In the quiet of the night

A short poem on the never-ending nature of motherhood, and the quiet moments in between.

Stars pierce the night sky
and a cloak of darkness wraps  
itself around the little house.
 
Inside, the wood fire crackles
warming her family through the night.
Children sleep soundly 
under bundles of blankets
their sweet faces at peace.
 
Echos of arguments, laughter and love 
reverberate through the bones of the home.
The old kitchen table bathed in a soft glow of light
as she sets the kitchen to rights,
her body weary but her heart full.
 
Ready to do it all again
tomorrow.

3

Hello there

Hello there, 
Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry for my absence here, and to those of you who have been checking in with care and loyalty. 

Life here on the farm has entered a different season in many ways, a wintering if you will. The farm is on hold while we build the extension, our goats have been dried up and are enjoying a rest for now, the chooks aren't laying due to winter, slugs have decimated my garden, the children are growing oh so quickly, and goodness I have been busy. Not a good busy - but more in a struggling, stumbling, deeply imperfect, trying not to drop all the balls busy. But I say this as I have just entered a period of being less busy for a spell, so here I am! 

Sweet Elsie, the boys are not fans of photos these days! 

This blog is named Barradale Farm, and on the farm front, there is little to write about at the moment. This has left me wondering how I can contribute to this space in a way that is relevant. We dream of good fencing and fat cattle grazing on our pasture, but this economy is bloody tough, and such expenses are out of our reach at this point in time. We are scrimping and saving to work on our extension, as the children are growing up and need some privacy and space. We have made some good progress on the extension, but it is slow. We are constantly short on cash and our machines, generator, and cars are old and often in need of repair.

When I started blogging all those years ago at "A Simple Living Journey", I was mostly a full-time stay-at-home mother. I did study part-time and work part-time in chaplaincy at one point, but the blog was a way of recording our lives, for keeping in contact with others who were also trying to live simply. Now, online communities have undergone significant changes. Many people are drawn to the shorthand, picture-perfect platform of Instagram or, more recently, Substack, which is more like blogging was back in the day. 

A new to us wood oven. It's a much better design, draws better and burns more efficiently.

My life has also changed considerably since then, and it is always hard to articulate such changes in the written word. But perhaps it is time I give it a crack. 

Firstly, I want to start off by reassuring you that Grant, the children and I are great. Times might be tough, but it is the season of life we are in, and due to the life choices we have made, things were never going to be easy. The reality is that many of us are struggling in this difficult economy. We are luckier than many as we have affordable and secure housing and nourishing food on the table, which is a tremendous blessing, and something we don't take for granted.  

If you have no interest in Christianity, you may want to scroll through the next part till the end, as I cannot really continue here much longer without sharing the broader picture of the journey I am on. My life does not exist in separate containers, just as I am sure yours doesn’t. I decided to share differently today. It is faith-heavy, and I understand that is not everyone’s cup of tea. But as a woman in ministry in the online world (however small my presence might be), it has begun to feel inauthentic to keep these parts of my life separate.

Tucker and Maisie on the deck. 

I have hesitated sharing here because being a woman in ministry remains controversial in some Christian circles, and as with many controversial things online, there are often people who feel the need to react in cruel and spiteful ways. Frankly, I cannot be bothered delving into those conversations online, so I generally avoid them altogether. But over time, I found that every time I sat down to share here, the words simply would not come. So here we are.

The truth is, the online homesteading movement, or at least the corner I seem to dwell in, is largely made up of complementarian Christian women blogging and sharing their lives. I genuinely enjoy many of these accounts, and I see much beauty, wisdom, and goodness in their stories. But over the years, I have also been on my own faith journey. I have long held a firmly egalitarian view of faith, believing that God calls both men and women equally into all levels and expressions of the church. Yet for a brief period, I questioned whether I was wrong. I wondered whether complementarianism was perhaps the more faithful path for me, and whether this was how I should be living out my own faith. Grant never had expectations around any of this. He simply encouraged me to discern honestly where I felt God was calling me. So I read, and studied, and prayed. A lot.

And slowly, over time, I felt myself growing further away from God than I ever had before. It felt as though something deep within me was being crushed down and silenced. Like my spirit was suffocating. The more I tried to force myself into a version of faith that did not align with who I believe God created me to be, the more distant God seemed to feel. I soon came to realise I was entirely on the wrong path.

What I have ultimately come to believe is that we are built to know God. That the yearning which exists in our hearts for something more - for meaning, belonging, transcendence - is a God-shaped hole. Although I land firmly within Christianity, I have deep respect for people of all faiths, and also for those who hold none at all. Ultimately, I believe we are all beloved children of God, called to love one another fully, wholly, and without exception.

I also believe humanity is extraordinarily diverse, and that within this diversity lies tremendous beauty. Scripture itself reflects this. There are stories of women who led, ministered, prophesied, taught, and carried the message of God despite existing within deeply patriarchal cultures.

Over the years, through theological study, prayer, discernment, guidance from ministers, and learning from a wide range of theologians and traditions, my egalitarian convictions have only deepened. I no longer carry uncertainty around where I stand theologically. But that certainty has also taught me that people live out their faith differently, according to their own callings, convictions, gifts, and consciences. While complementarianism is not a theological position I personally hold, I still believe there are many faithful Christian people living sincerely and fruitfully within that framework.

