Sunday 3 January 2016

Ringing in the New Year - 2016

For the first time in more than twelve years I spent Christmas with my family in Victoria. This meant leaving Brian behind to look after the farm. It would have been wonderful if he could have joined me for a short break but the reality of leaving our property at this time of year makes it impossible. It is so dry, the vegetable gardens need daily care, the animals all need extra care in the heat and this has always been the busiest time for us.
So Brian spent precious time with his two sons. The eldest, having purchased his first home this year, hosted Brian to Christmas dinner at his home which was pretty special (and slightly unusual) by all accounts.
I love a road trip and enjoy the long drive while listening to ABC Radio and audio books from our local library. A thermos and packed lunch is always the order of the day so I can stop along the way in peaceful locations. It took ten hours to reach Winchelsea (between Colac and Geelong) where my sister Annie and husband Darren live on a few acres.
Annie has the most beautiful garden (pictured above) and I always come away inspired. Their conditions are a little different from ours in that they generally get some rain every week. Annie also has lots of water storage and some large dams to indulge her love of gardening.

I arrived a couple of days before Christmas and helped Annie with the preparations while she spent hours in her kitchen prepping for the Christmas lunch for fifteen the following day.

 We had a hot lunch of ham (glazed), pork and turkey, all of which was bred and raised on their farm. Annie is a fantastic cook and all of the trimmings were there as well. This pic, although it is a little fuzzy, of Annie presiding over the plating-up before we all sat together at the long table in the dining room. The air conditioners were greatly appreciated.
Just one hour's drive away, the towns of Wye River, Separation Creek and Lorne were evacuated while a bush fire wreaked its havoc. We were on alert too as the wind whipped around outside.  The next morning we learned that 116 homes had been destroyed, but no lives were lost thanks to the education, communications and clever planning of the Victorian people living in fire prone and dense bush land areas.

I didn't want to be away from home for long so I drove to Queenscliff on Boxing Day and rode the ferry as a foot passenger across to Sorrento. A forty five minute journey.  Lizzie lives on the Mornington Peninsula so she met me on the foreshore as I alighted from the ferry. The little girls have grown so much since I last saw them in April.
We exchanged Christmas gifts and walked the short distance up to the shopping strip where we had lunch. More playing on the beach and then it was time for me to say goodbye and take the return trip on the ferry.

Brian had picked all of the apricots from our three trees and stored them in the fridge, so my first job after the long drive home from Victoria was preserving and drying.

Now all of the fruit is ripening and so are the tomatoes so some bags have gone into the Farm-gate shop.
I want to make lots of tomato sauce and chutney but the apples are not ripe yet, so I have washed and packed them into bags and put into the freezer. As soon as I can start picking apples this house will be a hive of sauce and chutney making activity.
Lots of tomato puree will be bottled to keep us going for another year of cooking from scratch.
How to preserve tomatoes without expensive gadgets  from a previous blog is still my preferred method.

 This summer has been the hottest (and most trying) for as long as I can remember. We put up a piece of shade cloth to shade the puddle for the pigs, but it is still a two hourly routine to hose them down on these days of temperatures soaring into the mid forties.
Sometimes I think it's a pigs life, so pampered are they.

Happy New year to you all and I hope 2016 is full of peace and positivity in your life.

Oh and I wish for some cooler weather too..please!









13 comments:

  1. I too, enjoyed Christmas with my family in Warrnambool, Victoria this year after moving here from the Barossa Valley in November to take up permanent residency. I must say though that we sat down to a traditional hot lunch with temperatures on that day around 38deg.C with the air conditioners working their magic.It sounds like you had a wonderful break catching up with family over the Christmas period and enjoyed time spent with them. The weather hasn't been treating you too kindly in the Valley this Summer and I must say I don't miss the extremes in temperature at all, it's lovely to be able to get that cool sea breeze here when we need it. Your garden is looking extremely good given the hot weather and very productive with lots of work ahead with preserving your bounty.Wishing you some cooler weather and a very happy , healthy and prosperous year in 2016.

