Last month the blog was short – be prepared this month is even shorter. The 2 folk, the dog and the tractor have found themselves living a repetitive blur consisting of:
smoke haze nights
garlic deliveries
gatherings
smoke haze days
garlic deliveries
Christmas
smoke haze
garlic harvest
sleeping, reading and tea
Extreme weather, all things garlic, food/sleeping/reading
Days of very early starts to beat extreme heat and dust-laden winds. Water, the most precious of commodities at the moment, is shared sparingly between humans, animals, bees, and plants. The smoked out mornings are deceptively reminiscent of lovely overcast cool starts, the watered plants seem to be thriving compared to the drought-affected dry brittle grass of the paddocks. If we knew rain was coming our minds would be reading this differently, more positively. The pics show how dry, dusty and unforgiving our landscape is at the moment.
We did Christmas, plenty of gatherings around food and good folk, all of us preoccupied with the drought and fires. Such events are vital, if only to get you out of your head and to ask how others are coping, hoping to learn something from those more experienced and resilient. Only this is unprecedented out here, we have no point of reference.
It is with a sense of pleasure that 2019 comes to a close. Plans to post a ‘decade in review’, a reflective and thoughtful conversation about the start of our adventure here will have to wait. May the next year bring you and yours all your heart desires, rudely good health, great prosperity and grand adventures.
It’s garlic harvest, the month before Christmas and the 2 folk the dog and the tractor are going to keep this short.
For those who have followed along for awhile it is quite apparent we have focused our planting on trees and a vegetable garden. Only last month did we start to plant flowers in response to our bees arriving on site. So it is with great fanfare that we announce the arrival of our first peony flower. Oh the pride…
it is only one but what a sense of hope
To put this in context; 20 or so plants salvaged from a friend’s house, 5 years in pots, fully exposed to the elements, watered by hand, tendered with truly no idea what to do and finally we see a flower from one of the surviving/thriving 15 plants. With the weather we have been having this is nothing short of remarkable.
The 2 folk continue to fence and create new paddocks. The tractor is key to this as we use the post hole digger attachment to install the main gate and strainer posts. Apart from the cost of materials, it is mostly about physical effort and that is always made harder when the weather gets a spike of crazy heat. The 2 folk don’t like working in 35°C and even the dog is happy to stay lounging indoors.
Rant warning: The hot weather has been accompanied by some terrible dry winds and walls of dust. The conditions are causing hundreds of fires up and down this side of the country. Exposing the utter lack of policy and leadership by the government and the impact of years of slowing gutting a primarily volunteer based fire fighting system in rural Australia. It turns out the equipment used by the Californian’s in their fire fighting season is shared with Australia during our fire season….only now the season’s are over-lapping. I don’t care if you call it climate change or the 100 year event or climate evolution – that is evidence something is changing faster than our government’s twee little political brains can handle. Rant over.
New growth on one of the dogwoods, hope after days of terrible dry winds
The kitchen garden has entered the ‘spring famine’ period. All the brassica’s, broadbeans, parsley, and peas have been pulled out and the tomato seedlings are in place. After a final bumper crop of broadbeans and PSB fresh produce we are now harvesting includes chives, spring onions, perpetual spinach, tarragon, rosemary, thyme and garlic. Great frittata ingredients. There is the odd cherry and strawberry but sadly the much anticipated blueberries were fried in the hot dry winds. Despite plenty of water it does not look like they will become edible. The homegrown capsicums were thriving – until about Day 2 in the vegetable patch. Something took them out and I am yet to work out what. The bush beans have flowers on them and the apples are still hanging on. A mixed bag that highlights the desperate need for us to build a more sheltered kitchen garden area, I’m thinking one with a wall around it…Tasks for the next month include planting the potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, basil, salad leaves and succession planting for the beans, capsicums and corn.
tomatoes in place
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November was all about the harvest of the early season Turban garlic. Harvest time is a mixed bag of excitement and trepidation. Excitement to see how the crop performed this year (the whole bulb growing underground thing, you know?). Nervous because what if it’s a massive failure because something went wrong and the whole crop is affected….there are plenty of options to choose from.
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Such is the life of any grower of fresh produce I suspect. This year, thankfully, the crop is looking much healthier than last year. The bulbs are larger, the plants seem more vigorous and their colour is vibrant. The lessons learned this year, keep me enthralled for the next attempt. As this is the 2nd year growing in this space, it is time to rotate the crop out to new ground. Another ball game again.
For now, there is good healthy crop curing in the shed. In a few weeks time I will harvest the mid season crop, the Creoles. No rest for the wicked, what fun!
Book list November
Reassurance, inspiration, food and how to sort ANYTHING out.
After years of purchasing multiple panettone this year we will make our own…AND purchase some! Thanks to Nadine Ingham’s beautiful book “Flour and Stone” filled with recipes from her bakery of the same name in Sydney. “Everything is Figureoutable” by the dynamo that is Marie Forleo is a powerful and practical call to arms, for yourself. But without doubt the stand out book in this list is that by Charles Mackesy, “The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse”. I came to this via his Instagram account, and it seems the English author has struck a chord with half the universe. Utterly touching, his drawings and thoughts on courage and kindness will stay with you.
