Song of Fergie La La

So it was inevitable that it would happen.
Horrible rainy day.
Cranky Ewe, Gerty Gertz who "aint got time for dat"....
Next thing I know I got a sheep in a nappy in my kitchen.

We named her Fergie as she was rejected by her family. You work it out. Not about the Black Eyed Peas.

I did a crash course in how to raise a lamb. Thanks google! Bottle feeds, nappy changes and lots of hugs. We became used to the pitter patter of cloven hooves in our home. She fitted in well, sort of like a dog-sheep-human hybrid.

She was very content in the house however all good things must come to an end. Rises in our Tasmanian temperature and her decision that the couch was a good place to crash led to the conclusion that she really needed to be outside.

Little La La as we call her has become a constant companion. She enjoys days in the vegetable patch and loves a ride on the mower. I often have a little nose nuzzling my face and she heels better than my dog.

She is yet to assimilate into the herd. We go walks and visit the other woolly baa baas, but she is yet to really show any interest in being a lamb. So for now she thinks she is a dog-sheep-human and is enjoying hanging out with me and the pup.

perfect days of winter

Tasmania lives with the reputation of having poor weather. While there are periods of cold and rain at different times, the contrast from summer to winter is a delicious change for this individual who grew up in subtropical Queensland. There are winter days which are spectacular. Sunday was one of these. It was what I consider to be a perfect winters day at forty legs farm. 

There was a crispness and a chill to the air but this was accompanied by brilliant sunshine. There was   barely a breeze but it was still cool and a puffy jacket was required. It was the perfect day to get on with some chores around forty legs farm. 

After a slow wake up over a prolonged coffee in bed, we kicked off the day. Chicken duties were attended first up. Out of the coop and free ranging for now. With a permanent human presence on forty legs we have had less issue with wedge tail eagle attacks on our chooks. (It was distressing finding exploded poultry bits in the paddock before we moved in) 

There was opportunity for some building by the husband. With deadlines looming there is plenty of construction work ongoing. The rear deck and ramp is nearing completion with only minimal work to be done. House painting continues, but we now have a house that is one colour. 

That is not the possum, that is the husbands beard above the drill 

The vegetable patch was attended with further assessment of what pete the one eyed possum has destroyed. (I am not making this up. That possum has only got one eye and half an ear I shit you not) I continued on with my mitigation measures and prevention strategies along with some redistribution planting. Ended the day with picking some of my produce to create a beautiful dinner of home reared beef accompanied by baby beets, carrots, kale and chermoula made with carrot leaf instead of parsley. All from my paddock. Absolutely delicious. 

Little Furry Creatures....

Growing vegetables is rewarding and satisfying.

So far this year I have been  able to successively plant and mostly feed the family from our patch. It has been satisfying pulling carrots and beetroot, picking kale and silver beet, watching things grow and sprout from seed. While I missed planting in spring, I was still able to get significant growth due to our prolonged warm weather we experienced here. Pulling the last zucchini or courgette last week was a sad occasion but with the frosts we have been having they were spent.

My broccoli has been growing incredibly well, along with rows of additional kale carrots and beetroot. Lettuces, cabbages, cauliflower and silver beet have been flourishing despite the now cooler weather.

Enter the possum!

The devastation that can be caused by these little furry bastards is unbelievable. Our six foot high fences have not been enough. Our mitigatory measures were not adequate.The net which has been draped across the entire patch area and hastily put together with cable ties has not stopped him.

Each morning the enclosure is inspected and most mornings there is a tell tale pile of possum shit left to taunt me and demonstrate that he is able to thwart my best efforts to stop his pillaging. Thoughts of motion sensor cameras and other possum stopping measures fill my mind at times. I have had to work on not becoming completely deranged about this all.

I have been working hard to secure every possible place that could provide access. This has included more cable ties, using twine to stitch net together and metal clips to reduce any possible possum sized holes.

The last two nights have shown possum activity outside the net but not inside the enclosure. Hopefully the patch will recover and we will get the reward of our winter harvest.

Finally moved in.....

Construction continues however we have made the move and are finally in the house. The final push to be in the house occurred before Christmas. Assisted by the Father of the Husband we were able to finish things off to a point to gain that certificate to move in. 

Grouting!

