See, i told you i had lots on my mind.
Since my eldest daughter had gone to Alice Springs i had been trying to work out what to do with our Border Collie bitch Floss. Floss was bought for “M” to trial with and to use around the farm, working with the sheep, but now what to do with her….. I decided to find her a new home where she could be put to good use.
But then fate stepped in..
My boss has recently bought a new property and a large flock of sheep came with it, SO, he has asked me if i can work with the sheep and if i had a working dog. So now i will have to learn to work Floss and she will have a purpose in life. YAY!! So it is funny how things work out. Never in my wildest dream did l think that i would end up as a shepherdess as well as a dairy maid.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
So Much on my Mind
I have been wanting to blog for quite a while but havent found the time, until now. So i have lots of things running around in my head that i want to get out.
The thing about being self sufficient is growing or making your own produce so with this in mind and the fatc that i work on a dairy farm, i have been making my own butter. Actually the Gourmet Farmer inspired me. I have been using my Breville Wizz Mix to make it and its been turning out very well. First lot was eaten on scones, so what can l cook for the next lot to consumed with? I have kept the buttermilk from the latest batch of butter so maybe it will be more scones made with buttermilk. I would also like to have a go at making cheese but of course i cant find my cheese making book. packed in storage i think.
We have a Stanley Errigal wood stove on order which i cant wait to see and cook in. Bread will be on the menu for sure. I just have to learn how to make it!!
Another thing ( or things) that will arrive in the near future is a couple of piglets to fatten and of course will end up in the freezer or as ham. I have never kept pigs before so i think i will have alot to learn. I like the idea of making our own ham or bacon. I hate to think that we are eating in the stuff bought from the supermarket. I like to know what im eating.
The thing about being self sufficient is growing or making your own produce so with this in mind and the fatc that i work on a dairy farm, i have been making my own butter. Actually the Gourmet Farmer inspired me. I have been using my Breville Wizz Mix to make it and its been turning out very well. First lot was eaten on scones, so what can l cook for the next lot to consumed with? I have kept the buttermilk from the latest batch of butter so maybe it will be more scones made with buttermilk. I would also like to have a go at making cheese but of course i cant find my cheese making book. packed in storage i think.
We have a Stanley Errigal wood stove on order which i cant wait to see and cook in. Bread will be on the menu for sure. I just have to learn how to make it!!
Another thing ( or things) that will arrive in the near future is a couple of piglets to fatten and of course will end up in the freezer or as ham. I have never kept pigs before so i think i will have alot to learn. I like the idea of making our own ham or bacon. I hate to think that we are eating in the stuff bought from the supermarket. I like to know what im eating.
Life Wasnt Meant to be Easy
Im sure that everyone has ‘rough’ patches that they go through. Everyone suffers one way or another. Im no different. My life has changed so much in the past 6 months. New property, eldest daughter moved away, new job, actually just job. I have been a stay at home mum for the past 20 years. doing what i felt was the best thing for my kids. It probably was the best thing for them, but not for me, as i have recently found out. It was my decision though and i still feel like it was the right one. Having to get out and get a job to earn money to live has been a huge hurdle for me.
Financially things have been Ok for me. I have gotten by, never been extravagant in what i bought. The kids were well dressed and fed, that was the main thing. Then i found out that my ‘income’ will cease at the end of the year. Talk about a shock, understatement really. I fell into a deep, deep hole and l felt like someone was filling it in on me. Not a good feeling. I had gotten my job milking cows so that l could afford the things we could never afford, travel more, stuff like that. To make things ‘easier’. Hahaha, wrong. Now that job will keep food on the table, and everyone looked after. There will be no little luxuries, time away. Just work.
I am still trying to dig myself out of the hole i had fallen into. Some days Im fine, others not so. I know i will get by. I always have, always will. One good thing has come out of it all. My realisation that l must become self sufficient, not just talk about it. I have the land and the stock to make it happen. I also realised that i must cut costs in the family home. Mobile phones, power usage, just general running costs. It is possible to cut back if needed. The unneeded mobile has gone! Next on the list…..
I have always wanted to be self sufficient but just played around with the idea, never really got stuck into it so to speak. I have always produced our own meat but there is so much more that can be done. I have plans to extend our vegie garden. At the moment it is only a small one but it has supplied us with, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, leek to name a few. Until you grow your own , you dont really realise the money that you can save by doing this. So, extending is a must. Its just finding a good day to get stuck into the fencing. Winter in Tasmania is just that, winter in Tasmania. Wet, wet, wet, dank, no sun, snow, frost, cold, the list goes on and on.
Trouble is i also have a list of other jobs that have to be done. Just have to figure out the most important and get stuck into it. I have almost finished the dog pens, well they are finished, l just want to put a roof up and more protection from the winter weather. Also a shed for the sheep who have foot rot. This has been such a pain in the arse. I trim and dip every week, but still l cant get rid of it. I hate to see the sheep suffer but i am determined to see it gone. I have been using zinc sulphate as a dip, but i have also been reading some of my old sheep management books and they all say to use copper sulphate, no zinc mentioned. In Pat Colebys book she also says copper sulphate for a dip and she the sheep to eat if they need it. So tomorrow i am heading into Devonport to buy the ingredients that i need to create Pats mineral lick. Fingers crossed that it works.
