Month: October 2018

Hello everyone! I do believe I got a little sunburn today!!!
Emma and I went out and picked up about 14kg of beautiful mince. I had run out and with great timing, the cousin I get our beef off did an entire beast into mince!
We did home made hamburgers tonight and wow!! So. Good.

By the time we got back Jeff was carting loads of the firewood down the back and dumping them next to the back area – so I got stacking!

Great – thats done. However Cousin Jeff dropped off another load the other day… but sometimes you have to not do in your back all at once!!
I have to rearrange the drier wood into an accessible place before piling a heap of semi dry wood on top.

It was time for some of the lettuce to get out into a bigger garden. I took off the net and planted out the first lot since it was all topped up with compost and ready to go!

Of course they are all bedded down in their containers for the night now

I still have LOTS left over in the original pot and some that got separated as I was planting the above. Will attempt to get those into their own pots.

Perhaps I will also find another spot in the garden for the other ones as well!

Jeff fell over the fence into the chook yard area this morning so that pushed the job of fixing the fence up to ‘Urgent’
I let the girls out into the bigger part of the yard and they were thrilled! Of course they ran straight to all the areas that they weren’t supposed to be in, but eventually they settled on the new weed pile and the area that Jeff was chopping wood up and dug about until their little hearts were contented.
Caught our old white chook having the most blissful dust bath ever!

In the meantime I fixed up the temporary fence so its easy to use and also fixed up the other end where there was a gap between the old fence and new.

Jeff also made me a bean tepee!! So excited! Now I have to carve out an area to put it and plant some beans ASAP!

Discovered plums on the young tree. I think it was called an “Euro Plum”

Thats about all news from our place today! Time to take my slightly aching limbs to bed I reckon!
Hope everyone has had a fabulous day!
Cheers!

 

Hello! Monday again!

The ‘herb’ garden and extension has been looking pretty woebegone. Today was a gorgeous day, nothing else planned so got out there and made a really good start in cleaning it up. My zucchinis needed a place to be put out and I thought the lower section would be perfect this season.

Emma got in and gave me a hand too!

Pip snoopervised.

I haven’t had a chance to pick up a new trailer load of mushroom compost so just dug in a good helping of my own compost into each area where I was planting the seedlings.

Because I haven’t hardened them off, they will stay under bottles at night and on cold days.

Moving on up the garden…

Jeff got in on the act too!

We had what Emma called “The Happy Chicken Bucket”

A lot of these went down to the chooks today… that pleased them very much!

There really are a lot of really great patches of herbs in here… hoping to add a few more if they grow ok (the ones I have in the hothouse growing from seed)

Lots of oregano, thyme, lemon balm & rosemary.

Still a bit more to finish up but its really made a big difference overall.

Now to decide what to plant in here!
Just glad its not an eyesore anymore!! (mostly)
Hope your day was great as well!
Cheers!

 

Hi there!
I got a very dodgy set of photos of my niece Emma, so I will have to try again tomorrow haha. In the meantime – at least a lovely shot of my sister Rosemary down at Fossil Bluff where we spent a gorgeous couple of hours picking up rocks!! (Of course)

Passionfruit flowers everywhere! And most excitingly, the discovery of a baby fruit!!

It was a quiet day, just one for catching up with family, showing my sister around the garden and explaining all in 3D what the plans are.
We might have even worked out a place for my garden shed!!

Pot of Pumpkin

Rows of feathery carrot sprouts now showing.

Lots of lovely plums growing well

New fronds on the man-ferns

Snowball bush! (lol – gilder rose – not sure if I have that spelling right!)

Anyway, I am just enjoying the pretty and keeping things watered!
Rosemary did pack her gardening pants, so we might get in and do something garden-like over the next couple of days before she has to scoot back to warmer climates!
Hope your day was lovely!
Cheers

The apple trees are now covered in blossoms!

Hi! I think he main reason I am not in bed right now, is because it will entail standing up!! 😀
I started the day early with a blood test, then delivered some eggs to Shirley.
Came back for brekkie then got into the garden and finally got my other poor little strawberries out of their trays and into the patch

I still have so many trays of runners and plants! Sadly no-one has bought anything off the stall except eggs!! I suspect I am going to have to make the effort to have a REAL market stall.

While I ran back and forth putting stuff on the stall and watering my strawberries, Jeff started on pulling up the remainder of the old fence.

This was quite time consuming. Since it was done up like ‘ugly Fort Knox’ with makeshift wire up everywhere in the hope (vain) to stop chickens getting over or under it, it took ages to unwire, move barriers then get the original chicken wire out, gates off and (most challenging) getting the steel droppers out! Jeff dug down a long way for a few of them that just didn’t want to come free!

Much better – nice and open and getting more of a feel for what the whole thing might eventually look like!
Jeff dug up all the bricks. (We moved a lot of bricks today!!)

