Autumn seems to be giving way to winter far too
quickly. Or perhaps that’s just a
perception, an indication that life is too busy. Only a few frosty mornings really, always
giving way to stunning sunny days with temperatures sometimes still in the 20s. It’s such a beautiful place to watch and
enjoy the seasons. This gorgeous sunflower seeded itself just outside the house, and grew really quickly to flowering. For the first time,
we’re feeling pretty well prepared for the coming months. The solar power works beautifully even when
temperatures are low. There’s plenty of
wood for hot water, warmth and cooking, though we have yet to really get to
grips with the oven. We’ve managed
roasts and casseroles (using our own produce), but it may be a while before we’re brave enough to try
anything that requires finer heat tuning.
We’re also using the hob top sometimes too.
We’re even feeling quite well-prepared in terms of animal
housing, though there are always still some adjustments to be made. The chooks are in 2 zones. The youngest ones are about 9 weeks old now
and will be joining the grown-ups in a few weeks. At least one of them is a boy - we hear him
trying to cock-a-doodle-do. It’s a
cutely pathetic attempt so far, but he is declaring himself at a young
age. I’m not so fond of him when he
pecks my cold hands in the mornings as I’m reaching in to collect or return
their waterer. All up, we have 20
chooks, and last week I had to buy eggs.
The laying hens (8 of them) are moulting, so are off-the-lay, and the
rest are either boys or too young. At
least it was a good opportunity to be reminded that our own eggs are far
superior to shop-bought ones, even free-range.
The rabbits continue to be a delight. The first litter of kits are now about 10
weeks old, and 3 are already sold. The
second litter are about 3 weeks old and have reached the peak of cuteness. We’ve moved them all out of the garden in
the hope that the lawn will recover - there are several pock-marks from botched
escape missions. They’re now dispersed
into 4 houses in the small fenced area between the garden and the veg
area. We can still keep an eye on them
from the house, though this doesn't help when you're trying to convince yourself that they are not pets.
The home-kill man came and dispatched one steer (Woody) and the
two ram lambs. The passing of Woody was
even felt by the usually emotionally-detached Peter - the next day he went out
with 4 apples to give the cows, and allegedly felt a pang of guilt when it
dawned on him there were only 3 left. We
decided to have a go at processing one of the lambs, which is how we came to
have a whole lamb carcase on our dining table.
Glenn used to be a butcher back in the UK, and he came round to show us
how to do it. I watched, and Peter had a
go and he feels OK to go it alone next time.
Glenn says he’ll come back and help us butcher a pig. It’s moments like this when it almost feels
like we’re living in a parallel universe, so far from townie life that it seems
unreal.
Rambo went away on holiday for a few weeks and is now back
with the flock. It was one of those ‘working’
holidays - a kind of ‘Club 18’ with lots of shagging, so hope he enjoyed
himself. And let’s hope he didn’t wear himself out to
the extent of not being able to service our ewes. We’re hoping they may already be pregnant,
but have no real idea about conception dates.
More spring lambs would be delightful.
The veg garden is undergoing somewhat of a transformation,
though is currently in bomb-site mode.
We’ve put in 2 ‘ponds’ - an old bath tub and water trough (with Ander’s
help), and added nearly 3 more mandalas.
Even if it’s just my imagination (ok yep, definitely just my
imagination), it’s starting to take shape. Peter has clad the front of the tin shed over
the water pump with old half-round posts, so it looks a bit like a log
cabin. We’ll be adding some trellising
onto the sides for climbing fruit like cocktail kiwis and passion fruit to grow
up. There are tentative designs for a
(deckchair and gin) shelter behind the ponds, which can also double as
tool-storage. We’ve used up all the rocks, seaweed and
newspaper, and will need lots more cardboard to complete the groundwork. There are another 2 full-size mandalas to go
in, plus a few smaller beds, and all the pathways need to be created.
The veg in the original mandala beds has benefitted from the
extra nourishing attention. Never before
have I grown such huge cauliflowers, and the leeks, beetroot, spinach, cabbage,
broccoli and yellow bush beans are fabulous too. Carrots are feeding us several times a week
and we’re still getting through the potatoes.
There’s plenty more to come, including onions, Jerusalem artichokes,
kale, Brussels sprouts, purple-sprouting and broad beans. I even got round to harvesting some tobacco
leaves, and have hung them indoors to dry for now. It’s such a beautiful plant which I couldn’t
resist growing, even though I’m not a smoker.
I might just have to take up smoking so I can reap the benefit. Alternatively I guess I could encourage my
kids to smoke - after all it is organic tobacco!
The pastures are looking great - fresh, green and lush. 3 paddocks have now been re-sown with a mix of grazing herbs, so hopefully enough to keep the cattle and sheep going without much supplementary feed for a few more weeks. The original hay paddock (the biggest paddock) is in need of a good clear out before we can use it for hay again. Several piles of pine waste ended up in there, and though some clearance has been done, there are still lots of twigs, sticks and other debris which should be more visible in winter. More of the native plants in the wetland are apparent, fingers crossed that hundreds more put in an appearance as the weedy growth diminishes in the cold.
Hopefully winter will reduce the number of jobs on the hit
list, but there’s no sign of that so far.
Young trees are still growing in bags, awaiting transfer to a woodlot
zone which is yet to be created. Transferring the soft fruit plants from the
orchard into the veg garden is becoming another priority, as is sorting out
fencing and adding a gate to get better access into the back paddocks. Then we
have to work out where we can house next-years pigs (assuming we get more next
year - if they continue with their Houdini missions, we may think again). We’ve read that you shouldn’t keep them on
the same plot for more than 2 years.
Occasional housework wouldn’t go amiss either (but then, when wouldn’t it?). Etc. etc. etc….Time to go and get on with something.
