Hillandale Farm News -- February 2005
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Hillandale has experienced one of the driest summers since 1964 when we came to live here. The temperatures have been high , often reaching above the 35 degree mark. As a result much of the lucerne (important feed for our livestock) has turned brown and some of it will have died.
As you can see in the top photo, the veld is very dry but still beautiful in its stark way. Surrounded by this arid landscape, the small irrigated cultivation area near our homestead forms a tiny oasis of green vegetation. We did manage to plant some spinach and onions (second and third photos) for seed and this has become an exciting new venture. The onions we planted were of the red variety and they have been lifted and stored and will be replanted in May and allowed to seed which will be harvested next season. The spinach is being cut and piled into small cocks to dry on the land before being loaded onto the trailer and put in the shed where where it is thrashed so the seed can be sieved and then bagged. The drought is very difficult for the animals and our sheep are being fed a special lick in the form of blocks, while the lambs are fed pellets to supplement their needs. We are also hand-rearing a number of "hans-lambs" - orphan lambs whose mothers have died. They become very tame and follow Robin around like puppies, as you can see in the fourth photo. At present we have an interesting tortoise researcher from The Netherlands, Victor Loehr who has come to Hillandale to seek the elusive "swaarweerskilpad" (Homopus boulengeri) As we have not had much "swaar weer" ( thunder weather) he is having a tough job finding this tortoise! Victor has travelled as far as Loxton since arriving here and has not,as yet, managed to find our elusive species! He has found many dead tortoises, as well as some interesting combinations of other groups so we are anxiously awaiting the news that he has made his find. The Riverine Rabbit is also still very scarce in our area and the drought has probably made them easy feed for the many hungry predators. It has, however, come to light that there are more Riverine Rabbits than we first thought. A healthy colony has been discovered on a private reserve near Touws River in the Western Cape. We are due to have the Krom River Conservancy Annual General Meeting in March and hope the new exciting facts will be shared at this meeting. Looking ahead, Hillandale expects two special events this year. Our eldest son and his wife are expecting a baby in May, a second grandchild, and we are excitedly awaiting his arrival! Our third child and second son is to marry in Pretoria in August and we are looking forward to this long-awaited celebration. More good news: Hillandale features in a delightful travel cookbook which reached the book shops just in time for Christmas 2004. The book is "Delicious Travel" by Gwynne Conlyn. Gwynne says on the back cover, "This book has been an incredible journey. I discovered nooks and crannies of this country I didn't know existed, people who always made every trip worthwhile. I criss-crossed the country, returning with notebooks and cameras full of technicolour and experiences." "Delicious Travel" is available at book shops in South Africa and we've heard that it can be ordered online from Exclusive Books at www.exclusivebooks.com, possibly from other online book sellers too. |