Hello!
Bit of a dreary day today – lots of rain on and off – which was a good thing so my fertiliser and lime has had some time to soak into the proposed garlic patch!
But it was essentially an indoor day.
Apart from some mandatory housework, I post processed a bunch more wedding photos – still not making a dint in the overall volume, but at least its something!! (I have over 1200 wedding-related images!!)
When the rain let up I went outside to give the girls some scraps and let them out into the main yard to play.
Also took the break in weather to stock up on more firewood on the back veranda.
I then collected todays egg (haha) and picked dinner from the garden.
I had thawed some steaks, and along with some potatoes, it was a dinner fit for royalty…
Love my fresh salads (and yes I had beetroot too!)
We also used our new jar-glasses that I was given from the wedding in Texas… I think they are pretty cool!
Pip spent the day stealing Jeff’s seat whenever he got up to do something! He then adopts this ‘I am sound asleep’ pose which makes you feel mean about moving him. I saw Jeff and Pip swap seats several times today!
Hope everyone has had a great Friday and is in for a super weekend!
Hello!
Sorry I didn’t quite make it to the blog yesterday. I went to Launceston with my cousin, Fiona who had an appointment up there and wanted a driving companion. Since I didn’t think I had done enough kilometres in a car yet this month, I jumped at the chance! haha – It was a lovely day and good to catch up with her.
Today I was keen to stay in front of the fire and crochet the day away, however, that garlic is not going to grow so well stuck in a box in my pantry… so on with the scruffy gardening clothes
Last part of the patch to attend toAnnoyingly there is one carrot growing here happily that I couldn’t pull up yet!
I gave the patch a good dusting of blood and bone
Normally I would dig that in and wait a few days before adding some lime and going through the same process…
However, I am running a bit behind and I was feeling impatient, so just sprinkled the lime on as well before digging the lot in
A flower pot worked really well for this job!
I dug all this in… now to wait for a bit of rain and in a few days I’ll actually plant the garlic.
Then in a fit of enthusiasm I thought I might tackle one of the raised garden beds –
Ugh – I hate twitch
I pulled up metres of this ropey weed!!
Finally I think I got the vast majority of twitch pulled out and everything dug over
I’ll cover this with a thick layer of seaweed in the next few days and hopefully that will slow the weeds down so come spring I have less to do. (I think I want to put my lettuce in this bed)
Jetlag can be a really positive thing. Like when you wake up thoroughly at 4am and remember you forgot to put the bread on. By the time 8am came around it was piping hot and ready!
I am enjoying being home very much – trying to get into a few little routine tasks.
My garden welcomed me home by not remembering that it is actually winter –
Bliss
The tomatoes at the back door are doing remarkably well
Slow of course but steady – and you can’t expect too much at this time of year! Its all a bonus
The hothouse tomatoes look about dead, but have a bit of fruit in there… will have to clean that out soon.
My main garden?? (Big Sigh)
I think it might have gotten away from me! That will keep me out of mischief on the sunny winter days do you think?
Plenty of parsleyBefore
Yesterday’s weather wasn’t too bad – so I made a start on the patch that I want to put the garlic into
After
Then I got tired and it started to rain so I quit for the day… but not before pulling out a bunch of beetroot!
Will pickle ASAP – still loving that with my evening meals
Today I spent the entire day in my PJ’s.
But I did manage to bake a cake…
Simple tea cake
I also took the hint from Pip and put away my bags – I think he feels more settled without the bags out and the possibility of his mum disappearing again!
Bedtime for me! Only 9pm and I am falling asleep!! Weird!
Hope everyones week has started well!
Hello – I am adjusting fairly quickly back to my normal time zone (apart from going to bed too early and getting up before the sun)!
Winter is also a bit of a shock.
Anyway, here is an overview of my amazing time in the USA – specific stories will have to wait a bit – there are over two thousand photos to sort & post process and I figure I should prioritise the wedding photos for the young couple!
My friend Wendy and I hit it off really well – no problems being the best buddies that we were back in 3rd grade! Her family were equally welcoming.
We started off with a graduation:
Proud family with the youngest member, CJ graduating
I didn’t really realise the big event this was in the US. In Australia there is a certificate handed over and a formal dance, but nothing compared to the ceremony I got to go and see in Texas!
A few days later – there was a wedding!