The husband can only be described as legendary in all of this. He constructed decks. Tiled bathrooms. Tiled the kitchen and laundry. Grandfather assisted with laying timber floors, carpets and eating lamb. I was responsible for painting of course. I painted the entire inside of the house! In attempt to calm myself I took up yoga, tore the inside of my knee doing so and ended up having surgery at this time. (not the smartest thing.

Building a deck.

Somehow through all of that we moved in the end of November. We had our first Christmas here at Fortylegs and were so grateful that after four years of nomadic existence we are finally settled here. 

Kick ass pantry

While there is much to finish off we are on the right track and very pleased with all of our efforts. There are exciting times ahead with our vege patch development and other exciting projects around the farm.

Snowbart

Well the prayers of small children were answered today. School was cancelled and it snowed extensively throughout Southern Tasmania. The Huon Valley was inundated with snow.

The predictions of snow to sea level were correct with several  beaches being covered with a delicious layer of white. Social media is of course a buzz with photos galore of this not impossible, but infrequent happening.

So Fortylegs of course was primed to have a dousing of the white stuff and it did not disappoint.

Frozen Hay Bales on Fortylegs

There was at least 3 inches of snow on ground first thing this morning. The hills were covered heavily.

Mountains surrounding Fortylegs

Cows were handed this morning and pigs refused to get out of bed when breakfast was provided. Frozen troughs had ice broken and chickens stayed in their coop.

Frozen trough  

The kids are already asking if it will all happen again tomorrow. Having school cancelled was just too much fun. Don't know when we will get a repeat of this day, but I can't wait for it.

Been a while between posts.........

Well life the past few months has been nothing short of crazy. We have worked 7 days a week to get our house clad on the outside. We put in windows, levelled the frame, packed things out and put up sheets of cladding.

Man glitter

Cladding stage was challenging. Levelling the sheets so the vertical grooves were all straight put our skills to the test. We were successful however and it looks great.









We have plastered inside and now we are painting, tiling putting in bathrooms and kitchens.

Esse woodfire stove 

Recycled Timber Kitchen 

To say it has been taxing, frenetic, stressful and rewarding is somewhat of an understatement.

We have continued to do as much of the labour component as possible. This has been to save money of obviously. It has extended us both incredibly. The husband has realised he has mad skills beyond any previous self estimation. I too have discovered skills that I did not know I had. I have also overcome fears of heights and power tools and will comfortably climb scaffolding and ladders and fire nail gun.


All in all it has been a joint effort of mammoth proportions between the two of us. We are fortunate to have a relationship that withstands the kinds of ups and downs of the building has had. Having done this together has certainly made us closer.

We are probably around 6 weeks away of actually living there at the farm which we call Fortylegs. Seems that so surreal to be finally this close. It will take us a while to get the outside finished off, but we should be done by October.

Looking forward to sharing some more milestones with you all.

Roof at last

Miraculously we have a roof. 

The heavens finally dried up and the gales stopped a blowin. 

We have had a break in the weather and  the frame and floor is now protected. 

Over the last week the husband has worked extremely hard to get the roof on. With trusty Pete the builder they have hung on firmly,  butt cheeks clenched and hoisted tin in place. The hard part is now done and we should see some very significant work happening over the upcoming weeks. 

Tomorrow we are off to the hardware for more supplies, namely the vapour barrier which will wrap the house like a big present. 

I am sourcing a local mill to provide us with our hardwood external cladding. 

That should be a blogworthy experience when we visit. 

Cow love

My cows were as well planned as my children.

Our eldest son is lovingly referred to as our Byron Bay tent child so you get the picture.

One day I made a phone call and decided to change careers. Two weeks later I made another phone call and brought six calves.

The day before I started the new career I drove north for two and a half hours and picked up calves. Drove south for two and a half hours and nearly didn't get to pick up the children.

I brought bottles and calf formula.

The next day I smiled sweetly at my very tolerant husband, walked out the door and left him to hand feed our new babies.

Crazy George learning to drink from a bucket. 

Gemma giving a cow kiss 

Did I mention it was winter?

Did I mention it snowed?

Did I mention he didn't like me very much for a while?

The husband being the trooper he is did get over it and managed to hand raise these little guys. The theory being that seeing as we don't have a clue of how to be a farmers, lets start at the beginning and see how it goes.

