What’s happening on the farm.
We are moments away from the spring equinox and about to hit the busy seasons. I am so grateful to be here. Glimpses of spring peaking through with sunny days; almost hot, but not quite. I’m a summer and autumn, personally, but I spend my spring building up to the highlights of the year. Long hot days, trips to the water, and dry firm ground. The dirt of winter and spring that is the worst. Mud everywhere; in some places ankle deep. Trudging through the thick mud to do anything, makes everyday a leg day.
This year things are stripped down. I am not out in the garden like I usually am. I am living within my means, physically, and that means taking a step back. The farm future is uncertain (I talk about it here) which means I am trying to orient myself in a way that supports a general unfolding. Where the future takes place, is less about location and more about what I want it to hold. The themes are around reducing what is required of me in some areas. Freeing me up to focus on the things that supporting complete acceptance of open ended possibility.
And with that
The Farm Update
In Animal News
Cattle
We are running four head of cattle this year; three heifer calves and one cow. Our cow, Coco (lovingly, Coco Loco), has been with us nearing 5 years. She is my favorite and I have enjoyed her chill demeanor. She stays where I put her, even when I forget to turn on the energizer. I have always seen her as a forever cow. I wanted to breed her (and I did once) but I am strongly considering sending her to the sales. The feeling comes and goes, so for now she’s here and I enjoy her company.
Our three heifer calves are autumn calves, born around Apr/May. I much prefer autumns calves to spring. Spring calves being born in August and the winter mud has set in. Not to mention the weather is nicer at the beginning of bottle feeding. Meaning you finish up right as the weather has gone solidly down hill. The kids help with the cattle. each laying claim over their personal animal to sell. It has become a real highlight when they get a pay out on their 18 month investment. I’ll introduce everyone in the coming weeks.
Sheep
We currently have four sheep. These old girls are the tried and true. I took two years off lambing, which has been sad. I miss those itty bitty lambs dancing through spring. There’s this time in the evening in the summer, the sun just slipping behind the hills. Under the blues and pinks of the setting sun, the lambs begin to play. Its an interesting phenomena as I’ve seen the older sheep and the cattle get frisky around this time too. It drives our poor farm dog wild.
Back to lambing. I would like to get a ram mid Autumn for lambs next year but we shall see what pops up between now and then.
The Birds
We have too many ducks! I am being overwhelmed by the eight ducklings we had in autumn. Who, have achieved virtual full grown status. They are all over my feet as I try and feed them. The others, very mindful, give me a berth for safe travel; not these eight though. I’m need to off load five or six and intend to do it soon.
Less ducks, more chickens. This year I think I will bite the bullet and buy some day old chicks for broody hens. I love the process of eggs hatching but I don’t want to have to separate the mother hen while she sits on eggs, only to have to train the chicks back into the coop. If I get day olds I can simply plop them under the hen and they all come out the coop together.
What’s Growing
Like a dystopian city, my garden, devoid of human activity, has gone back to nature. I do, however, have two beds filled with garlic. I want nothing more than to have a stunning garden filled with edibles for the family. Not to mention, there’s a marked difference in our grocery bill when I have to reduce my time in the garden. Sadly, the garden is one of the ways I need to step back. Gardening is one of the most strenuous activities. As is general landscape, property care, and tree management.
If I can’t tend to the land, how can I live off the land. Would it still be farming if I grew something that did not literally come out of the ground? I want to say yes. When I first learned to mother on calves. I was taught by a true blue farmer. She also took me to milk cows at a rotary dairy farm. Anyway, I told her I was a farmer. She side eyed me bombastically. But I told her I grow and raise things on my land which I sell. She gave me the ‘well, you got me there’ head nod and we carried on. It’s with that logic that I want to believe I can live of the land even if my crop is not a literal plant. And well technically, I do have livestock.
So the time that I would spend in the garden I am growing a new crop. Images from the farm. Just like food nourishes the body; images of nature nourishes the mind. You can see the small but growing collect at the Farm Shop. Here are the two most recent additions. Both these landscapes are of the farm next door. Which I dream of owning and running dry stock on. In fact, it was up for sale earlier this year and rumor has it, it will be back on the market come summer. There’s still a chance that my future holds an additional 70 hectares of land.
In the Orchard
The great succession of blooms is well and truly underway. We have already had our earliest plum trees in young green leaf stage. Small and vibrant against the yet to bloom apples and the final stone fruit flush. As beautiful as these blooms are I am ready for full canopies and first fruits. I expect to be full in plum end December – early January.
What I’ve Learned
There is more than one way to live off the land.
