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

Choosing a home dairy animal

One of the most important questions we have found when building our homestead from scratch is "What is of high value to us?" 

There are so many ways we could tackle this property. We could focus on the farm side working on fencelines, improving genetics, improving pasture etc. We could work on the ecological side of regenerating creeklines and getting rid of weeds. I could raise and preserve all our fruit and vegetables. I could sew and knit all our own clothes and household items, and I could become a cheesemaker. Every one of these is a good and worthy avenue to pursue and master. Hopefully, eventually, I will tackle all of these things in one form or another. 

But not necessarily all at once. 

One of the things I wanted when we moved here was a dairy animal. To provide our family with nutrient-dense, quality raw milk. It is very difficult to buy raw milk in Australia as there are strict laws and large fines around it. There are ways to skirt these by cow sharing, but to do that you need to have people around you doing a cow share program. We looked into getting a Jersey x dairy cow, but I faltered knowing dealing with the sheer volume of milk day after day, week after week was likely going to be more than I could handle. Our family uses about 3L of milk daily; a dairy cow might as much as 10-20L/day in their peak milk production, even when calf sharing. We don't have the solar to support a second fridge needed to cool and store that volume of milk, nor the space to have a specially dedicated cheese storage fridge in the yurt. 

Instead, we settled on a dairy goat. 

Her name is Hoopla and she is a British Alpine. 

We actually got two goats initially but they escaped into the bush. It was a huge blow and I was a teary mess and riddled with guilt over making a mistake that lost them in the first place. I was blessed that their old owner Sandra visited and helped me look for them, kindly sharing her similar goat-keeping woes over the years and reassuring me with similar stories. Thankfully we managed to get Hoopla back. Hopefully, Mona has found herself a new home with a farmer somewhere way over the ridge.    

Goats are highly social animals and should always be with at least one other goat, so Hoopla goes and visits with the Boer goats when she needs company. To be honest she prefers to be near the house and us with the two border collies. But she is due to kid at the end of the month, and then she will have her babies to keep her company. We are also on the lookout for a second British Alpine, I would love one from her old flock as her breeder Sandra is a wonderful woman who cares deeply about her herd of dairy goats. She makes beautiful goat's milk soap and you can find her at Mountain Goat Soap. I have found her products to be very gentle and nourishing, especially on sensitive skin and hair. 

Time/energy

We settled on a dairy goat rather than a dairy cow for various reasons. Firstly the volume of milk suits our needs and current yurt living situation perfectly. We should have enough fresh milk to keep us in milk, yoghurt and a little fresh cottage cheese/ricotta almost perfectly. And frankly, that is about all the time I will have to spend on preserving dairy products. If there comes a time I want to delve more deeply into cheese making I can always milk a second doe, but whether I milk one or two goats can fluctuate in response to the season we are in. Feeding and tending to Hoopla takes about 30 minutes a day when she is in milk. 

She is due to kid at the end of the month so I am currently not milking. But I have just started getting her used to the stand again. While she is eating her dairy meal I brush her, pat her all over, talk to her and run my hand over her udder and teats so she is used to the routine and is relaxed and confident when milking time comes around. 

Health benefits

Goat milk is incredibly nutrient-dense. Goat milk is naturally A2, which many people find easier to digest. It is lower in lactose than cow's milk as well as being naturally homogenized and gentler on the tummy. It is higher in protein and it contains more vitamins and minerals than cow's milk too.  

Nearly all baby animals can tolerate goat's milk, without scouring which is a testament to its digestibility. Many babies who cannot tolerate cow's milk can tolerate goat milk, and those with eczema often find goat's milk reduces their flair-ups, both when consumed or applied to the skin in the form of soap or creams. When we first got Hoopla she was in milk and we all found we felt better drinking her fresh milk. Especially Grant who drank goat milk as a child due to health issues. 

