Hurrah!

Let's have a catch up before I get into the latest photos - Last weekend (13/14) G and I went to the old boys afternoon at the rugby. There were quite a few rather tight old jerseys worn; it was good to see some faces we haven't seen for a while. We managed to get away at a reasonable time (while G was still upright although there was rather a lot of gibberish being spoken). Sunday was Mum's birthday; Drew and I went to town early and took her out for breakfast and around the nurseries. He had to work all day at the pub. The week itself flew by in a blur (I know I say that a lot, but it's true; every week just disappears). I was supposed to have the week off but work commitments took priority (so I've swapped to have this week off). Drew, Mum and I did make a quick trip to Twba to go shopping, mainly for clothes for Drew. I bought a book - Keeping your own Free-Range Pigs written by Jen Owens. We had a week of amazing warm weather in the middle of winter! Beautiful.

I thought of a number of titles for this post - Drama at the Chook Auction; Wet to my Ankles; Chooks in the Drizzle; Wyandottes at Woodford - but I've gone short and sweet with Hurrah! We had a very full weekend of chook related business - on Saturday our club auction was held in grey and drizzling conditions. The chooks were penned in one shed; the auction was in another. My $10 dry weather boots did not survive the day. My socks (and therefore my feet) were soaking wet early on. My jeans were soaked to my ankles. I bid on three OEG lots for Peter for his back yard; the first lot of 3 little spangles were our pick but I had to pull out at $85! I did manage to buy him the next two lots - these two little brown reds and a pen of 3 partridge. Actually, he only wanted 3 so I thought I'd end up with the two brown reds but when he saw them he decided to keep all 5. I was after a couple more for the Woodlawn Permaculture Project which is about to kick off; however, now I'm going to have to source a couple more scratchers from somewhere else.

Then on Sunday we got up early Sunday and left in the dark, heading for the chook show at Woodford (a 2 hour drive). I forgot the camera so had to use my phone. There were some very nice chooks there; the wyandottes won Champion Lace bird and Champion Colour Bird of Show; the white pullet won her class but went no further this time. My plymouth rocks won their classes (hen and pullet) - because they were the only ones entered.

The weather was brilliant. There was some confusion at first because pens had been allocated twice but all was soon sorted out. There was a lot of activity all 'round with a big pony club gathering next to the chook show. There were markets on in town too. After the birds were penned and once the judging had started (G was a steward) I went into town to have a look at the markets. They were surprisingly disappointing. I had expected a vibrant, multicultural display of food and goods but found nothing of the sort. I bought some home grown potatoes and avocados and some raw tea tree honey as well as a punnet each of chilli and tomato seedlings. I have made a friend in the poultry world and she was outside the bakery having a coffee so I sat with her  and her kids for an hour and we learnt a little more about each other. We watched the Sunday harley riders come and go.

Back at the chook show I had the toughest piece of steak ever on a steak burger (I know I only ever eat wagyu but truly, it was tough). Finally we were allowed back into the shed to see the results (at this show owners/spectators were locked out during judging; not a normal rule). I walked around taking pics of the best/most unusual looking birds. I just love chooks.

               

Why did I call this post Hurrah? Because it's the last chook show for the year. I'm a bit "showed out" and so are the chooks. After living in show cages for several months some of them are over it all and don't want to co-operate so much; it's called "going a bit sour". Today we split everyone up into their breeding groups and clipped their bums. For the next few months we'll be furiously collecting and hatching eggs, trying to breed another Australian Champion wyandotte (or silkie or plymouth rock)!

Wow

Where did the week go? I didn't even notice it fly by!!

Monday I went to a "welcome to the district" morning tea, hosted by one of my next door neighbours. She's someone I've known since I was 16 and she was 12! We used to go on the school bus together. She moved away when she married but has been back on the property for 18 years. I've only seen her occasionally and we laughed about "who would have thought all those years ago that we'd end up being neighbours again"! As youngsters, she and her family lived on a farm two places up from ours. She and her siblings spent a lot of time at our place; I always used to feel that her mother never really approved of my brothers and me (or was that just a childhood thing where you thought all adults were disapproving)?

The neighbour on the other side of us was there too. I've known her since we were 18 or 19. She had a shop next door to my best friend at the time, who was a hairdresser. She is an artist and paints lovely landscape scenes, often of the nearby Bunya Mts. The other woman was someone I've known for probably 20 years - she makes tomato sauce and gave me a bottle to try.

So even though I've "kind of" lived in this district for a long time (the feedlot is half way between D and where we are now), we tended to go in the other direction for all our needs; there was never any reason to head this way so I didn't often see these girls. We talked a lot about the intervening years and caught up on the lives of our kids. It was a very nice morning and I felt very comfortable with them.

