Improving

Letting the sheep in for a feed

CB's home in our doing

The site prepared for Edd's new shed

Last week was a definite improvement in all directions.  The virus new case numbers are falling, and the sun and wind have dealt with lots of the mud.  The lambs are thriving, and we have the first goat kids all taking milk from the feeder and their mothers are milking well. The warm weather this weekend gave me the opportunity to work in the garden.  I have planted out seedlings, sorted out the strawberries and weeded the medicinal garden.

 

Yarra glen was surrounded by flood water as it all drained down away from our place down the valley. It did not get into any houses as far as I know but there was a terrific storm that knocked power out for many people and let untreated water down the line, so everyone was advised to boil their water.  For once, we were OK. The power stayed on and we do not have any mains water to worry about.  Three people died after being hit by falling trees, but we were pretty much alright there too, and the trees stayed upright.

 

Things are not improving as climate change increases in pressure year by year.  People are starting to worry about the fire season and the NT has had a week of catastrophic conditions and many fires to fight. We have been feeling sympathy for the people in America affected by the hurricane when they are already having a virus catastrophe.   

 

Despite all this, when the sun shines it is just lovely staying at home and working on the farm.  We are extending the buck pen so that we can do the feed and water without having to climb a steep muddy bank.  So far, we have moved the old fence and brought some extra fence posts. The area looks better already.

 

The chooks are sure Spring has arrived and are laying large numbers of eggs.  The trees are all starting to grow leaves and the broccoli are now ready to start eating.  The swedes and turnips are just about large enough too and the snow peas are climbing up their frame.  I am looking forward to having tomatoes and zucchini again and am working out where everything needs to be planted to keep a crop rotation going.

 

The course I have been studying on regenerative Agriculture is interesting and gives me a different way to look at what I am doing.  I have worked more on soil health and photosynthesising ground cover.  The idea is to capture carbon in the soils as you increase the biological activity.  Apparently, most of the plants bulk comes from photosynthesis and only 5-9% from the soil, but the soil provides the micro-nutrients that are also needed.  The big drive is for direct drilling rather than tilling and also for using cover crops. Species grown to attract insects and birds help with pest control and biodiversity is good. Now all I have to do is put this in action!

 

Hard times

 23.8.2020

 

It is going to be hard to write a cheerful diary this week.  The none stop rain has continued and it has become really cold.  The sheep and lambs are having a terrible time.  I have had to rescue two that were near deaths door and put them in the shed for bottle feeding.  We have moved the sheep into the crofts by the shed and made an indoor space available for them to shelter in.  Not every sheep wants to go inside, and several lambs are sleeping rough outside with their mothers.  We have only lost one so far, but it will be more if these conditions continue.

 

Simon gave us two huge plastic bins from the brewery, and we have set them up to provide the lambs with a shelter and windbreak if they can work out how to use them.  Three goats have kidded so we now have five kids also in the shed. They are still with their mothers at night, so they are doing OK.  There will be more kids in a week or so, but we are hoping that the weather will change by next Wednesday.

 

Spring is coming too.  The large oak tree by the dairy has started to break bud and my one of my orchids has three flowering shoots.  The paddocks are too wet and cold top grow. They are flooded even though they slope downhill as the ground id like a wet sponge.  Everywhere the animals or people put down a foot a new puddle forms.  Our driveways have become creeks with gurgling water eroding them and the usually dry creeks in the gullies are raging torrents.  It is altogether nicer indoors.  No one in our valley remembers a time quite like it!

 

Being in stage four lock down is not helping.  My gumboots leak, the iron has broken, and I accidently boiled the kettle to death.  We are not allowed to travel more than 5k from home or, in our case to the nearest shop, so replacing stuff is hard.   Ordering on-line is difficult because it is hard to gauge the quality of stuff you do not usually get.    I am getting pretty sick of my own cooking too.  Luckily both Simon and our tenant CB, have delivered cooked food to us today so I. will get a bit of a change and have more time in the evening to concentrate on animal care.

 

Bo dropped some of her fruit and vegetables off yesterday and I have spoken to Al and his kids with face time this morning.  Al has had an even worse time because a scammer hacked into his systems and got all his money out of his bank.  They have all his details, so he now has to change everything and try and reclaim his identity.  He looked surprisingly happy despite this.  He says the house is cold because there are still some windows that need putting in but hopefully Stevo will do that next week.

