Indoor gardening

1.5.2020

It is May day, but that brings no joy here. It is pleasantly warm in our glass fronted cave but looking out of the glass front the view is of grey skies, sodden paddocks making me feel that I need to leave the house to do the mornings chores as late as possible.  Earlier this week it was warm and sunny and the wood ducks on the dam sat in the sun with their new babies.

I took advantage of the warm weather and began a massive clean-up in my sunroom jungle. This involved taking my plants outside for cleaning and repotting and then scrubbing and resealing the floor before putting everything back.  This is a big task, so I have done one section. at a time.  I started at the door end, but this was a bit silly because I had to walk through this section to do all the rest and my plan had to be rethought.  I then worked from the far end forward and have one stage to go before I meet the first bit I did. 

Some of the plants have grown huge and put up quite a fight.  The bromeliads have prickles down the sides of their leaves and my hands are in a bad way.  The fiddle leaf fig has now grown right up to the ceiling and I decided just to work round it, discression being the better course than valour at this point.  Edd has helped me by cleaning the windows, so even the view outside to the hills looks sharper.

The problem with repotting is that you end up with many more plants than one started with. There just is not room to get everything back indoors. Some will be OK outside, so I now have a front patio that is rapidly changing into an entrance garden.  Other plants have died back for winter. I have harvested a good amount of ginger and should probably harvest the turmeric too. The chilli peppers must come in to keep them producing in the cold weather and last year I brought in my capsicum plant too.  I put bis back into the vegetable garden in spring and it has given us a great crop this year. 

Edd has spent the week moving water between tanks to make room for all the rain.  The tank by the sheds was overflowing and flooding the area. He is gathering up materials to build a fence at the top of the vegetable garden so that we have defences against deer. The new chooks we brought are now enjoying the freedom of outdoor space and after one day have learnt how to go to roost in the shed at night. They have not started to lay yet and we still depend on the older birds for eggs.

We sold Gwen and then put all the young goats in with the main herd and the two oldest goats into a separate croft so that they do not have to compete with the younger animals for food. They look OK but they are 15 years old now and surely are getting to the end of their lives.  The kids now have new turquoise collars and have all learnt to jump onto the bale at feeding time. We now have to dry off some of the milkers who are pregnant, and the herd is all set for winter.

A month of lockdown

4.22.2020

We have now done a month of lockdown and it is all beginning to feel fairly normal.  Bo picks us up some onions, oranges, potatoes and wine on Fridays and we are eating through our stores and whatever we produce.  I am being very careful to preserve all the vegetables and fruit so that nothing is wasted.  Our strawberries have stopped production, but we have figs and pomegranates in abundance and the lemons are turning yellow. 

We have been busy this morning planting winter veg seedlings. The tomatoes are still fruiting but we have some horrible black worms that usually get to them before I do.  We still have more than we can eat so I must not complain.  Edd loves his meat and are supplies are low, so we have ordered beef and pork from a local free-range, organic farm.

 I have found that I can buy the tea we like online too.  It is quick and convenient to shop in super-markets, but the range of products they sell has been decreasing so that it is not always possible to buy the brands we use. I only shop once a month, and this is a real nuisance. It takes extra time to check which stores are stocking what we want.  It is probably about time that I changed my habits, and this lock down has been an ideal time to start.

I miss seeing my kids and grandkids. Al’s new son is over two weeks old now. I have seen him with facetime which is proving to be a wonderful way to keep in contact with family and friends.  I can even hear what people are saying much better than I can on the phone. I would probably never have worked out how to do facetime if things had gone on as normal, so that is another good new habit we are forming.   Pip looks cheerful but she has very low blood pressure and is finding it hard to get on her feet. Al has the two babies to care for, a sick wife and a business to look after, which is an almost impossible load. Bo went down and gave them a hand at the weekend and now they are paying for help, so things are a bit better.

We had some drama last week when a neighbour arrived after dark needing help with his other neighbour’s cow that had gone down. There was no way it could be got back onto its feet and nursed, and it was in great distress.  We first tried to phone the cow’s owner but none of the numbers we had worked. (One led us to some one in SA with the same name).  Some walkers had heard the animals distress calls and rang the RSPCA but there was no way they would be out before morning so Edd had to put the cow down himself. It was too starved to recover so this was the only option.  I am not sure how the owner has fared with the RSPCA, but it is not a good look.

