The End of Spring....Hello Summer...

We had a very busy weekend ...yesterday was our turn to host the family Christmas Gathering....28 people for lunch....it was a beautiful sunny day....great to catch up with everyone and the weather was just perfect...gorgeous sunshine but not too hot.....the kids had a great time playing cricket in the yard and also getting into the Christmas gifts I had given them...simple pleasures really are the best.

All the adults at the table....the kids picnicked on a blanket

Gorgeous little faces lined up for a family photo....great memories here.

The girls getting into painting their Christmas pressies....the two little guys are looking not that interested I think....

Today is the last day of Spring as we welcome Summer to the hills.....Life changes with the seasons and today we also visited Ed's elderly aunt who has taken seriously ill and has been hospitalised and not expected to survive...she is a lovely lady who has recently developed dementia and now has heart failure ....our thoughts are with her family as they take her through this very difficult journey.

Killing Them With Kindness ?...........

I have another sick chicken...this poor old girl is pretty lethargic, has a floppy comb and very watery motions and is emaciated....I have isolated her into the chicken hospital...ie: my husbands trailer...she is eating and drinking a little but is on the way out I think...I'm trying to boost her with meal worms....dosing her with antibiotics, upped the ACV in her water and will keep my eye on her....I have a very strong suspicion that by spoiling my chickens with treats, lots of green leafy stuff and organic seed mix has been detrimental to their health.  All of my girls are underweight even though they have access to food all day and free range in the back garden a couple of times a week, have a large enclosure the rest of the time.  I cannot get them to eat layer pellets....they just flick them all over the yard and refuse to eat them....they have become very fussy which is obviously my fault.  I have had them for 3 years and they usually lay every day even throughout winter...I don't think the nutritional value of the leafy greens I grow for them is high enough, they need more protein and calcium.  I know isa browns don't live as long as other breeds but I'm sure they would do better on layer pallets...



3 year old isa brown....she is not looking too good

To top it off I went out this morning and the girl on the left of this photo....she is only about 18 months old....was very dirty on her bottom and didn't come for food...on closer inspection I saw she had a very soft shell halfway out of her vent which had broken and that was all over her bum....I had to carefully remove the crushed shell which thankfully was still intact...then put her into a salt bath and cleaned her up...hopefully she will be okay she seemed to perk up once the egg was out.

Looking a bit better afterwards....but these girls are both very thin also.

The new chicks will certainly be raised on layer pallets...they will get tough love...not too many treats and limited leafy greens.....I think the incorrect diet has caused me numerous problems over the past couple of years.....Does anyone else have feeding issues or any tips?

Sweet 16 ....

The chicks are 16 days old today....I couldn't believe it when I saw 4 of them roosting ....this roost is about 40cm off the ground....they flap their little wings and fly/jump all over the place.......they are looking a bit odd as they are losing the fluffy down and their feathers are coming in....baby #5 was sitting underneath mum....they still tuck themselves up under the hens all times of the day....... incredibly cute and they grow like weeds....fingers crossed I have some girls among them.

Not the best photo but I was in a hurry in case the little monsters jumped down......

 The very first flower on this tiny rose plant....it is huge...and smells amazing...Haven't grown roses before so was very happy to see this..

It's the only rose on the little bush and it's huge....

 Finally a bit of action in the vegie garden...this is the corn that I grew from seed....first time ever....it struggled at the start with snail attack but it seems to have survived....should be able to remove the temporary fence now...big enough so that the chooks won't destroy them.

Corn has struggled but it's getting there...

Just another day of watching things grow.....it gives me such a sense of purpose....and I get so much joy from seeing what I can produce....although I can't take credit for the chicks...those hens are doing what nature intends them to do...so glad I gave them the opportunity.

Sixties Style Luncheon......

It was our turn once again to hold the monthly luncheon at our place.... as the last of our guys turned 60 ... my theme was sixties as in getting older and moderating spending and thinking like pensioners...it transpired into what they ate in the sixties...we had a fantastic afternoon in the sun ... too much food and too much wine..!! As usual I kept forgetting to take the foodie photos....will never win any prizes for my food photography....but you can get the general idea.

Enjoying  a few drinks before lunch.....Daisy nicked my chair...didn't have the heart to tell her she wasn't invited !!

The boys ...all now 60....looking very laid back...... wearing  matching Tshirts ..... a gift from J & A recently back from New Zealand....it all gets a bit silly as the afternoon wears on !!

