• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Country Life Experiment

Simple Country Living

  • Home
  • About
    • Start Here
    • FAQs
    • Contact
    • Disclosure
  • Food
    • Mains
    • Desserts
    • Cakes & Biscuits
    • Jams & Preserves
    • Snacks & Treats
    • Drinks
    • Food Hacks
    • Recipe List
  • Simple Living
    • Organisation
  • Garden
  • Country Life
  • Family Time
    • Kid Wrangling
  • DIY
    • Farm House
    • Crochet
    • Christmas

The News In Brief

We’re back in the thick of school and work after the summer break. In some ways it seems as though we never stopped, but despite the busyness of the start of the year we are feeling refreshed.

Over the summer we stopped to pick some wild plums growing on the sides of the road. They are always small and sour and perfect for making plum paste. I’m oozing smugness after making 20 small jars of the paste, ready for Christmas gifts for my colleagues and staff this year. Who even am I???

With the summer harvest coming in, we are inundated not only with plums but also, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, figs, and stone fruit. I’ve been putting some of the figs through our dehydrator so that we can make sticky fig pudding this winter. I’ve made a heap of apricot jam (my favourite after one of our friends gave us a big lot of apricots. I’m also about to start making tomato passata. We had 30 jars last year and have completely run out. Our pantry is slowly filling up for next year.

The girls have been busy with their little silkie chicken business and have begun selling some. They have enjoyed raising the silkies from chicks and the silkies are well cared for. The only problem we have encountered is that everyone wants to buy silkie hens but not so much the roosters. We may have some additions to the pot in the next couple of weeks.

Our local show is on this weekend. The kids have been busy preparing their entries. The girls have been doing some embroidery and crafts, while Toby has painted eggs and designed a fairy garden in a saucer. All of them have done some baking.

C and I have put together a few entries as well. I’ve entered a few photos and my hexagon crochet blanket. C hasn’t had a great year in the garden. The drought means that he hasn’t had as much time to tend to the vegetables and we haven’t had as much water either. As a result, he doesn’t have as many entries and he isn’t as happy with the quality of the ones he has entered. Still, win or lose, it’s good fun to be involved and have a go. You can bet on Saturday morning we will be in town checking out the pavilion (where all the entries are displayed) and chatting to friends as we see how we fared.

I’ve been making an effort to get out and go for a walk most evenings for the last few months. After a long day at work, it’s a bit of an effort but I feel so much better when I do it. Often C or the kids will trail along with me or else I listen to a podcast or two. I also take pics of the amazing sunsets and views around the farm and pop them on my insta-stories (which you should totally check out!).

Remember last year that I told you that we were planning an adventure with the kids. It’s been our dream for a few years to take the kids to Europe and show them our old haunts. Well, we are now only 7 weeks away from our big trip, and we are getting excited. The accommodation has been booked, leave from work approved, passports renewed, and plans made. We have a lot to do in the lead up to the trip though. Leaving the farm for 10 weeks takes some serious logistics. It will be worth it when we get on that plane though!

What’s been happening at your place?

Let everyone know:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit

You should also check out...

Previous Post: « 18 Summers
Next Post: On living through drought… »

Reader Interactions

Have your say... Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

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...
  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Search

Browse by month

INSTAGRAM

Autumn has well and truly arrived. The mornings ar Autumn has well and truly arrived. The mornings are chilly and the grape vine has turned deep red. I lit the fire yesterday and the house immediately felt cosy and ready for the coming cold weather. When we renovated our house, we deliberately designed it to catch all the winter sun. The grapevine sheds it leaves each winter to let the light and warmth in. Yet another thing I love about our home.
With the weather being wild outside, we’re stayi With the weather being wild outside, we’re staying in today.  Reading, playing games and baking are on the cards. Between the changing season and the approach of Easter I’m all about making breads. Today it is hot cross buns using @jamieoliver recipe with sultanas and little cubes of green apple.They’re going down pretty well.
Over the summer Toby and I sorted out his bedroom. Over the summer Toby and I sorted out his bedroom. The bookcase was always a disaster, and he could never find what he wanted. Since we got him a new shelf and storage cubes, his bedroom is just sooooo much better. He has enough space and knows where everything goes. It has removed a point of conflict and has confirmed to me that kids really need structure in their space. Everything needs a defined place to be put. He is doing his best to keep it tidy and while he is still a 10 year old boy, I can see that he loves having a nice space to hang out in and is proud that he can look after it by himself.
Summer holidays seem a million years ago already. Summer holidays seem a million years ago already. It’s all systems go here as we try to get our rhythm going. School and work are busy, community events are coming back, and our harvest is in full swing. It’s a lot to manage. No matter how busy we are, I’ve been prioritising my evening walk. Sometimes C or the kids come with me and we talk and make plans, and sometimes I go alone, with a podcast for company. Either way, the golden hour is always breathtakingly beautiful and I snap way too many pics. None of them ever fully capture the magic, but I can’t help myself. I mean look!!! 😍
The kids have been wanting to build a raft for the The kids have been wanting to build a raft for the dam for a while. They collected some old barrels and pallets, and got some rope to lash it all together. This morning they put it together and floated it out into the middle of the dam. Plenty of magical days to be had playing on the dam ahead of us!
The orchard doesn’t stop. We’re getting basket The orchard doesn’t stop. We’re getting baskets and baskets of fruit each day and I’m running out of things to do with it all. I’ve taken quite a few to work to give away. I’ve made jams and pastes and chutney. I’ve cooked and frozen apricots and nectarines for fruit crumble this winter and dehydrated plums and apples for lunch boxes. The pantry and freezer are filling up.

Newsletter

Popular Posts

Homemade Honeycomb
Mulberry Yoghurt Cake
6 Ways To Live The Country Life... Even If You're Not In The Country!
Passionfruit Curd Tartlets
Pear And Ginger Paste
Pickled Cucumbers

Categories

Footer

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...
  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.