“Let the mind take its photograph
Of the bright scene, something to wear
Against the heart in the long cold.”
 
We got bright yellow leaves to keep the heart warm today, welcome to the first blistering winter winds.
#cold #gold #leaves #pasturedeggs #eggs #autumn
--from “A Day In Autumn”, by R. S. Thomas

"Commitment is an act, not a word." — Jean-Paul Sartre
 
Being sustainable is actions, not only words and reports. Overcoming all obstacles, we are proud to be collaborating with the teams from @fourwindsvineyard, @goterracbr and @hyattregencysydney, and attend the official launch of The Circular Vintage 2025 Shiraz at the Hyatt Regency last night, who are the dream team that can make anything happen.
 
Three of our chickens, Henrietta, Princess Lay-a, and Bok Bok, got to stay at the luxury 5-star Heritage Atrium and mingle with glitterati guests at the event.
#sustainbility #circulareconomy #pasturedeggs #fullcircle #commitment

“beauty is twice
beauty,
and what is good is doubly
good,
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool
in winter.”
 
Are you ready with the thick woollen sweater and two good woollen socks? It’s certainly very chilly at the farm, frost on some mornings. Our alpacas are fleece-ready 😊
#wool #winterready #sweater #pastured #eggs
 
-from the poem “Ode to My Socks” by Pablo Neruda (yes, he did write about socks too 😊) and translated by Robert Bly
Photography by Mario

We have a flat-egger on the farm: 4 eggs so far with the exact same flat-side shape.

This chicken missed all the #MoonJoy, the Earth-rise and Artemis II photos.
Suggest we include a chicken in the next flyby to the Moon!
#flategg #moonjoy #pasturedeggs

“It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquility;”
 
A #farm #evening in the #paddocks, we are all breathless with adoration. #pastured #eggs
 
Photography by Mario
--from the poem “It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free” by William Wordsworth

Find our hidden Easter eggs!

In one dozen this week, we have replaced the 12 raw eggs with 12 colourful, hard-boiled Easter eggs. The lucky person to find the Easter eggs dozen will receive a complimentary hamper, with the best pastured eggs in NSW and some chocolates, to celebrate Easter in style. 

Hint: look out for our 700g dozen package in retail stores. 
If you find the lucky dozen, send us an email to: eggs@hilltopsfreerange.com with a photo and your receipt.

Happy Easter egg hunting!

#Easter #eggs #hunt #prize #colourful

 “The Earthquake rumbled
And mumbled
And grumbled;
And then he bumped,
And everything tumbled—
Bumpyty-thump!
Thumpyty-bump!”
 
#Earthquake in #Boorowa last night, woke up the henhouse and made the dogs bark like mad. Only the magic lilies looked on coolly and just shook off their water droplets. Just another day of farm life.
 
(magic lilies, or ‘naked ladies’ or ‘Belladonna lilies’, beautifully surprising us at the farm right now, right next to the packing shed)
--from the poem “The Bashful Earthquake” by Oliver Herford
 
#lilies #pasture #eggs
 
Photography by Haydn

“Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby..
And I love the rain.”
 
After three days of rain kissing every paddock and singing a lullaby to all birds, we all LOVE the rain. Suddenly, all the brown is green!
#brown and #green #eggs #pasturedeggs #aftertherain
                    
--from the poem “April Rain Song” by Langston Hughes

“And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;”

The beauty of our youngest chicken, up close and personal. When she arrived at the farm, she was so timid and shy, she was the youngest of all. And now, possessing that perfect harmonious mixture of light (sparkling eyes) and dark (dark feathers and a real character). All that's best.
#eye #eyes #beauty #hen #chicken #eggs #pasturedeggs #poetry #beautiful

--from the poem “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron
 
Photography by Haydn

“All things counter, original, spare, strange;
   Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)”
 
The thistle rose: our original, strange and spare touch of unusual beauty this summer; a feast for our eyes while doing the daily egg collection!
 