This was a delicious Cob Dip.... it looked lovely until we ripped it apart and then I remembered to take a pic....oops.

Wow, this one bought back some memories....cabana , cheese and cocktail onions....it was hilarious...but very tasty too !

Coleslaw ....Waldorf ....and would you believe lettuce cups were around in the 60's...have had a big revival since then !



This is a photo of the left over marinated BBQ pork fillets with pineapple rings....very retro.....

I really should take the photos before we start demolishing the food.....not to mention drinking .... because I completely forgot to take a photo of dessert which was that old favourite ....Pavlova.  Entertaining is really all about the fun don't you think.

#onmyagenda......

I don't have a twitter account or do facebook but want to do my little bit to get the message out to the G20 summit on climate change.  Please go to this link sent from OneMillionWomen campaign and add your voice if you agree that Climate Change should be an item on the agenda at this meeting.

Herman the German......

I have been gifted a portion of Herman the German friendship starter from my daughter, who received it from a friend...who received it from a friend....you get where this is going....yes ....I had to feed the mixture once on the 4th day (which was today) and then on the 9th day divide into four portions and keep the friendship cake moving by giving it to 3 friends....while keeping a quarter of the mixture for myself and making the cake....I'm told it is a delicious sourdough apple cake....it's a really nice thing to keep going so hopefully the mixture won't die and I will wind up with the friendship cake.

The sourdough starter mixture that keeps on giving....

Copy of instructions if you want to go to the website and start your own friendship cake.

Hallelujah .....

Yesterday was 21 days and right on time the chicks started arriving....from 8 eggs the ladies got 5 healthy chicks and one stillborn...it had managed to break through the egg but appeared to be trapped in the membrane...after seeing this poor little body which mum had pushed out of the nest.... I had to assist as midwife...other's will say interfering busybody...as the last two to arrive also appeared to be unable to break the membrane.

only two chicks in the photo...the others are tucked up under the mums..

The mother hens are fabulous...they don't seen to mind which chick tucks itself under them, they both just make sure all 5 babies are tucked up somewhere...nature never ceases to amaze me.

First close up.....they are so cute...Isa Brown chicks..

Hopefully there will be a couple of girls among them...I can't be so unlucky that all 5 will be roosters can I ???....watch this space.

Monthly 9 Link Up for October ......

Joining up with Linda for the monthly 9 link up for October....the weeks fly so fast...great to look back and see what everyone has been up to.

Nourish: Our health was in the forefront of my mind this month...had success with the first time using the seed sprouter....

Sprouting seeds for adding to healthy salads....

 Prepare:  Dare I say I have been preparing for Christmas...there I said it out loud....we have got quite a lot of entertaining to do in the lead up to Christmas....lots and lots to do....but it's my favourite time of year so there will be no complaints from me.  Will be trying to create a few homemade gifts this year...hopefully will blog about them is they turn out OK.

Reduce:  This weekend was tomato planting time...Cup weekend in Melbourne...to avoid the need to buy new trellis for the tomatoes to grow on, I reused old garden stakes and using sticks that had blown off the gum trees into the yard and managed to make a rustic looking trellis...all tied together with string....see how it goes.

Rustic twig trellis....hopefully the tomatoes will grow ok on it.

 Green:  At last I have my long awaited greenhouse....my man spent a lot of hours constructing this for me....so many pieces.... this should now allow me to grow all my own seedlings from scratch....and hopefully grow food in the colder months of winter.....can't wait to get started.



The Greenhouse......great construction job from my main man.

 
Grow:  Been a bit of action in the vegie patch...really happy to have grown a few cauliflowers...and some lovely heads of broccoli...first success with them...beetroot is not as good as last year and leeks are ok but quite short in the stalk.... lettuces however are abundant. 

Daily goodies from the vegie patch.....

Create: Things are a bit slow in the creative area...still working on the mosaic and have a huge list of things to start on and finish before Christmas....better get cracking..

This project has been ongoing....but am getting back into it now that the warmer weather is here.

Discover:  Spent this month trying to learn all I can about bees...attended a workshop and hands on experience opening a hive....really want to have my own hive .... hopefully in the not too distant future.

The opened hive....bees really are fascinating...and the honey would be such a bonus.

Enhance:  The books I am reading this month....The Last Love Story...is for bookclub..unfortunately once again not a big fan.  I'm starting to think that I am a bit hard to please when it comes to novels...will see what the others think next week at the local community bookclub.

