tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63695720301131506622013-05-10T21:51:47.117+12:00Greening our world...and sharing the journeyLeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.comBlogger506125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-91790017717962618782012-10-25T19:46:00.000+13:002012-10-25T19:48:39.318+13:002012-10-25T19:48:39.318+13:00

It's been quite a while since I updated the blog. No real excuses, except for general business. I'm also finding the new blogger interface really horrible to work with, and am seriously considering moving over to Wordpress, which is so much better. I don't know WHAT blogger think they're up to, but the new interface is atrocious! It really puts me off writing! But I figured I'd better update

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com4http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/10/back-after-looooong-blogging-break.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-31261618341782860102012-08-23T15:28:00.000+12:002012-08-23T15:29:04.804+12:002012-08-23T15:29:04.804+12:00

Last night I didn't sleep well. All night I could hear a sheep outside my window, baaaa-aaaing away. And, because I'm not so new to this farming business any more, I knew what it meant. So this morning, in the frost, I went out to check. And this is what I saw: Two little lambies, huddled up close to their very proud mum. They're our first for the season, and hopefully won't be our last.

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com0http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/08/spring-means-lambs.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-29703752781284337442012-08-13T16:12:00.001+12:002012-08-13T16:12:28.187+12:002012-08-13T16:12:28.187+12:00

It has been raining and drizzling and hailing for a while now, and I am heartily sick of it. I can't wait until Spring starts - it's been a long, chilly winter - and the whole property starts to grow again. But at the moment, everthing is muddy and wet, and the place just doesn't look its best. What's more, when it is cold and muddy you just don't have the desire to get out there and do much.

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/08/rain-rain-go-away.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-68536624532437657662012-07-23T17:13:00.001+12:002012-07-23T17:13:44.892+12:002012-07-23T17:13:44.892+12:00

I'm one of those women who has dry, curly hair. That's me: Dry, curly hair? I know all about it! So I was keen to give cowashing a go. Recently I heard about a new way of managing dry, curly hair that is taking the US by storm. Maybe you've already heard about it, in which case you're one up on me. But I hadn't heard of "Cowashing" before ("Cowashing" is an abbreviation of "COnditioner Washing

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com4http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/07/cowashing-new-option-for-dry-curly-hair.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-40326680354942595602012-07-17T11:55:00.000+12:002012-07-17T11:56:06.242+12:002012-07-17T11:56:06.242+12:00

I've read a lot of blogs where people talk about their dream to one day own a farm. I want to talk today about whether you should buy a farm - some of the things you should think about before signing on the dotted line at the real estate agent's office. Hazeltree Farm this morning. Even in the dead of winter, our farm is stunningly beautiful. Here are some points to consider and have a

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com11http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/07/should-i-buy-farm.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-37108237212793808672012-07-14T12:51:00.000+12:002012-07-14T12:53:37.103+12:002012-07-14T12:53:37.103+12:00

Here's a really easy recipe for home made "shower power" or "shower witch" multi-purpose bathroom cleaner. I call it "Scum Buster"! Home made spray on shower cleaner. I call it "Scum Buster"! It's fast to make, and is totally safe for septic systems and your skin. You don't need gloves to apply it either. After washing your shower or bath, it is totally safe for you to step in in bare feet (

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com6http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/07/home-made-spray-on-shower-power.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-1362056507578478552012-07-12T09:08:00.000+12:002012-07-12T09:08:16.999+12:002012-07-12T09:08:16.999+12:00

Winter is a quiet time at Hazeltree Farm. We're mainly doing a "clean up and fix" at the moment. There are a lot of jobs that need doing, and while we're not in the growth season, lambing season, harvesting season or the mad rush of summer, winter gives us a good breath and rest time to do everything that needed doing but hasn't been done yet. So the next few weeks worth of jobs include:

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com0http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/07/winter-at-hazeltree-farm.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-69954757985279410252012-07-07T12:45:00.000+12:002012-07-07T12:45:42.637+12:002012-07-07T12:45:42.637+12:00

When you live in the city, "climate change" just means you add another layer of clothing and curse at the weather. But when you farm, watching tiny lambs die in the cold is heartbreaking. As a newbie farmer, transplanted from the city, I've had to learn the hard way that the weather controls everything. Everything. And that climate change is a real threat to how we live and how we survive. Let

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/07/climate-change-comes-to-hazeltree-farm.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-66703230825156211252012-07-04T16:17:00.000+12:002012-07-04T16:17:00.474+12:002012-07-04T16:17:00.474+12:00

