Christmas tree

First of all I would love to explain why I placed my “Christmas tree” only yesterday (26.12.09). Here in Ukraine as well as in Russia we celebrate New Year at first and then Christmas. The New Year holiday is the most important holiday! Far more important then Christmas. I think it’s because of historical features. Also maybe because we celebrate Christmas  on the 7th of January (as orthodox Christians) and we meet more joyful the FIRST Holiday, maybe because  mundane orthodox do not have such tradition to celebrate Christmas as the most jubilant Holiday (but we have different traditions and I will tell about them in time). Most likely that all these factors and another ones played their roles.

But the fact is that we placed out tree for the New Year. We do not have much space in our room. When we spread out our sofa (put-u-up *wondering if I use it correctly here*) we do not have space to walk. But I wanted my room to be in holiday state. So I wanted to buy few fir paws to make a composition of them, but suddenly my eye caught a small artificial tree. It was made in Ukraine so why not to support a domestic manufacturer. In the supermarket I bought decorations made of Chinese straw in Chine. And look what I’ve got!

Waiting for Avatar with a bowl of popcorn

Today I watched Avatar in the cinema 3D. It was the second time I tried to watch 3D. The first one was really unpleasant to me. I felt nauseous all time, tears ran down though it was really funny cartoon. I said to myself that I will never never again … So I was afraid a little. And when I found out that it will be tree hours movie I was ready to turn back to home. But it’s gone Ok.

I liked the movie, but it was too long to my opinion. I can not keep interest and attention so long to anything. So I was really happy about 15 minutes break But so many people were confused about it to my surprise! The break broke them perception of the story.

I’m sorry, I do not want (and maybe you do not want to read it) to express my thoughts and feelings about the movie I liked it. That’s all.

Some photos made the way back to home.

This is me in my rubber boots. I love them. Today wasn’t to much water or slush on streets though. The photo below was made in the dirtiest place! Couldn’t I be in rubber boots standing on absolutely clean sidewalk, could I?

Love my rubber boots with poof-balls

Konstantin was shooting me with a tree and a street lantern when I noticed a bird-table made of plastic bottle. Photo of me appeared to be out of focus so I’m placing photo of bird-table instead. Didn’t see any bird around it. Maybe I should check another time.

Bird-table made of plastic bottle

Have happy holidays everybody! I wish you the very best in New Year.

Fukuoka, the Japanese author of One Straw Revolution which inspired many a person all over the world to convert to Natural Farming, is no more. He passed away at the age of 95 on the 16th August, 2008. I read this famous book, a third time, after a gap of 10-15 years, for writing this article. Often I got the feeling I am reading Mahatma Gandhi! The common point between Gandhiji and Fukuoka is that they practiced first and preached later. One of the remarkable statements of Gandhi was “My life is my message”. Though Fukuoka made no such statement, his life is his message in relation to Natural Farming. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind Gandhiji’s life and message have universal application for truth, nonviolence and village-based economy, whereas Fukuoka’s message is restricted to Natural Farming.

Fukuoka was inspired by Buddha and Gandhi. In Fukuoka’s words

“I believe that Gandhi’s way, a methodless method, acting with a non-winning, non-opposing state of mind, is akin to natural farming. When it is understood that one loses joy and happiness in the attempt to possess them, the essence of natural farming will be realized. The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”

Again Fukuoka says in some other place in this book

“Fast rather than slow, more rather than less – this flashy ‘development’ is linked directly to society’s impending collapse. It has only served to separate man from nature. Humanity must stop indulging the desire for material possessions and personal gain and move instead toward spiritual awareness”.

Does this not sound like Gandhi?

As a young man, Fukuoka left his rural home and traveled to Yokohama to pursue a career as a microbiologist. He became a specialist in plant diseases and worked for some years in a laboratory as an agricultural customs inspector. It was at that time, while still a young man of twenty-five, that Fukuoka experienced the realization which was to form the basis of his life’s work and which was to be the theme of this book, The One-Straw Revolution. He left his job and returned to his native village to test the soundness of his ideas by applying them in his own fields.

How the Revolution started

The basic idea came to him one day as he happened to pass an old field which had been left unused and unplowed for many years. There he saw healthy rice seedlings sprouting through a tangle of grasses and weeds. From that time on, he stopped flooding his field in order to grow rice. He stopped sowing rice seed in the spring and, instead, put the seed out in the autumn, sowing it directly onto the surface of the field when it would naturally have fallen to the ground. Instead of plowing the soil to get rid of weeds, he learned to control them by a more or less permanent ground cover of white clover and a mulch of rice and barley straw. Once he had seen to it that conditions had been tilted in favor of his crops, Fukuoka interfered as little as possible with the plant and animal communities in his fields.