The new extension with its roof finally during a frosty winter morning.

And through all of this discernment, study, prayer, encouragement, and affirmation from both current and previous ministers, I have also been walking another path quietly in the background and I have now entered formation for ordination into the priesthood within the Anglican Church of Australia. In simple terms, I am training to become an Anglican priest. This is why I have been quieter here these last few months. Formation is a beautiful but challenging journey which is stretching, deeply meaningful, and at times downright exhausting. All while juggling work, half-time theological study, building our farm and family life with Grant and our four children. 

We do not entirely know yet how this calling will unfold within our lives, but we trust that all will be well. I have Grant’s full support and encouragement on this path, and for now nothing really changes. We remain here on our property, living much as we always have - building, parenting, working, dreaming, and trying to live a grounded and simple life together. Moving forward, there will still be farm updates, house progress photos, and ordinary family life shared here, too, as time and energy allow.  

Much love and blessings, 
Emma

9

common ground and an ever evolving garden

I have been deeply touched and encouraged by the number of people who have taken the time to comment, message, share, and like my last post. You have shared with me a snippet of your own lives, struggles, and journeys, and that means a lot. The response has taken me by surprise. It made me wonder why what I wrote touched something in you that compelled you to reach out. I suspect together, we found a kind of common ground in our struggles, hopes, and dreams. We are each trying to find our own unique path to create a life that resonates in our souls. Perhaps we discovered a kind of solidarity. And that for me, is something worth continuing to write for. So let's keep meeting here, shall we? 

I didn't grow up with much of a garden. I remember as a very small child there was a veggie patch at one house we lived at, but generally, we had a lawn, a few hardy shrubs, and a few roses—pleasant and low-maintenance. 

As an adult, I have found myself drawn to pretty gardens, abundant with blooms, trickling water and shade, which is especially appealing in our hot Australian summers. But gardening in the subtropics has been a steep learning curve for me, and it is one I have far from mastered. My garden has a tendency to escape me, before requiring a big clear out. Then, I'll track along nicely for a while before the cycle repeats itself. I suspect this is because I am drawn to cottage gardens, with a large number of perennials and annuals, which are often not low maintenance. I have discovered many of the perennials I am drawn to act more like annuals here; I am unsure why. Time-wise, I need a garden that can handle a bit of neglect without it turning its toes up on me. I also need the plantings to be dense enough that they inhibit some of the crazy weed growth we have over the summer. 

The two garden beds my MIL helped to plan and plant out. 

The end of the semester led to one of those times, and my garden had become an overgrown, wild, weedy, ugly mess. The goats took advantage of my absence by learning to break in and demolish anything that took their fancy. No agapanthus flowers for me this year! Apparently, they are particularly tasty to goats. 

It was disheartening. 

Thankfully, Grant got in there and did the bulk of the heavy clearing out to encourage me to feel inspired again. But knowing I have work and study to juggle for the foreseeable future, I need to adapt the way I garden. My in-laws came down recently, and my MIL is an avid gardener who understands the tension of maintaining a large garden with time constraints. With her help, we chose hardy, pretty flowering shrubs, trying to use height to create layers and different-coloured blooms to get the cottage look I love. She was a huge help in laying them out, and together, we tackled two big beds, which will look lovely once established. There are purple bundaleas against the yurt, pink geraniums, roses, gardenias, native bush basil, some strappy flowering things and a few other bits and bobs. It's all had a good mulch, the paths raked and now I feel inspired to continue to freshen up the other beds. 

There is still a veggie garden, though there is not much in it at the moment. I will replant that once the harshest part of summer is past. We are past the summer solstice, so it won't be long. It is not uncommon in various parts of Australia that people will give veggie gardening a rest in the middle of summer when the insect/fungal load is at its highest. Our sun can get extremely harsh, and it can be hard to get out there and spend the time it takes to keep a productive veggie garden going. Due to the heat, it can require a lot of water, and if it's rainy, we then struggle with mildew and fungal issues. Our creeks here have dropped to a trickle, though we still have one sound water hole. 

A shady little garden Elsie likes to play in. There is her cubby, a big tub for water play,  a sand pit, and a fairy garden here. Her clever grandmother runs a pottery classes in SA, and whipped her up some pottery fairy houses. 

For me, gardening is evolving into more of a contemplative practice to help maintain good mental and spiritual health rather than trying to provide an abundance of food.  I have a level of guilt over this, as a "good homesteader" would have a wonderfully productive garden. But the truth is, I feel a much deeper sense of joy from seeing the colourful blooms, with bees and butterflies hovering amongst them, watching tiny wrens darting in and out, and the old kookaburra sitting on the fence in the evening.  This, along with the sound of the trickling fountain and the chorus of frogs, fills my heart with a peace like no other. It is in the garden I feel deeply connected to God, and where God's peace fills my heart and sustains me. And perhaps seeking such peace in challenging global and economic times is not such a bad thing. Perhaps those of us who have the privilege of doing so should seek peace wherever we can, so we can help others discover peace in their lives through whatever means resonates with them. For, we are all created differently, and it is a tremendous blessing whenever we can find alignment with what we are doing to who we are in our souls. 

