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Cyclone Season
The end of last year and the start of this has been a busy period with two cyclones having had an effect of us already, and the season has really only just begun! We feel like we’ve been very fortunate with how we’ve fared through each of them, but that makes us that bit more nervous for the ‘next one’… In less than 2 months, we have had over 1200mm of rain and the ground is definitely now beyond saturation point. We had some earth works done on the Farm in the middle of last year, and they have made a world of difference in the water being able…
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Spring Pretties
Spring flowers on the Farm. Simple Living on the Farm in the Far North of Australia
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Welcome Winter
As we wander in to Winter, it's been a slow and steady time at Strigidae Farm over the last couple of months...
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Hello Again
It’s been almost a year to the day since we last wrote here, and it’s been a year with a lot of ups and downs and a lot of good and some not so good – no different to anyone else on the planet really – but at the end of the day we’re still very happy, we still love our Farm and we still love each other. Our ‘heartkid-grandbaby’ has had another operation, and has pulled through fabulously (such a lil trooper!) AND there have been another couple grandbabies added to the chaos! The last year has seen a lot of growth from the paddock plantings in particular, and it…
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Autumn
We’re moving into Autumn here in Australia, and in Far North Qld its one of our prime growing seasons. We’ve just put in a fresh bed of starts of lettuce, wombok, snap peas and green beans in one of our large house-yard beds. Last week saw the last of the summer crops – as well as a shit-ton of comfrey – cleared out from our big vegie bed [and yes, that’s a technical measure! ] ready for the autumn/winter plantings. Some Cauliflower and Broccoli went in a couple of days ago, as well as some Spinach, Beets and Winter Squash, and there are a whole lot more starts waiting for us to get…
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RECIPE: Cornflake Biscuits
This recipe was a huuuuge favourite with our kids when they were youngsters, and whilst they are a bit fiddly to make, and it isn’t often that we make them these days, they are nice to have with a cuppa – and are a good way to use up ageing cornflakes. [we usually double the recipe] Ingredients 125g butter ⅓ cup (75g) caster sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla extract ⅔ cup (105g) sultanas or other preferred dry fruit (cranberries are good!) 1 cup (150g) self-raising flour 2 cups lightly crushed cornflakes Method Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Cream butter and sugar until…
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Gourd they’re good…
and Gourd they’re handy! We grow our own loofah gourds. They are pretty much a plant and forget kind of thing – which is something we like. Any plant that thrives on neglect, and can be eaten or used otherwise, is a blessing. You can eat the gourds when they are small, they’re much like a zucchini, however if left to grow to full size, they get very fibrous inside. Once dried out, peeled and all the seeds have been removed, they are given a good wash and then set to dry on a rack. Once dry they are stored in an airtight container until needed. They can be used…
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RECIPE: Pickled Radish
Another canning job completed on the weekend! [recipes below] In the cooler weather we get a lot more plants producing abundant harvests in our garden, as the micro-climate creates perfect conditions for many of the crops that won’t grow well once the full-on heat of brutal summer kicks in. One of those things right now that we’re having a glut of, is
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Introducing…
Many of you will remember that for the first half a dozen years of our lives together we did quite a lot of camping up and down the east coast for two or three weeks at a stretch, a couple of times each year. When we moved up to the Tablelands, we stopped doing the east-coast camping trips, however we soon bought
