tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24339699985627271732024-02-20T19:47:53.159+10:00take your money and shove itIanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-64685982255464803432013-12-01T17:11:00.001+10:002013-12-01T17:11:08.181+10:00Blog On the Move<div style="text-align: center;">
In an attempt to stop Take Your Money And Shove It from fizzing out due to neglect we are moving over to a Facebook Page. I know this won't suit everyone, and I have many misgivings about Facebook myself, but it seems to be where everyone's eyes are for now and it is quick and easy to update. I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused and who knows things can change and we might pop back here for some more in depth posts again down the track. For now though you can keep up with our shenanigans and thoughts on this page:</div>
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Hope to see ya there :)</div>
Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-82727125231995709002013-06-13T22:30:00.001+10:002013-06-13T22:30:47.910+10:00Inside Our Little House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When you are homesteading what happens inside the house is just as important as what happens outside. After all what's the point of all this produce if you are not going to utilize it. </div>
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A big part of detaching yourself from consumerist society is preserving food. You know the way you can head down to the supermarket and buy stuff whenever you like, even if its out of season where you live? Thats a very unnatural thing, and it can't be managed without moving food vast distances or changing it so it doesn't go off (gassing fruit etc). In all of civilisations history prior to the last sixty years or so people have had to know to preserve food, and it makes sense to me that we reacquaint ourselves with it now. We have only just scratched the surface of it so far, but the highlight this Autumn was making our first ever batch of Tomato sauce.</div>
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Of course some produce will last quite a while if you pick it at the right time. There are pumpkins, spaghetti squash and watermelons everywhere! Mountains of em!!!</div>
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Another new adventure has been soap making. We have made two batches using oil bought at the shops, which makes lovely soap, but works out to cost about the same as a high quality soap you might buy. Great for avoiding some of the nasty chemicals used in commercial soap, but as a general rule I aim to decrease spending as well. One theory I have is that when it doesn't work out cheaper it is because you haven't managed to implement an entire system yet, part of designing from patterns to detail ( a Permaculture principle) is that different systems on the farm should interact and support each other. That is where Tallow comes in.</div>
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We recently split a home slaughter with a neighbour, we were only getting two lambs taken care of, but our neighbours were getting a steer done. That meant a lot of fat. A whole wheelbarrow full. Bright yellow fat. Everyone I know who is raising their own meat is keen to see as much of it put to use as possible, its an obligation you feel after all that work you put into raising the animal, and yet another example of why it's healthy for people to get close to their food supply. So rather than see any waste our neighbours were more than happy for us to take a few bags of fat home to make tallow from.</div>
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It's a messy business, but after melting the fat in a slow cooker and then straining it you are left with a clear clean liquid that will then set into a solid block. This tallow can be used instead of oil in the soap recipe, which suddenly makes the soap a lot cheaper to make. <br />
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Things are slowly starting to come together on the self sufficiency front. We are shopping less and less. It feels good to start skipping shopping days, and makes for more time on the farm.<br />
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-69266107163452556562013-06-12T15:16:00.001+10:002013-06-12T15:16:19.413+10:00Foggy Morning Spider Web Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-50319856230556627882013-05-05T20:11:00.000+10:002013-05-05T20:15:01.132+10:00Chicken Wagon No.2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Ever since I made our first <a href="http://takeyourmoneyandshoveit.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/the-chicken-wagon.html" target="_blank">mobile chicken home</a> I've been looking at our original chicken house and the house chooks and thinking, those chickens should be out working the pasture too. But for a long time I've let them stay there, probably because I was attached to using the structure after I took so much pride in<a href="http://takeyourmoneyandshoveit.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/its-just-chook-house-right.html" target="_blank"> building it</a>. We were even thinking of getting a third flock so we could keep some chickens in the coop and still scale up our pasture regeneration. But the wobbly nature of our finances has put pay to that idea for now. Plus a friend gave me a whole heap of windows recently and I'm thinking the original chicken coop might make a good frame around which to build a glasshouse (a story for another day). One of the great things about making stuff for yourself is that it can be repurposed, try doing that with your new TV or Smart Phone :P</div>
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I can't think of a better way to celibate international Permaculture day than a bit of reusing old materials with the goal of some soil restoration.</div>
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So over the last couple of days I'm made a second mobile chicken home. My criteria after the last one was that it be a bit lighter and easier to move. Also I don't think these mobile homes need to be that big, even when they have a lot of space the chickens tend to all squish up together at night. I also would like this one to be a little easier to clean out. Simple is best I think</div>
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As with the first one it started upside down. Two 'found' pallets, some chicken wire and a few scraps of wood holding them together.<br />
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Next some wheels. Big ones at the back and two smaller ones at the front with a go cart style steering thingamajig.<br />
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Flip it over.</div>
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Next a beam across the centre and two old doors from the tip. </div>
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The dark grey door is attached with hinges along the top so it can be opened up.</div>
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I covered the ends with wire and attached a pole (old tomato stake) with some rope to prop the open door up.<br />
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A coat of paint to help the doors cope with the weather and make it cooler on a hot day.</div>
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Inside I put a nesting box and a board as a perch for them to sleep on. The nesting box is made from an old bed side set of draws, actually the one I had in my room as a kid and have been dragging around the country with me ever since I left home some twenty five-ish years ago. Thanks Mum and Dad :)</div>
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And she is ready for action. The whole thing cost less than twenty dollars!<br />
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I put it in the chickens yard and put some food and water in there so they would start checking it out. I'll leave it in there for a few days and keep feeding them in and around it. Then one night I'll close up the big coop before they go to bed so they will have no choice to sleep in the wagon. After a few nights it will be off to the pasture with them where they can help to build my topsoil.<br />
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-66784208649913048542013-04-26T20:12:00.000+10:002013-04-26T22:42:49.699+10:00Milk, Honey and MoneyPhew! Time flies between blog posts and there is plenty of change taking place at Bunya Breeze.<br />
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The first notable hiccup I'll get out of the way as quickly as I can is that yet again there is uncertainty with regard to employment and income for our little household. As this job Vicki has is yet another creative industries type thing it has not really come as a surprise. The modern world just doesn't consistently demand enough art to keep any job in this area stable. Vicki and I were musing this morning that it must be almost ten years since we had jobs in which we felt truly secure. I'm also concious of singling artists out for special attention, this may be the way the whole world is going, I wouldn't know :P. Everyone involved in this latest episode has at least been honest and open about things, there will be no grudges held or bitterness from employer or employee (or employees husband). This is a good way, or even essential way to handle things in a small town, you can't afford to be bitter because everyone knows everyone, and its not good for you anyway so we'll do our best to stay positive and amiable.<br />
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Even if the job does some how continue the uncertainty means my holiday on the farm is likely to come to an end sooner than anticipated. I've already started snooping around for some job opportunities in the area. If I can be fussy I'd rather something part time and local so I can still spend as much time here as possible. I'm not really looking for anything art related which on the one hand opens up a lot of possibilities, but on the other renders my previous experience irrelevant and leaves me open to the old 'over qualified' response when applying for jobs that don't necessarily require intellectual qualifications. But we will see how we go. I'm definitely not afraid of a bit of hard yacka.<br />
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Meanwhile, and much more interestingly, the poly-face nature of our farming system continues to take shape, we have pretty much reached our full compliment of animal breeds now which is very exciting. The biggest new addition is Ellie the cow. She is a Dexter, is 3 years old and is 4 months pregnant with her first calf. Eventually, after looking as far afield as Nambour and The Sunshine Coast we found a registered breeder right in our street, which is great because he was able to deliver her for free and is just up the road if we need any further help or advice.<br />
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She is a delight, a real curious little thing. Every time we move her she devotes some time to looking things over and sniffing everything, when I am out or in the paddock she follows me around (from a safe distance for now) watching everything I do. There was an inevitable few days of mooing and moaning after the move, she has lived as part of a herd until now and it can't be easy adjusting to just having us and some sheep for company. In some ways we feel like the timing of her arrival is the perfect remedy for our potential financial woes, she makes us smile every time we look at her.</div>
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In spite of my earlier post we still have the sheep, after finding out what we could sell them for we decided they need to stay and earn their keep for a while yet before we part with them. We are keeping Ellie in the same paddock as the sheep, keeping cows and sheep together is called a Flerd (Flock+Herd). Ellie is used to sheep as she was raised with them around, the sheep on the other hand are pretty scared of Ellie for now. It is odd because in our earlier experiments with keeping the sheep and Archie the horse together we found they were very outgoing and in spite of Archie's aggression would get very close to him. They give Ellie a very wide birth though, often breaking into a run to dash across to another corner of the paddock when they think she has gotten too close. I'm pretty sure they will get used to her in time.<br />
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Last night Ellie escaped from the paddock, and broke my new expensive portable electric fence in two places along the way. We don't know why, its possible she was spooked by something. So we will probably take to keeping her in the safe (and studier) house paddock at night. This would have to have happened when she became a mother and we start milking her anyway so its no big deal.<br />
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Ellie is slowly getting used to me being near her, I can usually walk up and give her a pat on the back or neck now without her moving away. Whenever I lead her somewhere I make sure there is some food waiting for her at the destination so she is stating to realise I have good intentions. In the weeks ahead I'll be building some milking bales (probably out of old pallets rather than bought timber now that money could be tight) and I'll start feeding her in them regularly so she gets used to going in there every morning without any stress. <br />
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At the other end of the animal size scale I acquired a bee hive the other week at a Permaculture group meeting. David the bee keeper I bought them from was very generous, lending me a whole bunch of equipment without any need of an urgent return.<br />
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Moving them was interesting, Myself and Permie neighbour Elizabeth drove home from the meeting late in the afternoon with the hive in the back of the little hatch back with us. But in spite of our trepidation the journey went very smoothly without a single escapee in transit that we noticed.<br />
