August 2017 – Head in the Clouds

Winter’s Final Day

Winter is over! It was a gorgeous day too! And since I ate a disgraceful amount of lamingtons yesterday we squeezed in a walk around Anniversary Bay this afternoon.
I put about 7kg (14lb-ish) into my pack as lamington-punishment as well. My legs & shoulders are having a slight conversation with me about that now!

It was great to get out again and see what new water channels the recent rain has cut through the beach

Runoff from the hills making great patterns today

Spring weather is notoriously dreadful in Tasmania. But I am hoping for more good days than bad and get out on this hike a little more often (especially if I intend any more lamington binges)(Likely)

Heading up the final stretch of beach before turning up into the hills and the three challenging ‘up’ sections.

Despite the extra weight I made it up each section without stopping – but I sweated and panted a lot!

Earlier in the day I got back into the garden to actually finish a couple of jobs.

The sad little carrot/capsicum plot!

All better. Topped up with some mushroom compost and ready to go. I have decided to put my broccoli in here. I will be able to rig up a frame for netting to keep the cabbage moth away pretty easily.

The very last of the carrots! Some of these were on the plate for dinner tonight!

Overall even thought I am getting lots of plots ready, the whole garden still looks pretty scruffy!

I resisted starting on cleaning up the strawberry patch in favour of getting back in and finishing this plot. Jeff came along and helped out too (Which was great as I wouldn’t have done it in time to get that walk in)

I have this lovely big plot earmarked for the corn.

Even the chooks are doing their bit and egg production seems to be slowly getting better again!
Hope your day was lovely!

Cheers

Pottering

Yesterday I did not get my sunny day… in fact it was quite soggy! So I did house work for most of the day and didn’t blog about it!

Today was much improved.
First up I finally caved – the pitter-patter of little feet got all to much so I called an exterminator.
Its a hard house to bait – lack of places to get into ceilings/walls etc, but its all done.
Cue the die off and the big stink. Sigh. At least at this time of year we don’t get many visitors!

To stave off the depression of being forced into spending money on a very uninteresting thing (even though necessary) I got into the hothouse to spread some mushroom compost love about!

The wheel barrow doesn’t fit in the hothouse door, so using a bucket is way quicker than shovelling it in there scoop by scoop

I moved the rebar and will grow my cucumbers on the left (Perhaps only two this season… three was a bit excessive last time!) and I should comfortably fit three tomato plants on the right side.
I went into town but sadly found no seedlings. I need to go to the bigger nursery (tomorrow??)

I am pleased with how my passionfruit is going! I would be so rapt to get some fruit! I got some of those bricks that are still sitting in the carport to make a little border. There was a bit of a slope that the water & dirt was running off on, so now its all built up with a nice dollop of compost.

I could have potted up some more seeds, but I ended up doing some pruning and random weeding

The salvia needed taming

All the sticks are in the BBQ area and once dry I will mulch them down.

The Pelargonium’s were getting leggy so they got a haircut too

Now my iris have a good chance to flourish!

The front path is all weedy too… but I only got partway through that before it was getting too cold.
The great thing about this yard when you have the attention span of a goldfish, is that you can just wander about and do parts of heaps of jobs – just whatever takes your fancy! Jeff is better at keeping me on task if we do work together (something about liking to finish one job before starting another lol!)

Anyway, it was really great to be outside doing lots of somethings!
Hope your day was great too!
Cheers!

I Smell Funny…

Two loads of mushroom compost today – which is why I was a bit whiffy!
I took the first load over to Ruby’s

Her hothouse was pretty ready for some action… has been looking forlorn

I dug in four barrow loads so now its ready for tomatoes, cucumber etc… although she jump-started me on the lettuce!

I added a bit around the garden then put the rest in feed bags in the shed ready to add into plots once they are weeded and waiting for planting.

Margie and Ruby had been in the garden all morning planting out mini cabbage and some other things – and had just bought some tomato seedlings so perfect timing – they can go straight into the hothouse now!

I picked up a load for myself on the way home, so looking forward to putting it in the hothouse and around our gardens.
I will also use some mixed into cheap potting mix to grow more seeds – worked a treat last season!

Will I get three days in a row of sunshine?? We shall see tomorrow!

Cheers!

Beach and Garden

Hello! What a beautiful Sunday! Chilly wind, I must admit, but the sunshine was rather divine!
We went down to Boat Harbour Beach early in the afternoon to meet my cousins who we hadn’t caught up with in a while!

It was lovely to catch up and stroll along the beach and check out the rockpools

I coerced Abbey & Ann to try eating some of the Neptune’s Necklace seaweed, but Bella, Phil and Jeff (sensibly) would have no part! (Its a bit salty and chewy but really not that bad!)

I love the bright greens!

Even though it is still winter, it brought out the mad few that went in for a dip!

