Heat, hay and smoke haze

 20.12.2024

 

We have had a very hot week and it has been hard keeping the vegetables from wilting. Last weekend we got the hay in thanks to our grandsons and their friends who did all the carting. It is the first time for years that baling precedes Xmas. We are so grateful for the help.  Throwing bales around is getting to be beyond our abilities!

 

Today it has been 35 degrees and tonight the sky is a horrid colour from the bush fires in our state that are still out of control.  There is a program on the TV with lots of thoroughly inappropriate songs about snow, holly and that sort of thing as the vocalists try to stir everyone into a Xmas state of mind by force of effort. It is not working on me. I did spent the afternoon at Bo,s house stuffing chocolates and jokes into crackers. By the end the heat made the cholates difficult to handle but we got most of them done.

 

 Stevo, our builder friend shot himself in the leg with his nail gun and had to go to hospital to get the nail pulled out. We have all been working together for months but at last it looks as if the end is near. It is a good thing as we are all tired.  Last week the plumbing was done but we are still waiting for Josh to finish the wiring.

 

The loquats are covered with fruit but the raspberries can not cope with the heat. The yellow plum tree has fruit that will be ready soon but the mulberry supply is drying up. Tomatoes are forming and we have eaten the first of the cucumbers. It is midseason for zucchinis and we still have some silver beet and Tuscan black kale. We had a really interesting time a week ago when we visited Mary Coles farm to see how her regenerative agricultural practices were working.  We have had some success but our compost and compost tea making needs more work.

getting ready for Xmas

 17.11.2024

 

It has been raining all day. This is most welcome as the ground was drying out fast and the tanks need topping up now that we are getting some days over 30 degrees.  I have been watering the vegetables daily, and we are now eating snow peas with raspberries and strawberries as breakfast food. The zucchini are nearly ready to flower, and the tomatoes are growing well.

 

It has been an odd season.  The nashi pears and williams pears did not flower together so there was very little of the usual cross fertilisation and as a result little fruit has set.  The mulberries have are covered in fruit despite the late frosts but I am not sure about how the loquats will go.

 

The goats have gone mad with two maiden milkers and goats who kidded 3 years ago coming back into milk.  As a consequence, we have too much milk and with builders working here there is little time for extra cheese making. The goats are also moulting early. They are usually pretty moth eaten in their appearance till after Xmas but some are glossy already.

 

I have done the xmas present shopping on line. It is so much easier than trouping round shops struggling through the crowds. Bo and I have once again brought he same gift for at least one of the kids. We should learn to check with each other as this happens most years. Our plans is to have the family party at Bo’s place again because the kids love the pool and spa. This saves me a lot of work too which I appreciate.

 

Little David is about three months old now and full of smiles. He has blue eyes but his mum thinks they will turn green because this happened to his brother and sister. Indi has finished her first degree. She has done extra subjects this year so she could get qualified faster.  She is very relieved to have reached this stage.

Trip to the tip

 4.10.2024

 

Time is passing fast and now everything has started to grow. There are thistles of all types and descriptions springing up everywhere. Worse news is that the grass is also growing like mad and the ride on mower broke down yesterday. Why does this always happen just at the wrong time? 

 

Today we took the waste building materials down to the tip. Edd discovered that if he takes stuff in a trailer.  They weigh it and it works out much cheaper than just putting it in the ute tray, for which there is a fixed price.  Our local tip always seems well organised. Metal, rubble and plant material are collected separately so they can be recycled. Timber bits are chipped for mulch and there is even a store that sells old baths, fridges Bric-a-brac and furniture. I brought two books for a dollar each whilst Edd unloaded.

I remember when we first lived here there was no rubbish collection so you had to drive everything to a land fill area in Healesville. Th tip had resident Ibis that are known locally as rubbish birds or bin chickens.  They always looked dirty and a bit disreputable. I have not seen Ibis at the present tip.

 

We are horrified over the news where the war seems to be gathering momentum in the middle east.  Russia and Ukraine are still battling over land but all our news talks about is the American election. It is not something we can do anything about. We are also waiting for the worst strain of bird flu to arrive. Thousands of chickens have been destroyed already but that was a mild strain.  I would hate to lose our egg supply but I am more worried about the goats and sheep who could become sick. Goats are family.!

 

Silkie, Bo’s daughter has her deb ball tonight. This has involved weeks of preparation and no doubt heaps of expense.  None of my kids were at all interested in deb balls so we missed out on all this. I am not sorry.

Spring jobs

 20.9.2024

 

I have found some interesting stuff on line.  It is all about helping people deal with the increasing number of climate disasters.   As our government insists on more gas production and less renewable technology, I suppose all we can do is prepare ourselves as well as possible. We are probably better prepared than most people as we were lucky enough to be hit by the first big disaster and got lots of support so that we could rebuild better.

 

Growing food has got harder this year.  In SA crops were devastated by late frosts and with us the cabbages and swedes have just bolted before they became edible. I have done better with mass seedings of rocket and mizuna that we harvest at a very small stage for salads. This has kept up our greens supply until finally the silver beet finally started to grow. We have had lots of cauliflowers, but it is not a vegetable I could eat every day, so I froze some.

