Who would be a farmer!

Don't count your harvest before it is in.

At Underhill in the last week or so we've had huge winds which not only blew off the fruit from our trees but also blew two over. Here is our harvest... 2 Cox's Orange Pippin apples, 5 quince, 6 Golden Delicious apples, 3 Greengage plums, a handful of damsons, some tiny potatoes that I have brought home to plant and 6 peaches.

 We arrived to find our peach split and over and only 6 peaches left to pick.

One of our apples was over but it had been suffering from termite infestation for some years.

Geoff christened his new stove and now knows what steps to take next. It worked really well and boiled our kettle. The only problem was putting it out when we were leaving as it has no doors and dampers to shut it down yet.

Heather and Ponyo came and we had fun together but Heather was a little scared of Ponyo who immediately had a swim then rolled in the dirt and ran around like a mad thing.

 

Apart from picking the almost non-existent harvest our plan was to twist the bottom tank so that it could be easily joined to the next tank up and water from both used for drip watering the fruit trees. First the task of emptying the last of the water out of the tank so Geoff had to lift it with a jack. That meant we could also get a round pole through under it to roll it on once the water was gone.

Now the two tanks are coupled and attached to the watering system which we checked actually worked.

Because of the 90mm of rain in the last month the dams are OK ...

And the oaks are still alive...

Maybe it will be a better harvest next year.

The good and the bad of Underhill in summer

A small group of people ventured to Underhill last weekend. Friday hit 40C so there was a lot of sitting around keeping hydrated and as cool as possible with cold drinks, salty chips, and wet towels. The new roof is a real bonus in hot sunny weather.

Photo by Greg

We spent time watching the young Crimson Rosellas come in to eat the fallen apples too.

Later in the afternoon (still very hot) Greg decided it was time to pitch the tent. This time it has long enough poles so went up quite well.

After a mostly hot night we decided to pick the seedling plums.

Geoff had decided we needed some fruit picking apron/bags so I had taken two sturdy aprons down to experiment with size and options. This is what I came up with.

Photo by Greg

After rigorous testing by Elaine and I we've decided that they are great as they leave both hands free for holding down branches and would even be good for ladder work.

Photos by Greg

Our harvest of plums was good providing about 4.5 litres of pulp once I processed them at home.

During the afternoon on the Friday Elaine had an eye problem for which she needed to see her optometrist. As it was still sore on Saturday morning, once we finished picking the plums, we all returned to Sydney. This was a great pity because she and I were looking forward to staying until Sunday.

It turned out a wise move as she is now on antibiotic drops with a scratched cornea and Ev and Elaine both came down with a gastro problem. The only thing we can think of that they both had was heat exhaustion (but this was after our return) and the ice that they had lots more of than Greg or I. Who knows?

I hope next time we go we have a bit better luck with the weather.

The end of an era?

For those who have visited me in the last 8 years or so you'll know that various members of one family have lived with me whilst completing studies in Sydney. Over the years they have become my adopted family, often staying alone, or en masse, for short or extended periods.

My latest was Arianne who was here for 4 years doing a Theatre Costume Design course.

Arianne had her final exhibition last week and has now, with the help of family, has moved out creating a huge hole upstairs. I think I'll find it a large empty house for a while.

Brett, Josh, Zoe, Arianne, Leigha

On Saturday they all stayed here (except Thea who is overseas) as a base to attend a concert and collect Arianne and her many packages.

Meanwhile my raspberries are producing a stunning harvest and I am able to pick enough for at least one feast every day or two.

For me it is now the run down to Christmas with lots of singing practices, performances and services, the last being on Christmas morning.

The Market Run

With my Woolies delivery last week of pantry essentials I am now stocked up.

Yesterday I made a large pot of minestrone from left over vegies from my last delivery from The Market Run. I froze some and Arianne and I enjoyed it for dinner last night. As I also have a crop of carrots that the possums are getting into so I harvested all those and they are prepared ready to make a carrot cake for the freezer tomorrow.

My next fortnighly order came yesterday and it is magnificent. I'll have to do more entertaining I think, although we have already eaten half the watermelon for dessert last night.

(Yes I will have to cut the strawberries up but as I usually do that anyway I am not too concerned.) The orange even has little marks on it that you would not find in a supermarket - real fruit! The apples and pear must be cold storage at this time of year but the girls and I have a cut apple as snacks when they are here. Everything else is so fresh it is incredible. I even have mushrooms again.

I have lettuce and peas in the garden at the moment so that augments the variety even more.

I am thrilled with The Market Run.

Christmas Apricots

On the Saturday before Christmas a small intrepid band went to Underhill to pick any fruit that was ready and net fruit we wanted to save from the birds.

The apricot harvest was bountiful. There were a few delicious blackberries and a few ripe plums for jam.

We got a total of 7 trays of apricots. The bananas are from my backyard at home.

Ivy spent time washing baby doll in the bath.

Lots of apricots (we left some for the birds)

Putting together a new camp oven.

Thanks to Ev and Greg for all their help too.

Underhill fruit harvest

Early in March we arrived to find plenty of fruit ready to harvest especially from the trees that had been netted. We went down for two separate day trips so work had to be shared and done quickly. Ivy came down with Geoff and I and Nathan, Karita and Brad came down to work with the Lucas Mill.

This peach gave us a huge harvest.

There were a few apples and Nashi pears.

The Burbosc Pear which we had also netted was loaded.

And the pear in the centre yard also had some tiny but ripe pears.

The quince harvest was not prolific but the Golden Delicious Apple that we had netted produced boxes full.

The first job of the day with Nathan, Karita and Brad's help was to change the locking mechanism on the shipping container. All done and locked properly now.

Lots of fun was had testing out the new Lucas Mill that Nathan and Geoff have invested in and we are all really pleased with the results. So much quicker than Nathan's ingenious home made design.

Found in the wood pile tarps. There were lots of them. I think Crinea sp. 

Showing off one of the slabs newly cut.

Of course Ivy was Miss Independence and eager to help with everything.

Shh! Don't tell Mummy how dirty we get.

The surprise was the tree that had been hanging at 30 degrees across our path for many many years has at last fallen so now we can deal with it and perhaps mill it too.