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They wasted no time getting to work and I see many of them now in my garden, working the flowing couch grass and in the trees. My friend Jack (a bee keeper himself) was happy to see we have quite a few Narrow Leafed Iron Bark trees around because they are just coming into flower and will be the bees main source of food through the winter. <br />
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Another Permie friend Judi also gave me a handy book on bee keeping that has been good to have. I have read a lot on-line but I found most of it assumed you have a basic knowledge and then tries to steer you in one direction or the other from there, while the book starts out by outlining the basics which I need.<br />
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The bees won't need a lot of attention in the immediate future, they have just had their honey harvested before I got them and need some time now to make sure they are stocked up for the cold winter, during this time the honey is more for them than us as they feed on it to keep warm.<br />
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About the only animal change I can potentially see for now on the farm is that we might swap sheep for goats at some point, but i need to learn more about the potential of keeping goats and cattle together first because I'm not too keen dividing up our animals into many more separate groups (which makes more work). We have some neighbours who have shared some goats milk with us a few times and I'll tell you fresh unprocessed goats milk is bloody delicious. The total number of actual animals will of course have to fluctuate in response to the way the climate treats us over time, but for now we have plenty of water and the pasture is looking good.<br />
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The garden is proving quite productive in the last little stint of warm weather, I have over 15 Watermelons near ready for picking, about the same amount of Spaghetti Squash, 10 or more Pumpkins and an absolutely ripper crop of Tomatoes just starting to ripen. On the way among many other things are loads of Beetroot and Chinese Broccoli. Plus now I'll have cow manure to add to my compost, making it even more fertile.<br />
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So life goes on at Bunya Breeze. The farm, its animals and plants offer a reassuring consistency, even when things change they respond as they should and guide us as much as we guide them. While the semi fictional world of commerce, employment and even the love of the first half of my life art, shifts under our feet and attempts to tip us off balance with almost comical frequency. Is it any wonder the world is in the grip of a depression epidemic when for many engagement with the real rhythms and connections of life, the great adventure they offer and long road of discovery they reveal are considered optional. Vicki and I have so quickly evolved to a point where we cling to the farm for comfort and reassurance, it simply makes sense, always gives as much as it takes. We are safe here, our quality of life is magnified here and the title of this blog rings truer than ever. <br />
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-1386812593188288492013-03-19T12:40:00.003+10:002013-03-19T17:43:57.245+10:00Navigating and Becoming Country Folk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I thought it might be interesting to think a bit about some of the differences I've noticed between living in the city and a small country town.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">First up it is truly amazing just how many people here we have gotten to know in just fifteen months or so. Vicki and I were doing a rough count the other day and figured we know about thirty people in our street (its a long street). Then there would be almost as many again across the town and even the same again across the region via the South Burnett Permaculture Group. Just as a reference point, I think that thirty people might be more than I have known in all the others streets I've lived in before combined.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One key to getting to know people has been Vicki's regular habit of walking our horse Archie up and down the road. He is a 'barefoot' horse, and walking on the bitumen is good for his feet. Often curious people stop for a chat and to find out more about what Vicki is doing, and if we meet people in some other context it is usually only a matter of time before there is a, “Aaaaaah your the lady who walks her horse!” moment. We have even been talking to people in the neighbouring town of Yaraman and had that happen :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another way we have met lots of people is when looking into places to buy animals. Neighbours always seem to know someone near by that sells or breeds this kind of animal or that. Just the other day we met some nice folk down the road who bread Dexter cows, a week before that we met up with another nice guy from a few streets over who has a Jersey cow for sale. In the city, not many of your transactions involve people who live near by so there is no point in getting to know them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Above any hiccups and the inevitable social fumblings (inevitable for me anyway) this has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. We did not expect it at all, we are in (or near) Joh Bjelke-Petersen country, we thought people might be extremely conservative (relative to us). We have discovered some wonderfully alternative people, progressive people, open and generous people. That's not to say we agree with everyone on everything, but as a general rule people are respectful and focus on the positives. We have met a few people a bit over zealous with the horse care advice, but even then its mostly because they are trying to help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">People tend to be older or younger in the country. I suppose middle aged career orientated folk tend to head off to 'greener' (pffft irony) pastures. Out of these two groups we tend to favour the older folk as the young kids out this way can tend towards the bogan side. Fellow Gen X friends are few and far between and I suspect important. Suddenly at the age of 40 I'm being referred to as that young bloke, a stark contrast to the teaching environment I was in before where I was considered prehistoricly old. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One thing that can be tricky to navigate stems from something very different about country people, the fact that so many of them have some serious history here. I guess people move around a lot more in the city, but many of the people out here have been here for a long time, ten years, twenty years, thirty years or even generations. Its only natural then that when they meet someone new to the area they like to share what they know based on the extra perspective they have. Sounds great, and is great on the whole, I have a lot to learn and the more information I can get my hands on the better. One down side though is that these people don't cross check their information (obviously :P ) and contradict each other all over the place. A recent example might be the extra wet weather experienced in this part of the world in recent summers, I've been told its horrible and there has never been anything like it before and then that it is wonderful and a return to how the weather used to be in the good old days. I couldn't possibly follow all the advice I'm given without being all tangled up in nots. I often wonder how often they return home and think to themselves something like, "these young people, they just don't listen". When it would actually be impossible for me to act on it all and maintain any kind of continuity to my actions. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nanango is one of Queensland's oldest towns.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So a few guidelines I've noticed are starting to develop when comes to old timer or local advice...</span></div>
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<li style="color: #222222;">First up and most importantly I need to
always remind myself that it is by far a much better thing than bad,
there is something to be learned in every exchange. If it is not
immediately obvious I just need to find a different way to look at
it. We ignore our elders at our peril, I may have new or different
ideas about things, but its never so black and white that you can
assume someone is irrelevant. As a teacher I've also experience
things from the other side, it can be frustrating to see a young
naive person fumbling towards strife in spite of your advice.</li>
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<li><span style="color: #222222;">Favour advice from those who do over
those who say. I suppose that's a more polite way of saying talk is
cheap. If I can find someone who is or has done stuff successfully
and roughly in line with my priorities then they are the ones I'm
going to listen to the most, nothing beats being able to observe
something in action over talking about it in the abstract.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">A 'CAN DO' wins out over a hundred
'CAN'T DO's. Even back before we moved people would tell us it was no
good up on the range, that the soil this and the climate that. Then
there were many locals telling me similar things in our early months
here. I know its early days, but I feel I can say that in every thing
I have tried there has been some if not great progress. There is an
abundance of food right outside my front door, the micro climate in
my food forest is changing for the better, and while its very early
days my pasture is finally being treated as it should be. Its
exciting, its fun and I'm learning SO much. Why you wouldn't even try
is beyond me :)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">There is a flip side to all that
history. Who's to say that my background might not throw up some new
possibilities, there is no harm in trying just to find out. Also I
think being in one place for a long time might sometimes leave one
with the impression things are better everywhere else. One example
that springs to mind is the winter weather here, I've been told
plenty about what you can't grow here because of the cold frosty
winters, but there is always a flip side. Last winter I grew an
amazing amount of broccoli and cauliflower here, I could never have
managed that down on the coast, my experience there was that the
summer pests don't give you a big enough gap to get a decent crop.
One door closes and another opens. Mmmmmm broccoli.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">Lastly I need to remember to have fun
and enjoy conversations for their own sake. A quick background story.
Way back when I lived in Sydney and was working at Disney a bunch of
co-workers suggested we go ice skating. I had never been before so
was keen to give it a go. We arrived and started stumbling around in
our skates. I was very interested in how the whole thing worked and
spent a lot of time looking down and moving my feet around in
different ways to see how it effected my movement. Some time passed
and then I went back to sit next to my friend Debbie, "Where
have you been?" she asked. I looked at the clock and realised
our two hours were almost up, I'd spent the whole time trying to
figure out more about skating instead of having fun with my new
friends. This post is in itself evidence of my tendency to analyse
things. Its something I enjoy, it clicks in my mind and feels good, I
doubt I can stop :), but sometimes a chat is just a chat. A nice
chance to share and listen with a fellow traveller. I'm lucky to have
gotten to know so many in such a short time, I love the country. </span></li>
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Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-52672594785538815252013-02-25T18:49:00.002+10:002013-02-25T21:47:18.144+10:00Garden Goodies in the RainWell after a short break its raining a lot again! If you want to see the high drama you need only turn on the news. I'm trying to keep focussed on the positives. The veg garden is going BONKERS! so I have been out trying to capture some of the action. My little cheap phone camera never does nature shots the justice they deserve so you have to imagine more vivid colours and textures. I see this garden every day, but still it's beauty is taking my breath away at the moment.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asparagus. Such a great plant to look at, to eat and to touch. I think it should be planted on every corner in the garden so that as you walk around you can reach out and touch its soft foliage.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3V_zB8WkWrPjSUHFY-vIQr3GcUksE4DZ-R_yUeFPN_WZHHnsIA1T1J9RnoiHANHZlVZ9nYpVv-FQMII5I4ooQ9vA3cfVhvTeQhl-ogbIF-2sKWBsvEPdUMBV2EdLQNMX_16a3WGzD4Y/s1600/Photo114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3V_zB8WkWrPjSUHFY-vIQr3GcUksE4DZ-R_yUeFPN_WZHHnsIA1T1J9RnoiHANHZlVZ9nYpVv-FQMII5I4ooQ9vA3cfVhvTeQhl-ogbIF-2sKWBsvEPdUMBV2EdLQNMX_16a3WGzD4Y/s1600/Photo114.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aleo Vera, not so nice to touch, but a striking plant when healthy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUUTTXoD1cE1kmPog4j5vbQX9oNOkaljEIxzRY8B7-jwxh3psSPSY0LbTyz8WQhc_SBS25gdZYndM8C-NxR63Y0Q-WbobMPCgpzlNqBLhp7LDXhrjgAGpi17O4xSo48cJYR6qjFQiFdY/s1600/Photo115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUUTTXoD1cE1kmPog4j5vbQX9oNOkaljEIxzRY8B7-jwxh3psSPSY0LbTyz8WQhc_SBS25gdZYndM8C-NxR63Y0Q-WbobMPCgpzlNqBLhp7LDXhrjgAGpi17O4xSo48cJYR6qjFQiFdY/s1600/Photo115.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Believe it or not I still have a little strip of Potatoes planted back when the frost stopped that are hanging in there. I planted about 6 times this much, but most of it died off having produced no tubers during the heatwave. Anything from these will be considered a bonus after they have had such a rocky ride. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-a0OBSGu2XfC61Io0VrCrTYHEGZz7NJdiM3uQFW2IbISDf_WTyOeKgt5hqhWqKsHr_NNedXJGi4O4YJvaTb2HVtKmMjq2mk5wR6EsO70HZ2BttFDslkg_9rHKUMNnYw81upd2okjtow/s1600/Photo121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-a0OBSGu2XfC61Io0VrCrTYHEGZz7NJdiM3uQFW2IbISDf_WTyOeKgt5hqhWqKsHr_NNedXJGi4O4YJvaTb2HVtKmMjq2mk5wR6EsO70HZ2BttFDslkg_9rHKUMNnYw81upd2okjtow/s1600/Photo121.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have Heaps of Spaghetti Squash on the way, but that's fine, I have read they are great keepers lasting up to six months. If you have never eaten or tried Spaghetti Squash I highly recommend you chase some up, they are such fun, taste great and easy to grow. I can't understand why they are not more common in supermarkets, ITS SPAGHETTI IN A PLANT!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-Qdil_mBNsvJFIcaeTeOWrFSs5lmC6M85RRLkW__LxU65TWB9euXt4_OTPm7XkZUhh3u2IxQEIxNej7UI4W_3RtqEUTEhIZaleLzqW0I97fjoEzPwKJEzuhEkd-FrTZsZtzM0RQU-Fw/s1600/Photo124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-Qdil_mBNsvJFIcaeTeOWrFSs5lmC6M85RRLkW__LxU65TWB9euXt4_OTPm7XkZUhh3u2IxQEIxNej7UI4W_3RtqEUTEhIZaleLzqW0I97fjoEzPwKJEzuhEkd-FrTZsZtzM0RQU-Fw/s1600/Photo124.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gU-gHc_UCXfZonTSigLAj1E7eMpWoI1uGwGcUARIktKT8u-5aAA94lJz4EMRUqktakkvr3SK2LP1dljviNPcMGB8E-umC_3gY-CHekfhGCMMhbSs7-7VP39tmPly2OtfnH85HGYUpE4/s1600/Photo126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gU-gHc_UCXfZonTSigLAj1E7eMpWoI1uGwGcUARIktKT8u-5aAA94lJz4EMRUqktakkvr3SK2LP1dljviNPcMGB8E-umC_3gY-CHekfhGCMMhbSs7-7VP39tmPly2OtfnH85HGYUpE4/s1600/Photo126.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Spaghetti Squash plants can get huge. <br />
