You don't write, you don't call....

It's been a long time between drinks, so to speak, but after numerous broken promises we have finally gotten around to another blog.  And we promise another before the New Year.  The photo above wasn't taken at Seven Springs, but it is snow, near Tenterfield.  Ian raced out of the car, threw this snow ball, then raced back into the car like the girly skirt he is so Michelle couldn't throw one back.  So childish.

Workin' 9 to 5
For those who haven't heard, Michelle has gone back to work for a few months, that turned into four months, that is now looking more like 6 months and will carry into the New Year.  Not only full time but FIFO to Port Augusta, building a 20ha greenhouse and 15ha solar farm for growing tomatoes.  Check out this youtube clip for a drone video of the farm that was taken in November at about 50% complete.

Sundrop Farms November 2015

Milking
None to speak of at present.  Before Michelle went back to work the milking cow China was dried off and put out with the rest of the herd.  Interestingly, the milk changes later in lactation.  It doesn't taste different, but it is creamier, and not good for making cheese as the curds don't separate properly from the whey.  China had faithfully given us milk for more than 1 year, so she had earned a break.  You might think that after being hand fed twice per day and looked after like royalty she might have tried to stick with her routine, maybe come back to the milking shed the next morning looking for food..?  Nope.  When she was let out we didn't see her for dust.

We are now making plans to bring in a bull to 'go over' the cows and heifers, with plans of growing the herd and milking again in the future.

Dirigible
The highlight of Ian's year, we saw an airship floating towards Blue Knob about the time of State of Origin game 3.  Sadly it was too far away to get photos, but it was distinctly a dirigible.  We expected it might appear in the local papers with conspiracy theories attached, but there was no mention of it.

Building Progress
The new section is practically complete and we have moved in.  Here's some pics.

'New' section is the two story addition.

From the other side.

Dining room

Kitchen - Michelle just makes do..

Pantry - photos don't do it justice.

Main bedroom.

Main bedroom.

Ensuite

Ensuite with view of walk thru robe through doors.

Lots of work to be done on the 'old section', more on that next blog.

Building Extravaganza

We have a lot of catching up to do.  The building works were really steaming along at the end of last year, and with the warmer weather and lots of rain the garden and paddocks quickly get out of control.  More about the garden and weather in future posts.  Now for a building works update...

Scaffold up, roof goes on.

Most of the scaffold removed, first floor windows and cladding installed.

Looking from the North 

Hard to believe the entire staircase is in the back of this ute.

But it was.  And it is beautiful.  Made out of Victorian Ash which is very light, and has become a light honey colour with the application of a few coats of clear varnish.

Ian and Wills put on a big push to get the walls and ceiling in the stairwell finished in time for the staircase to be installed in late November.  The next big push was to be ready for the kitchen & pantry cabinets to be installed in mid December. 

Kitchen cupboards being installed - there were five guys, and three light truck loads of cabinets - a big kitchen.

And you might not think the pantry is a big deal, but have a look at it.  Marvellous.

Michelle had a big smile on her face the whole time the kitchen & pantry cabinets were being installed.  So the cabinet maker was in no doubt that his client was very happy with his work.
Granite benchtops being installed in mid January, this needed four guys.  Another big milestone for the project (yes, Michelle was smiling then too).

Mostly finished kitchen.  Just need power, water, floor, appliances, you know - minor details.  Can't wait !!

As I type the electrician is here, and Ian is working on the frame for the spa in the ensuite, ready for the wetseal guy to do his thing this coming weekend.  Then tiling, painting and we'll be just about moved in.

Country Show Success

A short post this time.  We are very proud to share with our readers the recent successes at the Nimbin and Bangalow Shows.

Ian with entries for Nimbin show

Not expecting much, but thinking it was a bit of fun, we entered some produce, preserves and alcohol in the Nimbin show.  Michelle won first prize for her peas, and Ian won two first prizes - one for stout and the other for Davidson Plum Gin.  Sorry, no photo of the stout or the gin, Ian drank it all.  Interestingly, the only prize Michelle received was a blue card, while Ian received a blue card $20 gift voucher and can of brew mix for each of his winning entries.  Just goes to show there is no incentive to grow veges.

Then for a bit more fun Michelle entered some preserves and a novelty knitted tea cosy in the Bangalow show.  Michelle expected absolutely nothing from this.  The tea cosy was knitted from a free pattern found online for Michelle's own amusement and for herself. It's the only tea cosy she has ever made (to date).  The Bangalow show is known in the area as the show to enter needlework and craft items.  And it has a different theme each year, and last year's theme was "Bees", so it seemed silly not to enter the tea cosy.  Lo and behold - first prize!!  Still can't believe it.

And a nice blue ribbon to go with the prize card.  Nice.

Eat like your life depends on it

Let's take a moment to think about that:

Eat like your life depends on it

The full credit for this thought provoking statement goes to Costa Georgiadis who visited the Blue Knob Farmer's market again a little while ago.  I don't think it needs much discussion, but have a think about it.  It may just influence some of your choices.

Here are some pics of Costa at the market that day.