All the beautiful flowers for the day were grown by the grooms mother!
The day went beautifully. There was a lot of happiness and love – and fun!
Newlyweds Stephanie and Holden share a kiss
After the wedding was done and dusted, lots of family stayed on in Corpus Christi for a week – there were lots of dinners, gatherings and beach time
Driving miles down the beach to find the perfect picnic spot
So many pelicans
Evening fell and a fire pit was dug and lit up. There followed music, singing and smores!
A couple of days after the family left, Wendy and I packed the car and started on our rather epic 4500km (2800 mile) road trip!
Not far out of Roswell… spooky sky huh?
I loved watching the landscape fly by – and we were treated to some stunning sunsets
A quick stop in Roswell was all the tackarama I dreamed it to be! (yes and we now have some alien bumper stickers on our car!!)
Representing countries (worlds) near and (very) far!
A slight detour to the Painted Desert NP to see the petrified wood (Of which you saw a few images last post) was just stunning. We loved the landscape and its colours
And finally finally finally – the Grand Canyon itself. Nothing really prepares you for how magnificent it really is. And photos cannot capture the scale
We walked a lot of the rim trail on the first day and walked a short way down the Kaibab Trail
The Kaibab Trail
The second day we hiked the Bright Angel Trail – 20km (12 miles) & down a few thousand feet. We were out there for 12 hours!
It was a really fabulous hike – we loved leaving most of the rim tourists behind and really getting down into the environment
Maybe one day I will do the mule adventure!Rewards at the end of our trail – a closer look at the Colorado River
Back on the road again, we took a slight detour to go and see the Gila Cliff Dwellings in southwest New Mexico
Built in the late 1200’s by the Mogollon People. These are pretty incredible.
The workmanship in these dwellings is astounding – and long lasting!
A ranger was up at the site to manage tourists and was very interesting to listen to. Hard to believe that so much effort went into creating these living spaces when they were only used by the Mogollon People for 30 years!
Hope you enjoyed the little taste of my adventures in the US! Time for me to fall into bed again!
Hello, Hello!!
Here I am back in Tasmania after a wonderful three week adventure in the USA!
I loved my time away – meeting my friend for the first time in 37 years and we hit it off like we had been hanging out together all our lives!
Everyone made me feel so welcome and just part of the family! It was very special
The wedding was gorgeous and I am looking forward to post processing a swag of images for the bride and groom (as soon as the travel weariness wears off)
Our road trip was an epic 4500km drive (2800 miles!!) and we had an amazing time.
I now have a couple of thousand images to work through!
Be Afraid. lol
However, with all fabulous adventures, they come to a close and its so wonderful to be home with my little family at Norwich House. I think its been rather lonely for my poor husband, and Pip has been sulking a lot!!
I love being home!
(I even ate a fresh tomato this morning off the vines at the back door!! No-one pointed out to them that it was now winter! haha)
Petrified Wood – in the Painted Desert Arizona! Amazing!
Hopefully I will get back into the swing of the blog ASAP – I have missed being able to chat here!
Hope everyone is well and happy and I will be back to annoy you soon!
Cheers!
Hello!!
Thought I would share the origins of the first chooks!
When we first moved in we were lucky enough to have a lovely coop and yard already built ready for us to use.
OK. Maybe not so ready!
Hard to believe this was full of corn, tomatoes and zucchini this season!!! You could lose a horse in this!
My parents got us the best housewarming present ever! Six chickens!!
First my Dad got right into cleaning out the chook coop and getting it ready for our newcomers.
All cosy and ready to go!
Dad was up early on Chook Day – breakfasted and jingling the car keys way before I had my bleary eyes open.
Got coffee into me and woke up as fast as possible (Which for me isn’t that fast) Then off to get our chickens!
Lesson. You can stuff 6 chickens into one large cat carrier.
It was hard to get them out of the carrier actually – I think we had to tip it up in the end!
Sticking together!!
This is baby Screecher!!!!
We blocked up the nesting boxes for a while – they weren’t due to lay for a bit and we wanted them to get up on the perches and not snuggle in the boxes.
It seemed to work
lol – fluffy chook bums!
The next day they enjoyed exploring – and starting to go to work on those impressive weeds!