All three methods (natural, traditional and chemical) yield comparable harvests, but differ markedly in their effect on the soil. The soil in Fukuoka’s fields improves with each season. Over the past twenty-five years, since he stopped plowing, his fields have improved in fertility, structure, and in their ability to retain water. By the traditional method the condition of the soil over the years remains about the same. The farmer takes yields in direct proportion to the amount of compost and manure he puts in. The soil in the fields of the chemical farmer becomes lifeless and depleted of its nativefertility in a short time.

In the area of Shikoku where Fukuoka carried on his experiments, rice is grown on the coastal plains and citrus (orange/lime varieties) on the surrounding hill sides. His farm consisted of one and a quarter acres of rice fields and twelve and a half acres of citrus plants. He adopted four principles for farming this land, which are as follows:

Four principles

1. The first is NO CULTIVATION – that is no plowing or turning of the soil.
2. The second is NO CHEMICAL FERTILIZER OR PREPARED COMPOST. People interfere with nature, and try, as they may, they cannot heal the resulting wounds.
3. The third is NO WEEDING BY TILLAGE OR HERBICIDES. Weeds play a part in building soil fertility and in balancing the biological community.
4. The fourth is NO DEPENDENCE ON CHEMICALS. From the time that weak plants developed as a result of such unnatural practices as plowing and fertilizing, disease and insect imbalance became a great problem in agriculture.

These four principles of natural farming comply with the natural order and lead to the replenishment of nature’s richness. Ultimately, it is not the growing technique which is the most important factor, but rather the state of mind of the farmer.

A Self-supporting Farm

Apart from agriculture, Fukuoka also practiced animal husbandry, poultry, fisheries and bee keeping – these factors ensured that life in the farm was self-supporting – the attainment of Gandhian ideal village where the entire requirements were locally produced.

Fukuoka had become a legend in his own life time. Naturally there was a stream of visitors and admirers not only from different parts of Japan, but from all parts of the world. Visitors were accommodated in mud huts like in Sevagram of Gandhi and had to participate in daily chores. To quote a visitor,

“There are no modern conveniences in Fukuoka’s farm. Drinking water is carried in buckets from the spring, meals are cooked at a wood burning fire place and light is provided by candles and kerosene lamps. The mountain is rich with wild herbs and vegetables. Fish and shell fish can be gathered in nearby streams and sea vegetables from the Inland sea a few miles away. There are the daily chores of cutting firewood, cooking, preparing the hot bath, taking care of the goats, feeding the chickens and collecting their eggs, minding the beehives, repairing and occasionally constructing new huts, and preparing soybean paste and soybean curd.”

Why the title One Straw Revolution?

The first sentence of the first chapter Look at this Grain, begins like this:

“I believe that a revolution can begin from this one strand of straw. Seen at a glance, this rice straw may appear light and insignificant. Hardly anyone would believe that it could start a revolution. But I have come to realize the weight and power of this straw. For me, this revolution is very real.”

Elsewhere, he says

“Spreading straw might be considered rather unimportant, but it is fundamental to my method of growing rice and winter grain. It is connected with everything, with fertility, with germination, with weeds, with keeping away sparrows with water management. In actual practice and in theory, the use of straw in farming is a crucial issue. This is something I cannot seem to get people to understand.”

A word of caution

Before concluding this article, I would like to observe that what has become popular now as Organic Farming is different from Fukuoka’s methods. The organic farmers prepare compost, vermi compost, Panchagavya, Bio fertilizers, Bio pesticides etc. These methods are foreign to Fukuoka – who just left the soil to do its own work.

Yet, a word of caution would be in order. In some place in his book Fukuoka says “the geography and topography of the land, the condition of the soil, its structure, texture and drainage, exposure to sunlight insect relation, the variety of seed used, the method of cultivation etc. are essential factors. These vary from place to place.Fukuoka’s own farm was somewhat exceptional. It had a humid climate with rain dependably falling throughout the spring months. The texture of the soil was clayey. The surface layer was rich in organic matter and retained water well. If we tried to follow Fukuoka’s do nothing after scattering the seeds in the dry belts of central and southern Tamil Nadu, or for that matter in any part of the world with scanty rainfall, or a sandy or loamy soil, the results would be disastrous.

