Introducing the farm’s Clever Hen. As the name suggests, she’s a little more switched-on than her peers. As evidence shows, it’s very common to find her in the orchard self-serving whatever is in season. In this instance, it’s the bumper crop of iridescent cherry plums. Clever Hen also knocks on Kerry and Nick’s door everyone morning for breakfast. She trots into the kitchen where she and Nick share a Nutri-Grain pellet or two.

Back to our other Clever Hen – Margaret. Although she will never part with her family’s sponge, peach pie and ice cream recipes, she would like to share  a few tips with The Menagarians.
“I have never made a sponge using plain flour, baking powder or as much water as Kerry.  Mine is much easier to make and is always very light.  And I don’t line the tins, just grease with butter.”
Oh, and the filling in the peach pie was actually cream cheese not meringue. Thank you Margaret.

And he wasn’t looking for the three little pigs. This real-life Mr Wolfe was wondering why Kerry and Nick hadn’t ordered their usual 10kg of raspberries. Mr Wolfe is a well-known grower in the southern Tassie region and was relieved to hear Kerry and Nick’s tardiness had nothing to do with their house falling down. They’d just been flat out forging, fencing, foraging and being a firey (in the Middleton Fire Brigade). Kerry and Nick always buy Mr Wolfe’s raspberries as the key ingredient for their jam and to decorate Nick’s pavlovas (pictured). Did you know, as legend has it, the pavlova was named in 1935 when the chef of the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Herbert Sachse, made a meringue creation to celebrate the visit of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. Nick’s pav recipe coming soon.

With all the chatter about Margaret’s sponge and promised peach pie, Kerry has caught a bout of cake-envy. So, even though she has tasted Margaret’s gravity-defying sponge and agrees it’s a heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth experience, we wanted to show you Kerry’s Tassie creation. The passionfruit you can see is straight from the farm’s vine.

As as special Valentine’s Day post, we couldn’t help but think of this beautiful pea-green boat. Hand-picked from Kerry and Nick’s farm, we’re sure the owl and the pussycat would have chosen this sea-worthy vessel. Unlike other years, this harvest is yet to reach the pot because they’re so sweet. In fact, they’re not even making it into the kitchen. Kerry and Nick are eating them straight out of the pod. Normally peas ripen earlier than mid February but Kerry and Nick discovered their crop had been tampered with. The farm’s bantam hens had been sneaking into the patch, helping themselves to the seedlings. Nick replanted quite a few times before he caught up with the culprits. So, who did you serenade today? Or perhaps you danced hand-in-hand on the sand in the moonlight. Thank you Edward Lear.

“The hens won’t lay unless we feed them porridge in the morning.”
“The pigs have broken out of the pen and are running amok in the orchard.”
“Clever Hen now knocks on the front door with her beak before we let her into the house.”
These were just some of the daily tidbits Kerry would share with Jane on their way to work.
“We should be publishing these stories,” Jane kept saying. “Let’s start up a blog and tell people about the farm.”
And that’s what they did.
So, welcome to The Tassie Menagerie – a place for anyone who’s interested in art, design, animals, vegie patches and what country life is like in Tassie’s south.
After all, this blog is inspired by the everyday events at Kerry and Nick’s 23 acre farm in Middleton on the glamorous sounding D’Entrecasteaux Channel. Click on the About Us tab to find out more.