Never having ever had chickens before, I didn’t know what to expect. We found so many positives – eating up scraps, clearing weeds, producing poo, eventually producing eggs (and making money off them!) etc. What took me by surprise was how much we love our chickens and how funny and entertaining they are!
If you have room for chickens but have been hesitant about getting into it – honestly, go for it! They are not hard to take care of! I would be sad without them! (and the eggs!! Oh the taste is amazing when you have your own!!)
Moving to a whole new area is not just an adventure in the garden. There were so many new places to explore.
For Christmas, we gave my parents a trip down the Arthur River, which is on the west coast (we did the same for Jeff’s parents when they visited us from Canada too)
Driftwood lined beaches on the west coast.
You may not think it from the way we were dressed – but this is mid-summer!!
Plotting how to get this home…Hope this is readableDad getting some snaps
This great little boat took us up river – was such a peaceful cruise
The trip up the river took a couple of hours and the people running the cruise had lots of stories and information to share along the way
We reached “Turks Landing” at lunchtime.
While lunch (a fabulous BBQ) was being set up, one of the crew took us on a short walk through the bush to tell us about the area and a few more interesting stories
Rustic picnic area!Visiting locals – pademelon
Back on the boat for the cruise back home.
A really lovely day!
Hi again!
Its been a bit of fun taking the time to look back to our first few months in Tasmania.
Starting a proper garden for the first time was awesome – especially if you have good soil – you feel like a champion right from the beginning!
Here are a few snaps from our first efforts (Yes – still with the small camera)
I love having marigolds scattered about in the veggie patch
The first of the scarlet runner beans!Wow – how tidy of me!
I slightly over did it with the zucchinis in our first season. I think we ate them out of the freezer for two years!!
I put tomatoes in here again this season too!! First time for 5 years!PumpkinReluctant model – see my hand holding him in place??
Funny thing about the corn. I only put a few in the first season because Jeff was never super keen on it. (?? I know!! Why??)
Anyway, once the season had ended he requested I put in more corn and less tomatoes! Apparently he had never had home grown before, so once he got a taste of the good stuff there was no stopping him!
Cherry plums
While every season is a lot of fun and each year is different, I think our first season was the most exciting one!
Hello! If all is going well… at this time I am swanning about in Texas, wedding done and getting ready to make the mammoth drive up to the Grand Canyon!
This is a cat post. (again all photos from my little cheap ‘point and shoot’ camera)
It was fun watching Pip explore and enjoy his new home. Up until out Tasmania move we had rented a small house in Canberra with limited yard, so this was all very new for a kitty!
We kept finding him in odd random places
I suppose you have to check everything out right?
He found various new napping spots
Our bed as yet unconstructed… good high vantage point (and yes, our bedroom wall is still this dreadful colour. I like purple, but not that much of it in one room! Its a future job to repaint)
The futon mattress for another cat-nap
A handy cushion discovered on the kitchen bench!!
When my parents come to stay for an extended visit, they bring their cat, Millie. She is a feisty little piece!! She spends a LOT of time hissing at Pip.
Pip is desperate to be friends, but he is a bit over keen at times and ends up with a smack on the nose every now and again.
Safe distance
Sometimes if you are persistent – you can even relax together!
Christmas time came around – have to have dress-ups…
And stockings for the kids
Generally the town cats were getting their taste of the country
Millie on the cubby house that was left in our yard when we bought the house
All good things come to an end, friends and family go home… and you can catch up on your nap times
Hello Again!
Just another little look back to when we first moved into our little patch of paradise!
My parents came over fairly soon after we moved in and stayed with us over Christmas and some of the summer! It was a lot of fun – so many projects to get our teeth into!
One thing we learned pretty quickly was that the area really gets a LOT of wind. Sometimes days and up to weeks of it! When it finally goes away after a long stretch the silence is a bit spooky!
Dad working out all the old pins out of the post.
The garden can really suffer – the wind seems to stress the seedlings and slow growth as they are battered about. We decided to put up a proper wind break and do away with the madly attractive bubblewrap!
There was a lot of post hole digging!
I think the shade cloth was a good choice. The sun can still do its thing, but the wind is slowed down a considerable amount.
I think it looked rather smart too!
The garden had a much more sheltered feel.
We have taken it down at the end of each season then re-put it up again in spring. Its looking a lot more battered these days but its still doing the job its meant to do!
