An Accidental Outdoor Kitchen

It all started when Brian brought home a crumpled pile of wreckage that used to be an old wood stove.  Whenever there were a few spare minutes in his already busy days, he tinkered away in his shed until it was restored to it's former glory. He rebuilt the oven, made a new fire grate, rebuilt the ash draw, fixed the oven door and lined the back and sides with cast iron sheeting.
All the while we were pondering the perfect spot to install it for use. There were many things to consider as it would be functional and very useful in summer when it is too hot to light the wood fire inside the kitchen, and perfect for winter outdoor evenings.
It needs to be;
- Close enough to the house for practicality.
- Under cover- from rain and to provide shade for the cook on hot days.

An outdoor pizza oven had been on our list of things we wanted to build and while ongoing research  of building methods were stretching on, we had never been able to settle on a suitable position.
As we age we need to think of the practical side of our madness projects, so the Pizza oven plans had been put on hold.
As well as running the farm there were plenty of other projects going on in the meantime though; building the perfect shearing sling, the new sheep yards, the instant gas hot water service in the shed, the bigger meat saw. Oh, and he goes out to work full-time too.

I'm not certain which one of us came up with the idea of adding a small section onto the deck outside the kitchen door, and installing the wood oven there, under cover.
Oh joy, this could be a part of the outdoor kitchen I had always wanted.  I could cook all the things I usually cook in my kitchen wood stove on the days when it's too warm to heat the house. And lo... it would be suitable for outdoor pizza cooking too.
I often wondered at the practicality of the pizza oven when, in fact, we cook pizzas about six times a year. Yep, not all that practical really, and don't forget, practical is my middle name.

So work started on adding a metre to the deck. The first rotten joist was discovered, and from there it snowballed into replacing all, except one, of the joists.  The existing decking boards would be better if they were placed closer together to prevent draughts in winter. And besides, we didn't want to have a small area of new decking boards next to the old ones did we? So up they all came and all new decking boards were laid.

Each evening at beer o'clock, or wine o'clock in my case, more ideas came to mind and were tossed about.  Perhaps we should have some windows at one end to block the draught and semi-enclose the space to make it cosy.  Oh, and the galv cladding would look better if we extend it along the other side too. We can make a cafe bar on that section and buy some of those trendy Tolix cafe stools.

Of course then we need to cover the entire deck in clear sheeting to make it all waterproof while letting the light in. It will be hot in summer so we'll need to have a shade cloth awning made to put over the top in summer, and buy a trendy industrial fan.

The old ceramic butlers sink on the bench down in the vege garden would look lovely up here on one the work benches. Yes, kitchen benches on both sides of the wood stove.
Do you see where this is going?

Electricals were next;  enter the electrician. Light fittings and power points to be installed.
Plumbing to and from the butler's sink. Brian can do that. Phew!
Shelves under the bench tops, and a couple of cupboard doors at one end.

How did that free wood stove turn into this?

Meanwhile the mess of building materials, old and new, must be endured, while thinking ahead towards the finished product.

Whilst Jack is chilled out about the mess am I the only one who has experienced anxiety during a building renovation project?
For the first two days I could not get used to the way it looked different to what I had envisaged.  It has changed my outlook from the kitchen sink; I can't see all the way down to the garden, and that bothered me more than I thought it would. I keep reminding myself how good it will be when finished. How much fun it will be to style the new 'room' and make into a more practical and homely space than it was previously.

There is still much work to be completed, but I'm going away on my planned break for a week of rest and visiting friends.
The control freak in me has instructed Brian to hold off work on any more of the aesthetic parts until my return, but there are plenty of unseen jobs to be completed so he won't be idle. Ha, we can't have that can we?

See you on the other side folks.

Cheers,

Sally XX
















 

Minnie.

 I'm very late in sharing the news of Lavender's new calf Minnie. I hope you were not holding your breath in anticipation.
The event took me by surprise last Wednesday morning.  (April 17th)
At feeding time Lavender's udder did not look large enough for imminent calving, but two hours later there was a small black shape on the ground, being licked by her mama, almost to the point of being rubbed out.

Honeysuckle watched with increasing interest as Lavender welcomed her new baby.

Honeysuckle moves in for a closer look....

....and closer.

The heifers in the adjoining paddock were fascinated with the proceedings. 

