Categories: From the Farm This Week
Date: Nov 24, 2011
Title: 24 November 2011
The wild hawthorns are flowering. The radishes in the garden are setting seeds. The plum trees are loaded this year so if we don't get too much wind we will have lots for the market starting Christmas time with the first early ones.
Andrea and the French couple have been hoeing up the spuds, got them finished this week. I should get some more in as Andréa really loves this job.
We all went possum shooting one night and got 7. Both Andréa and the French couple had never seen a possum before.
The farmers market on Sunday was a stressful one - first Andréa and i set up the stand, only to find the cash tin complete with float, note book of orders, and compliance papers left at home. Thank goodness Fred from Petite Paris helped out with a large amount of change. Then we started selling at the rush time and the health inspectors from the council turned up to audit the market and here i am with no paper work from the Stratford council. It seems i also have to pay the New Plymouth council as well. More cost aaaarrrr. Its not that bad but i did not realize i had to pay it as well.
Ross came out to help for a day and yes he did bring his camera as well. Its been a while since he has been out BUT i have to say he got some of his best shots ever. The ones i looked at you would see blown up hanging over a large fire place.
Ross also came down to whanganui with me to pick up a Canterbury blue boar Julian had bred and sent up to me. Aaron picked it up from Sanson and took it back home to whanganui. Its only a weaner but i think it will grow into a really great pig. These blues are a really interesting heritage breed. We will breed them up and we will see how they are to eat as well. On the way down we dropped off an order to Rachel Rose - it was good to see her and bounce a few ideas around on what we can do with courses and farm etc.
The French couple Alizee and Jordan moved on. We really liked them and we were all sad to see em go. They really fitted in and got on with us all and were interested in everything we do here.
I'm trying to get at least an hour a day to get the finishing's on the Shepard wagon done, so if they come on their way back in the new year they can stay in it.
I think Andrea misses them as well but we now have a vet student from Massey for three weeks staying, Anne Marie. Anne is very keen and i can see it working well.
We have three new donkey foals - two black, one blue, not sure of sex yet, but really nice as foals are.
Had a phone meeting for rarebreeds got heaps sorted.
So that's it for this week see ya Sunday.