The biggest one has stretched out across three garden beds in front of the house. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyftDMOrRY7cwmzb-5mFp32cGLj6pf2ZUIcPGEm8QQXbs2bBN4A453nDwDDB5mtGmZGqzbK0lh5C2rPVWB5-ZBDlPoxgRnXTmeaL74lTCqKnWZdqecVpgHyvmch96iRN7eu4zsIHRt1Q/s1600/Photo127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyftDMOrRY7cwmzb-5mFp32cGLj6pf2ZUIcPGEm8QQXbs2bBN4A453nDwDDB5mtGmZGqzbK0lh5C2rPVWB5-ZBDlPoxgRnXTmeaL74lTCqKnWZdqecVpgHyvmch96iRN7eu4zsIHRt1Q/s1600/Photo127.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four or five months ago I planted some Turmeric. I had given up and forgotten it so almost killed it thinking it was a weed when it popped up. Despite me having pulled it out of the ground it is hanging in there. its the one hiding behind the butter bean leaf with the one slightly brown leaf off to the left. Hope it survives.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1MdfhHUfevf9uttwOZWxFJwNx5juusOM3hIwPGF6FiTfHk-RFnjYGOY3wkOWsD4soaZRwt89mns15T5Ev44jBIGpC7D6ODjqGekpTaAsjQaBVxJ1V8cmkOA7QMh2sOZsqKZNZEBw2R8/s1600/Photo125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1MdfhHUfevf9uttwOZWxFJwNx5juusOM3hIwPGF6FiTfHk-RFnjYGOY3wkOWsD4soaZRwt89mns15T5Ev44jBIGpC7D6ODjqGekpTaAsjQaBVxJ1V8cmkOA7QMh2sOZsqKZNZEBw2R8/s1600/Photo125.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some Cosmos, to attract good insects to the patch. Pretty too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUehmlh0qiGrrQzkU5rXmXEtoKi-ELIqAfVdgGj65w9y1LowxS-MSEkQxCVgUah3Dvp7p5fmqwpq4B7kVfY8drSRN6WL2S6Y_lh1mNGrhEJCTeuRMAZ3Kt3fe5_0YxZFTkH4hI-7IrGVY/s1600/Photo123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUehmlh0qiGrrQzkU5rXmXEtoKi-ELIqAfVdgGj65w9y1LowxS-MSEkQxCVgUah3Dvp7p5fmqwpq4B7kVfY8drSRN6WL2S6Y_lh1mNGrhEJCTeuRMAZ3Kt3fe5_0YxZFTkH4hI-7IrGVY/s1600/Photo123.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Sun Flowers for the same reason.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDL_NGZh3aAQWVRii7T5MhITeryc3nEWTQZuLDWrNpfi7PgecQeQxiYd0VefsRdrb7NzCqSM3w1wLsYDDeuMlr6GTEJ3TKNbdsJB_M7GAZeHq_2GxAfa2lUWZcMteV_cE_ecFCmlO-ec/s1600/Photo119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDL_NGZh3aAQWVRii7T5MhITeryc3nEWTQZuLDWrNpfi7PgecQeQxiYd0VefsRdrb7NzCqSM3w1wLsYDDeuMlr6GTEJ3TKNbdsJB_M7GAZeHq_2GxAfa2lUWZcMteV_cE_ecFCmlO-ec/s1600/Photo119.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some more Asparagus next to Lavender and Chard around behind the old cement tank. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7v73buU4NuUGBuVSEV4-usWPX2MlcGP5Qh81fNP05ljKwC0A9xrekNmZrJRxKN1dZQ4Q-iLbmyAyxB9WCLz9r341P1OryIHHNNcd2Kkn4dsKOAudOSt94ZK-Omt6GYhN6f4VWd8k4I0/s1600/Photo118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7v73buU4NuUGBuVSEV4-usWPX2MlcGP5Qh81fNP05ljKwC0A9xrekNmZrJRxKN1dZQ4Q-iLbmyAyxB9WCLz9r341P1OryIHHNNcd2Kkn4dsKOAudOSt94ZK-Omt6GYhN6f4VWd8k4I0/s1600/Photo118.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next to the old cement tank I have enormous Round Zucchini plants, I had no idea they could get that big, they are almost at my chest hight. The Zucchini keep getting away from me and getting huge, as big as pumpkins. Sadly they are only good for seed saving once they get to that size, but the chooks are not complaining. Also in this picture is a Purple King Bean up the back, some Egyptian Walking Onions on the left and Watermelon down the front. </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTYGx-e7pJTvNgPWvWNKuLD21GzRABSkmYNPaKUPuhNVWzZNgtt7V_4A_HBQXSIN_LBhE41JKijxwehLJn2Z3NyHYQer02Jbcanqw_vZN-3UAESmLVLn8JXyyDmDD4NWzY1WHx-0GFQ4/s1600/Photo128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTYGx-e7pJTvNgPWvWNKuLD21GzRABSkmYNPaKUPuhNVWzZNgtt7V_4A_HBQXSIN_LBhE41JKijxwehLJn2Z3NyHYQer02Jbcanqw_vZN-3UAESmLVLn8JXyyDmDD4NWzY1WHx-0GFQ4/s1600/Photo128.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Out on the verge I have more Watermelon and Pumpkins stretching out, I'm not sure if the fruit will be ready before the frost, but time will tell. A little frustratingly I've noticed the plants tend to produce all one kind of flower at a time, so I have Watermelon covered in female flowers but no males and Pumpkins with all male flowers and no female, it makes pollination a bit hard :P</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL550_uOsbBhsVE1HkjaqJXXzBjhOOiuVLr02gfS31QbgxysXJaYtir8jsVhu9uj15HebGugw3GexTtew44ihgW8YAi2mdgemaAwLNUTbs6ZBsFXnfDxPWzEI9KWCXGQmilN5i8L99SyY/s1600/Photo138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL550_uOsbBhsVE1HkjaqJXXzBjhOOiuVLr02gfS31QbgxysXJaYtir8jsVhu9uj15HebGugw3GexTtew44ihgW8YAi2mdgemaAwLNUTbs6ZBsFXnfDxPWzEI9KWCXGQmilN5i8L99SyY/s1600/Photo138.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lastly the rain gives me a chance to see that even the short piece of swale I have dug out so far is working, holding on to that water so it sinks into the ground just up from the food forest instead of running off down the hill.</td></tr>
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Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-89691976693540496192013-02-13T14:14:00.000+10:002013-02-13T19:49:03.482+10:00Swale Part 1 - It begins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This morning I finally started work on my first Contour Swale. A very Permaculture thing to be doing.</div>
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What I am doing different to how many western swales are created these days is digging it by hand, an endeavour some might consider a bit crazy. Its going to be a little over 100 of my paces long, my paces being a little over a meter I think. Its about a quarter of the way down the property, the highest point at which I could get a clear path all the way across. </div>
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For more on what swales are and how they work I suggest a look at this two minute youtube video, Geoff Lawton can explain far better than I can :) - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFeylOa_S4c">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFeylOa_S4c</a> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAXm2pdO0ooKxxkQSpRXt02LS_uCsW6p47N4E0__v78CVFV5hzybIP-3HgWS6iwzCxVesmG81hEfAlWpcdBqL1iu66ei2MhBgDkKovXHV0w1qg1zTS-46oHMOy4Z5K1-J20WlDflJqBg/s1600/swale+path.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAXm2pdO0ooKxxkQSpRXt02LS_uCsW6p47N4E0__v78CVFV5hzybIP-3HgWS6iwzCxVesmG81hEfAlWpcdBqL1iu66ei2MhBgDkKovXHV0w1qg1zTS-46oHMOy4Z5K1-J20WlDflJqBg/s1600/swale+path.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">The proposed path for the swale.</span></td></tr>
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In terms of how I have my mind around this gargantuan task its another one of those cases where I see strong similarities between my new life and my old city job of animating. Animated productions are ridiculously huge undertakings, requiring amounts of work that when viewed in their entirety seem overwhelming. However, if you break the job up into small components and set yourself small goals along the way it is amazing what you can achieve. At Oska Software I might have produced over an hour of animation in a year, which would be over 36000 frames of animation, but by focussing on what I needed to get done each day, then each morning or afternoon, and then even what I want to get done in the next hour or even ten minutes it can become achievable. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpQWIwYMKPo8eQ0FfPNKkVcoo5ezFiQvjXkXpu3dpy0I1VXxiBIRc_-5k5c-6Dhcn30CDizYxyIpjsncANH-2Sql50YdjCKNGV-Swe3v3VCGf8C_xymDcXRHCdiC9wL7y62eQVgYIlus/s1600/Photo067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpQWIwYMKPo8eQ0FfPNKkVcoo5ezFiQvjXkXpu3dpy0I1VXxiBIRc_-5k5c-6Dhcn30CDizYxyIpjsncANH-2Sql50YdjCKNGV-Swe3v3VCGf8C_xymDcXRHCdiC9wL7y62eQVgYIlus/s1600/Photo067.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And so it is with the Swale, 100 paces sounds like a lot, but I won't be focusing on that. Here I dug out 4 or 5 paces in a couple of hours, which is what I intend to focus on doing regularly, it still leaves me time for other duties on the farm and makes sure I can give my back a rest. But 4 or 5 paces every couple of days will add up to say about 20 paces a week, in just a 4 or 5 weeks I'll be half way across etc etc.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73mQjO_2ca0PbEteeuG4sCjEGfTonCezriO5s_kdys7anfpjW96L2-oEDk_BOOYYDoXkrpcVFTxBjokHLu95vK9OaOT1C82rZZff6NmEJVFwpUnhiTjXE6oBnAtIYmC8SQfpzWVdPCs4/s1600/Photo064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73mQjO_2ca0PbEteeuG4sCjEGfTonCezriO5s_kdys7anfpjW96L2-oEDk_BOOYYDoXkrpcVFTxBjokHLu95vK9OaOT1C82rZZff6NmEJVFwpUnhiTjXE6oBnAtIYmC8SQfpzWVdPCs4/s1600/Photo064.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is how things are done when you choose to live a cash poor, time rich lifestyle. I could watch someone do it with a bobcat in half a day if I did more work off farm, but I think there is a big difference in how I would feel about the swale. This will be my swale, I will know every inch of it, instead of knowing every bit of some other job I had done for someone else to profit from just to get my hands on a slither of the money it might make, so I can then have an "easier" swale that I felt less connected to. I know its not for everyone, but this actually makes me happy, I can't wait to look back on my work when its done.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxnpP6cC5xCA6PEUlTRUFeWUZ219Jp-jVke_x37l_F8p7zeyLNi9re7CZInHIl4NXfx3wSd4y4r1jTxW398sBe-hU5Yz8NSxQm_R-EQe3gkDX9gS0x9YBzot_aq-SeNVD0xVKKPxv0Iw/s1600/Photo075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxnpP6cC5xCA6PEUlTRUFeWUZ219Jp-jVke_x37l_F8p7zeyLNi9re7CZInHIl4NXfx3wSd4y4r1jTxW398sBe-hU5Yz8NSxQm_R-EQe3gkDX9gS0x9YBzot_aq-SeNVD0xVKKPxv0Iw/s1600/Photo075.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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So far I expect I've been spoiled, the ground is quite soft after all the rain we had late in January, it will be interesting to see how we go. I'll keep you posted.<br />
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Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-36614568943053362842013-02-09T21:17:00.000+10:002013-02-10T20:23:16.401+10:002013 What a kick off!Well its all about the weather, and I probably don't need to go into too much detail for any Australian readers. Suffice to say it was bloody hot and dry for a long time and then very very wet for a short time. We had temperatures well above 35 degrees (often over 40) for at least 3 weeks and then an ex tropical cyclone dumped about 400mm of rain on us in 3 days. Needless to say, we didn't get a lot done around the farm in January.<br />
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Not that I'm complaining, we got off a lot easier than many in South East Queensland, or even our own street. We were worried about fire through the heat and it didn't happen, and it turns out our property is pretty well placed to cope with flooding rain. As frustrating as it all was we really just had to sit it out and were lucky.<br />
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Here are some pictures looking down the hill from our house at different times. 2011 just after we moved in. Then towards the end of December when we were drying out big time, that's even before the record breaking heatwave, so you can see why we were worried about fires. By the end of the heat wave the grass would crack under your feet like corn flakes.<br />
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And now some current photos after the big rain.</div>
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During the heatwave the veggie patch took on a look resembling a miniature shanty town as I found every little piece of shade casting material I could. </div>
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And this is it now. It has left us at a strange point in the garden, now we finally have water, but its too late to plant summer crops and a little too early for most winter crops. I've been planting a lot of beans and peas, and am starting some Brassicas in seed trays.<br />
