Beautiful day







Just a few things that added beauty to my day.

Red oak leaf lettuce (a freebie from Agquip)

 Although my cold is persisting, I have been out and about in the garden and the day is absolutely stunning despite a gusty wind. It is just a beautiful day here.

I think when the radish get to about this stage of growth, it is time to sow another row in an attempt to have an almost constant supply. At the moment I have French Breakfast and Cherry Belle on the go but next row might be an heirloom mix from Diggers. Tim and the girls are big radish fans. Me not so much. Just one or two every now and then are enough.

Bees aren't supposed to be overly keen on windy weather (I don't blame them) but mine don't seem to mind. Except for really wet days, they are busy doing what they do. Certainly we don't check the hives when it is too windy because they aren't as placid then.

It's always a beautiful day when I have the chance to plant something. This morning I planted out a couple of capsicums and lettuces that my parents didn't want, and four herb pots I bought on the weekend- dogbane, rue, another thyme and a golden sage. And when I find an earthworm whilst digging (and I don't chop it in half) I'm very happy.

 Even the moths looked pretty today. There have been a lot of butterflies so far this spring.  I'm not sure if this has any significance or not but I like it.

And lastly the ranunculi are starting to bloom and although these ones are more simple than the big showy double blooms you can get, I really like them. I don't think this flower will last long, it has been blowing about and bending over but while it's here, it is very sweet.

This morning I also stirred the compost heap. It might not be a pretty task but there is definitely satisfaction in turning scraps and lawn clippings and manure into such wonderful stuff. I would say for sure that compost is greater than the sum of its parts. The beauty is there, you just have to look closer or blur your vision a bit.

Perhaps I am just in a particularly good mood. I even found the hissing mother duck sitting on her pile of who knows how many eggs kind of cute.

I hope you have had a good day too with at least a little bit of beauty.

Tracy

Highlights

It's a long story that doesn't need telling (no disasters involved) but the high tea I had planned for last Saturday had to be postponed. In its place last weekend was a trip to Sydney. Once Hope recovered from the horror that Central railway station is on the site of what was one of the old Sydney burial grounds (I really must not tell her these things) and from the shock of her surprise trip to the Doctor Who exhibit which is being held at the ABC centre in Ultimo.

 

It was enough for Hope to even feel better from her cold at least temporarily (she did visit the Doctor after all). Naturally the cold has worsened since we arrived home which is usually how these things work. I'm sure the cold will be history by next week as it is school holidays which does seem to be a great cure for all but serious illness.

A trip to the Lindt Café didn't hurt too much either. It is fair to say that apart from a late trip home on Sunday evening Hope had a weekend full of highlights best described as "fantastic" and "brilliant" as her two favourite Doctors would say.

The highlight for me apart from a  visit with my sister and niece, was as always, HOME. I didn't sleep in on Monday morning even though we had a very late night (I think I'm still tired now on Tuesday), I did the rounds of the garden. A few days away feels like months.

There are flowers that weren't there on Thursday, fruits too and the asparagus needed picking whether we wanted it or not (we wanted it).

Coming home to a decent soaking of rain was a highlight too.
Tracy

Rosy

Graham Thomas rose

The first rose of the season. It is in fact the only rose flower out there and not only is it lonely but it is early too. I hadn't bothered looking too closely for flowers in the rose garden but I could actually see this one from my bedroom it was so big and bright (and almost past its prime). Now I'll be on the lookout for more blooms. Which I might say is a better pastime than washing walls which is what I did this morning.

A big thank you goes out to Gillian aka Africanaussie who has very kindly sent me some grass seeds. Not just regular, run of the mill grass, but pretty grasses which should grow well here and it gets better, it is just the right time for sowing. I feel very rosy today.

Hope you are feeling good too.
Tracy

I've been weeding

I have an apprentice at home today. Grace has a week of work experience at a restaurant but Monday is their day off so she in turn has a day working with me. Really I just have an offsider who is doing the less than thrilling things like washing the dishes. It means that on top of my farm-type chores I have had a bit more time in the garden weeding. Weeding definitely isn't the gardening job I live for but if I think of the positives of a nice garden and healthy plants then the task is more enjoyable. That and spending more time looking at the flowers than the weeds I'm pulling.

 

 The jonquils are the stars today. So sweet and low/ no maintenance.

I can't go past the daphne bush either. The perfume is amazing especially so from flowers which individually would be rather insignificant.

And what did I see? Two naughty ewes on the wrong side of the fence. I think they are employing the old idea that if they can't see me then I can't see them. Sorry girls, it doesn't work. These two are notorious escape artists and have been since they were lambs. Super easy to put back though, I just call there names using my angry voice and away they go. I wish it was always that easy to move sheep where you want them to go.

Now, a trip to town. School has rung up to say Hope has a sore throat and feels poorly.
Bye
Tracy

Sweet Overload

Morning teas are yum but I don't have a sweet tooth (thankfully). In fact, I didn't partake of a single sweet morsel from our Biggest Morning Tea table on Friday. I am a sucker for those little sandwich triangles though. It was so nice to catch up with friends and to even have a volunteer waiter , Tim, pouring our coffee and tea. He did a great job and thanks to all for the donations to the Cancer Council.

 I have mastered macarons so I am not making them anymore. They are too sweet for me and I really can't understand the buzz about them. Lunch boxes are going to be very swish this week though. Grace loves them and wants more so I might not give up just yet.

 And at the moment I can't get enough of the pansies. Sweetness without a tooth or tummy ache in sight. Zero calories too. Perfect!

Tracy

Planting and Sowing

There is still plenty of tidying to be done in the vegie patch but after a flurry of activity of the clearing out kind, I felt a spot of planting was in order. Luckily I had some seedlings ready to go. 