Size

A goat is significantly smaller than a cow, and as a 5"3 woman, I can easily handle a goat. If she startles or missteps she is not likely to hurt me badly, which was a consideration due to living remotely with limited phone reception when away from the yurt. I am confident handling goats, I am less confident handling cows. 

Taste

Raw, fresh goat's milk is a different product than what you can buy from the supermarket. It is mild and creamy in taste. Goat milk cheese is delicious and has a wonderful bite to it due to its unique combination of fatty acids, which makes it quite sought after. Though currently, I do not want to delve too deeply into cheese making due to time, energy and space constraints, it is certainly something I look forward to exploring in the future once we have expanded the yurt. 

Feed

Goats are diverse browsers, meaning they do well on a combination of pasture and woody weeds. In this season of climate change and the prediction that we will experience longer droughts and more extreme temperature changes, it makes sense on our property to have goats as they can utilize both the pasture and the bounty of woody weeds which they love. This gives us added climate and food source resilience. 

Though we don't generally supplement our boer goats feed, we do give Hoopla a mix of dairy meal twice daily and add we add in lucerne hay when she is in milk to increase her butter fat content. But a pair of dairy goats will eat significantly less than a dairy cow which is a financial benefit too, as well as being easier to manage in drought or for those on a smaller property.

Incorporating into our systems

When bringing an animal onto a property, whether it be large animals like a pig, cow, or goat or small ones like chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs it is important to consider how they will interact with the local landscape. Some questions to consider might be....Is your climate suitable for the breed, can you buy the necessary feed locally for a good price? Does the animal interact with your landscape and other animals in a positive and beneficial manner? How many kms will the food they require travel from the source of production to you? Can you grow the majority of the food the animal needs yourself? How will you deal with their waste products to gain the most benefit from them? What kind of fencing and infrastructure will they require? 

Perhaps the most important question is; Do you realistically have the time, energy and resources to ensure the animal is looked after the way it deserves to be? Ie can your goat/cow/whatever freely undertake all the natural behaviours that are inherent to its species like running, climbing, browsing, moving freely, socializing, sleeping and escaping the elements. 

Costs

A goat is cheaper than a cow. Hoopla was a well-bred, proven, fully-trained dairy goat and she cost us around $450. Mona the goat we lost was about $500. Similarly, a fully trained, quality dairy cow might cost around $2000+ Goats are easy to transport to the vet in a time of sickness. We can lay a tarp in the back of the car and drive a sick goat to the vet if necessary, avoiding the call-out fee which is often necessary with a large animal like a cow. They are often easier to treat due to their smaller size. Goats cost less to feed and require smaller doses of medication when unwell. 

Logistics

In our situation, a dairy goat makes sense logistically, not only due to the kind of land we have but also because we are already keeping Boer goats. When our dairy goat is in season and ready to be bred, she can go and visit our boer billy goat. We don't need to worry about finding a bull, buying semen or getting someone in to artificially inseminate our dairy animal like we would with a dairy cow. Logistically that makes keeping goats for milk significantly easier, and cheaper too. 

Space

Though space isn't an issue for us, a dairy goat can be kept in a smaller space than that which is required for a cow. Hannah Molony from Good Life Permaculture has a wonderful video about urban goat keeping which she does at her suburban Tasmanian home you can check out HERE. But the benefit for us is that we can keep our dairy goats in our house paddock, which works in beautifully with our more intensive growing systems. 

And finally....

When choosing things to do on your property whether you have a big or small place, enjoyment and pleasure and passion should certainly be a consideration in anything you add or bring onto the property if you want it to be a sustainable venture both emotionally and in a practical sense. I love goats. They are my favourite farm animals to date. They are funny and full of character, and I am confident and enjoy being around them. For us, having a goat for fresh milk makes sense for our property, in this season and with the time and energy I have to invest into milking. 

