January

January for the 2 folk, the dog and the tractor was civilised. Civilised in the sense that it was generous, kind, and with a good dose of comfort and good company. Dare I say it, it was drama-free, and I think that’s the kernel of truth. Could we in some way be getting the hang of this life? Even as I write this I carefully take a deep breath, touch wood with every limb, and say a silent prayer of gratitude to the universe. I don’t know if it’s this farming life or the humour of the gods, but every time we feel even-keeled we get a bite in the ass that rocks our world. But not this January.

cool early morning starts with plenty of water around

This January the weather has been mild, “the best we get” apparently. The whole farm has felt safe from fire, drought, and driving winds. The house is progressing the garlic is selling. And the dog, well her demeanor says it all…

Summer days

But it is summer here and as I read the notice from the weather bureau of the heatwave headed our way my chest started to tighten. I felt a wave of anxiety drawing down on my feelings of safety. I realised the cool weather had dampened our fire fighting and farm survival preparations. Thankfully something kicked in and we spent a day testing pumps, hoses, moving sheep, and watering everything (how different from last year when we had no water). Activity seems to help dissipate anxiousness. What I remember now of the heatwave, after the initial bout of activity, is the pleasure in re-visiting the simple joys of a cold, sweet, juicy slice of watermelon, long tall ice chilled drinks, and small tasty bowls of the Spanish soup, Ajo Bianco. Dawn starts watering the trees, nursery, and kitchen garden before the heat bloomed and trickles of sweat started running down our backs. We even beat the flies. After a couple of hours, a coffee on the new deck (in shade!), we retired inside to sit in the breeze of any number of fans we had blasting away. Best of all, for all our lack of action, we now have watermelon seedlings.

Golden Midget Citrullus lanatus

Kitchen garden

The kitchen garden has been emptied of any major produce from spring and with me pre-occupied with the garlic harvest little planting was done. We continue to harvest herbs galore, including parsley, rosemary, sage, bay, tarragon, thyme, chives, spring onions, garlic, and basil. The coriander and rocket have produced seeds, some of which I collected but most of which has produced new plants. Asparagus, tomatoes, the odd small broccoli, and salad greens along with the blueberries, raspberries and boysenberries are regularly picked but yields don’t make it to the kitchen, gardener’s reward. Sadly the hot winds took out the quinces and there is only a single tiny teeny lemon left from the plethora of blossoms in Spring. But the apples are holding on and the cherries were generous. I planted a small army of various beans this year because I can afford to water them well and they have popped, and the succession brassicas (red brussel sprouts, rapini, broccoli, and kale) and parsley started indoors are almost ready for planting out.

And of course, there was the garlic harvest…bigger than previous years and stretched out as a result of plenty of rain events. We don’t harvest in the rain, it’s not good for the garlic or me for that matter. Overall this year was a good harvest with beautiful well-sized and flavourful bulbs from a number of varieties. With plenty of orders to fill, this year gets a tick.

house build

Co-Captain and the tractor were very productive.

We now have shades over the North facing windows. It took us many months of experiencing the main space and designing shades that were in keeping with the minimalist sharp clean design of the house, and would work well to keep the summer sun off the polished concrete floor. Importantly, the shades could not attach to the house (like a regular pergola) because any movement would have made a god-awful racket inside, and movement is guaranteed with the winds we get up here.

Under the watchful eye of the pet sheep, Co-Captian created an outdoor sitting area we are calling the Courtyard Deck. We now have a safe, shaded space (read clear visibility and level ground) to put a table and chairs. It is such a welcome space the pet sheep have taken up residence. However, once the earthworks have settled and the space is capped off with terrazzo pavers, they will have to admire from a distance. I’m not sure if they read management’s memos…

North window shades up and discreet as can be

Booklist

I successfully managed to work through my fabulously large Christmas book haul. A good mix of novels, classical works, recipe books, and floral decor inspiration. I love anything Stephen Fry writes, so his latest, Troy, is as entertaining and informative as ever. My favourite novel was Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends. So good I handed it off to a friend before taking a pic. It is, without doubt, a modern novel with all the complexities of our modern relationships with friends, lovers, society and work. I am older than the generation of characters in the book and I found myself being confounded by their actions, drawn in and amused. And because the writing is so good, it left me pondering them, and the reality of the ending for some time after putting the book down. Highly recommended, by me and millions of others.

Final word

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today

ancient proverb

Thanks for reading!

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