Financially things have been Ok for me. I have gotten by, never been extravagant in what i bought. The kids were well dressed and fed, that was the main thing. Then i found out that my ‘income’ will cease at the end of the year. Talk about a shock, understatement really. I fell into a deep, deep hole and l felt like someone was filling it in on me. Not a good feeling. I had gotten my job milking cows so that l could afford the things we could never afford, travel more, stuff like that. To make things ‘easier’. Hahaha, wrong. Now that job will keep food on the table, and everyone looked after. There will be no little luxuries, time away. Just work.
I am still trying to dig myself out of the hole i had fallen into. Some days Im fine, others not so. I know i will get by. I always have, always will. One good thing has come out of it all. My realisation that l must become self sufficient, not just talk about it. I have the land and the stock to make it happen. I also realised that i must cut costs in the family home. Mobile phones, power usage, just general running costs. It is possible to cut back if needed. The unneeded mobile has gone! Next on the list…..
I have always wanted to be self sufficient but just played around with the idea, never really got stuck into it so to speak. I have always produced our own meat but there is so much more that can be done. I have plans to extend our vegie garden. At the moment it is only a small one but it has supplied us with, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, leek to name a few. Until you grow your own , you dont really realise the money that you can save by doing this. So, extending is a must. Its just finding a good day to get stuck into the fencing. Winter in Tasmania is just that, winter in Tasmania. Wet, wet, wet, dank, no sun, snow, frost, cold, the list goes on and on.
Trouble is i also have a list of other jobs that have to be done. Just have to figure out the most important and get stuck into it. I have almost finished the dog pens, well they are finished, l just want to put a roof up and more protection from the winter weather. Also a shed for the sheep who have foot rot. This has been such a pain in the arse. I trim and dip every week, but still l cant get rid of it. I hate to see the sheep suffer but i am determined to see it gone. I have been using zinc sulphate as a dip, but i have also been reading some of my old sheep management books and they all say to use copper sulphate, no zinc mentioned. In Pat Colebys book she also says copper sulphate for a dip and she the sheep to eat if they need it. So tomorrow i am heading into Devonport to buy the ingredients that i need to create Pats mineral lick. Fingers crossed that it works.
April
Today is the most cold, wet, miserable days in quite a while. It was just lightly drizzling when l went to work at 4.30. By the time we were feeding the calves at around 8am it got heavier and heavier until it was coming down horizontally on the wind. Not good. Im not really looking forward to this afternoons milking because Targa Tasmania is on and the cars go past the farm. Its not a race leg but a touring leg so the cars are travelling much slower but there is still alot of them. We have to cross the road to feed the calves. Hopefully we will cross when the slower cars are coming through.
Tonight is my last milking for the week. I have 3 days off so lm looking forward to having the time to cook the kids home made pasta. Its not really the kind of thing you want to be making the day you milk and your hands are slightly green (yum). I also want to try to make a dish that was shown on the tv show Master Chef. Its a fish and noodle dish cooked by Australian chef Neil Perry. So my mission today is to find the recipe. Hopefully its not too hard to find!
Tonight is my last milking for the week. I have 3 days off so lm looking forward to having the time to cook the kids home made pasta. Its not really the kind of thing you want to be making the day you milk and your hands are slightly green (yum). I also want to try to make a dish that was shown on the tv show Master Chef. Its a fish and noodle dish cooked by Australian chef Neil Perry. So my mission today is to find the recipe. Hopefully its not too hard to find!
Catch Up
As i have done a few posts on another blog i have, i thought i would transfer some to this blog, so bear with me.
Welcome
This is the first post on my new blog. My name is Tania and l live in Tasmania, the most beautiful state in Australia. After many years of being a stay at home mum, l recently got myself a job milking cows. I like to call myself a dairy maid. I first started milking when l was about 11 years old. Since then l have worked on many dairy farms, but the one that l work at now, l think is the best. I really enjoy my job, even though there are early morning rises. At least l get the see the start of each day. For that l am grateful.
I also have quite a few animals of my own. I love border collies and one day hope to train my young girl Josey to work sheep the way the British, European and Americans do. So you could say that lm also a budding shepherdess. I also have another border called Floss. Floss has been trained for Australian 3 sheep trials which is completely different from those already mentioned. I also have Darcy and Skeeter, who are border collie x’s.
At the farm where l work we have almost finished calving season. I purchased some of the calves to rear for myself, with the idea of rearing calves on these heifers when they are old enough. They are predominantly Aussie Reds.
There is also a guernsey and a hereford jersey cross. There are also calves that l reared last spring in the paddock here. They are a mixture of dairy and beef breeds.
I also have a small flock of sheep. These are mainly wiltshire horn, stud dorper and a mix of cross breeds. The cross breds are to be sold so that l can concentrate on stud dorpers. The wiltshire horns will produce meat for the family.
I also have quite a few animals of my own. I love border collies and one day hope to train my young girl Josey to work sheep the way the British, European and Americans do. So you could say that lm also a budding shepherdess. I also have another border called Floss. Floss has been trained for Australian 3 sheep trials which is completely different from those already mentioned. I also have Darcy and Skeeter, who are border collie x’s.
At the farm where l work we have almost finished calving season. I purchased some of the calves to rear for myself, with the idea of rearing calves on these heifers when they are old enough. They are predominantly Aussie Reds.
There is also a guernsey and a hereford jersey cross. There are also calves that l reared last spring in the paddock here. They are a mixture of dairy and beef breeds.
I also have a small flock of sheep. These are mainly wiltshire horn, stud dorper and a mix of cross breeds. The cross breds are to be sold so that l can concentrate on stud dorpers. The wiltshire horns will produce meat for the family.
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