TWIG - 17

Our attention this week has been on getting our two off to a new school year – EJ had a blast on her first day of kinder – the interesting thing about living in a small community is that when its time for the kids to head off to school – they already know so many of the 'big' kids there – they've got oodles of friends and only the odd unfamiliar face.

It will take me a while to get used to the new rhythm of our lives (its not that both our children spent every moment with us prior to school – but it is very different to be readying the two together for the one destination!) So I'm finding my feet with the new year – and shortly I'll have to make a second adjustment as I commence a new academic year – this time attempting to combine full-time study with part-time work and full-on load here at the creek.... and like most tasks I'll just nibble away at it until I get there.... I'm going to channel the little engine that could: “I THINK I can... I THINK I can.... I THINK I can....”

For weeks now I've been preserving our garden and orchard produce – yes it can be long and time-consuming – but its incredibly satisfying to look at bottles and bottles of pickles and chutney and jams and conserves.

ahhh late summer = preserving time!

here are two bowls of chopped cucumber/zucchini and onions soaking in brine 

- the first stage in making sweet mustard pickles 

(FP loves his mustard pickles!)

This week I've made peach and sweet orange marmalade, bread and butter cucumber pickles and as I type this out I'm in the middle of a monster batch of sweet mustard pickles (based on zucchini and cucumber). I've always loved making preserves – its something that I started doing with my darling grandmother – Nana T – who was an AMAZING pickle and sauce maker – lucky me I managed to write down some of her recipes, and every time I make tomato sauce or mustard pickles I think of her and all the wonderful times we spent together


TO DO

plant more seeds!

More preserves!

get new worms for the worm farm (my dears had a fatal sauna in the 44C heat of a couple of weeks ago)

sow bulk herb seeds in trays

try to catch up on all the jobs not done yet!


Completed

late summer seeds sown: sugar baby watermelon, early wonder cucumber , rocket, english spinach, gold bullion zucchini

seedlings transplanted: rainbow silverbeet, echinecea, artemisia, lime verbena, (these last 3 have been planted in the lower decorative border)

bottled 25 jars of preserves including: peach & sweet orange marmalade, sweet mustard pickles, Bread and Butter cucumber pickles.

Old potato beds dug over, organic fertiliser added and seeds planted

bay tree seedling planted (chimney decorative bed)


Picking/ eating

green oak leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce, raspberries, yellow peaches, yellow nectarines, blood plums, rondo de nice zucchini, yellow crook-neck zucchini, spring onions, ivory eggplant, pontiac potatoes, 'zucumbers', early wonder cucumbers, passionfruit, cherokee wax beans, climbing princess beans, sweet basil.

TWIG - 16 (with cattle....)

 here is one of our very pretty - very long tongued vealers licking up the feed!

The kidlins are off to school for a new year this week – Sass is going into Yr 2 and EJ is just starting out on her educational journey. Although the drought has marched on unrelentingly, it's actually been a delightful summer holiday with our 2 gorgeous ones. No, we haven't gone on an overseas trip (we rarely leave the place for even an overnight visit). Instead it's been simple things that have filled our days – Arty crafty things, garden things, farm things. We've spent the last 2 weeks attending the department of Sport and Recreation swimming scheme – further enhancing Sass and EJ's swimming abilities. (I personally think that anyone living on a property with dams and/or by the coast should learn to swim and learn about beach safety, from a sensible age. Each of our kidlins started swim class at 3yrs.... now both can swim like little fish!)

Every day throughout the holidays both Sass and EJ have 'helped' feed the cattle over at 'Nana N's' place. For the past few months FP has been supplementary feeding some of our cows and calves twice a day with a mix of ground grain and pellets - we simply don't have the grass in the paddocks to support them. Keeping our animals alive and well throughout the drought has sucked up all our farm savings and is about to max-out our overdraft – (grain/pellets currently costs about $3000 per month) so next month all of the larger vealers will be sold. 

