Summer

After a day at the yards listening carefully to instructions, riding in the back of the buggy is a novelty that can only be earned through mum's trust... that he will continue to listen. 

Some amazing rainbows have been spotted lately close to the horizon.

The humming of bees caught our attention as they moved from the hive to the race-horse tree. They let the queen rest for 4 hours before heading off to the new home the drones had found for them. They had outgrown their hive. 

It's "take your kids to work day" EVERYDAY! Thank goodness for buggies and the shade they provide. 

Big brother helping to promote little sister's confidence with the cattle

The bottle brush buzzing with bees and butterflies! 

Sunsmart on the farm... and park... and beach... and town!

We worked really hard to try and beat the afternoon storms as they rolled in... The day after we finished... Hughey sent it down! 

 Spotting bees working hard down the paddock! 

 We had puppies...10, 9, 8,7,6,5,4,3,2....... and now we have 1... Brinn! 

Calling in the chook from the neighbors. 

The kids sing to the cattle and quietly natter away to them while they are playing downstairs resulting in the quietest weaners EVER!!

Instead of searching for the two pots of gold in the paddocks, we just welcome the rain and watch the grass grow... equally as rewarding!

 Ushering this curious creature off the road. 

Here fishy fishy fishy 

 Swinging the digger with dad! 

 Always watching, listening and copying!... and making additions to the front yard with a fire pit!

Nothing like a homecooked hearty meal to keep warm!

Learning "HOT" in the cultivation paddock!

Pjs and puppies... What a lucky little man! 

Learning to be gentle and kind!  

... A cracker crop of beetroots this season. We have added another four raised beds to the veggie garden this year and are enjoying afternoons spent digging with dad!

Up early this morning to check the herd! It was soooo cold but has to be done! 

 Some different variety of Beetroots this year too! 

When we find a new poddy stashed in the grass we say "welcome" and yell "CONGRATULATIONS" to his/her mum!

Blowing the cobwebs out of the tractor of an afternoon with dad!

Where we dropped a bucket of grain... and now we now have fresh barley sprouts to pick for the pigs!

Mum and Dad had the most fun at Easter, hiding the eggs around the farm... and then trying to  explain the importance of NOT being around the machinery without an adult... eeeek #parentfail

A fun game in the garden... seeing how close a 3 and 1 year old could get to the chook in the garden ... sneaky sneaky

The kids are learning their double digits as we check the livestock eartags! 

This little bloke just needed a little help to get started in life... and some advice was willingly provided! 

Cannot complain at all about the grocery budget this week. 

A simple task turned into a fun game allowing mum time to rip around and complete ALL the farmyard jobs while we played!

DO NOT pick from the veggie garden without mum and dad! HOT HOT HOT 

While it remains dry in so many places, we have to be very mindful to keep our eyes pealed for the beauty that is there! 

We have four new additions, Soot, Northern, Nay Nay and Pigz....... and they are!

Merlo is a poddy calf we are raising on powdered milk. Now that she is bigger, she likes to butt people to get to her food... arhhhhhh

A wild storm huffed and puffed and blew our shed over!

Absolutely loving our home-grown delights! We harvested so much money that we were able to give jars away to family and friends! 

While the grader put in a trench to bury the poly up the paddock, it also uncovered some yams for dinner!!!  

This year we welcomed some extra help to the mustering team and the rumours are true... many hands really do make light work!

Winters are for camp oven and fire cooking... but when the days are full of jobs... a slow cooker and a fresh loaf will do just fine!

A mild winter and no frosts meant we had an ongoing battle with the insects but we were able to grow some out of season specials as well! Lucky us! 

It's another harsh winter for the bees as they continue to recover from the drought. We are supplementing them with sugar water and are not expecting to add a super and harvest until well into Spring/Summer. 

Need a frame to swing a billy... or camp oven? All you need are some star pickets and ingenuity! 

Socially distancing is not an inconvenience when it is normal practice on the farm! 

We put the cows in the crop and now we cannot find them!!!!

A few modifications to the new buggy to try and keep the grass seed out of the radiator! 

 ... we had performed our rain dance only weeks before on bare earth... 

We are running out of room and will have to make more garden beds before winter!

Getting the last swim in before it starts cooling off... and the cattle come down for a drink!

 No time to waste! The sorghum crop got planted  and received 9.5mm of rain the next day...  lucky cows!  

...Finally one day the storm clouds came, the lightning crashed and then the rain...the grass-growing, dam-filling, beautiful rain!

... January 2020 another Farm Hand/ Gate Opener is inducted to the farm!!!... and she brought THE RAIN!!!!

... we will have the cleanest paddock in Queensland...

When the concrete float cover is too heavy to move by yourself... but you have a ratchet strap!

Prepping for when the rain does come... clearing the paddock of rocks before planting!

Not a lot of grass left now =( 

... trying to keep our frown upside down!!!

We are teaching the young heifers how to behave so they grow up to be beautiful, quiet breeders!

We are hopeful for a good season and welcomed another two bee families to the farm!  

The spring crop of calves are here and they are CUUUUUTTTTTEEEE! 

Front paddock ripped up and ready to receive! 

We have started singing "Rain Rain come today, stay a week, don't go away!" 

Our new 'alarm clock' and his ladies... 

They wake us up at 5 am and then give us fresh eggs for breaky! Brilliant!

 The poddy calves with human parents : )  

Looking after animals is an important part of growing up! This little joey was found down the paddock next to it's dead mother and was rescued and kept safe until we were able to find a wildlife carer to take her in! 

 Peas, cabbage, coli flower and tomatoes are all well on their way in our beautiful veggie patch! Eating the peas is almost as good as eating the dirt apparently... almost! 

Cleaning out dams, ripping paddocks, stockpiling gravel for farm roads... it is action stations here preparing for when the rain comes! Fingers Crossed it will be soon!

Putting in a new laneway to help muster the cattle into the yards.

To keep the cattle healthy and productive, we have decided to supplement feed them with a special lick and blocks to help them get through what is left of winter!

We love eating the vegetables that we grow!

Making a plan for our veggie patch! 

We have changed our walking route and have started collecting cans and bottles from the sides of the road to take to the local depot. $$$ 

Finally it has rained... Oh to be a frog at McFuddle's Farm!!!

We are looking forward to getting to know these guys better in a few weeks when we wean to give their mothers a spell!

The beginning of the permaculture garden... from little things, big things grow!

Finding inspiration in the farm yard for the next children's book!