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Lately

A friend up the road rang us on Wednesday morning. They were on their way somewhere for a few days, and had a cherry tree that needed to be harvested. Did we want some cherries? Silly question. So on Wednesday afternoon we spent a lovely hour picking the juiciest, sweetest cherries. There were lots of ants on the tree, eating the damaged fruit, so the girls soon stopped after a few nips. Toby, Country Boy, and I persevered and were rewarded with several small buckets of cherries. They were so shiny I could see my reflection.

Farm Update - December 2015-3 Farm Update - December 2015-4

We’re getting excited about Christmas cooking. Now that December has hit, the girls and I are planning what we want to bake and make. Meg had been talking about using her choc mint Weetbix slice recipe, but rolling it into balls, drizzling with white chocolate, and topping with a little bit of cut up jelly snake, so that they resemble mini Christmas puddings.

She made a batch for church last Sunday and did a fab job too. They look super cute. She is planning on making them again to take to the village Christmas carols in a few weeks time.

Farm Update - December 2015-11

I had been eyeing off a new quilt cover for the past year. Country Boy obviously pays close attention, because look at what he gave me for my birthday. Loving it!

Farm Update - December 2015-7

Toby is off to big school next year. Although I can see that he is ready to go, I’m not ready for him to go. When we arrived here on the farm, he couldn’t even walk, and now he is running, climbing, riding bikes, and all manner of other things. Yesterday morning, he rode up to the gate with the girls where they catch the bus each morning, and then rode back again. He then stopped and sat down to play with Jazz the dog.  Love this pic that Country Boy snapped.

Farm Update - December 2015-6

We had a super late frost last week. It has been much discussed around these parts (as all weather is), and it is widely agreed that it was one of the latest on record. We thought that the fruit trees in the orchard had survived unscathed, but in the last few days, most of the nectarines have shriveled and fallen off the tree, so it looks like our harvest has been cut short – insert sad face here.

I’ve just about finished my Christmas shopping – just a few purchases online to go (check out my country Christmas gift guide here). We have guests for the weekend, so have held off on decorating the tree until next week. The kids are itching to get it up and decorated. I may be looking forward to it too.

What has been happening around your place lately? Have you got your tree up? Did you get that big frost?

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Previous Post: « The Country Christmas Gift Guide
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Comments

  1. jan2132 says

    December 4, 2015 at 10:18 am

    Those cherries look great. I make the most of them and treat myself each year as the season is so short.

    I saw a great sour cherry cake recipe the other day and meant to pass it on to you as you have a tree of them looking well loaded with fruit. I didn’t do it and now have no idea whe it was. Perhaps an idea for you, along with sour cherry jam. My son likes them in a strudel.

    Do you have any troublewith deliveriesfrom online shopping? I have had so many problems with PO Couriers that I have had to find ways around having stuff delivered here. I have hip and ligament problems and really find walking hard, so online shopping is perfect for me. Except for courier.

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      December 4, 2015 at 5:35 pm

      Couriers don’t come out here, but they do drop to a shop in town, where you can pick it up from. Our mail is a bit hit and miss at times though.

      Reply
  2. farmer Liz says

    December 4, 2015 at 9:24 am

    Cherries! YUM! I have been buying them at $10/kg and I only get a handful at a time… will be planting a tree, but don’t know if it will appreciate our sub-tropical climate 🙂

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      December 4, 2015 at 5:29 pm

      We have sour cherries, but need a sweet cherry tree now!

      Reply
  3. Elisha says

    December 4, 2015 at 8:10 am

    Pottering here and watering. Last week of kinder and swimming and all those sorts of routine things. I do have a few social events which is great but Im feeling a bit guilty as Im going alone and cam is babysitting. Party guilt, who would have thought!!! ha ha!! It sure did get cold here , but no frost to report thankfully with all the grapes growing in the vineyard. Though I did notice a few apples on the ground so maybe the cold got them and they were confused with the weather going on. I was thinking it was the kids that pulled them off, though I havent ruled it out. Gosh, I can’t even fathom baking and xmas cooking yet, I have to get cracking on the shopping which I am actually looking fwd to. The decorations will be happening next week. We have people looking through the house first and I think it’ll look better without bunting, lights and reindeers everywhere.

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      December 4, 2015 at 5:33 pm

      Doesn’t bunting make everything look better????

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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