Three Years on… embracing the simple life.

As I contemplated the end of our third year in this valley, I struggled to think of what we had achieved over the past year. Time here seems disjointed from the outside world; we meander along following our own path. At times losing what day it is or even what month. It doesn’t seem to matter too much; we just do what needs to be done when it becomes apparent it needs doing.

I ended up scrolling back through a year of photos just to see what we have been up too and wrote a list so I wouldn’t forget again. The list, it turns out, was rather satisfying (I am a list person after all). There is something rather rewarding in taking the time to look back on the growth and development of the previous year. It reminds you that even though sometimes it may feel like your progress is slow, that the combination of doing what you can, and the ever-present growth of nature will steadily press all things forward. The trees that we planted last winter have spread their leafy boughs and stretched up to the sky. Rampant growth has turned the newly planted food forest into a wilding area which needs a touch of taming now the pumpkins have been harvested from it. The upcycled worm farm that we built has provided vermicast for the gardens, paddocks and homemade potting mix. Tropical growth in the tunnel house now touches the roof and greenery smothers the sheltered forest floor. I contemplate what else can I squeeze into this humid environment as my babaco cuttings come to life.

Our journey to eating mostly carnivore has changed how we manage our vegetable garden with many beds now growing trees which will be spread around the property as they mature. Others carry more perennial vegetables or crops of the few vegetables which we still eat. Perennial leeks are used instead of onions, yacon tubers provide a low carb sweetener, cabbages are grown for sauerkraut and courgettes for making flour and bulking stews. Leafy greens are not something we really eat anymore as most are very high in oxalates but the saladings will grow themselves amongst the trees and perennials giving our daughter the leaves she loves if I remember to pick them. Mostly the greenery goes to feed the rabbit, especially the leaves of the starry blue flowered chicory. But the strawberry, asparagus and globe artichokes beds will remain as we love these treats while they are around.

Our carnivorish life is not set in its ways, there is still much to be enjoyed from the plant kingdom, including the abundance of raspberries and blackberries over the summer and autumn months. But we find the health benefits for us from this way of eating have been very pronounced. We maintain our weight at a level which suits our builds, slim and muscular. Issues which have plagued us for years are slowly dropping away and our energy levels are higher. It is a gradual change, but it is there and sometimes changing things slowly yields the best results and enforces the sticking power. It is an approach we take with our land here too.

The paddocks are still growing after a wet warm summer and autumn, this is the first year we have had so much grazing. There are still some areas of pine slash to clear but many of the paddocks are now covered with a diverse pasture. When we first came here even the house paddock was mostly overrun with fog grass and buttercup. Now it hosts a variety of grasses, clovers, plantains with the odd mallow or dandelion popping through, and just a small amount of dock in the wetter areas. However, weeds will continue to be an issue for some time in the post pine paddocks as the fungi/bacteria ratios in the soil adapt to the new environment.

The sheer amount of pine slash still in the ground in some areas means that woody weeds like blackberry and inkweed will need to be managed till we can deal with these parts. But in the places where David has removed most of the slash and fed out hay to the livestock these weeds are disappearing. It is a method we truly believe in, feed the soil what you want it to grow. By giving the soil grass matter in the manner of diverse local hay we not only increase the appropriate organic matter but sow the next generation of plants too. The action of the livestock eating, digesting and excreting this matter as manure increases the bacteria in the soil, which balances the fungi/bacteria ratios changing the signals in the soil to better support pasture growth.

 In the wet areas willow weed appears over the warmer months but as it cools the plant dies back and the pasture re-emerges. We have plans to mitigate the sodden areas, to redirect the water in a more positive way and further improve the damaged landscape left post harvest. But in the year and a half since the forestry harvesters left, we feel the land has already come so far on its journey to heal. It gives us strength in our belief it will soon be beautiful again.

But nature is master here and cyclone Gabrielle hit us hard. It was not the rain though which ripped across our landscape, it was gale force winds which tore at the trees and shook our house. The sound of the trees cracking and falling went on through the night and into the following morning. I stood in our kitchen watching as a massive branch from one of our old man pines crashed to the ground. Fortunately, the winds blew it away from our house and over the fence line instead. Later we braved the quieter winds to check the animals and assess the damage. We lost several smaller trees around the house paddock and the neighbours partially harvested pine forest was an apocalyptic scene. Shattered trunks and up rooted trees lined the ridges of their rugged farm.

Further up on our property a tree line of gums and blackwoods looked very bare. We did not brave to venture up there but later found many of the trees on the ground, torn from the earth by the raging winds. Our road was a shattered mess of pines, whole trunks and root balls blocking our way out. There was still a forestry crew working up further in the valley and after a couple of days they managed to remove some of the trees and the road was drivable again. But even now months later the broken trees line the road and pointed jagged trunks hang downward from the hills as if waiting to impale some unwary passer-by.

