Autumn Arvos...

...most people find this in their sheds, do they not?

 

five little newbies on the farm this week.
we love going out in the evening when they're tweaking out and running around the paddock like crazy.

 

 

Nelly is insistent that she is a full fledged farm dog.
We're still to be convinced!

 

the afternoon traffic jam.
cracking day with the family...

 

wwoofing farwell

We have had the opportunity to have a wonderful fella stay with us three times during this last 6 months. Fermin - our Mexican wwoofer who arrived from working in Italy for the last few years as a professional chef.  

He was a serious delight to have around. The first one to chuck on his gumboots when we arrive home from anything. The kids adored him. He was easygoing and cheerful everyday.  And everything he put his hand to in the kitchen became magical.  He has just left us for the last time as he flies away back home (via a few international stops...) to start his own business back in Mexico.  He has a dream of having a farm/restaurant. We know he'll be successful with whatever he does because of his infectious happy personality.

Farwell Fermin! The Paul Family wishes you well, and we wish we could bottle you up and keep you for our own!

xx 

They grow up quickly!

We've had a couple of new shops hop on the Bath Milk train...

Welcome Superfruit Organics!  We know you are busting to get some of our Eggs in the shop too - and we have good news... We have collected one teeny tiny egg from those new young ladies that are to be in full swing production by the end of April.  This is what they looked like not toooo long ago!

Might be because of these super-duper amazing warm breezy autumn days that we're having here at Fish Creek (with a splash of rain thrown in!)

Happy Days from the Paul Family...

...plus one - we're having another baby! (The final instalment to the Paul Family!)

healthy living

Let's face it - there's a plethora of what I like to call "opinion" about what a healthy lifestyle involves out there.

Do you want to know what changed our lives?  The comprehensive work done by the late Weston A Price.  Finally something made sense to us on a nutritional level and we could not unlearn what we discovered.

Let's face it - how much is out there telling us to eat this and do that - all based on rubbish research and commodity based financial gains - meaning "hey guys - we can grow this stuff cheaply - how many ways can we bastardise it and force it down the throats of the planet?"  -- so much of what we are fed in this modern world is based on "cheap" production -- but if there is more investigation done - cheap is only a mindset.  -- in the end it is expensive.  We pay for it with our health and our planet.

Weston Price was able to study multiple "untouched" communities around the world that had not yet been subjected to the modern diets of the western world.  His findings are fascinating and fundamentally sound.  He documented the health and lifespan of all of the members of these communities - which are absolutely life changing to read about.

The Weston A Price Foundation has continued his work by teaching the world of traditional food - and challenging the "diet dictocrats" that are the supposedly experts of nutrition.

Trust me - you can't unlearn this stuff.  Check it out for yourself.

artificial colours

Hello there! 

Hope that Twenty Twelve has been a ripper so far.

We're expecting joy and awakening and mindfulness for the year ahead!

Just a quick pic of our egg yolks. There is so much confusion between "free range" "organic" "naturally fed" - and a myriad of other labels that our eggs may have.  Did you know that all of the above are most likely artificially coloured?

Can you see the colour difference in the yolks above?

When you open your carton - are their all different shades of shell?

That means that they are not artificially coloured.

Yes, there is direct correlation to yolk colour and nutrition, however with artificial colours in the feed, 

how is one to really know?

I don't know about you and your family, but if my kids are exposed to chemical artificial colours - they bounce off the walls for 24 hours. No fun. We avoid colours like the plague!

Buy OUTDOOR, Certified Biodynamic (or Organic) eggs. Although there are natural yolk colorants such as corn, sorghum, calendula, marigold - at least in Organic feed they are EDIBLE and not synthetic. 

Just so that we're clear, our eggs are

Grass Fed - meaning they spend their days in the paddocks they share with the cows.

Eating bugs. Scratching. Flapping, & Gossiping.

Yes, Hens do Gossip. A lot.

They also have ad lib to Certified Organic Wheat and Certified Organic Trace Element Concentrate.  

Happy days from us at Ruby Hills... 

Watch this space for Bobby Calf methods that we use on our farm.

There has been a lot of media coverage on the treatment of bobby calves (un-needed calves on a dairy farm). We're going to share with you how we do things here on our farm. When in doubt - choose Organic - as there are rules and standards that are enforced those standards are ethical and just.

Spring Biodynamic Prep Sprays

Its that wonderful time of year again!

We have our good fella Shane Martin come to our property and do the magical biodynamic prep spraying. 

We are certified Biodynamic here at Ruby Hills and it is a special way of doing things that essentially involves gathering a wide armful (or truck full!) of all that is good and enzymatic and energizing - and share it with the soil and animals and flora and fauna. It is indeed a special time of year.

little helpers carrying a drum of "worm wee"

these are the flow forms that create the special vortexes that energize the brew.

We are certified thru NASAA and use Biodynamics Australia. 

