Permaculture in Action

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The rains are 'ere

This is what our farm looks like today. (Our blog background fits in really well I think)







                                                  An irrigation pond nearly full.

We are rejoicing in the beautiful rain we are receiving at the moment. It is the first worthwhile rain we have seen in 6months. But too wet to garden,so... a little project that Mark has been saving for just such a day.
We garden with the help of chickens. They live in domes just like this...



They do what chickens do best- scratch, poo, and eats insects. Once they've done their thing we add mulch and 2 weeks later move them on to the next bed.With a little compost added with each seedling we plant straight into the newly chicken cultivated bed.


But after 5 years the domes are looking a little worse for wear. They get knocked around pretty badly in strong winds and have had to be repaired many times. So our plan is to use a different design- a geodesic dome. This should prove to be a much sturdier design.


This is the first of the panels that Mark finished today. He will show you the finished product and how he built it in the days to come so stay tuned!!!

In the meantime I have been enjoying being inside. I baked gem scones for morning tea. I've had the old  gem iron for a long time but only started using it 6 or so years ago, when we decided that we would cook all our food from scratch. First you put the iron in the oven to heat up while you get the mixture ready- butter, sugar, an egg, milk and SR flour (We use locally grown, freshly milled flour)





This is how they look straight from the oven , add a little homemade berry jam and a mug of freshly ground organic coffee and it makes a delicious morning tea


We hand grind our coffee everyday for morning tea and make it in a stove top expresso. It's the only cup of coffee I have each day and I like it to be a nice one.We decided that we really needed to slow down as our days were just so busy and agreed that if we didn't have time to grind our coffee beans we didn't have time for coffee. We always find time for our morning coffee.



Lunch was homemade damper and zucchini soup from the freezer, made in the summer from our home grown onions, garlic and zucchinis when they were all in abundance, awaiting just such a day when a hot warming soup is most appreciated.


Our days are always wonderfully busy ,so it's the evenings I look forward to, to do my knitting or sewing. Just lately I have finished two of these 3 pairs of leggings. The red pair are for a friends first grandchild- a girl, the yellow pair are for a friend's first baby- a girl and the pink pair are for our grand daughter due in July.

They are from this book Retro Babes and from the same book I have just started the little cardigan for that same grand daughter.


I look forward to knitting some more this evening once I get the dishes done.

4 comments:

  1. I only just stumbled across this blog from Down To Earth - and had to follow it, because I was thinking, surely there wouldn't be TWO Purple Pears out there! And I was right! We toured your farm last year and had a delightful time!

    Could you share where you source your flour? I have such a time trying to find truly local produce.

    Kind regards

    Mel

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  2. Good morning Kate. Your knitting is lovely. Such warm and cosy things for those babies. I'm so pleased you're getting that rain and your pond is nearly full. I hope it continues today to really soak in.

    My grandmas had an identical gem scone tray and made the most beautiful gem scones. How delicious with your coffee. I'm sure you know of Linda Woodrow. I think I remember her writing recently she was thinking of changing the design of the tractors, or maybe she was working on it. Good luck with all you're doing, we need more farms like yours.

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  3. Hi there, I am following over from Down to Earth as well. I love the look of your farm and found your blog interesting. I have never heard of gem scones but they look lovely! Enjoy your rain we are expecting more today after a week of it, the grass is to my knees!

    I have a backyard garden and some fruit trees, also just started blogging, and look forward to reading more about your farm.

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  4. Hi Kate! I didn't know you had a blog. Well done.

    Isn't this rain lovely? Mind you, the road has been close to flooding and I didn't think I'd make it home Monday evening. We have a new "lake" in the paddock; the geese are having a ball in it, and it's great to watch them there...

    Mum had a gem iron however we're not sure where it went. Your morning tea looks very yummy - as I KNOW it usually is!!

    Ree xx

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