The artist was telling us about a fox/wild dog attack that occurred during the day last Sunday - they lost their ducks, turkeys and all their chooks except one little blue pekin. When I came home and told Gibbo (he's paranoid about a similar attack on our extended flock) he said that he'd heard the turkey gobbler gobbling that morning. Later in the afternoon we walked along the joint boundary - and there he was; he'd survived the night out in the open. Drew and I herded him along the wheel tracks to The Compound and got him inside (while holding back The Marauders). He (the turkey) got quite excited when he saw the two turkey hens. I rang the neighbour to say we had him but she doesn't want him back - the pen was wrecked in the attack. So now we have a lovely Bourbon Red gobbler to add to the mix.

Drew and Poofy had a ride around. Poofy loves the bike; it's hard to get him off it.Actually it's sometimes hard to get Drew off it too.

Monday night we went to town to a poultry meeting.

Wednesday G went to Surat to draft this year's bulls; he came home yesterday. Drew has been working each afternoon or night, either at the bottle shop or pub. He cooked spag bog one night and last night, chicken kiev from scratch. He even made the garlic butter and fresh breadcrumbs; and he made a hedgehog slice. Awesome.

I think my son is getting in touch with his inner hippy.

It's an animal's life in our house. Especially if you're the cat who runs the joint.

This weekend I have more jobs planned; hay into the chook pens, make up the first batch of compost, finish cleaning the tank garden, make lemon butter, spray the weeds....and maybe a bit of housework. Maybe.

Meg's Macarons

Meg taught a macaron baking class today at the local cafe in our nearby little town. She was cool and calm and it went off without a hitch. I was very proud of her.

Aged egg whites.

After the class was over I ducked home and picked up Drew; the three of us had lunch at the cafe (G was off playing cricket). The ladies gave Meg a voucher for doing the class so it was her shout!

Afterwards, we drove to the fairly new community centre and visited the art gallery. Then we checked out the community garden (SPinach!), then sat for 20 minutes on a big log and talked and laughed together.

When we got home, Drew and I took Meg on a tour of the latest developments - the wood/compost bays and the vege garden. Poofy bit his tonge when Coco ran into him. There was blood.Then Meg left to go back to Twba and Drew left to go to work at the pub in D. He's had a trying time at work the last two nights, witnessing fights and being abused for refusing service to overly drunk customers; working in a bar he's at the coalface of the local drinking scene and sees, first hand and confrontingly, the changes that alcohol brings to normally decent and reasonable and likeable people.

After they had both gone I went for a walk around the perimeter of the farm; up the laneway to check the water, across the back and down the other boundary. It was warm when I left but cooled down as twilight descended.

Cricket was successful although The Warrior is walking like an old man tonight.

Is This....

a face only a mother could love??? Aussie Game at the poultry show yesterday. These birds look prehistoric; they're ugly but there's something quite magnificent about them at the same time.

Thankyou, thankyou, I'm here all week....

We had another successful show although it didn't quite reach the heights of Queanbeyan. We left home at 5am in the dark, not cold, the weather was really mild. During the day the temperature hit 25 degrees; I had to take my jumper off and wandered around in jeans and a singlet - a brilliant day in the middle of a Queensland winter.

The show team won Champion White Pullet, Reserve Champion Large, Champion Lace of Show and Champion PB Cockerel. I won two bags of feed in the raffle! We have one more show in two weeks (at Woodford) then the show season wraps up for us and we start breeding.

Didn't Take Long

I ordered some greenery on Wednesday, mid-morning; the parcel arrived this morning. Admittedly, it only had to come across from Maleny (via I don't know where) but it had to make it's way out to the big green hanging 44gal drum that serves as a "letterbox" at work (you could fit several adults and a couple of small children and a dog or two in it). Overkill, but it looks good.

Anyway, the plants arrived in double quick time. I've bought stock from this business before and have been so impressed with the quality of the plants, the speed of delivery and the information notes that they include. It's my favourite place to shop on-line for this sort of thing.

I bought Galangal, Lemongrass, Golden Shallots and Comfrey.

The lettuce has recovered very well from its frostbite. It looks healthy again. The chooks have been enjoying the outer leaves that I pick each morning and we've been enjoying the inner leaves.

I did a Megan and had a sneak peak at one of the carrots! I've never had great success at growing carrots - I end up with a squashed up little orange thing no longer than a few centimetres. Unlike Megan, I managed to resist the urge to actually pull the carrot - but I'm dying to see what's really going on under the surface.

I planted the whole piece of Galangal in a pot - I didn't want to cut it into 3 pieces in case I disturbed the roots. I figure if it's in a pot at the Tank Pot Garden I'll be able to keep a really good eye on it and monitor its growth. Plus it should remain frost free. When it's ready to pull up I'll split some rhizomes off and replant elsewhere. I'm hoping that in a week or two I'll see the first shoots poking through the surface.

I really should go to sleep. I have to be up in four hours, ready for the trip to another poultry show, this time it's the Qld Show.