by Krista | Jul 29, 2015 | Winter
I’m sitting in a golden patch of light on the front veranda, soaking up warmth from the Winter morning sunshine, wrapped to the gills in Bear’s clothes which always seem to be warmer than my own.
Luna is busy exploring, tail wagging ferociously as she sniffs out mice and lizards and anything else that takes her fancy.
Bear and I just finished feeding hay to the goats, laughing at the crazy antics of the babies as they leap and cavort around the paddock.
Now it’s time to rest.
That’s how life needs to be for me right now. Work a little, rest a little.
A redback spider bite causes all over body pain, headaches, nausea, fever, shakes, dizzy spells, exhaustion, and it lasts for weeks. Anti-venom doesn’t help, so you just have to soldier through, waiting for the yucks to run their course.
When you’re feeling awful, rainy days seem to be a gift, a permission slip from the universe to go to bed, take naps, watch marathons of NCIS and Murdoch Mysteries, read a little, and drink copious amounts of tea and soup. I’m so glad we’ve had a few days like that recently.
I love how rain changes our sun-burned world. Bare rocks are suddenly ablaze with color as dormant lichen surge to life.
Old bits of wood are suddenly sporting curly flourishes of lichen as well, light dustings of moss peeping out of rain-soaked crevices.
Bleach blond bits of fallen tree pods take on a golden hue when the rain hits them.
But it’s the old wood I like best, darkened whorls and swirls frosted with lichen of all sorts, looking like something out of Ireland or Washington instead of sun-drenched Queensland.
The sunshine has returned and we are happy to see her again, dancing along fluttering poplar leaves, glistening on the glossy lemon trees, streaming oh-so-warmly through our windows.
Now it’s time to rest again before putting in a load of laundry and cozying in for some hand-sewing while I listen to an audio book from the library.
It’s going to be a good day.
How does your world change when rain falls? xo
by Krista | Jul 27, 2015 | Winter
Sometimes life goes a bit wobbly. The last couple of weeks have been difficult ones with my body reacting badly to a redback spider bite followed by a virus and then migraines. Good grief. I looked at Bear this morning as we relived the gong show that has been our life recently and laughed, saying, “You just can’t make this stuff up!”
Thankfully, all is not dreadful. We have twelve baby goats toddling about our farm, and it is not possible to stay discouraged with their cute little selves making us smile.
We had luscious rain this weekend and all my gardens are thriving. Even in the middle of winter we’re harvesting radishes and tomatoes, lilly pillies and blueberries, rocket and fresh herbs.
The last couple of days have been especially painful for me, but today I perked up a bit and decided to make the most of it by baking and cooking. I made a huge pot of chili, dark chocolate brownies, and two loaves of spelt bread. It smells marvelous in here, and it’s a relief to know that even if I get sick again, we’ll have good food to nourish us and keep us going.
This afternoon I was able to get out for a little walk with Luna. It was glorious. Such wondrous skies and rain-washed air and excited greetings from all the dogs as we strolled around the farm.
Even when life is hard, I feel so lucky to live in this beautiful place with my Bear and our menagerie.
What keeps you going through wobbly days? xo
by Krista | Jul 24, 2015 | Winter
It’s a lovely cozy Friday night at home, rain falling on the roof, potato leek soup for dinner, last of the chocolate cake for dessert.
We had new friends visit this morning and it was so great to natter away like old friends as we perused gardens and orchards and swooned over the 8 baby goats tottering around so cutely.
After cuppas and promises to get together again soon, we waved good-bye and Bear and I headed outside to check on the newborns and feed the dogs. Then Bear disappeared into the shed for another medieval project and I got Luna and went for a wander through my gardens.
One of my favorite things about living in Queensland is that there’s always something blooming no matter how cold it gets, no matter how wild the weather.
Like these delicate rocket blossoms.
And these oh-so-cheery calendula flowers brightening up these dark winter days we’ve been having.
The rosemary is flowering and the tomatoes in my greenhouse, and this week my peas started blooming. Against all odds they’ve survived the frosts and bitterly cold winds and are tall and strong.
I wanted comfort food today, warming soup, hot buttered toast, and a stack of spelt crepes.
We love spelt flour in our house, and I’ve been experimenting for months to see how it works in rolls, bread, pancakes, scones, and cookies. Today I used it in crepes and we are smitten. With crispy edges and beautifully browned centers, they tasted so good stuffed with whipped goat’s cheese and drizzled with strawberry chilli sauce made by my friend Jackie from Frog and Swallow Cafe.
We had them again tonight with our soup, this time stuffed with roasted chicken, more whipped goat’s cheese, and sweet chili sauce. Scrumptious.
What is your favorite filling for crepes? xo
Spelt Crepes
Ingredients:
2 cups milk or coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar sugar
1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup white flour
3 duck eggs
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in medium bowl, beat until smooth.