Nevertheless, Fukuoka has created a new trend in farming. His method could be copied at least in some places. In other places with different soil and climatic conditions, one can avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides and use organic fertilizers. Lastly, what is inspiring as one reads through Fukuoka’s One Straw Revolution is that he reminds us of Gandhi for his truthfulness, simplicity, spirituality and living with nature as part of it with minimal interference.

M.R. Rajagopalan is Secretary, Gandhigram Trust, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu.

Goatherds in Chikodi taluka, Belgaum district, Karnataka

The woodfuel-and-dungcakes energy mix for rural India is alive and well in the hills of Maharashtra’s Deccan. The indications are that a combination of factors is at work. There’s less income for smallholder farming households, those farming families which have earnings have seen their monthly household budgets squeezed by rising food prices, and energy costs at least the same or more. That’s why I’ve seen in November and December – when early mornings and nights are cool to chilly, and heating at home is needed – more evidence of woodfuel use.

If you ask the energy planners and econometricians, they’ll say that fuelwood markets are important and have a great influence on shaping demand. As a rule this is likely to be true, but what we’re seeing here has resulted from a variety of volatile conditions. Let’s look at some of the alternatives that rural households in the hills use. A cylinder of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) costs about Rs 325 in a town in western Maharashtra (the 14.2 kg domestic cylinder). A sack of coal costs about Rs 300 to Rs 350 (20-25 kg) which will usually include the cost of transport (it’ll be carted along with other goods on the roof of an old jeep, in a tempo or lorry – state transport bus conductors are not partial to letting these sacks on board any more).

From the planners’ point of view, market conditions for wood are highly distorted due to government policies on fuel, energy and forests. That’s why discussing both demand and supply in the context of prices and market conditions is important, because in isolation the terms ‘demand’ and ’supply’ for rural energy mean next to nothing.

It’s important too to a rural household that wood is a multi-use material. For instance, for eucalyptus, the thickest portion of the trunk can be used as timber, if the girth of the trunk, with bark, is more than 70 cm. Poles are used for scaffolding support and as roofing material. The dimensions of logs for use as poles are 3 to 6 metres in length, and 30 to 70 cm in girth (cut pieces of similar girth but shorter are used as pulpwood in paper mills). All smaller pieces, twigs, bark, and roots, which cannot be used elsewhere, are used as fuelwood. Thus there is no single wood market in a town or peri-urban settlement. I’ve found it safe to say that the set-up and behaviour of each market differs from others depending upon the range of species available, and the purposes for which each wood species can be put to use.

Hillside grasses, ghat in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra

All that said, the main point here is that the price of fuelwood has risen in the hills of Maharashtra’s Deccan. A buyer will now pay Rs 60 for a ‘maund‘ of ‘jungli‘ wood and Rs 80 for a ‘maund‘ of babul wood. Now a ‘maund‘ is around 37 kg, so that makes a metric ton of ‘jungli‘ wood worth about Rs 1,620 (without complicating the matter with discounts for weight) and a metric ton of babul wood is worth around Rs 2,160. That’s a pretty steep annual growth rate because at the start of the 2000s – according to those who know about these things in Kolhapur, Satara and Pune – the price of a ton of ordinary wood was around Rs 1,300 and they also said that the price then was twice what it had been (around 700/ton) a decade earlier.

This is both worrying and curious. Worrying because it means that sources of energy among some sections of the rural population are defaulting to the woodfuel-dungcakes mix. Worrying also because it means that natural and protected forests, orchard and scrub are being scoured for woodfuel. Curious because we are in 2010 going to be less informed about the relative importance of the three major biofuels to rural households: has the animal population grown in the last decade? have the growing number of bio-gas plants installed during the last 15 years taken away from the dungcake source? have commercial crops reduced the available quantities of husk and straw (and what’s the effect on these as animal feed? We know a lot less than we think, but we do know what a ‘maund‘ of babul costs so that it can heat a hill household in winter.

Miami is full of New Yorkers in Art Fair season. Yay it’s December and I’m sitting on the beach networking! This is just one of the New York characters that I met while chillin on the beach – Gary Cullen is a painter and performance artist. You can check out his work at www.djmayonnaisehands.com or at www.garycullen.org - I Heart Gary!

A giant straw goat, erected each Christmas in a Swedish city, is burned down yet again in what has almost become a yuletide tradition in its own right…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: city electric. The blog is also related to: la city.

