Regrouping and forging ahead

Now almost at the end of another year and I have had quite some time of inactivity due to cancer treatment.
Several things that have happened, firstly I had to withdraw from the Open Garden day as I was unwell and my property was flooded a month before hand.  So it is now necessary to make good some repairs, do some rethinking and regroup.
I am finding my energy levels are increasing, albeit slowly.  The warmer weather is helping in that
regard, I am sure of it.
So,  with nicer days and plenty of plans I am tackling things, task by task.  A week ago I went to the local market and bought 5 muscovy ducklings, that will be introduced to the main system, once they are big enough to free range in the orchard.  I have given them all names from the characters in the Outlander series and they are showing their little personalities off more and more.  The main pair are Jamie and Claire.  They tend to stick together a lot and are constantly snuggling up in the run and brood box.  Jamie is the large one with the dark head and grey saddle, Claire is the pure yellow one. At this stage they are only a few weeks old and still have no feathers, just down.

As Christmas approaches, I am trying hard to source a wwoofer to help me around the property, so many things I would like to achieve here.  If I am fortunate to have one come, it will be good to include the person in our Christmas gathering.  Always nice to treat them like family.
With the onset of fire season here, our fire pit days are in hiatus and we are going to have to use the gas barbeque etc for entertaining people.  We just can't afford to take risks with the extra amount of undergrowth around, due to higher rainfalls we got this season.
On a personal note,  I am assessing my own life and looking at what options are open to me.  I hope that this year I will be established enough to run a few workshops from the property, to expand on the blitz group a little and also to allow myself a bit of a holiday at some time.
I have kept a bit of a watch on the travels of Micheal (mentioned in my last blog) and how he has fared.  I am glad to be able to say his walk to Canberra culminated in the submission of papers to parliament and that there has been some progress there.  He is an amazing man and should be lauded for his efforts.
If I don't get back to this blog for a while.  Please take care of one another during the festive season. Travel safely and be sure to love your kinfolk well.

My Obsession and Plans For a Cash Crop

I have a confession to make.  Of late I have begun to obsess over mint plants, all kinds of mint plants. At this stage I have around 8 varieties and am still seeking another 6 to increase the types of tea leaves I can dry and package for sale. I don't plant mint(s) in the ground due to their invasive nature.  Instead I plant them into wicking tubs, made from food grade plastic drums.  They do very well in them and I am so impressed with the growth rates and the ability to harvest, dry quite good quantities at a time.  My only issue now is to design the labels for the packaging.  Not sure if I should go for stickers or swing tags, but that is another issue altogether and one that will solve itself.

This is the apple mint in one of the wicking drums.

This is the chocolate mint in another wicking drum.

Each of these mints are used in  two ways.  They can both be infused in hot milk to make a tasty custard, but also steeped in boiling water, cooled, strained and placed in a drink dispenser with ice for a cool refreshing drink on hot days.  Mints are quite an under rated plant in my view.  

This is a slice of feijoa loaf with apple mint infused custard drizzled over it.

I also have the first hedgerow of chamomile planted, which is another future cash crop, dried for tea.  Very excited to be going into this field as it will help me to boost funds for future projects around the property.  Down the track I also plan to grow crocus (saffron) and dry it as a cash crop.  I have the room and it seems like a good way of utilizing empty spaces.