I am always careful when an animal gets sick not to have them where walkers can see them. One poor lady down the. Road had a really old horse and got reported over and over again because there was no one to explain to passers-by that it was well looked after but just old. We. Tend to sell the goats before they get really old which avoids this problem. At present I have two fifteen-year old who are starting to look their age. I keep thinking that they will not survive another winter but so far, they have just kept going.

New kids on the block

14.4.2020

Our friend from the next valley collected the goats he brought from us this weekend.  I will miss them, but I am relieved to have reduced the number we have to feed.  With five now at their new home we have empty spaces in the last group of six at feeding time, so we have put the largest of last years kids in with the main herd.  Edd has replaced their baby collars with adult sized ones in their team colour.  This age group will be the ‘turquoise terrors’ as they are pretty pushy.

This is their second day with the herd, and they are already pushing out older goats to get into the dairy faster. This morning we even got them all up onto the platform with their heads in the bale. There are still four in a separate pen who will have to wait until later. It is always an interesting time as we get to know the youngster better.  Some are the offspring of our new American buck Barak and they do look a bit different.  The older goats have started to teach them the required behaviour they have to adopt to fit into the herd. I think the ‘blue collar worker’ group from last year are a bit put out.

Our milking machine is playing up again and sound decidedly sick.  Luckily the goats are giving much less milk now that the season is changing so we will soon be able to go back to hand milking.  We think that taking the milking machine to be repaired would count as a legitimate trip out, and at least get us a change of scenery.  We go right down to Warragul for this which is a long trip.

Tomorrow Edd heads back to Ballarat to pick up the rest of the straw and the borrowed trailer that collapsed on his last trip and had to be repaired. The good thing is that he now has room in the ute for more bales as he did manage to get a ton of oats back on the last trip.  With these supplies we should be able to manage for months.

Today we had an early start because Ben was trying to get his demountable home to the new owners.  Indi and Ben have split up and Indi now lives in a rented house with baby Alice.  It is all very sad. The removal was meant to start early and Edd had to be ready at 7am to cut the fence.  Very sensibly the truck decided it was too wet to get into the paddock and everything was cancelled.  We all got out of bed early for nothing.

A new grandchild

4.2.2020

The big news today is that Pip has gone into labour.  Bo has driven down to Ocean Grove to look after Pele when they have to go to hospital.  We are all just holding our breath and praying that everything goes. None of us could stand another drama like the one we had when P was born. We are also hoping that by the time they get home with the new baby P will no longer be infectious with chicken pox.  There is no way he could be in contact with Pip or the new baby until he is in the clear.

I think that this is the time when Bo takes over as lead woman in our family.  I have had this role since we arrived in Australia as migrants when I was just 30 years old. I have spent the last 42 years trying to keep as strong family ethic where there was always support for everyone and regular get togethers to maintain bonds.  Now we are basically on home detention due to the virus rules.  Bo is picking up post and shopping for us. This is the second week of lock down for us and so far, it is OK. I think that the experience of living in the central desert where there were no shops, banks, cafes or anything was good training.

I did get one trio out this week to picked up my ration of four young chooks.  It has been a huge effort just to get these girls. Chooks have been selling out so fast that there is a shortage!  To get my girls I had to get up really early and drive to the chook farm. The drive out was bliss. The sun was just beginning to shine through the morning mist and the pinnacles were like floating islands in the clouds. Despite my early start there was a queue of people at the chook farm already in line at suitable spacing.  Everyone looked deadly intent and there was no conversation.  This was serious business!   

When I got to the front of the queue, I was met at the shop door, my money taken, and a receipt paper handed over.  Next I had to cross the yard to the chook shed where the owner was very busy stuffing cardboard boxes with two chooks each. II did not even get to look at them. It was bizarre, but very efficient. Two boxes were rapidly passed out of the door over a make-shift counter. And I left as soon as possible to let the next person collect his order.

 Apparently, there will be no more available until the end of April, so I am glad I got up at the crack of dawn and get the four that I did.  We usually buy more than a dozen at this time of year if we have not raised our own day-olds, but I do not resent the ration system.  Four chooks would provide enough winter eggs for a family, so It is only fair to share them in this way.

