JERVOISE CATTLE STATION - THIS IS DOG'S HEAVEN !!!!

G'day everyone .... hope all you people in the southern States have recovered from your frostbite, colds & other winter ailments !!!!?? It was a bit colder here last night ..... 10 degrees C , after a slightly cooler day ...... just 27 degrees !!

I don't suppose the boss has mentioned to you people that Jack ( yeah me ) is the number 1 personality here at Jervoise .... everyone .... & I mean EVERYONE ..... reckons that I am the best ball dog ever !!?? PLUS ...... best cattle dog ..... best pig dog ...... best chook dog !!

I need to ask Greg for a pay rise .... just came back on my quad bike after rounding up 260 head of cattle on my own ..... when a steer or a bull gets smart & challenges my authority, I jump off the quad leaving it to idle along slowly ..... then I nip the bull on the nose or hock !!! One of the female dogs from the neighbouring station told me that a nip to the scrotum also gets their attention !!! .... But being a male myself, I reckon that is like hitting below the belt & a NO .. NO !!!!

When I mustered all the cattle into the yards to the left, I told the boss to bring in the semi & start loading. He asked me to give him a hand but I said, "Bugger me !!! .... I just rounded up this mob of cattle & now I'm going to have a drink & a rest .... thank you very muchly !!?? "

But, I gave the boss a hand anyway !! I run along the walkway on top of the truck ..... jump on their backs & tell the cattle to pay attention & behave !!?? OR ELSE !!

Pretty soon the boss had loaded about 50 head on the semi ..... but I had to give him a hand because he was having some trouble with a smart-arse female with big horns !!!!???

So I jumped into the loading ramp & had her on the truck in no time flat !!??

Boy .... I reckon I will sleep well tonight .... & this is only the first load !!

And wouldn't you know it !!?? .... just when me & the boss finished loading the semi, the rest of the crew arrived in the small truck !!

That's Ashton on the left (Michele's daughter) .... just 18 years young & the best stockman (or should I say stock girl ) , best horse rider & musterer, best truck driver ..... you name it & she can do it !!! Next is the Italion stallion Demetri, (here with his friend Jema ) Greg the Pom but he's OK, & Anthony, one of the grey nomad's staying here with his wife Julie. Anthony used to work for Telstra & Motorola so he is a wizard with improving the mobile phone reception etc.

These backpackers are good at chucking the ball to me but they are woosers when it comes to handling cattle !! Apart from me, Ashton & the boss, no-one else is game to get in the yard with the cows, let alone the bulls !!?? They just climb up on the fence & yell out " Move, move , move !!

There are 6 wild brumbies that have come down from the high country & Greg has them locked into a 500 acre paddock. Ashton & the boss reckon they are going to break in a brumby each !!?? The boss has his eye on a beautiful brown & white patch horse !! Rodger said there is a good book on horse breaking called " The Horse Whisperer ", so Ashton has ordered a copy so that she & the boss can study it !!?? Brumby breaker .... what next .... me & the boss are certainly living on the edge up here & loving every minute of it !!?? Will send you a photo of the boss's brumby later.

As if I haven't done enough already in rounding up 260 cattle on my own, it's my job as well to drove the cattle up the fenceline after un-loading from the semi !! I was chatting to a cow nicely, being friendly & all that, when all of a sudden she bellowed & the whole mob moved towards me pinning me against the fence !!!?? So I went back to ask Ashton to give me a hand !?

Boy was I buggered !!! Load number 4 & we're finally heading home for tea. the boss told me not to say any more about our bit of excitement driving the semi ..... said that you guys are not as tough as us & freak out pretty easily !!!???

Loaded up another 2 loads of cattle yesterday ( after the boss topped up the brake fluid !! ) , loaded them at the station homestead & took them to another part of the property.

Greg, Kerry & Rodger have a special meeting with their bank manager on Tuesday in Townsville .... it's make or break day to see if the bank will give them a 2 year extension to avert foreclosure on the Station. They have to convince the bank that we can make enough money from charcoal using the boss's retort kiln to provide enough cash flow for several years to carry through until it rains again & we bread more cattle to sell !!!

The boss has convinced everyone that we can make good quality charcoal & tonnes of it .... & Rodger reckons he has orders for container loads of charcoal into the middle east. But it all comes down to the bank's decision on Tuesday ....... if they say NO, all of us including Greg & Kerry will have to move out !!!