ON THE ROAD Brynderwyns are on the national political radar

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Author: John Williamson COMMENT
• Publication title: Northern Advocate, The (Whangarei, New Zealand)

Seven of these mouths would have lambs in a few months’ time, so last year’s lambs had to go. That was the message the grandchildren received last week

“But not Mary,” was the plaintive reply. Yep — the Wellsford sale is on Tuesday.

Just to explain, Mary is a gold-plated lamb who should not be here. Her mother abandoned her at birth and she spent her first night in a sorry state by the fire. Even with being force-fed home-made colostrum, she didn’t look good.

“Put her out of her misery,” I was told.

“We’ll see how she is in the morning,” I replied.

Miraculously, she survived the night and after a vet visit — $120 of antibiotics, energy fluids and the colostrum later — she gradually came right. An $80 bag of milk replacement was bought and Mary was bottle-fed for six months to use it all up. She has a debt to repay.

So Mary was again on the block but grandson Alex had a plan. I arrived home from bowls on the Monday to be presented with two cans of Irish stew with lamb, and a packet of liquorice bullets that look strangely like sheep droppings, as a trade for Mary.

The sacrifices we make!

The deal was done and Mary stayed. She may be productive in the future, based on the ram’s current interest. He isn’t her father, for the purists out there.

Tuesday last week had us with a trailer-load of six lambs heading to Wellsford. The Brynderwyns were out and the Mangawhai road is a bit interesting with a loaded trailer in a hurry.

We made it on time: $70 each for the lambs. That’s compared to $105 at the same sale three years ago. I wistfully reflected on the sale of my own pet lamb 70 years earlier. The stock agent assured me he would look after Topsy.

But the three quid return assuaged the brief moment of grief — that’s $189 in today’s money. How times have changed — a reflection about how difficult it is for sheep farmers right now.

But, back to the Brynderwyns. We came back through Paparoa-Oakleigh and it is great to see that both alternate routes have been upgraded...