Farmscapes

Life at Vastrap is very busy at the moment. Looking after Livia and Myles is a full time occupation – she will be 2 at the end of the month and he is now 11 weeks old. Time is really passing so quickly, mostly in a sleep deprived haze! I am also trying to get everything prepared for our holiday visitors. We’ll have a house full of de Bruyns for Christmas and a few other family and friends passing by on their way to the coast. The logistics of shopping and menu planning are quite a challenge living as far as we do from good shops, but a bit of organisation will hopefully mean that we can just relax and enjoy it when everyone is here. Quentin is also extremely busy on the farm. The maize crop has been planted and they are now busy with sunflower and reaping what little there is of the wheat. He never seems to have a moment’s rest, because our annual embryo flushing programme for our Boran cattle is also happening this week, something that takes weeks of preparation and planning, and a lot of stressing about whether it will be a success!

At busy times like these, the only way to spend quality time together as a family is to join Quentin on his trips around the farm. This past weekend we all went up the mountain to check whether there is water in the dam up there. Although there’s a lot of grazing on the mountain it is very under-utilised, because the veld is sour so the animals don’t like it and water is scarce. The road was extremely bumpy so I got out with Myles to take photos, while Quentin and Livia went to check on the dam, which turned out to be empty. I just love the views from up there and it was wonderful to see spots of green emerging. On the way home we had to herd some cattle that were in the road. Our little cowgirl Livia was a very eager assistant to her daddy!