A Cold Morning Walk

Today I went for a walk through a nature walk. Although it has been built on an old dump, and every now and then you can see bit of old rubbish surfacing, its quite a nice walk.

I went with my camera and a little friend to see what we could see......

It has been very wet recently, and there was lots of moss on wet branches...

We saw some new growth in the sunlight.....

Interesting greens....

We found some quiet water...

And interesting textures...

Lots of places to sail leaf boats, and throw sticks at water...

We turned back, and ran most of the way we had come. Except for one place, where he wanted to just sit and watch the water and the trees. It was very peaceful....

And also a bit magical too...

We both really enjoyed our walk. Just us and the occasional bird.

A good start to the day!

Meditation with stars

Yesterday was a busy day.


 Later on, when all the children were in bed, and Edward was on the computer I realized that I was tense. Tense and agitated, and that I really needed to do something about it.

It was a bit cold last night, so I put on my mittens, my hat, and my coat and went outside.

It was a dark, clear night and the sky was peppered with the stars. One of the good things about living in the middle of nowhere is the lack of light pollution. The milky way is just wonderful.

Had it been a bit dryer I'd have lain down to stare, But last night I was content with just looking up.

I stayed there a while, quietly looking, quietly meditating.

It felt good. I felt good.

Then I went in and did a bit of knitting on Edward's jumper. Happy.

Rain dance for Frogs

Today I thought I'd have a go at putting a little video on here.

Its the first time I've tried to do this, and so its not the best ever. But I thought I'd start small with a short piece on my harp called rain dance for frogs.

It has been raining a lot recently, and today there were a few hours of sun. The birds outside were all singing, and there was a gentle breeze, so I thought I'd just aim the camera at a chia flower, and capture just the sound this time.

Unfortunately, the first time through I was really distracted by a car going past, and worried that it would be really loud, so then stalled a bit. But the second time through sounds really ok from about 41 seconds in.

I love this tiny piece. My right hand is playing quietly, and my left hand has the main melody, so is slightly louder.

My right hand is playing the drips of rain perhaps as they fall from leaves to a stone or fallen branch where a frog might be hiding, and my left hand (to me) sounds like a curious little frog peeking out, then going back, then having another look, and eventually hopping off, or maybe drops falling in a pond.. What do you think?

Short and atmospheric, and hopefully it will work!

Oh my! That took a long time!!

Hope you enjoy it

Gratitude Sunday

Today I'm joining in with Taryn for a gratitude list ....

*Mandarins - they are so sweet and juicy, and the ones I buy from gardens, and road side stalls are always the nicest, which is just right!

*My daughter wanting to join me on my trip to market, and her smiles, and her pride in being asked to help carry some cheese in her own bag. Really magical.

*Simplicity. Here we have to drive to be able to walk through a wood, or wild space, as although there is lots of farming, and grass, it is all electrified. So today we were going to drive for about an hour to go for a family walk in some trees. Then we thought why not go looking for mushrooms in our landlord's fields? So we did. It was great fun, and although we didn't find any mushrooms, we had a brilliant yet simple time.

*The first frost! Strange to some, but we so love the different seasons that a sign of winter just has to be good!

*Edward, for helping me sort out the pantry when I got stuck.

A trip to Saturday Market

Today I went to the Saturday farmers' market in town. It's fairly small, and availability is variable, but I still try to get most veg that I can't grow, and fruit from it. Also there is a man who sells meat, another who sells cheese, and another honey, all of which I can't do at the moment.

It was a very special trip today as I took my little girl with me. I gave her a market bag too, and off we went. We held hands some of the way in the car - I haven't held her hand in the car for ages, as when all of us are in the car she sits in the back. It was very nice indeed.

When we got there she carried her own bag and had the biggest smile you can imagine!

We bought mandarins, meat, carrots (goodness knows where mine are in the garden), and today I thought I'd try some bee pollen.

The man said it was very good for you but tastes a bit horrid, but I thought I'd try it anyway, as I've read so many wonderful things about it.

Here is some on yogurt I made earlier in the week. It actually tastes quite good!

I think it tastes a bit like honey, and some bits like tea. Very pleasant really.

Sadly, potatoes were out for the season, and garlic, and the mushroom man wasn't there either. Oh well!

I really enjoyed being in such good company this morning! Hopefully we'll do it again some time.

Around the garden, and some very special gifts...

Today I'm joining Sara again for a look at my little patch, but first I have to share a picture of one of the nicest gifts to receive....

Here is my tree necklace I bought for my birthday. Its from Mystic Orb on etsy, and it is just lovely! Do check out their shop.

I have received so many compliments about the carving, and my children really love it too! Most of the time I find children just don't notice people's jewelry, but this is totally different. They too say it is beautiful, and just want to touch it, and of course they want one too!! Something to consider for future birthdays.....

I also really liked another one, and my husband said to get it too! So I have one from him, and one from the children. I'll try to get someone to take a picture of me wearing the other one. I'm wearing it today and feel a bit special!

This morning I took my harp into school, and I'm so glad I did! I explained the history of the harp, how it is made, and how to play it, then played a few short pieces too.