 

Little David, our new great Grandson is also growing as are the lambs and goat kids. The crab apple tree is covered with pink blossom and the paulownia trees are draped with cascades of violet flowers.  Some days are warm and sunny but then the temperature swings back to winter and I put my woollen vests and a beanie back on.

 

Josh and Stevo are busy building. Edd’s shed now has four walls and windows.  The big one in the front went in today and revealed a magnificent view down the valley. On Wednesday it was a warm dry day so Edd went off to fetch more oats and straw. He tries to pick good weather to make this trip so that it is not necessary to tarp the load. I have been working on the accounts, which is dull but I always feel better when it is done. I have started clearing the paths of weeds too.  I am rather slow but I try to do a square meter every day.  Again, the best bit is when the work finishes.

an eventful week

 7.9.2024

 

We have had an interesting week. On Tuesday the local council held a meeting to demonstrate a “game” they have got as a tool to get people talking about climate change and make people aware what the council is doing. Edd, GG and I were among the 9 individuals who actually participated.  Not a high turnout but probably enough for the presenters to cope with.

 

Reassuringly the council is doing something. They are setting up climate emergency hubs, planting urban shade trees and trying to move to an Aboriginal method of fuel load reduction to reduce fire intensity. They are also trying to support the introduction of solar roof systems and batteries.   As one lady in our group pointed out she is in rental accommodation and grants for solar installations are no help to her.  The saddest thing was our presenter, (a young lady around 30) said that she felt it was wrong for her to bring children into a world facing chaos and she could not even dream of affording a house or moving out from her parents.  Many young people her age are of the same mind set with little sense of hope. 

 

Light relief came to the evening when a recorded voice announced that we should leave the building quickly. I thought it was part of the show but when we did all move downstairs towards the exit door, we discovered that other groups were also moving out.  Next a fire engine arrived.  I asked some ladies from an Aboriginal dance group if they knew what was happening. They just laughed and told me that they were using a smoke making machine for their performance and it had set off the fire alarm!

 

On Thursday we had a school group come to look at features in a sustainable house. They were polite but did not engage in any communication. Some took photos on their phones. I got the impression that face-to-face talking is not a thing nowadays.

 

Spring has Sprung

 2.9.2024

 

It is cold again but the last few weeks have been dry and warm. The mud has gone and the trees are in full bloom. Even the oak trees have burst bud and the vegetables have started growing again. We have eaten all the broccoli, but the cauliflowers are now ready and I have snow pea seedlings and zucchini planted.  The goats have now kidded and we have three kids who now trained to drink from a feeder. We have seven lambs who are in the sheep shed with their mothers to protect them from foxes.

 

Mar and baby David are both doing well. Last week Indi went to Darwin as part of her uni course and we had her old dog, Rosa to stay for the week. This went better than expected. Rosa got on well with our dog, Sass, and slept in the kennel where she could get out into the garden if she needed to pee. (Being old she can get caught short at home.) We have a good large fenced area so both dogs could get plenty of exercise too. I think Rosa looked fitter by the end of her stay.

 

Yesterday we were visited by Inshalla and extended family who brought up all the little children to see the kids and lambs. They all arrive in two cars in full Muslim dress, but this time they had footwear suitable for farms. They brought us special Pakistani cakes, which are unusual, but rather delicious.  The older women gathered citrus fruit off the trees with great relish. All the lower mandarins have been eaten by Ti’s children but there are plenty for taller people. 

 

I am not sure if we will get loquats this year. The frosts came at a bad time just as the flowers were opening, which does not bode well. It has been a very odd year for weather and difficult to plan what to plant when. It looks as if all the purple cabbages have bolted too. At least the silver beet is now improving.

 

 

 21.8.2024

 

The midwives are here. They arrived about lunch time and are helping Mar give birth in the donga.  We had the goat, Joy, and the old black sheep all very close to giving birth as well. Edd betted that Mar would be the first, I had a bet on Joy and Josh got the black sheep as he missed out on choosing.  The black sheep lambed a week ago and has a lovely black and white lamb and much to our surprise that left Josh as the winner. 

 

Today, Joy tried to wander away from the herd up the paddock on her own. Her tail bones are loose so she could kid any moment and still come in second.  It is really weird to think that Mar is birthing the second great grand child to actually be born on our land.   We are just hoping that everything is going OK.

 

It has been a busy time with Josh and Stevo at work building in Edd’s shed. Also, last Friday we went to the funeral of our friend, Mozzie, the farrier who looked after our horses for years and took us trail riding into the mountains after Xmas each year. It was a huge funeral and started with the burial in the local cemetery.  The hunt club was represented by two men in full gear and a pack of hounds. The hounds circled round the graves but were generally exceptionally well behaved.   When the coffin was lowered the mounted huntsman blew the hunting horn, a fitting tribute.

 

Once the burial was over, we all trooped down to the large upstairs room at the race course for a more formal ceremony. The mounted huntsman took the hounds on a gallop round the race course as part of the send-off.  Beth sang halleluiah and a song I wrote about Mozz for his eightieth birthday, it made everyone laugh, but the horse on the race course brought tears. We have lost a unique and special character and our community loses some of its richness.

