When Kate Brennan and her husband bought their first lifestyle block in 1998, she quickly realised that there was a lot to learn and very few resources for new lifestyle farmers. So she and a friend got together and created the lifestyleblock website to provide advice and support to lifetyle farmers.
From the first 4 acre Waikato block, Kate is now on a 220 acre Northland block, living off-grid and farming cattle and her beloved angora goats. For the last 20 years she's been living and breathing farming in NZ and wouldn't have it any other way.
It's raining....again.
I know, I know, many parts of the country are still suffering from a lack of pasture after months of drough. But waterlogged ground isn't great for grass growth either. That's not the problem though. A combination of warm temperatures and wet weather have contributed to our worst Barber's Pole season for years.
It's been a very...let's say 'interesting' few weeks.
Firstly, I caught mumps. There is something ridiculous about catching mumps as an adult, especially when the swollen cheeks and neck kick in and you look like a chipmunk.
A few interesting things about mumps:
Summer has barely begun and already many parts of the country are very dry. It's galling when you've complained all winter that it's too wet to suddenly find yourself hoping for rain. It doesn't help when your work colleagues are delighted by the 'wonderful' weather and it can be hard not to explain (through tightly gritted teeth) exactly why it's not 'wonderful' at all but an absolute nightmare!
I've been thinking about blogging for a while but there’s always been something else to do; goats to feed; cattle to check on; eggs to collect or horses to spend quality time with.