Did you know that cattle will eat less volume of poor quality feed, and more volume of high quality feed?  Strange, it seems to be the other way around with us...

Lots of lemons?

You know the old saying, when life gives you lemons then make lemonade.  There seems to be lots of lemons around this area at the moment, maybe you too could make lemonade?  This recipe is not sickly sweet like store bought lemonade, and has a tangy lemony aftertaste.  Very refreshing on a hot day, lovely with mint or borage added to the glass.

3 1/2 cups sugar

4 cups boiling water

16 cups cold water

4 1/2 cups chopped lemons

200ml cider vinegar

Combine sugar and boiling water in a food safe bucket and stir to dissolve.  Add cold water (from the tap is ok, no need to refrigerate), lemons and vinegar and mix well.  Cover with a clean tea towel and leave for 48 hours.  Strain, then pour into clean bottles and seal.  Plastic softdrink bottles are good for this.  The lemonade is ready in approximately 12 days or when it is fizzy.

Makes approx 5 litres

Building progress

Things are thankfully starting to move a bit quicker.

Ground floor flooring and framing install

First floor flooring install

First floor framing install

Yoghurt recipes / suggestions - as promised.  If you made your own yoghurt I'd love to hear how it worked out.

• eat with muesli and fruit for breakfast
• use as a replacement for sour cream (eg on a baked potato, or nachos)
• salad dressing - 1 cup natural yoghurt, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon ground cumin (toasted if you can be bothered) - mix together and voila !
• chicken marinade - 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/2 tblsp grated ginger, 1/2tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, zest & juice 1 lemon, 1/4 cup chopped coriander, 1 tblsp chopped preserved lemon, 1/2 cup natural yoghurt.  Marinate chicken for a few hours.  Baste chicken with marinade while cooking.

Enjoy !

What happened to Spring??

Heavenly hippeastrums in flower

There was very little spring to speak of here at Seven Springs.  It seemed we jumped straight from cold Westerly Winter winds into swimming weather of 34 degree days.  We don't remember it changing so suddenly last year, but perhaps we are more in tune with these things these days.  Yeah mon (said with a leisurely Jamaican accent).

So 30 September was the first swimming event in the new pool.  Michelle was first in.  Ian was a big girl and went in eventually.

The veges have been rocking along, here's some pics.  It really is a pleasure to be able to feed ourselves from the garden.  Add the daily supply of milk and eggs and we have a complete diet, all produced within a stone's throw of the kitchen.

Plentiful parsnips

Bountiful broad beans

"Freckles Bunte" lettuce going to seed

Foxy enjoys supervising vege garden activities

Building works continue.  About 2 weeks after the foundation holes flooding the builder was back with a vacuum excavation outfit to clean out the holes.  Concrete was poured the next day.

Concrete pour

Floor joists installed ready for flooring

Dog and cats playing marco polo.

 We have changed the milking regime to separating Baron overnight.  Now that the weather is warmer, and Baron is older, it made sense and resulted in a significant increase in milk yield - almost double.  Just goes to show how much he can drink.  Now that the weather is warmer it is lovely to milk in the cool of the morning.

Cheese making continues each week and we are now at the point where we don't buy any cheese or butter.  Recently yoghurt was also added to the milk product lines, a natural yoghurt which can then be sweetened with honey from our bees and vanilla, or add fruit or whatever you like.  Lovely on muesli with fruit for breakfast.

Yoghurt is surprisingly easy to make, here's how:

Heat 2l of pasteurised milk to 38 degrees celsius.  You need to use a thermometer for this, don't guess, if it's too hot the yoghurt won't develop properly.

Add 3 tablespoons of storebought yoghurt, the natural or greek kind with live cultures, a pot set one is best, and whisk to thoroughly disperse through the milk.

Pour into one (or several) jars, trying to get as little air at the top of the jar/s as possible.

Incubate at 33 - 35 degrees celsius for 12 to 16 hours.  Michelle wraps hers in a blanket in the cupboard and leaves it overnight.

The next morning you should have lovely thick natural yoghurt.  The longer it incubates the stronger the taste.  Michelle finds that overnight incubation for approx 12 hours works well.  Refrigerate after the yoghurt reaches the desired taste.

If you would like it a little thicker, hang to drain in a piece of muslin or a cotton tea towel.  Some whey will separate from the yoghurt, you can either pour it off or mix it back in.  Ours lasts for a week in the fridge, by which time we've eaten it all and need to make more.  To make more just use your own yoghurt to start the next batch.  

Minimal effort, maximum rewards.  Enjoy !!

Want some serving / cooking suggestions for all that yoghurt?  See next blog.

August Rains

Yes we realise it is almost October, that's how long this blog post has been written and waiting to be published.  Sorry, we'll endeavour to provide updates more often, there's just so much happening.

Foxy & Baron sharing pollard

Certainly unseasonal, we have had about 40mm over the last 5 days or so and there is much more on the way.  The house dam is spilling over for the first time in many months, and the tanks are overflowing.

