tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63695720301131506622012-05-23T21:25:19.877+12:00Greening our world...and sharing the journeyLeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.comBlogger497125tag: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.com1http://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.com6http://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.com17http://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.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-11887194685384675172012-01-28T20:13:00.004+13:002012-01-28T20:28:29.005+13:002012-01-28T20:28:29.005+13:00

I just killed my first chicken tonight, five minutes ago. My hands are still shaking a bit still.I always said, when I began this blog, that I wanted to be honest. I didn't want to hide anything from you. I didn't want to be one of those sugar-sweet bloggers who have lovely, named, fancy breed chickens who seem to never age and never come to a bad end, while the blogger posts recipe after recipe

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com19http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/i-just-killed-my-first-chicken-heres.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-70588962734345809022012-01-25T16:28:00.002+13:002012-01-25T16:39:47.528+13:002012-01-25T16:39:47.528+13:00

Our chooks are nearing their end days, and I'll be the hatchet-bearer. Being a sensible girlie and all, I'll be putting their bodies on the compost heap, where they'll eventually be of use to the garden. That's what we did when one of our elderly chickens died a few months back, of unknown causes.Her body decomposed very quickly - in a mattter of two weeks or so. Two months on, if you dig through

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com8http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/grisly-tale-of-death-and-destruction.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-65757138134528019392012-01-22T11:15:00.008+13:002012-01-22T11:30:04.249+13:002012-01-22T11:30:04.249+13:00

We bought an incubator a couple of weeks ago. Now we're incubating chicken eggs.Our new incubator. I hope it works!Our old chooks have had a great run, but it's replacement time. With the exception of Lizzie the Third and Sirius Black (our rooster), they all came with the property, two years ago.However, taking stock of them all, and looking at some of their physical features - old, tired legs,

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com7http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/incubating-chicken-eggs.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-69141254145461593812012-01-13T15:18:00.007+13:002012-01-13T15:29:31.665+13:002012-01-13T15:29:31.665+13:00

I want to talk about kids meals in restaurants and cafes. They're bloody shocking.This summer break, my family and I went for a holiday up the east coast of New Zealand, to Picton. We had a terrific time despite the weather (it rained most days!), and the kids got in plenty of swimming.But we had a big problem finding good food for the four of us. Everywhere we went, the "choices" for kids on

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com15http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/why-are-kids-menus-options-so-unhealthy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-20487154848353241152012-01-07T23:02:00.007+13:002012-01-07T23:12:56.484+13:002012-01-07T23:12:56.484+13:00

This year, I'm only making one environmentally-friendly New Year's Resolution. By limiting myself to one resolution only, I can manage it. Most years I've tried to do something too hard, and failed. So this year I'm aiming high, but not too high.My resolution is: no more soft drink in the house. I'm soft-drink free for 2012. It will do me, my body, my wallet, and the planet a world of good.I'm

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com12http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/soft-drink-free-want-to-join-me-in-2012.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-72964533867059500482012-01-04T11:09:00.010+13:002012-01-04T11:41:48.765+13:002012-01-04T11:41:48.765+13:00

2011 has been a hugely busy year for us. You might be able to tell that, by the lack of blog posts this last month or two!Lambs!I've learned so much this year, and yet I feel like I have so much more yet to learn. When I look back on the person I was when I came to the farm, I was such a city slicker! My goodness! I knew nothing, but thought I knew so much. These days I still know nothing, but at

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com11http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/2011-in-hindsight-successes-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-13144761017472199312012-01-04T09:57:00.006+13:002012-01-04T13:26:14.097+13:002012-01-04T13:26:14.097+13:00

Our property is organic. Within a few months of moving here and turning the farm organic at the beginning of 2010, the insects started coming back, and a family of wild ducks moved in. We were stunned at the huge number of insects and birds, many of them native. The bees came back too.Our middle orchard - healthy, organic, and dripping with fruit.Then the weeds moved in too, and I started to

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com0http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/pesticides-dont-work-heres-why.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-25352339618277365582011-12-23T18:45:00.006+13:002011-12-23T18:53:36.546+13:002011-12-23T18:53:36.546+13:00

The newspapers have had a lot of articles recently about how the retail shops are finding it hard to keep going in this tough economic climate. And how so many people are buying items online.I've stopped buying anything other than food from the local shops. Everything else, I get it online. And I'm saving heaps.I want to talk about some new cosmetics I got recently, and the price difference

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com8http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/12/shopping-online-happy-cheap-christmas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-62100463796433652622011-12-11T15:57:00.008+13:002011-12-11T16:12:48.303+13:002011-12-11T16:12:48.303+13:00

I realised the other day that I haven't posted for a good, long while. That's what happens when I'm very busy, I guess!The sheepleFarm work has been rolling along. The lambs are all topping 30 kgs apiece now easy, and some of them are so fat they're wider than they are tall. I should have named them more appropriately - "barrel" and "lardball" would have suited them better!Some of our sheep,

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com7http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/12/sheep-bees-trees-fruit-thistles-and-ode.html