Last word
From Charlie Mackesy’s book – one of many pages that resonate.
December in which the 2 folk, the dog and the tractor work around the rain and a Christmas full of comfort and joy.
Rain is a good thing with caveats
The thing about rain and rural life – well it’s just not straightforward as “Yay, it’s raining!” If you have a farmer in your life, drill down on their thoughts on rain, and not just the polite conversation assimilation commentary. I’d also ask you withhold judgment if they seem a bit, well, Pollyanna, here’s my take…and my experience is embryonic.
When we lived in the city rain was really only seen as something that might impact on whatever social/sporting event we may have had planned.
When we went rural as a ‘lifestyle choice’ rain became something that was good because it helped the grass grow.
After a while, we realised the grass is really pasture and needs more than rain to grow, so we brought in livestock to help improve the soil, which along with the rain, improves the pasture (see earlier posts).
So here we are, 5 years on, with livestock, garlic crop and pasture to grow. Rain is a mixed bag now – what matters is the quantity, type and timing. Yes, we celebrated the December falls, however, it cost me my peace of mind.
I fretted because rain and warm weather brings out the bugs, debilitating sheep and causing fungal disease in garlic to become rampant. Last year I lost a significant portion of a stunning garlic crop to rot whilst curing, a lesson that is protecting this year’s crop beautifully. This year we had our first experience of fly strike on a sheep. Timely action and an experienced farmer means all is well. Positive outcome yes…however, I was left struggling with thoughts of ‘how to dispatch sheep humanely’, and this has not been resolved. This is one of those skills you just dread having to acquire, but to be able to do so humanely and respectfully is something I aspire too, which sounds most odd to say.
Furthermore, if it had not rained, well then other concerns would have filled the void and cost me my peace of mind! Perhaps there is something else going on here? See one last thing…
Our sheep husbandry skills continue to grow. After the last drenching session, the 2 folk were wormed thoroughly but significantly the same thing could not be said about the sheep. More ended up on the two of us than actually down the necks of the sheep. However this session, either the sheep were more comfortable, or the few lessons paid off, but the job is done, done well and in good time. So with the slightest of swaggers, sheep drenching – √. Never going to nail shearing but happy to settle for the ‘taking part with enthusiasm’ certificate.
We had our first experience of foraging, which I posted on Instagram @longview_garlic about finding a summer gold bounty of apricots. It is a story of disbelief, joy and a happy place…but not gluttony. Mind you I was not the only one to spy the bounty and I think local folk moved fast to secure fruit before a travelling stock group made their way past the tree.
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Garlic beds are empty – harvest 2018 is complete. I thought I would be pulling the last of the garlic in Jan but after flashing around some pics and listening to those with more experience than me, this year the late season garlic got pulled a month early. Once again it’s a mixed bag but I’m told it’s very normal to expect a distribution of bulb sizes in a crop. I am grateful I had the wherewithal to plant a ‘test bed’ of the late season crop as I had no experience growing it. The testbed crop seriously outperformed the paddock crop and clearly showed me the soil in the paddock beds needs much more work to bring it up to scratch. This will take me years to perfect. I still felt seriously deflated at the lack of brilliance in the paddock crop – classic reality check, again so very grateful I started a MICRO enterprise.
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Christmas was a really lovely event. Gentle, quiet and indulgent involving well-behaved humans and dogs, special food and simple decorations that hit the mark beautifully. We avoided the hectic Christmas rush, gift shopping was via online at rural stores, other gifts were handmade so could not be rushed and food shopping was whittled down to specific farmers market stalls or purchased locally at farm shops. The pic of the real tree is more for posterity. It’s my way of marking progress on the house because if you look at the walls in the background, they are ready for lining with the Blackwood panels. Last year they were bare corrugated metal. Progress is progress and patience is torturous! It is also the first year I got my way and tree decorations were kept to fairy lights only. Simple and uncomplicated.
December booklist
Books in printed form
The book list this month is in printed form because the audible form did not get a turn. I’m trying to work out how to incorporate listening to a book whilst still getting things done. The potential is properly inviting but I’ve not adjusted. Same with podcasts. I suspect whilst driving has potential if the internet connection is maintained and I can avoid earbuds. Working around the house will require earbuds as I’ve noticed noise from any activity interferes with the wondrous world being created for me. The simplicity of just picking up a book is being redefined. When did it become important to multi-task whilst reading? I’m not sure my brain can do that.
One last thing
We will never rid ourselves of anxiety entirely; our best bet is to try to give ourselves slightly more valuable things to worry about.
School of Life, cards on resilience 2018
I like how the sheep calm each other with touch and closeness. If in need of comfort just bury your head into a friend and go zen…
100goodthings 