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The meat chickens in their mobile chicken pen are progressing well and doing a fine job scratching up the pasture for us. The chicken wagon is working pretty well, apart from a wobbly wheel development this morning, but it shouldn't be too hard to replace. The meat chooks are road island reds, our favourite breed so far, these ones will be allowed to get a bit older as we will eventually be collecting and incubating eggs from them.</div>
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Speaking of eggs, around Christmas one of our house chooks turned clucky, we secured some fertilised eggs from a fellow farmer and put them under her. We only ended up with two out of a dozen but considering they were sat on through a record breaking heatwave and born into torrential rain that's not too bad.</div>
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And here is just a random picture of a couple of our house hens getting cosy in a nesting box, they have six to choose from, but all seem to like using one at a time.<br />
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As soon as it dried out a bit I got stuck into a project I'd been thinking about for a while. Its a firewood shelter, hopefully keeping it dry and up off the ground so I don't find any red belly blacks in there. Its made out of old pallets from the tip shop, I love building with them, its like giant Meccano.</div>
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A great Idea I picked up from Permi farmer friend<a href="http://eight-acres.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank"> Farmer Liz</a>, using toilet rolls as seedling starters, so you can plant them without disturbing the roots.</div>
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Some pretty big news about our sheep. We are pretty sure we are going to get rid of them. Its not that they have done anything wrong, its just that our original reason for choosing sheep as our hooved herbivores (needed to restore our land) was that they are supposed to be good companion animals for horses. The problem is that nobody told our horse, Archie is not too keen on spending time with the sheep, especially if there is any food around. </div>
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Now factor in that we hope to produce our own dairy here on the farm. We already have a horse and four sheep and were considering adding another animal for milk, a goat or small cow. The result is a very crowded little five acres, I was having trouble seeing how we could make it work. This was all the result of some linear thinking, we already had the sheep and I was trying to think of a way to add to what was already here to get where we wanted to be. So stepping back I could see that the sheep were not really fulfilling the role we had in mind for them. If we get a cow with calf we can get milk and meat all from the one kind of animal. I also suspect that cows are going to be better at reviving our pasture, the established and popularised Polyface Farms use cattle in conjunction with chickens and I'm aiming at a miniature version of what they do. </div>
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The sheep have been interesting and have given us quite an education in animal keeping, we will miss them. I kind of liked being a shepherd. We haven't forgotten company for Archie, Vicki has been organising some visits from a neighbours horse. This is Spook hanging out with Archie for an afternoon.<br />
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The last bit of news for this post is that Vicki has found a local graphic design job. Its full time so I have had to quite my two days a week of teaching in the city. I'M A FULL TIME FARMER! For now at least.</div>
Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-39741548955131177072013-01-28T15:11:00.000+10:002013-01-28T15:11:01.364+10:00Weather Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-44369070780425204402012-12-16T14:45:00.000+10:002012-12-16T22:03:29.199+10:00Food Forest V's OrchardSometimes when I start to tell non Permaculture people I'm starting a Food Forest I stumble over the words. A fear creeps into my mind that I might sound pretentious, like I think my orchard is fancy and deserves a special name.<br />
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But there is a real practical difference, which I'll have a go at defining.<br />
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First up let's look at a typical orchard situation and some of the assumptions around it. </div>
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<img alt="Typical Orchard, image from wikipedia.org" hight="75%" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Orchard_of_Homerton_College,_Cambridge,_2012.jpg" width="40%" /></div>
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When you think about getting a tree to grow there are probably two things that come to mind right away. Water and sunshine. Its pretty much universally understood that the more of these things an average tree can have the better it will grow. So traditionally (or in recent human history depending on your point of view) people have cleared the area around the trees. It makes sense right? That way the one tree will get all of the sunshine that falls on that spot and all the water that is put on the ground there. </div>
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It also doesn't help that we have been raised on a steady diet of images that show clean and neat orchards as the kinds of things we should be aspiring to. These aspirations and expectations were established in an age when the human race was hell bent on dominating nature rather than living with it. They were then adapted and perpetuated by the modern industrial food system, mass producing food on a scale that makes global distribution possible demands that you can access your orchard with large machinery.<br />
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The superficial "benefits" are of course debatable, while clean edges and lines can be appealing, so can the blended soft shapes of nature. </div>
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No self respecting Permie has any respect for industrial food production. Simply unsustainable and the evidence will be coming to an empty supermarket shelf near you in the years ahead.</div>
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The sunlight and water issue is where things get interesting for a Permaculturalist. The challenge is to search out and find the cycles and systems at play. Nature has a reason for everything and wastes nothing. So why don't trees generally grow in isolation in nature? Could it just be competition, survival of the fittest? Such a view suggests a world were all things operate in isolation, when we know the reality is that all the plants have evolved to live side by side over millions of years. Billions of combinations have been explored, the highest chance of survival for the widest diversity of life, and still the never ending search to find any tiny new increments of improved efficiency continues. The mano a mano winner takes all philosophy is a human invention, nature favours a stampede of possible winners running side by side. Left to its own devices nature will always create an abundance of some kind.</div>
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So why would trees grow clumped together. The main answer I would suggest is under our feet. Consider the soil in the heart of a rainforest. </div>
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I'll bet one of the first things you thought of was moisture. The ground in a particular part of the rainforest may very well never be exposed to direct sunlight. The amount of evaporation from this soil would be tiny compared to the soil laying just beneath a thin layer of grass in a traditional orchard. Add to that a rich combination of leaf litter and plant material laid down by that dense covering of plants above, some animal droppings and decaying bodies and you have the perfect environment for healthy soil creation. Sure the tree branches above are having to compete for their share of sunlight, but the trees are designed to do that. It is estimated an average single tree catches about a third of the actual sunlight falling upon it, if there are no other trees around it the rest falls on the ground, drying it out. As a trade off for having to compete for light they get constant moisture (even in a drought) and healthy regenerating soil. Rainforest soil is among the most fertile in the world. </div>
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So it comes back to understanding that the biosphere all came to be at the one time, over a very long time. The ground metres beneath you to the very highest reaches of the atmosphere and all that's in between are designed to work together and rely on each other. A stunningly intricate closed system that boggles my mind. You know half of your orchard is under the ground, we all know that the roots feed the tree. But have you considered that what is above the ground (in a natural system) looks after what's below as well. How cool is that!</div>
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So as we pass the one year mark here on our farm I have been reflecting on the progress in my own Food Forest. It will be a long time before there are any patches of ground in here that never see the sun, but there is progress. </div>
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This first picture was taken just before I planted my first tree. From the moment we decided on a site the rule was that no ride on lawn mower or other big equipment was a allowed in there. The soil has had nothing heavier than me (or maybe the big kangaroo) stand on it for 12 months. </div>
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This next picture was taken about 3 months ago I think, a little while after the frosts had stopped, but before the summer grass took off. Its hard to see, but there are well over 20 plants in there. Fruit trees, bamboo, lucerne trees, berries, a few nut trees etc, etc. I had a few casualties over winter due to the frost, but only a couple, I'll try to get more of a micro climate happening before I retry those varieties.</div>
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This last picture is a few days ago. Some extra citrus added, and lately I've been planting out a lot of wattle seedlings I started in pots up at the house, I planted ten in one go the other day. I've also put in some trees that will get mighty big, Bunya Trees and Silky Oak. </div>
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If I had it to do over I would have put in the Acacia ahead of the fruit trees for extra frost protection, I also would have started with the trees planted in clumps under the existing Eucalyptus so I could get a micro climate started sooner and expand the whole thing out from there. Frost was a whole new issue for me.<br />
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This main part of the Forest extends down one side of the property. The extra long looooong term plan would be for it to be the base and then have long fingers extending out across the property following swales. The space between the swales being just wide enough for a portable animal enclosure to move along there. But if there is one thing a project like this teaches you it is patience. I'll keep chipping away :)</div>
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Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-88800466638169906482012-12-02T17:03:00.000+10:002012-12-04T07:20:46.808+10:00The Power of Portable Fencing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the more interesting Permi principles is Exploit Edges. I like it because it makes me look at things in a way I never had before. Have you ever noticed? Things do tend to grow more at the edges between things. Edges are where there is often more light, where water accumulates, where organic material builds up. Its a treasure trove for organic growth. Then the creative part is how can that be exploited. </div>
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So when we moved here I had this vision of my chickens roaming free, where ever they wanted. What I under estimated was their determination to get into my veggie patch, so I had to put up a fence, they still have a huge space for six chooks. I bought some fencing mesh but couldn't at the time find the motivation to put in permanent fence posts, instead I used some moveable tread in posts. I'm hoping that turns out to be a blessing. </div>
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So I had this idea that I could move part of the fence back and plant some chicken food there. Then when it has grown I can move the fence forward again so the chooks can get in there and chow down. Then I realised that while they were doing that they would probably do a good job of preparing the soil for more growing (some human food). THEN I realised that while they were working on that first patch I could move back the next part of the fence and have some more chook food growing there.</div>
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Continue the pattern and you have a veggie patch that travels along the fence line (edge), a veggie patch that is constantly being weeded and fertilised for the chooks. Well that's the theory anyway, we'll see how it goes. :) </div>
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-42712857108389237512012-12-01T12:39:00.000+10:002012-12-28T08:41:08.289+10:00Permaculture is a platform for Creativity A nice simple little example of how my life has changed in recent years and of how everyone's will need to change in the years ahead.<br />
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Here I have two garden stakes set up for some beans I planted out last week. The one on the left is an old one I brought with me from our last home. So the vine has something to get a hold of I have some wire netting bought from Bunnings over the pole. On the right is one made from an old cutting off of the peach tree (you can see the tree in the background top left), its bound to a stake with some old bailing twine.<br />
