was no big thing going passed them...

Well, that was the van anyhow. LOL. The van goes up and they do exactly what you'd expect... lower their heads and back up with bovine reluctance. Now I was right behind on my step-thru and had a momentary thought that they might not move for me...the calves alone weigh more than the bike and I combined!

Well! Not only did the things back up for me....they fled away from me like all the Dingo's in Oz were on their tails! I mean there were calves ricochetting off of fences, through fences, big mummas and young bulls stampeding away from me mooing in sheer terror! It was the funniest thing I've ever seen!

We had to go through two herds of cattle on the way and, and the two herds and a flock of black-faced sheep on the way out - with much the same effect each time, only with the sheep, add idiotic and pointless leaping to the stampeding, bouncing, and calling!

We have to work their fairly regularly... I hope the cows get used to me, for sheer entertainment value I hope they don't...but chances are, one stupid calf will come stampeding into ME one day...and I dont think my bike would survive that! LOL