Its starting to warm up.

sharkey

Well-Known Member
We are expecting the first day with temps over 40C (104F) on the farm this Friday & we're not into summer yet. Still its not as bad as this time last year although the chance of an El Nino event over summer is higher.

The Persian fallow are almost through their fawning thankfully, although the Hungarian fallow & reds still look like a couple of weeks away to start. The messo's really do have an advantage over european fallow in this part of the world.

From a hunting perspective, sitting off a water hole from about 4pm would be very productive in this heat in reducing the pigs.

Stay cool.
Sharkey
 
We are expecting the first day with temps over 40C (104F) on the farm this Friday & we're not into summer yet. Still its not as bad as this time last year although the chance of an El Nino event over summer is higher.

The Persian fallow are almost through their fawning thankfully, although the Hungarian fallow & reds still look like a couple of weeks away to start. The messo's really do have an advantage over european fallow in this part of the world.

From a hunting perspective, sitting off a water hole from about 4pm would be very productive in this heat in reducing the pigs.

Stay cool.
Sharkey
Ooooooo you lucky bugger,sat in as you would say a "thunder box" killing time while it's raining and blowing a gale and about 9c.If you need help give us a shot as I live in South Wales which I'm sure is in Australia!
dave
 
Ooooooo you lucky bugger,sat in as you would say a "thunder box" killing time while it's raining and blowing a gale and about 9c.If you need help give us a shot as I live in South Wales which I'm sure is in Australia!
dave

Put a New in front of South Wales & just picture that thunder box in 40C when every blow fly is also trying to stay cool get some shade. LOL
Believe it or not, we do get some nights in winter when the temp drops a couple of degrees below freezing & a few days when it never gets above 10C. I enjoy the hot weather when I'm on the coast, but in the bush it's dangerous trying to do too much work in temps above 40C, but the work still needs to get done. In heat waves in late December & January its not uncommon for temps to get above 50C in the shade, then even the goannas become aquatic & take to the water holes to stay cool, sometimes they remind me of freshwater crocks. I guess I am pretty lucky to see & share these sort of things with nature.

Water is life, & ATM it isn't looking good for this summer. I'd love some rain & a gale right now. One day a week of English weather till March would be perfect, but the best chance of rain ATM is from storms & the associated lightening strikes will start fires.

Pigs & goats will be pretty easy to bomb up if it dries up much more as they will start to take more & more risks to get to water & to regulate their temperature. I don't like pigs & don't even enjoy shooting them but they do need to be controlled. I do like having wild goats about the place & prefer eating the young ones more so than I do lamb.

Sharkey
 
Mid November and only 2 light frosts. Every day damp and up tp +10c . We need some cold weather.
 
Are Persian / Mesopotamian Fallow a thing of the past in the wild given the recent history of the region ?

Thanks

Ion
 
They are doing Ok given that they were considered extinct till their rediscovery in the early 50's. They have significance to all the Abrahamic religions & for the most part their value has been respected during the continuous conflict in this region. Iran has a few wild populations which apparently are doing well as has Israel.

Only two weeks ago I had the political editor of one of the large media outlets call & ask the same thing. He seemed pretty disappointed when I told him they weren't being overly effected by the conflict. When I suggested that they had the opportunity to build bridges between the three religions in the region & perhaps there could be a good news story instead of a bad news one he couldn't get off the phone quick enough. LOL


It's a stinker of a day down here. I've come back to the coast & ATM am sitting on my verandah overlooking Curl Curl beach, under the shade of a large Morton Bay fig, I'm on my second cold beer aleardy & Australia is playing (beating) Sef Africa in a one day match on the box just inside. It's a brief respite as in the cool hours of the morning ( 25C it should drop to at midnight here) I'll be heading back out west into the heat & traveling through a fire zone If I can get through.

Sharkey
 
Sharkey - I love reading your posts. I worked on a small 20,000 acre farm in Mungundi (nr Moree) when I was a wet eared eighteen year old. Loved it and reading your posts bring back memories.

