A lot goes on behind those little instagram photos and blog posts for all of us doesn’t it?! I go between wanting to share our homesteading and gardening life here at Fairy Wren Cottage vs thinking is it at all worth it. With so much upheaval and suffering going on in the world (even more than usual), I don’t under estimate the impact it is having on everyone and the vulnerability that most people are feeling.  a). I don’t want it to come across that my going about my day to day and me writing about it is being blasé  and turning my back on the rest of the world, living in a bubble so to speak. I feel worried and vulnerable too, a whole gamete of emotions and just wanting to wave a magic wand and make it better for everyone, the virus to disappear, equality for everyone, and no one else to feel pain of suffering either physically or emotionally.  b). With my social media accounts I don’t want to appear that I have it all together and “look what I’ve got” that isn’t who I am. Full stop. We live a frugal yet rich life (others I know find it very boring, but it is all a matter of what suits who isn’t it), I am grateful for everything we have, Michael and I work hard, as a family Michael, Lil and I are a team, we play to our strengths, help each other, navigate work, study, illness, injuries and day to day life, we don’t take anything for granted.  When I was growing up my father used to say, If you think you have got it bad off, then someone else always has it worse!  So true…

I keep returning to my initial focus when I started my social media accounts, share your knowledge, pay forward what others have generously shared with you. Knowledge is  power. If we lived close by and were catching up these are some of the things we would be having conversations about. So I’ll go about sharing my knowledge, keep writing my blog posts and instagram posts. Continue to keep this a safe space were there is no violence, unpredictable content, no politics, and kindness is the currency.

Leading with respect and kindness. Not judgement and criticism.

With the house keeping out of the way…

Now for an update on what we have doing since March, in a nutshell we have been working away, keeping the words regenerative and resilience at the forefront of our minds.

How can we slot into our days and weeks, more meal prep, grow more food, live more sustainably.

What choices can we make with how we spend our time and our dollars to achieve these goals.

Here are just a few of the things we have been up to.

1. We have been focusing even more on food prep. With our regular Sunday morning food prep we have been making an extra curry, pasta  sauce or burrito mix to put into the freezer. It has meant that our Sunday meal prep lasts us until at least Thursday, it free’s up time for all of us to be doing other things. Michael has out done Lil and I with the Berry Breakfast Muffins! (photo above)

2. As some things during this period of  Covid 19 are harder to get eg. sourdough bread, we gave sourdough making another try after years of failed attempts to keep that starter alive. Happy to report that Lil has become our resident sourdough guru. Her bagels and cinnamon knot rolls are top notch! I have been focusing on making yeasted bread loaves and fruit buns. The sourdough bread making takes a bit of forethought so it is good to have a couple more yeasted bread recipes up our sleeve. And if Lil has study obligations I can step in to make yeasted bread.

3. This Autumn/ Winter we have had shocking trouble with a hawk trying to attack our hens, ducks and quail . Previously we have had hawks thinking that our poultry is on their menu but they come and go at different times of the year, mostly scare when we appear. This particular hawk doesn’t fear humans, has swooped us when we have been supervising the hens and ducks.  While we were all out in the garden, Lil saw the hawk on the ground chasing the hens, we had to take immediate action to safe guard everyone. the plan keeps evolving and for now everyone is safe and well.  For now the quail sisters are living in the Back Orchard hen house, all the hens are in the big hen house. The hawk is very predictable with it’s timing, where it goes in the yard and where it flies too. We have taken out all the espalier frames it was routinely sitting on, do extra patrols through the orchards where the ducks are and supervise the hens when they are free ranging.  Michael put a 2.4metre long garden bench seat he made a couple of years ago (that was in another part of our garden) in the big hen house yard that is more garden then yard, we often open the door to the hen house and watch the hens fossick about outside, we sit on the bench seat and eat our breakfast, morning or afternoon tea and even lunch there. It is so sweet to  look down and realise there are three or four hens sitting at our feet, sunning themselves.

This has become a wordy blog post, so I’ll wish you well and sign off for now. Please even drop a love heart emoji in the comments box or catch me over on Instagram  (@fairywrencottage) if that suits you better, always good to get a message from you if you visit.

Sending Light & Love,

Jude x