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Now lets just reflect on what it took to create these two items that perform the same task. The raw materials for the old one were mined out of the ground somewhere (probably Australia) then shipped off to some other country (probably China or India), then processed in a factory of which I know nothing out its environmental or humanitarian practices. Next it was shipped back to Australia, distributed across the land and then attached to a stick so I can grow a vine on it. Then when I am finished with it, it will sit in a land fill for who knows how long. </div>
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The newer model grew just a few metres away, capturing carbon out of the air as it grew. It was free. It should last a few years and then it will go on the ground in the food forest or be chucked in a swale (when I dig some), there it will rot down into the earth taking some of its carbon with it into my soil where it will potentially stay for thousands of years. It will also provide a home for fungus in the soil, improving its fertility so I can grow more. In its entire journey it will probably have travelled less than a couple of hundred metres.</div>
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Now for my favourite bit. There are probably hundreds of different sustainable ways to hold up a vine. But this is my solution, the one I created using the elements at my disposal. Permaculture is all about CREATIVITY! Its structure has some striking similarities with my old life as an animator. According to the nine old men from the founding days of Disney there are twelve animation principles, there are also twelve Permaculture principles. As a teacher of animation I occasionally encounter a student who wants to side step the principles, they mistake them for rules. I have to explain that as principles they empower creativity, they help you to be unique rather than restrict like boundaries The Permaculture principles are exactly the same, they are a launching pad for ideas. My time here on the property is a constant flow of ideas and creation, and I'm as happy as a pig in mud. :)</div>
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Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-5912748385167985992012-11-23T14:38:00.000+10:002012-11-23T15:53:06.301+10:00The Chicken Wagon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Its looking like there will be a string of chicken related posts. This one is about the creation of my first mobile chicken coop, I've been working on it for about 3 weeks between other things.. It will most likely contain chooks for eating, but the main thing I'm after is that I'll be able to set them to work revitalizing my pasture.</div>
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I started with 3 old desk frames from the tip shop. I think they were from a preschool or something because they were low and had different coloured paint splattered on them. </div>
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I bolted them together, flipped them over and bolted on some slatted cupboard doors also from the tip shop.</div>
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Next I made some forks out of old palate wood and fixed a couple of old bike wheels in place, again from the tip shop.</div>
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Still more work to do on the underside, but I couldn't resist turning it over for a look.</div>
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So back on the underside I attached another door on hinges and covered the remaining space with fencing wire left over from the chicken enclosure. </div>
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Back the right way up I covered the fencing wire with fine chicken wire and screwed in some boards for the chooks to sit on. The mesh floor will hopefully allow plenty of their poo and wee to drop through to the pasture below. I'll also keep some straw in there for them.</div>
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Next I put on old door (tip shop again) on top as an openable lid. Actually that door didn't turn out to be weather proof so I had to replace it with another after I took the photos. (2 extra bucks!) </div>
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So there is a piece of rope that runs down through the top and connects to the hinged door on the bottom of the coop. I can use the rope to lower the door down like a draw bridge. So at night the chooks should go up into the coop using it as a ramp and I can close it so they are safe and sound from wild dogs and the like.</div>
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Some iron for the remainder of the roof.</div>
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And finally some chicken wire hanging down from the edge like a skirt so I can contain the chooks to the space immediately under the coop, focusing all that scratching pooing goodness where I want it. I can open it at one end to let them out for some free ranging too, I'm thinking after most of the day I might let them out a few hours before dark so they can stretch their legs, then they should return to the coop at dusk and I can drop by to tuck them in.</div>
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There are parts of the whole thing that wont last forever out in the weather or subjected to chicken attack. But the steal frame at its core is solid and I can replace bits as needed. I already have a spare one of those slatted doors put aside to replace the ramp. The whole thing cost less than $50, now all I need is some chooks to put in there.<br />
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One day if I have the money it might be nice to get some electric fence netting I could use to make a larger enclosure around the coop, then I could remove the chicken wire skirt and keep the coop in one place for longer. But I would need a spare $300 for that :P<br />
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Its interesting to see that way back in November last year before we moved here I was musing about a mobile chicken coop. While it turned out looking quite different, it has many of the same features. http://takeyourmoneyandshoveit.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/in-theory-eeer-well-time-will-tell.html<br />
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This coop will follow the mobile sheep enclosure around the property so the chooks can scratch around breaking down their manure (and their own) into the soil.<br />
<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-38878280643700932112012-11-20T12:43:00.000+10:002012-11-20T15:39:01.376+10:00Chook workersI'm going to try and make shorter posts in the hope it will help me find the time and motivation to post more often.<br />
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Today I finally got around to a simple thing I'd be wanting to do for ages. Putting the chooks to work in the veggie patch. The enclosure is quite small, but that's a plus because it means I can pick out specific little places for them to work on. We chose the two Lowmans to go in there because they get along quite well, they seem quite happy in there.<br />
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UPDATE: Well I couldn't believe how easy that was. And now (a few hours after finishing the first one) I was sitting on the deck sipping tea while the chooks had a ball improving my garden bed for me. So a few more sips later I made another slightly bigger one with the remainder of the wire.<br />
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-55455870444042551262012-10-30T12:03:00.002+10:002012-10-30T12:15:52.193+10:00Big Things and Little (CUTE) ThingsFirst up the obligatory apologies for not posting in so long. I've just finished a stint of near full time work filling in for the two other teachers I work with who both took leave at overlapping times. I was staying in the city right through the week, away from my lovely wife and farm. Not the sort of thing I would normally do, but I have a strong emotional attachment to the course I teach and felt it needed looking after while the other teachers took some much needed time away. But I'm back now and loving it again, absence makes the heart grow fonder :)<br />
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Now I'm sure a few posts back I made some bold claim about there being no more large infrastructure to do on the farm and we would be scrimping by on little things from now on..... NOT! A rather naive claim in retrospect, you never know what's around the corner, in this case it was one of these.<br />
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Vicki found one of these "portable" shelters going for a good price on Gumtree. The first thing I have to say is that it was not very portable. Luckily the seller was willing to deliver it, and even stuck around for the better part of a day to help us with getting the basic frame up. Then there were days of more work to be done, the video on the manufacturers web page says 2 people can put one up in 3 hours which is a load of rubbish.<br />
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This is where we were up to after the first full day. Then Vicki and I had to get the rest of the tin up on the roof and bolted on. Not the sort of thing we have experience at, but that's part of the fun :)</div>
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Archie now has a high and dry shelter just for him, much better than the little car port we were using before. If the weather is consistently bad we can keep him in here for as long as is needed. This should result in less work for us (mostly Vicki) in the long run, because it is when he is out in the wet that his feet and skin problems get a lot worse.</div>
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The work is not over yet, such a large roof demands that a water tank be attached to it when you live out this way. The tank will be very handy for animal water and will be just up the hill from the food forest. I'll put in a long pipe with a tap and shouldn't have to cart water down there any more.<br />
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And now the little things. Just a few weeks into my stint of extra work these little ones were born.<br />
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A boy and a girl, both in perfect health. They were born late in an afternoon while Vicki was home alone. She had her hands full, but managed the situation very well. They are growing so fast, I'd go back to the city for another weeks work and return to find them a good 20%ish bigger some times. Here are some videos of them at different stages.<br />
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Just a few days old.<br />
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They are not actually eating here, just copying mum we think.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I haven't really managed to get any good footage of it, but late in the day they will sometimes get what we call the zoomies, where they go a bit crazy and run around a lot.</span></div>
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They quite like climbing on the portable shelter we move around with their day paddock. Its cute but I am kind of hoping the novelty wears off before long, when they are full size they will probably break it.<br />
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We have been learning a lot as we go. Immunising, tail docking and even castrating. The fun of animal ownership :)<br />
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Oh and one last thing. Another reason I haven't posted in a while is because I've been setting up a new blog for my local Permaculture group. Why not stop by and check it out :) - <a href="http://southburnettpermaculture.com/">http://southburnettpermaculture.com/</a><br />
<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-63137434876296263142012-07-01T12:41:00.002+10:002012-07-01T13:41:04.578+10:00The Utility Area<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now there is a post title to fill you with excitement! It may not be that amazing, but it is where I spend a lot of my time these days so on the blog it goes :)</div>
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Down next to the shed is where I do all my soil creating work, there is electricity and water from the shed and we have planted a row of hedge plants up the hill a little so it will all be hidden from the house soon enough. You might also call this the smelly zone, its where all the collected manure gets piled up along with any organic matter bound for the compost. its kind of like the kitchen of the garden.</div>
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I did start with composting a little further down the hill on the other side of the fence. But having to walk all the way around the gate and back every time I wanted a different tool or some water was a pain so now its all up in the house paddock. I was worried Molly might get into all the manure, but she seemed to learn pretty quick to leave it alone.</div>
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The down side to moving it is that the space is kind of long and narrow, not a huge problem really, except I just have to lay everything out in one row. So when I am making a new compost heap (something I try to do at least once a month) there is a lot of walking back and forth with the spade or rake. But a little exercise never hurts (much).<br />
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I've also set up my worm farm down here. It's made from our old fridge using a technique I saw on Gardening Australia (<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/video/default.htm?clip=rtmp://cp44823.edgefcs.net/ondemand/flash/tv/streams/gardening_australia/buildingwormfarm_ep37_2010.flv&title=Worm%20Farm" target="_blank">Link</a>).<br />