  I have just started The Rosie Project and have it on sound advice that I an going to LOVE this one....it has been doing the rounds for quite a while and everyone seems to rave about it ...so am giving it a go...hopefully I will fall in love with it as well.

Enjoy:  I'm enjoying everything at the moment...Spring is here and life is good....obviously not without its ups and downs but I'm a big believer in making the most of every day ... life is what you make it...follow your dreams and see where they take you.

Up Close and Personal....

Quite the experience yesterday....before getting my own hive I booked in to get up close and personal and see exactly what happens when you open up a hive...this one only had about 10,000 bees....it's a relatively new hive...and I have to say I was amazed at how little the bees mind when you open it up and start digging around in there....they are Italian honey bees ...the mood of the hive is dependant on the queen and apparently people specifically breed the queens  to be laid back.....

After smoking the hive lightly.....Bec opened it up.

 Even after Bec pulls out the frames they are still not attacking us...they start to make a louder buzzing the longer you muck around with them....but I was not remotely intimidated or harassed by angry bees trying to sting the bejesus out of me...which is what I thought would happen by the way.

Close up look at the bees ...the filled in bits are capped larvae waiting to turn into bees...this is from the main brood section.

 You need to inspect hives weekly in Spring for lots of reasons but the main thing is to ensure the queen is ok...when Bec opened up this box she found a queen cell ..which is a cell that contains a queen larvae...you need to destroy these if you already have a queen laying eggs otherwise when the new queen hatches the old queen nicks off taking half of the bees with her causing a swarm...it really is fascinating how the colony works.  I am keen now to get my own hive even though my man is not remotely interested...the world needs bees !!

Whitish stuff outside edge is capped honey...Bec is scraping off a queen bee cell....you don't want those if you have a queen.

On another note it's Halloween tonight which doesn't have much meaning for lots of Aussies....but most kids seem to be into anything that gets them a big bag of lollies...we had quite a few knocking on the door and collecting their treats.....my fluffy girls thought they would get into the action..!!!

These two are all set for Halloween.......actually we all had  spaghetti bol  for dinner ....they love it

Happy Halloween if you are a devotee....but if like us you think it is just another excuse for people to fall into the trap of unwanted consumerism....it doesn't hurt to  dish out treats to entertain kids. !!

The Things we Do.....

It was a beautiful busy weekend....lots happening in the garden...picked up the Greenhouse..... didn't realise it would be in quite that many pieces...hopefully my man will have it together next weekend.
I dragged him along to a local amateur theatre production on Friday night ...featuring 10 , 10 minute plays selected from entries by local writers....I enjoyed it myself, but I doubt I will get the man there again....was nice to be involved and supporting the local community.

the herb garden is going well...chives have flowered ...they look lovely.

....turned over my diary page for tomorrow and the birthday marked there is for my beautiful friend Heather who died in March this year......still haven't taken her number out of my mobile or deleted her text messages....I miss her.

Some More of the Same....

It's just another day in Pleasantville....it's the usual busy run up to Christmas now with lots of planning underway....we are doing quite a bit of entertaining over the next few weeks...need to get organised....still have lots of time for the garden and growing stuff.
Day 2 of the sprouter...looks incredible...these little guys grew overnight...it is really quite fascinating to watch what happens with just water.

They grow at an incredible speed...should be ready in a day or two.

Pickings from the vegie garden this morning...I know I bang on about it but it still surprises me every day that I can grow my own food...if a non green thumb like myself can do this anyone can...

Leeks, beetroot, kale, cauliflower and finally broccoli heads for the table...

 The girls also got into a bit of gardening action while I was outside...look at those little feet up on the furniture...we have a bit of fresh soil lying around the yard and they can't seem to stay out of it...

"Who me....What dirty feet"......

This project of mine is probably the world's slowest mosaic.....have set myself the target to have it finished before Christmas...there I've said it ..... I am the great un-finisher.

When both panels completed will read "Live a Simple Life"...it is taking ages as I have too many things on the go...

Should be picking up my greenhouse on the weekend....I am really excited about it...growing from seeds will be so much cheaper and much more rewarding I think...and the ladies are still on the eggs so hopefully chicks by cup weekend......enjoy your day !

Wellbeing Wednesday.....

