The older I get, the less my purchasing decisions are based purely on dollars. Often the promise of a bargain will entice me to visit a particular store, but usually I’ll only return if I like the people who run the place.
I really, really like the folks at Enfield Produce.
When we were there last Saturday, I couldn’t resist pulling out my camera to take a photo of this Silkie rooster who was strutting around amongst the fruit trees…
He had a most impressive comb…
The owner walked past, saw what I was doing and suggested I take a photo of this incredibly cute three week old dwarf rabbit…
The folks here care deeply for their animals, and it shows…
This old long-beaked corella was climbing about, trying to chat up the girls. Apparently he’s not a fan of men, but will be completely charming with the ladies…
Enfield Produce sells manure, potting mix, worm farms, hay, mulch, fruit trees, grain mixes, layer mash, seeds, chickens, rabbits, birds, mice, snake food, seedlings, garden tools and almost anything else you can think of for the backyard. And if you want to buy bags of compost, you’ll have to move the glossy white house cat who seems to enjoy sleeping on top of them.
We came home with a Glengarry apricot tree…
… and some potting mix and pea mulch to plant out our seed potatoes in hessian bags…
These used coffee sacks came from The Sydney Coffee Centre – they cost $3.50 each and all the money goes to the Starlight Foundation. I thought the ones we bought were pretty cool (they came from Brazil, Sally!)…
Finally, a quick update on the chooks, all of whom were purchased from Enfield Produce nearly a year and a half ago. They’ve just been moved to a new bed, and are thoroughly enjoying the rich pickings. There isn’t a lot of dust in there yet, so we put in their bathtub, and everyone tried to get in at the same time!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Love the chooks getting into the bath tub.
Aren’t they funny, Sally? It’s usually Frannie who gets in first, but all the girls jumped in this time. They all take a turn though, and after they’re done, they end up with a fine sheen of dust, as if they’ve been talcum powdered. :)
Celia, I had never seen a Silkie rooster before, what an impressive bird! Loved it, actually loved your whole write up, so nice to have this type of place available where you live
and your girls in the bath tub: priceless!
as you know, Phil keeps dreaming about having chickens, and I keep trying to change the subject, but you are helping his case quite a bit ;-)
Sally, did you see my note that all the bags came marked with “Product of Brasil”? :)
I’d never seen a real Silkie until Saturday, I’d only seen photos of them. They’re an amazing looking chook – as if they’re covered in hair like a cat!
Yes, I did! I did not quite understood if they came with coffee from Brasil, or other products too…
very cool, though, no matter what was inside the bags ;-)
Raw Brazilian coffee beans! Some green ones fell out when we emptied the bags.. :)
PS. Phil is right, you need to get chooks. You just need to find a way to stop the dogs from eating them.. :)
That was just lovely, a little tour, and i am deeply envious of those hessian bags.. I shall try and source some out here.. thank you c
C, try to find wholesale coffee roasters, as they’ll often have bags to get rid of. I was happy to pay a premium for ours, given that all the money was going to charity!
Oh yes….dollar-based decisions are wise!!! I’m looking forward to asking you for advice once my new home is ready….and flower beds are weeded out!
Oz, I’m actually finding that the older I get, the less my decisions are dollar-based! Having said that, everything at Enfield is very reasonably priced – much cheaper than the big flash nursery in the neighbouring street!
How exciting that your new garden is nearly ready to plant out! :)
They must be very happy animals indeed strolling about!
I’ll be interested to see how your potatoes go in their bags, they will look really lovely when the greenery starts spilling out of the top.
Brydie, all the animals look well looked after and happy. Fingers crossed about the spuds, we’ve never tried them in bags before, but we grew them all over the garden last year, so we need to give the soil a rest for a season.
Tomatoes are starting to set fruit in the conservatory, must take some photos. How are your indoor toms going?
What a great place. Aren’t those silky chooks amazing? I saw them at the Ekka a few weeks ago. Your chooks are very spoiled I think.
Deb, our chooks are spoiled stupid. But they do give us so much in return! :)
Spoiling your chooks is not a bad thing. They give you hours of entertainment as well as eggs.
Deb, our girls have laid consistently over winter and they’re all so glossy and shiny. They bring us great joy!
Love that rabbit :)
Cindy, when I took the photo, I said to Pete, “Cindy’s going to love this rabbit!”… :)
It was the cutest thing, with tiny ears – I thought it was a guinea pig at first. The owner was completely besotted with her, and it was touching to see how gently he was carrying this little creature in his big hands.. :)
Lovely photos! I used to have 2 silky-cross chookies, 1 had the ‘hairy’ feathers, and one had normal feathers but with the top notch and configuration of the typical silky. She was beautiful, a glossy black with oil-slick colours through her feathers. Celia, your chookie pictures always make me feel ‘clucky’.
Becca, I’d never seen a Silkie until Saturday, and I was so taken that I was crouched down, stalking this little dude with my camera. He paid me absolutely no attention whatsoever! They really are the most intriguing chicken! One day, darling, you’ll have chooks again.. :)
Celia, I’m glad my daughter didn’t see that very cute, teensy, tiny bunny or she would have wanted one – and rabbits are not at all welcomed here.
I’ll be making a trip to the fodder store soon. Our chook numbers are thinning, we lost another one today – they are just dying off. Not sure how long they live for – these are over 3 years old now, but some are still laying. I dread all the carry on that will result from introducing new girls to the flock, though.
Amanda, we’re not looking forward to that day either! We knew ISA browns weren’t a long-lived chicken, but we hope ours are really enjoying their lives, and they’re welcome to stay here for the duration, even after they’ve stopped laying!
