Feather your Nest Friday. 13th March, 2026.

I kept really busy this week.  The news made me very unsettled.  Not the on the TV news but the local on the ground news. 

To make a long story short I found out on Saturday that farmers across the area (which is SE of South Australia) only got fifty percent of their regular fuel deliveries last week.  Before panic buying,  before the crazy stories, before all of that.  They were just the regular orders.  Half is well short obviously.  And the word was going forward was completely unknown in both price and availability.  So farmers began to self ration.  My farmer friend came and told me.  We both knew this could impact the grocery shelves soon.  

Saturday night I didn't sleep.  The implications of this and the whole situation are huge.  And I was not over reacting, already crops haven't been harvested and goods haven't made it to market. 

Sunday I decided to work myself into feeling better and assessed everything and some family meetings happened.  Family meetings with planning.

Through the week I was infuriated to hear straight out lies about this but I think these were met with a lot of perfectly average farmers ,who had missed out,  ring in and say hang on, you guys are not telling the truth!  Politicians who have never set foot in the country are really annoying! 

Anyway... a lot of countries are being impacted in different ways especially in energy.  A lovely friend in England told me heating oil had tripled in price and that this would likely mean an enormous number of people would be unlikely to be able to adequately eat their homes.  This makes our problems look small as we just light a good fire and keep everyone toasty for free.  (Summer is another story..)

I am really happy I had already organised my freezers,  have a well stocked meat freezer and a well stocked ready meals freezer.  In my home great reset I already have attacked a lot of my food storage and organisation.   But still there is plenty to do!  And on the weekend I had two men in the cabin and they brought me all of this...

I was very happy and got to work...  the broccoli above a few hours later was cooked in the meal below. 

Hot cross buns went to Chloe's and pretty much all week I have worked meals around the produce.

There was a huge bag of lemons and a huge bag of limes.   The lemons will become lemon butter as I have plans for that next week.  But the limes gave me something to trade and take to the swap tables and to church. 

Today I was able to take three dozen eggs,  onions, limes,  and pears to church to share.  There is a bench outside that people sit anything they have excess of.  Previously I've had tomatoes, capsicums, rhubarb and lemons!  I was so thrilled today as very ala Nana  style I had little boxes filled with produce lined up on the bench.  Many of the church family are older people who are probably on a pension.  Well, it was such a hit!   

One time someone asked me WHAT was I going to do with all those eggs?  As if they would be some kind of burden.  Be a producer of something, anything,  because then you have a form of currency and you also can help people!

I left limes and pears at the swap tables and came home with a couple of kilos of beautiful tomatoes.

My friend who loves limes came with a huge box of brown onions!

On Wednesday afternoon, finally, the last calf was born.  I had reached the point of checking the cow four times a day.  I enlisted emergency help and she got bigger and bigger and more and more milk.

On Tuesday I saw she had some early signs of labor so I was then checking more.

Wednesday afternoon I could see she was very uncomfortable but she was still with the other cows, normally they go off on their own under a tree.  Tom said this is because they probably want some privacy. 

All advice you can read says the same so I thought she was still going to be a little while.  But apparently she didn't read about what cows do and ten minutes after I came in someone came to the house and said "do you know your cow is calving?"

We raced out and the calf was born!  This photo is of about fifteen minutes old.  

This calf is huge, as big as some that are two week!  And black!  Not a Murray Grey but a black Angas.  So I have variety!

I came back about an hour and a half later...

I was saying "good job, I love your beautiful baby."   I thought poor cow is probably exhausted. I know I was haha! 

Truth be told I came inside and had a glass of wine.  My nerves were shattered.  However I didn't smoke a cigar. haha.

The first born calves are getting quite big, very nosey and very friendly.   And funny,  they play running around the paddock  and chase each other.

I was given Broccoli plants and these will be planted tomorrow.  I have to cover them with net but last year I got a beautiful harvest so I will try and do all the same things this year.

We picked all the pears from the first tree.  The cover then came off.  They are beautiful pears.  When some ripen enough I will be making a huge batch of baby puree.  (Amongst other things!)

I madde two GF Date Loaves.

Baby Ike is six weeks old!  

Every time I visit Lily tells me they have a baby and shows me.  As if I probably forgot since last visit.  😊

Today I did a stock up shop. The supermarket shelves were fine.  The chemist was odd. There was a sign up saying there was a two hour wait for prescriptions.  I've never known of this before. I checked the chemist was on duty.   I went to the second chemist in town to compare.  They said one hour.   I asked the lady what was going on and she said she had never known a day like it.  I think I know.  Like me a lot of people have thought they better get ahead on their prescriptions and medical needs.   For many that is a really smart thing to do. 

At the supermarket Easter Bunnies (chocolate) were on special.  Chocolate has become very expensive.  I got Choc Bunny each for the kids.  Otherwise Mum and I team up and we give each Grandchild warm pjs and a coat, something like that as Easter marks the cool weather here.  So socks, warm hats, vests, dressing gowns... any go these things might go into Easter parcels.  To me that is money better spent than a lot on chocolate.  In this case I have already got all of them several sets of warm pjs.  They are gorgeous!  Also... parents are finding feeding their families really expensive.  Some baking,  a tray of muffins or brownies... any cooking or warm clothes surely is a help. 

I hope you had a good week and had lots of opportunities to make your home a comfy haven and happy place.  xxx