Much love and blessings, 

Emma xx

17

Well hello there! 2025

Well, hello there! I hope you have had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

I must have started at least half a dozen posts since I last updated you here, but I didn't manage to finish any of them. I guess my heart was not quite in it. I feel like in many ways, our life here is not what we imagined when we moved here 6 years ago. We had hoped that by now, we would be beginning to consider building our home on the north-facing hill, that we would have basic boundary fencing up, and that we would be well on our way with livestock. 

However, as many of you well know and have experienced for yourselves, the last 5 or 6 years have not been easy in this economy. The cost of everything has gone through the roof and in turn our progress has been painfully slow. 

18 months ago, I felt the pull to finish up my theology study, which I started years ago before I became chronically unwell with a heart condition. Thankfully, I am well now, and I have gone on to do a full Bachelor of Theology. I have 11 subjects left and am studying half-time. I am also working part-time as a lay minister in the Anglican church with children and families. It is a wonderful job, which I love, and I work with the very best people. 

This has, however, been a big adjustment for our family. It's a significant increase in travel and time spent off the farm, and it takes up a huge amount of my week. Financially, although the pay for a lay minister is very modest, it does help to cover the ever-increasing bills. However there is always a cost in working, too. Petrol and childcare are significant expenses. I am not entirely sure what this will look like in 2025, how big a study load I will juggle or what subjects I will do. There seem to be two pathways regarding work and study appearing, and I am contemplating which one I am called to be on. 

The pressure of travel has not been easy, and at times, we have questioned whether it is wise to stay on the farm. The world feels so different now than it did six years ago—harder. We have, at times, felt less hope that we will ever be able to get this place up and running properly. As such, we have questioned if it is worth investing the kind of money and time it will require. Our children are only young once, after all. 

But as I watch our dairy goats snooze in the afternoon sun, hear the cackle of the chooks, and see the fairy-wrens darting around the bushes, we continue to hold to our dream. Though it is perhaps a little more battered these days and it has changed over the years. It has simplified. There is no end date nor percentage of our own food we hope to grow and preserve. The reality is Grant works full-time off-farm and I, too, work a significant amount of time off-farm now. Caring for a family of 6 is a big job in itself. Our goal is simply to live well, grow and raise some of our own food, to enjoy our family and live within our means. 

We have recently started the extension on the yurt. To see the deck come together has injected a spirit of hope and excitement once again into our hearts. Friends and family have come to lend a hand, and their help and encouragement means a lot. There is a few more hours of work to do, and then we will be able to lay the yellow tongue flooring and the first stage of the build will be complete.  

There is a gap between the new deck and the build, but don't worry. They will be joined by stairs going down to the garden and a landing, which will double as a small outdoor sitting nook. 

The children are doing well, William is driving now, he has bought himself a project car which he is enjoying a lot, and he is entering year 12 this year. Angus is entering year 8, learning guitar and has a lovely group of friends, Henry is in his final year of primary school doing year 6 and is as funny and interesting as ever, and sweet little Elsie continues in her family daycare. She is 5 in February - oh, how time flies!  She will go to big school in 2026. 

Though there is more to share, I might leave that for another time. I am not even sure anyone will find this post as it has been so long between updates! Like many things, this blog seems to be in a transition period aswell, and I have wondered what I should do with this space. To continue? To let it go? To let it evolve into something new? 

Perhaps that, too, will become clear in time. 

Much love and blessings to you and yours. 

- Em xx

38

Winter on the farm

Well hello there!

It's been a while between posts hasn't it? All is well with us, but I have been busy studying half-time at theological college this semester. Thankfully, the semester is over. It was a bit brutal, but my grades were fine. I now have a few weeks of break to catch up around the place, relax, and touch base with you again.

Hoopla (the brown goat) continues to give us her good milk, and Mixie-May is the black British Alpine who is new to us. A proven mother and milker who is very sweet-natured. 

Things are quiet on the farm at the moment. 

The steers have gone to the local livestock market and fetched a fair price given they were a dairy cross and one of them was only small. Most of the Boer goats have been sold off, minus five. Some of those are marked for our freezer, and the remaining couple of does will be bartered with a friend. That will leave us with Hoopla our dairy goat, our new dairy goat Mixie-May, a handful of chooks and some guineafowl. 
Come spring, we will purchase some weaner steers to grow out again, but for now, the farm is quieter than it has been for a long while. In one sense it feels like a step backwards, but already we have more time on our hands and fewer things on our minds. The wood roaches that Grant breeds for pet food are very happy with their new gas heating and warm shed, though there is still a little tweaking to ensure they receive the perfect amount of wet/dry food. They are finicky things. Occasionally I receive comments from worried readers thinking we are breeding an invasive insect, but these particular critters are Australian native insects, that naturally live and feed on the damp leaf litter in the bush. 

The garden has slowed right down, and it's looking a little sparse. I planted some greens a little while back, which I hoped would feed us over winter, but I got them in a bit late.  Hopefully, as the days begin to grow longer, they will begin to take off and will instead feed us in spring.  Grant and the boys have started to pour the footings for the extension. However, time is flying, and unfortunately, it will not be usable by summer. This is quite concerning as my heart didn't do amazingly last summer, but it is what it is.  There is little point worrying ourselves with problems before they have arrived.   

Leafy greens were in a bit late, but hopefully, they will shoot out as the days begin to lengthen. 