The most frustrating part of watching our animals give birth is observing the clumsy attempts of the newborn trying to locate and latch onto the teat to take its first nourishment.  I decided to leave them alone for an hour while I attended to other jobs, and hoped the new calf would have found the teat during my absence.

In my experience, I will intervene if the calf has not had its first drink within two hours of birth. It is a simple matter of putting a halter on the cow, one person holds her still while the other person guides the calf to the teats. 

When I returned - without my phone to capture the moment- I found the calf suckling on Honeysuckle, who wore a blissed-out look of love on her face.  Lavender was standing next to them licking her calf.  

Great suckle Minnie, but wrong cow! 

With the aid of a feed bucket I lured Honeysuckle out of the paddock and walked her over to join the other cows. 

The poor girl was visibly upset, pacing the dividing fence and calling out to the calf for nearly four hours until she settled and joined her new paddock friends. 

Lavender's instinct was to stay close to her calf and although her water trough and hay rack were only ten to fifteen metres away she would not walk that far to drink. Calving is thirsty work;  I filled the bucket three times before she was sated and returned to munching the pile of hay that I placed close by.

This is the second time I have witnessed Honeysuckle allowing a strange calf to suckle her, so it seems she may become a good foster mother to future brought in calves.  

And in future I will separate her from other calving cows as her maternal instinct appears to be exceptional. 

But don't feel too bad for sweet Honeysuckle, her own calf is due to arrive in October, and because she is a Jembella cow, she will keep her baby. 

According to the details from her previous owners, she has given birth to one calf last year, but as she was part of a commercial dairy herd, her motherhood was very short lived. That is just too sad to contemplate and I am grateful everyday that we choose to farm naturally, to consume dairy products from cows who provide milk with love for their offspring.

Lavender and Minnie have been kept in a paddock separate from the other cows for five days so I can feed her a special food mix of chaff and minerals to boost her calcium and magnesium requirements. Today she was ready to join the other cows and show off her new calf.
After opening the adjoining gate, I watched closely as Minnie and Lavender joined the other cows, and wondered if Honeysuckle would try to kidnap the calf again.

Whilst Lavender's udder appears to be very full right now, and the calf is not drinking all the milk she is producing, I will let nature guide her to adapt to supply and demand.  However, when she walked into the dairy and stood waiting for me yesterday morning, it was a sure sign that she wanted me to take a bit of milk to ease the pressure.  I took three litres of lovely fresh Lavender milk and she looked more comfortable.
Our milk needs are small at present with no pigs to feed and cheese making taking a back seat, so I will milk her once or twice a week. This is how adaptable we can be with managing a dairy animal.
If we plan well, leave the calf with its mother, and have no need for copious quantities of milk, we are able to manage the milking to suit our requirements. This will not work for all breeds of cows, but it has been successful in managing our mixed breed dairy/beef cows. It is another reason why I love the mixed breeds.
I am enjoying a break from everyday milking, (the outside milking) and all of the tasks involved with using the milk (the inside milking).
There is more time available for replanting and revitalizing our sad drought affected gardens, some house renovations, and holiday plans for spirit and energy renewal.
I hope you all had a wonderful break over the Easter weekend. We swore off chocolate this year, but I made a huge and delicious batch of Easter buns which we are still eating.
House renovations are ongoing, and I will tell you about that next time.

Cheers,
Sally XX

Friday.. And No Calf Yet

 What's going on Lavender? I took this photo 288 days ago when you and Mulga Bill were definitely up to something.
The gestation time for you bovine creatures is 283 days so would you please tell that calf to get a hurry on.
This is all I'll say on the subject right now.

 In other news.... Goldie has begun to lay.

I'm leaving them in the nest and a new egg is added each day. I'm going to let her sit on them when she thinks there are enough. How many will she lay before she starts sitting?

Dad rooster is a fine looking fellow with the attitude of one very much larger. In fact, he has become very protective lately and attacks my leg every morning when I let them out of their shed. If I was wearing shorts my legs would be badly scratched so this is not a good habit for him to have. Therefore, if it continues he will need to be dispatched just as soon as we can replace him with another rooster. I haven't yet found a suitable name for him, and perhaps that's the reason why. 

Brian has two cage fox traps down in the paddock below the poultry yards. Yesterday morning another fox was trapped.  There are five dead foxes hanging from the fence now and the trap has been set again with a roadkill rabbit as bait.