We are more likely to get the most out of the things we enjoy doing and to do them to the best of our ability which maximises the return on every level. For example, if we hate kale, we are not going to nurture it to get the best yield. It would be better to use the time, space and resources to grow something we love to eat. (I am just using kale as an example, I actually love kale! But it seems to be a somewhat divisive vegetable)

It's the same with a dairy animal. 

Just because someone else keeps a dairy animal and you like the idea of it, it doesn't mean it is the right choice for you in this season. Be realistic about your time, energy and resources in the season you are in, not the season you wish you were in. Only you can decide what is of high value to you in this season, remembering we all walk to the beat of our own drum.  

Much love,

Emma

xx

 

2

delightful goats, projects and weekend links

I have just sent the boys out to collect kindling from under the big blue gum tree to light the Aga. I can't believe in the middle of December that I am about to light the wood oven. It's not to keep us warm as such, but to simmer a big pot of chicken broth to help restore our gut health after the bought of gastro went through. Grant is still struggling with a sore tummy and hopefully, a few days of nourishing broth over the weekend will help settle it down. The fact it's cool enough to comfortably light the fire in December feels very strange. 

My current reading list. I'm reading Heidi to the kids. I love old fashioned children's books, they are a gentle balm to the craziness of today's world. 

My favourite goat Vicky continues to heal, for which we are incredibly grateful. I'm still giving her oral iron and extra feed. Over the school holidays, the boys and I are going to get started on building a milking shed and small isolation yard for any goats we might want to keep an eye on. We have some second-hand iron and we can fell hardwood beams from the forest for the frame.  We should be able to rustle up some timber too, so that should keep the cost right down other than the cost of the fencing materials for the yard.  

Getting a dairy animal has been on our agenda for quite a while, though we haven't wanted to rush into it. We tossed up between getting a dairy cow and goats. While it seems a house cow is the ultimate homesteaders dream, it isn't the best choice for us in this season. As much as I love the idea of oodles of fresh cheese, I can't comprehend dealing with large volumes of milk in our tiny kitchen with our tiny fridge. Logistically we are not in the season of life which would allow us to do that well, or safely. 

After much consideration of how homesteading is shaping up for us, I have decided to get a dairy goat or two. Probably a Saanen or Saanen cross from a local goat dairy. They sell them for around $400-$450 so not too much of an investment, comparatively speaking. I've already decided to call them Heidi and Clara, much to Grants' amusement.  

Over the past couple of years I have come to love goats. I enjoy working with them, I love their personalities and I love that I can manage them on my own if the need arises. They are gentle, kind, nimble creatures that are full of character. We have tried our boer goats milk and it is mild and creamy. There is no goaty smell or taste to it at all and fresh, raw goat's milk it's a very different product than you can buy at the supermarket.  Goats' milk is also highly nutritious and is nearly always A2 which many people find easier to digest. Then there is goats cheese which is delicious. Goats produce between 2-3L of milk a day which is about perfect for our family. That much milk should allow me to make yoghurt for our family and ricotta if we have any excess. Also, it will fit in our fridge which is a necessity! 

The wood oven on in December?...Bonkers!

I have come to realize I don't want to be tied to the kitchen day in and day out. I do enjoy cooking, and I want to cook nourishing fresh food which we grow and feed our family. But I don't want to be stuck canning, preserving and bottling all day every day year-round. In Australia, we are lucky to be able to grow food most of the year. I want to grow and enjoy the food we produce fresh as much as possible. That is how I enjoy cooking and how we enjoy eating. I'm happy to preserve in small batches or to do the odd big day. But I don't want it to dominate all of my time. I want to have time to garden, write, sew and film. I want to escape for day trips to the beach with our family and have mini breaks, exploring surrounding towns. I don't actually want to make complex cheeses in this season of my life. I want to sit and read to the kids or laze in a hammock in the garden if I feel like it, while still providing good simple food for my family.  