Here's what we were up to before the rain started:

Honey, honey
Well we finally got around to checking our bee hive.  Actually, it's quite important to wait for the right weather - sunny, no wind, no clouds (if possible), not too early in the day and not too late.  Bees are surprisingly fussy.  When we prised the lid off, this is what we found.

Broken bird comb on the left, note the three very clean frames on the right.

Bee box lid covered with comb, and bees.

It's called bird comb or bridging comb, and it happens when the bees run out of space to build comb to store honey or lay eggs for baby bees.  The bees' natural inclination is to 'go up' which is why you may have seen bee hives made of two or three boxes stacked on top of each other.  Strangely, there are three frames in the bottom box completely untouched by the bees.  We think it might be a bit cool on that side of the box at this time of year and that may account for the absence of building works on that side of the box.

So we eventually managed to remove all the misplaced comb without upsetting the bees too much, and collected 2.5kg of delicious honey.  It really is amazing how much honey is created by these little critters.

Inside the lid with most of the bees removed.  Beautiful.

There is now a second box on the hive (called a 'super', short for 'superstructure') and we are looking forward to even more honey in the warmer months.  We'll keep you posted.


To save, or not to save

This is a photo of a beautiful romanesco broccoli.  Michelle has been trying to grow this variety without success for about 2 years.  This was the final attempt, and what a beauty, the only one of about 6 plants raised from seed to mature.  The question is - do we eat it? or do we let it flower and set seed so we can save the seed?

Seed saving is such a worthwhile exercise.  The seed you save from your own home grown plants will become acclimatised to your specific region and growing conditions, meaning you should get better and better results year after year.  Saving and growing from seed also means you have access to heirloom and unusual varieties not available in the supermarkets, like romanesco broccoli.  In our experience the taste of the heirloom varieties is often superior to anything available in the supermarket, and many of our market stall customers agree.

Many seeds are very easy to save, for example capsicum, chilli and pumpkin seeds can be scraped out of the fruit and planted immediately, in the right season, or kept in an envelope (don't forget to label it) till the right season comes along.  All the veg and herbs at Seven Springs is grown from seed, most of it saved by Michelle.  Probably the most important thing about saving seed, is don't forget you have them !!  

So, did we save the seed?  It was realised that since we had never tasted this variety of broccoli, due to the lack of past growing success (ok, call it failure if you must), we didn't even know if we liked it.  So we picked it.  And while it is pretty, we reckon it tastes the same as other broccoli, but has a slightly milder flavour.  Will we grow it again?  Who knows, but we've got until next Autumn to think about it.


Building progress
Dismantling of the above ground pool has commenced and is well on the way to being removed entirely.

Holes have been bored for foundations and the string lines set out.

Then it rained.

Needless to say the works have been set back by a few weeks, depending on how much more rain there is and how long it takes to dry out.  We have clay soils which are sticky and slippery when wet, it sticks to your boots and is not much fun to work with.

So our target completion of end of September just won't happen (despite Michelle maintaining the target is unchanged).  Disappointing, but out of our control.

Busy Bees

Foxy & Baron - play mates.

Well it's been a little while since our last blog post.  Sorry.  But we have been busy bees, here's what's happening.

DA Approval (finally)
You might remember the building plans shown on Ian's "mans world" blog post earlier this year.  Finally we received DA approval and works have started.  Ian is owner builder, and we have subcontracted the pool installation and building of the new extension to lock up stage.  Negotiating the contract with the builder was fun (for Michelle), and we've accepted pricing for the internal staircase and kitchen cabinets.  Procurement is well underway for other items and all trades but the plumber have been nailed down.

Concrete removal to make way for new extension.

9m fibreglass pool is walked in.

It's far too cold to swim at the moment, but it is still great to have the pool in.  It's at least a sign of progress.

Ready to swim, just a little landscaping to be done.

Baron is king of the castle, well, spoil heap.

Milking continues
We are separating Baron and milking once per day.  Foxy is always helpful - she likes pollard almost as much as China.

Can you spot Foxy in this photo??

Cheese making continues.  This is a colby cheese drying prior to waxing.  It will need to age for about 3 months before being ready to eat.

Cheese making continues.

To market, to market
The market stall continues, and we have sufficient preserves, eggs and some fresh produce to make it worth our while each week.  This have slowed down during the cooler months, which gives us a little time to plan the Spring and Summer crops and market stall items.  And there was a surprise visitor at the market a few weeks ago.  The kasundi was pretty hot apparently.  This is Genevieve's stall, her potatoes are excellent.

Yabbies !
We visited PRIMEX again this year, a great exhibition of all things primary industry / agricultural.  This year as well as a couple of milking buckets we bought yabbies and silver perch fingerlings to stock two of the dams.  Don't worry, we didn't put them in together, or the fingerlings would be yabby food.  Looking forward to a taste test of each.

Ian releases the Yabbies.

Bees
Finally, the pun was intended, we now have bees !!  This photo was taken on the day we brought them home.  They seem happy, coming and going as they should, and we can see pollen on their legs when they return to the hive.  Now that they have settled in, we need to open the hive to check on things.  Maybe next blog we'll have a photo of the inside of the hive.

Greetings earthling.