Here is an excerpt explaining biodynamics in a bit of a nutshell... 

WHAT IS BIODYNAMICS?  

A healthy, well-structured soil, rich in humus and high in biological activity is a prerequisite for any sustainable agricultural system. Decades of experience with the Biodynamic method on Australian farms have shown that these soil qualities can be promoted and degradation reversed by the correct application of Biodynamic techniques. Biodynamic practitioners seek to understand and work with the life processes as well as enhance their understanding of the mineral processes used in conventional agriculture. Healthy soil is a prime basis for healthy plants, animals and people. Biodynamic farming practices are of an organic nature, not relying on bringing artificial fertilisers on to the farm, although some organic or natural mineral fertiliser may be necessary during the establishment phase. On Biodynamic farms we seek to enhance the soils structure and nutrient cycles as well as plant growth and development with the use of specific Preparations which are made from farm-sourced materials. These are the Biodynamic Preparations numbered 500 to 507 used in conjunction with established agricultural practices such as composting and manuring, crop and pasture rotations, tree planting, the integrated use of livestock, etc. As the name suggests, these Preparations are designed to work directly with the dynamic biological processes and cycles which are the basis of soil fertility. Pest and disease control is generally managed by developing the farm as a total organism. However, Biodynamic practitioners may make use of specific products for weed and pest control, which they make from the weeds and pests themselves. Weeds and pests are very useful indicators of imbalances in soil, plants and animals; and the aim in the Biodynamic method is to use such indicators in a positive way. The Biodynamic Preparations were developed out of indications given by Dr Rudolf Steiner in 1924. They are not fertilisers themselves but greatly assist the fertilising process. As such they only need to be used in very small amounts. Horn Manure Preparation (500) is used to enliven the soil, increasing the microflora and availability of nutrients and trace elements. Through it the root growth, in particular, is strengthened in a balanced way, especially the fine root hairs. Horn Manure 500 helps in developing humus formation, soil structure and water holding capacity. Horn Silica Preparation (501) enhances the light and warmth assimilation of the plant, leading to better fruit and seed development with improved flavour, aroma, colour and nutritional quality. Compost Preparations (502 to 507), known collectively as the compost preparations, help the dynamic cycles of the macro- and micro-nutrients, via biological processes in the soil and in material breakdown. (from)

a day in the life of...

4 a.m. Nic starts the day after a strong cup of tea – out to shift one of the few the A-frame sheds with the John Deere.  He is greeted by immense white fluffy Maremmas  that can be easily seen even though it is still dark. The skids pull along the thick rich soil with ease, and he jumps out of the cab to open the hatches. The hens nearly burst out of the doors and hatches – ready to hunt bugs that have unknowingly stepped into their turf overnight. They’re gobbled up with ease and satisfaction – off to find some more and to see what’s under the brush in the shelter break and catch up on the local gossip between Henny Penny and the others.

Change of machinery to a four wheeler and a pair of eager bordercollies to fetch the cows from their overnight paddock. Waking the girls – udders full from their rest in the fresh air and soft grass. They waddle over the track to the simple, old milking shed – 7 a-side. They wait patiently in the yard for the lights and music to come on, stepping into place to be relieved of their pure creamy goodness. Then a leisurely stroll back out to a new fresh paddock to be investigated and ruminated. 

The calves are next on the morning jobs – bawling out for their warm cuppa. They anxiously press their cool noses onto the feeder and nourish themselves with their mother’s milk – quickly getting their fair share between their group – the milk is quickly sucked away. Off for a warm nap in the hay with a satiated belly.

By now Amy and the 3 kids are clattering around the house – getting dressed, organizing their day after warm sleepy cuddles.

12 eggs on the cooktop – daddy is clobbered by sleepy faces and smooches before we all tuck into a hearty breakfast and strong coffee and tall glasses of milk.

Milk bottles to fill straight from the vat- no machinery needed, hand capped and tucked away into an esky or box in anticipation of being opened and coveted by their soon to be owner relishing in their unpasteurized, unhomogenized purity.  

There are around 1000 eggs to be collected from the paddocks, phone-calls, emails and books to be reckoned with, children to be bustled from here to there, neighbours and friends dropping in to share in the generous produce this 250 acres provides, tractor work to be done, deliveries to be made, veggie patch and orchard to be tended, marketing to be handled, orders to be taken, eggs to pack and grade, feed to be brought out to various entities of the animal menagerie that calls this place home.  

–that is just a drop in the bucket of happenings around this place.

The afternoon brings a second milking, and feeding of calves, dogs to be tended to and fed, 2000 chooks to be tucked away into bed after dark, and then of course ourselves. 

Some days are filled with sunshine and easily managed happenings. 

Some days are filled with howling winds, mud up to your guts and overtired people (big and small!)

But all our days are filled with satisfaction, commitment, love, and family.
Everyday –without fail.
Seven days a week.