Near death experience

 27.7.2024

 

Edd and I had a virus this week but we managed to keep going.  We had two years without any sickness when we were isolated, so I suppose we have some catching up to do.  

 

Bo, on the other hand has had a dreadful week. Morg, her eldest has a friend Jerry, who has often been just another family member. He has recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and is being treated. On Friday he drove home after having dinner with Bo and family and next day his step mother found him unresponsive and close to death. He was rushed to hospital intensive care where he was told he was the closest to death person who had ever survived there!

 

Bo and family feel awful because they all knew he was not himself and did not take any action.  We are all so lucky he has survived and hopefully he can get better care from now on. He is in his twenties and is living and working with his father. The question we are all pondering is how do you know when someone is no longer capable of looking after their own needs and at what point do you take over?

 

Al is also having a bad week. All his kids are sick and Pia is booked to fly out to Canada tomorrow for two weeks. It does seem as if we have an awful lot of bugs going around at present. Tilba’s family have also been sick. (They claimed ownership of the sock the washing machine seized. We have suggested that even though it is a large commercial style machine there are limits to how much it can cope with, without taking revenge.)

 

Both of the goats, Joy and Frani, who were in with the old buck look to be pregnant which is a relief. We were worried he was no longer fertile after getting no pregnancies last year. The young buck who was impossible to contain has simmered down a bit and stayed in the yards. We have not put any does with him yet.

high winds and other problems

 20.7.2024

 

The weather is just horrid. Icy rain continues to pour down and the water tanks are overflowing and creating small rivers just where we don’t want them. To make things worse, yesterday there were high winds and the road up our valley was blocked twice by falling trees. Peter from the hill brought down his digger and moved the first one and Edd dealt with the second with his chain saw.

 

Al and family went to the airport to catch a flight to Brisbane but were caught up in the global computer problem. After 7 hours waiting Al drove home but his car broke down on the way. Pip and kids got home by Taxi, but Al did not get home until just before 3am. By then the flights were going again and Pip left for the airport on her own because she was booked in for a conference. Al is at home with our three young grand kids who are probably exhausted.

 

To make matters worse the washing machine broke down. Josh took it apart and found the pump was not working.  He drove off and got a new pump and fitted it.  We are so lucky that Josh can fix things. Edd hacked the old pump apart and found it was blocked with a sock. I have always suspected that washing machines swallow the odd sock or two!  However, it was not a sock we recognised.

 

I am totally over winter and can’t wait for spring to arrive.  There are signs it is on the way. The wattle and lucerne trees are about to bloom and buds are forming on the quince and paulownias. The jonquils are in full bloom and there are heads forming on the broccoli. Tonight, we are off to a communal dinner to celebrate xmas in July. We have not been able to hold our mid-winter feast for several years now. Everyone in the family has commitments at different times making getting together as a family impossible which is rather a shame.

floods and flu

 16.7.2024

 

Last night it poured.  Flooding has closed the main route to Lilydale and the farm is a sea of mud. Even the sheep have sort shelter in their shed rather than go off to graze.  Our big shed floor has several melodious puddles which delighted the great grand kids until Andy slipped and landed plat out in the middle of one. Their mum had to strip off all their clothing on the veranda before they could go back indoors!

 

Stevo is feeling really sick with a flu bug he caught on a flight last week and Josh has picked up a bug somewhere else so work halted after lunch today.  Edd has been off collecting materials for the building work but he has had to drive a long way round to avoid roads that are closed by flooding. A job that should have taken half a day will probably end up being a full day’s work.

 

It does look as if the two goats we put in with the old buck are pregnant. We just took them to be mated when they were in season last year and they failed to produce kids so this year we have tried a different approach and let them live with the buck for several months. He has been very happy with this arrangement. The young buck has not grown tall enough to mate the does yet and we were worried the old buck was not fertile so things have worked out well.

 

The chooks are now laying well but we are worried about bird flu that has now reached Victoria.  It can be spread by wild birds and we have plenty of them. My worst fear is that the flu might spread to the goats.  I would hate to lose them.  We have lived with their families for years and could not find new goats so well suited to our conditions.

 

I am a bit shocked at how many people I know would have liked the Trump assassination attempt to succeed. It seems wrong to wish ill on anyone.

unusually cold weather

 5.7.2024

 

It has been exceptionally cold, well, cold for what we expect here. On three occasions we had heavy frost and the pipes froze in the dairy, which has never happened before!  Luckily the very frosty nights were followed by clear sunny days and the water began flowing again in time to do the milking. The last two days have been overcast and damp. Everyone I know seems to have headed for Qld to enjoy warmer conditions.

 

Stevo and Josh have been building all week. I provide their lunch and luckily the lettuce and rocket have cropped enough for a daily salad. I have also made hot soup every day by using stored pumpkins and tomatoes and other vegetables from the freezer.  I have also been helping the builders by painting undercoat on the ceiling panels and all this has kept me very busy.