The chook pen was the cool place to hang

As wee things they were incredibly endearing. There was obviously a fair degree of imprinting on us, particularly with the husband who did the majority of the feeding. Names were inevitable. We were advised against this of course due to the fact that one day we intended to eat them. There was Pippin (named for the obvious Lord of the Rings connection) Fergus (kind of Irish thing going on), Gemma (named after the girl who was in prep with the ginger), Crazy George (cause he was just a tad eccentric), Stuart (nice cow named after a nice guy I worked with) and Jackie Moon (Semi Pro change my husbands life).

It was not all smooth sailing. We plodded along with our twice daily feeding of cow formula and also daily rations of "cow crack" (calf muesli which is a delectable cow treat with molasses) and hay. We discovered that calves are susceptible to "scours" and we did lose Jackie Moon due to this. He had been unwell from the beginning and despite our careful nursing he eventually passed away. We lost one other calf to calcium deficiency which can occur at certain times of the year.

We researched the internet for solutions, management strategies. We cut hay at Fortylegs Farm and developed a relationship with our "hay guy" that included lots of advice regarding the basics of cow rearing. Other friends who had "cow" experience showed us how to turn a bull into a steer, manage pasture and how to maintain our animals. We learned the importance of mineral licks and despite our efforts to be completely organic we realised that worming was a necessity for animal welfare.

The cows were eventually moved from our rental to Fortylegs where they now live. They escaped a few times till we realised the value of a good electric fence. Fortunately they are easily herded by a bright bucket and a sniff of "cow crack" so we were able to get them back. We added to our herd an additional four girls brought from the "hay guy". Real cows. Angus cows. They all freely roam in our large pastures and have a pretty good life.

The cows we hand reared still come to us to cow pats. It is lovely to have them come to us whenever we arrive at the farm. The "real cow"s are somewhat timid of us and whilst they will have a sniff of the hand on occasion there is little cow love.

Raising the cows by hand was certainly an amazing experience and one that I might repeat when the husband finally releases me from my animal acquisition ban.

Building Building

So if you buy a block of land to develop a self sufficient farm, you need something to live in. Shelter is one of the most basic needs for all humans and living in a tent or a caravan gets very old very quick. I have done this before.

Houses are necessary. It just takes a long time to build one.

There was a part of me that wanted to be as sustainable as possible. I experimented in my head with all sorts of different building materials such as straw bale, earthship, cob, mud brick. Having a family of 7 (4 mad children, 2 mad parents and one very sane nanna) it needed to be big. A two bedroom cob hobbit hut was not going to work and there would have been a bloody lot of tires in that rammed earth wall in the earth ship.

The husband vetoed my grand plans of eco building and we settled on building a timber home with vertical cladding in the style of a Norweigan farm house. It was important to me that the house looked like it belonged to the area and I wanted the home to look traditional. We decided on a simple 'A' Frame design with an open deck to take in the fab view.

I thought we were being really organised and got our plans drafted quickly. I then had an honest conversation with a builder and realised I could not afford that house so I then had to shrink it. That added several months to the process. It then took us several attempts to lodge the plan at council. (My husband banned me from council for a while because he was afraid at what I might do). On the third attempt we handed the pile of papers that had been prepared by a professional to a professional standard, to the council person. We smiled as we were given a further pile of now changed forms which the professional had filled out, but they did not have the same picture on them.  We insisted that said council person must keep the papers and we would pay the fee regardless. Explained that we could email newly filled out changed forms the next day, which we did promptly. Several weeks later we received a letter asking if we still wanted to pursue our application because we had not provided  filled out changed forms, with new pictures, because they were sitting in someones email inbox who had gone on holidays. 

Despite the delays we are well and truly building now with the frame done just waiting for some roofing iron this week. 

Summer in Tasmania is supposed to be warm and dry. Windy and showery conditions have been all I hear on the news lately. I must confess to feeling slightly deranged when I hear this forecast. We made the decision to put our subfloor insulation in prior to the roof going on. It could be an experience that we get to live through again. Although we won't know till the roof is done an we let it dry out. 

Stay tuned. 

Strawberry Pigs Forever

Occasionally life provides a bounty. 

On this occasion the bounty came in the form of 500kgs of strawberries. 

On one of the few really hot days we have here in Tasmania we were heading to the beach when one of our neighbours knocked on the front door asking if we would like some strawberries for the pigs. The husband was excited and was about to grab a bucket, but the neighbour said to bring the trailer. 

