Well it has been a while since I have shared how things are going on our little farm. Summer is over and Autumn is here and it is a lovely time of the year.
We had a couple of fires this year within our brigade – one being a header that caught fire. This isn’t our header, it was working on one of our neighbours property. Below is a picture of the header after it was put out.
Our local fire brigade also burned along the sides of the road from our place to the next town, about 12 kms. This is to keep the grass down and hopefully stop the fire from jumping into the paddocks.
Here is one of the fire trucks out the front helping to keep the fire along the side of the road and not in our paddocks. Our Brigades are all run by volunteers and they do a great job.![DSC_0899[1]](http://darlingdownsdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DSC_08991.jpg)
This is what it looked like out the front of our house. It looks black for a little bit and then the green starts to show through.
My husband is still milking two cows each morning and we are still making feta and cheddar cheese. Below is where he does the milking, it is good in the summer but can be a bit difficult in the winter. We are in the process of moving the milking area to the end of our wool shed and the power is waiting to be attached at the moment. Once that is done the men will concrete it out and move everything over. This will make milking more pleasant in the winter and also make it feasible to milk more cows.
Here are the two cows that we are milking at the moment. Both cows are a Fresian / Jersey Cross bought from a dairy farmer friend who uses a Jersey bull over his heifers as they deliver smaller calves and thus making it less likely to loose either cow or calf. Both are totally different looking one looking more Jersey and the other more Fresian.
The cow not facing us has been here for quite a while and her name is Cornetto (after an ice cream we can buy here). I think the other ones name is Daisy and that really suits her.
The piglets are still growing well and when it gets a bit cooler we will be butchering a few of them. The bigger ones will go first of course. We have really enjoyed the last lot of sausages that we made from our own pork so I think that will be first on the list to do.
My husband is keen to make some dried cured meat and we might do our bacon that way this year.
Here is Roses our little kitten. We have two kittens and a cat at the moment, so the younger children have one each and the cat – Smokey belongs to all of us. They really help keep the mouse and rat population down.
If you knew my husband well you would know that he has an aversion to cats, especially inside as he is allergic to them and if they are inside they give him asthma. Over the years he has really softened towards them and now I find out that he is feeding them milk each morning down at the shed.
We have been offered an alpaca, and I hope that it will be delivered shortly. I don’t have too many details as yet but I feel very blessed that it isn’t costing us anything as they can be quite expensive. Maybe we will get it a mate when we find out what type it needs.
Well that’s all for now, stay tuned for the next episode.
What’s happening on your farm or homestead at the moment?
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
I love reading your updates and hearing about your life on the farm. It sounds so wonderful! You are such a dear blessing and encouragement to me, Terri…both here and through your precious comments on my blog. I am SO grateful God brought us across each other’s path. What a dear blessing to me! It touches me so deeply that you are continuing to hold us up in prayer. I cannot ever thank you enough for that. May the dear Lord bless you always and keep you and your sweet family in His tender care. Much love and many blessings to you. 🙂
Thank you so much Cheryl, the feeling is very mutual and I want to thank you for all the same things. You are such a shining light and an encouragement to me. Thank you for your blessings and may God bless you, your husband and son abundantly. xxx
My little boys all cried when they saw that your combine had caught on fire. I had to calm them down and let them know things will be okay, and it wasn’t yours. They insist on praying for you tonight when they lay down. We are quite removed from the general population and I always show them your pictures. They think you are family and neighbors 🙂 .
Love those piglets! You should document a new milking parlor when it gets done. That’s on our to-do list this year too. I may glean some ideas from you.
Alpaca is not eaten in North America, but I used to eat a lot of it while I was in South America. It is my favorite meat. I have some blankets from then too and they stay soft forever. The ladies in the villages would try to teach me to spin, but I was awful–I think they just liked to laugh at me. He he. Will you be eating or using the wool?
Oh I’m so sorry that they got upset, tell them it was insured :-). That is so nice that they think we are family and neighbours, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were.
Mmm the piglets are cute and they are tasty and these ones are quite well behaved. When the milking shed gets done I will take photos and do a post on it. My husband has great plans for it (as he does the milking) and wants to get up to milking 10 cows at at time.
Oh I’m not sure about eating alpaca, I don’t think it is really done here either but I’m not sure, will have to research that. I was only getting it for the wool and I am only allowed to have it because it is free, but I think we will get another one to keep it company. They are quite common on farms around here as fox deterrents. I love spinning, if you were nearer I would teach you and try not to laugh (too much). xxxx
I love your farm especially your pigs, I worked with pigs for so many years I lost track, but love them dearly. Home made bacon and hams are so easy to do. I am visiting from #misadventuresbloghop Have a great week.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Jennifer and for sharing about your pig history. They are a great versatile animal and are good to have around (most of the time). Blessings
I love your farm and your kitty! I am stopping by from Testimony Tuesday.
Thanks Gina, nice to meet you. Blessings
Such a busy place! No doubt you have many rewarding days. So glad you shared this on The Maple Hill Hop! Don’t forget to grab our button and link back each week! Thanks.
Thanks Daisy for your kind comment, blessings to you.
I love peeking into your life. 🙂 Thanks for sharing on the (mis)Adventures Mondays Blog Hop!
Thanks for hosting Mindie, blessings.