 

FP - spreading out the ground grain and pellets for the hungry beasts

Anyone who thought living on a farm is easy has rocks in their head!


to do

more preserves (it seems almost every second day this time of the year I'm cooking up something to put into jars or the freezer)

sow asian salad & more lettuce seeds

rotary hoe old potato patch ready for the next crop

plant late season watermelon, rockmelon, cucumber


completed

shade 'tent' moved to cover tender leaf seddlings

seeds planted: mitzuna, endive, english spinach, rocket (arugula)

nectarines and plum preserves - this week these have include peach/nectarine & zucchini chutney, black chutney (very dark – its based around dark plums, prunes, raisons and dark brown sugar), blood plum jam, and some poached peaches – but mostly the kidlins have been raiding the trees and eating mounds of fresh fruit

 

potatoes dug and stored (from an initial 3kg of seed potatoes planted we have harvested in excess of 50kg of lovely spuds)

 

the harvest of pontiacs - off to the shed - long may you keep!

picking/ eating

green oak leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce, raspberries, yellow peaches, white peaches, yellow nectarines, blood plums, rondo de nice zucchini, yellow crook neck zucchini, spring onions, ivory eggplant, pontiac potatoes, 'zucumbers', early wonder cucumbers, passionfruit

TWIG - 15

 

rondo de nice zucchini (with flower... and pesky ants!)

 

 a couple of the pumpkin/squash collection - growing in the 'hot border'

I don't know about 'four-seasons-in-one-day,  but this week included one day at 44.3C (that 111F for all you non-metric people... which is mighty hot by anyone's standard!) followed by one at only half that temp, then one with a piddling amount of drizzle, another of just clouds, another with just thunder and the week has finished off with fogginess – all in all a frustrating week with only a drop of wetness in the rain gauge..... grrrrrrr..... (I'm sure if the plants could talk they'd be saying 'eeeeek!'....poor things)

still despite the yucko conditions we appear to be on course for a bumper crop of pumpkins and squash.... we have numerous plants in and most are doing extraordinarily well.... look...

baby golden hubbard squash

baby butternut pumpkin 

we've got golden hubbard, blue banana, butternut, triamble - all going strong so far

and just check this out will you...

its a self seeded watermelon (be careful where your kiddies spit out their seeds!) we've just let it do its thing...goodness only knows what it will be like (I'll let you know when its ripe – don't hold your breath its going to take a while!)

taking a tour of the garden is one of my favourite activities – I tend to focus on the potentials and possibilities rather than the problems and negative probabilities.... I'm clearly a 'glass-half-full' kinda gal


to do
plant bay tree seedling (in decorative 'chimney' bed)

plant herb seeds

plant more carrot, beetroot (oops forgot that this past week)

order 'jervis bay' wistringea seedlings (for extension of studio entrance hedge)

divide and move move 'americana' agave (anyone willing to do this for me? Geeez these things have nasty spines)

preserve nectarines and plums


completed
raspberry supports erected

pink day lily bulb planted out

'wet' herbs (mints, lemon balm) moved to revamped sunken garden bed

artichoke seedlings transplanted (into the sunken garden)

first sprouts and herb seeds purchased


picking/ eating
'tasty' lettuce, green oak leaf lettuce, raspberries, yellow peaches, yellow nectarines, rondo de nice zucchini, yellow crook neck zucchini, spring onions, ivory eggplant, pontiac potatoes, more of the weird zuc/cuc cross (we've started calling them 'zucumbers'!) and the first of our blood plums are just ripe enough to tuck into (ripening plums means its time to make the year's supply of plum sauce and plum jam)

blood plum with bloom

energy producer...that's me

Country Energy turned up a few hours ago to connect my solar panels and inverter to the grid - I'm now officially an energy producer!

After the switch was flicked we watched as the panels came on line - in just a few minutes the dial started slowing down....slowing down...slowing down - until it just stopped! Now I want to see if we turn off all the electrical appliances - will we can get the dial to run backwards!

oooo it's true what the Pyramid Power people said - once you get this baby hooked into the grid you can't help but become an energy nazi...

TURN OFF THE LIGHT!!!

TURN OFF THAT THING ON STANDBY !!!!!


TURN OFF EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!