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All it needs now is some worms.<br />
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I've got a lot of planting planned for spring so I'm trying to get ahead with the compost at the moment. My latest pile is bigger and has more ingredients than any so far and I hope to start another one before this one is ready (in about 25 days) so I can build up a supply. I use a system for composting from the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic6n8i6cuHA" target="_blank">Soil DVD</a> published by the Permaculture Institute and it hasn't let me down yet. Its not available free on line as far as I know, but <a href="http://milkwood.net/2007/11/07/how_to_make_compost_pt_1/" target="_blank">THIS</a> video from the Milkwood blog is a pretty close recreation.</div>
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Still to come in this area is a set up for making aerated compost tea, and who knows maybe even a composting toilet one day.</div>
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woof!</div>Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-75428298886320763352012-06-16T22:17:00.000+10:002012-06-16T23:41:52.212+10:00The ExperienceSomething I have not done here in a while, a little bit of ill informed, artist slanted, social commentary.<br />
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The other day we drove to Kingaroy to buy some hardware bits and pieces, some big bags of flower and to try and buy some compost worms (couldn't find any). Along the highway on the way back we saw a sign at a turn off for a cafe we had not noticed before. We don't drink much take away coffee these days (what with child labour in Africa n all) but on a whim we turned in for a slice of cake. What we found tucked away at the end of a little bit of dirt road was a real treat.<br />
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The Whipbird Cafe. An old couple have beautifully restored a little old church, they were friendly, and they lovingly prepared all the food there on sight. Vicki and I shared a jaw droppingly yum slice of Rum and Chocolate Cheese Cake, had a nice chat with one of the owners (David) and left relaxed and happy.<br />
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It wasn't until later that I realised I had paid and left without it even registering how much it cost. Some people might do that all the time, but as a freelance teacher I'm just entering a month with no work or pay (mid semester break) and am in extra tight ass mode (as opposed to the regular only working one day a week tight ass mode).<br />
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The whole thing left me thinking about the power of the experience that comes with a purchase. Or maybe I should say the lost art of providing an experience with a purchase. Have you noticed? How the process of buying anything has become like a visit to a warehouse? As a child I remember a visit to a department store was like walking into a palace, clean polished floors, staff buzzing around straightening things on shelves and friendly smiling faces. I've only been there once (and wont bother again) but the Big W in Kingaroy feels more like a Bunnings, on this same trip we stopped into Target because Vicki had a $20 gift card (we couldn't find anything worth while to buy with it) and it was full of stacked boxes and crates in the isle ways. Food is proud of being predictable (i.e. bland) and is served to us quickly so we can get the hell out of there.<br />
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And of course this all trickles down to the commercial artist. I mean the only reason for associating art with a product in the first place is to improve the experience and if culture places no value on that experience then it follows it won't place much value on the art or artist. As someone who has raised a child in recent years and seen the peer pressure applied to his daughter I expect the majority of young consumers would place an emphasis on how many of a certain thing they had acquired over the quality of its presentation.<br />
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Large corporations, conditioning consumers, feeding their agenda of constant growth rar rar rar rage! etc etc :P<br />
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But what I did find interesting was how the owners of this beautiful little cafe had managed to find themselves a little niche out of the spotlight, but still providing them with enough to get buy. We'd said to David that we had been living here for six months now and not known they were there, but he simply said they get good business on the weekends and it was more than enough to get buy on. He wasn't interested in the financial growth game, which instantly earns my respect.<br />
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I wonder if we will ever stumble upon a niche up here in the hills for a couple of commercial artists.Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-33669383419330347002012-05-27T09:16:00.000+10:002012-05-27T11:49:09.746+10:00Our Property Has A Name.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Just a </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">quick</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> post to show off the beautiful sign Vicki made to go out the front of our house. It's painted by hand using oil paints on an old fence post we found half buried out in the back paddock. I think it and Vicki <span class="GRcorrect" grphrase="2a2bbdc78ae00303ca672146c606ef7edb200205" grtype="null" id="GRmark_2a2bbdc78ae00303ca672146c606ef7edb200205_are:0">are</span> just beautiful :)</span></div>
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-68127461989304770402012-05-20T18:29:00.002+10:002012-05-20T19:49:33.988+10:00The Evolving Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Its been a while between posts, I thought I'd do a garden update and talk about a few related things. There are now about 9 garden beds in the veggie patch, my feeling is that its about half the size I'm eventually aiming for or maybe a bit under. Its hard to get the whole thing into one photo so the first 3 pictures here are all taken from the front deck slowly panning from left to right.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />First up 2 beds where I am experimenting with some plastic covers. We are just starting to get out first frosts (a new thing for me) and I have a lot to learn about coping with them. While the nights are cold, the days still get pretty warm so I have to open them up to let some of the heat out during the day. Its pretty labour intensive, but seems to be working so far.<br /><br />Some of the plastic covers are made from big plastic bags that the moving company put around our mattresses when we moved, others are made from painting drop sheets. The mattress bags are best so far, the plastic is stronger, in the future I might bug some bedding shops to see if they have any they are throwing away. I'm toying with the idea of turning the hills hoist into a greenhouse :P</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Further around to the right is the main section where the original beds were put in. You can also see bits of the the drip irrigation system I've made. The red bucket are connected to poly pipe with little holes punched in them. I got some poly pipe from my dad when I visited them last Christmas and then I also picked up some more from the local tip shop for a few dollars. I can water about 90 percent of my plants with 3 buckets of water when it used to take me about 6 watering cans, I've been checking and the ground is always moist.</span></td></tr>
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Further around you can see the bed next to the water tanks and my seedling table, also protected from the frost. There is another bed further down the hill, the one the <a href="http://takeyourmoneyandshoveit.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/free-hot-water.html">shower system</a> drains into. That's the direction I will be expanding in. There are a few obstacles and strange shaped spaces down there so I might go for circular beds that are easier to fit around things.</div>
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Pictures of soil don't show up very well on my phone camera so I don't have images, but the soil in the older beds that are about 5 months old now is looking great. <a href="http://takeyourmoneyandshoveit.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/first-post-from-homestead.html">They </a>were just cardboard, horse manure and straw, but now they are light, rich and fluffy carbon packed soil. That's carbon we put in the ground, a constant activity here now in multiple ways. It feels great to know we are completing that cycle, its how all things on this planet are supposed to live. When there is no carbon left in your top soil it is simply not top soil any more because the bacteria and fungus that fertilise growing things feed on the rotting carbon. Its estimated that there is about one third less top soil on the planet than there was 50 years ago, the USA has lost two thirds. Where did it all go? Ploughing and cultivating the soil instead of building on top of it releases the carbon into the atmosphere. Planting mono cultures and a smaller variety of crops will not help either.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I am starting to mulch between the beds too now so I don't have to mow between them.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> It also means there is more organic material breaking down into the ground.</span><br />
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Using some old vacuum seal bags stolen from the linen cupboard and a bit more poly pipe I've also made a few smaller free standing plant covers. In this one you can see the coriander is very happy in the hot steamy conditions it creates.</div>
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I've put in some new strawberries and we have a bumper crop of lemons coming on, I can't take much credit for them though, the tree was already there when we moved in.</div>
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Another thing we have been chipping away at in this part of the garden is clearing some of the grass out the front of the property. I don't have anything against the long grass in general (better than mowing), but as it gets very dry here in winter we felt it was probably a bit of a fire hazard. You can see in this images below how much we have cleared. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">That was all cleared by hand, no machines involved. Bloody hard work :P. Now I have to think what to do with it. I don't want more grass to mow, and I don't want to slowly loose it to weeds again either. For now I'm putting in a green manure/animal feed crop of Lucerne which will keep it busy while I think about it. Its actually a great spot for a food forest, close to the house with great soil, but its the councils land and I'm a bit hesitant to put in expensive plants that the council might come along a bulldoze one day to put in a pipe line or something.</span><br />
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Another great thing that happened the other week is I found a local Permaculture group that meets once a month. It has several other members that live right here in Nanango, some even in my street. It feels so good to know I'm not alone out here and I can't wait to see how things develop with them. One of them called Farmer Liz has a great blog if you would like to see more - <a href="http://eight-acres.blogspot.com.au/">http://eight-acres.blogspot.com.au/</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmm I wonder what tomorrow will bring :)</td></tr>
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-54279323983508534422012-04-14T16:26:00.001+10:002012-04-14T17:27:28.331+10:00Its Just a Chook House Right?<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Have you ever built a structure? I mean a real one, designed to last, to stand up to the elements? How is it that I can reach 40 years old (almost) and not know how to build something. Truly life has gotten weird, we all know how to recharge our ipods and microwave our dinners, but how many of us know how to put up a roof that won't fall down in the first storm. The idea of lost knowledge (for the average city slickers like us) is something that comes up often in our little adventure. </div>