The nights have been cold this week and the days cool enough for the kitchen wood stove to be burning all day. Lots of cooking and baking has been happening. 

I love sourdough baking and although we eat a very small amount of bread, I can't stop making it. Fortunately there are enough people who will take them off my hands each day for $7 per loaf through the Farmgate stall at our front gate.  

The Farmgate stall through the eyes of one of our visitors who kindly sent me this photo.

The morning rush hour.  

A motley looking bunch, but it's not their looks we care about. These are destined for the freezers, just as soon as I can make some space between the beef, pork, lamb, bone broth and other necessary flotsam that cannot be chucked out. 

A few jars of Mulberry Jam made from some berries taking up space in the freezer.  

Oh dear, the skanky old fly swatter steals the show in the background but I can't be without it at present. The flies!!!  It must be the change in the season. Warm days, cold nights, they just want to get inside the house.

We will be here all weekend waiting for a calf and building the new deck. 

This project has snowballed into a major undertaking. Brian has it all under control but I'm quite hopeless at imagining how it will look and, to make matters worse, I've been given the task of searching the salvage yards for the windows! Help!! Measurements and me don't mix so it should be interesting. 

Wherever you are, and whatever you're doing I hope you enjoy a peaceful weekend. 

Cheers,

Sally

Sunday - Waiting for a Calf

 Waiting

 Big girl Lavender is a little short tempered during these the last few days of her pregnancy and who can blame her?  She is due to have her calf  tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday and she is huge, so you can expect my next blog post to be all things cow and calf.

 I won't be going far from here until her calf is safely delivered and suckling well, so we spent the day busily getting on with normal stuff.

 I made a four kilo batch of apricot jam from fruit I had stored in the freezer. 

 

 Do you save the froth that is skimmed off the top of the jam before bottling? Waste not want not, and it is perfectly fine to eat.

 Now that all the events are finished for summer, a renovation has begun. And what a mess!

 Today's view from the kitchen sink. 

Last winter we were given an old wood stove that had fallen into a sad state of disrepair. Brian spent many hours in his workshop shed working on the restoration, while we pondered where to install it.  What was going to be a small job of placing it onto the deck as part of our outdoor kitchen, has snowballed into a major rebuild. New deck flooring, windows (yes windows), and clear sheeting across the entire deck roof.

A home grown chook baked in the kitchen wood oven for dinner tonight. Those fatty bits cut from the bacon added a delicious smoky bacon flavour to the meat, potatoes and onions cooked in the same pot. Served with zucchini cooked in butter and garlic (we still have a glut) and oven roasted tomatoes (a glut of them too), there's plenty left over for our lunches tomorrow.

Special thanks to Rhonda over at Down to Earth.  I've been fortunate to participate in her latest Writing Workshop and yesterday was our second and final Skype session with three other ladies doing the course.  I have absorbed like a sponge the experience and knowledge she shares so generously.  The course has helped me to look at my writing with more clarity,  motivated me to write more articles for Grass Roots Magazine, and who knows? perhaps a book one day.
If Rhonda intends to facilitate more of these Writer's Workshops, I can highly recommend taking part if you want to start getting serious about your writing.

And now, pulling on coat and boots for one more observation check on the mother in waiting before hitting the pillow.

I hope to have calf news for you tomorrow or Tuesday.

Cheers for now,
Sally XX

Bio-dynamic Field Day and The Ordinary Days Ahead

There was a large turnout at our Bio-dynamic Field Day on Tuesday this week, where attendees embraced the talks and demonstrations with great interest.
It was wonderful to spend the day with so many people who are keen to learn the finer points of living, growing and farming using the bio-dynamic philosophy; as Brian and I  have been doing for the past fifteen years.
John Hodgkinson from Bio-dynamics Agriculture Australia  Bellingen, NSW kept us all enthralled with the spiritual aspects of BD, and Shane Joyce from Kilkivan, Qld, inspired us with his knowledge of practical cattle farming using bio-dynamics.

Bio-dynamic Field Day at Jembella Farm on Tuesday April 2nd.

      Filling cow horns with fresh cow dung.

Brian and Shane Joyce burying the cow horns in the pit to make Prep 500.