The farmer had a 223 which he lent me for Roos feral cats and a few other things. Never got out much and my recollection is that some unusual gun nuts came to the farm once or twice a year with all sorts of arms and shot almost anything (I am sure not the case these days, when I checked that was twenty years ago).

thoroughly enjoyed my time there on the station a real eye opener for an Essex boy. Regret not experiencing a night out with the pig dog boys and not getting a bit more field sports when I hopped over to a farm in NZ.

recommend it to any youngster reading this, head out to Oz on your own go and drink in a few bars and find yourself a job. Or perhaps be a little more organised about it, perhaps at least organise somewhere in advance to stay on your first night in the country!

keep them coming Sharkey!
 
Thanks Sharkey. Can I ask a further question -Does the history of Persian / Mesopotamian Fallow in Australia go back to Victorian 'importation and improvements' ?

Ion
 
Thanks Sharkey. Can I ask a further question -Does the history of Persian / Mesopotamian Fallow in Australia go back to Victorian 'importation and improvements' ?

Ion

Our Persian Fallow are from straws imported from the late 80's & early 90's. No embryos were imported that I'm aware of so although we require 5X crosses to be considered "domestic pure" Dama dama were the original dams used to produce the first cross. All the mDNA is from european fallow although the phenotype now is that of a Dama mesopotamica as is the ecology & temperament.

Because they are considered the most endangered species (not just deer, everything) in the world & are listed as a CITIES 1 animal they are basically worthless as a commercial proposition & when the bureaucrats told deer farmers a couple of decades ago that anything past a first cross would be treated as CITIES 1 the incentive for maintaining pure herds to use as a first cross over european does evaporated. I still continue to breed to "origin" & keep Persians now because I'm just a deer tragic, I don't ever expect to gain a cent from them as all I could do is give them away. The zoos here want these badly & do display some pretty poor examples of first crosses as being true D mesopotamica, much to my delight. I've had some run ins with the zoo cartels & various Ministers for environment over the years , so they won't be getting any from me. This also applies to pure Moluccan rusa which IMO only two of us have on mainland Aust.

The problem with the Persians is they will destroy the genetics of our wild herds of D Dama. The persians rut earlier & the boys are larger & more aggressive (think how fallow might have been before they were domesticated). It's not just their extra size that they were imported for, having fawns on the ground up to 6 weeks ahead of D Dama gives them a huge advantage in our environment as they can make better use of our very short spring flush before the heat burns off the grass. We are getting 40c days already & my Persians are basically finished fawning & the line of Hungarian D dama I have haven't started yet.

Ion, It's good to see someone else interested in deer as more than just live targets, I'm happy to add my 2 cents worth about the ecology of the species I keep & have worked with any time. Anyhow its time to jump in the truck now & head west to stare at some deer.

Cheers Sharkey
 
great post sharkey,
looking forward to visiting your country soon and experiencing it first hand. not sure about the 40/50 deg heat though.
Paul
 
Thats -20c chaps! A bit chilly and worse to come Muir?
They just shut down some hunting and fishing areas in the Gallatin.
Glad i came back when i did!
Cheers
Richard

It was -22F the other morning. Yes. The worst is yet to come. I have seen -38F and just elected not to leave the house. It's why all my vehicles have electric engine block heaters so I can leave them plugged in at night!~Muir
 
Happy days! I've picked up about 50mm of rain from storms in the last couple of weeks & expect another 25mm later this week. Temps have been pleasant during the days & in the low 30's mostly, but humidity has been high & the insect life has really erupted. Its also been hilarious watching the frogs take swimming lessons for the first time.
I won't be carting water for stock this Christmas, yeh!

Sharkey
 
It was -22F the other morning. Yes. The worst is yet to come. I have seen -38F and just elected not to leave the house. It's why all my vehicles have electric engine block heaters so I can leave them plugged in at night!~Muir

Wow, -38F is about the same in Celsius that we use. -38c is properly cold.

I understand about the Engine Block Heater but what happens to Transmission and Differential Fluids at that Temp'? Are they like Treacle?
Do you have Rock Salt put on the Roads or are they just Ploughed?

Coldest I have endured is -20c. That would be Shorts and T Shirt for you :D.

Yorkie.
 
All my Christmases have come at once. I've just picked up another 25mm of rain & the forecast is for cool temps in the mid to low 20's for the next couple of days. I guess I'll have to put on some long pants too. I might even have to light the fire at night?

Sharkey
 
Back
Top