We finally have our new batch of piglets. Having just arrived we’ve put them in the stables for a few days until they get used to us and learn where their food comes from. This will make them much easier to move around once they are out and about.

After a couple of escapes from the [...]

New grass day for the cows is their favourite day I’m guessing. Our girls are still putting on good weight being just on pasture this time of year. We could probably get them fatter faster if we gave them grain or palm kernel but why would you when they are perfectly evolved to eat pasture, [...]

With so many family and friends visiting over the holidays we thought it smarter to cut our ham in half so it would last longer. This turned out to be a wise idea once we started eating it. This is the 2nd half of our 8.4kg ham from our own pigs. It tasted as good [...]

We’re looking forward to another exciting year on the farm, filled with discovery, fun and delicious food (shhh, don’t tell the cows). We’ve still got a way to go before our lifestyle is truly self sufficient, but the journey is certainly proving to be enjoyable.

I came out to the garden this afternoon to find a swarm conveniently hanging on a tree lucerne branch. Bees usually swarm around Spring/Summer for a lot of different reasons but in this case I was just happy to have them so close and easy to capture. It’s a small swarm - maybe 3-5000 bees.

Before [...]

Our not so wee foal posing for the camera. You’d never know she had knee surgery or weeks of physio.

You can tell it’s winter on the farm because the old and precious ponies get pampered in the stables at night. This is early on a sunny morning as I come to take them out to their paddock for the day. Daemar and Simone have it pretty easy if you ask me.

Here’s the pile of [...]

These ten beauties are our new beef calves. They are Angus Charolais cross and should prove to be both chunky and delicious in another 12 months or so.

Our weaner pigs have been growing pretty quickly so it was time for them to have some more permanent accommodation. Their first house was this hastily built hay bale house. It worked out really well with great insulation and it was very easy to build and expand. All we needed was some old bales of [...]

We arrived home with three weaner pigs this afternoon. They are destined to be bacon, ham and salami in about six months. Names haven’t been decided on yet but they will be suitably food-related so we don’t get too attached.

Tonight they will stay in the stables (in their little straw house) and tomorrow they’ll go [...]