#beauty #unusual #summer #thistle #poetry #eggs #pastured #farmlife #thorns and #roses
--from the poem “Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins

“Will you take a walk with me,
My little wife, today?
There’s barley in the barley-field,
And hay-seed in the hay.”
 
“Thank you,” said the Clocking-hen;
“I’ve something else to do:
I’m busy sitting on my eggs,
I cannot walk with you.”
 
Just don’t try to get the egg from under this hen today!  😃
#eggs #broody #hen #chickens #pasturedeggs #clucky #cute #chicken #fluffy #poetry #farmlife
 
--from “The Clocking-Hen” by 19th century poet Aunt Effie
-Photography by Haydn

“Fountains that frisk and sprinkle
The moss they overspill;…
 
Peaches without a wrinkle;
Cherries and snow at will…
 
To live, I think of these!”
 
And that is how hens and humans survive the heat: sprinklers ON, #cherries from the fabulous #hilltopsregion, and dreaming of snow to come in 6 months
 
--from the poem “Ballade Made In The Hot Weather” by William Ernest Henley
Photography by Mario

“Thought nothing was gonna slow me down
Then I had a... flat tyre.
Well dang it, I ain't got no spare
It′s an inside flat, I ain't goin' nowhere”
 
It’s been that kind of a week, flat tyre on the tractor sure slows everything down.
#flat #tyre #tractor #busted #nospare #pastured #eggs #farmlife #country #pasturedeggs
 
--from the country song “Flat Tyre” by Dale Watson, from his 2014 album “The Truckin’ Sessions”
 
Photography by Mario

“Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way”

The hens and I, enjoying some ice cream castles in the air 

#clouds #illusion #sky #farmlife #pastured #eggs #cloudy #lookup #up 
—from the song”Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell

“…Behind, clouds of glory are sailing,
Sunbeams, golden, are trailing;
Through the gloom, a smile I see,
The sun is shining on me,
...
Therefore, have no fear of clouds,
In the calm of the morning they shroud;
For behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the sun, and its glory entwining;
Take heart, and have faith in the morrow.”
 
After every hard rain, the sunshine comes sparkly shiny and glorious!
There have been so many long days of hard work at the farm lately, we are ready for the sparkly sun rays now, we have faith in the morrow 😊
 
#hardwork #pastured #eggs #farmlife #sunafterrain #aftertherain #sunrays #glorious #sun #pasturedeggs #poetry
--from the poem "The Rainy Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 
 
Photography by Haydn

"If one could have that little head of hers
Painted upon a background of pale gold,"
...
Then her lithe neck, three fingers might surround,
How it should waver on the pale gold ground,
Up to the fruit-shaped, perfect chin it lifts!
...
All heaven, meanwhile, condensed into one eye
Which fears to lose the wonder, should it wink."



#face #theface #cuteface #chicken #eggs #pasturedeggs #pasture #freedom #poetry #farming #beauty #hen #cute 
-- from the poem "A Face" by Robert Browning
Photography by Haydn

The view from my office :D #myoffice #farmlife #eggs #pastured #pasturedeggs #view #window #office

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
Thank you to Emilie and Marnie from our team, for washing away the everyday dust and bringing a smile to us all.  We love the doodle eggs so much, but if some survive until the weekend, we will bring them for you at the farmers markets this weekend 😊
 
#eggs #art #pastured #doodle #pasturedeggs #farmlife #inspired
-- quote by Pablo Picasso

“You have to be always drunk. That’s all there is to it—it’s the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk.
But on what? Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. “
Our newest flock, all drunk on fresh grass, sunshine and cool water 😊
#drunk #pastured #eggs #freedom #alwaysbedrunk #poetry #farmlife #newlife #new #explore #pasture #green #pasturedeggs #virtue
 
-from “Be Drunk” by Charles Baudelaire