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.