Have you planted the apricot tree yet? How long will it be before you have fruit?
Really all animals (and people) are the same aren’t they? If there’s something good, everyone wants a go at it.
I agree with you on the people who run a shop. I shop at my local green grocer which is a tad expensive but everyone there is so nice and I love the Italian nonnas behind the deli counter.
Claire, the apricot tree went into the front yard on the weekend! It’s quite advanced, so we might get fruit as early as next year…fingers crossed!
Your local green grocer sounds like a lovely place to shop! :)
So true Celia – the quality of the service, the passion for what they make/sell, knowledgable and willing to share that knowledge…all of these are just as important as a bargain. And great produce too – that goes without saying!
Hehehe…it’s always so much fun to go shopping with you, SG! Had a blast today, thank you, although I still have no idea how you’re ever going to get through all those olives!
whispers *lucky you* and I know ….. we get tuna! I had a friend who looked after my hens in exchange for eggs – need to get someone else to do that as the arrangement has fallen by the wayside. Have a great rest of your Monday :)
Tandy, I didn’t know you had chickens! That’s nice to know.. :)
And thank you, we are very blessed!
What a fabulous place to visit Celia. I would be super tempted to get a couple of those little rabbits – not sure Pete or our 3 kitties would be particularly impressed with that idea though.
Have a happy week.
:-) Mandy
Mandy, I hope your week has started well too! The baby rabbit was just the cutest thing, and he wasn’t the least bit distressed at being handled. He wasn’t away from his mum for long though – I took the photos as he was on his way back to her!
love the chooks..they are so entertaining..:)
Jane, I could watch them all day long! :)
I know what you mean. You want your money to go to nice people that you actually like! I can’t stand giving money to mean shopkeepers or restaurants :P
Actually Lorraine, I cope with mean better than I do with faceless. I’d much rather deal with a small family-run company than a large supermarket or chain-store.
OMG, I want that rabbit…… and thats the trouble , I cant resist an animal. i will have to go and visit.
Hi Tania, thanks for stopping by! :) That wee rabbit was almost irresistible – you should have seen him in person! Just the cutest little thing…
Keep me posted on your apricot tree. We planted a peach in the front yard two years ago. No fruit yet. I need to prune it. Actually, I need to research the best way to prune it and then prune it. I’m a bit of a hack in the plant trimming department.
Bunny cuteness!
Maz
Maz, will do! Pete’s optimistic that we’ll get fruit, but I’m not so sure about apricots in our climate…
Lovely, lovely pictures Celia – it’s amazing to get a little glimpse into your life. It sounds like you have a wonderful supplier there – it’s so good to be able to trust the people you have business and social dealings with, it makes life so much more enjoyable!
Thanks C! It really was a little bit of our Saturday in this post, and we always enjoy our visits to Enfield Produce, even if it’s just to pick up a bag of chook feed.
Sweet little animals and what a lovely place to go for your supplies :D
They were all so cute, Jo! The corella was trying to climb on my shoulder – that’s why he had his claw out in the first photo! :)
I LOVE Enfield too. Earlier in the year I went to Enfield to buy one bag of seed ($7) and came home with 2 new chickens…whoops…and then had to watch the girls beating up on each other for months! It was horrible, but apparently necessary, pecking order and all that. I had to separate them so the new girls could get some food, otherwise they weren’t allowed to eat! They are now all getting on…phew.. and the new(ish) girls,bantams, lay the cutest little white eggs.
Glad to hear the girls are getting on again, Wend, we were worried for a while there! :)
Good luck with the apricot – sounds fabulous. The hessian sacks look good too. We’re in need of one or two to store our potatoes in – although we didn’t get that many that weren’t slugged this year. I bet your chooks are in 7th heaven.
Choc, we found our hessian bags at the coffee roasters, and apparently they’re always a good source! The Glengarry apricot is supposed to like warmer conditions, but I guess we’ll see.. :)
What a neat store to have locally! Of course this post was perfect for me. Seeing animals always cheers me up. The silkie rooster is beautiful, looks like one big feather duster:) The rabbit is just adorable. Luckily I have all the rabbits I need here. Our neighborhood is overrun with wild rabbits.
How soon til you might see some apricots on that little tree? I love fresh apricots. I’d not heard of growing potatoes in bags before. Looking forward to photos, updates on the potato growing. Glad to hear your tomatoes are flowering!
Mel, I think the apricots are at least a year off, maybe longer. Pete makes the best apricot jam, but they can be hard to find at the markets, so we’re hopeful…
We’re trying to grow the potatoes in bags to give the soil a rest, as we grew them everywhere last year..
Love your chickens!!
Thanks Anna! They certainly seem to be enjoying life. Pete finds it very therapeutic to sit and watch them.
My niece grew her potatoes in containers made especially for them- they got a small crop and the containers were expensive- although they can be reused! I plant annuals in basmati rice burlap sacks and they always look so great!
I love the little bunny face- what a great place to get animals from- thanks for another informative and happy post!
Heidi, it really was the cutest little thing, and so very tiny! I’m not a huge rabbit fan, but I really could have brought this little one home. And then watched it savage the vegetable garden! :)
OMG I love the rooster. He looks like he has grapes on his comb? I know nothing about chicks and roosters, but he is one handsome charachter. If I could buy him I would…where to keep him in my apartment, now that is another question…LOL..imagine my New York City neighbors….
Norma, isn’t he just the cutest thing? If you had him with you in NYC, you’d have to keep him safe from the eagles! :)