Work in acres not hours

Happy Happy Happy

Can you even stand the cuteness factor of the header picture. We have silkys on our farm, they are just the most glamorous divas of chooks. Piccolo guards his little flock with such joy & pride.

A little sad news, we lost our Cotton tail goose to a fox Mon morning 2am. It was quick & cotton top, gander, was fine although for sure very sad as his gentle little squeaks told us of his loss throughout the day. He is now squawking, quacking happy looking out for our Indian runner mob. I’ll try remember to take a pic later today & add it in, just adorable.

As we are all being so cute & adorable. The pen was ready, can be towed wherever needed, sturdy, safe & well, just ideal. Straw in & on top to keep cool.

I received a message late January from a dear friend, it was just before my birthday, Mum offered to gift them to me. I can’t wait, I took a little trip to Cairn cross Mountain, not all the way to my friends 400acres on the mountain, that has ocean views(almost an hour drive from the bottom of the mountain to the beach) one way & the other half of Australia the other way, well, ok, so not that big but you get the gist. I had a small cage all decked out for comfort.

It has taken like what seems forever to get them, but I am a prepare first kind of person. The property being as productive as it is it was obviously time.

Meet Mousetrap (caramel coloured), now called Maisey & Twister, now Misty

Aren’t they just the cutest little dreamy treasures ever. Maisey was the most cautious & Misty well this new home obviously made her hungry.

Walter was so sweet & gentle giving nice to meet you kisses.

First taste of Mulberry & they were settling so well. The silkys & both dogs as well as the goats learnt all about electric fencing.

I was finally ready for these sweets. I did not see the point or the logic in getting them sooner as all my money would have gone to feeding them & had no money to buy fodder plants for them. I have been able to forage for them until they are bigger & their tummy’s are used to the new feed. Their favourite is Mulberry & banana leaf so far. lol

Getting their enclosure ready & building their day shelter & feed area I had help & inspections all the way along. Just fiddley little jobs.

Laneway to their big goat paddock

We had so much fun along the way. Realising rather quickly, (it has been a while since having such funness around, lol) that they love to dance & bash & bang so we changed the tin roof feed day shelter, making it bigger with all timber roofing.

Immediate approval

Such a contented place to just be.

Thanks so much for dropping by. the farm has been such a busy Frolic fun place, I love to share. Be sure to look out for more I’m sure all the fun is just gonna be completely nuts.

Thankyou for being you

Sorry if the layout of this blog is a little wonky doesnt matter what I do it’s not quite right. lol

I have to pat

I know I know. Hello hello, & welcome to Frolic & Feed farm. You see its becoming more farmier than ever. Too much fun. I am sorry for my absence. I am so excited there are a lot of photos I’m warning you now, cuteness overload.

We’ll go back a couple of months shall we?

Those of you who are regulars obviously read the sad news of the loss of our ever loyal Dog Princess. Now I don’t like to get a new animal straight away, but time passes & patting the family, well, usually is a good indicator, tells me its time for a new pup. Like do I really need more, lol, um, YES!

Ok I am too excited everyone let me introduce you to

PICCOLO(Italian for little)

Jack Russel cross mini foxie, foxie not my favourite, just too cute to resist though. There is enough, just enough, Russel in him to pass for a farm dog.

Well, ok, not so farm like, yes I was that person, that, well, how was I supposed to travel around with him?

Yes it came to this, Me with a flamn handbag. He had to be comfortable, look how tiny he is, lol.

We couldn’t leave Walter out, so we had a little drive around the drive way.

Walter truly is a gentle soul.

Was the sweetest game of fetch.

The Frolic & Feed farm chores are all viewed from the safety of the handbag(don’t laugh)lol.

Then the feed bucket was our next safest option for meeting all the menagerie.

He wasn’t sure about this flock of characters, they are all fantastic friends now though & Piccolo’s round up skills are improving daily.

First helping out farm job, I didn’t even have to ask . We planted 2 wattle trees together.

Which was rewarded with a first look at the dam. Where he promptly fell in, frightened the life out of both of us to be honest. lost my boot in the panic, you can see it laying on its side I happened to bump the phone for this pic, lol.