 

The new chooks are laying well and providing our regular customers with winter eggs. The goats are still giving milk and the sheep are looking like we will get some lambs soon. With our animals we are enduring the horrid weather and at least the shortest day is now behind us.  Better news is that Julian Assange is now free and home in Australia.  We are not impressed by the USA ‘s actions and are totally mystified over their choice of two pretty alarming potential presidents. Australia seems relatively sane in comparison.

 

My grand daughter in law has decided to have her baby here in our donga. If that happens it will be a second great grand child born on the property. I have finished the cardigan I knitted for Al’s youngest daughter; I hope they pick it up before she has grown out of it!

 

big batches

 21.6.2024

 

No frost but grey skies and an all-pervading dampness that is no fun at all. Luckily, today’s job is baking bread, so Edd is splitting the last big logs on his own and I am indoors keeping warm. Today I also got all the big pans clean.  The deer cull man brought us three heavy bags of hearts and other offal that we chopped up and cooked with rice and vegetables for dog food.  My new loaves will join the dog food in the big freezer when they have cooled.

 

Yesterday we had a day off the farm and drove up into the Dandenong’s to a shop where we buy tea. There is no longer visible damage from the big storm they had but there are definitely fewer trees. The big gum trees and understory of lush fern trees looks wonderful but we would not even drive up there in windy weather let alone live in a house likely to be crushed when the trees blow over!  At the shop Edd has multiple types of tea to choose from and he makes a pot of tea each evening. I dug up some ginger from the plant in the sun room and we use that as well. The next job will be making the next batch of muesli, but I need to shop for more grains before I can do that.  The soap I made has cured enough to be used now. This batch should last for months.

 

Finding enough milk for cheese is getting harder but I did a batch this week. (With Josh and Stevo working here we got through a lot of milk.) Today is the shortest day and by next month the days will be starting to look longer.  The coldest part of the year is yet to come and many of the people we know have gone off to Queensland or the UK to avoid winter.  I have some winter only tasks like knitting jumpers for grandkids’, and working on my weaving loom. We hope some of the goats are pregnant so that we get more milk next year, but it is too early to tell yet.

 

Tonight, the first of the Pak choi is ready to eat. I planted Pak choi and Bok choi but I am not sure I can tell the difference at this stage.

Very Frosty mornings

Wayne's two daughters

 13.6.2024

 

For the last two mornings we have awakened to find the ground outside white with frost. This is unusual, but even more unusual was the fact that the pipes were frozen at the dairy and we had to wait until they were warmed by the sun to get water coming from the taps. I do not remember this ever happening before. Luckily the clear nights that allow things to get so cold are followed by clear sunny days and the house stays toasty warm without heating.

 

Edd and I have spent the last week using the land-care wood splitter to break the fire wood into usable sized logs. We now have a large pile of firewood in the shed. This is good news, but even better the timber mill delivered a large tip ruck full of milled timber off cuts. They just drive into the shed and tip it in place. Little Andy, my great grandson watched in wonder with a huge smile across his face. Never a dull moment here!  This may be the last wood we get from the mill because logging is supposed to be stopped in the local forests. The feeling is that it will still continue and be retitled as fire and safety timber removal. 

 

Josh and Stevo have been putting insulation in the roof of Edd’s shed where we have a top floor. We have the job of fetching materials they need and providing constant cups of tea and a good lunch for the workers. They need every support they can get in this weather. The work stops now because Josh is off for a week’s holiday in Cairns. We need his climbing abilities and flexible knees.  I expect it is a lot warmer that far North but all of the East coast has had a cold week with frosts in land right up into Qld. Cairns surely has to be a lot better than down here.

 

A nasty virus has been doing the rounds and we have almost all been feeling under the weather. Our long-time friend GG had a heart attack, but he is home now on new medication and has his granddaughter is staying with him. Health is such a big issue.

Knitting , gardening and boxing roos

                                                Boy's jumpers made from our sheep's wool

    

                                            the sun comes right into the house at this time of year

                                                Kangaroos boxing next to our house

27.5.2024

 

Once again, we are getting sunny crisp days and outdoor jobs are the preferred option.  I have been weeding the garlic and mulching down the Bok and Pac Choi. We are getting enough snow peas to eat and today I harvested the butternut pumpkins.  There are ripe ruby grapefruit too.

 

Edd is at last getting time to work on the paddocks. He has got a large rake working behind the tractor and has started to spread the stuff cleaned out from the goat shed down the old vineyard paddock where we hope the nutrients will improve the soil.  We agreed to do the work on the buildings and house site before we did the broader acre work, so Edd has been patient for a long time.

 

The weekend was busy. Al came up with his two youngest kids on Friday and visited us when he had finished his work in Healesville. I was able to give Al the two jumpers I have knitted for the boys. I got a lot of knitting done last week because I caught a virus and did not feel up to doing much else.

 

Pip is now out of hospital but is not allowed to pick the baby up or anything else heavy and is not allowed to drive yet. We just wished they lived closer so we could be of some help. Bo is working full time so she can’t help either. We saw her on Sunday when she did the morning chores and brought their puppy, Billie, over to play with her sister Says. The puppies row round together and get plenty of fun exercise.

