Saturday 12 November 2011

Day 54 - And now there are none

Friday was a very sad day.  The baby magpie died during the night and one of the turkey babies died early in the morning.  In the evening, Heather and Mike found the last baby turkey had also died.  We do have the prospect of another clutch of eggs, Bexley's, hatching on Sunday and we are making plans to make sure these survive.  Heather had been told that turkeys are not usually good mothers, but we thought Bromley was doing a good job since she was leading her little ones around the yard and keeping them close to her, but apparently they were not eating enough or being kept warm enough, we're just not sure.


Friday afternoon we went to the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association Show which is similar to a state fair with lots of live stock, rides for the kids, food tent, competitions, and exhibitions.  The first competition we watched was sheep herding.  It was amazing to see the handlers and their dogs herd sheep around the ring, through gates, and into pens. 



One handler had a dog that actually herded ducks - no barking, just eye contact.  You can see how the dog lowered his body down to the ground to be on the same level as the ducks!



Livestock competitions were over when we got there but alot of the animals were still in their pens so we were able to take pictures


These are alpacas.  They make a sound that seems to be a cross between a bleat and a meow.  Their coats are thick and warm like sheep's wool, but so much softer!



There were enormous cows and their calves.

This is a Scottish Highlander calf.

And this is its mother!  They all have long hair and horns.

A prize-winning billy goat.

A white leghorn rooster, this is what Roo is, but he doesn't have the black feathers..

And a brown leghorn rooster.

This is also a chicken, but I don't know what kind it is!

These are the winners of the Clydesdale competition.  These horses are not nearly as big as the ones we see in the Budweiser commercials.

After the show, we drove over to Sumner to meet Mike's brother, Richard, for dinner at The Thirsty Mariner. 

Tim and Andrew - This is the restaurant we went to last year for the yummy lamb shanks.

Sumner and Redcliffs are two Christchurch suburbs that also suffered massive damage from the earthquakes, from falling stones, and rock slides.  The main road runs along the coast at the base of the hills and to stop the rock slides from covering the road again, huge shipping containers have been lined up along the side of the road.


Mike stopped the car long enough for me to take a picture in between the containers.

You can see the fallen rocks in the foreground and the debris that has fallen from a house at the top of the cliff.


These houses have been undermined by the rock slides.

And this car was hit by the boulder on the right.

On the way to Sumner we had driven through Christchurch  and walked along one part of the barrier that cordons off the red zone.  The Grand Chancellor Hotel is being taken down.   


and I think Heather and Mike wanted to get one last look.


I have more pictures of Christchurch and a great story about the Cashel Mall, but I have to organize some photos before I post it.  






2 comments:

  1. I think Roo isn't purebred...that's why his colouring is different. And that bizarro chicken is called a Silkie :)

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  2. So sad to hear about the Turk-ettes not making it. Think we need to keep them in an egg carton and feed/water them...who knows... I watched an episode of the TV Show DIRTY JOBS, called "Sexing Chicks" NOT what it sounds like... it's a Japanese art, so most of the people doing it were Japanese... they check the sex of the chicks when they are a few days old..... It was VERY interesting... since you can't see the genetalia, they can also tell by the shape of the feathers/hairs on their wings... Some of them check like 20,000 PER DAY... they just go til they are DONE...

    Anyway Those "Silkies" are very "Prized" Chickens. I saw on TV they are "Martha's (Stewart) favorites. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkie

    I'm totally envious you go to go to the Mariner.... I recognized it RIGHT AWAY... will never forget that night.. the BEST Lamb Shank (Vs chops) I've ever had...

    Amazed at the amount of Damage still around the city... what a tragedy. All that damage and so few (but STILL way too many) Killed... in many countries, that toll would have been in the THOUSANDS... I was telling my Doc about the new house, and how they'd been practicing EQ Building codes for Decades... He was impressed..

    Anyway.... loading my back up computer again.. gotta take this main one in for work on the 'motherboard' UGH!!! Wish me luck... this is the 3rd time... if it has another problem, Geek Squad Black Tie coverage gives me a BRAND NEW ONE. (That was a good $299- investment!)

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