Spring is in the air at the farm.
The winds are blowing in warm and the frosty nights are all but finished. I lit the Aga for the first time in a couple of weeks last night and it served as a comforting ritual. Adding wood, adjusting the air flow, filling the kettles and warming the children's clothes for bed on the bar. Then pouring Elsies bath in front of it for her to sit and play under its warmth while I cleaned up the kitchen.
As I look out over the farm I can see two of the goats that look ready to kid, the chooks and the 3 little steers basking in the suns warmth. We did have 4 steers, but one was smaller and got scours severely despite maintaining its previous diet when we bought him. We did our best with de-scour medication and feeding him electrolytes via a stomach tube throughout the day/night but he sadly died just as we were beginning to think he might actually pull through.
The steers are doing a great job of keeping the grass down, which is exactly what we had hoped for coming into summer. We have already seen a couple of snakes waking up from their winters hibernation and short pasture around the yurt minimises their tendency to come up and makes them easier to spot when they do. Being Australia, most of the snakes here can kill you so it's best to dissuade them from hanging about.
It feels like we are beginning to find some kind of new daily rhythm in this on-going lockdown. The boys get stuck into their school work early and get it over with. Well, except Henry, who likes to dawdle his way through all aspects of life. There is always one, yes?
Today they have had a particularly great day. They all got their work done by midday, we worked through any issues, got it submitted and they have been happily hanging out ever since. A month into lock down and I have noticed they are becoming closer and more tolerant of each other. Angus and Henry have always been close, but Will is older and had been drifting away into his teenage world. But with no peers and lots of discussions about kindness and being the only friends each of them will have for a while longer yet, their seperate worlds are once again becoming one. Which warms this mothers heart.
The new garden bed area is built, and one half planted out. I'm looking for an appropriate small tree for the other half which will become more of a little natural play space for Elsie with log stepping stones, flowers, scrappy grasses and maybe a little cubby in the corner. I did have cardboard laid to suppress weeds until we got it done, but it seems a curious little scottish terrier found something enticing in there and has made a real mess of it, fortunately there were no plants in there yet....Lucky she's cute!
See the mess Aggie has left behind her on the right? Fortunately I had not begun to plant that side out. On the left there is a small crepe myrtle, asian greens, some herbs, salvias, and lettuce seedlings on the go.
Gardening is slow here, but it feels good to finally have this little space at the planting stage. We still need to bring in more gravel for the paths, but it all takes time. This space serves as a dog free space, meaning Elsie can play safely without direct supervision. While Tucker and Bear are wonderful with the kids, they are big, strong working dogs so we never leave them unattended with her. They are more likely to knock her over with enthusiasm rather than aggression, but better safe than sorry.
Next, I need to get into my little round garden. Now it seems the last of the frosts are over some things need a prune, I need to pull a few weeds, add some compost and mulch it ready for spring. I'm amazed at how quickly things grow here. The little flowering plum and silver birch I planted a year ago have shot up. As has the giant bamboo which will act as an insulating green wall along the side of the yurt. The lemon and mulberry trees are a little slower, but I'm hoping this season they will get some good growth on them. Though the only one that has managed to get any mulberries was a cheeky little Henry bird.
Well, Grant has just arrived home after a long days work. We are having an easy dinner of bacon, eggs, mushrooms, fried tomato and fresh greens from the garden with home made chocolate brownie for dessert. A comfort meal for sure!
Much love,
Emma
xx
