We are currently on a severe wind warning for the whole state. Yup, spring. Hopefully all the sheds and the two houses will still have roofs by the end of the week. We are looking at two weeks of rain now.
One of the agronomists from Elders came out yesterday and had a look at my hay pasture. The barbero ryegrass that was planted a few years ago has reached the end of its life and the weeds are taking over. In the next couple of weeks we will direct drill italian ryegrass, chickory and clover into it, cut hay this year, graze over winter, cut hay again next year and then plough it up in Feb 2026 when the italian ryegrass has run it's course.
The reason for this 18 month cover planting is that a permanent pasture mix should have gone in in February this year, so they are giving me a bridging mix to get hay back in the shed before we put in a very diverse mix that should last for hopefully 20 years if I can manage it properly.
I had lunch with Juliet and Britt at the House Paddock yesterday, the place reminds me of the providores we have for a while back in Dubbo. I picked up some haloumi and cous cous to bring home. Then we went up to the shoe shop that is having a sale and I picked up some boots to replace my old riding boots that are by now just leather socks. The new boots are pale and look funny, but a good coat of waterproofing will darken them.
Belle is being a great mum and Tiddy is doing fine. I took five litres of milk for the house yesterday and ten today. Juliet is going to get some for cheese making and the dogs and chooks are doing well too. I can't milk her out by hand, but I keep the milk moving and her production will lower to meet our demand.
I made yoghurt today in the multicooker. It has a yoghurt program that raises the temp to 82 C to scald it. This is to denature the proteins rather than sterilise it. That makes the texture more like a creamy solid, if you don't do it, it can be ropey and slimy. The best thing about fresh milk yoghurt (which is pretty darn good itself) is the cream-gurt on top. Divine ! The hole in the middle is where I cut a serve because I couldn't resist long enough to get a photo of it all smooth and golden.
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