It has been a long time between blogs - long enough that Felix and Emily have become obsessed with making video's on my iphone - they know how to work it with much more expertise than I do! As you can see they also spend far too much time at the farm shop and cafe because they can direct people there independently. When particularly bored they will clear tables and charm customers....mostly though they drink hot chocolates milkshakes and ask when they can go home. I don't blame them at all. The cafe seems to go from strength to strength. We have been so lucky with our local chef Rachael McCarthy who comes in and helps us to figure out what to do with all the seasonal ingredients - running a 100mile cafe in Australia is more challenging than we initially realised... longer distances between farms than the UK for a start - however there is so much fantastic produce out there. With books like The Omnivores Dilemma and the latest movie Food Inc we find there are more and more people seeking us out because of the principles on which we run the shop.
On the home front, piglet losses from a crafty fox over Christmas who figured out how to take piglets out of the back of a farrowing sow (sorry if you are having lunch) were enough that at this time of year we are quite low on stock numbers. Luckily we have both decreased fox numbers and now know that as long as they are in the nursery paddock the foxes don't bother. This does mean however that we have had a month's break from both Mudgee and Sydney markets. This has been a nice break on one hand but not great financially for the farm. Our 10 month old calves went off to market and managed to fetch enough money so that the Grey Ladies have now paid for themselves. We have also lost few sheep of late and are not sure why - of course the most hardy sheep that seem to cope with everything are the five old merinos that we bought to train Woody.
Once more after thinking it would never rain again we have had abundant amounts over the last couple of months. The paddocks are sodden and there is so much feed that my horses are enormous. Jazz went to a friend's spelling complex for a bit of Jenny Craig treatment before our last 2 competitions and is now on holidays in the front paddock having managed to come back looking very trim and healthy. She has only just started talking to me again. Here we are at one of the local dressage days.
That is about it really, we are enjoying wood fires and can't believe it is June already. We have started putting our legs for Christmas Hams away already! James has found a possible proscuitto and fermented salami producer and we are trying (and failing) not to get too excited. We finally uploaded the new website www.ormistonfreerange.com.au (have a look) and are venturing into online ordering. The tractor has also died and we are in the market for a new one and we are waiting for Dora and Maggie to have their winter kids - this year I am determined to start making feta again.