The crowd were interested in our Peter Andrews inspired leaky dam. Now it just needs to rain. 

Our Team; Shane Joyce (Qld), Brian, Roger Carthew (BAA Chair), John Hodgkinson (NSW), Sally.

Ordinary days ahead at Jembella Farm

 All of the events for this summer have been ticked off on the calendar.
Beekeeping workshops, Farming workshops, visitor tour groups and catering.
The people have gone home. The catering boxes of cups, crockery and urn have been returned to the cellar, the trestle tables are back in the shed.
Life here at Jembella will take on an ordinary rhythm once again.
It feels good. No pressure. Ordinary is going to be wonderful.

Happy weekend ahead dear reader.

Sally XX

Starting a Garden

I've moved around a lot and lived in different parts of Australia and the world. 

Each time I moved into a house, or apartment and made it my home I started a vegetable garden. 

It was the first thing I did, after unpacking the cutlery, making a bed and hanging my clothes.

My vegetable gardens took high priority because I've always felt a need to pick and eat fresh vegetables and herbs that I've grown organically.

In an apartment where no space allowed me to dig the ground I grew herbs, rocket, tomatoes and radishes in pots.
Rocket lettuce is easy and fast to grow. When I have rocket leaves I always have greens for the base of a salad and for adding to soups, stews and various cooked meals.

I still read a lot about gardeners giving advice on starting a garden and, if I didn't know what I know now, I'd be daunted before I even turned the first bit of dirt.
They talk about setting up borders, making raised beds, bringing in dirt, composted manure and on it goes. That looks like an expensive garden. Or.. that looks to hard.
Can I tell you a secret? Most of the gardens I've started were with just a spade, a watering can and some seeds.

In Kathmandu (Nepal) I used a large spoon to scrape and dig some soil near my front door. I planted pumpkin seeds, from a pumpkin I bought at the bazaar, and a tomato plant. purchased from my gardener neighbour. Both grew well and cropped heavily.  My home grown vegetables were the envy of my neighbourhood.
I carried a plastic bag and occasionally on my way from work or college I picked up cow manure from the street to make liquid manure to feed my little garden. My wee bucket added more nutrient to the mix.

2004  Just moved into our farm house and co-habiting with mice and wildlife.

When Brian and I moved onto this property I started our vegetable gardens the day after we moved in.
I had a few days leave from work so I dug up some of the soil on a flat area near the house and started planting.
There were no borders, no special manures or composted soils.  I just turned dirt, tossed the weeds into the wheelbarrow for the chooks, and planted seeds and seedlings.
Within a few weeks we were picking our own vegetables and herbs.

Back then this house was an almost derelict structure, and in order to afford to buy the property we had to sell all of our other properties that we owned between us.  With a small mortgage that we wanted to pay off ASAP, we could not afford to rent somewhere to live so we moved in with mice scampering all night and birds flying in through the cracks in the walls. The bathroom was a makeshift structure on the verandah where we washed with a bucket while standing in a bowl.
Money was tight, we didn't even own a camera.
We both worked full time so, on weekends and evenings both of us worked together to renovate and make the house livable.
The gardens and growing our food were something that I could physically do without Brian's assistance, so if we wanted home grown vegetables it was up to me to do the work.  I was nearly fifty when we came here, so was no spring chicken, and the work was hard labour, but it freed up Brian's time for working on the house, fencing stock yards and building sheds.

As our living conditions improved and we paid off the mortgage to achieve our dream of being debt free, I decreased my employment to three days a week.
After two or three years of working with our temporary vegetable gardens that were supplying a lot of our food, we began fencing areas for our permanent vegetable gardens.
These were incorporated with our poultry yards, for allowing the hens into the food gardens at the end of the growing seasons. We had a winter garden area and a separate summer garden area, with gates opening into the poultry yards to allow the hens access at varying times of the year .

I learned a lot during our first year here.
I discovered that the area I had initially planned for our permanent vegetable garden was too exposed to the wind. I'm glad I worked that out before digging all those post holes.
I learned about the changing angles of the sun during winter and summer.  A spot I had chosen for the winter garden was perfect in summer but too shady in winter.  That area ended up being the ideal place for the pig yards.

 2018  Our comfortable and simple home.

While all this was going on and I was making new discoveries as each new season rolled around, we were still planting and harvesting vegetables. I'm glad I had just got in there and planted. We had already saved money by growing our own vegetables, eggs and chicken.

