Jembella Farm: I should have plaits and wear a dirndl

Thursday, 11 June 2015

I should have plaits and wear a dirndl

Camembert with white mould beginning to appear

It's been awhile between blogs and although there is so much to write about there never seems to be the time.
I'm in my element now that Daisy is producing the loveliest milk for me to continue my passion for cheese-making. I'm learning new things with every batch and having such fun experimenting.
Too frugal to pay out for a course or workshop, I'm ever thankful for the world wide web and the information at my fingertips. I have a love of improvising and experimenting which I can afford to do by making small batches, (the chooks rarely get my failures now) and having plenty of lovely raw milk from our own cow.
I really must remember to carry my camera across to the dairy one evening so I can show you the funniest sight of all three calves suckling from Daisy. Yes, the very same Daisy who would NOT accept a foster calf.
We are still supplement feeding the two bobby calves while Daisy's calf feeds solely from her mum, but we catch sight of them frequently, all three on the udder at once.
When I need milk for the house (and for cheese) I separate the calves from Daisy in the morning. In the evening we milk Daisy but leave a little in the udder for her calf Dusty. Apparently, cows will always hold back enough milk for their calf, but I always turn off the machine before she runs dry.
We pour fresh milk from the bucket into the calf feeders for Blackie & Jordie who slurp hungrily at their 2 litres each whilst Daisy stands blissfully as Dusty has his full.
All three calves are then released to spend the night with Daisy and the other cows, no doubt catching little suckles during the night.

We went back to the Market today with 27 of the lambs we bought a few months ago. Do you remember me telling you how small and dirty they were? We brought them home, cleaned them up, turned them out in the paddocks and watched them grow.
Well, it's never really quite that simple. We checked them daily for fly strike (maggots), grass seeds in eyes, ears and non- mentionable parts of anatomy, and had them shorn in January.
We paid $42 each for them and today sold them for $115 each!! Not bad eh?
Needless to add that no, we did not splurge on fripperies with our profits. That money will go towards the new (to us) tractor, or the hay cutting contractor, or one of many expenses that crop up during the year, including a month of holidays.

So, my mission for the following weeks is to take more photos, but there is cheese to be made so I can't promise anything.

Living the simple life requires frugality in just about everything we do, so I do believe it's time to share our little tips of frugality or "what Nanna would have done".
What do you do to save a little bit here and there?
My tip for today is to use less. Yes, just use less. Less dish detergent, less washing powder, less hand wash. The manufacturers want you to buy more so they instruct us to use a certain amount which is really double what is required to do the same job.
If you have a dish washer (I don't but I did this at my daughter's home last month) cut the detergent tablets in half. Same effect of cleaning and the packet of (expensive) dish tabs lasts twice as long.
I look forward to hearing some of your tips.
It's winter, it's cold, dress warm, put on another layer and turn the heater down.
Cheers until next time.

1 comment:

Lewis Clark21 March 2017 at 08:34
I love your farm and the background of your blog is so amazing i couldn't help but mention it here in the comments. shout out to the best blog background haha. lots of love
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

About Us

Whether you're living in an apartment, in a house in the suburbs or on acres, you can live frugally and sustainably. There are many things you can do to save money, eat ethically and healthily, reduce waste and live an enriched life.
We are Sally and Brian and we live in the Barossa Valley (South Australia) in a 100 year old house on sixteen acres with 2 dogs, 7 cows, 2 alpacas, 5 geese, 35 chickens, 78 sheep and a few bee hives.
Our way of life takes team work and dedication, but over the years we've learned to be more productive without seeming to put in quite so much effort. We've learned through making mistakes and taking a different approach to what the conventional ways would be. Still learning every day and constantly researching old and new methods, we believe that our lives are greatly enriched, we are healthier and we couldn't imagine any other way of life.
Considered to be living The Good Life, people love to visit us on our small farm to learn about our simple living philosophy.

Why do we do it?
Our love of good food, concern for our health and respect for all animals. The further we got into living on the land the more aware we became that most of the standard practices of growing food were not satisfactory. We couldn't eat with a clear conscience.
Milk from sad cows, pasteurized and homogenized into white liquid. Meat from distressed, hormone and antibiotic pumped livestock. Vegetables and fruits grown and sprayed with chemicals. What to do? Grow our own!
Slowly we grew our knowledge and took one step at a time, becoming proficient in one skill before moving on to the next. The learning curves were steep. We fell over and got back up again. There has been some derision and criticism of our approach from a few, but that's life when you swim against the tide.
If we are not the "norm" then so be it. There is nothing "normal" about growth hormones fed to beef, anti-biotics and chemicals fed routinely to chickens, cruelty and disrespect for farmed animals, meals in a box, GM foods, strawberries and tomatoes in winter.
Thankfully the World is waking up to cleaner and more ethical food. We didn't know back then that Organics and Bio-dynamics would become the "new black". The tide is turning and our swimming is becoming easier.