 

Josh is always around and Ti’s mother-in -law was here taking care of the 2 small kids while Ma and Ti cleaned out their rental house. They are working hard so that it is judged good enough for them to get their bond money back. The farm seems to be filling up with people again, which is good.

 

Cleaning out spaces

19.5.2024

 

Ti has spent the weekend moving his furniture into the donga. There seems an awful lot of stuff for a small area. I just hope they have space left to fit their kids in! Pip, Al’s wife is in hospital after having her appendix removed so they are not able to help Ti move.  Bo is too busy to help anyone and we are not much use either.  He seems to be managing well so far. We did manage to get the donga well cleaned and I even had time to oil the deck. Edd moved a pile of compost and whipper snipped the edges so we did as much as we could in the time available

 

Finally, we have had the deep litter cleaned out of the goat shed. We had to get in a different local this time to do the work and he did a great job and only got bogged once when he tipped a load in the top paddock.  Sev, has been here today to take a load of the stuff back to his place to nourish his soil. We had used up all the last load once it composted on our vegetable garden, and I really needed more. The other problem was that the floor in the goat shed had risen by around a metre. This meant we had to keep raising the pen walls and also having to throw hay up impossible heights. The natural soil here has a very shallow, nutrient deficient top soil, so we have to work on the vegetable beds to build up better soil. The goats are happy to be back at ground level where they get better wind protection.

 

The weather is cold, wet, and miserable today but for the start of this month we have enjoyed many sunny beautiful days.  The nights have been cold so we light a fire to sit by in the evenings. It is hard to get the stove to go well as there has been little wind to make it draw. Apparently, all Australia has been stuck in slow moving weather patterns. Wayne came for Mother’s Day and showed us amazing photos of the aurora, but it was not visible from our valley and we did not have the energy to drive far enough to get a view

  

Art in the valley

                                                        BO AND MORG IN THE GALLERY
 

Bo has sold lots of her art works and is now back to looking after the community pianos that she has installed. She still found time to help with sorting out the doing.

moving and the resulting clean up

 5.5.2024

 

CB has moved into her unit in Yarra Glen, and the last three days have been devoted to cleaning out the Donga. It needed a lot of cleaning, and as far as I can see Bo has done most of the work. I spent the morning cleaning but my hip hurts and I am nowhere near as useful as I was 4 years ago. CB says she has an injured back so she has been finding it hard too.

 

We are putting in a big effort because Al’s second son and his family have to leave their rental in three weeks’ time and have not yet found another place to live.  Ti has two young kids and a third due in August, so just the thought that our donga could be plan B helped him de-stress. If he finds a better new place, we will use the donga to house travelling workers, so either way a good clean and sort out is helpful.  CB did not think she could move into her unit before September when her tenants left, but they found a new rental and things changed to everyone’s advantage.

Josh has spent the week sorting out the cellar. He has dug up and resealed the junction in the roof and put in lots of storage units. In the last few days, he has been white washing the inner chamber. We had a lot of useless rubbish in the cellar dating from when we did school camps. We need a trip to the local tip before we clean up the ruins again. The local high school is coming for a visit this month so getting sorted will make things look better. This visit is about fire, and response to fire, which we are well qualified to teach.

 

My friend Merrie has moved into her new house too. She was exhausted by the move and un sure if she had made the right move. We are both frustrated by the limitations our aging is having on us, but trying to adapt appropriately. I talk to my son in law’s parents who have moved into a retirement village and I have no interest at all in activities they enjoy. Neither Edd nor I fancy the sort of cruise holiday that others enjoy, we just want to go on living and relating to our land. 

Autumn arrives

 1.5.2024

 

May day, and we are enjoying lovely sunny weather.  Edd and I joined forces for a garden blitz, and have planted out more winter vegetables.  This week we have been eating salads, leaks, and the occasional snow peas plus the first of the pumpkins and frozen beans. We even managed a round of silver beat.  The fig harvest is over and the tomato plants pulled out.  I have been digging up potatoes and we had the tiny ones with butter and parsley for dinner last night.

 

The new chooks have started to lay and the goats are coming into season so everything is happening in an ordered way.  This is so different from what we hear about the rest of the world. Here, in Australia, there has been several knife attacks and with the news from America one can only assume we are seeing the collapse of an empire ushered in by a past president. Meanwhile insurance is rapidly becoming unaffordable as natural disasters pile up on each other.

The only change here is that the kangaroos are getting bolder. Every morning they are grazing just outside the house and on Monday I saw two large males in a boxing fight just by the gate.  If we drive at night we have to go very slowly and keep a good look out for all the animals that dash in front of the car.  I have not seen so many deer so maybe the anti-deer program had some effect. The samba deer are huge and ugly and particularly inclined to suicide moves.

 

I don’t think we need a rewilding program but perhaps I need to look and find out if we have any remaining stag trees.  The oldest gum trees develop holes that form homes for native animals and birds. At present stag trees are still being cut down in the forests. If this is followed by fires we could speed up an already alarming extinction rate.  I fear Australia is failing dismally in the move towards reclaiming a sustainable environment for flora, and fauna including humans.

