February 2103

Back to work big time, and really grateful for setting up the irrigation systems which are saving hours of time.  We’re still having a very dry summer, and despite a minor hiccup when we didn’t realise that the batteries in the timer were running out, the orchard and veg garden are looking lush and green.  Even my carrots are something to write home about.  Karyn is always quick to mock my carrot-growing prowess, so I made her be photographed holding some of them, extending her arm forwards like fishermen do to make their catch look bigger.  There’s more of the carrot season left to go, so optimistically they will genuinely get bigger in time.  We’re now eating only our own veg from the garden (including these beautiful purple potatoes), our own meat from the freezer, and even the fish that Peter and Billy caught.  Deeply satisfying!

We did buy a grass-cutter, a former vineyard beast which is happier on flat ground but can be chivvied along over our bumpy land.  It attaches onto the back of the go-kart, and Peter looks like a real farmer as he drives up and down.  It’s got rid of the worst of the dead grass, and also some major clumps of thistles, so we do look at bit greener than we did despite the absence of rain.  Peter’s usually joined on the go-kart by a boy or two, who are happy to help out with this aspect of land management, at least as long as it’s still a novelty.

 

Our total livestock numbers have increased by 10 - 6 chicks (currently chez Derryn) and 4 piglets who are all named ‘Poppet’.  The rationale for the name relates to what we’re going to do with the pigs.  It ends along the lines of ‘poppet’ in the freezer, ‘poppet’ in the oven etc.  Such wicked thoughts from the Bauntons.  Anyway, I’m trying not to think about that, because right now they are cuter than cute.  2 boys and 2 girls again from the same litter.  They are Berkshire/Hampshire crosses and display all the usual ‘pigginess’ of pigs.  They love digging with their snouts, and have all the table manners of, er, pigs.   They snort loudly when I’m nearby, and when I talk back to them, they shut up to listen to me, and go back to snorting at me when I stop talking.  If only the kids had such courteous communication skills!

 

The new chicks arrived on cue - 6 chicks from 8 eggs is a much better ratio than before.  They were born on January 31^st and are still gorgeous little bundles of fluffy feathers.   Thelma, their hen-mother, is doing a sterling job.  Derryn’s dad’s been busy building them a new home from one of her original designs, and they’re just big enough to free-range round the garden during the day.  Another of her hens is sitting on a few more of our eggs too, and so are 2 of our own hens (I didn't think that would happen again) - sooo egg-citing!   Our very first chick-hatchling at Derryn’s has turned out to be a boy, and he’s now big enough to eat.  That’ll happen sometime soon, if we can bring ourselves to (get Peter to...) do it. 

 

The flower garden making up Joanna’s Patch has been (and still is) delightful.  It’s probably a sign of age that I’m now enjoying flowers much more than ever in my life.  Though the garden looked sparse early on, it’s pretty much filled up now, even accounting for the storm bringing down the stunning hollyhocks.  I’m particularly fond of forget-me-not, cosmos (all colours and flavours, including chocolate), zinnias, dahlias and the rose ‘Rosa Remember Me’.  Much of my planting was geared towards providing food for bees, and there are wild bees enjoying them now.  I’ve waited too long for a swarm for my own hive (apparently there were very few swarms this year) and now it’s too late to set up a new hive nucleus.  I’ll begin again in spring, hopefully with 2 hives. 

Talking of flowers, the other stunning area of the garden is alongside the chicken run, where the sunflowers are.  Next year I’m going to grow a million sunflowers, they absolutely radiate happiness.  Soon the old flower heads will have dried and I’ll be able to chuck them over to the chooks.  The tallest sunflower in the photo is 11 feet high - Peter’s just measuring it.  Right in front of Sam is a gorgeous amaranth, and I’ll definitely grow more of them next year too.   I think it was part of a seed-mix which I chucked over the area, and I’m really glad I didn’t weed it out by accident.  The chooks will also enjoy its seeds, and maybe so will I if I can figure out how to harvest them.  I’ve also just sown some ‘chicken green mix’ - a range of seeds from plants which chooks will enjoy: plantain, minutina, parsley, cocksfoot, subterranean clover, chicory.  There was a classic moment when I was weeding the bed in preparation for the new seeds - a fork-piercing-water-pipe-fountain-incident.  We didn’t know the pipe was there, but Peter was able to fix it in a jiffy, and we’re now thinking of installing a plumbed-in water system for the chooks. 

The compost heap in the veg garden is finally covered in its outer layer of pooey hay.   It’s got lots more cow poo inside too.  Sam was in need of a few dollars, and I was prepared to pay for wheel-barrow loads of poo.  It has dropped its height considerably and is full of worms.  There are 2 other compost piles on the go, in the original compost boxes.  They’re receiving the current compost matter, and when they’re done I’ll create the next heap in a circular shape where one of the new mandalas will go.  There’s plenty of chicken poo yet to be utilised - hopefully there’ll be plenty of yummy compost to start the new beds with next year.  I’m putting some winter veg seeds/seedlings - leeks, brassicas, beetroot, parsnips and carrots - in the new mandala beds so the rest of the veg plot can be converted into 5 more mandalas (plus a pond) over the autumn/winter.  The grass in there is really lush from all the irrigation.  It’s a nightmare job to mow (though does provide great compost material) so it’ll be a big relief when it’s converted into paths between mandala beds. 

I’ve been occasionally watering the native hedge in the horse arena, and it’s coming away nicely.  The last time it was watered, I counted how many plants were visible from a short distance away.  There were 5 plants, but when I closed in and pushed away some of the weedy growth, delightfully the other 29 put in an appearance.  I’m keeping everything crossed that it’s the same in the wetland.  Happily, the plants which were the least exposed and the most surrounded by weeds, were the best of all.  The wetland plants have never been watered, but they were in early enough to experience the wet weather in winter.  Here’s hoping!

'Worm Hollow' has become a happening metropolis.  Hopefully a bit of worm heaven for the current occupants, who will be joined by more worms which are ordered.  We acquired a load of old posts which will be used as plant stakes.  Some had tatty frost protection cloth attached, which I removed, sewed and stuffed with sheep wool to create worm duvets.  Should keep out the frost and keep them toasty over winter.  Now all they need is their own stripy pyjamas.

My days begin and end with irrigation checks, and rounds of small animal feeding and grain-soaking.   I’ve got the tasks down to about 20 minutes if I’m short of time.  If I’m not in a hurry, then I can indulge watching the animals enjoy the food I’ve gathered.  The cows wander over to chat and watch the pigs and chooks devour their feed.  They’re interested in what everyone else is eating, and are now developing an appetite for comfrey and other herbs, and sometimes a few sprouted grains if they’re lucky.  They tolerate a little gentle stroking, and I jumped a mile one morning when Butch nuzzled my bottom as I was bending down to fill up the chook food box.  These are special moments and I have to pinch myself to believe that it’s really me and my life. 

D’you know - it’s magic here.