I'm back at Hazeltree after a LONG holiday. My husband had to go to Spain (Valencia) for his job, and I decided to go with him, and for the two of us to extend it into a long holiday in Europe. It was the first holiday I'd had for nearly a decade, and boy! - did we need it! Alhambra So I've just returned home, after a month in Europe. Inside Sagrada Familia, the beautiful Cathedral by

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/07/back-after-long-holiday.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-11730188282515738502012-05-20T18:13:00.001+12:002012-05-20T18:14:03.169+12:002012-05-20T18:14:03.169+12:00

Winter has set in, with a vengeance. It has been COLD these last few days, and we're starting to get hard frosts on the ground. I've been very busy, getting the last of the autumn jobs done before there is any chance of snow. No snow yet, but our area has been known to snow as early as May, and there have been a few mornings where I've looked across the Taieri plain in the morning to see the

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com2http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/05/autumn-to-winter.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-32987331825769095922012-04-17T09:09:00.004+12:002012-04-17T09:37:59.487+12:002012-04-17T09:37:59.487+12:00

Raising our chickens from eggs has been a long, interesting, wonderful and sometimes devastating experience. I want to share what I've learned.Along the way, we've learned a lot, much of which I have not been able to learn from books or from anywhere on the internet that I could find. Which is why I want to share with you what I've learned about when to separate males and females that we've

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com7http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/04/separating-young-male-and-female.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-63043237036498779732012-03-29T15:07:00.006+13:002012-03-29T15:18:15.756+13:002012-03-29T15:18:15.756+13:00

The baby chicks seem to be getting bigger every day. They're certainly not babies any more!Of the original 21 we hatched out, 17 have made it to this stage, and all are looking healthy and feathering up well. Of the four that didn't make it, three had deformities and one had an accident - we don't know what happened, but it seemed to have broken bones and I had to kill it as it was in pain.But

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/03/baby-chicks-grow-up.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-19101987985081777772012-03-16T16:58:00.005+13:002012-03-16T17:14:07.120+13:002012-03-16T17:14:07.120+13:00

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time for posting.Autumn is a busy time on the farm. It's the last of the decent, dry(ish) weather before winter's cold bites in, so we're spending every free second tidying up, cutting back, sorting out jobs that need doing, mending fences, and generally doing everything that needs doing.Swimming pool removal and new landscapingOn top of all the

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/03/renovations-chicken-tractors.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-90647410271074882852012-03-08T13:30:00.006+13:002012-03-08T13:45:05.698+13:002012-03-08T13:45:05.698+13:00

After nearly two decades of being semi-vegetarian, vegetarian and (at times) vegan, I've started eating lamb. I want to talk about why I've decided to do that.When we bought Hazeltree Farm two years ago, it came with eight sheep. And this winter, for the first time, we had baby lambs.We had NINE baby lambs this year.The trouble is, half of our baby lambs were male. Plus, we ended up with way too

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com15http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/03/hard-decisions-vegetarian-or-locavore.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-21411827045631078952012-03-08T11:08:00.006+13:002012-03-08T11:55:13.735+13:002012-03-08T11:55:13.735+13:00

A few weeks back, I talked about saving lots of money by buying cosmetics on the internet, instead of at your local department store.Well!This week, I popped into my local department store, to check out a new colour blush that I fancied online. I wanted to see what the colour looked like up close, before I ordered it.You wouldn't believe the story the salesperson told me, when I asked to see the

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com2http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/03/liar-liar-pants-on-fire.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-71659522291521976622012-02-21T16:34:00.007+13:002012-02-21T16:50:12.799+13:002012-02-21T16:50:12.799+13:00

I was busy this morning blanching and bagging loads of broccoli for winter. It feels to good to have a full deep freezer, with lots of yummy healthy foods that I've prepared (and in some cases grown) myself!Fresh broccoli bagged for freezing, and ready for the year. It is so much cheaper to prepare and freeze your own.But what to do with those broccoli stems? When you're dealing with a LOT of

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/broccomole-yummy-recipe-for-broccoli.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-81692965775936661782012-02-18T09:48:00.009+13:002012-02-18T10:03:05.386+13:002012-02-18T10:03:05.386+13:00

Our orchard fruit are ripe.I think these are "Black Doris" but we're not 100% sure. They're dark inside, very juicy and so lovely to eat fresh or stewed.I've been busy picking the fruit, and stewing, freezing, and chopping.I've had to be quick to grab the low-hanging fruit. Because we're permaculturists, we let our sheep graze the established orchard. And two of the lambs in particular -