2. Cover and set on counter for 2-3 hours.
3. Heat griddle to medium-high heat, grease with vegetable oil or butter.
4. With 1/2 cup measuring cup, scoop batter into center of griddle, tilting pan so batter forms thin circle.
5. Cook until bubbles form on top, flip and cook another 30 seconds. Remove to platter and repeat until all batter is used.
Whipped Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
1/2 cup soft goat cheese
2 Tbsp milk
Directions:
1. Place cheese and milk in small bowl (if cheese isn’t soft, warm slightly until it softens) and beat together until smooth and fluffy.
2. Spoon 1 Tbsp of whipped goat cheese down middle of each crepe, fold in half, and roll up like a cigar.
3. Drizzle with syrup of your choice.
by Krista | Jul 22, 2015 | Winter
Is there anything better than a hot shower after a day spent working outside? Pure bliss, I say. It’s so good to be warm and cozy again after spending this winter day working in our orchards.
I started with a tiny harvest, our very first oranges. We honestly didn’t expect any harvest at all this year, so these five beauties are treasures indeed. They’re two different varieties, so Bear and I are going to have a taste-off tomorrow to see which one we like best.
Then I headed to the Big Orchard to check on all the cuttings I planted a few months ago. The poplars are amazingly tall and strong with good, deep roots. Our driveway is lined with poplars, but a few of them have been knocked over by fierce storms, so we planted about a dozen cuttings hoping a few would take so we could fill in the gaps. They ALL took! Now we have heaps of poplars to choose from, and will get to scatter them around the farm as well.
Then it was time to really knuckle down and work. I hauled load after load of rocks in a wheelbarrow, piling them near our fruit trees to create mini-versions of talus garland community, also known as stone mulch. It’s a brilliant idea for a dry, hot climate like ours. The rocks keep the ground cool and moist, and collect dew which trickles down to the tree roots. It’s a technique that’s been used for centuries, but we only started using it a few months ago. So far so good. The trees with rocks around them rarely need to be watered, but flourish just as well as their oft-watered counterparts.
After I got the rocks hauled and placed, Bear took a break from making a medieval shield to help me prune all three orchards. It is so great to see all the trees pruned, with plenty of space in and around the branches for light and air and optimal fruit production.
When that was done, he showed me how to use the pump spray and I mixed up the pest oil spray and made a good start in spraying all the trees before it got too dark. I will finish the rest tomorrow.
Although I’m a bit sore and tired tonight, I’m so happy to know our orchards are well on their way to becoming healthy, strong, and productive.
We also taste-tested our apple wine today – sweet and dry – and were delighted to find both of them delicious. We are excited to make it again in a couple of years with our own apples.
Do you have a favorite apple drink? xo
by Krista | Jul 20, 2015 | Winter
It’s been rather quiet around here as I continue to recover from the spider bite I received last week. After further research of symptoms we learned it was almost certainly a redback, and that I’m one of the “1 in 5 people” who get the full body symptoms – nausea, fever, aches, and exhaustion. It’s been hard, but I’m trying to just accept what is and look for ways to thrive in it. Farm life doesn’t stop for spider bites, so I’ve been trucking along with lots of breaks for naps and rests.
Today I set up a stool in the meadow so I could keep an eye on the goats while they grazed. Although the fields looked brown and dry without anything to eat, close to the ground was a veritable feast of green clover, herbs, weeds, and grasses that goats love. It did my heart good to see that Spring is indeed just around the corner.
It was so nice to be outside instead of huddled in bed shivering from cold and fever. The sunshine filtering down was lusciously warm and the fresh air wonderful. Wrapped up in Bear’s flannel jacket I spent a happy couple of hours reading “wild” by Cheryl Strayed as the goats wandered about noshing on the green undergrowth. (Nothing quite like reading about someone else’s miseries to make your own more bearable. :-))
Apollo, one of our Maremma dogs, kept coming up for cuddles, nosing under my book and wriggling into my lap before bounding off to bark protectively at “dangerous” trucks and horses across the road.
After a good lunch and long rest, I bundled up again and went out to the goat yard to see how our babies were doing. I found this fellow newly born, snoozing contentedly in the sunshine. I don’t know where he got his light coloring, but he sure is cuddly and cute.
The two sets of twins born over the weekend are doing well, learning to jump and always finding the sunniest spot to curl up for their naps. I can’t get enough of their cuteness.
Now it’s time for me to head to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a big day as we spend it in our orchards pruning trees, harvesting the last of our citrus, and planning where to plant our cider trees that arrived last week. I love their names – Improved Foxwhelp, Brown Snout, and Tremlett’s Bitter – and can’t wait for them to start producing well in a couple of years.
What project are you looking forward to tackling this week? xo
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