Calves Grown Up

The grass is  so long at they are hard to see especially if lying in the paddock.

The three white face calves are finished their childhood.They have eaten the last of their calf pellets, we have wrestled them to the ground and given them ear tags and today we put them in together with the 14 month heifers in the paddock across the stream.

 

 

Fairy fishing rods

The flowers are white. From first seeing the flower spikes until they opened has taken several weeks. 

I quite like how a single flower opens each day or so which means they should last in flower for about a month. The fishing rods are almost 2 meters tall and sway very nicely in the wind. I have not been able to make a photo that does them justice but you will get the general idea. 

Growth

The three heifers we purchased in September have done what they were purchased to do. They have grown bigger!

We don't have scales big enough to know for sure, but they look to have at least doubled in size in the three months we've had them.

Vege Garden

The Potatoes are going for it. This season I have planted Agria's again. Last year it was Rua's and a red skined variety. They went well but just didn't have that lovely floury consistency when roasted, boiled or baked.

The Broad beans are being harvested meal by meal. I think i agree with Hugh that they are the best vegetable. We are having them in a cabonara style pasta and with avocado and new potatoes in salad I'm also going to fry some with crispy bacon pieces and enjoy on toast when I next cook for myself and don't have to cater to the vegetarian.

This year we are only growing sweet 100 style tomatoes and they will be staked, mulched and have their laterals removed regularly. To much of our previous crops have been rotting on the ground covered with rampant uncontrolled growth of out of control tomato plants.

Fairy Fishing Rods

It looks like the fairy fishing rods will be in full flower before Christmas. Over the last week some of the tillers have thickened up and now flower spikes are emerging. 

No sign yet of what colour they will be but I think we will know by the end of next week.

Hens

Of course the new chicken is called "Michelle". Her arrival coincided with the results of the American election and if she was a rooster her name would be Barack.

Fowls

We lost the hen known as "Wing" a couple of weeks ago leaving one lonely hen. Our neighbour on hearing this turn of events was kind enough to drop down a replacement Hen, a beautiful black bird with glossy green highlights in her feathers.

 She lays large pale brown eggs that are smooth like pearls.