 

 

So today I planted leeks, cabbage, spring onions, ruby Brussells sprouts and some celeriac. I also directly sowed snow peas, rainbow chard and greenfeast peas. 

 

There were some promising clouds for a little while with a few drops of rain but not even enough to register in the gauge. While that was happening, I took a trip up the road to an open house for a property which will be auctioned soon. Although moving is not on the horizon (not that I know of anyway), I am a sucker for looking at real estate and dreaming. The property is totally unsuitable for any farming enterprise except maybe beekeeping or raising mountain goats, it is very steep and bushy but the house itself was roomy anf rambling and full of potential. Not the mansion I am looking for but so much more room than our cottage. The drawback and there is always a drawback, is that it really needs quite a bit of work. Besides, there isn't much scope for a garden so I'll let this one pass.

And just because there won't be many more blooms on this pompom dahlia for this season, I decided to snap a picture. I only have a few pompom dahlias and I think I would like some more. They are quite cute.

Tomorrow afternoon Hope has a birthday party to go to. Grace and I are toying with the idea of some roller skating whilst Hope parties but most likely we will do something more mundane and safe. I am liking the sound of the party though. The theme is "olden days" and we have been told to bring something to tie dye. Sounds like fun.

I'm not good with clever themes for parties. I'd love to hear any interesting ideas.
tracy

Smelling Roses

I have a busy week nay fortnight ahead. There is the usual work and the housework as well but on top of it all, I am Grace's roadie/ driver for rehearsals and performances for a musical she is in. Our schedule is usually quite simple but for the next two weeks, I have written where I have to be and when because I'm a little afraid I just might forget. I'm not one of those people who enjoys driving or even being a passenger much, it's just a means to an end. That's not to say that I don't make the best of the driving time with a bit of thinking and music listening but I'd still rather just not. Tim on the other hand, loves driving. A perfect match maybe. I hope so.

 

Hope

Because I am going to be busy I thought I should take a few moments this morning to literally and figuratively smell the roses. They have been poor performers this season because of the heat and dry but now that we are cooling down for autumn and have had some rain, they are having a flush of blooms. Not too many yet, but enough to allow for some whiling away of minutes if not hours conferring with them.

Seduction

 Unfortunately all of the roses which are offering up precious blooms, are of the low scent variety. Never mind stopping to smell the roses still felt good.

And I'm always on the lookout for bees when I'm out and about. The buddleia seems to be full of nectar if the buzzing is anything to go by. When we first thought about getting bees, I wasn't that interested. I wanted them but it was really Tim's baby. Now I'm just about as keen as him maybe moreso sometimes. He is more responsible for the heavy side of things like lifting supers and the like whereas I tend to the indoor activities like the wax processing. I think my biggest interest though is in their behaviour. Observing which flowers are favourites and which they don't bother with, the differences between the hives. I can easily see why some scientists dedicate their working lives to a creature which although tiny, has an important role in the wellbeing of the planet.
Tracy

Hello Possums

I really want to be showing off my newest (ad)venture because I am excited about it but photographic opportunties have been elusive. A few poor photos aren't worthy so I will wait until (hopefully) tomorrow.

 

In the mean time, flowers are blooming and the gladioli have been glorious. My green gladiolus hasn't come to the party yet but I'm sure it will soon.

 

These ones are all in the vegetable garden for a bit of colour. They are real troopers and take the heat and dry very well. They also multiply readily which is always welcome... free plants.

And this is a pretty which is in the front garden. It's quite delicate and could easily be lost amongst other plantings but I think up close like this it really looks great. It's only drawback, no perfume that I can tell anyway.

Another perfumeless flower, the zinnia. This one is from my Diggers originally. I fell in love with idea of green and white zinnias because they were different to the more common colours and Diggers used to sell them. I haven't seen them in their catalogues recently so I'm glad I saved seeds from the originals. They are another toughy that doesn't disappoint and seed collection is a cinch.

In very happy news, my Tim is feeling much better. He is almost at full strength with possible side-effects of arachniphobia.

thanks for stopping by,
Tracy

So long 2011

After putting a new property sign on my to do list for 2011 I finally hung one yesterday with only two days of 2011 left. The old sign was really just an old pice of shelving painted with house paint and was never meant to be permanent but it hung around for years. Not a good picture of the new sign but I wanted to post it anyway.

It seems that the cute and cuddly always get the better deal as far as pictures go so today I have a couple of pictures of big grown up sheep instead of lambs. On our farm the adult sheep are just as friendly as the lambs and really don't mind having their pictures taken at all.

Bessy

This is Bessy. She was the second lamb born on our farm and before we decided to specialise in the Suffolk breed. She always produces the tiniest little lambs and she is really ladylike and a wonderful mother. Her own mother, Essy, is still with us and is a very youthful nine year old and I think she is a little upset that she wasn't allowed to have lambs this year.

Julia's Rose

Just in time for the new year, the rose garden is amass of blooms (weeds too with all the rain). This is Julia's Rose which is one of my favourites. I really admire its understated beauty.

Dahlias are aplenty too. My only complaint about dahlias is their lack of scent. Though perhaps if they were scented it might be just too much all in one flower.

In a change from the dahlias and roses (and gladioli too) I decided to arrange a vase of agapanthus when my sister visited for afternoon tea on Wednesday. They were completely stunning and I can't begin to think why I have never used them inside before.

Scentimental

Finally, I hope for a happy 2012 for all. I intend to make the most of the wonder in my life and strive to make a difference (even if it is but a little one). Goodbye to 2011 and welcome 2012.

Tracy