Then I asked all the children to have a turn, they were so thrilled!

There was some beautiful music this morning, and hopefully it will inspire some to play an instrument themselves.

Everyone I meet seems to have wanted to play the harp at some point, and it's an instrument hardly anyone gets to play, so I think they were really grateful.

Anyway, here's what's happening in my garden.....

Some strawberry flowers...

Some peas....

Gentle music as the breeze blows through the wind chime....

Not much is happening really! Everything is trying its best to grow forward, or is lying dormant, and soon we'll have some gifts from the garden I'm sure.

Bye for now!

Solstice. Planets before dawn

Sunset, about 5pm.

This morning I was up early, pottering about getting breakfasts ready, when I had to go outside for something. It was still dark, but turning the deep indigo before dawn.

I couldn't help but notice a really bright star ahead, and as I watched I saw that it wasn't flickering, so it must have been a planet. Perhaps venus.

I called to the children to come and see its brilliance, then checked online to see what it was.

The star map showed us that it was Venus, and another really bright one further up was Jupiter. The map also said there should also be Mars in between them in a perfect straight line. We stared and stared, and then we saw it! A small orange dot in line with Jupiter and Venus.

We also saw a few stars, and the moon, then went in to get dressed.

As I was clearing the condensation from the windows I looked out again, but they were all invisible now. I know they're still there though. It felt very special to see such huge and timeless reminders that whatever is happening in our little lives, it really doesn't matter.

Felt good to realise that.

Peace on this solstice morn....

Gratitude Sunday

Joining in with Taryn today for a gratitude list!

*My family, my wonderful husband, and our three magical children. I love seeing the world through their eyes and thinking about every small wonder.

*Having such a lovely birthday. My children always seem so shocked to hear that I have a birthday! I don't know why!

*My harp. I had it made just for me, and it's made from Maple, with walnut inlay, and a poplar sound board (more eco friendly than spruce). I still delight in it, and the beautiful sound it makes after all these years!! The children go to bed and I play as they fall asleep during that quiet time before cleaning up the kitchen.

*Worms. I love the way our children always look for worms under any stone they find, or while I'm digging in the garden. They are great friends of ours.

* A bit of sun in between the rain...

*Bread yeast - fantastic stuff!

* Morning dew. I love taking the children outside in the morning and just looking. Today we saw lots of slug pathways on the tiles by the front door. Other days we find webs.

*My health. Just got to be grateful for that!

Thanks for the idea for a list Taryn. Such a good idea!

Pleasures.

I delight in the small things, the simple things, and the quiet things these days!

One of my greatest pleasures is being able to feed my family with good food.

I try to grow as much as I can on our little patch, and use our compost, and only my hands to grow, and weed and care for our plants. I think this is the way to go. No sprays or other nonsense.

So here is one of my first pleasures of the day, eating our own muesli..

I use whole oats, linseeds, sunflower seeds, bran, wheatgerm and coconut, then add some oil heated with some honey to coat all the grains.

I then toast the lot at for about 15 mins, and we then have good fresh crispy muesli!

I like mine with some raisins, milk and maybe a banana if we have any.

Keeps me going all morning, I love it!

This year I've planted some oats in the garden. Hopefully we'll have our own oats too, if the birds don't find them first!

Some pickling, some marmalade, and going out.

The weather here is getting cooler, and I know that my last chilli plant will only last a little while longer, so today I went out and picked the ripening chillies, and some of the best looking green ones. I pricked them with a knife, and pickled them in a 50:50 vinagre and water solution with salt too. In the pot they looked so vibrant, and all the different colours remind me of the sun that ripened them.

I also bought some oranges a while back, and they were really sour, so I left them to ripen a bit, but they are just too bitter.

So I thought they'd be perfect for marmalade, and they really are wonderful marmalade!

Also started off some mixed lettuces, and a pot of basil for indoor use. Can't have too much basil!

Also today I went out, and had a fairly rubbish time. First I felt the need to dress up. I hate dressing up, but found that people treat you differently if you don't look the same as everyone else. I find you get better treatment if you wear fashion clothes, and look neat. Sad isn't it.

Anyway, immediately I felt uncomfortable.

I also had two of my children with me, and for some reason here people are rude to others who have their children with them. Children have a fairly raw deal here regarding all the abuse statistics, and the general attitude is incredibly negative towards them. I find it is always other women, or female shop workers here who just can't help having a go at children.

So my children were told off by two different women while they were standing really patiently waiting with me, just in case they might "do" something. They always do it when my back is turned, or I'm having to talk to someone else. Drives me mad.

Then I had to deal with a fairly abrasive woman in a shop to have my sunglasses fixed. Why should such an easy task become so difficult? I felt really drained when I got home.

Anyway. Tonight I'm making pizzas, and I'm just about to ice my cake too.

I love being at home with my family.

All is good when we are together.

Maybe I should be a hermit.

Around the Garden on my birthday

Broccoli trying to survive the slugs.

Today is my birthday. It was a lovely dawn, a bit cold, but a lovely new day.

I received lots of love, some cards and a metronome. Love the metronome.

