harvest begins

Monday 15.1.18

Food is very plentiful just now.  Today Edd and I ate sweet corn, cucumber and lettuce for lunch and I have been talking bucket loads of zucchinis to Bo so she can make preserves for the restaurant.  The amazing thing is that the grass is still fairly green. Even the paddock we got hay from last night was green underneath.  Usually at this time of year everything is colourless and burnt crispy.

I wonder if this is part of the climate change experience.  We hear that America is having cold storms like we saw in the movie “the day after Tomorrow’ and California has killer mud slides where the winter fires removed all the vegetation.  We know all about this because we had a river through our property after the bush fires removed all the vegetation on the hills. Our river was very wide and had black waves that carried away whole trees.  Luckily our house was well clear of the danger.

The goats, not being prone to speculation, are loving the odd conditions.  They come home every night looking alarmingly round.  They are all beginning to look glossy in their new summer coats now that the cashmere undercoat and dry faded winter hair has dropped out.   Milk production is staying up but there is a reduction in the cheese yield that is normal for this time of year.  The tomatoes are large but still green, so I expect they will be the next glut I have to process.

The best news is that we now have a shed full of hay.   Various friends and family helped cart the bales and stack them in the shed.  How amazing it is to have people like this around.  The teenagers kept their distance and stayed glued to the virtual world but they are missing out.  Hay making is a time to show your strength and skill and feel good about being part of a group effort.