On Thanksgiving weekend Joanne and I traveled up to the Amish country in Ohio to visit my dad in his retirement home.  As always, I am amazed at the micro enterprises that cover the back roads of this farming area where I was raised.  At one shop, where I bought some fresh unpastuerized apple cider, we saw a pile of miniature straw bales, about half the size of regular bales.  My brother told me a local Amishman had rebuilt a hay baler to produce the tiny, decorative bales.  While regular sized bales sell for about $2.00, these half sized ones sell for $4.00.  That’s the power of a unique idea. 

We also visited the local winery featuring Amish Country Wine.  And we stopped in at Homestead Furniture where we’ve had a couple of beautiful custom pieces designed and made for our home.  There is certainly some amusing irony in the Amish being winemakers and having the latest laser technology.   But the point is they are great about finding unique ideas and building a successful business around them.

If you have an idea, you’ve got to have a well thought out business plan.  The importance of a comprehensive, thoughtful business plan cannot be overemphasized.  Much hinges on it: credit from suppliers, management of your operation and finances, promotion and marketing of your business, and achievement of your goals and objectives.

Here’s a free Business Planning Guide – you will see examples and questions to help you develop your idea.  You’ll also see information relative to taxes, insurance and legal issues.  I love to see simple ideas produce unusual success –

If you have an idea you want to turn into income this next year you may want to check out the growing group of 48Days.net Members who are sharing ideas and growing their businesses. There’s no cost to be involved and you can tap into the best braintrust I know of anywhere. 

Now, tell us about your unique business idea – that may defy logic.

Thanks to a suggestion made in the CPAS book, ‘Making the most of Christmas 2′, everyone who came to church yesterday was handed a piece of straw as they went home, to put on their Christmas tree. The straw was to remind them of the humble beginning of the life of Jesus, the Saviour of the World, and also that he is able to take us, transform us, and use us in his service.

I was delighted with the way that everyone took this to heart, and their eagerness to take some straw home to use as part of their Christmas decorations.

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LEMONS AND KIWI DESKTOP WALLPAPERS | LEMONS AND KIWI STOCK PHOTOS

I’ll only drink out of a colored straw if it’s blue. Because even though drinking water is clear, blue is the color most used to add dimension to clear water, n’what not. And. Water is sometimes blue. I might drink out of a green straw… But red, yellow, orange, purple, etc. Out of the question.

PEOPLE are so scared of stupid things. Like. drinking coffee from a straw? haha. Give the mug two minutes to chill and YOU WILL LIVE. I promise.

Also… Swallowing gum.. ahaha. I’m sorry. I never believed that whole “gum stays in your stomach for 7 years” thing. It just sounded stupid to me. Yes. you can chew and chew and chew and the gum wont disolve or break apart in your mouth or anything. But. It’s like food, people. I don’t mind if someone feels the need to throw their gum away rather than swallow it.. But it becomes incredibly unnecessary and somewhat hilarious to watch someone walk around for over ten minutes trying to find a trash can or a piece of paper and panicking when they can’t find one. “Oh my gosh! Whattamigonnadooo?” I mean. Really. Swallow it. If you die, I’ll pay for your funeral.

http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/chewgum.asp

AND. more. lame.

Seems like an appropriate title for such a post. Anyway, I’ve been rather complacent about blogging as of late, mostly due to my little adventures I’ve been having here in the Deep South. It’s been feeling more and more like home. I love Upstate South Carolina, and Western North Carolina. In general, if there is one thing that I am almost 100% sure about at this point, I love the Carolinas.

Thanksgiving this year was rather different. Instead of the usual ‘get up at noon and be lazy and enjoy yummy Thanksgiving dinner’ routine, I led a Thanksgiving dinner handout drive, called “Feed the Thousands” at Greer Relief and Resources Agency. Let me tell you, it was intense! Originally, there were plans to feed 100 people with boxed dinners prepared by a chef at Loaves and Fishes, with breads, sweets, apples, and potatoes being distributed. We ran out of food within the first half hour, and had to turn away a line of people. Thankfully, there was a church within walking distance that was also providing hot Thanksgiving dinners. I know for a fact that after helping out the less fortunate of Greer and the surrounding areas, I was able to better appreciate all of the wonderful Thanksgiving dinners that I was able to have while growing up. Working with the poor really puts life into perspective. I am in great debt to my wonderful volunteers who helped me put on this event! I think we make a smiling bunch, don’t you?