So here's my garden this week.

Firstly I'm really glad to have started off a new worm farm. Just a handful of worms, but hopefully there'll be more as time passes..

I Have been trying out a few methods for enriching the soil in our tiny beds. I love the idea of the no till method, so I've tried a few similar techniques.

First I dug up some of the clover that is spreading all over the drive, and laid it roots up on top of the soil of the bed. Then I tried various coverings.

Black plastic bin bags were not too good. Somehow the plants and weeds were still going after three weeks, but the area that I just laid an old paper flour sack on top weighted with bricks was wonderful. I had been hoping to allow the paper to rot down too, but when I saw the quality of the new soil underneath i just had to plant my strawberries in it!

It's all broken down, no hint of a weed, and the soil looks like a huge pile of worm castings. Which I'm sure it is! Just wonderful..

More beds now covered in old paper sacks!

This is the clover on the drive that I have used as a green manure.

Here's to lots of good soil!

My seeds have arrived, and I'm now just planning my bed rotations.

Back to the family!

Around our patch...

I'm joining Sara with her walk about the farm posts, so join me for a little look at what's happening this week....

In the summer when I harvested our garlics I managed to lose about two short rows. I kept digging, but those bulbs were nowhere to be found.

Then, one day as I walked past I noticed a whole load of garlic sprouts in big bunches! Well then I found the lost bulbs, which were really deep, and separated all the little cloves, planted them and hoped for the best. Luckily they are growing well. Not as strong as the ones I planted properly, but hopefully they'll grow better now they aren't squished together.

The new garlic patch....

Here are some of our hens. The black one is an araucana cross orpington pullet, and yesterday she produced her first egg! It was quite large, and blue.

They love the long grass..

Here's our fairy garden.

We made this last spring, and used chia seeds which swell up like frog spawn when wet. The children loved to play with the seeds, and when they were allowed to touch the soil grew these beautiful chia plants that have blue flowers....

The broad beans are growing well. I love them. Proper beans on toast!

And thats about it really.

I ordered seeds this year rather than buying lots of little pots of seedlings. It seemed expensive at the time as it was a lump sum, but really I'm certain it will be economical in the end.

Can't wait for them to arrive. I've tried to buy organic, and mostly heirloom seeds. Hopefully I'll be able to save some this year.

Bye for now!

Sweater update

I've pre drafted the roving, and all set to spin.

All I have left of the yarn!

Growing nicely....

So here is how Edward's sweater is coming along.

The scale of it is quite difficult to picture, but I think its down to his belly button now.

Sadly I have only the smallest amount of yarn left, so back to spinning some more super soft merino.

I've missed the spinning! I love to spin when either Edward or one of the children are playing the piano. I keep the wheel next to the piano - its quite safe there, and I love company and music to spin to.

Considering the yarn came out quite chunky, it looks quite delicate when knitted up this size!

Dinner from the garden

So here's what we're having tonight. A tortilla made with our potatoes, happy eggs from our hens, and an onion...

Soon to be pancakes, and also a bowl of soon to be scrambled eggs too! They'll go with our homemade bread...

And a salad from the garden, with various lettuces, our peppers which have finally turned red, onion, rocket that keeps popping up all over the place, basil, and tomatoes.
Looking at this photo reminds me that I need to pickle those chillies..

Mmmm getting hungry....

Around the Garden

Join me for a little walk...

The rosemary bush reminds me that I haven't made a focaccia in a long time...mmmm...
The chili plant is still fruiting. This one is quite hot, so I'm hoping it survives the winter.
Mulched silverbeet.
A few nasturtiums are still flowering. I like the flowers in salads..
the pumpkin patch


Crazy overgrown passion fruit..
Lavender!
Baby Lupins...
I thought I'd join Sara in her around the farm Thursday walks..

The lupins I planted have sprouted, and are growing strongly. I hope to use these to keep the weeds out of this bed over winter, and then to chop them back into the soil as a green manure.

The lavender is starting to bloom...

The lemons are starting to turn yellow, and the tree seems to be recovering from an attack by some visiting unruly toddlers!

The pumpkin bed is doing really well. After the plants began to die back I scooped up all the trailing stems and leaves and put them on top of the soil to rot back into the bed, leaving the pumpkins on top to ripen, and it has worked so well. The rhubarb seems to be enjoying the mulch too. A nod to the no till method that was a disaster last year when the hens noticed all the wonderful piles of compost everywhere. This year they have their own little paddock.

Our little patch of lettuce is supplying us well..

I really think I will have to cut back the passion fruit. Hard to believe that 3 years ago it was just a stick!

The silverbeet has been growing there for 2 years now, and shows no sign of dying back, so I thought I'd mulch around them with the straw from the hen house. Probably should look after it if it is so determined!

I really like our rather tiny garden. Someday we hope to have our own place and grow more of what we like. I find it wonderful, and yet frustrating that I can grow some of what we need, but nowhere near enough to keep us going. All of it is spray free and grown in soil rich from our compost heap - beautifully organic and exceedingly tasty!

Neat idea for a post series Sara!