I am confident I can find the 40 minutes needed to milk a goat daily, and another 20 minutes cleaning up and managing the milk. But that's about all I'm willing to spend on it on a day-to-day basis. The rest of the dairy goat care can be done when we look after our boer goats. I'm really excited about this next stage of our homestead journey. I hope we can save the money to buy them quickly, though we have a few pesky bills to get out of the way first. Such is life! 

This weekend Grant has promised to dig the hole for the pond with the excavator. Then the kids and I can gather rocks to begin to settle it into the landscape. I'm also going to set up some pots and space to propagate some seedlings to get ready for the next stage of the garden. I have a good selection of seeds stashed away that I have either collected, purchased or have been given to me by friends and generous readers from the blog. I'm looking to focus more on edible and medicinal herbs of all kinds. Herbs pack a punch in meals and can have so many health benefits. The weather this week is going to be mild, which will be lovely to work in. 

What are you up to this weekend? 

Much love,

Emma

xx

Weekend Links

Grass Roots Magazine

If you are looking for a wonderful, information-packed magazine that gives good value for money perhaps consider buying or asking for a Grass Roots magazine subscription for Christmas. It's always packed full of useful, interesting and practical information and is one of the few magazines I read and enjoy. I often have an article in there too.

Only One Earth

Only One Earth is a store that sells sustainable and eco-friendly items. Recently they sent me a wonderful, useful box of goodies to review and use which I shared on Instagram and I was genuinely impressed with their items. Their soaps are Australian-made, with a short list of whole ingredients. The personal items are well made from wood where possible and their brushes and sponges are made of all-natural fibres which means they are fully compostable at the end of their lifespan. And their goodies came in cardboard with recycled, compostable packaging. Living rurally like I do, businesses like these are such a blessing to allow our family to make ethical, sustainable choices.  

Our obsession with economic growth is deadly | All Hail The Planet

The global economy is in the midst of an epochal shift as 2023 looms: Here are the five things shaping our future

Nightbirde's Original Song Makes Simon Cowell Emotional - America's Got Talent 2021
I love Nightbirde's courage in this clip. She sang beautifully and showed such profound wisdom. "You can't wait for everything to be good before you decide to be happy". Ooof.

Huw Richards - How to start a garden in 2023

How To Fail with Mo Gawdat

How To Fail LIVE: Mo Gawdat, the world-renowned happiness expert on how to manage stress, how to live with grief and how to be happy. I really enjoyed listening to this podcast and thought you might too. I definitely came away feeling encouraged and uplifted. 

0

Twins! And weekend links

Well hello there! Thankfully this week on the farm has been significantly more successful than the last. There have been no escapees and all the animals are happy and content. 

I'm pleased to report that Walrus the goat (nicknamed Walraus because she was as wide as she was tall) gave birth to a healthy set of twins. It was a long and difficult delivery, and Grant had to pull the first twin out by the jaw, which is not an ideal way to deliver an animal. But he was well and truly stuck with his legs tucked behind him and it was the only thing Grant could get a grip on. After labouring hard all night, and a failed attempt at re-positioning the baby, it was clear she wasn't going to manage on her own. Thankfully he was born alive, though understandably stressed. His sister slid out with ease a few minutes later. Walrus has shrunk back down to a more normal size now so I'm not sure if her nickname will stick now she no longer resembles...well a walrus. 

After watching the trio for their first hour, we found the boy laying flat on his side and not making any effort to stand. The poor fellow was exhausted and shocked after a rough entry into the world. If a baby goat can't show some fight and get up, there is little a mother can do for it. She doesn't have arms to help prop him up. Thankfully the baby girl was up and trying to feed and Walrus was being a wonderfully attentive mother to her. With little choice, I wrapped him in some old towels to warm him up, expressed off some colostrum from Walrus and brought him inside to let him rest and have his first vital feed. Colostrum is incredibly nutrient and energy-dense, and an hour or so later he had picked up considerably and I was able to return him to his mother. He immediately tried to stand and Walrus accepted him back without hesitation. The trio have continued to go onwards and upwards and is doing brilliantly, the twins are robust and gaining weight fast. 

