GETTING READY...........

Things have been a little crazy in the last 2 years getting my business up and going and the last 12months moving it closer to the house.

Because I love what I do it doesn't seem like work at all.

I have noticed though I am not as prepared as I used to be. Prepared for what you ask?

Life and all it throws at you.

In 2011 we had the most devastating floods where people were killed, here stranded at our house was 16 people and we had plenty of food and produce to feed them.

If that same thing happened now and only 3 of us living here we would run out of food in 24 hours.

Yes I got off track for a while but am back on the path of being more sustainable and self sufficient.

Around 3 months ago we invested in 9 geese and 10 ducks...

The reason being was I couldn't keep up with the mowing and the grass in the food forest was knee high. Well they had that grass down within 2 weeks and I have not had to mow since...

We have a acre yard and no mowing...

 They are the quietest geese and will feed from my hand I am totally in love with these beautiful animals. They have the run of the farm but if I'm not on the veranda by 8am they are waiting at the bottom of the steps for their breakfast all 19 of them hahaha.

We now have 7 sheep both Bridget and Brenda had twins this year. We still have a little meat left in the freezer from last year. We will put 3 in the freezer and 1 is going to Cassie.

The piggies are growing and are doing a great job of cleaning the land for us.

They are both bound for the freezer as well. They are electric fence savvy and this way we move them to land we want cleaned up.

The glass house has been great for keeping plants in over winter and I love this room...

Sometimes on cold days I will go out there just to get warm and potter about.

We have bananas all year round now with the 6 different varieties we have.

The fruit trees are also doing well and keeping as in fruit we really only have to buy apples.

I have been a bit slack in the vege garden. Not much going on but herbs, plenty of herbs.

This is mainly because our daughter and hubby have a farm and they keep us in all the veges we need. I am getting ready to plant summer crops. Over winter we had kale, tomatoes and lettuce self seeding every where so were never with the basics.

With all the cabbages we get I have been making sauerkraut lots of it as we love it.

 Also making lots of pickles and relishes with all the gifted produce.

Back into bread making as well, I have started a sour dough and am 

making the first sourdough loaf today. 

We have our wood stove in and Bruce just needs to hook it all up and I will be able to bake my bread in it.....

As you can see we are getting there. I also did a big grocery shop this week and the shelves are full.

My main hindrance is I hate going to the supermarket, so getting self sufficient again will cut down on the times I need to go.

Do you stockpile? What measures do you take for natural disasters or just the fact that you are house bound and can't get out...

Enjoy your week

Mandy

Food Forest...

I woke up to the sound of rain last night.

Not a lot but still better than none. It is so dry here that there isn't even any green pick for my chickens. Each morning I go out and weed and take them down so that they are getting there greens. We get 10 eggs a day from our 14 girls so I need to keep them happy.

We sell 3 cartons a week which pays for the grain so our eggs are free.

I am thinking we have to fence of the food forest and let them go in there where it is still green.

Well greener..

This area is slowly coming along and the trees getting some height on them.

We have at last count I think 36 different fruit trees/vines...The passion fruit has fruit on it and the citrus trees are loaded.

This is our 1 lonely pumpkin from a self set vine....we have already had 2 frosts so the vine isn't in good shape.

This mandarin tree has never done well, this year the fruit is dying on the tree..

Any suggestions at all? I think we may have to cut it down..

I can't wait till the day when we won't have to buy any fruit at all....The fruit I do buy I get from our farmers market each Thursday when I'm there....At the moment we can't get enough of the Stanthorpe apples. Plus our bananas, which are the best of coarse....

Well I better be going and packing for the markets.....

Blessings

Mandy

Going Bananas

I am so very excited as we have picked our first bunch of bananas.....
We have been freezing them for smoothies making cakes and just enjoying the taste of our first bananas.

I remember last year when they were hit by the frost and I thought we were never going to do any good out of them...
We have 4 more bunches to pick yet, so exciting.

Now look at them they are doing amazing.

The fact that they are between the chicken pen and shed helps a lot.
The girls love to forage through the trees as it is always so cool down here.
I never give the bananas any extra water now they are established, just the bit of rain we get does them.
Yes I am very proud of my bananas.....

But it's not all about bananas around here.

On Sunday Mum and I went to the Felton Food Festival...

We got to see Costa Georgiadis from Gardening Australia, such a funny guy to listen too.

Mum and I had some great beer and Turkish for lunch yummo!!!!!
It was a perfect day with great weather....

Today Harry gets his plaster of his little leg, so that is good news for him and his Mum & Dad...

Thought I would leave you with a pic of this little clown. hahahaha

Have a great week end....

Mandy

Sheep, Chickens and Bananas......

Meet 

Helga, Brenda, Origin, and Starlight.

Helga and Brenda are the Mums and Origin (as in State Of Origin as he was born the night of the second game) and Starlight are heading for the freezer very soon.

The poor darlings have been a bit hot though as it has taken the shearer a while to get here.

They were spending a lot of time in the shade and insisted on having hay as it was to hot for them to go out side.

But now they are most happy and are spending all day outside. They don't even come to me now when I go down to feed them.

We also HAD a very handsome ram called Rambo.

But one night while we were on holidays there was some strange going ons in these parts.

Sharing the sheep pen were my beautiful rare bread chickens and 2 roosters 22 in all.

They were very happy, until in one morning Cassie went down to feed the chooks and sheep and there were only 4...Yes 18 gone in one night AND Rambo was dead as well.

What happened???????

I hear you ask, we don't know, there was no injury at all to Rambo and no signs of feathers or disturbance at all. We think foxes took the chickens and may be poor Rambo died of fright.

Once we were home we kept a good eye on the remaining four. But not good enough. 

William feed them one morning and by that afternoon 2 more were gone and poor Rocky the rooster was hanging upside down in the bird netting, this is probably what saved him though.

Rocky was taken back to the old chook pen to be with our last Mumma hen and her two babies.

As you can see he is very happy to be back.

Mumma has trouble keeping these 2 in toe as they like to go under the netting 

to visit Dad.

They have free range around the banana trees and are very happy.

Soooo

any one got any chooks for sale?????

I hve to get some more as it is strange having to buy eggs.

My Bananas are loving it here as well as the chooks.

The ones above were planted in September.

The rest were planted last week.

I have from the back to the front 2 of each.

Pisang Ceylan

Dwarf Ducasse

Goldfinger

Blue Java

Bluggoe

They have all been sent from up North and here in QLD we had to get

a licence from the DPI to be able to plant them.

As you can see they have a bit of catching up to do.

I am looking forward to when we have bananas all year round.

That is why I have planted 5 different types at different times.

I hope I haven't bored you 

to much with my ramblings, may be I should update my blog more

then I wouldn't ramble so much...

Blessings

Mandy