Ever since I can remember, I've always wanted to live on a farm, growing my own food, making my own remedies from plants I've grown, tending to animals and be connected to the earth. My craft would be used for usefulness and my heart would be full. This dream of mine was further cemented by one of the most vivid sleep dreams I've ever experienced, one so lifelike I still recall (after 20 plus years) every detail, smell and texture and just knowing deep within the fibres of my being that one day it would be. As time moves on, and life takes you on a different path for awhile, that knowing becomes smothered in young adulthood growth where living for the moment and being reckless is priority. Then life takes a dramatic turn where meeting that special someone knocks you off your feet and you head down a path of gloriousness, sunshine and wonder. You wed and grow into your adult skin and after what feels like an infinite number of mountains to climb that life unexpectedly throws on your path, forever feeling the place where you are is not where you should be, you come full circle. That knowing feeling of being right where you're meant to be is at the fore once again and you're taking steps - albeit small - towards achieving what your heart desires. I can happily say that's where I am right now.
Since being here, I've split my limited free time amongst getting the property into working order (as the previous owners weren't "gardeners") reviving the trees already here and preparing the ground for our harsh summers. As the wildlife here is so great, we've planted more Australian natives to feed the nectar-eating birds and bee-attracting plants for both Australian native and European bees. We planted out a small collection of bare-rooted fruit trees in Winter, which are growing beautifully so next year we hope to have our first harvest of Nashi, apricots, plumcots, lemons, limes and blood oranges. This year, we'll have a small harvest of blueberries and strawberries as the plants are still quite juvenile. It's going to take me a while to get the full orchard up and running as one of our paddocks requires a lot of work and money. We've also started our veggies and herbs on a small scale so hopefully we'll have pumpkins, zucchinis, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, chard, spinach, tomatoes, capsicums, broad beans, mint and basil in the coming months. But one of the most rewarding steps we've taken is getting our first flock of chickens - 6x beautifully coloured and well-natured double laced Barnevelders. They are such a delight and could keep us entertained for hours, free-ranging in a dog run we've converted into a massive coop.
In about five to six weeks time, they will start to lay so we will have our own eggs as well.
Now we have the chickens, my next step is to perhaps start on my herbal medicine garden and build another coop for future quail with secondhand materials gifted to me by my sister. But one thing for sure, for my birthday next month, Heath and I will be building some beehives <grin>!
Some have said to me "what's the point of all this effort when fresh fruit and vegetables are affordable from the store?". Well for some people it's not. For instance (there have been many), I've overheard a mother in a supermarket grappling with the decision between a pack of 24 frozen meat pies for $6 versus a head of cauliflower (out of season) for the same price. Now common sense tells us cauliflower is better for us but when you're on a very tight budget, spending $6 for a possible 24x individual meals is better value for money. And this makes me very sad. I'm sad that people are faced with this decision; I'm even sadder knowing some people can't eat at all. I'm sad that there is a whole world of people simply struggling day to day to make ends meet, not knowing if they'll be able to afford to eat, irrespective if the food is healthy or not (not forgetting all of life's stressors thrown into the mix). I know this firsthand which is why I decided a few years back to start growing our own.
So the plan moving forward is to expand on a much larger scale as I now have the space to do so. I hope to be able to produce enough fruit, vegetables, herbs and eggs to be able to feed us and our family as well as help people in need. I'm realistic enough to know that this will take me a long time, and I also know I won't be able to help everyone, but knowing it'll happen at the grassroots level brings me so much joy and gives me so much to look forward to. So stay tuned ....
For now, here's some cuteness. Meet the 'girls':
And a close up:
Have a great rest of your week!