They set off to the local strawberry farm. The cold room needed clearing out for the next weeks pickings and due to the Christmas break there was no jamming going on. Seven 60 litre drums later and we had a trailer load of strawberries.

Mega strawberries 

Well it was all a bit exciting really. The beach trip was postponed and we began to fossick for good strawberries. The Nanna got suitably enthused with picking through for good ones. The neighbourhood kids turned up. My ginger ate so many that he got a stomach ache. Phone calls were made and friends and Nanna's craft group turned up to get a bucket or two for jam. 

We ended up with ten bags in our freezer for later on. There will be jam and strawberry sauce aplenty in the future. One of my favourite desserts at the moment are a plateful of frozen ones, a dollop of coconut cream and a few nuts on top. Delicious. 

After we had fed the neighbourhood children and provided the craft group mafia (the Dons of gossip) with buckets of goodness we did eventually give some to the pigs.....

The Gonch!

There was much excitement in the piggy world over the strawberry bounty. Three pigs got to gorge themselves and did not do much over the next couple of days. They began to take on a bloody appearance and looked like they had been involved in some sort of violent street clash. The Gonch took to standing in the trough and began to sport some very fashionable red shoes. 

The way people work together in a small community is very different from the city. Sharing bounties is one way that they come together. Neighbours and friends looking out for one another builds the community spirit. 

Wouldn't live anywhere else.

Operation Sovereign Wheelbarrow - Winning the War on Weeds

A tale of two Thistles 

Well actually not two, more like two thousand. 

There are a bloody lot of weeds at Fortylegs Farm. We have many varieties. The most common is the Scotch Thistle. There is another thistle I don't know the name of,  a bit of Gorse and the odd fern. The Scotch Thistles are anywhere we have disturbed the ground which is basically one paddock and the really long driveway. 

On New Years Eve at a local neighbourhood party I had the fear of the weed instilled in me. Tales from other organic farms in the district where weeds had been allowed to flourish without any intervention and the consequences of the the inaction. Its not pretty. 

After a bit of thought we came up with a plan. We have decided to attack the thistles first. 

Scotch Thistle in my paddock!

After a bit of research into life cycles it became apparent that the first plan of mowing repeatedly was not going to work. As we are attempting to be completely organic spraying is not a possibility. Seems the best option is "chipping" or removal from the root. The weeds seem to die down through the colder months, however after todays efforts it is obvious that they don't die, they just become dormant. The tap root remains in the ground and continues to grow. They are enormous and today I removed one that was around a foot long. 

Tap root on the scotch thistle 

Over three hours today I managed to remove a ride on mower trailer load. Not bad. Half a paddock clear. Just need to do the very long driveway now and the other half of the paddock. One positive I have discovered is that my pigs really like them. They enjoy the tap roots immensely and love to nibble on the spiny leaves. 

Dottie enjoying a tap root 

Longterm it is apparent that the pasture is in need of minerals and also a grazing plan. This is in the bigger picture, however until the fences are established I can't get some goats to eat them. So for the next foreseeable future my spare time will be spent digging out thistles. The Gorse story will be another blog for another time. 

Skies through my eyes

One of the most amazing things I love about Tasmania is the ever changing skies. They are different to where I grew up. It took a while to get used to the lack of pollution in the atmosphere. 

Since moving to Tasmania I have captured many different skies in different locations. I have lived in a seaside community and a rural one. This has provided contrasting locations for some interesting photography. 

Fire provides changes to the Tasmanian skies. There have been recent large fire events which have devastated large areas of bushland. There is also the routine burning of forestry areas. The addition of smoke provides a change  to the sky colour palate. The increase in pollution provides a colourful change till the rain washes it away. 

 Smoky sunrise at south arm 

The many beaches and coves are constant sources of beautiful images. At times the oceans and headlands provide a backdrop that is impossible to take for granted.

Tasman Peninsula in the distance 

Over Fortylegs Farm the mountains provide a perfect frame for the constantly changing sky vistas. There are sometimes strange cloud shapes. There are never ending changes to the atmospheric landscape of the farm which provides a source of peace and intrigue on a daily basis. There is a definite lift to the spirit when surrounded by such a rich tapestry of colours from the ground to the sky.