We have slowly been cleaning up around the yurt now the cooler days are here. Brushing cobwebs from under the awnings, cleaning windows, dusting, and donating outgrown clothes to charity. Simple tasks really, but it gives our home a feeling of being cared for. It is important to teach our children to look after and appreciate what we have to help foster a feeling of contentment within them. We want them to grow up realizing they do not need to strive for a life filled with 'stuff', but instead to look for a life full of connection with those around them and to the place where they live. Striving for a simple life requires a certain amount of discipline and creativity, but it is a deeply satisfying pursuit and one that yields far greater rewards than looking outwards and filling our time with things that in the long run, don't really matter. No one on their deathbed wishes they would have worked more hours or lived in bigger debt than necessary to buy fancy things. Most people wish they would have spent more time with their friends and family, working less and appreciating what they had right in front of them. 

I love these winter days. It's been a mild winter for us, with frequent rain and only one light frost so far, which is very unusual. But the sunny days are short as we live in a valley, and the hills cast shade on our little home by mid-afternoon. The wood oven burns around the clock and is doing most of our winter soups, stews and roasts.  There is chicken broth simmering at the moment, which will be the base of tomorrow's cauliflower and potato soup. It's a favourite here, with a generous helping of parmesan cheese on top and a sprinkling of crispy bacon if we have any on hand. 

The garden is a bit sparse. Though I am interested to see how it fills out this spring, which will be its second year. 

The mid-year school holidays are nearly upon us in Australia. Will has a couple of weeks of full-time work experience with a local diesel mechanic business. He is thinking about applying for an apprenticeship with them. They asked for him back after two weeks of work experience, which was encouraging for him. He does not enjoy school, though his trade school is better for him than his last high school. He is keen to get an apprenticeship ASAP and that is fine by us. He is a good, hard-working young man, and I think he will do well wherever he ends up. Grant has two weeks holidays coming up which he will use to work on the extension. Angus and Henry are looking forward to spending time with him, Henry especially loves helping Grant in the shed and learning how to use tools etc. 

Little Elsie is growing up so quickly. She is a real little chatterbox and is becoming more confident all the time. I have promised to make jelly with her, feed the goats, and make playdough, so I had better be off. We might go for a wander and take the camera with us, so there will be some photos for this post! 

I hope all is well with you. 
Blessings, 
Emma

14

Frugal family budgeting (and sticking to it)

As the cost of living seems to rise every month, budgeting and how to manage money well as a family is a constant topic of discussion in our home. Like many, we cringe when unexpected things need repair or replacing, and we often look incredulously at how others around us seem to be spending money we simply don't have. 

How are they doing it?

To be honest, I'm not sure. Unless they are super wealthy, I suspect a lot of people are financially stressed beyond measure and are simply hiding it well, hoping things will resolve themselves in time because they don't know what else to do. But that's clearly a flawed strategy, given there are no solid signs that inflation is on the way down anytime soon and interest drops if they occur, will likely be very slow and small.  

Frugal family budgeting (and sticking to it)

Once upon a time, early on in our marriage, we used envelopes for cash. But these days so much is done via EFTPOS or automatic bank transfer the physical envelope system no longer works for us. Especially when we might be going in different directions at the same time. 

Recently we sat down and explored some apps to help us budget better and settled on a free budgeting app by the name of Goodbudget. You can set it up to work with your pay cycle and add various envelopes to suit your needs. Then as you spend money you manually add it into the correct envelope and list what it was for. There is a little maker on each envelope that tells you if you are ahead or behind budget. Then when the next fortnight comes around any areas you overspent on or saved in will be rolled into that fortnight. Great if you manage to save money, but less fun if you had extra costs. It updates in real-time so anyone who is sharing the app with you can see where the budget is at. 

It's been a game-changer for us.  

There are so many beautiful natural places to explore, even if you are in the city. There are free parks, beaches, national parks, forests, rivers, botanic gardens and more which are often quite closeby. 

I feel more control over our budget, and those little things that quickly add up are easily documented and kept in check. Because it updates in real-time we can see what each other is doing and adjust (if needed) our actions accordingly. I think one of the most helpful things about the app is the little tracker on each envelope. For example, this fortnight we have unexpectedly spent more on fuel than we intended at the front of the fortnight. The reasons were good, but it doesn't change the fact we are now significantly behind budget on our fuel budget and need to balance it out, so we are looking for ways to challenge ourselves to achieve that. 

Another thing we do as a family is cultivate contentment and enjoyment in what we have. I know I talk about this a lot but that's because I believe it is so incredibly important. We talk well about our home, garden animals and life. Anyone who has been following for a while will know our home is tiny, imperfect and a work in progress. But imperfection doesn't negate the ability to enjoy or value something. Life will never be perfect and most of us will never live in a magazine-worthy home. (heads up, stylists spend hours bringing in items to style rooms to make them look that way, even homes in magazines don't look like that on a day-to-day basis.) Despite the imperfection, we make the effort to highlight the things we do have and enjoy them deeply. 

enjoying a cuppa is a simple pleasure, and easily done at home.

