Well another week has gone by - don't they go fast! Last Saturday I got off farm for the day which was a bit of a treat! In the morning I headed off to Meeniyan which is about half an hour south east from here. The morning was fairly foggy but the sun did peep through the clouds as I drove through Arawata. I couldn't help but stop to take a pic of the beautiful country side. With the rolling hills a drive around south gippsland does give you plenty of pretty vistas!! The first meeting of the committee for a new permaculture group - South Gippsland Permaculture Network - was being held at a cafe to discuss future meetings and the nitty gritty of getting a group going. Very exciting to find a group of like minded people!!
In the afternoon I popped down to Melbourne to have a brief catch up with my boys and drop off some home grown or home made goodies. Always nice to share with them the bounty that is growing around my home.
On the Sunday I had two of my neighbours drop in to collect a rooster to join their flock. Ray Junior, now known as Slape Head McGuire, (named after soccer player by my 11yo neighbour!!), was the lucky lad to be selected to go to a forever home. He didn't head out alone but was joined by four hens who will be providing eggs for this young family. Happy days!!
Just thought I'd report on my rhubarb plant that had been dug up and split. The plant that was put back into the original spot has got lots of new grown coming on it so will be growing fabulously by the time spring comes. A bit of a relief to see it doing so well. Only one plant out in the swale area hasn't faired quite the same, having been chewed down by muscovy ducks, has really set it back a bit. The others are looking great however!
I did a bit of freezer clearing this week. I shipped out a huge amount of frozen tomatoes to my neighbour and also I made some pasta sauce that headed off to my boys. I cleared out some boysenberries and made jam as well as turning some quince juice into jelly. Busy times in the kitchen. I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of space for my lambs once they were cut up. Turns out there was plenty of room for this fabulous grass fed meat that the butcher processed on Monday. Takes a bit of time to pack it all for the freezer but I now have my years worth of lamb nicely tucked away.
Another kitchen activity this week was slicing up and dehydrating kiwi fruit. I left on the skins as they were fairly small and it would have been pretty time consuming. The resulting dried morsels were nice, a bit like eating a sweet cookie with plenty of fibre!!
The recent sunny days have brought my bees out of their hives and I noticed that they were bringing in plenty of pollen. Made me wonder what they were snacking on. A quick look around revealed quite a few plants in flower including some large eucalyptus trees which I haven't included in my pics. It's a relief to know that there is lots of food choices around for them.
This weeks video, if anyone is interested in what is growing in my veggie plot, is a quick tour of the front garden. I also give a run through of how I got it established. Link at the top of the page!!
I hope you all had a great week and I'll catch you next time xx