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com6http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/happiness-is-home-grown-plums.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-52782653008182207512012-02-13T08:54:00.007+13:002012-02-13T09:16:45.860+13:002012-02-13T09:16:45.860+13:00

Meet Ramses - our new ram!He was born in September 2011, so he's still a young'un, and raring to go already! We bought him from a friend down the road, as we were looking for a good-tempered young ram lamb to add to our farm for the 2013-2014 season.Ramses is a black faced sheep (can't you tell?) but he's not a purebred - if we wanted a purebred, we'd have paid a LOT of money, and we're just a

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com0http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/meet-ramses-our-new-ram.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-47630443355810460632012-02-11T18:16:00.004+13:002012-02-11T18:29:40.986+13:002012-02-11T18:29:40.986+13:00

We've decided to stop free ranging our chickens. We'll be building them an extended run and a "chicken tractor" and their free ranging days are about to end.It just hasn't worked. I know it sounds (and looks) lovely and idyllic to think of chickens clucking about a farmyard happily, doing the chicken thang, all happy and healthy etc. etc.But it didn't work for us. We've given it two years, and

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com18http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/why-free-ranging-our-chickens-isnt.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-33246267747639080172012-02-10T09:18:00.006+13:002012-02-10T09:56:41.092+13:002012-02-10T09:56:41.092+13:00

We've had fifteen baby chicks hatch so far, and that plastic crate / homemade brooder is getting pretty crowded.It's getting to standing room only in there! And they haven't all hatched yet!So I've been busy converting our cucumber house into a larger secondary chicken brooder / coop.We've currently still got our original chooks, who are laying...a little bit. And they're in our big chicken coop

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com8http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/of-chickens-hatching-merging-flocks.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-83853760209360876262012-02-04T22:05:00.009+13:002012-02-04T23:01:50.189+13:002012-02-04T23:01:50.189+13:00

Our eggs are hatching like crazy right now, and it's all I can do to keep up with them. Remember how I said we had one chickie hatch?Well, now we have SIX. The oldest four in the incubator. These were born before Friday. Then I found two more hatched eggs yesterday and today.My life is now ruled by little balls of fluff that CHIRP CHIRP at me all day long and think I'm their mama, but I have to

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com7http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/chickenmania-hatching-eggs-like-crazy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-81334383440729682722012-02-03T11:38:00.009+13:002012-02-03T11:54:39.476+13:002012-02-03T11:54:39.476+13:00

This homemade bread recipe is cheap, easy, terrific and fast. It makes two large (9 inch) loaves.Ready for spreading some butter, or lovely homemade jam. You just can't beat homemade bread, fresh from the oven.You don't need a breadmaker, and you don't need to knead. You mix it with a spoon. If you're really frail or small, you may need a hand mixer, but I use a spoon and it works just

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com2http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/really-easy-no-knead-brown-bread.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-24347043056339321062012-02-01T10:52:00.005+13:002012-02-01T11:12:43.858+13:002012-02-01T11:12:43.858+13:00

My kids lunchboxes are looking good this year, with a whole stack of budget treats to keep them happy and full.Here's what they get in a typical day:Sandwich: My kids get a sandwich, made from home made brown bread. I make up loaves on the weekend, and freeze them in the deep freeze. I'll post the recipe in the next few days - my recipe doesn't even need kneading! A favourite filling for my

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com6http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/healthy-kids-lunchboxes-on-tight-budget.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-66373824441545645472012-01-30T21:32:00.003+13:002012-01-30T21:38:02.606+13:002012-01-30T21:38:02.606+13:00

Hello, cute one!The chickie is still damp from the egg. Over the next few hours, its feathers will fluff up. I'll post photos on Facebook when it is all cute and fluffy-looking.I asked my son what we should name our first chook, although I did point out we don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet. He suggested "Egg-cellent". I think that's a great name, don't you?Have a lovely day!

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com4http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/update-our-first-chickie-has-hatched.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-11634722068152581702012-01-30T12:12:00.009+13:002012-01-30T16:41:23.767+13:002012-01-30T16:41:23.767+13:00

It's so exciting!The first of the chookie eggs in our incubator has started to crack - and it's one of our own eggs, from our own chookies!A tiny beak! Can't wait for our cute new arrivals.I'm so thrilled.I'll be posting updates and photos of our chookies as they arrive (hopefully more than one!) over at the Facebook Hazeltree Farm page. There's a link to the Facebook page in the right hand

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com1http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/first-of-our-chicken-eggs-has-started.html