 

Wayne sounds the happiest.  His work has stopped so he is home helping with the kids whilst his wife works.  He sounds as if he is enjoying the break and the chance to sort out the garden for his new house.  They have so much indoor space now. It is a miracle that they managed to move in between the two lock down periods.

 

Indi and Alice

Life during the pandemic

Grand daughter Maya enjoying her new house

12.8.2020

 

Monday and Tuesday were dry, and I got the washing done whilst Edd and Stevo did the lay out for the concrete base for the new shed.  Then it rained hard again over night and the outdoor work became miserable again.  This is the first winter we have had enough milk to make cheese every second day.  Luckily the hard cheese is actually very nice and keeps well. I have also started marinating the feta, but I have not tested it yet.

 

Soon everything will change when the goats stat kidding in just over a week.  We managed to get the milking machine reconditioned and Edd has brought two new small gates for the kidding pens.  We had gates for them last year but have used them up elsewhere.  In the dry weather we moved the gate on the old drive so that we can put the ram in there again.  The original gate position was before the chook pen gate, and neither Edd nor I were happy to walk past the ram with a bucket of food for the chooks every day.  I doubt we would have made it to the pen.  Now we can get to the chooks without danger and the ram can keep the weeds and grass under control along the rest of the old drive.

 

The next move is to get the concrete truck down the old drive to pour the shed floor. After that we can move the ram.  Then we can redo the buck pen. This will allow us to move the buck out of the stock yards and then we can get the sheep in for crutching and prepare them for sale.  The market is still closed but we might be able to sell them privately once the lock down is over.  Our aim is to be ready if an opportunity arrives.

 

This assumes that the lock down will be over and there is no real evidence that this will be possible yet.  It has been months now and life as we used to live it seems a far, off dream. The death toll in Victoria continues to rise with nursing homes having the heaviest losses.

 I am expecting a food delivery today, but the supermarket has just sent a note to say that about half my order is unavailable.  It hardly seems worth the effort for them to drive out this far.  Getting anything done needs a lot of patience.

 

My mail order of masks has arrived so we have an alternative to adapted socks for when we can get out further afield again.  I have not gone anywhere for ages, so I have not had to wear a mask myself yet.  Edd gets cabin fever if he is stuck on the farm so he is doing all the essential things like collecting mail and animal food.  The bottling machine at the brewery is waiting for a new part from America so there is no barley available for us to pick up this week.

 

We have moved the horses back to the old vineyard paddock where there is more grass and let the goats back down the gulley. The goats can deal with any remaining blackberries and eat up fallen leaves. We just have to try and keep the animals looked after as best we can until the spring growth starts. 

Some luck and some problems

 

We started stage 4 lock downs this week. Almost everything is shut down and there is a night-time curfew after 8pm.  This is aimed at the young adult group who tend to ignore all the directives and rules designed to curb this virus.  We have a new case rate of 400 to over 700 new cases a day and the chance of overwhelming our hospital system was getting very real.  We all hope that if we do the right actions this will start to change in a week’s time.

 

We are allowed out for one hour a day to exercise and to buy food.  The supermarkets have been stripped again and the slaughterhouses are going slow with fewer staff which is not helping.  Mostly we have enough to manage here.  Today I am making feta cheese and sourdough bread.  Edd managed to get our eggs and grapefruit to the local organic market, and our biggest worry is over the supply of food for our stock.  The guy we buy bulk oats from is stuck in Queensland and Simon has a problem with the bottling plant in the brewery which could affect our supplies of brewer’s grain.

 

The weather has not improved much.  We actually had a snowstorm this week though it did not settle on the ground here.  We have been very lucky. Last week we had several dry days and PW was able to come with his machinery and prepare a site for the new shed.  This involved putting in new drains and laying crushed rocks as a base for the floor. Then, luckier still the kit for the new shed was delivered the day before things shut down.  All we need now is Andrew to come and do the cement work. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

I have not been off our land for weeks, but I have plenty to keep me busy. Last week I harvested the potatoes when it was fine and when it is not, I am studying regenerative agriculture on-line.  We obviously have to use our land to help fight climate-change, so I need to learn the best way to do this.  

 

Spring is not so far off. The wattles and Lucerne trees are blooming and buzzing with bees, and some trees are breaking bud.  The daffodils are in flower as is the quince tree. We are getting a good harvest of citrus fruit, but I have not eaten all last year's marmalade, so we are selling the grapefruit.  Everything will be better when the weather improves.  If the lock down lifts, I can get my granddaughter over and she can help me improve my sour dough bread.  She is a much better baker than I am!