We explored the big gully then chilled out observing the goings on, on our selection.

Piccolo truly has hung his hat here & anything else he can find.

His creativity is astonishing. At this point the house gets swept everyday, lol.

Every farm pup needs his own pony, whom we call freckles. Also loves a game of footy.

From the safety of his pet Grandmas lap, we introduced his hissing pet Turbo. Thankfully now they are happy to discuss the fun possibilities of the day together.

After such big adventures for someone so tiny, a Sully to snuggle is crucial for happy frolicking dreams.

Be on the look out for Piccolo adventures, as there is so much to explore

from Frolic & Feed Farm, we thankyou for dropping by

& for being you

Jet Pack

Hey Bloogers & Good morning from Frolic & Feed Farm.

I have shown you a few projects outside the farmhouse, here’s a little ditty from indoors, well one of, yeah you guys know me.

Being a very practical person, living with how things are for many years. To be honest & a little open, my freedom to be me, had been caged.

Now with freedom, which can take what seems a lifetime to give yourself permission to move forward & do what you love & be you. You know what, it’s a hard thing to explain if you haven’t been there. Anyway so it can take me a few moments for my whole being to be able to move in the direction I need.

Here goes. My dream, now this is gonna sound odd, was to have a laundry shoot. Sounds like total fun right, a secret tiny door that goes to another room, how exciting. We don’t even live in a 2 storey house & I’m sorry but if that was the case there would be a slippery dip instead. haha, anyhoo. These days don’t tell me, no, there is always a way to have fun & a tiny door to another room sounds fantastical..

Now some of you are going to be horrified, as in order to put in this new idea I had to… wait for it….knock out a hall linen cupboard, gut it completely, I know I know, Hang in there folks there is always a method to my madness.

Second hand find a dejected looking cacky green little cupboard, how cute, the doors are perfect, slide beautifully, the draws, not so much.

The perfect width & depth for what I needed & on sale & there is no way I could build this for that price. It just had to be.

Upon taking the cupboard & the wall out, of course I replastered & painted well almost all of it. See that tiny iddy bit in the back top corner?

Really how could anyone destroy that…

Natures mozzie zappers, how cute. I had to wait. They moved out the next day. lol. I painted.

There wasn’t enough room or money to move the laundry door entry to this spot, the light & air was perfect. Such snobbery.

Anyway long story shortish, I now have a little laundry shoot, laundry condiment storage cupboard & a nice neat joyous Christmas fun & nick knack cupboard. Replacing the boring predictable cupboard that was there before.

I am now looking for some sort of storage baskets or fancy boxes to replace the draws & I haven’t decided on a colour scheme yet.

Puts the fun in functionality.

Yes Yes, there are trimmings, finishing touches & the shoot door(a picture frame on a hinge) is just a little fun. It is all so practical & functional now. The laundry itself well wait for it more funness in store.

This bumblebee my newest mate, has its own back pack wing motor. As big as my thumb, the sound (buzzing, humming, incoming aircraft ready to whisk me off to a far away land) frightened the life out of me at first. Until it landed on a pigeon pea flower, then we were all cool.

Imagine in colour, he gets home, hangs his winged backpack on the hook in his little entry hallway after a hard days buzzing.

Sorry if it was a bit of a bore, the idea is to inspire, be creative have fun, it’s great to be you. Oh & don’t forget to introduce yourself to the wildlife.

My Brain & other tricks.

My brain…..Nope, cannot find the off switch. It’s like the mad hatters tea party at the hundred acre woods, Mary Poppins & all the Looney tunes gang, oh the joyous bestest fun it is.

Hello my beautiful bloog community, blogging wonderful people…. A Bloog

I will start with a little sad news. We said our farewells to our little dog Princess, of 16yrs. I have read a few of you have also had your own sadness as well big hugs, peace & comforting memories to you.

Princess came to us as a little abandoned pup covered in ticks & malnourished. Grew to be…

Always patient

Ever Loyal

Loved her land

Maybe not always, lol

Forever Loved

1 month before our farewell to Princess, Zina our Mare cut her leg to bone, stitches & manuka honey, all good now. The day after, saying goodbye to Princess, Walter our big dog cut his shoulder, 20 stitches & manuka honey, all good now. mmmm I think that’ll do, don’t you?