Art, soap and winter vegetables

 21.4.2024

 

We are now getting a few sunny rain free days which prompt more outdoor activity. We went to Seymour last weekend for the alternative expo. This was great, much more like a traditional farm show with animals, machinery, tanks and farm gear for sale. We picked up a bag of seaweed meal for the goats that I ordered to save on postage fees. It was a great day out and I wish I had brought some of the plants I fancied. Too late for remorse now!

 

Also last week Bo invited us to the opening of her art show. She had her works displayed with those of a more established artist on a theme about country.  It was an unusual art exhibition. Bo sold 9 pictures straight away and we were all treated to Simon’s beer and cider instead of the usual wine!  Even more unusual was the huge about of interest in the frames that Stevo and Josh made for all Bo’s work. 

 

This week has been less eventful.  My big achievement has been making a year’s supply of goats’ milk and olive oil soap.  I do not really like soap making so I put this chore off as long as possible.  I knew that it takes soap about 3 months to cure so I actually had to buy soap at the Seymour show, to tide us over.  My soap is pretty basic with no fancy colours or scents but it is wonderful for skin. I am still using olive oil I got from Indi years ago but I had to filter it to get the lumps out.

 

We are now eating the last of the tomatoes and the first of the pumpkins. The snow peas are huge with lots of flowers but not much of a crop yet. I have winter brassicas planted and doing battle with slugs and snails but at least the cabbage white butterflies are gone. We have started to light the wood stove some nights to heat up the water when the sun does not shine.  The nights are cold but we have not lit the fire yet.  I have set up my spinning wheel and begun knitting for Al’s boys. It is that sort of time in the year.

weathering storms

 1.4.2024

 

We have rain!  Our trees and crops have survived this long dry hot period. I have had to carry water to some trees and carefully look after everything alive but being outside in this weather has been enjoyable so no complaints.

 

We also seem to be surviving another storm.  The rules for micro- breweries have changed plus they are under attack from multi- national companies that buy a few out, make false craft beer and price the genuine small breweries out of the market.  Breweries are closing down at the rate of several a week and Simon and Bo are feeling the pinch.

 

A week ago, Bo was afraid that they might be in big trouble financially.   At one stage we thought all her family would be moving in with us but a bit more analysis and a few strategic changes have put this drama on hold.  Even so it has been a bit of a wake-up call and Edd and I have started working on a project to increase our liveable space here on the farm.

 

Before all this starts, I am doing my ‘coming in for winter’ house blitzing.   I have trimmed back the plants in the solar buffer zone and am now working on the floors out there.  I still need about 2 hours a day to do the garden work. Today I pulled out the remaining sweet corn plants and dug over the bed they were in. I have already moved all the beans and most of the zucchinis as we need space for winter crops.

 

The new chooks have not started to lay yet so it has been good having all the excess crops for the market. My freezer is almost full to capacity. The milk volume has dropped and the goats are coming into season so I am not making as much cheese as usual.  We did not mate any goats last year so we are relying on the ones who milk for several years to keep us going over winter.

Cousins in the pool at Easter

 

Easter

 31.3.2024

 

Today we had an easter family gathering in the huge mud brick house Indi is renting. Everyone came bearing plates of food and we all sat out on the terrace eating and drinking.  After lunch the young kids all played in the pool and had great fun.  I think they enjoyed that more than the chocolate eggs!

 

We have had a long period of sunny dry weather with cool nights but no rain at all.  The chestnut trees are suffering and have dropped all their nuts before they had time to ripen. I spend at least an hour every morning watering but we have been well rewarded with bumper crop.

 

 

 

22.3.2024

 

At last, the dreaded braces are off my teeth and I can talk without pain.  The tooth I knocked out of place seems to be staying in the right places and not wobbling. Where I broke off a bit in my jaw is still sore but all in all I feel a lot more comfortable.  The arm I broke is still week but I do a couple of hours work in the garden which is slowly building back strength.

 

Our harvest of fruit and vegetables is still on and this week I am sending ruby grapefruit, figs, nashi pears and tomatoes to market. We are eating lots of sweetcorn but the beans and zucchinis are about over. The snow peas are climbing higher daily, and there are silver beat seedlings. I have potted up winter brassicas, but they are in trays under netting until the cabbage white butterflies clear off.

 

Last Saturday we went to the Healesville organic market for the 20^th birthday event. It seems strange to think we have been selling our produce there every week for all that time.  

change of season

 10.3.2024

 

The rainbows on the house floor cast by the louve windows are back signalling the change of season.  It is a very odd change because we have finally got some summer weather. We are having day after day with high 30C temperatures and in some places in Victoria it has got into the 40’s.  Edd and I have retreated indoors where it gets no higher than 25C. 

 

The grass has now burnt dry and I am doing a lot of watering to keep plants and trees alive. The fig tree was very distressed but has started to 10.3.2024

 

The rainbows on the house floor cast by the louve windows are back signalling the change of season.  It is a very odd change because we have finally got some summer weather. We are having day after day with high 30C temperatures and in some places in Victoria it has got into the 40’s.  Edd and I have retreated indoors where it gets no higher than 25C. 