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  2. P.S. Brian has done an amazing job while you have been away. Hats off to him.

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    1. Oh Warrnambool....sigh....dairy cows and potatoes. I'd move there in a heartbeat. Fond memories of holidays in Port Fairy a life time ago when I lived in Melbourne in different kind of life altogether. So glad to hear that your Christmas was spent happily with family. Must admit I did feel just a tad guilty having a break while Brian kept things going here. And wow, he sure did a fantastic job. How is it that under his care, my part of the vege gardens grew like crazy?

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  3. Sounds like a lovely Christmas!

    Your garden sounds like considering the tough season its doing pretty well. Next time we are in the Barossa we will have to pick up some produce.

    We are in the process of planning our garden, if we can ever find the time to actually research the principles we want to apply to it!

    I must say that moving south is looking pretty good at the moment. I think we are currently attached to Tassie, though come winter Im sure I will be attached to northern NSW! LOL! Im fickle. ;)

    Best wishes for your new year, oh and you link wouldnt work for me for the preserving tomatoes post. It said I didn't have permission? I thought I would check out what you do I always looking for ways to make it easier, though this year we will have to go to the markets and buy boxes of tomatoes to preserve.

    xx

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    1. Emma, I found myself day dreaming of the logistics of how to move four cows to Tasssie the other day! Sorry about that link, I think it should work now, and thanks for pointing it out. I'm doing more tomatoes today...and plums using a similar principle. May you have a peaceful and uneventful year in 2016. (Compared to last year's events.)

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    2. yep we have been theoretically working out how we could fit all our belongings in a shipping container to move to tassie and how much more de-cluttering we would have to do to allow us too!

      Though not a realistic dream till the shop sells. Who knows where we will end up, what I do know is Im keen for an adventure. :)

      What breed of pigs do you have? Are they a standard large white?

      xx

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    3. Oh Grant was just walking past and I asked him what your pig was, and he replied "Land Race Id say if they are white, a good pig, stubborn though..." chuckled cheerfully lost in thought of his old pig farming days I think and wondered off to the lounge pondering has days of dealing with stubborn fat pigs. ;)

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    4. I think they are a cross breed including Landrace, Large White and Duroc. They have black spotty skin. Peggy's breeds have become mixed and they are hardy animals with a good temperament. Grow really fast too. I train them early to run onto the trailer so we have no issues at all. I'm sure Grant would find a slight difference between my spoiled piggies and the large commercial breeding set up. The taste is the real clincher. Mmmm... milk fed pork. :)

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  4. Love those piggies!!!! There is noting more human than a good pig. I send them (virtually) my greetings, a big scratching session and a good hose down. May they also appreciate their kind owner.
    Fran

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    1. They are so funny, after being hosed they do love a good rub on anything. Consequently the pig shed needs repairs after each batch of pigs has been dispatched every year.
      Oink!

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  5. Always wishing for tomatoes at Christmas as my Dad did in Angaston. It seems not to matter how early I plant them! Not to be in Gippsland ! They are forming now but will be well into January before the sauce making begins! Meanwhile Zucchini recipes are a matter of priority! Wonderful Christmas with 4 out of 5 siblings at Ann and Darren's wonderful oasis! The Great Ocean Road re-opened today - almost 3 weeks after 116 houses lost! The "Sleeping Giant" still burns so pray for favourable conditions and rain!

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  6. Forgot to mention the wonderful Honey Biscuits and local Angaston Honey ......

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    1. Wonderful to see your comments Rosemary. Glad you enjoyed your Barossa Honey Biscuits. We are the other way around, hoping to pick my first zucchini tomorrow... and then it will be on!! The Zucchini Relish from a previous blog is always a favorite here and I need not let on how easy it is to make. Any more suggestions of zucchini recipes will be appreciated.

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