Look at the size of that bulging udder! It's settled down now and she's producing ample milk. 

It's never an easy decision to step in and help an animal birthing. As a general rule, mother nature knows what she is doing and it is best for all involved to let nature take its course. By taking a kid away soon after birth you risk the mother rejecting it and though you can bottle feed the babies, it is labour-intensive. You also risk scouring (a form of diarrhoea that can kill them) as formula doesn't have all the vital good bacteria and antibodies in it. Due to being a small farm, we handle our goats a lot and they are used to our presence and our scent, which I'm sure helps when we have to step in.  They associate us with kindness and occasionally a mother goat will seek us out if one of her babies is in trouble, bleating at the fence until we find what is wrong and help her. Once they have been reunited, they will wander off happily. The first time I saw a doe seek us out for help I wasn't sure if I was viewing the situation through a human lens, but no. They are clever animals and they are quite amazing to watch. 

In other news, Elsie and I went to playgroup on Thursday and brought along two of the boys' alpaca guinea pigs for the children to pat. In a world where so many families are stuck renting, it is easy to forget children often don't have the same level of exposure to animals children of my generation had. When I was growing up everyone I knew had a cat, dog, bird, rabbit, chicken or guinea pig. At the very least they had fish or hermit crabs, and it was quite common for families to have numerous pets. They seemed to be a right of passage in childhood. These days I meet many people who have no pets due to not being able to buy their own home and fearing not being able to find a pet-friendly rental. Though there are laws to protect renters and their pets in Australia, landlords still essentially hold the upper hand. This makes me sad as I think the right pet can be a wonderful companion and experience for people of all ages. They are good company, are often very funny, can give us a reason to get out and about and can be wonderful at helping people feel less anxious and stressed. 

By the end of the week, the boys had either come down with gastro or had a cold so on Friday they all stayed home and rested. Thankfully they seem to be on the mend today, though poor Gussy is still flat. We are supposed to be having hot chips on the beach tomorrow with some of his friends, so he will be sad if we have to postpone. 

Now Elsie is older and becoming a little more independent, I am finding I am settling into a good rhythm with blogging again. During the week I've been putting out a more article-style blog and then on the weekend putting out a more personal weekly catch-up post along with various links I have enjoyed. This routine is working well for me and I'm enjoying the different styles of writing. I hope you are enjoying it too. 

ANZAC biscuits, stewed apples and banana cakes were on the menu this week. 

I like being able to promote other blogs and I am still trying to get the long list of blogs I follow up in my sidebar. I used to have an extensive blog list that automatically rotated those who had recently posted to the top, so they were easy to find for those that were looking. If someone wasn't writing their blog would drop off giving others space until they posted again. I really liked the system and though I have moved my reading list over, they are not rotating as they should. It is very frustrating and I shall continue to ponder and meddle about until I can get it working again.    

This weekend I have put together a mixed bag of links for you to explore. I hope you find something that takes your fancy. 

Much love,

Emma

xx

Washington Post - Want to feel happier? try snacking on joy

Roots and Refuge - How to make money homesteading

Some great tips here if you're interested in homesteading/small farming.

Becoming Minimalist - When the founder of Amazon encourages you to stop buying

Little House Story Corner

This is a lovely little YouTube channel. Elsie and I really like listening and watching the little house on the Prarie excerpts. It's gentle and slow, with simple animated illustrations which she finds really soothing. I will often pop one on after lunch for her and she will drift off to sleep.  

Katie's Mercantile

I'm fascinated by the Amish, the way they live out their strong Christian faith and how their communities function. Here is a lovely online store that sells a lot of Amish goods which is based in Mount Morris, New York. I really enjoyed browsing their stock. 

Artist as Family - stinging nettle

A great little film on utilizing stinging nettle for health benefits. 

