This Farm of Ours

 Yesterday afternoon when we were feeding the cows I looked at the beauty surrounding us and felt so glad and thankful that this little patch of land is ours.
It's a lot of work for a small block. There have been many messes left by the previous owner to clean up and many things to establish. This time of year is always so good and full and busy. But I love it.
The weather is beginning to mellow out. The heat of summer is yet to come and the cold winds of winter are leaving us. The sun is warm and the night is cold, still cold enough for a fire which I like.

We've had another calf born since the last time I wrote. Black Brandy (second picture) as born on Tuesday. She's oh-so-sweet. And little Black Magic (other pictures) is just a ball of mischief! With this these glorious clear skies, warm days and baby animals it certainly feels like Spring!

We've started renovating, strengthening and modifying this old brick stable for the sheep's night and rain shelter, to keep them safe from wild dogs. There was a pile of bricks and some walls still standing on it's other side, the remnants of the other half of the stable apparently. I didn't get a photo before we cleared it away, but I couldn't believe what a difference removing the rubble made to the appearance of the paddock!

Recently we put in 26 natives in one of our paddocks; the beginning of a shelter belt for the cattle. A few weeks later I put in some arrowroot and a heap of comfrey roots among the little tube-stock sized trees. I was so excited when I discovered that some of it was starting to shoot!
I also have 31 pots with comfrey root in them in our potting area, all destined for the paddock when they shoot. Sheep, cattle and chickens love the stuff and it's so nutritious for them! I initially felt kind of mean for digging up our largest comfrey and chopping it's massive root ball into 2cm long lengths, but it's the best way to multiply this plant!

This afternoon we picked a big basket of produce from the garden. Tomatoes, peas, eggplants, shallots, zuccihini, 2 strawberries, radishes, capsicums, broccoli and lettuce filled it up quickly. My carrots tops are beginning to peak above the earth too. After a long day's work it was a good feeling.

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How was your weekend?

I hope wherever you are it was good.

I hope you feel as content and happy as I do this evening.

Sarah x

New Life

A foggy morning, a warm mug of tea and new baby lambs are some of the things that have been going on this week. It started off warm and but now a cold snap has returned.
There has been so much going on here lately that I really don't know how to the find the words for it all. So I decided to simply write about today.

Early this morning the phone range. One of our ewes had lambed! Two little babies, a boy and a girl. After the morning jobs were done we hopped in the car and drove over to see them. Daisy and her babies will be coming in early October, along with our other sheep. I felt so excited going and visiting them today.
To top it off, this same afternoon one of our cows calved at sunset. We stood in the fading light and watched her give birth and help the wobbly new calf up. We're yet to find out whether it is a little bull or a little heifer. Hopefully we'll see in the morning.
So today there were three births - one here by our cow and two elsewhere by our sheep that will soon be here too. It's been quite exciting!


What did you get up to today?
I hope your week is going well.

*Update! Our little calf turned out to be a beautiful little Bull Calf, and a bull he shall stay as he looks just perfect!

The Sheep Are Coming

For quite a while now I have been mentioning here that I would love to own sheep one day.
Initially I became interested in sheep as I became more interested in pursuing herding with Rilla.
Then I came to the point where I realised we need to produce more varieties of meat for our own consumption. Chicken is a treat and when the beef runs out.....that's pretty much it.
I am not, however, a big fan of lamb from the supermarket. It often has a very strong flavour and is way too fatty for my liking, and I'm not one of those lean meat people. I do enjoy a good proportion of fat with my meat.

In the midst of deciding whether or not to keep sheep, a lamb business started in our local area. They were going to produce "ethically raised lamb free from chemicals".
They were growing Dorpers, the breed of sheep that we were interested in. We ordered a side of lamb from them to try. It was delicious.
The cuts of meat were smaller than those sold at the supermarket, as they slaughtered their lambs at a younger age, so what we were actually eating was lamb, not mutton. The flavour was delicate and the fat content was good.
 I loved it, and suddenly became interested in keeping sheep for a purpose other than herding. I wanted them for meat.

Needing to keep them for meat makes a lot more sense. We're on a small block so every animal that is here needs to have a purpose, outside of recreational activities - dogs excluded. It seemed for a little while that sheep were a long way off, at times I wondered if a flock of sheep would ever come to be.
And then it happened. My Mum and I went to just look at some sheep, as part of our research stage. It turned out that they were the ones we wanted, and the best thing was that some of them had only just been born, which meant we had three months to prepare for their arrival.
So we ordered six sheep, paid a deposit, and returned home in excitement to begin planning the sheep paddock.

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To be honest, I can't really believe that we have bought sheep. I don't think it will feel real until we pick them up and bring them home. They'll be coming some time in October. I'm looking forward to then with much excitement!

Hope you're having a good weekend!

Sarah x

PS I don't have a photo of our sheep, so I had to share this one of our Chrysanthemums instead :-)

Floral Friday ~ A Flower Arrangement

Time got away from me last month and I missed participating in Floral Friday. Life's pretty full-on here at the moment, and I nearly let the same thing happen this month....but I decided not to. I've said it before, but one of the things I love about this project is that it does make you stop and smell the flowers. Or pick them, in this case.

None of our traditional flowering plants are in bloom this month, and aside from that we don't actually have many! Never the less, I managed to pull together a little garden posy for today and as a matter of fact, I'm actually very happy with the way it turned out.
 I didn't realise that our veggie patch was such a beautiful place until I went up there this morning with the goal to come back with a bunch of flowers. This bunch is not only pretty but is so fragrant too. The fruity sage (the little red flowers) smells divine, mixed with lavender and the single rose you see in the centre. The rose is a recent purchase and has the most beautiful scent - similar to that of a Mr. Lincoln, but not quite as overwhelmingly perfumed. I think it may become a firm favourite of mine.
Also in my posy are the flowers of cinnamon basil (it doesn't smell that pleasant but the other flowers mask it), a little daisy, leaves of yarrow and some pink flower that I can't remember the name of.
All in all I'm very pleased with my efforts, and I think the little vase wrapped in brown paper makes it extra sweet.


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Now, have you any flowery goodness happening at your house this Friday? Join in over at Trishie's or you can go on the email list for next month!

"Floral Friday is a monthly photography project with different themes each month. This series is about fun and taking time out to smell the flowers. To play along this month, simply add the link to while walking post below. To play along next time, please email Trishie for next month's theme."

Sarah x

Click here to see my previous Floral Friday Posts