Our lives and that of our children are bombarded with advertising and media designed specifically to create a sense of dissatisfaction in us so we will buy a lot of things, much of which we don't need. Generations of the past simply didn't have this level of advertising to contend with, so our generation has to work out how to pave a healthy way forward for our children.  In response, we need to proactively and deliberately cultivate a sense of gratitude and thankfulness about both the big and small things. Some ways we can do that are;

• Cooking simple nourishing meals with love and care. 

• Ensure beds are clean and comfortable and bedrooms are a cosy retreat. 

• Comment positively about our children's favourite clothing items so they remember to appreciate what they have.

• Op-shop, thrift and buy what we can second-hand. It's amazing what people sell cheap or give away. If you can be patient the exact item you need will often pop up soon enough. 

• Read books to/with our children with patience (even if it is 'Where is the Green Sheep' for the one billionth time) 

• Make our homes cheerful and comfortable in a way that suits our lifestyle. It doesn't have to be perfect. 

• Hang the children's art in a cheap frame and swap it out. Our children love to give us things. Pictures, rocks and interesting tidbits are often all they have access to. We need to celebrate it! 

• Arrange some thrifted or sentimental items on a pretty cloth so you can enjoy them on your table.

• Light some candles to create a magical atmosphere at night. Kids love the twinkly magical ambience and it also sets a sweet, romantic mood for couples. 

• Sit together and play a board game, cards/UNO regularly.  

• Tend to a garden, whether it be a few plants in pots, a courtyard or a big garden. create a space you enjoy and invest time into it.

• Go out in nature and enjoy all the free fun and beauty it has to offer. 

Cultivating contentment is a beautifully frugal way to live. We learn to become self-reliant on our own hands, imaginations and sense of creativity. We look to nature for entertainment, and we look for connection in relationships which inturn brings riches and joy beyond material measure. 

Another budgeting tip is being honest about where you are with your friends. Recently I had to have a conversation with a couple of dear friends that I could no longer afford to do our dinner out, even though we would go to a cheap place to eat. Though they are in a better financial situation than me, they thanked me for sharing with them and quickly made arrangements for us to eat at their homes instead. This week I will make up a jar of delicious pesto with fresh herbs from my garden. I'll pack it with some cooked chicken, tomatoes from the garden and a bag of pasta to cook up at their house so our meal is beautifully fresh. (I go to their place because they live in town and we meet while our children go to an activity) I may not be able to be generous financially in this season but I can be generous with my time, friendship, love and the resources we do have like my garden.  I can offer to help repair things or help them with things they might want a second pair of hands or eyes on. I have always found that when I dare to be entirely honest, those friendships that truly matter deepen and become something incredibly beautiful. 

This Sunday we had homemade mac and cheese for dinner, but usually, Sunday dinner is pancakes. It's great fun for the kids and incredibly thrifty. You can add fruit and yoghurt to make it healthier. I got chicken for 9.99/kg, pork for $7.99/kg from Aldi this week and potatoes for $2/kg at Coles. The OC shampoo and conditioner our family uses was for sale this week at Coles too. If you can buy an extra of items when they are on sale you will have them on hand to get you through until it next comes on sale. I'll bake a simple vanilla butter cake for a sweet treat one night when the oven is already on to save gas. 

If you are feeling the pinch like many of us are, be honest and face up to it. Clawback control wherever you can and make a plan. Ignoring the reality won't make it any easier. (I know because I tried for a bit) There are many ways we can cobble together a beautifully simple life that truly reflects our values and who we are in our heart of hearts. But it's something that needs to be created slowly over time, it can't be purchased from the store. 

I hope this finds you well. If you feel like sharing how you're cobbling together a life that resonates with you and managing your budget I'd love to hear about it, I'm sure others would find it helpful too. Because I'm taking a social media break for Lent, I won't be sharing this post on the usual social media platforms. So if you know anyone who this conversation might benefit, please do feel free to send them this way. 

Much love, 
Emma
xx

Budget-friendly resources

Goodbudget

This is an excellent Budgeting app available in your app store for free. 

Barradale farm - Feeding a family on a budget

A recent post I wrote on this topic. 

Down to Earth

Rhonda Hetzel has two excellent books about frugal, green, simple living and also a comprehensive blog. Have a search through and you will find a wealth of information on how to write and implement a budget in great detail. 

Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape

A straightforward, not too dry money guide. Check out your local library first. 

7

Simple homemade curtains

The school holidays have come to an end and we have been organising all the back-to-school bits and bobs. William is off to trade school, Angus is off to high school and Henry goes into year 5. All of the boys are off to different campuses, and to be honest I am not entirely sure how we will juggle it yet. For now, we are crossing our fingers and hoping it's not total chaos. It's the first time Henry will be at a school without his big brothers, and I feel a little nervous for him. I don't know why, this is the kid who walked himself into kindy, insisting he didn't need any help from me. 

The last couple of weeks have flown by. I have been chipping away at decluttering and sorting out the boys' wardrobes, along with various other spaces. Living in a very small home as a family of six requires constant refinement. "Stuff" can quickly accumulate which makes functioning efficiently almost impossible and incredibly frustrating. 

When the afternoons are hot, I have been sewing, reading or writing. I whipped up these simple homemade curtains for Elsie's room and have also caught up on some much needed mending. These curtains cost me $21 to make and were a fun project. As you can see Elsie is very happy with them! 

