January.

It's hot! Unusually hot for this part of the world. I know we are in the tropics but our farm is at altitude and we usually experience a very temperate climate. So when we suffer temperatures at 38C (100F for the metrically challenged) we feel it!
Still, we did get a good wash of rain and the grass is growing again. This may not sound like news to some folks but to us grass IS the staff of life. Good grazing is directly responsible for a large portion of our diet. With the grass growth comes the changes in season and the life that it brings. Grass seed attracts the finches to feed and nest each year. I love watching these guys go about their business.

We have also finished off most of the work in the orchard with the felling of the last two trees to go. One pink cedar (also called sarsaparilla) and one black wattle. We now have plenty of firewood for this winter.

The ham is finally ready and I can report it is a success. Although the outside of the hams turned a rather unappetising grey, the inside was firm and pink.
Texture and taste is much like a prosciutto which is what I was aiming for. Fine shaved cured ham with a wedge of farm cheese and good wine. Does it get better than that?

Finally the chook pen is nearing completion after a long wait for time and materials to come together. A very kind gift from my parents allowed us to splash out and by the wire needed to enclose the yards. This is heavy duty chicken mesh and is *quite* expensive but I prefer to use it -because it is cheaper.
Does that sound like a contradiction?
Simply put, if I use the proper materials then I will not need to replace this mesh in my lifetime. Having to replace a cheaper mesh twice would be a lot more expensive in both money and time than doing the job properly in the first place.

Sliced finely

Look what we got for Chrissie!

Actually we bought this a month ago but it only arrived the day before Christmas. Why the fuss? Well I simply wish to get the most from the fruits of our labour. Strongly flavoured small goods like bacon, ham and salami greatly benefit from being served in fine slices and so a slicer is essential if you are not a master carver. Last night we whipped a quarter side of bacon down into neat slices in about ten minutes.

These were then wrapped in greaseproof paper and frozen. Soon I hope to slice some ham.

In the curing fridge we have a magnificent array of goodies waiting to be used.

On the top shelf is the Chorizo. It is nearly ready, almost completely dry and the texture of a good dried salami. Speaking of which, the second shelf down is some Italian style pork salami. I am looking forward to that one!
The third shelf is Lup Chong/ Lap Choy or whatever you call it depending what part of Asia you come from. We already eat a lot of this sausage, and it is expensive, so it makes sense to make our own.
As you can see I have not hung them to dry, due to lack of space. I compensate for this by turning them regularly so they dry evenly all over. So far this method appears to be working well. Either way it doesn't really matter as I will be hanging everything in the cold room in future.

This is just a gratuitous shot of the little feller enjoying a juicy pork spare rib the other day. Those piggies sure go a long way!

Christmas 2012

Well another Chrissie has come and gone. A rather nice and peaceful one this time. We were blessed with lovely cool weather, some rain and misty evenings as the cloud rolled in. We had most of our meals out on the verandah with the birdsong and afternoon breezes, just the three of us and I think it was possibly the most serene Christmas I have ever had.
The littlest cloud farmer is getting the hang of the event and has cottoned on to the idea of "presents". He had been wondering aloud what the wrapped boxes under the tree were. Being a farm kid he very much liked his toy chainsaw, just like Dads. He also unwrapped a toy circular saw which he has been using to cut up the coffee table, the fridge and the cat every few minutes. The cats are not too impressed I must say. In addition to a large stocking of assorted toys he received a beautiful pop up story book from his Aunt Dani and Uncle Lyle. They seem to have the knack of buying his favourite each time and it is now the only book of choice at bedtime.
The Child Bride and I gave each other fruit trees and we had a ceremonial planting in the orchard on Christmas day. I bored a deep hole for each one and then packed compost -a rather nice mixture of well decomposed cow manure, pig manure, charcoal and a good handful of  "number one lucky special recipe good fortune mineral mix". I tamped this down as there would be some settling and then placed a couple of inches of plain soil over it before planting the tree on top. Top dress with a little more compost and mulch thickly. Water well. This is the method I usually use when planting trees. It allows the tree to settle in without too much shock. The questing roots then hit the compost and the tree shoots for the sky.
I borrowed the idea from a farmer I once met near Dalby. His wife had commanded that there be a tree lined drive way to the farmhouse. So he bored a series of deep holes where the trees were to be planted. These holes were large enough to fall down and about six feet deep. A couple of nights later we went out and shot enough kangaroos to dump several in each hole. They were in plague numbers around there that year. The holes were then covered and ignored for a week or two before being filled. A small blue gum seedling was planted on each one and given a watering. Apparently the trees sulked for about a year until their roots hit the 'roos. You could tell when they did because the tree then almost grew over night. Five years later you would have sworn those trees were all over twenty years old.