I continued working on my bean patch

Around 3pm we finally sat down for lunch!
I have totally decided that I am keeping this chunk of wood to put in my veggie patch. Its got two seats and a table!!
So nice sitting in the sun with a cuppa and a few toasted sangers!

As I have mentioned, we are moving the compost.
It wasn’t so easy to get apart as I supposed. I sat IN the compost a lot today. I was warm, but I probably didn’t smell so sweet…

Pulling it apart meant I could easily get down to the good layers, scoop it up and add it to my bean patch garden

I dug out a trench and lined it with cardboard and newspaper.
Then added the compost.

Hopefully I will get a chance to plant some beans and stretch some chicken wire between the posts soon.

Meanwhile, all the sides of the compost were detached. Sadly we were not able to just move it. We’ll discard the old pallets and use new pallets to put the tin back onto and start again. (Adds another job to list)

Seeds are popping up! Corn!!
Snow peas (Second patch)

In among the carrots and beetroot there are LOTS of self seeded broccoli and tomatoes!
Carrots:

Tomato

Beetroot:

I am so happy to see some iris out! They are a rather gorgeous flower.

Of course, no spring show is complete without some more cherry blossom photos! The tree really is at about its best right now! So beautiful to look upon every day!

So… its getting late by the time we are about done, and Jeff suggests takeaway for dinner, but wants a walk first. So I call the shop… they close the grill at 7.30pm, so I order the food for then and then we had to hustle!!
The 6km ‘walk’ was done at a mostly RUN!! This was to make it back in time to collect our dinner. We did it under an hour, but really… I am built stocky. I am good for hiking, not running. Plus I had to run more than anyone because my legs are shorter than Jeff and Kirrily’s so my jog is basically their walk!!!
I can’t explain about all the bits that are telling me what an idiot I am right now. Honestly… I was a bit tired and sore BEFORE the ‘walk’
Oh well… thats a bit more of the winter chocolate worn away!!

Hope your day was fantastic and a little slower paced!
Cheers

Hello!!
Jeff and I are a bit pleased with ourselves today.
We got in and put up the  main parts of the fence and we think its turned out pretty well… and hopefully just exactly what we need. Sure beats the look of the manky old fence!

It was semi-slow going as we worked out the best way of putting it up… but we did get faster!
Later on we will possibly put something across the top of the wire, but for now its ok

Now we know basically what we are doing, the rest of it shouldn’t be so daunting.
And I can’t wait to get the last of the old fence down!!

Jeff got in and mowed lawns and whipper snippered the edges. I put down some mulch – as a start to clearing out the shed. (That is, I moved the hay out of Jeff’s shed and popped it on some gardens!)

(So happy with my garlic)

I forgot to take the ‘after’ photo! Jeff gave the whipper-snipper a good workout in here! I might be able to do something with this unruly patch now!!

Damn! Couple of my cabbages are starting to go to seed! Time to pick the lot and do something with them, share, eat etc !

Such beauties!

Anyway, things are moving along!! Time for some shut eye!
Hope your weekends are going fantastically!

Cheers!

Hi!! I think thats Friday done!
The Doc rang this morning. She said I was correct, my calcium was low. (I was actually a little glad because it was me who requested the test and I didn’t want to look like a hypochondriac!) Happily its not ‘Go Straight To Hospital’ low, just down a bit below the minimum, so I can gulp tablets daily and go have another blood test Monday to see whats happening.
So… I took my tablets and Jeff and I went out on a hike around the river (takes a shade over an hour) before coming home to do more on the fence.

First. You have to suffer through our family photos. (This is a section for the family readers haha)
One: Pip and I. Pip looking… not so pleased.

Two: Several photos later, Pip looking smug.

Three: Pip escaping more selfies

Four: Just me 🙂

Five: Found Husband, rounded up cat … but oops. Pip blinked

Six: Pip totally not interested but its the best we are going to get! Sigh.

Seven: Jeff. (This is for you Judy!!! xx)(Margie gave him a haircut so he is looking less wild haha)

OK… Family fun done.
Now… Fence.

We went and picked up more cement after our walk so we could put up the rest of the posts on the first side.

We’ve had to go a wee bit longer, as otherwise the fence along the back would go straight through the pear tree! We’ve also used a round post at the corner which the gate will be attached too. I dug quite the hole for this one!

I think we have it fairly straight!! I am so hoping we can get some of the corrugated iron and the wire up tomorrow. Am dying to see if this works out looking as good in real life as it does in my head!

Managed to get a slice from the tin! Jeff and I are going to have to co-ordinate a little better when we pick it up!!!

Anyway, we were outside until about 7pm. Loving the longer days! Dinner was courtesy of the chooks, as we had eggs on toast. Somehow I remembered to put some bread on to bake, so it wasn’t a bad meal. Even did some salad!!
Hope everyone has a top weekend planned!
Cheers!