Monday 3 October 2016

Spring..??

We had two days of spring sunshine after the flooding storms of last week when we got 70mm of rain in two days.

For the first time in many years I felt pleased to feel the sun on my skin and a small part of me actually felt happy about the approaching warmer days. Here in South Australia, winters just don't last for long enough, in my opinion. Oh yes, like everyone else, I love Spring, but that sneaky Summer plonks herself in the middle of Spring. Uninvited.  Too soon. Spoiling everything with relentless heat and dryness. This year however, winter is lingering on and on. It must be driving some folks mad, but not me.

Two days were spent in the garden, which had been neglected for the past couple of weeks while we were busy with bee workshops and all things bees.
The raspberry patch has sent up lots of new plants, so some went into pots and out to the Farmgate shop where they disappeared in one day.


At last I found positions for these hollow logs that I rescued from the firewood heap.  With succulents in them they add interest to some bare spots in the garden.
These five goslings are two weeks old and hadn't seen any sun until three days ago. 

I think I forgot to tell you that I decided to let Lavender dry off three weeks ago.  She wasn't enthusiastic about  coming into the dairy for the past few weeks and her milk supply was becoming less each day. Her due calving date is in mid December, so it's time she had a spell.
To be honest, I got really fed up with walking up to the top of this hill every afternoon to bring her down to the dairy. That's our home and the all the sheds down there at the bottom of the hill.
After more than three years of  milking two cows, managing their calving times so that we always had a cow to milk, I feel like a big part of my day has been given back to me. OK, that's the advantage, BUT, there's no milk, cream or making cheese. Milk from the shop is different. That's all I'll say on that matter.
So the pattern of my days is different now, for awhile, but the bee keeping part of life has taken over for the next few months, so the timing really couldn't be better.

Relocating a hive of bees that had taken up residence in a possum box. 
We brought the possum box home with us and used it for a project to work on at one of the  bee-keeping workshops.
Wild and wet weather is here again, daylight saving has begun, and summer feels a long way off in the distance.
I'm packing my tiny bag and will fly to Victoria on Wednesday morning to spend a couple of weeks with my favorite little girls. 
So you won't see me  here for awhile. My days will be full with walks to the park, stories being told, books being read to little girls who's arms will be entwined around Granny's leg or neck.  

I'm a very spasmodic blogger, but Jembella Farm on Facebook always has the latest of what's happening here and further afield if you ever want to go across and have a peek. As my attention span is so short, always dashing off to another something, I can snap a picture and post it there while I'm in the middle of the paddock, or up to my elbows in flour in the kitchen. 
Hmmm.... I'm still waiting for that slower kind of life to appear. 

Thanks for visiting, and if you are new to this page, I hope you will return. 
Thank you to those who leave a comment.  I can't put into words the joy I get from every one of them. :) 
Cheers!

13 comments:

  1. Sally I have been worried about you with all the terrible weather in SA. Glad you are okay. I fly up north on Wednesday to see my grandchildren too. Looking forward to seeing them. Have a great time.

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    1. We might both be in the air at the same time Chel. I'm excited, are you? Have a wonderful time with your little ones and their parents too of course.

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  2. I hope you have a wonderful trip away with the little grandies. I am one that is over this weather. I don't mind the cold, nor the rain. But this vicious weather is wearing thin.

    Thank you again for our berry canes, they are safely planted!

    And I completely understand needing a break from milking - soon enough the urge will return no doubt! We all need a break sometimes.

    xx

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    1. I feel your pain Emma. If I had a house full of children I'd be well and truly OVER the rain by now. I'm enjoying the break in the milking routine, gosh now I realise how much time in my day it chews into, but I'll be ready for milk again by December.

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  3. Hi Sally,
    Its always lovely to read what you are up to. Can I whisper a word of warning in your ear about those goslings (or should I say sneaky goslings) we had 2 in our young quince orchard for 3 weeks, then in our front yard about 2 weeks, & then in our small mixed fruit orchard for about 3 weeks maximum, moving them around thinking we were doing the right thing, not realising they run their beaks along young branches, roses, anything they can really and strip off a couple of layers of the branch causing long term damage to the growth, of course the branch affected can become weak and die off, we found out too late and have had to cut out and re prune so much. Nightmare to be honest. So much money invested in our orchards and gardens and they have set growth back by at least a year.Great to hear about your Facebook page, do you like instagram? such a lovely community, I've started an instagram page if you felt like a look #fairywrencottage. All the very best and safe travels and visit with your precious little ones. Jude x

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    1. Oh you are so right Jude. Geese can be so destructive to fruit trees and we learned that lesson the hard way too. These lot are usually roaming our in the hay paddocks, but with the very long hay crop and this wet weather, the babies would be getting both lost and drenched, so they're confined closer to the house until the hay is cut. They're not supposed to be in our house yard, but they found a gap in the fence on the day I snapped the picture. I'm going to look for your IG page, as I'm on there too as @Jembellafarm. It's the way I can keep in touch with my daughter, who isn't on Facebook. X

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  4. Isn't it funny how sometimes we just need to listen to what animals are telling us although the lack of milk is a big downside.

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    1. Fiona you are so right. By rights I shouldn't be drying her off until about now, but she had other ideas. I'm so going to appreciate the milk glut when it comes in December. :)

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  5. Nice to have a break from milking and I should imagine it gives you back LOTS of time what with no cheese making and butter making too. But I guess shop bought milk is a very poor substitute though.

    Have a wonderful time with your grandchildren, we got to see two of ours last weekend on our whistle stop trip around Great Britain ... Scotland, England and Wales in a day ... twice :-)

    I'll nip over and follow you on Facebook too, something I never thought to do before. Safe trip. xx

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  6. It has been very strange weather here in South Australia lately. Spring shows herself but then disappears again. This week will have a taste of spring though with the temperature rising to 37C on Sunday. Woohoo at last!

    I love those logs with succulents, you have given me an idea and I am going out to our log pile tomorrow to see what I can find. These would make great gifts too.

    I have found you on facebook and instagram so I will follow you over there too :)

    xTania

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  7. Have a lovely trip Sally.
    Your photo of the cow (Lavender?) at the top of the hill made my smile. That is quite a walk to the top of the hill.

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  8. I too, am thoroughly enjoying this weather which is still giving us cool/cold nights in October. Usually our summer heat starts by mid September, and I hate summer. This spring we have had lots of rain - not as much as you in S.A. and no bad storms, but unbelievably good for us. It is the best spring in our 23 years here. Our dams have been overflowing since end of August!

    Enjoy your time with family. We had our three young granddaughters here last week for three days and again this week for two days while their parents were working. Lots of cooking and sewing and gardening and NOISE! But it was fun.

    Regards form Lyn in Northern New South Wales.

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  9. I wonder if Lavender's natural instinct has kicked in, with all that water around? She's sticking to higher ground on the hill, especially if she has a calf on the way. The stress (animals can tell things in the environment, long before they happen) may have put her off making milk, so she can prepare to nurture her growing calf, when she might run out of food.

    It's amazing how nature programs these instincts into their DNA.

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