Category Archives: Blog

Flood & Fury

by . Posted on
NSW Floods
29 Mar

It’s hard to find the words to express how I feel right now – beleaguered, despairing, so damn weary.  We survived the drought of 2019, although many of our much loved animals didn’t.  We watched in horror as a river that had never dried before, did, and remaining pools dropped by inches in evaporation as the heat scalded on.  Then came the bushfires – terrifying months as fire swirled around us, every breath a thick pall of smoke.  We almost walked off the land at the end of 2019.  We were brittle, embittered, bitter, broken.  But we pledged ourselves a year to heal and see.  Lockdown gave us precious time to reconnect with this ancient oasis we are privileged to call home, to watch platypus diving and paddling peacefully, to see the land start its long journey of recovery.

It was when we finally got away for a beach holiday in early December and rain lashed every moment that the tsunami of grief in me at what we had been through finally forced me to my knees.  I mourned every lost beast, faces I would never see again, foreheads I would never rub.

And the rain kept coming this year, flood after flood.  Yesterday the Ellenborough River burst its banks, flooding the flats in front of our house for the first time in living memory.  We had a frantic hour as water rose over 3 metres, saving animals, tiny house, trailers, tractor.  We have lost a bridge that bisects our property and affords us access to the world, the flying fox heavily damaged by the uprooted trees floating like toothpicks past our house in the raging torrent.  We won’t know about the concrete bridge at the entrance to our property for weeks, when the river has finally receded.  Acres of riverbank are gone, our telephone pole and connection to the world too.

It’s a lot.  I don’t know how we can recover from this.  We still haven’t finished replacing all the fences we lost in the fires.  It’s not Mother Nature’s fury that makes me depressed.  It’s Australia’s belligerent inaction on the Climate Crisis that every other nation on earth understands is a clear and present danger to our children and theirs.  It’s the smug superiority of these career politicians with their lack of empathy and humanity, propping up the coal mines with public money while they sacrifice the future of the planet on the altar of their own greed for power.

First there was drought, then fires, then plague (Covid, mice, locusts), now floods.  How is it possible that these bible thumpers can’t heed the message?  Or do they truly believe that the end is coming, only they will be saved, and to hell with the rest of us?

Mad though their rank stupidity makes me, it is the ignorance of those who vote for them that makes me despair for our country, for our planet, for our food security, for our future.

We’ve been fully off grid on our farm since 2007, we provide our own power for all our needs.  Solar is the obvious choice for Australia’s future.  We need to start blue sky mining, not building new coal mines.  We have a global opportunity for clean air and sky tourism, to be world leaders in the renewable revolution.  But we are governed by luddites and city centric public servants with no idea what is going on, or needed, in rural and regional areas.  Right now we need the Army to come in and rebuild bridges and roads, and we need a plan for ever more dire climate related emergencies.  There’s no hope of that.  Which is why I feel hopeless.

The Climate Crisis – what can each of us do?

by . Posted on

It feels overwhelming, doesn’t it?

But we can each do SOMETHING even if we can’t do EVERYTHING. Each individual effort DOES make a difference no matter how small. And change begins gradually, so maybe there is one small step we can take and work towards bigger ones. But sticking our heads in the sand is no longer an option, WE HAVE TO ACT NOW. Here are a few ideas for living a more sustainable life and helping the planet. Pick one and hopefully more that you can do, or are already doing. See if you can aim for others. None of us are perfect. But we can all TRY.

* Buy an insulated 2 litre stainless steel WATER BOTTLE and take water from home with you wherever you
go (I also have a 5 litre insulated water container in the car as I cannot STAND ‘town water’ as we
call it, & when we go away anywhere we take 20 litre drums!

* Can you fit a RAINWATER TANK (of any size) to your house or unit so you can catch rainwater and filter
it for drinking or use it for washing or the garden? In the UK I ran water out of my mum’s 60 litre
rainwater butt into a domestic water filter jug to keep me drinking rainwater while away!

* What provides SHADE on your western side? We have planted trees for the long term and in the short
term have shade sail and trellis growing passionfruit to try and prevent the beating heat of the
afternoon sun. How can you keep that heat from invading your living or roofspace?

* How’s your INSULATION? Good insulation keeps a house warmer in winter and cooler in summer – what’s
in the roofspace & the walls? Talk to a builder.

* Roof WHIRLIGIGS release hot air to mitigate the heating effects of the hot aussie sun –
that might be a partial solution for you.