Dedicated Volunteers Helping a Community in Need

For those of you who were wondering what Tariq did on Thanksgiving night, wonder no more! I had dinner at my boss’ house, where I got to meet her wonderful family, and enjoy a real good Southern-style Thanksgiving (Candied Squash and Collard Greens?!?! Yummers!), followed by a fun conversation about cameras with Bill Tyler (Caroline’s father…who knows more about cameras than I could ever hope to know!). Up until last year (when I had Thanksgiving with Laura Sandberg’s intensely funny and awesome family), I typically enjoyed an Indian-style Thanksgiving during my youth, which consisted of a turkey stuffed with Indian-spiced stuffing, followed by a lot of Indian-American fusion dishes. However, after this awesome experience in South Carolina with the Robertson/Tyler family this past Thanksgiving, I have to give this two thumbs up!

Another thing I was able to do this past week was drive down to Columbia, South Carolina, better known as the capital city of the state and America’s sauna (the 95 F averages during the summer months followed by the humidity level being absolutely insane makes it feel much, much hotter). There, I took a tour of the medical school campus, specifically Richland County Memorial Hospital, guided by a fourth year medical student with other prospective pre-medical students (first time I’ve ever used that term to describe myself). Overall, a beautiful hospital—I could see myself happy at USC, especially with the option of getting to do my third and fourth year rotations in Greenville. I’m excited about the interview coming up!

The best part of this trip was definitely having lunch with the Young sisters. The funny part about this story is that I had lunch with them separately at the same restaurant: Ruby Tuesday’s (A good place to enjoy moderately priced American dining. They serve a wonderful Turkey Avocado Burger which is my favorite item on the menu.). Since Bahiyyih was in a training session until 12:30 and Elizabeth had work at the Hobby Lobby at 1:00, Elizabeth and I met first at Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch, where we ordered our food and had an intensely interesting conversation, talking about her time at Berea College in Kentucky (awesome, awesome, awesome college. I LOVE their philosophy!), Green Acre, and of course, “why in the heck did I come to South Carolina of all possible places?” I told her that the first time I saw her picture was on Leif Nabíl Segen’s facebook profile when I was facebook-stalking him and it was of her drinking through a straw. I had to re-create that image. BAM!

About two minutes after Elizabeth left for work, Bahiyyih showed up for lunch. Needless to say, this also was an intensely interesting conversation, filled with a variety of topics. We talked about her work, my work, the community in Minnesota, the community in South Carolina, and most interestingly, Southern culture, specifically, Gone With the Wind (a masterpiece novel and film, and why it’s on the banned books list for my high school in Minnesota and why it’s read in high schools across the Southern United States). Here is a picture commemorating the event, meeting, and conversation all rolled up into one.

All smiles.

Since I’ve heard so many good things about the Young sisters, both in Minnesota and in the Upstate, I definitely had been anticipating this meeting for a while. Needless to say, all of my previous expectations were surpassed. The truth is, it seems like every single person I’ve come across in South Carolina is that way….warm, friendly, talkative, and genuinely interested in your well-being. Cozy and home-like, if you would. Caroline tells me that she needs to get me one of them bumper stickers that says, “Yankee by birth, Rebel by choice” to put on the back of my car. BAM!

2009 is almost over, and this year well it twas okay. I mean for me it twas good, but others not so good. So to make up for that hear is a funny picture:

A low cost idea from the world of Guerrilla marketing and a piece that screams simplicity.

No explanation needed, it’s ’straight’ to the point and from what I’ve heard it’s located in prime target audience locations - fruit juice bars around Shanghai, China. Designed by advertising agency: Leo Burnett forY+ Yoga Centre.

There have been a number of other pieces that are similar for Y+Yoga Centre but they’re not as effective, still good in their own right I guess. There are also a load of other exercise related Guerrilla marketing pieces here.

The Y + Yoga Centre in Shanghai has fused the traditional elements with modern and the result…incredible! It has been recognised that in recent years Yoga has lost some of its traditional roots due to mass participation resulting in crowded gyms and rooms being used to maximise profits by companies. Sorry, back to Shanghai, they shares this space with a day spa, they have 1,200 metres squared which include three yoga rooms, four massage rooms, a meditation room & a number of communal facilities which all have a air of tranquility thanks to the colour choice and layout. Just take a look for yourself…

Flock of Bocken (OK, herd, but flock sounded better)

About a year ago, I read about these Scandinavian julbocken (the plural form of julbock) and immediately wanted one. Never having seen one here in Canada though, I didn’t think it would happen.