YouTube - Doug and Stacy off-grid

These two have been living off-grid for many years, in this video, they show how they do their washing with a nifty human-powered washing machine and wringer.  I would have liked one of these when we first started out and I was doing our family washing by hand. 

4

A shemozzle of a week and a weekend reading list

What a week!

The animals were ready to mutiny and this week I have had to round up wayward goats and Hagrid our giant strong-willed Anatolian shepherd more times than I would like to count. I threatened goat curry would be on the menu if there was so much as a cloven hoof out of line again. So far today they have decided to behave. Naturally, they always escaped when I had a toddler in tow, at nap time. Anyone who has ever had a toddler knows that if things are going to go wrong, it will always happen when the toddler is tired and cranky. The cows escaped to the neighbours and there were dead chickens to boot. Walrus the goat is still pregnant, which seems impossible considering she’s nearly as wide as she is tall. Her udder is swollen and virtually  dripping with milk and all the other signs of imminent birth are present, except the kid. Then there’s the plague of cabbage moths and invisible basil-munching critters. I have put my foot down at the basil-munching critters and brought in pyrethrum spray. It seems to have helped my perennial basil, I'll have to wait and see if it helps my sweet basil. Summer is coming and I am determined there WILL be basil this year! Then there has been the usual juggle and bumps in the road that come with parenting a bunch of kids. The riot act was read, and peace resumed. 

It seems it was one of those weeks where everything I turned my hand to, ended in disaster. Yesterday I did the grocery shopping and I kept finding myself in a pickle just as the same kind Irish grandmother passed by. First, the trolly escaped from me with Elsie half in it, her little legs askew. Then I got tangled on the shelving and looked like a right numpty. Then I was either dropping something or climbing a shelf to get an item just out of reach. She had a laugh each time she passed me and she kindly suggested I go back to bed. Ha! Perhaps an afternoon nap with Elsie is in order. 

I have a mostly written blog post I started on Sunday and didn't manage to get back to all week and a nearly finished vlog for YouTube. Perhaps I am not actually behind, but rather I'm ahead with things to share for next week. It's all in the framing, yes? 

Below are some links to things I enjoyed this week and thought you might like them too. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

Much love, 

Emma

xx

Treading My Own Path  
REDcycles soft plastic collection suspension - and why it might be a good thing

YouTube - All in the mind. Do you see the beauty in life or do you just exist? 

A wonderful short film. 

Happen Films - How goats are regenerating a forest and protecting this town from bushfire

I love goats, and I love using them for this purpose. 

Masterclass 47: Retrosuburbia with David Holmgren & Morag gamble

This is a free online event, you just need to sign up! It's going to be fabulous as both David and Morag are excellent to listen to. Full of wisdom, experience and encouragement. 

ABC Bush Tucker ice cream hits supermarkets to fund Worn Gundidj Indigenous social enterprises

"A unique ice cream is being launched using Indigenous bush tucker plants including Davidson's plum, peppermint gum, strawberry gum and wattleseed." The proceeds will be going to a grassroots social enterprise so if you see it on the shelves be sure to check it out! I know I'll be splashing out to try it, I think normalising indigenous foods is an excellent thing, and who better to do it than those who have been consuming them for 60 thousand or so years? 

Conversations 

Costa Georgiadis: Heart and Soil. I mean really, what's not to love about listening to Costa? An Aussie legend. 

Why are we waiting?

I loved this post by GDonna, I'm sure you will too. 

2

Barradale Farm. A new chapter.

Three and a half years ago we hitched up a fully-loaded stock trailer to our old Landcruiser and moved our family of five, three dogs, two cats, and a turtle named Squirtle 2000kms interstate, to a 265acre off-grid property with zero infrastructure. 

Our dream was to build a sustainable mix farm, entirely from scratch. 

There have been ups, downs, laughter and tears along with the welcome addition of sweet Elsie who made us a family of six. Despite it all, we are glad we are here. We finally settled on a name for our property, which was harder than I anticipated. Our farm sits squarely between two districts so it has been named Barradale Farm, in recognition of that. 