Farm life doesn’t stop though onward to all things great & small.

Out the back.

Finally, had just enough tin. I may or may not tweak the design. You guys know me? This little butte can fit around 40 bales (rectangle not round, lol) if needed as well as assorted farm nick knacks & feed bins.

The horses tie up rail, on the left works perfectly out front of the tack shed & withstood both Danny & Zina freaking out & pulling back, together. After a few calm words, they settled quickly. I have also used the workbench, on the right, out front of the tool shed, on a couple of occasions. It’s all so practical & functional, obviously a few finishing touches, magnificently working out, just as my brain intended. PHEW .

If it’s raining I can actually reverse right up even closer, easy peasy.

The rain run off is generous. Once I have the old guttering from the house up around the sheds with water storage, this will keep the horse water topped up.

You get the gist?

The machinery shed, wait for it…. remember the greenhouse? too cute

Well, funnily enough, I very rarely used it. You see in our climate, it’s just not really necessary & honestly just adds to the work load. I had such fun building it though.

Everything in the garden is planted directly where needed, so far, successfully. Update coming soon.

It was becoming necessary however to have the machinery in an area that was central to our needs & the greenhouse was it. Don’t panic…. I saved all the wire & mesh & poles. That’s a whole other fun adventure.

Poor Walter you think he would be used to change by now but from that expression maybe not, haha. He was ratting caught 4 that day & watched out for resident red belly snake.

Again as with other jobs, just enough tin & timber to finish the job.

We are now fortunate enough to have a few bits of machinery. I have since parked the ride on mower & the sickle mower in there as well. I measured all machinery before building to make sure they all fit & kept the garden storage at the front. When guttering is in place with a small tank, this will provide water for either the livestock or the surrounding garden beds.

So much of our precious water is wasted running into storm water drains & out into our rivers & oceans. We often struggle & complain through drought. Really if our thinking was to save as much of the, birds flew over & pooped, type sprinkle of rain, to the aquifer filling flood rains. No amount of dams /water storage units are too many in our books.

It is our hope on our little 5 acre selection, to have another 2 dams, one at the top gravity feeding a fire fighting sprinkler system to the house. Another dam at the bottom of the property collecting overflow from both dams as well as 40,000+ litre tank capacity, using smaller tanks collecting runoff from all out buildings. I know it sounds a lot, right? to keep our property really functioning & growing from our experiences here that is what is needed.

Our vegidom is coming along beautifully as is our kitchen garden. I will update & share more soon.

Thankyou for dropping by & well just for being you. Yas are awesome.

Thrifty is such a fun word

We don’t spend a lot. While $5 at times may not seem like much, other times it is. We are not poor by any means, just thrifty, so we won’t be poor. That’s us. Beyond blessed.

I love that word thrifty, it is such a fun word, isn’t it? It sounds sneaky & cheeky like a little mischief bout to happen…

The last few months have been a little hectic as the putting of the plans into action is finally a reality.

In the house is one project I have pretty much finished.

I love the idea of an unfitted kitchen, a mix mash of character in one room. Whilst it sounds disjointed & non functional. I find it gives everything a place & that place has a specific functionality for the overall process of daily comings & goings, which also in that provides a little whimsical fun. wow that was a lot of words, lol.

Mum & I happened upon some mischief. We manage to peruse(is that spelt right? lol) 1 thrifty shop each trip into town, which is great, about once a month. This thrifty shop we visited happened to have a furniture sale. mmm what do we need, no not what do we want? it’s kind of a combination really.

What to need, want?

We came across this beauty

Dark, foreboding & out dated, in a corner

It has perfect potential though. My creative brain goes nuttier than usual. Here goes…

Taking out the glass(very thin & dangerous), typical of when this cupboard was made.

Cut an arch into the middle exposed shelf & then painted it all white, semi gloss, a much nicer easier to clean finish. Replaced the glass with fine screen door mesh.

Cut out for power points at the back, glued a piece of wildflower print material to the back for an extra touch of sweetness.

Built a plate rack that slid into the top cupboard, stacked plates are not good for us as all our plates are different, plus I like the farmhouse look.

