Our baby goats

Our mamma goat had 2 kids and we purchased an additional 3. Thomas has been helping to milk mamma and to feed the little one.










Yesterday we went shopping for wood... Karl and I look for wood for plates he will turn for the studio. The kids amused themselves with the trolley.

Karls new Crankenstein

Karl brews beer from malted barley and needed a new crankenstien, so with the help of my oh-so-loved paypal, we managed to order the metal mechanism.

We were somewhat disappointed that it came with no bracket, but Karl being the great woodworker he is, set Sunday aside and created this masterpiece..


The Yellow wood bowl holds the malted barley while the drill drives the shaft that turns the crushing unit.

A bowl or bucket underneath catches all the crushed bits.

His design is simple, well made and attractive. Look that the lovely scoop he turned!


Here the drill connects to the crakenstein shaft.




























A peek inside the bowl at the mechanism with a few remaining bits of barley.






















He used a piece of leather thong and wood to secure the drill to the unit and under the drill is a piece of leather fashioned into a mini mattress.

Visitors to my studio

sweet little girls knitting on the stoep.

Jo and Ruth had my gran mesmerised, and the undivided attention of the little girls. Nice to see aspiring spinners of all ages. :)

Come on Granny, you can do it!

Belinda browsing through the merino laces and the banana yarns.

thank you everyone for visiting my shop and making my day so special!

My studio

My studio has opened... here is it...

I will post more pictures, once my adsl is fixed.

:)

Rainy farm days...

Thomas and Olli have filled the freezer with hail, I remember doing this after a hail storm in the transvaal.

wonderful memory...... :)

Farm play

Happy days in Winter!

OLIVES FROM OUR LAND

We did our first olive harvest..

Oliver picked the high ones

Thomas quietly enjoyed the colour variations

Soon boredom set in and the old duck pond became great entertainment.

Back home to start the pickling process.

mmmm now to choose a recipe.

:)

Carle

Sheep shearing

A farm close by has been shearing there sheep this week, today was the lambs turn so we went along to observe the process and buy some wool from the fleece.

Terri showing her children how the sheep shearing is done.

Once the sheep are sheared and the shearer picks up the entire fleece and moves it to the sorting table.

The fleece is then tossed and sorted into different grades

With my spindle I did a quick spinning demo, the shearers were more interested than the children. It was nice to have them watch me.

The children enjoyed the bales of wool.

And Pirate Caleb helped me carry the bounty home.

Baaa Baaa - Thank you for your lovely wool - We will wash it, card it and knit something special with it.

Guavas

Oooh I love guavas, the only thing I love more is stewed guavas..


My recipe is simple, chopped guavas covered with 1,5 cups of water to 1 cup of Selati organic sugar and a cassia [or cinnamon] stick. Bring to the boil, and simmer until guavas are soft. Allow to cool poor off the syrup and keep in the fridge.

They can be stored in preserving bottles but we eat them so fast that I dont see any reason to squeeze them in small bottles. Instead I put them in a glass bowl in the fridge. They can last for a week but we usually finish them in 2-3 days. I strain and freeze the syrup and re-use this the next time I make guavas.

Best served with fresh custard, yum!

Kittens [and Mittens]

Oh arent they sweet, I woke up to Tiger birthing her two little kittens on my bed - where else could be better than on 'mums mohair blankie'. :-)

It brings to mind...

2 Little kittens lost their mittens and they began to cry

"Oh Mother dear we sadly fear,

our mittens we have lost!"

"What lost your mittens,

You naughty kittens,

then you shall have no pie!"

2 Little kittens found their mittens and they began to cry,

"Mother dear, see here see here,

Our mittens we have found!"

"What! Found your mittens you good little kittens,

Then you shall have some pie,

Then you shall have some pie!"

meow meow meow....

Mitten Pattern to follow.. ;-)

Finally we got Olli onto the Pony.

Here he was excited but still concerned...

And off he goes, very confident and oh so impressed.... I so enjoyed his smug smile..

He was born to ride!!!

:o)

Summers pleasure

What could be better......

Gogga in my box!

A day of farm photos...

Ripe Kumquats wanting to be eaten

Brotherly love,

Fennel almost ready to be harvested

Our first fig

I love the way the Eureka lemon flowers and bears fruit at the same time.

Baby Plums...

A perfect guava,

Our first Almonds,

Quince Blossom with a lil' visitor,

A branch with far to many nectarines,

A special rose,

Mr Peacock having a great time showing off to Mrs Peahen.

Our Lavender lane in full bloom [thanks Mommy for the 100s of cuttings]

Olive tree flowers [ooh I hope we press some oil next year]

Pea flowers ready for pollination for our second cropping!

An Onion flower about to pop open. Can you see the individual flowers in the sheath? [Gosh I love my new camera!]