(gotta go - I need to turn off the computer now that its interfering with my ability to make mountains of excess solar power)

TWIG - 14

Another dry week here at the creek....

but at least we have been getting back into all the jobs after a lull in activities over Christmas and New Year – but its hard to work in the heat, so we're trying to get out in the early morning to get heavier jobs done – and again after the evening meal to do emergency watering and such

This week also marked the time Rusty heads off to rejoin the herd. He's been a lovely boy – but he's getting rather big now.... and it took quite a bit of coaxing (and a fair amount of muscle) to get him into the back of the ute .....

 I was even called on to lend a hand!.....

 

Farewell Rusty (actually he's just heading over to FP's farm next door – can you see the itty-bitty house in the distance of this pic? Well that's his destination). He'll spend a bit of time in a small paddock over there and then take his place amongst the vealers that are currently being hand fed. I'm going to share some piccies of FP and the kidlins hand-feeding the beef herd – maybe next installment....

to do

plant out pink day lily bulb (a gift from an arty friend who dropped in – isn't that sweet!)

sow more lettuce and beetroot seeds

order herb and sprout seeds (oops still not done)

replenish vege garden bed with more compost, aged cow manure and such


completed

fallen fruit cleared in the orchard (thanks Sass and EJ)

vege garden weeded

spent italian cabbage plants removed

seeds sown: climbing princess, cherokee wax & french flat beans,

seedlings transplanted: thai eggplant, 'tasty' lettuce, artemsia (in the white garden and bottom decorative border), pink buddleia

worm farm moved to front verandah (not before the current collection of worms got fried in the heat.... hmmmm that means also on  the 'to do' list is get more composting worms)

I've been preserving yet more peaches – and the start of the nectarines – this time I've been making jars and jars of nectarine jam and 'gingerly peach' chutney (its yummo)


picking/ eating
red cos lettuce, raspberries, yellow peaches, rondo de nice zucchini, spring onions, early yellow nectarines, ivory eggplant, pontiac potatoes (we are bandicooting some before needing to lift the whole crop) and a weirdo self-seeded cross between a rondo de nice zuc and early wonder cuc (W*E*I*R*D!)

TWIG - 13

(yellow peach in the orchard.....YUM!)

the festivities of christmas and the new year have meant little has been undertaken in the garden in the past couple of weeks – but christmas and boxing day did bring a small amount of welcome rain (just 25mm – nothing like the huge falls elsewhere in the state) and so we are feeling a little ray of hope as the grass is a little greener...

but we need more than the odd shower to fill the dams – this is how things look here at the farm right now (I'm hoping by posting the pics that I shame the rain gods into action!)

 (this is the our garden's water supply.... 

The greener patch indicates where the dam should be - 

I haven't seen it this low since it was constructed more than 25 years ago)

(this is another of the 'topside' dams - down to a puddle now....)

The few photos of dwindling dam levels and dry paddocks can't really capture the true picture of what this drought entails (and I generally haven't elaborated about the daily difficulties faced here on the farm  - on all the district's farms – as a result of the ongoing drought... in the next little bit I'm going to try to record how things really are – hard to capture the feeling of crushing despair in a picture of low dam levels.)


I don't mean to be depressing – but sometimes its hard to remain upbeat and whilst I'll continue to keep a positive attitude - I think its important to share the reality.

we keep going by focusing on the task at hand sooooo....


to do
clear away fallen fruit in the orchard (a job I like to try to convince – ok bribe – the kidlins to do)

sow more climbing bean, lettuce, and beetroot seeds

order herb and sprout seeds

weed the vege garden


completed
bean support

In an effort to save some of the fruit damaged or stolen by the birds I've made a sizeable lot of stewed fruit as well as 7 bottles of pickled peaches and 8 of peach chutney... yum!


picking eating
red cos lettuce, raspberries, yellow peaches, rondo de nice zucchini, spring onion, baby beetroot, early yellow nectarines, ivory eggplant.

happy new (wet) year

goodbye 2009

 hello 2010

for the new year we are hoping for

rain rain rain rain rain

may all your wishes come true in the coming year

Happy New Year from the crew at Sams Creek