Back home I felt I couldn’t let the rest of the afternoon go by without doing something useful in the garden. I guess every little patch I sort out is one step closer to the spring planting.

I really wasn’t in the mood to get back into the weeding, which would have meant getting totally filthy, so I went down to the duck yard and dug over plot #1 of the potato patch.

So many worms! Every fork of dirt that I turned had big fat worms under it! So good to see!
On advice from Phil, I am going to buy a couple more bags of seed potatoes. He said it wasn’t a good thing to put your own old potatoes in the new plot and best to start all new with the seed potatoes. Thats to prevent the possibility of contaminating the soil with any problems from the last lot.

The soil was a little heavy and clumpy, but I got there in the end! I’ll rake off and turn over the second patch in the near future!

Hope everybody’s weekend was fabulous!

Cheers!

A Few More Seeds Planted

Not a day for being out in the elements again. (Except I realised that I had forgotten to cover up my runner beans with soil yesterday after I took the photos!! So I had to do that.) I did get into the hothouse and used up the last of my potting mix to put a few seeds in

Its just cheap potting mix so I mixed in a bit of blood and bone – still too wet to go get a trailer load of mushroom compost.

Necessary tools…

I planted a fair few of the onion/leeks. Still want to go forth with the plan of planting them in plots at Rubys
I also planted basil, beefsteak tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, chives, thyme, sunflowers, eggplant & chilli.

At least it was a little more done towards the new season despite the dreary day!

Loving seeing the daily progress of my cos lettuce. They look so lush!

Hope everyones weekend is going along well!

Cheers!

Digging Holes

Hello!
First of all I would like to say to those of you in the path of a hurricane this weekend – stay safe and I hope the wild weather passes you by with no damage! I know my friends have been battening down the hatches!

Yesterday was a stunningly beautiful day – and I spent it travelling with Fiona up to Launceston! haha -typical! (But it was fun)
However – in some exciting news I bought some jeans… you know… my once every two years shopping spree. I just figured I couldn’t go to Japan wearing jeans with holes in the seat! (I would have bought two pairs but annoyingly the whole shop had only ONE pair of size 16’s in the straight leg style. (I am not a fan of ‘skinny’ leg) so if I want a backup pair I have to go shopping again! blah!)

Anyway, on to funner things.
Beans. Despite Jeff not being available to help (he has taken an extra nightshift) I thought I would put up my new bean trellis thingy.

Moving the pile of weeds… apparently its just a hop, skip & a jump from wheelbarrow to being with me in the garden! Bad Chook!

This one was either too fat or too daft to work out how to follow suit! But she did enjoy scratching for errant worms in the barrow!

The post hole digger is not my friend. I don’t use it that often and I forget how my back reacts to using it. (Meaning right now I am a little tender and moving rather carefully!)

Not wanting to go to any costs, I knew there were a few posts in the car port and some chicken wire kicking about the place. Just a simple structure so the beans have something to run up.

Before putting the wire on, I dug up the plot to try to remove a good portion of the twitch.

Its a little wonky – Pulled it over a bit as I was attaching the wire. Hard to manage with only one set of hands

I have left a good bit of a gap between the ground and the chicken wire so I can weed under it more easily and also so the wire doesn’t rust sitting in the wet ground

Beans ready to go!

A row down each side. Now its up to them!

I had Pip outside for a while today too… we both got rained on at times!

I think the ‘lean’ means he is ready to go back inside!

With a glance back to make sure the scary chicken is not following

The rocket and lettuce are going along happily. I think I am pretty much over waiting for the ‘right time’ to plant a ton more seeds.

A brief burst of afternoon sun!

I am loving seeing the cherry plum trees with so many lovely blossoms. I will be needing to stock up on plum jam in the near future!

Pleased to see my first lot of little snow peas taking shape

And the rhubarb is starting to uncrinkle some new leaves!

Hope everyone has a great weekend planned!
Cheers!

Wallowing

That’s me wallowing in my garden not in self pity!
I decided to stop sooking about the weather and just get out regardless and do something useful!
I really wanted to get my main snow pea patch in the ground

Reckon I needed to do a fair bit of weeding first! I decided to put them (the snow peas) back where they were last year. The rebar and shade cloth were all set up to protect them and provide a climbing spot. Will rotate them next season

I have collected more than enough snow peas for our needs!
I like using old stakes to make the furrow

I also have more spring onions than you can poke a stick at…

So I dug some up, separated them and replanted

Lots of lovely fat worms in the garden too!

Moving right along I started weeding the area which I think I will put my corn in –

It wasn’t too hard – a bit fiddly with the heavy gluggy soil but most weeds were coming up fairly easily

I eventually quit because I was getting cold. My hot shower was divine!

Hope your midweek is awesome!
Cheers

A New Lid.

We were low on firewood again, so Cousin Jeff (still with broken leg) arranged a drop off for us yesterday! I got half stacked before dark which was good – as it rained for most of today so at least a good portion of it is under cover!