 

The grass has now burnt dry and I am doing a lot of watering to keep plants and trees alive. The fig tree was very distressed but has started to ripen the fruit after daily watering. The grapefruit and oranges need using too. I plan to make marmalade but not until it cools a bit.  Today I have processed another batch of tomatoes for the freezer.  There is not much room left in there, even though the freezer is huge.

 

We were due to go out for lunch with friends yesterday but it was a day of extreme fire danger and they live on the far side of the forest so we cancelled and played safe. We are a bit worried about Al and family who have gone to a fringe festival in Adelaide where they camp for the weekend and it is even hotter than it is here, Baby B is almost a year old now but that is still too young to tell anyone if she gets too stressed so we just hope they all use common sense.

 

Bo has organised a family party for her mother-in-law tonight. It is her birthday so we will have one social function this week. Yesterday I took food to our tiny Steels Creek market and met all the locals. We are all busy harvesting food but different crops have failed for different people so I was even able to give away some zucchinis! Their leaves have started to develop mildew, which is the first sign that their season is ending.  The beans too are slowing down but the snow peas I planted are starting to climb up their trellis.

 

One of the ladies at the market has spent years living in America and really misses her life there. She is pro-Trump and sees Biden as being controlled by Obama. I did not quite get down to the reason why Obama is enemy one. None of this is reflected in our media here and we are all dreading the election in case Trump gets back in, so it was really interesting to talk to someone who thinks differently. She also says that everyone in America has to have perfect teeth so she had braces when she was 60 for 8 years to get her look right.

 

Most of us farm folk where a but astounded by this information. Our looks are not a big consideration on a day to day basis though the goats do sometimes get upset if I am dressed very differently to normal.

 

 

Harvest time

 28.2.2024

 

The sheep are now shorn and the Persian sheep are separate on the old drive where I can feed them separately. At present I spend much of my time with vegetables.  We have an abundance, far more than we can eat. I have cleaned out the freezer and am preserving everything I can but I had to resort to taking zucchinis to the charity shop. Today I prepared and froze apples, pears, sweet corn and beans.

 

We are now getting hot dry days. This was supposed to be a day of the worst fire rating with very high temperatures ad wind, but so far it has been only moderately hot and pretty calm.  There are large fires that have been burning for a week near Ballarat that are not yet under control, but so far nothing new has happened that we know about.

Last week our half of the valley had three days without power but our solar system worked brilliantly and everything worked as normal with the sun and batteries help.  We have a generator that we used to move between the dairy and the house as needed but this new system is far superior.  

 

Our next big job is getting the deep litter cleaned out from the goat shed. This has not been done for three years so there is a huge build up.  Our friend with the gear to do this is away in Ireland so we are stuck till he gets back.  Luckily, we still have some litter left from the last clean out that I can use to refresh the vegetable beds, but the supply is getting low. I don’t think we could grow much without this fertiliser.

 

Our tiny steels creek market is now back on twice a month and it is great catching up with neighbours. It is another place where I try and give away vegetables.  I was given apples last week end which was great because the sheep got into the new orchard in spring and ate all the branches that would have born fruit. 

A big storm

Beth at her piano launch outside the memo in Healesville

 20.2.2024

 

Autumn draws close. The leaves on the Virginia creeper have started to turn red and the Autumn joy succulent flower are becoming pinker.  The grass is still green but we have had several sunny dry days.

 

Last week we had visitors. A couple we know who worked with us in Aboriginal communities in the NT parked their caravan out side our house and we had a week of fun sharing food wine and stories.  One day it was hot and windy so we swapped our planned BBQ in the forest for lunch out in Healesville.  It was a good job we did. Half way through the meal a giant storm hit and all the power died.

 

SES and fire truck were belting off to deal with trees that had blown over and pavements were flooded.  One town got almost destroyed by the storm but else where there were 45 houses destroyed by bush fires.  Luckily, we avoided the power cuts at home but several big electrical pylons carrying power were blown over to add to the problems caused by trees falling on the smaller lines. 

 

We are worried about the Persian sheep who are not doing well. The old sheep and cross bred are fine so it is hard to work out what is wrong.  Sev came and helped us yesterday so we drenched all the sheep and did their feet.  Sev also helped Edd move the large round bales into the shed and collected more fire wood.  We have been waiting for the ground to firm up so we could reach the wood, but with all the wet weather it has been a long wait.

 

Our sheared has not come yet which is a worry. He had his ute and gear stolen so is in difficulties. Josh has a new boss for electrical work. His old employer crashed their work ute this week and wrote it off. It was not insured so they are also in a mess. Josh was lucky to change jobs when he did. 

summer music night

 8.2.2024

 

Bo’s boys rounded up a team and the hay bales are all stacked neatly in the shed.  The large round bales are still down the road but Edd is preparing the tractor and will drive them back here one at a time. It is all a great relief to get to this stage. 

 We have just had an English style summer. The grass is still green and regular rain ensures there is plenty of work needed to keep the grass around the sheds and house under control. Usually by this stage the grass is all dried off and no control is needed. I suppose we should expect the un-expected with climate change.

 

Last Friday we did have a glorious sunny summer evening and we all went to Healesville where Bo was opening her latest public event. She has organised for piano’s to be installed in several town streets so anyone can have a play.  For the opening she had organised Simon and some friends too come and play and she was dragged in to do the singing. Eventually a young man took a turn and he could make the piano sing. He got Bo singing opera and everything took off. It was one of those nights I will remember for always.

