It's that time of year again. It seems it rolls around quicker & quicker each year. After much preparation, lots of planning & loads of talking to those much more experienced than we, the 2012 growing season has begun. At least for us here on Sunnyside Farm!
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| Sunnyside produced barley that is being resown this year! |
Last year we decided not to put in a crop. We made that decision because our main aim here in not to produce grain, but rather to establish pasture for our sheep flocks. As most of our paddocks had been cleaned up (through ploughing & planting to reduce weeds & promote pasture growth ( with clover undersown)) in the previous years, we thought we would forego the stress & costs of cropping last year. Surprisingly we actually missed it. It is so much fun to go down & watch the growth of the crop, it is great to watch it develop from some tiny seed in your hand to a plant that produces many times that again.
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| The big blue tractor ~ you don't realise how big it is until the children stand near it! |
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So this year Dave was eager to plant. Last week Dave took a couple of days off his 'real job' to play at farmer again & sow the barley seeds that will produce not only feed for our animals ( we are complementing the sheep with grain to get them in a better condition), but also to sell the surplus off & hopefully make this little farm begin to pay for itself ( a girl can dream can't she ??!!??).
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| Zai is Dave's right hand man now! He is such a big help around the farm & we are so thankful for all he does. It still makes me jump when I see Dave's ute driving around & Dave walking somewhere else, but Zai is both compotent & careful which we are thankful for. It's worth training children when they are too young to really help, because one day they will be very helpful! |
It was a beautiful autumn day, the air was slightly cool & the earth smelt so sweet when Dave deemed it time to begin the job of planting. Dave had so much fun on his friend's borrowed tractor ( yes, old blue was given a rest this year). We were thankful for the blessing of this loan as it took less than 1/3rd of the time it would have!
I often think upon how the earth must first be broken to produce the wonderful bounty. It always makes me ponder that it is often after we have gone through a time of being broken that God will produce much fruit in our lives also .
This year we are only planting a 50 acre paddock. We haven't planted this paddock previously, so are hoping with doing this that it will also clean up a lot of the weeds there. We chose to put in barley, mainly because we still had a silo full of it. This paddock has a great amount of clover already that we left go to seed in the hopes that it will come up again in future years.
So what does this season hold??
Will the rains come?
Will the seeds grow?
Will there be much harvest?
Only the Lord knows. We trust that He is in complete control of all situations whether on the farm or in our lives. Isn't it wonderful to have an amazing God to lean on??
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| Off in a swirl of dust! |
Have a lovely day my friends
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