Homemade Bread, a Woodpile and Sunshine

homemade bread

How I love these glorious Australian Autumn days!

Every day starts off crisp and cool, but soon the sun is out, drenching everything in a warm, golden glow.

We’ve been working hard here at Citadel Kalahari: stacking hay, readying gardens for winter, and hauling lots of fallen deadwood to cut up for winter bonfires.

Aussie wood pile

I’ve been making lots of different breads to go with the hearty soups and stews that are perfect for these chilly Autumn nights.

I’ve made garlicky Turkish flatbread, tall loaves of 3-seeded wholegrain, and a round rustic loaf of spiced raisin cottage cheese. Mmm, they’re so lovely fresh from the oven and slathered with creamy butter.

The raisin bread is especially good sandwiched with sharp cheddar cheese and grilled. Delicious. 🙂

homemade bread

Our three baby Boer goats are doing beautifully. They’re already running around with the herd, and nibbling happily on hay and pellets.

Boer goats

How are you filling your days?

Three Baby Goats for Mother’s Day

holding baby goats

We had a surprise this Mother’s Day in Australia. Three new baby goats born in the wee hours of the morning.

Three boys who are strapping and healthy and cute as can be. They are very sweet-natured, more than willing to be cuddled and stroked. I’m smitten. 🙂

baby boer goats

Our friends Neil, Ann (from thisANNthat), Jess and Alex were visiting for a day of medieval fun with our Black Wolf medieval group, so they got in on the fun of holding them, laughing at their wobbliness and spraying their boy bits with antibiotics.

treating baby goats

We had so much fun with them, marveling at their soft coats and cute little bleats.

girls holding baby goats

I just checked on them a bit ago and they’re curled up inside old tires, snoozing in the sunshine. 🙂

What did you do for Mother’s Day?

Fall Happenings on an Australian Goat Farm

dried dill

Life’s been busy here on our goat farm with babies growing and mamas about to give birth any minute.

It’s hard to believe that only 10 months ago Felix and Gus were gangly little boys and now they’re almost men.

goats feeding

We’ve had a lot of company recently and that’s been great fun! We love sitting on the back porch with good friends, eating food and talking for hours.

I (Krista) have been taking a lot of walks on these gorgeous Autumn days. Our dogs Luna and Fletcher love going for gallops through the tall grasses, startling kangaroos and having the time of their lives.

I love all the interesting flowers and fruits here in Australia. So very different from my native Canada. And I can’t get over these long, warm days. So different from the snow and ice I’d normally be seeing if I were back in British Columbia or Washington State.

I’ve been in a baking sort of mood, churning out crusty loaves of bread and beautifully browned pies stuffed with caramelized fruit. I love how good the house smells after such ventures AND how gorgeous the baked goods look cooling in the glow of late afternoon sunshine.

dried dill

This weekend I’m off to Brisbane to learn cheese-making from my dear friend Ann from thisANNthat. We’re so excited about our trip, mostly because we also get to visit my dear friend Barbara from Winos and Foodies. I love Girls Days Out.

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Drenching Goats and Trimming Hooves on a Kalahari Goat Farm

wind chimes

Things were bustling at Citadel Kalahari this weekend as we rounded up our Kalahari and Kalahari Boer goats for drenching, hoof-trimming, and general check-up.

goats feeding

Our dear friends Ann and Neil came over from their farm to join the fun and lend their expertise.

After a hearty vegetable curry and story-telling on the back porch, we headed to the first paddock.

In the past we’ve had to rely on sheer brawn to hold each goat as we checked their feet for uncomfortable growth patterns or foot rot. But thanks to Robbie’s ingenuity and skill in building a new goat crush, we were able to use it for the first time.

No more sitting on the grass or wrestling with makeshift corrals for us!

how to trim goats hooves

Goats hooves grow like fingernails and need to be trimmed accordingly. When goats are living in their native rocky environs, the hard ground takes care of any trimming that is needed. But in places like Citadel Kalahari where the ground is soft and covered with vegetation instead of rocky outcroppings, regular trimming is needed.

While Ann and her son Alex herded goats into the crush one by one, I secured their heads so they couldn’t buck or cause a ruckus. Once they were in place, Robbie held their hooves up for Neil to do the trimming, hugging them closely to calm their jitters. Our efforts were disjointed at first as we figured out the new process, but soon we were moving swiftly like a well-oiled machine.

Once the hooves were trimmed, Ann and Neil’s daughter Katy and I did the drenching. A year ago I didn’t even know what drenching was, but I’ve learned a lot since then.

I’ve learned to lift their chins up so the drench stays in their mouths, slide the drenching gun nozzle over their tongue and squirt directly into the back of the throat so they don’t have a chance to spit it up. (It IS nasty tasting stuff, after all). Speaking gently and giving them reassuring pats makes the procedure much less traumatic for them.

We finished the last goat just as the sun was setting. It felt so good to know they wouldn’t have any trouble walking thanks to Neil’s trimming, and that the pesky worms in their system would be drastically reduced thanks to the drench.

 

wind chimes

Now it’s time to turn in for the night and get rested up for the start of a new week.

How was your weekend?

Autumn at Citadel Kalahari

Autumn leaves

It’s been a glorious Autumn here at Citadel Kalahari in Queensland.

Autumn leaves

Mornings start off cool and foggy but soon the sun breaks through and it is nothing but blue skies and glorious sunshine.

Our ducks, geese and chooks are molting, leaving feathers and fluff all over the yard.

white feather

The local markets have been loaded with capsicum and tomatoes lately, so I’ve been roasting them for soups, sandwiches and quiches.

The new baby kalahari goats – Flopsy and Lindt – are doing marvelously! They’re getting stout and strong and tall and make us laugh as they leap and cavort about the paddock.

baby kalahari red goats

Now I must get a loaf of bread in the oven.

What is the weather like where you are?