Category Archives: Stuff – interesting uncategorised

Vivid Cross Species Colour Matching

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I don’t know much about the beautiful rooster but the magnificent bull is a photograph of a wonderful painting by the South African artist Leigh Voigt from a book about the Zulu Nguni cattle, called The Abundant Herds . The book is the result of the collaboration of scholars, researchers and writers over an extended period of time. The many paintings reproduced in the book are accurate depictions of the colour patterns of the cattle. I  once saw a similar bull in a herd of cattle in the green hills of  Zululand. Would love to go back for another look!

QUAIL PETS

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As result of many requests for Quails as pets, I have designed and built a Quail Pet House, which comes complete with four Quails ready to start laying eggs.

Quails (Coturnix coturnix) make the perfect pet. Not only are they docile, quiet, inquisitive and clean, but each quail will also give you a delicious egg every day, so they pay for their own upkeep;  how many pets can claim that!  Quails become very tame and by nature are relaxed and adaptable little animals. They are amazingly efficient and incredibly interesting little creatures.

Small incubators for people that are interested in hatching their own quail babies are available, which is an excellent child project that teaches them the basic principles of breeding and rearing, apart from just looking after and enjoying a pet.

This little Quail House ( under 1 x 1 meters) fits into any small area and can stand in a bedroom, in the garage, on the veranda or  under a tree in the garden. They are  strong and built to withstand all weather conditions. Made from tanalised and double oiled wood, this pet house is durable and will last for a long long time. A roof door and easily replaceable floor (extra floor included) makes cleaning an easy and quick task.  Also included is a sand bath and water and food feeders.

The ideal pet accommodation for all needs. The ideal mini aviary.

Goatherd’s Lunch

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Today’s lunch is unusual because nothing was from my garden apart from the apples. In Italy the herders travel  light, climbing up the mountains with their animals carrying  a lunch of cheese, bread, fruit and wine in a bag. I did not travel on foot, but, on my way to get fresh milk I passed the farm of a friend who makes delicious cheese from the milk of her own goats and sheep and brought some home.  All organic of course, from happy sheep and goats, and she learnt her craft in Switzerland so I could not miss. I rushed home, started my ricotta and spread my treasures on the table along with my own bread and apples, and the neighbour’s pears. A true feast!

I took pictures of the stunning scenery on the way there – it was a bit misty but beautiful still – and only about 10 minutes from my house. Dunedin surprises me every day, it certainly is not only a small university city, it has many talented and gifted residents that revel the lifestyle that can only be had in this rather isolated beauty spot.

At the Stadium Markets every Sunday

The markets ended early on Sunday due to a sporting event. Sales in Quail eggs were brisk and I sold out again – may have to squeeze those quail hens a bit next week ;-). There was little incentive for the  stall holders who came to the Markets considering the limited trading time, but many of the regulars  did turn up. Visitors could still buy great late season apricots, peaches and plums produced by the vendor, fresh potatoes trucked in by the farmer, cheese, soaps, badges and more at great prices. The food vendors were in place and were trading well.

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Some of the lovely apricots I brought home

 

 

 

One of the regular stalls sell beautiful soaps made in Dunedin. Zingani have a range of skincare products as well.  Being a foodie and always keen to eat,  I at first thought they were selling something that looked really delicious!  Now I have looked at some of their ingredients, Olive oil, Sustainable Organic Columbian Palm oil, Coconut oil, Water,   Cocoa Butter, I am still tempted to have a nibble ;-).  This local manufacturer is worth a visit at  the markets  – have a look at their website http://www.zingani.co.nz – and support them! 

 

Ylang ylang

I did not have time to go around the stalls I wanted to talk about but promise to do better next week

Raw Milk from the Loveliest Dairy Farm

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We got up bright and early to be in time for the morning milking. The beauty of the scenery around Dunedin is astounding, driving high up the hill behind Port Chalmers through dense trees and shrubs (that seemed to be natural bush to us ) overlooking the blue harbour is  thrilling. The intimate scale of the landscape , the green of the hills   accross the blue harbour and the pretty town below us made us feel lucky to live in New Zealand. We turned off on to a narrow gravel road, so narrow and winding through dense growth,   that we are still wondering what would have happened should we have met an oncoming car. We passed a delightful, shingled, ‘gingerbread ‘ house with a spectacular view of the harbour and parked beside the milking parlour, with, of course, a spectacular view of the harbour!

Milking was over and placid Jersey cows stood or lay in the stalls relaxing to soft classical music. The parlour has vines with ripening grapes trailing along the rafters over the heads of the cows.  There is a magnificent wild looking veg garden close by with roses and  what a friend calls  English Garden Flowers on all sides of the parlour.  As an unexpected bonus we were given some artichokes since the owners were not eating them anymore ( getting sick of artichokes  –  unimaginable) !

We fell in love  with the place and the kids fell in love with the cows. The cows were willing to be petted and ate hay from gingerly offered little hands. The magic ended when the smallest child was given a long lick through the face by a doe eyed but raspy tongued cow.  The resulting hysterical wailing and crying shattered the peace and we beat a hasty retreat so as not to disturb the tranquil mood.

Back in Port Chalmers we had the best French Toast ever. A huge cruise ship was docked, dwarfing the town, and the streets were filled with  uniformly dressed passengers enjoying a shore visit in glorious Dunedin summer weather (do the ships distribute shore leave uniforms to passengers, we wondered).

Once we got home, I immediately started making ricotta, mainly because I had no room in the fridge for 20 L of milk.