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At first I ignorantly thought I'd whip up a chicken coop in a weekend or two. But not long after starting it became clear that there was so much I didn't know. To make life harder for myself it kind of felt important that I work things out myself. I don't really know why, I guess things sink in better if a get a chance to screw them up :P</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpPve-An919fVt_OadGD5nd4vDcfWi17foxh86w_cCuFv9xKCITe_Fj_vorWIfsHC0g9tueBISD1LHDFyGri9vRMF69i6ii5BBtLsPeaEMyqlZc4Tp2TOLdMnMiDkjKL_gRrZZUmljNE/s1600/Photo132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpPve-An919fVt_OadGD5nd4vDcfWi17foxh86w_cCuFv9xKCITe_Fj_vorWIfsHC0g9tueBISD1LHDFyGri9vRMF69i6ii5BBtLsPeaEMyqlZc4Tp2TOLdMnMiDkjKL_gRrZZUmljNE/s320/Photo132.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo was taken just a few weeks after we moved in, its treated pine which I didn't feel too good about (poisons and such), but my impatience got the better of me. Now we are well and truly in salvage and re use mode so I'm unlikely to have fresh timber to work with again.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DqLOPMBbxIPXkuKTRwWkDHlQKtMmGaaIjZx0KrM3qDa7pvRW3sm4E_AwHubgHlYvLBST9D-lk4JIkKxDfQyI0IRargvrzDaADY1TcsH6Di4TNDBfICnJh5oG13JvkZaDCJlECQiy7ho/s1600/Photo338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DqLOPMBbxIPXkuKTRwWkDHlQKtMmGaaIjZx0KrM3qDa7pvRW3sm4E_AwHubgHlYvLBST9D-lk4JIkKxDfQyI0IRargvrzDaADY1TcsH6Di4TNDBfICnJh5oG13JvkZaDCJlECQiy7ho/s320/Photo338.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Its all just measured from the ground up, so the roof slopes down the hill. It made a few things tricky with the perfectly square cut iron at times, but I didn't feel up to the whole level everything challenge yet :P The posts are not cemented in, they are one third in the ground and the wholes are back filled with crusher dust (fine gravel)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6pWmCK47zy_1OLFXmptwv6y0d4ylZ5RxwTVPmZUm1ITuWhEmG27eNmkvDwTW78zRQYbQPBbBIfLm1gGPiqRU2r2sGoPW-8L1bXTLARkTJ0LqYmi0-dsHqdO5VOsrn1lLFsDIz-cZMhc/s1600/Photo339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6pWmCK47zy_1OLFXmptwv6y0d4ylZ5RxwTVPmZUm1ITuWhEmG27eNmkvDwTW78zRQYbQPBbBIfLm1gGPiqRU2r2sGoPW-8L1bXTLARkTJ0LqYmi0-dsHqdO5VOsrn1lLFsDIz-cZMhc/s320/Photo339.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see I put an extra post on one side, then I changed my mind and decided I wanted the door in the front. A forehead slapping moment :\</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVE8SNQh12Z8AiTXfZzd6oviMLRKruW-EfQpAZEH6sZLbQ0fbUqikaS6fjvKaiT8qotq56S92PwNvmoMgN-Q0S_xC3OAYAyh0bX0UnNlm2vYQcQUB9mNyB7lQrXnxz2J3GC4nEWSp9eY/s1600/Photo340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVE8SNQh12Z8AiTXfZzd6oviMLRKruW-EfQpAZEH6sZLbQ0fbUqikaS6fjvKaiT8qotq56S92PwNvmoMgN-Q0S_xC3OAYAyh0bX0UnNlm2vYQcQUB9mNyB7lQrXnxz2J3GC4nEWSp9eY/s320/Photo340.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vicki gave it a coat of paint with some paint the previous owner left behind, its nice because it matches the house. At this stage it was very stable, if you gave it a good thump it would just wobble. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflxcYNx8pF-od4sO2x6wYuV_bCjuiXEi3tXeneEQCeywz2Gm2xdsWO8xURAv6rPFOfEVP2meZq6FGBhJrfenQrYFfMIkDMUaVPDNwMITIP4OIyLvma4ZeLDzF4hlNpiNkLhV3W2tbTHM/s1600/Photo354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflxcYNx8pF-od4sO2x6wYuV_bCjuiXEi3tXeneEQCeywz2Gm2xdsWO8xURAv6rPFOfEVP2meZq6FGBhJrfenQrYFfMIkDMUaVPDNwMITIP4OIyLvma4ZeLDzF4hlNpiNkLhV3W2tbTHM/s320/Photo354.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next was putting the tin on two sides, after that it was solid as a rock. :) The iron was from a carport we took down at our old house, we'd been hanging on to it for years, it felt good to finally put it to use.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBwCsrcV_xhJB3LsTDCPZ9Sujy0E1Fh0IcflUYM0AySLFaZJWsi2uCjAPy3OXdUjqbTcElUdT53RQLCIzMzFQo7-WpLzHnPJhYoAkGuXmuPaf9x4ght3s73iezQyQIDSbd1CX0No40bw/s1600/Photo356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBwCsrcV_xhJB3LsTDCPZ9Sujy0E1Fh0IcflUYM0AySLFaZJWsi2uCjAPy3OXdUjqbTcElUdT53RQLCIzMzFQo7-WpLzHnPJhYoAkGuXmuPaf9x4ght3s73iezQyQIDSbd1CX0No40bw/s320/Photo356.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see here we put chook wire around the base that is buried into the ground about a foot. Hopefully it would stop dogs getting in there. Plus the whole coop is inside our dog proof yard so there shouldn't be any dogs other than Molly getting that close (fingers crossed).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikOCn7HXCQGWTtbv6phaALemQB399hBhdhzadMYaaVPjX7bI4P-Wpeyqol9FszLdff7O9vaWeGL15ZbA0-RHfT2McW2e6mTETmV7mLCfTOweLNnMZOfMJGeOp2CdLEd8bFL2Q0hH-i3BY/s1600/Photo396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikOCn7HXCQGWTtbv6phaALemQB399hBhdhzadMYaaVPjX7bI4P-Wpeyqol9FszLdff7O9vaWeGL15ZbA0-RHfT2McW2e6mTETmV7mLCfTOweLNnMZOfMJGeOp2CdLEd8bFL2Q0hH-i3BY/s320/Photo396.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We replaced the back door on the house with one we brought from Caboolture and the old one got cut back to fit the coop. The shade cloth was given to us by my parents along with a few other bits and pieces that will be popping up in future posts. The pen is not really for keeping the chooks in, they can go anywhere they want, its mostly so they have somewhere they can get away from Molly if needed. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicza9UpKy4e-o33ZD5R5_0H3wk1vuAHLzlSPi1aEwDl9RJUwSSLe9n9HvpTKoA8X5vvLB0LB-RFxDz-4UoH6s2oWtO_rIkfb_qtNlx6OtKzcaUdrHj9TQCAQ6-aMtaRDKf40urDWBmtBc/s1600/Photo386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicza9UpKy4e-o33ZD5R5_0H3wk1vuAHLzlSPi1aEwDl9RJUwSSLe9n9HvpTKoA8X5vvLB0LB-RFxDz-4UoH6s2oWtO_rIkfb_qtNlx6OtKzcaUdrHj9TQCAQ6-aMtaRDKf40urDWBmtBc/s320/Photo386.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside we made a set of nesting boxes from an old kitchen cuboard we got at the tip shop for just five dollars.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbE4cISzecG5BzMzGjNv6kXJBUP851WUIVXRO8-rQ8noQEWnciTvHuYsWOxvu4pHeJdMPNI4kBGFvDL_II2zNsNUauASsotLAQgle_8ChWaH6tpc4nFpi5KnbRgGaF-lPhjFbVnepA9rA/s1600/Photo398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbE4cISzecG5BzMzGjNv6kXJBUP851WUIVXRO8-rQ8noQEWnciTvHuYsWOxvu4pHeJdMPNI4kBGFvDL_II2zNsNUauASsotLAQgle_8ChWaH6tpc4nFpi5KnbRgGaF-lPhjFbVnepA9rA/s320/Photo398.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5w6Y0aIYH5RGs2X9JWPBXeaFB7Vss_RPUzxyPsndpfpTmAkNDuKVu8asHcP8A_2jhUeh9WjuACu1OKfQdlejKPBBDfhfpncLQ-TRqhZvHgsdRSbTr7e_rNiOLs8zlJKbYYo8DVRdqXrA/s1600/Hen_First+Eggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5w6Y0aIYH5RGs2X9JWPBXeaFB7Vss_RPUzxyPsndpfpTmAkNDuKVu8asHcP8A_2jhUeh9WjuACu1OKfQdlejKPBBDfhfpncLQ-TRqhZvHgsdRSbTr7e_rNiOLs8zlJKbYYo8DVRdqXrA/s320/Hen_First+Eggs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We have started with two Brown Lohmans we got from a friend of our neighbours. They layed for a couple of days, but have stopped now, which we were told could happen because of the shock from the move.</td></tr>
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The whole thing took about 3 months, but I think it should last a long time. I think we spent a little over 200 dollars on it which isn't bad. Roll on the eggs :)<br />
<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-30776473781676046942012-04-03T13:18:00.000+10:002012-04-03T18:30:06.066+10:00Free Hot Water<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since before we even moved to the farm I've been kicking around ideas for free hot water. It just seems crazy to me to pay for heat when a country like Australia has it in spades. I think if I was still in the suburbs I'd still be trying something like this.</div>
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So this is version 1 of my free hot water system. I tossed up between a solar system or a compost system for a while, but it soon became clear that while the vegie garden and food forest are growing (and will be for some time) the organic matter that might go in to a large compost heap was needed elsewhere, maybe its something I can revisit later, it would probably work better through the winter than what I have here.</div>
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So down by our shed there is a large water tank that is not attached to the house water, until I set this up it was used for animal water and the washing machine which is in the shed. Those two things alone hardly make a dent in the water level.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R3e18eh6GJPNgCjikWcom3yYDTb4ga80wuhkPoCibykWt02UX06_7pchfc7zdVn5VXyiptAo1hp1DSzET8NIyoo_TrY2-RkBr1R-Z18oUDOrzAoP1_XZ4pRQMtTE7X-Iy6MXQtczWhM/s1600/Photo359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R3e18eh6GJPNgCjikWcom3yYDTb4ga80wuhkPoCibykWt02UX06_7pchfc7zdVn5VXyiptAo1hp1DSzET8NIyoo_TrY2-RkBr1R-Z18oUDOrzAoP1_XZ4pRQMtTE7X-Iy6MXQtczWhM/s320/Photo359.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have an extra hose that runs off the pump down by the shed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpS9Ap0rpLKCZ6pAUqkmgRegbwLTam-eE5rX-x7ozhpeAPc1gPcM-sgkHpJmL0F3KQPJgqGPoSMvQAvZbYdHHfJl6zDT2Be9_NmadR501hgR4-_UXrDK3_4ltpDpI4HRaYN5E_D2_3cn8/s1600/Photo360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpS9Ap0rpLKCZ6pAUqkmgRegbwLTam-eE5rX-x7ozhpeAPc1gPcM-sgkHpJmL0F3KQPJgqGPoSMvQAvZbYdHHfJl6zDT2Be9_NmadR501hgR4-_UXrDK3_4ltpDpI4HRaYN5E_D2_3cn8/s320/Photo360.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then the hose runs up the hill towards the house tanks. One of these is an old cement tank that leaks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLst58zKJGCoguYDjP891eKtHwmtyR9Z0MgooiVqmWplKhhI6o4ucX4TaK-YWmD3_WX_UyCMBPdphviBYvLnQ1Tg5Kdo_BskVewTKANUxduDyf4pis0n65GzciKAHlyLDb5PoP0whl8mM/s1600/Photo363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLst58zKJGCoguYDjP891eKtHwmtyR9Z0MgooiVqmWplKhhI6o4ucX4TaK-YWmD3_WX_UyCMBPdphviBYvLnQ1Tg5Kdo_BskVewTKANUxduDyf4pis0n65GzciKAHlyLDb5PoP0whl8mM/s320/Photo363.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here at the cement take I have a tap.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0_i6WJLimenl1akBD7Mbn_iBZN8nm5f92EkFy3hNNs0ij5QbW3k1ncqThkhdmH83kv4UZw9QjZFE3iUiN-sGndw1fr0osgHBVngHUXnhvR7UMZphKOHAhY0UFes4jYgGI66a1BuXbzY/s1600/Photo362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0_i6WJLimenl1akBD7Mbn_iBZN8nm5f92EkFy3hNNs0ij5QbW3k1ncqThkhdmH83kv4UZw9QjZFE3iUiN-sGndw1fr0osgHBVngHUXnhvR7UMZphKOHAhY0UFes4jYgGI66a1BuXbzY/s320/Photo362.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The tap is connected to 100 metres of black poly pipe that is coiled around on the top of the tank.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2N_A29M24e28SO60ivvZP75PG2O_Fow1Vu5lGwLqUL2beEkPGTxCoT1t7aIjozagN8ChfYBLIa2yu1Rll0dkaWA1fvwtjFpdHPWvYT1h3Ui3hpUUiVytKy3grEj1mvJQfAZeiaBLpimc/s1600/Photo364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2N_A29M24e28SO60ivvZP75PG2O_Fow1Vu5lGwLqUL2beEkPGTxCoT1t7aIjozagN8ChfYBLIa2yu1Rll0dkaWA1fvwtjFpdHPWvYT1h3Ui3hpUUiVytKy3grEj1mvJQfAZeiaBLpimc/s320/Photo364.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then it runs down to a spray hose fitting.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJpSldcSXYiLswIy7RTzRuRfvhX_gS7_V0JOhYmlXH1MMARFFwgUkrD_UEQhaAF4SlewpKbeeXUseZB9KdihpFE0PhwrAWugNJlodogUBdMGOoq8X1acKnaFeCgmLz2SjPZOxPZytO38/s1600/Photo336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJpSldcSXYiLswIy7RTzRuRfvhX_gS7_V0JOhYmlXH1MMARFFwgUkrD_UEQhaAF4SlewpKbeeXUseZB9KdihpFE0PhwrAWugNJlodogUBdMGOoq8X1acKnaFeCgmLz2SjPZOxPZytO38/s320/Photo336.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then I get involved :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqutn12ka2uFNn-XMyxsr3KFSilA3Wbo6ltOj1TT6QPHYbaef79oy99FmaZu5X5RwZJavPOosA6j8ZYaHkaFlrgC3Mo-wnegAwrRLSiEY10Z2QCOotpA137D_iLmkBAb1jB_Bpqxxjs0/s1600/Photo337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqutn12ka2uFNn-XMyxsr3KFSilA3Wbo6ltOj1TT6QPHYbaef79oy99FmaZu5X5RwZJavPOosA6j8ZYaHkaFlrgC3Mo-wnegAwrRLSiEY10Z2QCOotpA137D_iLmkBAb1jB_Bpqxxjs0/s320/Photo337.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The water hits the ground </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPSWxvuVK7EtrLkAL_vnxeUEGr8A3-9xuHZmr_4ImJv7-Bn4UAGKlZbhi-WQ_wIgb947mrTtt1l6kUds1-H7UhJcewMNx4grI6BbqBdlHBQ3luobkUskWU7-VvrxmBX0Y6FIdSN6VdxA/s1600/Photo357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPSWxvuVK7EtrLkAL_vnxeUEGr8A3-9xuHZmr_4ImJv7-Bn4UAGKlZbhi-WQ_wIgb947mrTtt1l6kUds1-H7UhJcewMNx4grI6BbqBdlHBQ3luobkUskWU7-VvrxmBX0Y6FIdSN6VdxA/s320/Photo357.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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That water runs down a trench.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWLtDQ5VRPW1f7Y7ir4KbrdPkxo6tSfJbHZZXZFqplsW_k9j7GMLIgmAGNzuw-M0UoGz1CekYpbwdotsTAzRC_4oz7Brs0GWG3hxiu1yu8LYen7YschSfOZEG27pC_sgtPA0Gi91WxRU/s1600/Photo358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWLtDQ5VRPW1f7Y7ir4KbrdPkxo6tSfJbHZZXZFqplsW_k9j7GMLIgmAGNzuw-M0UoGz1CekYpbwdotsTAzRC_4oz7Brs0GWG3hxiu1yu8LYen7YschSfOZEG27pC_sgtPA0Gi91WxRU/s320/Photo358.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And into a garden bed.</div>
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In the middle of the day, the water is too hot to stand under, around dusk it is just right. There is plenty of room for improvement though. The water is cold again about 30 mins after sunset (and that time is getting shorter as the evenings cool), I was hoping the thermal mass that is the top of the cement tank would hold the heat a bit longer. It gets very warm though the day, you can't stand on it in bare feet, but it seems to loose the heat pretty quickly once the sun is not on it. I'm thinking of trying some black plastic or paint under the pipe to see if that helps (any other suggestions welcome :).<br />
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The garden hose I'm using that runs up the hill drips if left under pressure from the pump, this means that before and after the shower you have to walk down to the hill to turn the whole system off at the tap which is a bit clumsy. If I can replace that with more poly pipe it should hold water under pressure.</div>
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The trench down the hill to the garden bed should be lined with plastic so less of the water seeps into the sand on its way.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGO0eaPuxlM0e-ZdIepEZ_CRWFD9yVKpGD22XSgLikd_UAxJGomXJAa5qCCq5X63q6SErE8Ecaj4AdLxzwDNE3IDPEzB29E_cyIj8GA183m5-GCJsfZXewu3eUY3qJfDkhbahyphenhyphenIa6H6A/s1600/Photo365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGO0eaPuxlM0e-ZdIepEZ_CRWFD9yVKpGD22XSgLikd_UAxJGomXJAa5qCCq5X63q6SErE8Ecaj4AdLxzwDNE3IDPEzB29E_cyIj8GA183m5-GCJsfZXewu3eUY3qJfDkhbahyphenhyphenIa6H6A/s320/Photo365.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I hope to extend the hose so there is enough water for Vicki and I (100 metres of 19mm pipe holds just under 40 </span><span style="text-align: left;">litres</span><span style="text-align: left;">). </span><span style="text-align: left;">We have an old bath tub that was here on the </span><span style="text-align: left;">property</span><span style="text-align: left;"> we hope to </span><span style="text-align: left;">restore</span><span style="text-align: left;"> a little and put in place under the shower.</span><br />
