What changed at Carey Downs in a month? Harry, Alys and family spend some time in August wandering around Western Australia. Rod and Glenys, a retired couple, are farm sitting. The dust hunt has been declared by Glenys, the house is now sparkling clean. Rod, a bulldozer driver and repairer, leveled most of Carey Downs roads. Also present at the moment, are three gold seekers (including the uncle of Alys). They explore the bottom of streams with a metal detector. Their treasure is a tiny gold nugget and a few pounds of samples to analyze.

The family also welcomes a new mascot ... Blacky is a little orphan cow very sweet who likes a good scratch. She is a gourmet and she needs a bottle twice a day and calls for it loudly at the kitchen door. Playful, she likes to chew clean laundry that dries on the line.

Full moon's rise, Blacky and Carry Downs inland whaling station :p (we cannot tell you why a whale fat boiler ended here)
Full moon's rise, Blacky and Carry Downs inland whaling station :p (we cannot tell you why a whale fat boiler ended here)

Hop hop, at work. To get back in the saddle, nothing better than assembling about twenty chairs in kit provided by the famous Swedish furniture shop. While Rossana is refining her assembly line, Olivier is commissioned to build four sewing machine extension tables.

Alys plans to expand the capacity of Carey Downs bedding and thus its fleet of donga (container with four self contained units sold by the mining companies). Before that, its better to increase the glamor of one of the two dongas already present. The simple room of the miner becomes double to look like a cozy nest while keeping the bucolic mining charm. The single beds are replaced by doubles, the doors have to become sliding and the office desks are amputated to turn them into bedside tables.

Two days later, the transition is done and the flying magnetic soil study team can move in there. In short, it is still mining exploration but with even more resources: a plane mounted with a magnetic sonar.

Visitors of Carey Downs and the windmill we helped move
Visitors of Carey Downs and the windmill we helped move

The cows do not seem affected by the plane (unlike other stations where this big bird is used for mustering). We won't complain, we have to bring about fifty weaners for the imminent low stress stockmanship seminar.

Bruce, our coach, is the man for the job! After a theoretical talk, we go to practice with Harry, Alys and some neighbour farmers. First situation: "parallel" the flock. When you walk parallel to the cows (and sometimes 15m away), you slow them down and then they stop. Like a clutch pedal, the speed of your step will regulate that of the herd: the cows walk (instead of rushing), their level of anxiety decreases and you have them under control.

The second thing is to lead them. Thanks to your position and your posture, you send "pressure waves" where you don't want them. Pointing your finger insistently to the eye of a cow, you make her turn around. While performing some magic tricks, keep basic safety in mind. When you pressure a big bull of 800kg in the eye, it is always interesting to be close to the fence to evacuate quickly if necessary. Fortunately, he was nice since he had been walked for a day and was at ease. Everything works so well that Harry can now do his mustering almost alone, a piece of cake.

Cows becoming zen and walking them through the yards
Cows becoming zen and walking them through the yards

We can tame cows but it is more difficult with time, it flies whatever happens. Let's meet the green pastures and forests of the south again.