Farming waits for no one, so here we are with plenty more updates to share.
Firstly, we’re excited to introduce the newest members of our flock, ten Suffolk ewes who are kindly keeping our lawns trimmed. Some of these ladies will lamb in June, and we can’t wait to welcome their babies. They’ve been getting used to our barn in preparation for this time, happily enjoying the warm, dry space on these chilly winter nights.
As Chris and I continue to navigate the ups and downs of cancer treatment, more family arrived from New Zealand to help us out on the farm. They achieved a huge amount in just a few days, and we are so grateful for all the work they did (despite wishing we could have been doing it ourselves!). Thanks to Shane, Jo, Lance and the boys we now have:
A huge firewood pile to keep us going for a couple of years…
A fully insulated tool shed for comfort during the many building projects to come…
And stock yards have been dismantled ready to be put up in a more suitable area.
Meanwhile, the long waits in hospital have inspired me to pick up the knitting needles again. I think I’m developing a dangerous yarn-collecting habit…
As for Chris, it doesn’t take long for him to get back in the kitchen once he’s feeling alright. He’s been experimenting with chemo cooking – our term for selecting foods that taste somewhat reasonable when all your taste buds have been killed off. Unfortunately for him, everything still tastes like bland soap some of the time, except for old childhood memory food like veal schnitzel and mash.
I’ll leave you with this little critter. Our visitors got to experience some of Australia’s beauty and wildlife while they were here, including this rather impressive bull ant. We are all yet to meet the wombats that live in our paddocks, but I’m glad they’re happy here. With another 100 native trees going in this week we hope the wombats will move from the exposed open areas into the wooded foothills and tree lanes that we are planting for them.
Farm photos by Jo Muggeridge