Then, a few days ago I walked into IKEA … and stumbled upon an entire crate of them – and, like most things IKEA, the price was right. I immediately bought two as they’ll make great Winter Solstice decorations. And yesterday I went back for more!

I’m only keeping two of them though; one, I picked up for someone at work and another will also be going to work with me but won’t be coming home again. You’ll just have to check back to hear why, which I’ll explain it sometime soon …

Anyway, here’s what they’re all about:

The Yule Goat is one of the oldest Scandinavian and northern European Yule traditions and is a customary decoration or gift in Scandinavian homes.

In Sweden it is known as a Julbock, in Norway, a Julebukk (Yule Buck) and in Finland, an Olkipukki (Straw Buck). They are made from braided straw and wheat ears and are bound with red ribbons.

The Yule Goat derives from the ancient Norse legend of Thor/Odin/Ukko, the God of Thunder, who rode across wintry skies in a chariot drawn by two goats.

In earlier times the Yule Goat was burned as a sacrifice to Thor. In more recent times, a popular prank was to place the Yule Goat in a neighbor’s house without them noticing; the family successfully pranked had to get rid of it in the same way. Nowadays the purely decorative Julbock/Olkipukki is often placed near gifts to protect them.

… and that’s all well and good but I just love the way they look! Especially all four of them together. Hmmm.

Recently I’ve been trying to get better at taken candid photos and getting that “captured in the moment” vibe. Today’s photo was one of the  first photos I’ve taken that was not staged that I’m still happy with. I took it at lunch today while my friend Will was sipping on his powerade. For some reason, his face reminds me of a malnourished monkey.

Having bought some new straw on Sunday, I cleaned out the piglets’ ark, a necessary task every few days as they’re still being toilet trained. Although they tend to go to the loo outside, they do go inside as well, presumably at night – especially with all this rain bucketing it down!

So, having cleaned out the wet straw, I gave them about three-quarters of a bale, and left them to it, playing in the suddenly much bigger bed, eating the heads of barley, throwing it about and generally enjoying themselves (their fun was abruptly halted when Pinky and Curly saw what was going on and booted the piglets out so that they could play!).

I then took a second bale down to the sows and gilts, nearly slipping in the mud en route but thankfully managing to stay upright! I only intended to give them about half of the bale, topping it up again later in the week but, being pigs, they had other ideas. I put the bale in the ark, pulled the old straw to the front, which is where the rain comes in, cut the string, carefully removed half, and put the half I wanted to keep in the corner, and set about shaking the sections up. That done, I turned round …. and saw that Perky and Scrumpy had taken matter into their own trotters and had done the same to the other half! I thought they were enjoying the straw that I was shaking about the ark but no, they were making sure they got the whole bale, not half.

So they got the whole bale, though I did tell them that this means they won’t be getting a top up for at least a week.

I don’t think they cared…

Perky in the pig ark - 15 November 2009

Because we grow our own, we KNOW it's good!

After a few dry years, we had enough rain for a good crop of hay. Here’s the first trailer load, brought in before a storm that was forecast but didn’t eventuate.

We love growing our own hay, because we know there’s only goodness in our soil, water and sunshine. And of course we compost everything.

We like to know exactly what’s going into our beautiful Morgan horses. We want them to grow strong, healthy and even tempered.

We let all our fields lie fallow on alternate years. This lets them recover naturally.

Sitting  on a bale of fresh hay at the end of a hot working day is one of life’s great pleasures.

Just wait till you read about our home-made lemon cordial!

Our beloved farm doggie, Bounce.

Bounce is another vital member of our team. As well as an endless source of company and cuddles, she’s a vigilant guard dog, an expert ratter and an effective snake repellant.

Far from being afraid, our horses can’t get enough of Bounce and are forever trying to smell and nuzzle her.

When we take the 4WD to the top paddock, Bounce often tears along beside us – a white streak glimpsed through the tall grass.

When Bounce wants to ride, she can leap six times her height to make it through an open door. You’ll often see her on the back seat; front paws on the arm rest, face out the window, checking that the herd is safe.

After posing for this photo, Bounce leapt off the big hay roll as if it were no higher than a doormat. She ain’t called Bounce for nothing!

New image in the transparancy drawing contest

…
Take a sip! drawing picture