I'm sitting here waiting for the cheese curds to need their next stirring after giving Ruth a messy bath with Emily and am suddenly overcome with guilt that this blog is getting so neglected. There being no time like the present it seemed an update was a good idea.
Firstly obviously is Emily's recent birthday. She is pictured here with her brother who seems to be in training as a supermodel if his pose is anything to go by. She had the obligatory party at the local indoor play area, as well as a separate family one and a cake at school today to top it all off. Whilst we were having a cuddle yesterday she became quite thoughtful and said to me with a sigh "Mummy, I really am very sad that I won't be 3 anymore".... how soon it starts. She is currently in serious practice at her local dance class for the Christmas concert. She gets to be a Christmas tree which thank god I don't have to sew - I just have to pay an arm and a leg for it. Felix has started his 'Mudgee Beginners' at the local school and decided he doesn't need to go to preschool anymore because he is too grown up for it.
I never thought I would actually be taking photos of a silo, but as you can see above this year has been a first for many things. Its just so shiny! As we, or should I say the pigs, are going through a tonne of food a week now we finally decided to save ourselves about $200 per tonne by buying in bulk - serious bulk however, at 14 tonnes per delivery. There was nothing else to do but take the next step and buy a silo. Second hand requests didn't amount to much because most farmers are holding on to silo's with grain being scarce at the moment. We had to bite the bullet and buy a new one. James laid a concrete slab and it was delivered on the weekend. Woody is very unsure about it - not sure what sort of image it is in dog-sight however it is large and reflective and he spent a long time barking at the large monster that is endangering his pigs. Woody has been doing his job recently as one of our sheep got flystrike unexpectedly so he was called upon to herd our growing flock up into the corner of the field so they could be drenched and checked over. We have no sheep handling facilities at all - so Woody would bring them up and James would launch himself at the nearest one whilst the rest ran off. Felix found it hilarious each time James ended up face down in the paddock, which was often to begin with.
We are of course gearing up for Christmas, we have had our first lot of bacon cured by an organic smokehouse in Sydney and been a bit overwhelmed by the demand for it at all markets. We are sticking with traditional hams this year but will move to have them organically cured next year. So our life continues along the same routines of markets, butchers, abattoirs and plans. We are trying to decide which way to go with our little business - whether we can afford to wholesale the meat which means competing with farms that can do it cheaper, or stay in control of it from paddock to plate. At this point we are throwing around the idea of a proper farm shop which is starting to look more like the way we need to go. We are encouraging farm visits and have people coming from far and wide to see the pigs and buy some pork - so maybe it will be in the spirit of Jimmys Farm afterall.
I'm off to try out my new running track which James has obligingly mowed again - am slightly tentative as a friend riding her bike down our drive a couple of weeks ago came across a large brown snake making its way along her path and was so surprised she fell off. I guess it can only make me run faster.