Many years ago some ladies from church passed on a couple of bags of scrap fabrics, and they have been blessing me ever since. To make these I rummaged through my fabric stash and cut each square 10"x10".  I chose that size because I had some specific scraps I wanted to use and 10" was the best use of them. The rod is simply a pretty branch cut to size, you can't see it well in this photo, but it has a white/grey bark and looks a little like birch. It adds whimsy to the space and reminds me of books like Brambly Hedge. Given we live in a yurt in the bush, it feels apt. 

Patchwork curtains

It's my understanding that traditionally patchwork was done to make the most of scraps of fabric left over after making dresses, linens and other household items. It's only in more recent times that we buy new fabric and cut it up to do a patchwork project. Whilst I love all the pretty coordinating fabrics you can buy, there is something that resonates deep inside me when doing a task similar to what our great, great grandmothers would have done. Using scrap fabric that has been carefully stored away for years, left over from projects done by women I will never know. There is a piece of one of my grandmother's vintage pillowcases in there, as well as two squares from the little cloth bag Elsie's May Gibbs quilt came in. When we use what we have, thrift, or source second-hand items, our home ends up containing dozens of other people's stories. Things find a new life in our homes, and our family becomes a part of that.

Front of the curtains

• Measure window. If your window is small like mine you might like to go floor length or keep them cropped. Either way, you might like to plan your curtains to sit 10-15cm above the window, with the tabs sitting above that. My curtains sit about 20cm below the bottom of the window. I added about 1/3 of the window on for the width. 
• Cut squares to the desired size (I used 10" x10")Layout and arrange until you are happy with the placement of pieces. I find it helpful to take a photo at this point in case I get interrupted and my rows get jumbled
• Pin each row carefully
• Straight stitch each row together with a 1cm seam allowance
• Pin rows together, line up your seams and sew. Iron. Now you will have the front. 

Tabs

My tabs are rectangles cut about 15cm wide and 20cm long and I cut ten of them. 

• Fold tabs right side together, sew long edge with 1cm seam allowance
• Turn right way out, iron ensuring the seam is in the middle on one side. Once attached this will ensure the seam is hidden inside the tab.

Back of the curtains

You can use anything for the backing you like. An old sheet, thick cotton drill, calico. The thicker your fabric the more light blockage you will have. However, I chose calico as it is cheap and gives a nice hang to the curtain. I figured if I wanted better light blockage I could always pop a basic roller blind behind them.  

• Lay out backing fabric on a large flat surface, wrong side up
• Lay patchwork curtain top over it, wrong side down
• Working from the middle, smooth and occasionally pin fabric ensuring the same tension is on the top and bottom. 
• Cut backing
• Place ironed tabs between both pieces of fabric at the top and carefully pin. Now you want to pin the outer tabs 1cm in from the edge so that when you sew the curtains together they are free and will line up nicely when hung.  
• Pin three sides, leaving the bottom open as you will need to turn it out. 
• Sew, taking extra care to secure the tabs at the top. If your curtains are heavier, you might like to stitch the top twice to reinforce it. 
• Turn the fabric out, fold the bottom hem in with a 1cm allowance and pin. Press carefully. 
• Now you just need to topstitch around the whole lot, which will ensure it sits well and they are ready to hang! 

I hope those instructions make sense, I forgot to take photos of each step along the way! 

Much love

Emma

xx

3

reflections and looking forward

Happy New Year dear readers, may 2024 bring much beauty, peace, love and good health to us all. 

2023 was a mixed bag for most of us I think. On one hand, we found new friendships and community which has brought immense beauty and joy. I did a permaculture course and returned to theological study. Both of which built my confidence and helped me find direction as I entered a new decade of life. We spent a lot of time developing the garden, got a milking goat and continued to make small progress on the farm. Our family continues to grow and the children are all doing well. William enters year 11 this year and will be moving to an excellent trade school, Angus starts high school, Henry is in year 5 and Elsie has just started a lovely family daycare one day a week while I attend lectures. 

On the other hand, we have watched wars erupt and continue across the world, the world economy is struggling, and interest rates and inflation have risen hugely. Good, hard-working families are struggling to put food on the table and pay their bills at a rate we haven't seen for a few decades. We too feel the pinch and though Grant has now got perhaps the best job he has ever had, inflation and the cost of living has claimed a large part of his paycheck. We were hoping to be able to invest money into farm infrastructure this year. Unfortunately, that has been minimal. Though it's disheartening, we are incredibly fortunate to have enough. We have a sweet little affordable home, have nourishing food in the garden and on the table and we can keep up with our expenses.

On the homemaker front, I confess I have struggled with motivation this year. Whilst I continue to cook nourishing meals every night for our family, more convenience foods have crept in as snacks. As a coeliac, I can't eat a lot of the baked goods I used to eat. Whilst I could make them gluten-free for our whole family, the cost would go through the roof as gluten-free flour etc is substantially more expensive than normal flour. This means we have been buying biscuits/muesli bars/bread etc. Nutritionally this is not as good due to processed foods containing flavours and preservatives, it is also more expensive. But I haven't felt like baking things that I cannot enjoy with everyone. But this year I would like to get back on track. 

Grant and I have also struggled with tiredness and disheartened. (No doubt a better diet would help!) Things have often seemed to be two steps forward and one step back. We have not chosen an easy life and starting an off-grid farm entirely from scratch on a limited budget while raising a family is...well...it's a lot. This year that caught up with us. There have been times when we talked very seriously about throwing in the towel and selling up. There are often not enough hours in the day or money in the bank to tackle the big things that need doing. 