* Doors, windows and double glazing: Well sealed and fitting doors and windows help keep the heat
where you want it (in or out). Some windows (casement) really work to catch any little breeze while
others seem to do precisely nothing. New windows and doors are VERY expensive so keep an eye on eBay
and other such sites for bargains.

* SOLAR! There are no words to explain the good feeling in your heart and soul knowing that all your
power is coming from the sun. If you are a homeowner this is an investment in your property which
minimises bill stress, provides a reliable source of power even in blackouts (with battery backup)
& helps to minimise emissions. I can’t recommend it highly enough! Talk to www.thesolarexperts.com.au

* How can you MINIMISE YOUR WASTE output? Please never, ever, EVER throw food away.
Get a couple of chooks or worm farm or compost bin or pile but PLEASE don’t throw food into landfill.

* CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION: We all have to change the way we shop. Shop less often & buy better quality
as close as possible to the source. Get to know farmers, farm shops, farmers markets, farming co-
operatives and farmgate honesty boxes – seek them out! Meet the farmers, buy meat in bulk, eat
seasonal, fresh from the fields food.

* Buy a FREEZER. Yes, I know they use power but you will cook more and store some in the freezer for
days you can’t be bothered (& will eat better as a result), you can buy good meat and fish in bulk,
make pesto from your basil plants & passata from your tomatoes. You can freeze bananas for smoothies
and good bread from your favourite bakery. A freezer becomes a treasure chest, full of delights –
your very own takeaway store.

* Make a PANTRY space & buy bulk where possible. Using huge supermarket conglomerates as your pantry
and making daily trips for supplies means you are spending more than you need to and supporting big
businesses screwing farmers to the wall rather than purchasing judiciously from growers and provedores

* Bike, walk, train & bus where possible.
We are all so addicted to being coccooned in our own private tin cans, and some of us don’t have a
choice because there are no public transport options in rural areas. But just as those fumes will
kill us if we stand behind a vehicle in an enclosed space, so they are killing the planet.

* BUY AN EV! I wish . . . ! Well, save for one!

* Refuse PLASTIC – plastic bags, plastic wrapping, plastic toys, food containers, cups and utensils

* WRITE to your local MP and state your concerns. Write to the Prime Minister.
Get engaged, get involved, turn up, raise your voice. Our children’s future depends on it!

The Carnivore’s Conundrum

by . Posted on
14 Jul

For an animal lover and long time vegan it was hard to conceive of eating meat for myself, even if I could feed it to my family. I had long before accepted that eating eggs was a whole and healthy protein source for my diet – as long as from my own chooks that I fed, loved and nurtured. I like to know EXACTLY where my food is coming from!

I slowly added some dairy to my diet although it has never really agreed with me (perhaps subconscious memories of the sour, warm, cream rich aluminium top bottles from break-time in my primary school years – yeuch!) When the few steers went either to the sales or slaughter (Hector the Protector, Harry etc) I cried and cried. Harry fed Ben and Ged for almost 3 years. One steer, much loved, no waste.

But I tasted the lamb a few times (picking over the choicest cuts, nibbling hesitantly) and remembered that I had eaten lamb before in my early 20’s when too skinny and unhappy and my sister was worried about my weight! It was ok to eat a boy lamb who had been driving me crazy squeezing under fences to whittle away my garden. We always knew that was where the boys would end up. My precious, beautiful ewes were a source of endless joy and delight as they gradually came to love and trust me. When the wild dogs hunted them down and murdered them so cruelly I was seized with rage against a Mother Nature who was so cruel and wasteful. As I dragged their dead bodies behind the car to the animal graveyard to feed the crows, goannas, eagles and other scavengers . . . such a waste of my beautiful girls.

And I realised that at the end of any of our lives all we can hope for is that we have helped someone, served someone, been of use, of purpose. That our lives have been a waste. And these animals of ours were living blissful lives on a piece of paradise. We are all going to die. Every one of us. Some will be killed in accidents, by others, some will die at a time of their own choosing. If a live serves another or others in a useful way – is that so bad? If it has been a happy life, a rich and rewarding life, filled with love?

These are the questions I wrestled with. Questions to which there are no cut and dried answers (no matter what PETA may say!) I learned to walk a middle path, to tread the fine line between my spiritual beliefs and the base nature of the human body. Is it possible that I could be learning balance??

We had bought two pigs to grow up for slaughter. But I couldn’t bear to be parted from Saddleback Sam and Babe. So we got two more which Ben named gleefully. We took them to the abattoir ourselves and arrived just after a triple decker of glowing white pigs, blinking in the bright sunshine. They had never seen dirt or mud or sunshine before. Never rooted up pasture, digging for grubs and roots. Never wallowed in cool muddy shallows or had the hose cascading over their backs in the heat of the day. Never made a nest with weeds and grasses. Never really lived. And yet that is what most people eat. Now that is wrong.

