March 6 2015
Summer seemed to end
abruptly yesterday. Winter clothes were suddenly needed for farm work and I was
glad to be working under a roof down in the ruins. This week I have bagged the
old brick walls of the toilet block in the ruins, so that they are ready for
painting and I have transported concrete blocks from the cottage ruin site down
there to balance the shower base on. I have a plastic box to go under the
shower and catch wastewater and a bucket and watering head to provide the
actual shower. Next I need the third wall for the shower and the second toilet
connecting up to the sewage system.
My idea is to create a
water consciousness shower block where you fetch a bucket of hot water to
shower and collect the used water and donate it to a tree, We have 27 kids
coming on the school camp in three weeks time and my idea is to limit water use
constructively. The toilets in the ruins are flushed with non- potable water
and the waste drains underground to fruit trees after it leaves the septic
tank. The only snag is that I am
rather short of time. Last camp the kids used the toilet and shower in the donga,
but my grand daughter is living there now, which has speeded up the next move.
In the house I am
stewing up apples and peaches and storing them in the freezer for winter use. I
already have tomatoes stacked away but more are coming. The chestnuts are still
maturing on the trees, which is a good look. Last year they all dropped off
before they were ready. It is an early year and the goats started cycling in February.
Normally they do not come into season until late march or April. Three of the young neutered males have
gone to a new home and I have the last two advertised this week.
With the kids now
weaned I have more spare milk and I am making cheese most days. I am putting away lots of hard cheeses
to get us through winter. We are no longer able to sell our milk at the market
because now a new law has made even selling it as pet food illegal and there are totally
excessive fines for anyone selling raw milk with out adding an agent so it can
not be drunk. This means that it is useless for rearing young animals. It will
mean we need to change what we are doing here in the short term.
We have been going to
the organic market since it started but it has grown and now we do not have
enough produce for sale to compete effectively with the more commercial
growers. Anyway, we have enjoyed our time there and used it as a social club to
meet up with our friends. We will really miss it.
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