I planted tube-stock trees along the front of the property because we were one hundred percent certain that the decision to create a privacy screen from the road would always stand to be the correct one.
As luck happened, the tree planting was followed up with our wettest three winters/springs, and the tube stock trees were taller than me within three years. I'm so glad I just got in there and planted them when I did.

I planted flowers and shrubs from cuttings from friends' gardens and the nursery 'giveaways' shelf. All over the place, I planted like a woman possessed.  I kept adding straw that I collected from under the cow's hay racks, made liquid manures and was always piling organic matter and prunings onto compost heaps.
Some of those gardens remain, but others have been replaced with gravel and trees after too many years of dry summers. More gardens have been added, other gardens extended and expanded. I have plans to change some plantings this winter. The garden is always evolving.

 

 The photo on my blog cover page shows the gardens that used to be here. Now landscaped with gravel after too many hot dry summers.

I still do most of the gardening here because I'm the one who is at home for more hours in the week, so it just makes sense that I do it.  Brian manages the large vegetable garden (he says that's his relaxation), and helps me with the really heavy gardening jobs when I ask him to,  but his time (when not at his full-time employment) is generally taken up with the heavy jobs involved with sheep management, fencing, building, paddock work, harvesting and property maintenance. I'm perfectly happy for him to drive the tractor, and do the heavy work while I do the work that I'm capable of.

We made this raised bed, and two others, from a salvaged water tank cut into three pieces. After the first summer I discovered how quickly the soil dried out, and they required watering twice daily!  We repurposed two of them (goose nesting shelters) and only this one remains. I pile garden waste mulch into it at the end of spring and leave it unplanted over summer. Soon after the first autumn rains arrive the seeds sprout, supplying mixed greens through winter and requiring only rainfall to keep them watered.
If you're thinking of purchasing those shiny new corrugated iron raised beds from your garden supplier I would urge you to think again if you live in a hot dry environment.  I've seen people throw them out or re-purpose them after their first summer.
However, if you don't mind aesthetically altering the look you wanted to achieve, they can be adapted by packing bales of hay or straw around the outer edges to provide insulation and help improve water retention.

 

So, if you want to grow some vegetables or plant a garden, don't over think it.  Don't wait for everything to be perfect. Just find a (preferably flat) space and start digging.

For inspiration ask at your local library for "One Magic Square" by Lolo Houbein
An interesting little book, delightful in its simplicity, Ms Houbein outlines how we can begin from where we are.
Isn't that the best way to begin at anything?

Start where you are, do what you can, use what you have.

Cheers,
Sally XX

Pork For a Year

It was a public holiday here on Monday so, after the morning farm work was finished we got stuck into the big job of cutting up and processing the two huge pigs that hung in our cold room for a week.
As luck happened we had fleeting visitor who snapped a few photos for us.

The meat saw is a dangerous piece of equipment so full concentration is needed and strict safety rules apply.

We work as a team. Each has their position and knows what to do. We use a few basic cuts to quarter the carcass and then decide which cuts we will make (chops, ribs, roasts)  as we go along.
I load the meat into crates and boxes, and place them back into the refrigerated cold room until we have finished cutting up all of the meat.

I don't know how we used to manage before we built this cold room. It makes life much easier now that we can keep it cold for as long as it takes to carry a box at a time into the kitchen to pack the meat in meal size portions.

For two days I meticulously packed and vacuum sealed the portions of meat.  I don't find it a difficult or unpleasant job. Time consuming, but certainly not a chore. I think about all of the meals we will enjoy together, and with family and friends over the next year.
 Last week I wrote here that I was doubtful all of this meat would fit into the available spaces in our three freezers.
This morning I finished packing and freezing and gave a huge sigh of relief  as I closed the lids on all three freezers packed full to the brim.
The pork belly pieces are in their buckets of brining solution for nitrate fee bacon.
Next weekend Brian will fire up the old wood smoker where the pieces will be slow smoked for 24hrs.

Guess what we ate for our evening meal last night?  Pork loin chops on the barbeque.
Mmm mmm so good!

And what a stroke of luck. The temperature will be cool enough to light the wood stove tomorrow so there will be roast pork with the family tomorrow night.

Does life get any better?