I still knit or crochet in the evenings when watching something on telly. All very cosy with husband, cat & fire.
I knitted my Dad a beanie – I wasn’t sure if the colour was ok for him, but I sent him a photo and got a thumbs up. Hopefully it fits!

I used hand spun & dyed wool that I sometimes buy locally. Its beautiful to knit with.
I love wearing beanies, so I thought it was time to actually make myself something (for a change!) So I got all the scrap bits of the nice wool and got knitting. I really wanted a slouchy beanie… so I made it quite long.

It was pretty funny as it didn’t so much as ‘slouch’ as stick straight up!!!
So I didn’t close the top and dragged my ponytail through it.

That’s me! All style!

I must say it is delightfully warm and cosy!

Now I can get back onto my gloves and shawls!

Oh – I did make some hot sauce today. I can’t tell you how it tastes. I am sure my tastebuds will return to normal by tomorrow!
I will take a bottle down to Cousin Jeff who says he likes nuclear-level chilli, so we shall see …

Hope your day was great too!
Cheers!

Nearly Potato Planting Time!

Its always an exciting time of year when I pick up my seed potatoes! Soon its all going to happen again! I also picked up some Bismark potatoes for Ruby (early) and some peas to plant (also for Ruby as I am a long time non-fan of peas. Ask my mother.) I also found some onion seeds to further my plan of using a couple of Ruby’s garden plots for my own.

The lettuce is going along well. Won’t be long before they take on actual ‘lettuce shape’

The rocket has really sprouted up quickly! It makes me want to just get in and totally plant EVERYTHING else! I still think I need to hold back another week! (Its killing me)

The cherry plum trees are getting fluffier day by day

More mini daffodils are appearing

And lots of Granny Bonnet’s are showing up everywhere (Columbine)

And probably most pleasing is to see my Accacia Cognata (smaller than full tree version) starting to bloom!

Hope everybody else’s weeks starts beautifully!

Cheers!

PS Note to self… when growing wheat sprouts in kitty litter trays, its best not to leave it on the floor.
That’s all I am going to say about that!!!

Grand Canyon – Day One, Part One

Hello! I am glad I got into Ruby’s garden yesterday, because today was hopeless… rain, sun, rain, sun… cold!
Thought I might torture you will the start of my million Grand Canyon photos!
Honestly… I tried to cull…

After two days of driving (Wendy driving that is!!) We arrived in the dark to our campsite, set up a tent and fell into our sleeping bags.
The next day we got up to the visitors centre & shops and made sure Wendy had her coffee (very important) before following the crowds to the edge

We were on the South Rim. And that first glimpse is gob-smacking! Its so hard to get your head around the sheer scale of it.

Reflecting the vast number of visitors, the Park is beautifully set up to accommodate the constant flow of traffic – both foot and vehicle. The track along the rim is easy – mostly paved and very accessible to one and all. Courtesy buses drive too and fro constantly.

Small detours for those more nimble footed to get closer to the edge

Plenty of sensible lookout points along the entire area

And lots of opportunities for the brave to escape the crowded spots to enjoy a moment of peace with the view (and a photo-op)

Despite the precarious looking perch, getting down there wasn’t tempting death at every step and the outcrop very stable.

The view kept subtly changing as we walked along

The interpretation signs along the path were fantastically done. Really good clear information without overloading you too much.

I especially loved the display of the different rocks along the path.

Bass Limestone, 1,190 million years old!!

Horn Creek Granite. 1,713 million years old!

I failed to get the information on this one, but its a striking piece!

And my favourite –

Folded Vishnu Basement Rock

Lucky they were all firmly attached and too big for my backpack!

There were lots of cool trees about for me to admire (and maybe hug)

The view continued to mesmerise us and every chance we got we ducked into another lookout point to gaze over the folded & layered landscape

Little did we know that what we were looking down on to was where we were going to actually be on the following day!

We might be a little overly proud of our mammoth hike, but it was an amazing experience. The arrow points to the end of the plateau which was the furtherest point of our hike

And just in case you can’t see our trail –

An apt spot for a selfie…

Anyway – moving right along…

Then I had a complete tourist moment. Squirrels. I am deprived of squirrels in everyday life and I find them rather adorable!

Wendy assured me that if I patted one I wasn’t allowed back into the tent to sleep. (Snicker)

Ok – enough of the squirrels. (They amuse me)

We made it to the Bright Angel Trailhead where we could see where we planned to start our hike from the following day.

The switchbacks looked fairly daunting

The red line indicates where the actual track is! Gulp!

The trail had some cool tunnels cut into the rock

So – thats probably enough for one post, even though we weren’t finished exploring the rim trail. We were eventually driven away by hunger before coming back to finish our days exploring. More on that another day!

Hope you have enjoyed a bit of a look at this most spectacular place!

Cheers