In other news, Anna came into heat on boxing day and began bulling- that is to say, standing in the middle of the paddock and bellowing like hell. So after a call to our most excellent neighbours we took Anna to "see the Bull". Now most years this simply involves chivvying Anna down he drive way and along the road to the next paddock on the neighbours place where she meets Francis-the-bull. But for some reason she just did not want to play the game this year. We would get her almost to the gate when she would balk and try to turn back. In the end it took four people and much bad language to herd her over along with her calf. Not happy Anna!
Francis-the-bull is a Dexter. Dexter's are a fairly small breed although they yield a very good carcasse. Consequently Francis-the-bull is a fair bit shorter that Anna and I used to wonder how he could possibly reach high enough to do his job. My theory is that he gets Anna to stand facing down the slope and this gives him the height he needs, or else he has a step ladder hidden somewhere. Either way he almost always gets the job done first time and Anna drops another chocolate coloured Jersey-Dexter calf later in the year.

December on the Cloud Farm.

It has been a hot summer this year. No rain so far and it is beginning to show. The grass is not growing, normally it is in full swing by now and you have to watch where you stand or it will grow right over you. I suspect it will be a late wet season. The rain tanks were almost empty so we have pumped from the creek. Nice sweet spring water, the creek runs all year and has a head only five hundred metres or so up from our property. We can see the entire catchment from our house. Good when you know exactly where it comes from. The ground soaks over the wet and then bleeds the rainwater from springs through the rest of the year. The water is sweet, clear, clean and has the aroma of the rain forest. I like that.

The dry is not all bad. The lack of rain has allowed the guinea fowl to hatch out multiple nests. Several mothers have swanned in with large broods at heel. I counted one with seventeen keets yesterday.
A lone hen wandered in with a couple of chicks too. Normally they build up large hidden nests and leave them to rot when they get bored of sitting. I found one hidden nest yesterday of twenty-one eggs, tucked away in the shade under the trailer. It had not been sat on yet and they were still fresh so I brought them in and placed them in the incubator along with another nineteen eggs to make a full load. They will incubate for twenty-one to twenty-three days before hatching. Here's hoping.
I notice a lot of the older hens are going broody now. I will tuck a couple of them away on a clutch and hope they get it right.

The dry has also encouraged the frangipanni to flower this year. Usually it is too wet for them to flower. I love the smell of frangipanni.

Work has progressed on the veggie garden. I have marked out the hot house footprint and will begin pegging the position for the posts which I will put in as soon as I have the needed materials. in the meanwhile I have been rock hunting and have turned the cultivation area over with the tractor. First using the grader blade to chip out the largest boulders before using the rotary hoe to till the soil and find all the boulders I missed. There were a lot. Lost a few tines off the rotary hoe. Nevertheless we got through the job without finding anything too large to move so I am very pleased. The rocks we unearthed will be used to make a retaining wall uphill of the hothouse. The next step will be to install each of the hothouse frame footings in a cement plug. After that I will install the uprights into the footings and set each one at the correct height with a bolt through the shaft. Next the arch bars and struts are bolted in and the sheeting pulled over and secured. Only then can I actually begin growing anything again.

We have been continuing work in the orchard. A few days ago we burned off the piles of cut rubbish that had been drying out. The burn went well and the orchard is almost done, ready to be fully planted out. We have been slowly purchasing fruit trees over time and carefully placing them in the orchard as we go. When done, there will be room for about sixty trees. They will be trained as standards (meaning like a tall tree with a single trunk) so we can graze cattle when the trees are tall enough.
I have also been around all of the trees composting with a mixture of well rotted pig and cow manure. I also added a generous handful of my "number one lucky special recipe good fortune mineral mix". I discussed it some time back, a mixture of white ash and chicken manure mixed with crushed egg shell and bones and a bit of urine from yours truly. Allow this to mellow for several months in a closed barrel. It undergoes a change that is hard to explain. The texture changes to resemble grey fine sand and the smell is quite neutral and inoffensive. It is an all natural high-mineral concentrate that I can make myself. Suck on that Monsanto!

The blue barrel holds the "lucky special recipe"
The bin beside it holds a supply of ash to be added
when a new load of chook poo is laid down.

We picked up a Brazilian custard apple at the markets last week and purchased a "Fuyu" persimmon from the local nursery. These were in lieu of Christmas presents between the child bride and myself.
We already have a selection of citrus, carambola, black sapote, apples, tropical peaches, macadamia, coffee, bamboo and bananas planted. I am looking for a few Brown Turkey or Black Genoa figs next. There is a nice rocky outcrop that should suit them perfectly. This is because figs actually wont fruit well if they have too much soil, they just produce a lot of leaf. Constrict the roots amongst rocks or within a box and they fruit well. If life gives you lemons make lemonade, if the ground gives you rock grow figs.