Sky over Fortylegs Farm 

Some days there are dramatic sunsets with vivid colours and hues. These often mark the end of a satisfying day of physical work on one of our many projects at the farm. It is a privilege to see such an exuberant display of beauty.  

Sunset at Fortylegs Farm 

My simple gluten free bread

Having been gluten and dairy free now for some 10 years I have used many different recipes with many different successes. At times these recipes were incredibly complex and required too many ingredients to be functional. A few years ago I watched a program make a glutinous loaf with some envy thinking how easy it was.  A statement within the program however stuck with me. "Bread is only salt water yeast and flour".

Surely it could be easier.

As our family has become less reliant on processed foods it was imperative that I develop a bread that is simple to make and tasty. I prefer to make a focaccia style, however I have had success with loaves as well.

Ingredients 

2 cups Buckwheat flour

2 cups of Tapioca flour

3 teaspoons Salt

1 teaspoon guar gum

3 teaspoons Yeast

1 heaped teaspoon of Honey

1 egg

Warm water

This fabulous Buckwheat flour is a biodynamic one. It is less processed than some store brought ones. 

Method 

Place flours, salt, guar gum in a mixing bowl and combine together.

Prove yeast in a ceramic bowl with honey, a tablespoon of flour mix and approximately 1 cup of warm water. Once yeast is foamy mix with flours. Add enough warm water till bread is porridge consistency. Add egg and mix thoroughly.

Tips

Remember it is not a glutinous loaf so is much runnier. If too runny it will not rise and will be very dense at the bottom. I find it easier to use a flat stiff spatula to mix the dough.

Note the porridge like consistency 

Grease and line a baking tray of your choice.  Let rise for a bit. Sometimes I put it straight in the oven, but it does turn out better if given at least 20 minutes to rise.  Cook in a hot oven till golden and hollow sounding when tapped. It should shrink from the sides a bit too.

Sometimes I add linseeds, chia seeds, or sunflower seeds depending on my mood.

Slice up and enjoy!

News years reflection

So Christmas has been and gone and we approach another year.

As I have a compulsory look back at 2014 I am happy and what I have achieved yet unhappy with what I have not.

I have half a house. I have done a lot of fencing. I have raised pigs, chickens and cows.
I cannot lay claim however to what I really want which is to be living on our property.

We travel daily to the property, feed and tend animals and do some building where and when we can.

We have had several hold ups with the build including weather and waiting on trades. It is what one expects when building I am told however the frustration is still there.

I have made some progress on the vegetable patch with posts all in and one row of wire up. I plan on digging it over, mulching it and allowing the marauding pack of chooks to continue to dig scratch and generally do their thing. It should be ready for some planting next spring.

The pigs need moving soon so plan on building the next planned vegetable enclosure and placing them in there to do their pig thing. They will certainly save my back by removing the vegetation. Should be ready for a till in spring and also be planted out in the future.

Hopefully the build will kick along in the new year and will result in a finished home for me and my brood.

Progress so far 

The story so far......

So we have been in Tasmania for around 3 years now.

In that time we have relocated ourselves into a small rural community. We purchased  part of an old farm. Commenced building a house. Have begun to set up paddocks, redo fences, plan animal enclosures, vegetable patches, acquire animals and generally attempt to be farmers. 

Moving here was part of an overall plan of simplification. It has gotten pretty complicated however trying to be simple. 

Our journey into farming and the simple life began many years ago. 

One of our sons was diagnosed with Autism at age 3. 

We went through what many parents go through. We began many years of therapy and many years of trial and error.  

Having a life changer like that in your early twenties tends to change some views that you might have. 

We tried many different therapies. We did anything to help our son. 

The most effective changes however were seen with alterations to his and our diet. 

I began to research, experiment and learn. I began to see food as medicine. I began to see dramatic differences in behaviour. I began to see differences in me and the other kids as I changed the food we ate.

As I was changing our diets, I was changing as well. I began to rethink everything. 

Why do I have to a big mortgage? 

What do I really want out of life? 

Do I need to live in a big city? 

Is this the life I want? 

What will the future hold for our boy? 

Is this sustainable?

It got me thinking...... It got me evaluating everything...... 

So 5 years later here we are. We are attempting to have an organic, self sufficient lifestyle. A slow life some describe it. 

The blog will be a fun way to record it all I guess. So here goes. Hopefully those who read won't be bored. 

Cheers.