May 2013

 

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.