I cried and cried over our two gloriously dirty and bristled pigs. I know why pigs eyes are always so sad – because they know that almost all pigs are slaughtered and eaten . . . at least ours got to LIVE before they died. I never thought I would be able to eat them. For a long time I resisted the wafting savoury smells of good bacon in the pan. Finally I succumbed and was floored by the rich, smoky complex flavours and the sweetness of the fat. We were like ‘Jack Spratt and his wife’ The boys would eat the meat while I would greedily suck at the fat. I realised I was fat starved after years of following a low fat diet.

Now I eat meat maybe once a week. I am a convert to the fact that the body needs a little meat. Pastured. Ethically raised and reared. No waste. Eaten with respect and honour. And that is what we provide and serve to our customers. Grown with love, served with passion, eaten with respect.

The food journey begins . . .

by . Posted on
01 Apr

So when the little one’s soul was screaming for meat, I had to go shopping. And discovered that buying good quality, organic, free range meat is not possible in either of the Duopoly’s chains. Strike One!

Then I hunted out butchers. In the UK these are normally jovial chaps with a real passion for quality meat and making sausages etc. They are artisans, artists of meat. But in Oz I found they were often rude and told outright lies in order to get me to buy their products. Strike Two!

Finally I found a butcher with integrity, who laughed when I told him it was the first time in a butcher’s shop for over 20 years and that I was a vegetarian. The expressions on my face must have been priceless at times as I looked at his wares and listened to his spiel. It was great to find good organic free range chicken, albeit very yellow and skinny so corn fed and maybe marathon runners?

And sourcing goat from him was wonderful. The energy of goat is very clean and pure, nurturing and rich. I never had a problem working with it in the kitchen while other meats made me gag. And goat stew in Autumn and winter is just so wonderful, rich, flavoursome and full of goodness.

It was hard at first, to handle and cook dead animals. But most Mothers will do anything for their children, and despite my ingrained belief at the time that I was a bad Mother, my willingness to forsake all my beliefs for my son speaks to the contrary!

And the more my son ate, as he transitioned from milk and purees, the more interested and involved I became in food – where it came from, what was in it, who grew it and with what energy, intention and chemicals involved.

We ate better as a result. Our diets became more varied, diverse and rich. I learned to bake (and let me tell you I was the worst – I have burned more cakes than you have ever eaten!) and good food became a passion. I always say our children come to heal us and Ben healed my food issues and opened me up to just how nurturing and delightful food can be.

I sourced the best, in bulk – stocked up the pantry and freezers with home cooked and home grown produce with all the goodness intact. As friends and woofers came to stay they praised my food and started dialogues and journeys of consciousness around food that sparked the idea of sharing good food on a wider basis . . . one day . . .

Buying a Farm . . . The ultimate Tree Change . . .

by . Posted on
25 Mar

When I was in the process of buying the farm in 2007 it was with no other thought than to have room to breathe, to run, to ride our horses, to watch and wonder at the star and sky scapes.

‘You do know the river floods?’ was the first question old George asked me when we spoke to him about doing some tractor work and cleaning up almost a decade of neglect. ‘Of course,’ I retorted, thinking ‘does he think I’m an idiot . . .?’

Little did I guess that my plan to be alone and write was to be swiftly shattered – by love. The best laid plans and all that . . .

Ged came to assess the solar and something happened to our souls. Destiny struck and our lives were inextricably intertwined.

How little we knew . . . about the rapidly rising floodwaters that could cut us off for ten days; about the tractor hours needed to slash all the weeds; about the animals we would love and lose; about the wild dogs howling from the hilltops and hounding our beloved sheep and ducks.

About the beautiful boy who was soon to bless our lives and how that would change everything . . .

I had been a vegan for over 20 years. I soon had Ged eating that way too and he lost a heap of weight and was healthier as a result. We set up a wonderful veggie garden and as far as possible ate home grown. I wondered whether I would know or be able to acknowledge if my son was a carnivore. Would I raise him as a vegetarian or would I listen to his soul needs?

One day I was in the kitchen and he was sitting in his baby chair eating and I knew, with a sudden bolt of consciousness, that he was a carnivore to his bones. That meant we had to either buy or grow meat. And a whole different journey began . . .

Those little bodies – so precious, so pure. Most parents want to protect that purity, to feed and nurture their children with the most wholesome, natural food they can get. We were no different. We just had a bit more room . . .