Story time – Brave Puppy Buster

Yawwwwwwn!…. Buster the black and white Border collie puppy did a big stretch as he opened his eyes early one morning on Blue Gum Farm. Buster was 12 weeks old and he had just moved to Blue Gum Farm to start his new life as a cattle dog. Before he came here, Buster was still living with his Mum and brothers and sisters so, although Buster was a bit unsure about what to expect from his new home, he was very excited.

Buster The Puppy Enjoys His New Home

Buster had his own kennel that was cosy and warm for him to sleep in and he was also wearing a collar for the first time. He thought it looked very smart (and made him very grown up) but it did tickle a bit because he wasn’t used to it yet. Buster was waiting at the door of his kennel when Farmer Joe came to collect him that morning. He jumped around and wagged his tail so much that he almost fell over with excitement. Joe had saddled up his horse and was going mustering with all of his cattle dogs.

Puppy Tries To Muster The Cows

“Oh mustering” said Buster “I am great at mustering!” he announced in his little puppy voice. “I will catch all of the cows on my own!” “Not you Buster, you are too little to come mustering with us” Said Joe. “You can stay home and help Granddad in the workshop”. “Oaoaooarrrrh” Cried Buster as he watched Joe ride off on his horse. “Yeah stay home little pup” Charlie, the boss farm dog, told Buster sternly. “You are too little!”

Buster The Puppy Wants To Work

The next day Buster was again waiting excitedly at the door of his kennel when Joe came out to pack the ute and go to work. “Ah yes, let’s go to work” said Buster as he waddled over to the ute and sat down on his little fluffy bottom waiting for Joe to lift him into the back. “Not you Buster, you are too little to go to work. You can stay behind and help Grandma in the garden”.

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“Yeah you can’t come to work with us. You are too little.” said Charlie in a mean voice as he leapt into the back. Buster started to whimper in his little puppy voice as the cloud of dust settled from Joe driving off up the road. “Oaoaoaooarh” he squeaked but soon he spotted Grandma heading for the garden pushing the wheelbarrow. “Ooh that looks like fun!” he thought as he ran over to the wheel barrow and hopped in for a ride.

Buster Grows and Grows!

Many weeks passed and Buster had come to enjoy staying at home and helping around the farm while the other dogs went off to work. Buster didn’t know it but he was growing very quickly. He was becoming a tall lean dog, who was strong and quick on his feet. He could run for miles without getting tired and his sense of smell was so good he could always tell where Grandma was on the farm just by using his nose.

Buster Finally Goes To Work!

One morning Buster was helping Grandma with the chores when Joe came to collect the dogs to take them to work. He heard Charlie chuckle under his breath “See you later little puppy. You’re not coming ‘cause you are tooooo little! Have a good day doing baby things!” But he didn’t take any notice and kept on going about his chores. “Buster! Hey Buster, come here!” he heard Joe yell. Buster stopped what he was doing and galloped over to the ute where Joe was waiting. “You’re coming to work today Buster” he said “And Charlie you can stay home. You are getting a bit tired lately so you can have a rest”. Charlie scowled as he hopped out of the ute and slunk back to his kennel. He knew the day was coming when Buster would join the working dog team and he couldn’t help being jealous.

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Buster leapt into the back of the ute and was excited to feel the wind in his face as Joe drove off up the road. Buster said to himself happily- “I can do it, I’m NOT too little!”

Gardening Tips – 4 Tips For Eco-friendly Gardening

USE MULCH WHILE GARDENING

Trust me – use mulch when you are gardening! This helps to maintain the moisture level in your garden beds for longer, meaning you can use less water. I use anything I can for mulch. Newspaper, old boxes, or any type of hay will do the trick.

AVOID CHEMICALS

There are a lot of serious chemicals that can be used in and around the garden. I however, prefer to stay away from them (especially when you have kids in the garden). It means you may get the odd grub in your cabbages but it’s a safer approach. Plus you won’t be killing all the bees and other beneficial inhabitants in your garden. I prefer to use a home remedy or some pyrethrum spray when gardening, which still isn’t good for the bees, but if you use it carefully it will get you out of trouble when the grubs move in.

GARDENING SUCCESS? WEED CONTROL

Again there are countless chemicals you can use to keep your weeds down in the garden but they are very toxic and I avoid them at all costs. Using heavy mulch will keep down any pesky weeds that are taking over your plants. When I’m gardening at the moment, I’m having terrible trouble with nut grass. I put down a thick layer of newspaper then cover it with cane trash hay and it works well.

A PILE OF POO!

Organic fertilizer in the form of cow poo or chook poo will do wonders for your garden. When you are gardening, every season your plants suck up the nutrients from the soil. So, it is a good idea to replenish it with some new food. I’m very lucky and can just take the wheel barrow down to the cow yard any time I need some new plant food, but you can buy chook poo (it’s called dynamic lifter) or cow poo at the gardening shop.

In the Kitchen – Honey Roasted Macadamias

Today we are cooking up a fantastic recipe called Honey Roasted Macadamias, featuring Macadamias grown in Cilla’s garden! Enjoy.

You will need:

1 cup of Macadamia Nuts

1 tablespoon of Macadamia oil

2 tablespoon of raw honey

What to do:

Combine the Macadamia oil and honey in a small saucepan. Simmer it on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Heating the honey like this helps it to set hard once the recipe is finished.

Remove the honey mixture from the heat and add the Macadamia nuts. Give it a good stir until all the nuts are coated in the honey mixture.

Spread the Honey Covered Macadamias onto a baking tray and bake them for 5-10 minutes on a moderate heat. They burn easily so make sure you keep a close eye on them.

Remove them from the oven and leave to cool completely before serving.

They will keep for several weeks in a jar and they make lovely gifts or festive season treats