I haven’t decided on the bench top colour yet. I will know when I see something. Maybe an old butcher block or I may even harvest a slab of timber from the property? Something that it won’t matter if you slice the bread on it or put your hot cuppa on it. I think all those little stains & dints & scratches on old furniture is part of it’s character, it’s story. Like us we have dints & stains & scratches, it’s our story. lol.

Here you go

In finishing up for this, it is functional & sweet & kindly & welcoming.

Onto the Outdoors

My prayers & thoughts go out to those horribly impacted by floods. Check out The weedy Gardener, proceeds from his YouTube clip go to the flood victims. Mother the mountain farm also on YouTube is another touch of the reality of it all.

Out in the paddock, for us, I enjoyed a pedicure in the dam, lol, say what?

I built a deck over the edge of the dam in the anticipation that the rain will come & it did & still is, for us fantastic.

Now I can fulfill the dream of being able to cool off, not just after but even during a bit of paddock hard yakka. May I say there is nothing quite like slipping off the old gumboots & soaking sore toes in the cool of the dam. Complete with free clean from the fishes….lol

Lets face it I don’t think those posh totty places would even let me in especially dressed in my paddock best. Homemade work bloomers(pattern from an old pair of pjs) I have all sorts of coloured material to use, cause pjs are the most comfy. hahaha

You can see from the base of the bottle brush tree how high the dam is now.Of course Walter always keeps me company.

May you find mischievous fun that tickles your soul & your toes, giving you a giggle wherever you go.

Thank you for being you.

If you dare

Crack me up, you know your day is just gonna be fabulous when it starts like this

Can you see it, I don’t know if I have just created a new way of making coffee? Is this even a thing? The suns not even up yet, really?

You may or may not want to join me for coffee this morning, I doubt tea will go any better. If you ever visit, it’s probably safer to make your own cuppa at this point. hahahahaha

Anywhoo, I wondered the other day as I watched the wild ducks fly into the dam & all the different colour & sized feathered sky frolickers, flitting & swooping & gliding about the place; Do they ever play airplanes? It was stunning & hilarious to watch, all the birds zooming around & suddenly my imagination just went with it. There was a whole repertoire of vroom, wheee, bang, plop, screeching brakes “Look out Russel I’m coming in for landing”!. A young Pheasant Coucal fell off the banana tree(the large leaf not as sturdy as it thought). Mum & I having a great old giggle. Honestly it is so fun.

mmmm & I wonder why I put milk in the coffee grounds.

Here’s the latest project pretty much completed, but first! it has been raining like, really well, for the last couple of months, check out the garden.

Lets have a peek out the back

The ride on mower decided there is such a thing as too much greenery & blew both belts, poor Betty. So Sam scythe & Susie sickle mower to the rescue.

Out the front

Lets go inside for a moment

I love French renaissance, provincial anything grand & of course way beyond the average budget. Here goes…my thrifty compromise, interpretation?

Wardrobe doors & panel. Screw together, staple material

I hope you all, my wonderful blogger family, can do what brings you joy, (hopefully not to stress out the four legged family members, lol) & thankyou for being you.

No animals were harmed during the making of this project. Sticks were tossed that Walter fetched with great enthusiasm even a swim in the dam was included for extra fun.

Kooky in the bathtub

We have been having some fun lately. Hi everyone, are you well?, I hope so. Walter has an ear up ready for adventure.

You can just see him through his glass artwork

I just love Christmas time & the fun thing this year was we needed a new Christmas tree. Oh it is a beaut. I searched all over town which only takes a moment which is what I love about our town. Guess what? Town ran out of Christmas trees! 3 weeks before Christmas, crack me up that’s hilarious.

It reminded me of the great school shoe shortage of 2008. Too funny.

In the past for fun & experimentation we had a gumtree branch for a Christmas tree another year I did a wood pile(can’t find the photos?) this year compliments of just outside the fence line it’s well how about I just show you.

There is a star wrapped in the top branches

Isn’t it adorable. I have put pretty material to hide the black bucket since.

We had help putting it together

We have had great rain lately.