The skies are sunny and Spring is everywhere....but  I've been spending a lot of time taking my folks to doctors and hospital visits...spending so much time around sick people and the elderly has made me take a good look at my own health....I always have the best intentions but continually fall of the healthy bandwagon...It really is time to take not only mine, but also my man's health seriously. I really want us to enjoy old age (not there just yet!) and think it's really important to do as much as you can to maintain a healthy mind, body and soul.

Juicing is an easy way to get lots of good stuff into you...I keep forgetting to make them...will aim for 4  times a week....it's messy cleaning out the juicer but worth it.

My favourite mix, organic carrots, apples, oranges and kale from the vegie patch

Drink straight away....I really love the taste of this one.

 Eat more vegies...I shop weekly at the local organic store in Kallista...the amazing colours of fresh fruit and vegies  bursting with goodness.....also need to up the fruit intake...don't think we are doing the two pieces of fruit per day.

Lovely organic vegies...the milk is what I use to make my own yoghurt and the organic sourdough is made locally.

 Healthy lunches....today was chicken and avocado with garden greens and feta.....will try to enjoy salad vegies daily...it is tricky over winter but so easy when the sun is shining..



Today's lunch.....I love avocado and use it on sandwiches instead of butter..

Keep growing our vegies...the broccoli finally got some good solid heads on them...will pick these babies for dinner tomorrow night.. 

Beautiful broccoli heads...finally..

 On the weekend I purchased a seed sprouter...I know you can sprout in a jar but I think it will be easier in this contraption....instructions say sprouts in 3 - 5 days.....see how we go...it's only been one day so far...should be great to add to salads.

Sprouting seeds....alfalfa and been shoots

 Also need to concentrate on fitness....my man's okay...but I am very unfit...will try to walk the dogs everyday and continue with my yoga practice...along with a busy garden and house to maintain that will hopefully be enough....While keeping my spirit strong with meditation......Namaste.
What do you do to stay healthy ?

Broody Hens and Honey Bees.....

The Bee workshop I attended on Saturday was a real education and got me to do some serious thinking...I didn't realise how much of a commitment it was to take on a Hive, regular checking in Spring to ensure the Hive remains disease free and that the Queen is still OK and laying her eggs.....the need to prevent swarming and ensure they have enough room in the Hive....strict hygiene and ensuring no bee by-products or honey from your hive are left lying around in case other bees come in contact with them....the list goes ...I genuinely want to do this but feel I need to get a bit of hands on experience before I go ahead and commit myself to the maintenance and upkeep of a Hive....I had no idea that a single hive can contain up to 60,000 bees in Spring...I find that incredible...I also have to ensure that I have the correct location to place the Hive...so the delightful Bec from Becs Bees has invited me to go onsite with her when she opens up one of her hives to see how I go...really looking forward to that.  It will be quite the challenge but will certainly help me decide if I am up for it. Responsible beekeeping is quite involved including registration and yearly honey samples sent to a lab for disease testing.  It's all food for thought.

The little bags on the honey bee for collecting her pollen....nature really is incredible...

Two of my light Sussex girls have gone broody again...last year I put them in and out of a broody box and it drove me crazy because the next day or two they were back on the nest.....it went on for ages until they eventually gave up but they wore me out....this year I don't have the heart to stop them and have decided to let them sit on a four eggs each and see how they go....hopefully better than the first year with them.. when 2 out of 3 eggs hatched and after 9 weeks I found out they were both roosters...thankfully Isa Browns don't appear to go broody....although it's beautiful to see the girls on the nest so determined to get chicks and so contented...

This is the first time they have been broody at the same time....they have snuggled up together...it's now just the waiting game and see what happens in 21 days....they are on fertilized Isa Brown eggs so hopefully I may wind up with a couple of hens...fingers crossed...anyone else got broody hens on the go?

Friday's Musings......

You always notice how quicker the weeks fly by as it gets closer to Christmas.... already the shops are full of Christmas and it's still October.  Strangely our local supermarket has Halloween and Christmas items out at the same time....don't remember that happening before....but then they had hot cross buns out in early February...go figure.
It's been a busy week ...mostly full of the usual, but my thoughts go out to a lifelong friend whose daughter is in ICU after she developed pre-eclampsia, underwent caesarean section, and is now suffering a  life threatening condition called HELLP syndrome....hopefully she will make a full recovery .... baby is doing well...once again reinforcing the fact that our grasp on life is so precious and precarious.
Spring is in full force around here...beautiful sunny skies today...the seeds I planted and nurtured in the mini greenhouse have unbelievably grown ...first time I have had success...snails didn't manage to find these ones..look forward to planting them out in the next week or two.