We usually provide eggs for several families but this winter we may have to cut down on this service.  At least we will have eggs for our own family members.  I am told that the local shop only has intensively produced eggs now, but I am relying on second-hand information about shops now.

Other farm work goes on as usual. We borrowed a star picket driver and put in a temporary fence so the goats can come and go from the top paddock and I have been busy making soap and cheese from the goats’ milk.  Our beans are finally stopped producing but a lovely lot of frilly yellow lettuce has germinated and is growing well. 

6.4.2020

Baby Y, a little boy, has now arrived safely but there was no escape from the drama.  Pip and Al did not get off to hospital in time and the baby had to be delivered at home.  Once again this was followed by an ambulance trip for emergency surgery. It all sounds very much like what happened two years ago when P was born. P was very impressed by the fact they had three ambulances outside their house.

This time it was complicated because the hospital had to manage covid19. There is tight security about who was allowed in hospital so only Al could visit Pip and baby.  Bo has been staying down there and helping, mostly looking after p who is now recovering from chicken pox. Al got his roof back on, but Bo says the electric points are still hanging loose and the kitchen units have no doors, so she has been taking P for lots of walks in between rainstorms.

We have had storms and rain here too.  Cold, winter weather has arrived, and I have started to light fires again for hot water and warmth.  Almost all the goats we want to get pregnant are now mated and the kids fully weaned.  This has meant lots of spare milk. so I have been busy most days making cheese and soap.  I am also preparing the tomatoes for freezing and making soup for lunch instead of salads.  I am missing our regular Indian take away on Fridays with our friend Bernie. In fact, I am missing all my friends and relatives.  We have regular phone contact, but it is not as good as actually being with people.

It is very disappointing not to be able to drive down to Ocean Grove to see the new baby.  I am missing all the grandkids, especially the babies who change so quickly. It is P’s second birthday today and I am reduced to singing happy birthday over the phone.  It was my birthday on Saturday, so I cooked us a special lunch and did not clear up until the next day.  Edd brought me some chocolates and Simon called in with a bottle of wine which we all drank sitting apart at suitable spacing.  I don’t suppose he really should have come but I was glad he did.

cut fences

28.3.2020

Cases of Covid19 are doubling every day and just about everyone is coping with complete disruption in their lives.   Al has a worse situation than most.  His two-year-old son has chicken pox.  If the new baby arrives soon, they have a serious quarantine problem. His wife will be in danger from the virus after going to hospital and the new baby will be in danger from the chicken pox.  Bo has offered to have the sick son at her place, she has three teenagers at home who have to be supervised so she should not leave them to go and help at Al’s place.

Edd and I feel it would be worse for Pe to be in the office shut out from his parents and family home than it would be for him if he was right out of the way with cousins at Bo’s place.  Anyway, all we can do is offer but it is for Al’s family to decide.  Bo has her family cooking this weekend. They brought a sack of good flour and made pizzas last night, which they all loved.  They have been experimenting with what they can make from goat’s cheese and other farm produce. Even Ol is happy about making himself food.

I have been busy once again in the vegetable garden.  The summer crops of beans, zucchinis, cucumbers and such have come to an abrupt close.  We have lots of lettuce seedlings and the tomatoes, capsicums and egg plants are still yielding but our recent spell of glorious, sunny, warm weather has slowed the silver beat seedling down and stressed the pumpkins.  

The goats escaped again yesterday; we are not sure how.  I walked up the hill and checked the fence line and top gate this morning, but it was not obvious where they got out.  The last time they got out Edd went up the fence line and found that all seven wires in the fence had been cut by someone.  We think deer hunters might have been the culprits.  The adjoining property has just been sold and Edd talked to our new neighbours today.  They said that they have found other fences cut in the same way.  Luckily, they are wanting to preserve the natural environment and on first meeting seem to be the right sort of new neighbours.  This is a big relief.

Ben was here today and has started to move some of their off-grid settlement to the new owner’s place. They have been paid half the money as a deposit which we are all happy about. They will get a nest egg each to help them start new lives.   I am sad that they have not stayed together and built a life here but apparently that was not to be.