Only days later the forestry crew pulled out of our valley and what has been described as the ‘worst harvest job ever’ to go and help salvage the flattened forests on the central plateau. The silence left by their absence is a blessing, the ongoing background rumble of machinery and the scream of chainsaws is gone. Peace reigns in our valley again after two years of industry. But months later we see the other side of forestry as a helicopter aerial weed sprays the landscape. It is the anti-thesis of what we are trying to achieve on our own land. But we have no control over what others chose to do only our own choices. We chose a natural life for our selves and our land. This means that all that we do for and on our land must have a positive action and not cause more harm.

With having to re-fence so much land still this has made us rethink how we will do this. Out of necessity we will reuse the old posts and the posts we have sourced from a neighbour removing their fences. They have been in our environment a long time and should have already lost much of the toxins from the tanalising process. The fallen gums offer us the opportunity to trial their limbs as posts and the fast-growing wattles have reached post size too. It will be an interesting trial to see how long they last in our wet environment.

Another trial we have under way is tree hay, the harvesting of branches from fodder trees and shrubs to store for winter feed. With the release of our self-published Fodder Farm handbook on ‘Fodder and Forage’ we have shared this information and a comprehensive list of fodder trees and shrubs. It is, we believe, another resource to be studied to better build your properties resilience in the face of volatile weather conditions and economies. We are looking at building diverse systems on many levels to strengthen our resilience on the land.

This year bought lambs back to the property, we had not breed last year due to the forestry and lack of grazing. Having lambs again has been a massive boost to our home-grown protein and fats. Then recently we harvested our first steer from our property. Choosing to self-process meant a week of hard work to make the most of the harvest. David is a self-taught butcher; some knowledge comes from many years ago hanging out with his Dad as the sheep were processed. Some is learnt from books, You Tube and questioning butchers, but a lot is learnt from just doing it. We now have lamb, beef, pork and chicken grown and harvested from our land. With the wild meats which surround us, goats, deer, rabbit, eel, trout and koura we feel secure in our food.

Being mostly carnivore the cropping issues many people have encountered this year have not really bothered us. The lack of plums, peaches and figs due to a severe late frost is disappointing but not a disaster. But what is does is remind you to make the most of your gluts when they happen. Luckily the apples have produced well, and we have put down a large barrel of real apple cider vinegar which should last us a year for preserving and as a tonic. Scrap vinegar made from fruit residues will do for the cleaning vinegars. Each item or food stuff we can make from our land further builds our food security and this is the primary goal of our life here.

But sometimes the flow of life takes you down unexpected streams, merging with bigger currents, ideas and projects. As I worked on our Fodder and Forage book Alison from Upstart press contacted me asking if I had considered writing a book. Having grown up with a love of books and seeing as I was already working on one of course the answer was yes. To have a publisher approach me to write a book about our life was both an exciting opportunity and a daunting prospect.  What is more daunting now, as the book is in the process of being published and promoted to book buyers (it is due out in August), is the question will it sell well; will people want to read what we have to share. Our life, our projects and recipes, our thoughts on living simply and with your land not against it. I hope it will and not just because we would like to make some money to help pay for more big projects and property repairs! But because it is what we believe in and to know that what we can teach others will make a difference in their lives is a great reward in itself. This book was a family effort, I may have written the words, but Summer put in many hours of photography and David spent many hours on the DIY projects and reading the pages and pages of manuscript.

All this while we carried on living our life on the land with its daily chores and various jobs which needed attention. It is no wonder the garden grew a tad neglected with a focus on the main crops only. But it has faired well and the rampant growth this wet summer and autumn has kept the ground hydrated and the plants lush. It has been a year of great growth in our valley, the pasture and trees, the recovering native edges, the garden and its ‘weeds’ but also ourselves. We have grown our roots here and opened our minds to the possibilities this land can hold for both us and itself.

I think back over the years and realise that here, we are realising many of the dreams and ideas we have held for so long. There is still a long way to go but to finally be off grid and feel secure in our skills and knowledge to live simply on the land is a big step forward. We are still building the infrastructure we need to make some tasks easier, but we can cope with how it is now. The construction of a cool store in the corner of our car shed has extended our low-tech harvest storage options. Building more low-tech solutions for drying foods (these are featured in our yet to be released book) and closing in our back deck to extend our house space add still more functional spaces to help us achieve self-reliance. Many of these projects are done low cost too, reusing resources where we can.

Taking the cast offs from others lives and giving them new life is something that I find rewarding. Especially when it is furniture that is a hundred years old, handcrafted and beautiful. Or the native timbers which were felled and often hand hewn as the land was cleared over a century ago. The process of denailing and reusing this timber can be arduous but living in a 1920’s bungalow it adds to the property’s history rather than taking it away. It may make projects take longer to accomplish but that is the nature of life on the land. A slowing down and hands on life, one where you build respect and appreciation for what you have, what you eat and for the hard work of those that have walked this land before you.