“The sky is all covered with cobwebs, wisps of them, drifting so high that probably no one could reach them with a rag on a broom, and not a soul is trying. How did it come to this? Hundreds of people with time on their hands, and not one broom in the air!”   This is all it takes sometimes: just be the first one to reach up ?   #clouds #cobwebs #reachup #sunset #clouds #pastured #eggs #freerange #lookup #afternoonsky #poetry #farmlife #howcome #lookingforabroom   --from the poem “June Afternoon” by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek, from their book Marshmallow Clouds ..read more

There'll be days like this, my mama said"   ...when not one, but two tyres of the collection ute go bust, the chain on the machine breaks for no apparent reason, the gas bottle that looked heavy is actually finished.   Best time of days like this: the evening sunset, egg collection is done, eggs all packed, and truck is on the way.   #farmlife #breakdowns #pastured #eggs #freerange #tyres #utes #dayslikethis #mamasaid #lyrics and #farming   --from the lyrics to THE SHIRELLES song "Mama said ..read more

“You ask for a poem. I offer you a blade of grass. You say it is not good enough. You ask for a poem.   I say this blade of grass will do.”   Yes, the chook and I agree, a blade of grass is a whole poem. With the last two weeks left of summer, we can sit all sunset and contemplate the blades of grass, each taller than the car bonnet.   #bladeofgrass #summergrass #grass #hidden #pastured #eggs #pasturedeggs #farmlife #poetry #endofsummer #tallgrass #chicken #freetoroam #sunset #farming -- from the wonderful poem “A Blade of Grass” by Brian Patten ..read more

Feeling eggstra special today at the egg farm. Enjoy a holiday to dye for ? #easter #eggpuns #pastured #eggs #dyedeggs #artandfarming #art #farm ..read more

We won the Grand Champion prize and the First prize in the 2024 Royal Easter Show Egg Competition! The winning eggs are still at the Judging table, if you would like to visit this Easter long weekend. The Poultry Pavilion is a lot of fun, with all shapes, sizes and colours of feathery creatures.   A massive THANK YOU to the whole farm team, without all of your hard work, this would not have been possible!   This is a third first prize for us at the Easter show, and we are grateful to all customers for supporting the best eggs in NSW ?   This year, we also have a stall at the Ro ..read more

"When [feathered] wings are glistening in the beam Of the low sun, and mountain-tops are bright, Oh, let me, by the [Lachlan] valley-stream, Wander amid the mild and mellow light; And while the redbreast pipes his evening lay, Give me one lonely hour to hymn the setting day."   My favourite time at the farm, when all the eggs are collected, and the evening light is golden on the feathered birds, and it’s time to look up at the sunset, for one lonely hour, and just breathe.   #sunset #hues #sunrays #feathers #glisten #mellowlight #pastured #eggs #farmlife #chickens #sundown #attheend ..read more

 Our farm stamp and a tasty egg for a blank canvas: that's all it takes sometimes to create art.   From our own budding Barbara Kruger (the American artist with words on her thought-provoking works): Lily, the creative talent. Look out, and you might be lucky to find her creations in the packages this week :)   #art #farmlife #eggs #pastured #stamp #artist #creativity #thinkdifferent #wordsonart #letters #code #food ..read more

One is hiding and all twenty-three are seeking: they got the hide-and-seek game all wrong these chickens ? ?   Found this pretty fluffy bottom inside the hollow tree in one flock – the favorite place for games for our young chickens. All twenty-three friends were calling out and looking for her, and this one was hiding all the way inside the hollow tree trunk. #hideandseek #backwards #pastured #eggs #chickens #hiding #treetrunk #play   ..read more

And the Oscar for best stunt actress goes to… Henrietta An Oscar for Stunts may still be in discussions with the Academy, but at Hilltops free range we already have an award winner! This chook does it all: jumping onto a moving vehicle, balancing - quite remarkably well, without too much flapping of wings - onto a moving vehicle, sneaking between gates and jumping gracefully - one could say ‘flying off’ - a moving vehicle Farm life is way ahead of the Oscars #stunts #chickens #pasturedeggs #movingvehicle #oscars #farmlife Photography by Paula ..read more

When we started, we decided to build our own chicken caravans because we wanted to have the birds all the time outdoors, without floors, and directly on the soil, along with bugs and grass and sun. There was nothing commercially available. We have experimented with so many different materials and components, it’s fun to compose and reinvent with every new flock. Now we are experimenting with furniture components and this chook was keen to give it a test drive. #keep #innovating #keep #improving #chicken #furniture #pastured #pasturedeggs ..read more