Corn seedlings....first success growing from seeds....need the big greenhouse now I think.

At rear: nearly all the pumpkin seeds sprouted...in the front only a few zucchinis ....still happy with that though

 The cauliflowers finally have little heads appearing...not sure if it is too late in the season and they may go to seed before they get any bigger...there's been so much leaf growth I didn't think they were ever going to get a head on then...it's a waiting game.


The cauliflowers in the patch have finally started to show their heads....

Busy weekend ahead which includes a Bee Workshop on Saturday...am very interested in having bees so thought I would do the workshop and see what exactly is involved... see how we go hey.

Slow Living Monthly 9 link-up September 2014........

Once again I am joining in with Linda for the monthly link up.  September has been a very busy month for me..... lots of extended family stuff going on.  It's good to look back of the month and see what's been happening here....

Nourish: Eggs are back.....I'm down to five hens at the moment....but thankfully they are all laying...averaging 4 eggs a day which is great...I usually keep 8 chickens so waiting for 3 local girls to get to point of lay before I pick them up.

Prepare: Not much happening in the kitchen .... but I have prepared a new garden bed for the tomato seedlings which I'll be putting in on Cup weekend. ... had a bin of chicken poop which was slowly fermenting over the last few months....phew, was pretty nasty when I took off the lid and spread it onto the bare vegie garden... turned it over and covered with sugar cane mulch....hope the tomatoes love it.

Reduce:  Took Fiona's advice here and have also been adding the chicken manure and straw to my compost bins....I think there are too many vegie scraps in there (I have fussy chooks they don't eat vegie peels)...manure should improve the quality of my compost.

Green:  I have found my long awaited Singer treadle on ebay which my man is going to polish up and remove the old machine......I am going to recycle the stand to hold my Singer160th anniversary machine.....my daughters are arguing over who gets the old machine...they both want it to display in their craft rooms.  Repurposing this stand is so much better than buying something new.

finally found a vintage Singer treadle at a price I would afford and a location that wasn't too far away.. needs some TLC

I want to put my Singer onto the stand and leave it set up permanently in my studio/craft room....

Grow: Spring sent me dashing out to buy up on all the seedlings only to plant them and have the snails and slugs feast on them....so I have planted seeds in the mini greenhouse and see how it goes...the corn seeds have gone great...others a bit slow..... Still have lots going on in the garden from winter....we had to locate and empty our septic tank and yes...the vegie beds were on top...had to dig two up and loose the plantings...not sure what is wrong with my broccoli but I have loads of leaves and small heads...the cauliflowers are all leaves .... its' been slow going but the recent sun and spring rains have caused lots of quick growth. 



 

I had to locate the septic tank for emptying...we have only been here 2 years so didn't know where it was...!!

 

My first flower on this native

Create:  Haven't had much time or opportunity to get much done but did complete the crochet cushion cover for my daughter...need to get cracking on all my other projects !

 

12ply wool certainly makes quick easy work...pattern was on the wrapper of the balls.

 Discover:  As always the love of books and reading brings great things to discover....Book club for the month is The Tall Man...a novel about aboriginal death in custody on Palm Island...it's factual and extremely difficult to read without feeling a sense of helplessness and a little shame at what has happened to indigenous Australians over the last century.   I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is one of the autobiographies of Maya Angelou, famous American poet who died recently.   And I'm also reading the Happiness Project which I have had for a couple of years and pull out every now and then when I feel I need to re-evaluate where I am with things.....



Enhance:  Our lives are so full.. I look for ways to enhance the lives of others... World Food Day is being celebrated on 16th October....Oxfam ask supporters to join in.

Don’t let 1 in 8 people go hungry.

Celebrate World Food Day by registering to Eat Local Feed Global with Oxfam in October.

It’s easy:

• share a lunch or dinner with friends or family;
• hold a Hunger Banquet at your school or university;
• have fun, take action and raise money in support of Oxfam’s life-changing work.

Once you register, Oxfam will send a pack containing everything you need to help reduce global hunger. 

 Enjoy:  There was much to be enjoyed in September...Circus's , several dinner's, a lovely luncheon, Father's Day and not forgetting Les Mis.....all up a very enjoyable.... if not demanding month...hope yours went well.