Surprisingly we did not get any of this ominous looking weather in town this day, you can see the rain fall too the right. This just blew north. This can be the cruelty of drought too we can get clouds like this for months & not get a drop. Not being in drought at the moment, thankfully, it’s been glorious.

Mum & I took a little trip the back way home it’s pretty country. We didn’t get too far as the water was just starting to lap over the surface of the bridge. The force of the water is not worth the risk. We have seen land rearranged by flooding. All this water is from up river so we can have no rain in town but it can still flood. Nature is amazing.

You can just make out the white wash as the water violently washes over the bridge.

In the paddock this month. Adorable poor little Peewees. Thankfully our Zina horse is gentle & hadn’t stomped them.

Check the attitude, obviously strong but way too little to fend for itself.

Mum & I had been watching the parent Peewees tend to their young for a couple of weeks, not that we could see much they were way way up in the tree top. We had some rough weather, or was that the cause? I wasn’t quite sure?

Clearly a Frolic & Feed front headlines news story.

From the heated conversation that was going on between the parents & the Kooky the next day. Did the Kooky have a claw in it I don’t speak either Kooky or Peewee, I cannot be a hundred percent sure of the circumstances surrounding this incident.

Tucked into an old nest,(I have collected a few) & placed safely in a box. With their bellies full of grasshoppers & worms it was off to the vet.

When well enough they will be released back into our area.

Back at home I started topping up all the water troughs, crank up the pump at the dam & filling the horses tub first, I noticed Walter doing his “come & see this Mum” dance. Well here’s what I retrieved.

The silly little thing had obviously thought the leaves in the tub were tucker. After a moment it flew off, dried off & came back for the dinner later.

So that’s all for this month so far. Whatever adventures you have your way may they be full off fun, love & laughter.

Always adventure time here at Frolic & Feed Farm

Bee Cheer

It’s gonna be tricky today. I have been a little absent & am late to all you treasures & your wonderful talent & beautiful lives.

You see, I deleted Microsoft edge from my computer & it took it me three days to work out how to get internet search back. Those that know me, know, I am a little challenged in many ways. As you can see I did it. I worked it out & my computer is running better than ever. Well with the exception of the back space key & the number three not always working for me, lol.

Reads more like a dysfunctional Sesame Street episode. Shout out to my favorites Snuffleupagus & Cookie monster. That show rocked when my kids were little. I found myself watching it when the kids were at daycare while I did the domestics. Not just Sesame, also Bananas in Pyjamas’, oh & Bear in the Big blue house, ooohhhhh. FUN.

Today lets get onto other fun things

Wait first the not so pretty but amazing.

Ok so it’s a little gross I know but look closely can you see those teeny tiny black dots, too adorable. If Nemo was a frog this is how his life would of started. Instead of sharks(Bruces) it would be (Barry)butcher birds.

Now tadpoles. (We keep it covered in chicken wire to keep out the Barrys). Soon they be frogs. Fantastic little croakers disposing of mozzie larvae in all water storage & keeping demolition garden bugs (can you imagine the demo bugs with little vests & safety hats)to bare minimum here on the farm.

Lets have a flick throught some of the flowers so teeny tiny sweet

Cherry
Curry
Duck fodder
Rose
pretty
pretty too
lantern, imagine light shade
Native. Fairy sun hate
Mulberry
Roar
Tea tree
Cherry guava
Daisy
Hibiscus
Hibiscus
Citrus
Pretty
Pretty too
Shiny pretty
Macadamia
Wisteria
Rose

I hope your not sneezing cause it’s gonna be turned up a notch. Check out the Jasmine. The aroma was heavenly. As the humidity soaked through the air, it sent the scent along the verandah & all through the house.

Mum & I ventured down behind the dam where the Pom Poms are. The bees were so busy. I’m sure these were the cheer squad bees as they were loving the Pom Poms. It was very athletic.

Last but not least, the only surviving sweetest little treasure.

I have more little treasures but that’s for another telling tale.

Here on Frolic & feed Farm where we work in acres not hours & where we hope you feel appreciated & loved, just the way you are.

