Geeveston shoppes.
Some activity in the fields around Geevo.
You can tell we're new??
Land disputes in Geevo.
Lord Lucas was a favourite. But seriously :) This was part of a medieval fair in Geeveston.
Lisa, Chris and me, and Chippie and Lucille.
Chris and me with Lucille and Chippie in the background.
Chris.
PJ and Lisa in our paddock.
PJ and Lisa talking... I'm still preoccupied with my cows!
Walking up our hill, our house in the background.
Me in front of Sherwood Forest.
PJ, Lisa and me about to enter Sherwood Forest.
Entering Sherwood Forest.
I still can't believe we own a real forest.
Lovely soil for our orchard.
Tao, Tanya and Kai in the orchard.
Tanya and me planting fruit trees.
Jamahl in the foreground.
What's going on?? The wheelbarrow was never empty.
The last few rows of fruit trees.
Tanya and me and a few trees.
Gerard was here for the Christmas in July party from my work.
We all had to wear some headgear - otherwise it was no dinner.
Rhonda - a very funny lady. They had surprises for everybody.
I guess I was next!
Hmmmm... hence the interest in photos of Porter and Emma!
The land looked dead over on the east coast.
Yarp and Narp in the Bay of Fires.
Beaches in the Bay of Fires.
Beautiful colours.
The rocks were covered in red.
We saw a lot of these colours. It was beautiful.
And a close-up...
Here is another one!
Bad weather moving in. Afterwards we found out there was a bushfire further inland.
We did have a few raindrops coming down.
How's this for a letterbox!
Classic :D
Yarp, Narp and Bolli.
Wineglass Bay.
Making Edam... The curd has just set, and now needs to be stirred for 30/40 minutes.
Here the curd is being stirred for the first time.
And a bit later....
Now it was ready for draining off 1/2 the whey. And then I forgot to take more photos!! More a next time.
OK so we continue... this was a Gouda Lieneke and I made. Process is the same, just this one is full cream. So here I'm draining off the whey.
Until it's half gone...
The last bits of whey are sometimes a bit difficult to remove.
Then add hot water back in, and bring it back to a temperature of 38 degrees C.
Then, after half an hour or so, remove all of that whey.
Remove the whey until you can see the cheese curds.
Add the curds to your cheese mold.
Press it in...
Et voila!
The Dutch cheeses need to be pressed under whey, in an environment without oxygen for 15 mins.
So here is our whey from the previous step.
It is poured over the molds.
A bit tricky as they keep on wanting to float!
Anyhow, all sorted, then press it for 15 mins.
Making sure the weight isn't falling off.
After 15 mins, the cheeses can come out.
And here they are!
This is the cheesepress PJ made for me. The cheese needs to be pressed overnight.
And what better use for computer books than pressing my cheeses!
In the cheesepress.
Wonderful books... not for reading though.
Checking nothing is falling over.
Keep on piling the books.
Nearly there.
That's all looking good.
And here we are!
The next day....
Take the cheeses out of the molds.
Chris and Lisa were also interested in the process.
I'm cutting off the bits and pieces on the edges.
Weighing the cheeses, so I know how long to put them in brine.
My little pans for the brine. Picked up from the tip shop.
Adding the brine...
... And then wait for another 4 hours.
I make notes so I can see what I've done, and also write down what the taste is like.
Still life. Wonderful.
Then the cheeses need to dry for around 10 days, so they can be waxed.
Some cheeses that already have been waxed.
Ranelagh markets. It's a bit unclear from month to month exacly when they're held, but it's quite nice to visit here and there.
Look! We can have warm nice weather in Tas too!
These sheep were sold for $84. Today was a good day for sellers.
The piglets fetched a good price too.
Cows. Everything is sold via auction. I was hoping for a Jersey as Ursula said there was a nice one last time, but no luck.
The guy doing the auctioning stands on top of the pens.
The poultry house. This is where ours came from too, but thankfully a lot cheaper than they went for today!
Hmmm.... As I'm hearing all to often, it isn't *if* a pandemic is going to happen, but *when*.
Chooks up for auction.
PJ's colleague Andre and his son Ethan visited Tasmania.
Finally... our hay is being cut!
It goes quick with a tractor (mustn't think how long this would take with a scythe)
The grass is coming down.
More than a week after it's cut, Tim came back and fluffed it up.
Here the hay is fluffed up, ready to be baled.
The baling has started....
And out they come.
Nearly 400 of these!
Arty shot by PJ.
Our second or third carload.
We weren't finished yet.
Stacking hay onto the ute.
Ian and Ursula came to help.
It goes a bit faster with two utes!
Ian and PJ showing their handy work.
Ursula was the stacker.
200 bales later...
... and still not finished!
Our shed was nearly full.
I tell you what, it's tiring work!
Chris enjoying breakfast, consisting of homemade bread, homemade cheese, homegrown tomatoes. Yummm.....
Satchmo had his own two friends over. Although the ladies are rather elderly, they did find a way to get on with each other.
Satchmo was really quite partial to Oakley, the matriarch of the group. It was lovely seeing him with other dogs.
I think he remembered being with his mum! Oakley was good enough to allow him to fall asleep near her.
We went to a snake handling course. Guess who was in the bag....
Yep, your 'friendly' local tiger snake. Fourth deadliest in the world. Their fangs are only 3.5mm long, and they only need to administer one drop of their venom. This one is about 8 yrs old. They can get as old as 50. So beware of the big ones you see!!!
Pinning the head.
After pinning it, you scoop it up.
Then grab the bag, and put it away.
My turn... I pinned a bit too hard, but hey.
I scooped it nice and close to the head.
...and kept it well away from my body!!
PJ's turn.
It was getting pissed off and started biting the grabber tool.
Ok so this was student number 15 having a go, but still....
In the bag, and bob's your uncle.
A copperhead. As venomous as the tiger, but more shy. We have both varieties on our property. Lucky us!
This was a tiger snake who had moulted at the wrong time, and the skin was still stuck on her. She also gave birth (the babies were there too) at completely the wrong time of the year. Climate change?
A young male tiger.
Maria also had a pet carpet python with her. Personally I prefer the fluffy pet type.
Part of the Mandala veg garden in Heronswood.
I liked the shape, and we are thinking of doing a windbreak like this - we can grow peas up it.
According to Diggers, four of these patches (2 shown) would be able to feed a family of 3 for a year.
Hinting at the optimum family size???
PJ in the Diggers gardens.
What form of transport will we see in the future....
Great summer outfit for me around the farm in summer.
Drinking hot Belgian chocolate in Koko Black.
PJ had mocha chocolate, and I had chili chocolate. Very nice, but super rich.
