Anna's blog

Light Sussex Chickens as rare as...cupcakes!

Submitted on Sunday, September 19, 2010 - 09:27
We’ve been trying to increase our flock of Light Sussex chickens and had been able to source an extra 5 fertile adds to add to our own collection. The long awaited eggs arrived and were put on the table next to the other light sussex and araucana eggs that were ready for incubating. Out on the farm we go, bringing the goats in, locking the chooks up for the night and giving Stripey the dorper lamb her bottle…and come back in to….cupcakes! Gorgeous Miss 9 has whipped up a batch of cupcakes…”using the eggs we’d left out”. Another day on the funny farm at Honeycomb.

Where to learn breadbaking...courses now available in NSW

Submitted on Monday, August 30, 2010 - 04:06

Having enjoyed the most delicious fresh baked bread from Lizzie the master baker at the Nabiac Farmers Market for the past 4 years, it was a no brainer to ask the queen of bread to be the "expert" for our new breadbaking course.  Our aim at Honeycomb Valley Farm through our training company "Cape Able" is to eventually bring to people a huge selection of courses on the "Lost Arts & Crafts". We started with Beekeeping, now we're able to offer breadbaking and soon...blacksmithing, preserves, pickling and more.

The French (& Hong Kong) Farm Connection

Submitted on Friday, August 27, 2010 - 12:25

Fab two weeks with Sophie & Basile from France and Adele from Hong Kong who have been helping on the farmstay through Helpx. Lots of good food (mmm... French bread, quiches, sushi, Chinese dumplings, fresh churned butter, buttermilk pancakes, mayonnaise...), good company and hard yakka! Here's some of the times we shared in pictures.

Blog post photo gallery

s-adele-feeding-toggles.jpg s-baby-bee-getting-born.jpg s-baby-goat.jpg s-basile-lamb.jpg
s-brutus.jpg s-bunny-brushing.jpg s-butter-and-mayonnaise.jpg s-chinese-dumplings.jpg
s-family-helpx-great.jpg s-french-quiche-muffins.jpg s-frogs.jpg s-rammie.jpg
s-sophie-brutus.jpg s-sophie-sun-oven.jpg s-sun-ovens-at-market.jpg s-sushi-bread.jpg
s-xbred-lamb.jpg s-adele-basile-beekeeping.jpg

Kmart's New Ad Campaign in Australia - What does a $9 toaster mean for all of us?

Submitted on Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 11:41

Caught a bit of TV last night and saw the new ad for Kmart Australia. Whoa! A father and son go into a Kmart and come across a shelf loaded with a zillion different types of toaster. The son likes the look of one at his end. The dad likes the look of the one at his end...but then they meet in the middle and the Dad is all chuffed with his $9 toaster. $9!  The toaster was packaged in a fancy printed cardboard box and it got me wondering (again!) about how as a society we've been so easily tricked into thinking that cheap is cheap...that there are no hidden costs.

"Are we poor mum?"

Submitted on Thursday, August 19, 2010 - 01:15

"Are we poor Mum?"
asked our 7 year old son earnestly today.
"We're rich gorgeous...in love, in ideas..."
"But are we poor mum?"
"Why are you asking?"
"The kids at school ask me because of my tin."
"What tin?"
"My lunch tin".

Bus Tour Group Visits to the Farm

Submitted on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 03:55

Yesterday we were so happy to welcome the Wallis Lake Tourist Travel Club to the farm...our first large bus tour group. And what a fun day!

How to turn a caravan into a chicken coop tractor

Submitted on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 03:11

"Hens on Holidays", that's what we call our chicken coop these days having converted one old caravan into a mobile chicken tractor. We completed the first one a few months ago and the chickens have loved it (as has the paddock!), so thanks to our current Helpx's (Basile, Sophie & Adele) we started another caravan reno today so we can house more chooks this way.

Why did we embark on the chicken caravan, mobile coop tractor project?

Honeycomb Valley Farmstay wins 2010 North Coast Tourism Awards for Excellence - for Hosted Accommodation

Submitted on Monday, August 16, 2010 - 02:11

Just back from the 2010 Countrylink North Coast Tourism Awards (which covers the tourism industry from Port Stephens in the South to Tweed Heads in the North of NSW). It was held up at Coffs Harbour with Tim Bailey Ch 10's weatherman doing the MC honours (he was great by the way!).

It was a bit of a crazy day Saturday because we had the Gloucester Farmer's Market on that morning so had to head out at 5.30am to set up there...bringing along our baby Saanen goat "Toggles" for the ride because he needed his bottle during the day.

Helpx vs Wwoof

Submitted on Monday, August 9, 2010 - 05:19

I often wonder what the Greyhound Bus driver thinks when he drops off all manner of foreign travellers at Nabiac...seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Nabiac isn't the Byron Bay of backpacker routes, but in the last few days we've hosted the United Nations at the farm in the form of Helpx travellers who swap a good day's work for food, accommodation and experiences as they travel around Australia.

Beekeeping Video - Learn About Beekeeping DVD & Beekeeping Courses at Honeycomb Valley

Submitted on Friday, August 6, 2010 - 02:14

With Rod the Beeman we've spent weeks in the field and the editing suite putting together a DVD so anyone interested in beekeeping can learn the basics...from how to light a smoker, to how to find the queen, to how to open a hive and extract honey. There is a section on building your own hive and frames, catching a swarm of bees, and how to deal with the small hive beetle which is a nasty little critter that can decimate your hive.

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