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And here are some picks of this mornings mist just cus they are nice :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvn0fHoG6F0xpOM2JAAIwXftSv4_JmeMT9qy21kj9twh6R2VyuI2LUYibmOszAMDUZL001Jz5OdwDT_3wZ75uSozjBjYkcE1y_p6gGMjRpvg8rsj_Z2hgvGL1nmSNHPYLqaNROZEkpRQ/s1600/Photo366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvn0fHoG6F0xpOM2JAAIwXftSv4_JmeMT9qy21kj9twh6R2VyuI2LUYibmOszAMDUZL001Jz5OdwDT_3wZ75uSozjBjYkcE1y_p6gGMjRpvg8rsj_Z2hgvGL1nmSNHPYLqaNROZEkpRQ/s320/Photo366.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-3636230211062340702012-04-01T13:28:00.000+10:002012-04-01T14:06:49.030+10:00Sheep For a while now we have had 2 sheep on the farm, it took me a while to get around to posting about them. Their names are Willow and Falcon (Willow named by Vicki, Falcon came with his name). We bought them from a stud in Gympie.<br />
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They are Wiltipoll Sheep. They shed their coat so we don't have to shear them and when they breed they tend to have twins so our flock should grow quite quickly from here.<br />
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They are amazingly economical to keep. We have bought some feed, but with the paddocks as green as they are this time of year we have had little need for it. My only reference point was Archie our horse, you have to buy all sorts of extra food bits for him, so it came as a pleasant surprise that these guys are so low maintenance.<br />
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Did I say low maintenance? Well that is only until your ram starts limping and is diagnosed with a small case of foot rot. Then he needs to be caught every day for a week and have iodine sprayed on his feet. These guys were not raised as pets, they are from a farm where they live with hundreds of other sheep and are not handled so they don't like being caught. The first couple of time we tried just tackling Falcon, it kind of worked, but he is so strong it was not a long term solution. At one point I found myself slung around his neck while he dragged me all around the yard (sorry I don't have video or pics of that but I suspect it was very comical), it was stressful and potentially dangerous for both Falcon and I. Eventually we set up a race made of old shipping pallets which did the trick, he is all better now.</div>
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As you can see we have reached a point where we can feed them by hand now, that's about as touchy feely as they are going to get I think. But that's fair enough as long as they are happy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoZtIfXY2STD-gxysMCAPuhvzZiIWO4jTGGgdqB1kS_kFJ8PxNfYKbr1BQDPIdmcyNAxdiQTodE4xI8QNpw4gLRdnV2LTocoV8zfiG55pgHpEy-dG0gM7RhsLetOKKoj7rvIIKSnxINk/s1600/Sheep+arrive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoZtIfXY2STD-gxysMCAPuhvzZiIWO4jTGGgdqB1kS_kFJ8PxNfYKbr1BQDPIdmcyNAxdiQTodE4xI8QNpw4gLRdnV2LTocoV8zfiG55pgHpEy-dG0gM7RhsLetOKKoj7rvIIKSnxINk/s320/Sheep+arrive.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Delivery day</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaGP7T8RlAdV9MSAxRhu5ihCvPQYNaz3S1P_mOSrPoZVfPRDiL2uOljNcySKCnSJgbpv_C4fj1aQHBF3l5jmOe0SeEBTVkXPFpPUSHp-158N3OGnSlwHgImpiq24N9Z_L8lxfhm1eCBU/s1600/Sheep+in+new+paddock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaGP7T8RlAdV9MSAxRhu5ihCvPQYNaz3S1P_mOSrPoZVfPRDiL2uOljNcySKCnSJgbpv_C4fj1aQHBF3l5jmOe0SeEBTVkXPFpPUSHp-158N3OGnSlwHgImpiq24N9Z_L8lxfhm1eCBU/s320/Sheep+in+new+paddock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICtSSA76Mc2AEskJgEJy-fMtRpMjqFRknrQfuVeoRBeZq7g3l41x7EOOBYXGvWISUZcXhD_2ZqHRshiH31pmMoxX6jOkffvP9F8w8E4XQjWOP6rStgvEJaWUk_tFzARp-QgpXa1znMv8/s1600/Sheep_Australia+Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICtSSA76Mc2AEskJgEJy-fMtRpMjqFRknrQfuVeoRBeZq7g3l41x7EOOBYXGvWISUZcXhD_2ZqHRshiH31pmMoxX6jOkffvP9F8w8E4XQjWOP6rStgvEJaWUk_tFzARp-QgpXa1znMv8/s320/Sheep_Australia+Day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Synchronised munching</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICMvB6BUjI3wYdFcDBvtwjEjU9NpE4srr06Rk4yCEuy7DVidZpAAAQ9jKMcmPvC5V02CU_pWCGn7mDQSRZHUiHLX4rElBIWE8K0kjQMaxo0swK6Zi_zxrNaMmhGVLjQp19vv69zx5QL4/s1600/Sheep_Australia+Day1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICMvB6BUjI3wYdFcDBvtwjEjU9NpE4srr06Rk4yCEuy7DVidZpAAAQ9jKMcmPvC5V02CU_pWCGn7mDQSRZHUiHLX4rElBIWE8K0kjQMaxo0swK6Zi_zxrNaMmhGVLjQp19vv69zx5QL4/s320/Sheep_Australia+Day1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After all the rain the land is bursting with sheep food, they have both put on a fair bit of weight since they arrived. It will be interesting to see how they go through the dryer winter months. </div>
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Falcon has turned out to be quite the escape artist, he isn't stopped by an electric fence, apparently their coats insulate against the electricity. So we have a portable enclosure made of Dog wire we can move around, making sure they have plenty of food and shade on hot days. At night they come into the dog proof paddocks with Archie. They all get on pretty well, accept when the sheep get too close to his feed. One of our neighbours has had a couple of wild dog attacks on his sheep since we have been here so we have to stay vigilant.</div>
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I've heard people say sheep are stupid, don't believe it for a second. Maybe a better way of putting it is that they are less likely to want to do what you want. When we were having to catch Falcon daily, every time he would recognise the way we managed to corner him the day before and take evasive action. He kept us on our toes, outsmarting a sheep is not as easy as you might think.</div>
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And now just to finish some random Molly fun :)</div>
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PLEEEEASE can we play fetch some more?</div>
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-34472682009955155812012-02-27T16:59:00.001+10:002012-02-27T17:05:44.575+10:00Last of the new, its skimping and reusing from here on in.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I do hope to post about individual things in more detail instead of these post that cover lots of things with a few pictures eventually. But we have just been all over the place getting things sorted. We are looking forward to when things can settle into a more regular routine.<br />
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These are just a few of the things we have been up to.<br />
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We set up an animal shelter. It has alkaline crushed rock base that is good for hooved feet. There is also a drain trench under the gravel to stop it getting too damp under there. We have also spread the gravel around in paddocks and night yards where the ground can get soggy, its a natural way to keep a horses hooves happy.<br />
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The sheep like it in there too. DID I MENTION WE HAVE SHEEP! That's a whole other can of worms, I hope to do another post just about them later.</div>
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We now have our solar panels installed. 11 panels plugged into a 2kw inverter. That's more potential in the panels than the inverter can take, but we don't have a north sloping section of roof, so they are unlikely to reach maximum output.<br />
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We doubled our water storage from the house. The location for the new tank was pretty obvious. I built a little rock retaining wall and filled it up with more gravel to make it level.<br />
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Above you can see Molly sitting behind a fence. That fence is gone now, we have also worked a lot on getting the bigger fence around to top part of the property dog proof, so now Molly has a much larger space to run around in.</div>
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Here (below) you can see the new tank in place and the finished solar panels. Also you can see I have several more garden beds in now.<br />
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We have also put a new electric oven in the kitchen, put in electric fencing for the horse (mostly Vicki on that), I've planted quite a few more trees (8 in the food forest now), cleared more grass out the front of the property and I've made a little progress on the chook pen (hopefully I can finish it before the Nanango markets next Saturday, because I'd love to buy some chooks).</div>
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And that's about it for the money left over from selling our old house in the suburbs. We didn't do too bad managing the money. I feel that pretty much everything was spent on things that are a long term investment, hopefully paying for themselves eventually. There were a few things in the garden, kitchen and with the fencing we have not quite managed out of the money. But on the whole we are happy. So now its down to getting serious about being frugal.</div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Lastly a tip for country living..... check inside your boots before putting them on.... pew it must smell down there :P</span></div>
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<br />Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433969998562727173.post-68551004206857550932012-01-24T13:55:00.002+10:002012-01-24T15:47:31.561+10:00Bob, Jack and planting TREES!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yesterday I got to start doing something great a little sooner than I thought I would. PLANT TREES! And I thought I'd share how I came to be doing this.</div>
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One of the first locals we got to know here in Nanango was an old bloke name Bob, he is mostly retired but restores wood ovens and sells them on Ebay as a hobby. We bought our stove from him before we even moved into our new place and he kept it in his shed for us until we were ready for it. He and his wife Elaine are really nice people, Bob is a real character, bubbling away with passionate political views and an opinion on everything.</div>
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When Bob learned I was into gardening he said he would take me to meet a friend of his who knows a lot about what was best to grow around here. I thought it was the kind of flippant thing you say to someone and never plan to follow through on, but then the other day Bob calls me up and takes me out to see Jack.</div>
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Jack had 30 acres a ways out of town on the edge of the forestry, he was a generous gardening guru. Within seconds it became clear we were on the same page, we talked about the importance of staying organic and working with natural systems, and the good feeling from a days work in the garden. "I hope you're ready for hard work Ian, ya can't be homesteadin and be afraid of hard work. Bob and I are 60 years old and still going."</div>
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Then we started a tour of his vegie garden and orchard, I had a note pad and started writing down plant names. Hardly anything was the kind of thing you'd find in the supermarket, there were Cherimoya Custard Apples, White Sapote, Cherry Guava, Feijoa Trees, Jaboticaba and on and on. Jack was plucking fruit from the trees as we walkad and passing it to me to sample, everything was delicious. </div>
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As we walked Jack would drift effortlessly from details on planting, to saving water, to quoting George Washington (who described the Cherimoya as, "the fruit of the gods") and Greek philosophers, to jam preparation and propagation. I was loving every second of it, and then it got even better because Jack started giving me stuff. I came home with 4 plants, and seeds for Asparagus and Carob Trees. Jack and his wife Liege were generous to a fault, and invited Vicki and I back to visit again soon.</div>
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So now I had some planting to do. I had already earmarked a spot for my Orchard/Food Forest, its down the hill a ways, where the water runs down towards the neighbours dam. It is a bit further away from the house than I would like, but fitting in around animal paddocks and following where the water was going ended up being stronger factors. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Man I'm getting good at digging holes I tell ya, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I think I've dug more in the last month or so than in my whole life before.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji59_muZc_VtCuKOqzYj10zKuPLH0p-vb-a_fO-bPDy-s4ze3Qm56Rsq8a7aesNDdmz2BftUhsx_D3PWNMVCbxT5CznaXy3sysWC6OMT_UHxaFcVVq0t3z3E5YA-R-RSTnoRvwHvkwbXk/s1600/Photo166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji59_muZc_VtCuKOqzYj10zKuPLH0p-vb-a_fO-bPDy-s4ze3Qm56Rsq8a7aesNDdmz2BftUhsx_D3PWNMVCbxT5CznaXy3sysWC6OMT_UHxaFcVVq0t3z3E5YA-R-RSTnoRvwHvkwbXk/s320/Photo166.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The trees, some manure and some compost tea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">My supervisor stopped by :P</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRnq1eYmQ-XZOqp9KzSlaXnIco35nR-lVeyvP_AE29IJw4gM2JyFgAogguIfU6ylKUE_cmfmpd97O1m7rLxpY-PAmklAr1SIzkIGUzXuJ4UfmO1O5Gw2vZ0F18LyGP_5JQTQvQp4jfDM/s1600/Photo169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRnq1eYmQ-XZOqp9KzSlaXnIco35nR-lVeyvP_AE29IJw4gM2JyFgAogguIfU6ylKUE_cmfmpd97O1m7rLxpY-PAmklAr1SIzkIGUzXuJ4UfmO1O5Gw2vZ0F18LyGP_5JQTQvQp4jfDM/s320/Photo169.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also planted a couple of mulberry cutting from my dad further down the hill the other day, that makes 5 trees in the ground so far. The one remaining plant I brought back from jacks is a Monstera Deliciosa, it needs to be planted up against some rocks or a tree trunk, I'm going to think about where I want it a bit longer before putting it in.<br />
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YAY FOR TREES!Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237535505835764126noreply@blogger.com5