But despite the talk, we cannot bring ourselves to give up on this beautiful property. Instead, we have developed a clearer, simpler plan moving forward. Reflections garnered after doing a Permaculture course through Melliodora. Hopefully simplifying the farm, moving to growing out steers and selling off the boer goats (you can read about that HERE) will help free up a little time. If we won lotto I'd be quick to hire a good fencing team that's for sure! And I'd buy Grant a 4WD tractor with a slasher and post-hole digger. Oh, how I dream of good fencing, being able to rotationally graze them with ease and keeping livestock out of the places they are not meant to be.

Tax time brought some much-needed relief and we were able to buy the materials we needed to finally finish off some important projects, fix up the cars and visit family in South Australia. Grants wood roaches have been a constant source of frustration. They bring in good money when they are breeding well, but we have not been able to keep their temperature and environment at the optimal level needed. He has built them a shed, given them heating pads running off their own solar system with lithium batteries and a wood heater for cold winter nights, but the temperature in their room still fluctuates too much. They are breeding and growing but not as well as we know they can. After much research, he has now bought them a thermostat-controlled gas heater on a timer, insulation and exterior cladding. Using gas isn't our preferred option, but hopefully, between the wood fire and the solar heating pads, the temperature will remain steady. If they don't take off now I'll be feeding them to the chooks and I'll move into their room myself! Grant's on holiday at the moment and he's begun on the insulation and cladding. I cannot wait to get that job finally ticked off. It will in turn, hopefully, fund other farm projects. 

In hindsight, we should have completed everything for the wood roaches first and got them running perfectly before attempting any other farm projects. But that is the value of hindsight, isn't it? 

While Grant is home we took a few days to do a job that was low on the importance list, but high on my sanity list. We finally clad the master bedroom wall which was just studs prior and painted both downstairs rooms including the old, stained up-cycled beams. It now feels bright and clean and I’m motivated to tackle some much-needed decluttering which constantly needs to be done with a big family. That and after clearing out the rooms to do the painting, the rest of the yurt looks like a certifiable disaster zone…

I picked up an old set of solid timber shelves with a toy box attached for $50 from Facebook Marketplace and painted it the prettiest ballerina pink for Elsie. Next, I’ll paint her little wardrobe, whip up some sweet patchwork curtains from my scrap fabric pile and my dear friend Sally from Jembella farm has inspired me to make an up-cycled rag rug too. Buying a second-hand, properly made wooden piece of furniture and painting it is worth the effort rather than buying cheap, modern flatpack furniture from the closest chain store. And making something our own instils a sense of satisfaction and pride that you simply can't buy from a store.

Well, Hoopla is waiting not-so-patiently to be milked so I best be off. 

Much love, 
Emma
xx

 

10

Designing a property using permaculture principles

Recently I finished a permaculture course with David Holmgren and Beck Lowe over at Melliodora and I thought I would share some of the processes that went into our permaculture property plan. Some of the people in my class did beautiful artistic and very professional design plans on their computers, but alas that is not my skill set. Mine is somewhat rudimentary, but it does the job.  

If you have a larger property it is easy to want to jump in and do all the things. But that approach is often not the most sustainable. Doing anything fast usually requires a massive amount of resources and it is also incredibly hard work which brings with it high levels of stress. To me, sustainability is not only about what materials we use and how we consume, but it needs to take into consideration the personal cost.

I remember several years ago listening to a podcast that interviewed Mathew Evans from Fat Pig Farm. He talked about an area in Tasmania that was attractive to people wanting to live a sustainable and self-sufficient life. They would come full of passion to grow and raise all their own food while stepping lightly on the earth. They had such beautiful and noble goals, but several years later they would often end up burnt out and separating. The pressure and exhaustion of trying to do it all have taken an irreversible toll on their family life. This story stuck with me and serves as a reminder that living sustainably is not only about caring for the earth, but it's also about making choices that are sustainable for us emotionally, physically and relationally.

What is Permaculture? 

Permaculture is a set of twelve design principles created to help guide people to live well on the earth with a focus on caring for the earth, sharing the earth's resources and while also caring for people. Permaculture is a movement that came about in the 70's through the passion and wisdom of Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. 

Permaculture is about more than gardening. The permaculture movement is incredibly broad and whether you are old, young, single, a couple, have a family, renting, live in the city, live in the suburbs, are on a property or travelling around the country there will be permaculture design elements you can apply to your life. 

There is something for everyone, in all seasons of life. 

Permaculture encourages us to consider the life we want to live and filter the choices we make through a process that helps us to be better connected to the earth, what resources our choices will require and how to connect to our community in a meaningful and authentic way.  

You can download free-to-use free to use graphics and find out more about permaculture HERE. 
One of the great things about permaculture is people all over the world are living out the 'people care' aspect and there is an abundance of reading material available for free, from the library or on YouTube. 

