Today our word is "FARM" & I kept thinking of more and more things that fitted, but have decided to work with our own area of Gippsland here in Victoria, supposedly some of the best farming country in Australia. Although suburbia is catching up with us fast, there is certainly plenty of farming, growing & supplying food still going on. Linking up with Astrid once again
Where do I start......................?
1. Daffodil farm just south of town which covers many, many acres and is a sight to behold come August.
2. Dairy farms, which are dotted all around us supplying milk to dairies at Darnum, Korumburra, Leongatha and Poowong among others, further afield. Cows on the way to be milked one afternoon, taken on one of many forays into countryside.
3. Tomatoes. We have some of the hugest glass houses and undercover growing for tomatoes & now we believe aubergines and a few other veg. These are opposite the big new estate a few streets from us and hopefully will be staying for a long time to come.
Taken yesterday afternoon and I just couldn't get in the whole lot, then took a photo looking toward the hill to the right which is where live. Photo below.
4. Apples & stone fruits. The orchards of today seem so different from what I grew up with in the 50/60s, when we visited the Hills area northwest of Sydney to buy fresh fruit from the roadside stalls.
5. Canola (rape in UK), potatoes & sheep occupy these paddocks below. Taken one day when we went for a short drive through countryside around the Thorpedale area to our southeast.
The bright yellow of canola above and sheep grazing in front of ploughed land ready for potato planting.
6. Hay and silage.
Tractors working, raking and baling the cut hay, above and below colourfully wrapped silage.
7. Wind farm. Taken yesterday after looking in my archives for a few more "farm" type photos and not finding any, we decided after our Podiatrist appointment to head toward the coast. Just outside Wonthaggi, we have a small wind farm, though I'd love to have gone further afield to one of the larger installations, but this will have to do.
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| Click to enlarge and see the wind turbines. |
Sorry about the photo above, but it was cloudy & showery yesterday and made taking photos difficult.
Now, some of the others farm types that popped into my head and Keith's were Solar Farm, Lavender Farm and wait for this............Sewerage Farm - ugh! No photos available of these, but maybe one day.
Just a little more................the farm we can see from our front gate which is in the middle of our town, surrounded by houses and streets, but still has some cows and old buildings. One day we know this will be housing as a few streets end at the edge of the paddocks & another main street has driveway crossovers already formed, but for now, it is still the "farm in the middle".
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| Cattle and cattle egrets. |
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| The old shedding at the top of the hill, which we see from our driveway. |
ONE LAST ITEM.
Not sure everyone will recognise this, but I think my UK bloggers may well remember a TV show from past years. I even got to meet the said Jimmy.
Well, sorry this is so long winded and I did get carried away, but for me farms and farming are a fascinating way of life and although I've never been a farmer, they play such an important part in our lives. Thank you if you have got this far and hopefully I've not made too many spelling errors or grammatical stuff-ups, as it was done in a few stages due to other commitments today.
Take care all, stay safe and huggles from down under.
Susan.
PS: Wow, it is very cold today with an icy wind blowing in from the southwest and intermittent showers. Brrr!!!!
What a great selection of farm photos.I would never have thought of including wind farm or sewerage farm for that matter. Can't say I remember Jimmy's Farm on the TV but that is a lovely photo of him with you. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThanks Eileen. Jimmy also did some shows with Jamie Oliver as they went to school together.
DeleteLove it, love it, love it all. What a pretty area you live in. It almost reminds me of England. Tony and I loved Jimmy's farm when it was on. Please post more photo's, it's the closest I will get to a holiday this year. Hope you have a lovely weekend
ReplyDeleteThanks Cherie & yes it can be a little like England in it's green times, but when heatwaves & drought hit, it is very different and our bushland is something else again. I miss a lot of those old UK TV shows that used to be on. So far it's been bitterly cold & wet. 7 deg. here at 7am as I type this & chucking it down.
DeleteWonderful photos Susan. I've enjoyed seeing all the different types of farming around you and great to see you in the last photo. Take care:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rosie, I was trying to more or less think outside the box. That photo, I think was 2014.
DeleteWhat a great selection of farming activities near you. I enjoyed every picture and, for me, you could have gone on for longer! Seems strange to read your daffodils are out in August but then you are down under! My favourite photo is of the wrapped bales, so colourful. Take care. x
ReplyDeleteThanks M. I remembered later we have large Asparagus farms around Koo Wee Rup, but I've no photos. Must take some when Spring arrives with all their spears appearing, then the ferny foliage.
DeleteA lovely post and photographs.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great one with you and Jimmy :)
All the best Jan
Thanks Jan & although a bit fuzzy, I like it too.
DeleteLovely to see all the land which surrounds you. I grew up with farmland at the bottom of our garden, crops were grown in the nearest field but beyond that was a dairy farm. We would see the cows following each other in a line to the milking shed twice a day, just like your photo. Happy memories. Sadly, all that land is now taken up by a motorway, office buildings and retail park. We visited Jimmy's Farm when the kids were little.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo. I grew up in a number of places with both market gardens & paddocks with a few sheep or cows, thiugh we moved several times due to circumstances, but it is probably I still why love the countryside.
DeleteWhat a fabulous selection of farms ... I bet the daffodil farm is a sight to behold when all are in bloom. I also love seeing a field full of those round hay bales ... before they get covered in plastic wrap. 😃
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol & yes the daffs look "wicked" (as my grandkids would say) when they are in flower. There are rows of different varieties & they are in paddocks all along the road south of town. The only bales they wrap over here is the not so good hay for silage. The colours they use these days are brighter than the old black plastic they used to use.
DeleteLovely photos - lots of variety :) Not far from us is a large (by north of the uk standards) solar panel farm - the sheep still graze the fields, keeping the grass short and they shelter beneath the panels when its too sunny or raining :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate. I've seen some solar farms down in Cornwall a couple of years back, but not seen them up north. We've none close here, but there are plenty of others dotted around Victoria and other states, though the biggest ones are in Central Australia. I'd love to see the noise wall along the freeways made out of solar paneling. Imagine it?
DeleteThat's a whole lot of farms...and a celebrity to boot! The daffodils must look fantastic when they are all out and rape fields are such a glorious colour. X
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon. They do look gorgeous and the canola/rape is something you can't miss when in flower.
DeleteA great selection of farms and I remember Jimmy's Farm on tv though I never watched it. Great to see you in a photo too :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely assortment of photographs. That picture of the yellow rape could have been taken here in the UK. My favourite has to be the colourfully wrapped bales, all stacked to make a design. Mostly black here but do occasionally seen some decorated with faces on them. Love the picture of you and Jimmy Doherty. xx
ReplyDeleteLovely to see a photo of yourself Susan :) and a fabulous selection of farms - I'd never thought of any of those and it never ceases to amaze me how green it is where you are. It was 7 degrees here this morning too lol
ReplyDeleteYou certainly live in a beautiful farm area, and with different farms too! I've never heard of Jimmy's Farm, I might have to look into that. What a cute photo! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete