02 Jul July 2022 Newsletter

Paardekraal Produce July 2022

When you speak to a farmer one always asks about the weather or the season.   It is so vitally important as it impacts directly to your pocket and its beyond your control.  As a result, I always start off talking about it, in my broadcasts.  So here goes:  June was one of the coldest winters in a very long time.  We had rain again (over 40mm), which is so unusual for this time of the year, that the roads were not only wet they were a quagmire, and 4×4 was the only means at times.  The rain also made it feel colder as everything is wet and damp.  Something that Karoo people don’t know.  And with that we had sever frosts morning after morning.  Temperatures were 2C at 8am and the chicken water bowls were always frozen over.  Then it changed.  For about 3 weeks we had little to no frost but still cold in the evening and early mornings, with the days being beautiful, warm and no wind.  This last week things changed again back to the cold winter that we should be having.  Oh yes, the other element we get in winter is wind.  It can blow and blow and just carry on blowing.  The last 2 years we have had windstorms that blew trees down and were terrifying.  But it’s been a wind free winter so far.

The chickens, despite the cold, have been laying at a pace.  And somehow the ducks have also been doing their bit.  We have a Spotted Genet patrolling the yard in the early hours of the morning.  I woke up one morning, listening to this commotion on the front stoep, flew out of bed to find this genet on the stoep trying to kill a Muscovy duck.  Luckily, she is a plump girl, and the genet wasn’t having much luck as she used her strength to flap her wings to try to get away.  When I arrived on the scene the genet let her go and both she and the genet went off in the dark.  But then I saw the genet turn around and go for her again.  So, I ran into the house to get a walking stick and a torch.  When the genet saw me, he let go and I managed to pick up the duck (who was bitten) but still alive.  She made it through the night and went out the next day as if nothing had happened.  Maybe she has learnt her lesson, which is if you don’t go into the coop at night, you stand the chance of being eaten.

There have also been wonderful wildlife sightings, a guest spotted an Aardwolf outside Paardekraal’s entrance, my neighbour saw a bushpig sow with piglets on Onbedacht, the Black Eagle was spotted again on Paardekraal on the koppie, and I heard (with friends) the noise of the leopard as he / she walked down the spruit next to the farmhouse in the dark and then the cacophony of jackal as the leopard must have upset them.

The cattle have been carrying on but it’s amazing how curious they are.  Geoff has started a project of felling a huge poplar plantation on Onbedacht, to reclaim the wetland that the poplars have dried out.  So as the trees are felled the cattle have been nibbling on the end shoots of the trees and generally congregating where the activity is taking place.

The sheep are still lambing, and we have now moved them all up to Onbedacht.

Within one week all the milk goats kidded.  There are only 6 ewes to kid, but they have been producing twins and triplets.  Three goats gave triplets, unfortunately one didn’t make it.  And now some of the moms have rejected their bokkies and we now are helping to feed them.  Currently there are 5 hansies (orphans) that need to be fed 4 times per day.  It was mayhem when all the kidding took place as we had to pen off each goat with her babies so that they can bond and not get mixed up and we were running out of space.  Fortunately, they kidded before the cold wet weather set in as a goat does not like rain.

Geoff harvested the most amazing crop of carrots from the vegetable garden, from which, I made a delicious creamy soup (containing no cream), that is available.  The stock used is vegetable stock.

For this month I have the following on offer:

• Carrot soup, with the carrots from the vegetable garden.
• Farm chicken pies made with homemade sour cream pastry.
• Farm chicken lasagna made with homemade pasta using Paardekraal eggs.
• Chicken eggs.
• Green bean farm mutton bredie, with the green beans from the vegetable garden.
• Thai chillies grown in the vegetable garden, preserved in olive oil and vinegar.
• Pink peppercorns from the Karoo

All produce is made from free ranging animals.  We do not administer growth hormones or antibiotics on a routine basis.

Whilst every effort has been made to remove bones from the pies and dishes, care should still be taken when consuming.

Dishes do not contain pork

Many thanks for your continued support.