OK, so January has rolled around. The heat is here, not as bad as some years and bringing a decent amount of rain too. The grass has come on and the cattle are looking fat and happy. The hens are...
I know I do not usually make comment upon current politics. Nevertheless I feel compelled to voice my opinion in light of the behaviour of our current crop of political simians. This problem does...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2017/01/who-serves-whom.html
I am sitting listening to Gary Moore playing Parisienne Walkways as I write this. It is moving, magical music, bittersweet and sad. So too it fits this past year in many ways. 2016 has been a lo...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/12/december-update.html
Talking to Karl, an old friend of mine the other day. We are both tool fanatics in that we both believe in using quality tools. During this discussion I was bemoaning the dearth of good machetes ...
Four days ago Bonnie, our second house cow, dropped a beautiful little healthy heifer. We have named her Jessie. She is soft and quite cuddly. Not at all afraid of humans. I was very pleased t...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/10/october-update_21.html
I feel it is time for a change! For those who do not know I have worked as a prison officer for nearly a decade now and it has taken its toll. PTSD and depression and so forth. I think I have fi...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/10/october-update.html
This year it actually feels like spring. This is not the usual in northern Australia as we usually get a more simple variation of only two seasons. Hot and dry or hot and wet, also known as winte...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/09/spring-update-2016.html
OK, I know that is a statement, not a question, but I wanted to post a reply. I could firstly say that as Australia is my home and I have never known anywhere else it seems perfectly safe to me....
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/07/q-8-i-could-never-live-where-you-do-it.html
This has not been a good month. The Quoll attacks have continued. I was late shutting the chooks door one night and the Quoll managed to get in and slaughter almost every chook remaining. I was ...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-month-continues.html
Sounds like a horror movie doesn't it? This month we have been besieged by predators all around. I don't know why, food must be hard to come by at the moment. The pigeons have been constantly st...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-month-of-blood.html
There is never really any such thing as spare milk. What we don't drink we make into cheese. Failing that it will go to fatten pigs or meat chickens. However, on days we do not save the milk for ...
It has been a very odd beginning to the winter this year. A month of mucky weather before finally turning on a week of beautiful skies and cold nights. Finally it is cold enough to have a fire at...
OK, this is one of those questions that doesn't go away. I am frequently taken to task by the anti-gun brigade because I use a rifle on the farm. I am told guns are only for killing, guns make mu...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/05/q-7-dont-you-find-using-gun-contrary-to.html
It has been a busy month, thus my tardiness in posting here. Sorry about that. We aged the steer killed late last month for two and a half weeks in the coldroom before doing the cut up. The meat...
I am often asked this question. There is a popular misconception among the green fraternity that the Goat is the perfect animal for any smallholding. Well, they aren't. Now before a million goa...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/04/q-6-why-dont-you-keep-goats.html
The Nutrient cycle is really the core of our whole existence on this planet- and where humanity for the most part has come unstuck. In essence it means that all nutrient (energy) remains in cons...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/04/q-5-please-explain-nutrient-cycle-you.html
The wet season has come late this year, again. Nevertheless we are continuing work about the place as we can. The meat pigeons, which had been doing so well suffered a serious setback when a loc...
An interesting conversation the other day. I was talking with an acquaintance from Africa*. He is a tall strong man with a mouth full of good teeth and a wide smile. He laughs readily and fills...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/03/i-am-wealthy-man.html
The following parable has been shared many times by email and on sites on the Internet, and for good reason. It tells of the relation between freedom and independence. The details of its ori...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-parable-of-wild-pigs.html
Whenever possible we like to do the morning chores together. It not only makes it easier to get things done quickly but it is also a nice time to observe everything around us. We keep tabs on the...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/03/today-on-cloud-farm-soap-opera.html
Q: Ulf, I want to buy my own farm and live a green lifestyle, can you give me some advice?" This subject could and should fill a book on its own. In fact I have several books on exactly this. S...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/03/q-4-buying-farm.html
I got to play that old joke recently! I asked a lady who grew very good rhubarb what she preferred to put on them. She told me they were always best with aged cow manure and a little chook poo. ...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/03/rhubarb-rhubarb-rhubarb.html
The most critical part of cheese making after hygiene is temperature. For a long time now I have been messing about with pots on the stove and thermometers, all the time dreaming of having my own...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-new-toy-cheese-vat.html
It has been blisteringly hot this week. 37 degrees Celsius yesterday (I think that is something like 98 Fahrenheit). Even though we are in the tropics, we live at altitude and out summers rarely ...
http://thecloudfarm.blogspot.com/2016/02/time-to-harvest-honey.html
Q: Why are you not a vegetarian? Warning: If you are an emotional vegetarian type who cannot take criticism now is a good time to skip this post! We are not vegetarian for a very simple reas...