I’m in the thick of my last assignment for the semester (for those not yet aware, I’m studying for my Masters of Sustainable Agriculture at Charles Stuart University). It’s a big one, and it’s due in a few days, so that’s where most of my writing effort is going at the moment.
That being the case, this post is going ot be short & sweet, just a few quick updates:
- The goslings are growing astonishingly quickly – they’re already three times as big as they were, and they’re giants compared to the chicks they’re in with. Also, they’ve learned to swim (in their water dish) and are paddling about enjoying the warm weather.
- The quail (our 3 survivors) have moved into their adult run – a fully enclosed, off the ground pen floored with trays of sand, and equipped with lots of hidey-holes for flighty little birds to hide in. Although to be honest, these quail are surprisingly chill compared to our last lot. I guess being handled from the time they hatch really makes difference – these guys don’t mind being picked up, and don’t panic at humans carrying them around (e.g. to their new home). They did find the rooster crowing a bit alarming (the quail pens are next to the chicken coops, so he’s a bit closer and louder than they’re used to).
- The apples have started to flower, and the stone fruit have all finished already. The pears are starting to flower as well, although the kangaroos have discovered that the top baby leaves of just-planted pear trees are delicious 🙁 so we’ve had to do some extra tree protection there.
- Went to a mozarella-making workshop on Saturday, which was amazing. I’ll write a whole post about it soon, but not until my assignment is done. On the whole, though, fresh mozarella is the easiest and quickest to make cheese I’ve tried yet except for ricotta (cheeses I’ve made include: feta, ricotta, cream cheese, yoghurt cheese / labneh, haloumi, brie/camembert; next on the list is a cheddar- or gouda- style hard cheese).
- I have more apple seeds sprouting. I may have a problem – I can’t just throw fruit tree pips and pits intot he compost without trying to germinate them, and apple seeds germinate very easily. So.. more seedling apples on the way 🙂
That’s it for now 🙂