We went home fairly early but apparently the party continues for ages with impromptu music singing and dancing.

 

Josh is glowing with relief now he has full time work. It is not always easy but the jobs are varied and interesting. He has also been asked to train apprentices and Stevo says he calls him when he needs some advice on the best approach with hopeless students. Al has had a bad week when his youngest daughter poked him in the eye and caused damage. Fancy being attacked by a baby! He thinks the damage is slowly repairing itself now.

 

We have moved all the chooks together in the old drive way shed so that we have somewhere to house new chooks for winter eggs. We did not buy any chooks last year and have managed with the old ones.

Hay Day

31.1.2024

 

Today is the day. Our hay is being baled and Edd is trying to round up grandsons and mates to do the carting.  If all goes well that is one of our big jobs taken care of. This week we have finally got dry weather, which has made hay making possible. The vegetables are in full production mode. I am swamped with zucchinis, beans and cucumbers and still have some cabbages left. The tomatoes have large fruit but they have not started to turn red yet. I have put nets on the pears and nashi pears now they are getting larger.

 

Sarah the dog is at the teen age stage but we are trying hard to keep up with her training.  She loves chasing her ball and going in the ute with Edd, but compared to the muster dogs we see on TV she is not doing brilliantly.  The goats are in magnificent condition now they have their shiny summer coats. The unusual green grass is helping keep up the milk supply but with all the medical tests I have not got round to much cheese making.

 

Josh is enjoying his new job, and seems much happier but CB has been laid low with co-vid and is not at work this week. There does seem a lot of covid still around, and everyone seems to get it time after time, so no sign of a developing community immunity.  More worrying is how fast the cost of living is rising. Rent, power and food are still rising in price and there are a lot of people who are homeless. We are still having floods in QLD and NSW, which makes the lack of affordable rental property worse. Al has just returned from a camping holiday and said that a freak storm one-night ripped tents and blew possessions into the river. Luckily not his stuff but he was involved in helping others.

 

I am working on the accounts and in the garden where everything is growing so fast it threatens to get out of control. I am very grateful that we no longer have school camps to worry about.  

Very unusual weather

 !5.1.2024

 

This year has not had a good start. I tripped in the house and smashed my teeth and face. Trying to restore as much as possible has involved numerous doctor and dentist visits and it is not over yet!   Also, our wonderful Sev has full time work at least for half a year so we have lost our farm worker.  Josh has just tested clear of covid which has laid him low but luckily Bo has been able to support us through this period.

 

Basically, it is a year that none of us expected. We were told it would by dryness and fires to contest with but instead it has been storms and floods.   The grass is still green and growing and so far, it has been too wet to get our hay cut.  The fruit and vegetables are loving it.  We have trees covered in fruit and massive growth in the gardens every day.  This has added to the above problems because we are still cutting grass every week instead of leaving everything to stray dead and dry as usual.

 

The rain flooded and closed the roads out of Yarra Glen and even swept over the bridge on our road.  It has been worse in QLD and NSW.  There is absolute devastation in some areas with lives and houses lost. Everyone is talking about climate change now but there is still little being actually done.  

 

There have been several power cuts but with our new system and batteries we have not been affected which does make life easier. It is hot and humid and Bo’s family are enjoying their pool.  Edd has done a brilliant job dismantling our above ground pool. It was badly damaged in the 2009 fires so every part was melted together making the task hard.  I miss having somewhere to swim and I just don’t fancy the mud and fish in the big dam.

Recovering from parties

                        Xmas family celebration, Dani and daughters with one of the border collies.

Beth Simon and all her household

!.1.2024

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends reading this.  We have enjoyed a wonderful time this year with lots of parties and amazing food.  I don’t think I can take any more rich delights!  I certainly need an alcohol-free time to recover.

 

Edd and I have started a big clear up around the ruins. Edd is dismantling the old swimming pool and I am trimming back all the overgrown plants. It is quite tough work but we are making progress.

I have harvested the garlic and my first crop of cherries.  We are still getting enough raspberries and strawberries for our breakfast fruit and there are far too many zucchinis.

 

12.12.2023

 

Tomorrow, we have our family party at Bo’s place.  The younger family members like the party there so that they can use the pool, spa and snooker table.  The older family members are glad not to drive as far as our place, but it does mean that Bo has most of the work to do.  Edd went over to her house yesterday and mowed all the grass at the edges so we have contributed some help.

 

Today Sev has cleaned the difficult bits of grass on the roof and helped me prepare beds in the vegetable garden.  I need to plant out beans and sweet corn. We are getting plenty of zucchinis and cabbages and the cucumbers have flowers.  The kale has been eaten by caterpillars which is unusual.  Edd tells me that he has been offered full time work next year.  We will really miss the help he has given us but he has been so good that I realised we would not keep him for long.  More changes we need to adapt to in 2024!!

 

Graeme, our permaculture friend has got covid but he says he is not too sick.  There has been lots of covid amongst our neighbours this wave.