A Mole Chasing windmill

I laughed & laughed like a right nutter at this one. I had to laugh to or at myself is more fun. I saw an add that read, “Windmill, Mole chasing windmill”. Of course being a visual literal thinker all I can picture is a windmill, chasing little moles all over the place, & into Mr Gregor’s garden. I wonder what Beatrix potter would of thought of that. Was the most entertaining add I had read in a long time.

I think I need to get out more?

Anyway seen as we’re having a bit of fun. It was my mums birthday early last month, not sure what happened to last month but that I do remember. Whom ever Birthday it is in our household has always picked dinner & cake. Now we haven’t had take out in probably close to a year now, I think? & just the thought of it made us nauseous. With much deliberation, a home grown rooster, processed into Apricot chicken, slow cooked all day, served with rice. Of course Pavlova made with our own chook eggs & topped with passionfruit pulp, from yep you guessed it home grown passionfruit, the birds got to the Mulberry tree before I had a chance to pick some, so rude.

Mum’s morning was greeted with just shy of a dozen roses, yes from our garden, just glorious odifurous. Also roses came with a Happy Birthday greeting from teeny tiny very loud frog whom plopped out later that evening. Too cute.

Can you find the little party hopper. I so wanted to put a party hat on it.

We have had some much needed rain since & so I waited for a couple of days. Whilst Mum was repotting pots with potting mix a gift from my daughter, amongst other little sweet trinkets (we are not a jewellery, bags & shoes family) . I got to work constructing her other big pressy.

Mums new happy place & Danny seems quite content watching on..

We all have our happy places & Mums is on a swing, it is another place for her to chillax with different view of the property & beyond.

Whatever your view is today I hope it’s pleasant May you always find a happy place & celebrate the small things that surround you.

White lace honey myrtle. Or I call it a fairies loofah.

All to dreamy

After taking off Danny’s winter pjs, I caught my old Danny boy taking a gentlemen’s nap. Danny is known affectionately for his grumpy demeanour. He has never bitten or kicked anyone in his life though, the attitude is a complete act. He has taught many a child to ride in his lifetime. 25yrs young now he is.

As you can see below, the attitude changes to, “oh, ok because your my pet, I will allow you to scratch my neck, thankyou, now I love you”

He’s a funny sweet old boy.

Then, now that you have interrupted my nap, you obviously have nothing better to do I will now have a roll & get as grotty as I please.

If their is a grotty gentleman type Danny would wear the crown. No I didn’t clean him off he & I both actually know grotty is the best stinging insect repellent out there.

After my pony moment I began working on the landscaping of the front house yard. I could hear a beautiful bird song in the distance. I had never heard this one before, so I downed my tools & out our little house yard gate I went.

Venturing into the 1 acre woods. It has the sweetness of Winnie the Pooh meets the mischief of Blinky Bill. Where I have started trails for walking or riding it always makes me smile. I found the birds but couldn’t get close enough for a pic, I will endeavour to upload their song we’ll see. Ok so I’m unable to do that, it was such a lovely sound (really it was) & from the dance the male was doing I suspect a type of bower bird but they were both black, it was just beautiful.

Caught up in the beauty of the moment I decided to say Hello to the tree’s, after all Winnie the Pooh said hello to the trees, this is his woods so we better be polite.

We are hugely blessed to have all this beauty on our land.

I call them little wispering trees, cause their so wispy & delicate & sweet.

There are a couple of different types of these trees they create such a romanticism to their environment.

There is even a story in the narly scary dark woods.

The dead trees look like a giants dinner fork.

So many stunning angles, I love the sun reflecting off the white of the tree where the bark has peeled back. I remember many a night ride the whites of trees like these glowed in the moonlight, lighting up the forest track for us & the ponies.

I love these trees for, the curtain rods, tee-pees, firewood, berms, the shelter & feed for all the Blinky Bills & Winnie Pooh mates, the nesting & resting places, the climbing fun for all the wildlife friends. From Kangaroo, Koala, Wallaby to Kookaburra & all his bird mates, goanna’s, cicada’s, even echidna who loves on the ground to forage & if you stand really quiet & still you can hear the quiet hum of the bees when the tree tops have blossoms.

Even artwork

The next time your out & about & you bump into a tree please say Gday from me & try to imagine all the fun it can be.

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