In the kitchen I have made more small goods. A while back I made Chorizo which has turned out well. Very tasty but needs to be fattier next time with perhaps a bit more paprika. An excellent cooking sausage and we have been eating a bit of Spanish as a result.
Since then I have thawed the two pork forequarters I stored in the freezer and have made a load of salami, some Lup Chong (or lup choy/ lap choy or whatever), some German pork sausage for fresh eating and a big load of plain pork eating sausages which are excellent.
I am also getting ready to take the two hams out of the fridge at long last. Quite nervous I must admit. I hope they turn out well.

Turkeys, parrots and new roof.

I think I mentioned previously that the turkey hen, Henrietta, attempted to sit a nest of her own eggs with no success. She must have still been in a very broody mood because she promptly took over the ducks nest in a patch of galingale. The duck didn't seem to mind, she is a pretty rotten mother anyway and just waddled off to begin another nest behind the feed trough in the cattle yards. Anyway, two days ago Henrietta appeared leading a small gaggle of six ducklings and looking very happy with herself. Hopefully she will have more success with her own eggs in the future and I can have turkey as well as duck for dinner.

God only knows what the ducklings will grow up to be like. I hope they don't follow after their adopted father Gobbles. I already have all the mentally deficient poultry I can handle.

 

Each year our local King parrots bring in their latest batch of offspring. They enjoy a good feed at the chooks trough and I often watch them as I milk the cow each morning. This year they only have one youngster instead of the usual two.

Over the years they have become quite tolerant of our movements and will quietly ignore us moving about as long as we do not get too close.



 Today I am replacing the weather side of the roof with new sheeting. I have been waiting a week for this clear weather as, of course, it began raining heavily as soon as I purchased the roofing iron and brought it home. As luck would have it today has turned out clear but extremely hot. I have to do it now though as that part of the roof will not last another wet season and we already have several leaks coming through. Next winter I want to finish replacing the rest of the roof in somewhat less inclement weather.

 



You don't see this every day.

This morning I found this fellow stuck in the fence of the pig paddock. Sometime last night he had a big feed and was now too large to get back out the way he came in. From the size and shape of the bulge I reckon he had swallowed a bandicoot. Good riddance, bandicoots appear to only exist to dig up my seedlings as near as I can work out, so I am happy when the local snakes wish to eat a few.

 Now poor old snakey was unable to get back to the rain forest and the day was quickly heating up so I rather cautiously took hold of the tail and pulled him backwards out of the fence. Easier said than done as he was fairly anxious by now and probably doubted my intentions therefore he put up a bit of a fight. I can tell you a four metre (13 foot) python is quite strong and it took some effort to get him to let go of the fence. I then carefully pinned his head* and lifted him bodily over the fence before letting him go. He then slowly took off for the rain forest where he can digest his meal in peace. To give an idea of scale, the body forward of the bulge in the photo is about as thick as my forearm.

*Pythons are not poisonous but a bite from one will almost certainly become infected due to the assortment of bacteria in their mouth. Definitely to be avoided! In any case, I am a sook and have no particular desire to receive a bite anyway, infection or not .

Big jobs

 Finally, after several months of waiting for various reasons, we have begun making progress on the new veggie garden. A couple of days ago the man with the big digger came to level off the area where the hot-house is to go. It was a very big job- he unearthed and then moved several boulders the size of a small car. These were used to make the terrace on the lower side which was then back filled with earth taken from the higher side. He did an excellent job! I then had him remove a particularly large boulder named "Mr Bastard" that I have been unable to shift from the new chook pen area. After that we dug deep holes for the mammoth logs I had put aside for the new carport and set each pole upright. All done by one in the afternoon.

Now I just need to mark out and set up the hot house before the wet season. Today I picked up two dozen cut sections of pipe I will use as the post extensions to raise the hot house frame high enough for the tractor to get under the sides. These extensions will be set in concrete and then the frame will be sleeved in and bolted in place at the correct height. Should keep me out of trouble for a bit.

Meanwhile I will be allowing the posts for the carport to settle into place for a month or two. This will give me time to obtain the extra poles I need from a friends place down in the dry lands. The design will allow dry parking for two largeish vehicles and should be fairly cyclone proof. At the front of the carport will be an H frame from which I can hand a chain hoist. This will be useful in lifting heavy things off my Ute as well as lifting carcasses during slaughter.