-
Endings and Beginnings
The best-laid plans o’ mice an’ menGang aft agley. Robert Burns, in To a Mouse That, I am sure, describes many of our experiences this last year, notably dominated by attempts to control the spread of a certain (alleged) Coronavirus. We of course had a short, sharp lockdown for four weeks in our autumn, with…
-
Our Waipu Goats
Hello Readers! It’s a beautiful day here on the Kiwi Homestead. As we’ve almost finished settling into our new home I thought I might take this opportunity to share with you our new herd. As part of our long term goals, we set out to find only rare breed or heritage animals for our farm. …
-
Happy New Year!
…and a much belated Merry Christmas. The Kiwi Homesteaders hope all of you had an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas season, and could remember those things and people that are most important. New Zealand is on summer holidays, after the insanity that is the month of December. The country virtually shuts down by degrees, and most…
-
Raising Turkeys (and assorted birds)
This week on KiwiHomesteading; The challenge of raising turkeys When the Mad Scientist and I decided to move to Canterbury we were very interested in finding a place where we could become self-sufficient and build a sustainable life. We started small by raising chickens in the city and growing a veggie patch. We always knew…
-
Still alive.
Winter is not an easy time of year for the Kiwi Homesteaders. The coughs and colds come out in force, with three kids in kindergarten. We’ve also been house-sitting for Starfish’s parents, and that has at times felt like a mission, with maintenance items coming out of the woodwork and a lot of floor space…
-
Don’t worry!
It is, “Situation normal, completely crazy,” at the Kiwi Homestead right now. I don’t believe we’re called upon to practice Zen-like detachment, though. This world is real, the battle lines are real, and we’re in the thick of it. Starfish fell a month or so ago and hurt her leg. By God’s mercy it wasn’t…
-
One Crazy Drive
Hello, again my dear readers! At last, I bring to you our tale of the journey over the mountains to the West Coast of New Zealand. We had bought two chicken coops on Trade Me, and they were for collection by the buyer. The Mad Scientist got up bright and early, and nipped down the…
-
Chicken Coops
One of the most difficult things for Starfish to do when we started renovating our old house was say goodbye to our six brown shavers and three chicks. They went to a good home with some friends of ours, but we missed their personalities and their eggs, which we used ourselves and sold surplus. Now…
-
Good Friday
Hello readers! I feel that I have gone completely silent of late. It’s the time of year: 31 March is the end of the New Zealand tax year, and I, the Mad Scientist, was up to my eyeballs in dealing with several months’ worth of financial data. That little project is still ongoing, but there…
-
De fine incepti
The end of the beginning starts here!