Some of you may wonder what happens to some of our projects, well here goes.
Baby bottle bunnies: we managed to raise three of the five and though they are not as big as their peers they are doing ok. I am not sure why two died but until we got them eating solids, the amount of milk they drank seemed barely adequate.
Fish: The fingerlings have been released into two dams. they are tiny so it will be a long time before we need the tartare sauce. There are plenty of creatures that will want to get to them first. The rain we are having is great as the dams are filling.
Calves: The little girls have settled in and figured out where the food is, it is tempting to feed them heaps but we have been advised to be careful cause making them fat will negatively effect how they milk later.
Goats: After the great summer debacle, when I was in charge, as Laura was away, one kid died and anther got really sick. Things are looking up,and Laura is very excited that the buck is coming Saturday to start the breeding all over again. She is milking once a day and producing two litres of milk. Next on the agenda ..a camembert style cheese!
Sheep: The main event, are eating grass and  gaining weight in preparation for joining in a couple of weeks for an early spring lambing. When the busy time will start again.

There is a lot of discussion about superphosphate, but we have found it is essential to stimulate the native grasses, along with some clover, to produce a bulk of feed initially. The sheep then spread the manure and fertility, and overtime, a build-up of humous occurs.  Ideally we then add the phosphorous via the animal, by always having a mineral lick out for the sheep. Every time an animal leaves the farm it takes with it a bucket of minerals, and these need to be replaced! We sowed a very poor paddock with sub clover and left it ungrazed for a year, the hayed off clover made a layer of organic matter and the soil was much spongier after this time. I have heard people say that "super" makes soil more acid, but believe that it is apparently the legumes conversion of the nitrogen to an available form for the plants, that causes the acidity.

The Canberra Royal Show is on tomorrow, and we are entering a very small team. It should be bigger but being busy and distracted I have only three sheep prepared. The young ewes are beautiful and wild, the ram has been to the show before, so he at least leads. Who knows what the day will bring.

Martin and I attended Joel Salatin's Masterclass "You can Farm" on Sunday at Kiama. It was convened by Milkwood and it was wonderful. Very well attended and packed full of inspiring information about how to turn a block of land into a productive, profitable farming enterprise. He is an inspiring innovator with an enthusiasm for educating about possibilities and developing young farmers.
My scratch notes say:
Farming should build soil
Perennials build soil
Seek ecological self sufficiency
Animals move - portable infrastructure (you can farm on borrowed ground)
Sanitation - rest and sunshine and compost bedding.
Portable and plentiful water.
Stacking
Function over form
Become the whole component in the chain
Wellness is the terrain we create
Diversification in everything.
Repopulate farms - join with young people
and a million other ideas - READ HIS BOOKS.
 

This year we are very pleased with the progress in the veggie garden, after the late frost knocked things about the warm weather turned things around and we got growth. Even though it has been dry we have the luxury here of plenty of good quality water, so everything can be kept moist in the heat. We have been eating from the garden since before Christmas and the cooking has been getting more creative in order to use what we have. There have been some very pleasing meals, like rabbit stew, with mash potato where all the ingredients have been home grown.
The glasshouse that was but back together with gaffer tape after winds blew the panels out, has provided a good environment for tomatoes, without it I don't think we would have any ripe until next month. I just need to learn how to keep the plants in there under control, it is becoming a challenge to see what is going on. 

The next six or eight weeks is the ideal time to sow those pasture seeds. We have a paddock that was heavily infested with serrated tussock, and thus had to use flupropanate, the long acting herbicide specific for serrated tussock. This killed many of the native grasses, so I have just thrown out with the super spreader a mix of superphosphate, sub clover, and strawberry clover. Clovers can be successfully propagated by aerial spreading, and can of course fix the nitrogen making it available for the grasses.
Clover seed needs to be inoculated with the bacteria that perform the nitrogen fixing, the sub clover came with a pre inoculation coating ( blue), but the strawberry clover needs to have the inoculant mixed with the seed prior to spreading.( a fairly simple operation, but the seed seller will do it for you) 
All we need now to achieve success is some regular rain falls for a month or so!

I have been fortunate enough to receive a ticket to the "You can Farm Masterclass" with one of the world's most innovative farmers: Joel Salatin,  thanks to the Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority who funded the ticket. The Masterclass explores setting up thriving, profitable and ethical small farms. I have heard Joel speak before and found his presentation riveting and came away with a head full of ideas for our farm. Polyface Inc, Joel's family farm is the hands on model for all he talks about, a farmer talking to other farmers. This model is taking off in so many places as it benefits the land and the people who work with it in such a positive way. I am particularly interested in his direct marketing model. Sunday at Kiama, can't wait.

Martin has just returned from a road trip to visit friends, and brought back two little calves. These calves are another round in the search for the perfect milking cow. Our first attempt was "Blossom" who could "kick for Real Madrid"! After three years of trying to settle her, she has been retired (won) and been put out to pasture. The next cow to arrive,"Patsy",  stands beautifully if we milk her in the crush, but freaks at the bail, a work in progress. Now "Daisy and Dolly" have arrived and I am determined that we make them Australia's quietest cows that beg to be milked. Only two years till I know whether this plan is a success.

Had a very promising looking afternoon, big clouds building, thunder and lightning then fizz. Just a bit of hail and a few spots of rain; disappointing.
It was good to see the helicopter fly over this morning checking for spot fires.  It was where the first Dog School we went to was heldThe people who hosted the first Dog School we went to have had Ninety percent of their farm burnt but the house and sheds were spared. The sheep were very hard hit and the remaining stock are without feed and fences; very difficult.

I don't know how many of you suffer from the malaise of not being able to read anything without glasses, but only need magnifiers to see everything else. Then there is the twenty pairs of glasses that are never to be found, when needed and turn up in places like the feed bins, nesting boxes, washing machine etc. So enter the clip on pocket. I found it in the trade section of the hardware store and it is great. The glasses don't fall out, and I can carry a heap of other handy things that are always with me when outside. Pruners/foot shears, pocket knife, gloves, tiny torch, dog whistle and pen and paper.  Best $15 I ever spent.