If I had known how hard the last three and a half years would be, I doubt I would have been brave enough to leap so boldly into the unknown. It has certainly been an adventure. When we are older, I'm sure we will look back at these early years on the farm with great fondness. 

Today I can look back at the last three and half years and feel proud. I also look forward with hope and excitement at how much potential this property still holds. 

When I first started blogging, I did so at a blog called 'A Simple Living Journey'. This blog will always remain as a reminder of where we started, and how we got to where we are now. I hope it will be there for my children to read when they are older if they feel so inclined. It is where I cut my teeth as a writer and explored what simple living was, along with all the beauty and richness it has to offer. But for all intents and purposes, it is time sit my first blog aside and start anew. 

One day, we hope this farm of ours will begin to support us in some capacity. We would like to open up a couple of hipcamp sites, host WWOOFers, and continue to establish a hardy boer goat herd along with growing out more cattle. Grant has his wood roach business and we hope to sell heritage chickens in the future. While simple living remains at the very heart of how we live out our lives on the farm, it makes sense for all aspects of our farm to fall under the same, easily identifiable banner. So, from here on out we will be Barradale Farm on the blog, online and in our farming pursuits. 

Essentially, here at Barradale Farm, we are building a sustainable Australian homestead on a shoestring budget. Though homesteading is a movement more closely associated within an American context, I think it is a good term. In Australia, we might call a homestead a hobby or small farm, but homesteading is more complex than that. Homesteading is about providing for your family and community, building resilience and improving self-sufficiency through growing your own food, raising animals, preserving, stockpiling, baking, building and cooking from scratch. There has been a mass exodus of people moving from cities to acreage and rural centres. I think this trend is a clear sign that people are looking to slow down and live a simpler, more sustainable life.  Lockdowns reminded us of the beauty and value to be found in the home and the garden, of the importance in children having space to play and be free. Now we are navigating an increasingly wobbly economic climate, rocketing fuel prices, inflation,  supply issues and extreme weather events which has contributed to supply chain disruptions. It has become apparent how fragile our industrialized food and resource system is, which has inspired many people to seek out a more self-sufficient, homesteading lifestyle. 

   

I hope people, whether they have a suburban backyard, own a rural property or perhaps dream of homesteading, can find encouragement here along with some helpful tips. It is easy to start a farm or a small homestead if you have a lot of money or inherit a property passed down through the generations. But many of us don't. It took all our money and years of hard work to be able to buy our farm and we have spent our first three years here scraping together enough to simply get by. Everything we buy or achieve is a milestone to be celebrated and there remains a long way to go. 

Despite that, we have built a small but functional and comfortable home, machinery shed/workshop/wood roach palace and wood shed. We have improved our road access, installed a solar system and put in a header tank. Our livestock numbers are continuing to grow and we are slowly establishing productive gardens as time and money allow. We have kilometres of fencing to finish, an orchard to fence and plant, pasture to improve, and a deck to build....the list goes on, but it likely always will. That is the nature of this lifestyle. It will never be finished, there will always be ideas to explore, livestock to rotate, equipment to repair, food to harvest and gardens to tend. 

But perhaps that is what appeals to us. Life here on the farm is ever-evolving. The seasons change, animals are born, gardens mature, and nature beckons. There is a feeling of realness, of connection to the food we produce, to the animals we raise, to the things that are fundamental to the very essence of life.  Raising animals, growing food, maintaining biodiversity.....they are real. Their value doesn't shift like the latest trends or fast fashion do. The whole of humanity relies on them, no matter a person's financial or social standing in this world.

I hope you continue to follow along here at Barradale Farm, and if you are here from A Simple Living Journey, I thank you for your kindness and support over the years, and I look forward to continuing to share our lives with you. 

Much love,
Emma
xx

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