Designing a property using permaculture design principles

Throughout the design process for our property, sustainability was a priority. Not only with the way we design the practical elements of the farm but the things we do here need to be sustainable in a practical and emotional sense too. The reality of our situation is that Grant currently works full-time off the farm. This is for several reasons. One Elsie was little and I wanted to be at home with her but two Grant is the highest earner and raising a family and setting up a farm is expensive, no matter how frugal and careful we are. If one of us has to be off the farm full time, we may as well bring as much money as possible to justify the time spent away. He also loves his job and I love being at home with the children so it works on all levels. I have also returned to part-time theological study which I can do externally with the hope of one day getting some kind of pastoral care/chaplaincy work in the future. 

Instead of trying to do it all, we focus on the things that will bring the most value to us as a family, and that which we will enjoy the most. With that in mind, my permaculture design focussed predominantly on our house paddock which is a few acres. 

Because we are busy, things can easily be overlooked so it was important to me to design the house paddock in a way that increased incidental supervision and observation. In the house paddock I wanted;
- deep litter chicken yard
- anti-avery orchard (covered to deter birds/possums)
- a shady garden for a child-friendly play space, lots of herbs, easy pick greens, pollination, relaxation
- maincrop vegetable garden
- greenhouse
- some grass for the guineapigs and for kids to play on

 

Stacking Functions

Stacking functions is a major design component of permaculture. How can we do things so they require the least amount of energy and resources whilst maximising the functionality? How can we ensure systems work together in a beneficial manner? 

One of the things we have done is to design the chicken yard so the chickens can access the orchard in the future and the main crop area in times of rest. The chickens can eat insects, scratch up the soil, eat rotten fruit etc which is great for the chickens, the soil and the fruit trees. 

Current site plan of our yurt site. 

This is our current house paddock design. Prior to this winter, there was very little garden, it was mostly mowed pasture with a couple of garden beds. I had tried to garden in the past but it took us a few goes to get the design right. Each failure brought us closer to understanding what we wanted and what would work for our family. Over winter we were busy bringing in rocks from around the property to create garden beds and then each fortnight bringing in either a load of compost or gravel for the paths. It has been a slow and steady process done as finances have allowed. We wanted curved paths and stepping stones so as the garden matured it would feel a bit wild and magical for the children. So the children would be drawn into the garden and really want to explore it. 

Long term permaculture garden plan

Along the southern fence there is a wormwood hedge which has natural flea and parasite-repelling properties, because it will grow through the fence the chickens and the goats can help themselves. I can also easily harvest it for chicken bedding when required. The chicken yard also shares a fence to the house yard so scraps can easily be tossed over the fence to them. 

Realistically, minimising the effort required to do a task means maximising long-term success. 

The compost area has been redesigned to utilize rodent-proof bins in the future. It is also near the gate which will be our main parking area so scraps can be taken out on the way to the car. I will probrably set up an area for compost teas here too. 

The design is very compact and interconnected to utilize incidental supervision. This is so I can keep an eye on the animals and so the dogs can patrol against possums and foxes. The dairy goat yard is close which means it is easy to keep a close eye on labouring does and newborn kids. During the day the goats are free range, and are only secured overnight. The milking shelter was a pre-existing structure on the back of the woodshed. It was built when we extended our solar system and it makes sense to utilize what we have whenever possible. It's a little low but I am only short and sit down to milk so it works well for me. 

Hoopla in her milking shed, trying to push past me so she can forage.

Good fresh milk from Hoopla.

Retrofitting the yurt

Initially, when we bought the farm, we intended the yurt to be a short-term home for our family, with the long-term plan to build a home on the north-facing slope, which from a permaculture design sense is probably the better site. We then intended to rent the yurt out as a farm stay experience, to host  WWOOFers in it and for interstate friends/family to stay in who sometimes visit for a week or two.  

However, due to the current economic and political environment, we have decided to extend the yurt, utilizing recycled materials where possible. We will then retrofit the yurt into a more energy-efficient and fire-resistant building, leaving the north-facing hill as pasture for livestock for the foreseeable future. 

The pros to the yurt position are that it’s well-placed for bushfire resilience at the bottom of a valley near a permanent creek.  As we are off-grid this area gets more shade which is particularly desirable in our hot climate. The shade is more valuable to us in summer than the extra sun in winter, as we have an abundance of wood in our forest for the wood oven in winter. Keeping cool is significantly harder due to only having a small solar system. We can gravity feed our water to the yurt utilizing the western hill and there is flatter ground on the yurt site which is easier for gardening. 

In hindsight, would we choose a yurt? I’m not sure. It is certainly not the best “permaculture design building” around by a long mile. 

But, we were a family of then 5 who moved 2000kms away from home and couldn’t afford to rent a house for the duration a build would take. We needed a home fast on an incredibly small budget.  After camping for 4 months, I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth left to tackle a slow DIY natural build. We chose a yurt because it is essentially a timber-framed building that can be clad in timber or perhaps plastered at a later date. Though the circular shape does make that a little more challenging, it is commonly done.   

Other permaculture thoughts...

I have done an extensive, property plan including fencing plans, water plans, bushfire resilience and more, but it might be a bit long to share here! 

If you are interested in permaculture, I'll pop some links below of some excellent places to start though there are many more. These are challenging times and becoming better connected to your local community, utilising community resources and building up household resilience and sufficiency are all good things. 

Melliodora

Milkwood

Good Life Permaculture

Morag Gamble

Purple Pear Farm

Limestone Permaculture

Much love,

Emma 

xx

6