Head in the Clouds – Feet in the Dirt

Hello!
What a beautiful day! The perfect winters day – I even got hot and sweaty!!
Yesterday we did a bit of mulching. Sadly the chipper didn’t really take the prunings very well so we had to give up – destined for the fire pit.
I did get the rest of the tree branches that had been set aside through.
I popped them on the path near the garlic and around some of the raised beds.

Want to see an overall view of my main patch??
Its not pretty….

Jeff took out the blackcurrant tree/bush which was rarely made use of and was really mostly in the way.
Its hard to know what to tackle first hey? But if I get a good run of mostly nice days, I will be able to slowly wind it all back under control.

So – I really felt today I needed to get stuck into this ‘building site’. I had to dig up all the grass – which ran along the top there and along the top side of the new raised beds…
That took forever!
I couldn’t quit though until I had evened out the mounds of dirt – it was going to make me feel better inside 😀

And from the other side:

I dug up a lot of glass and crockery today! I cut my finger – but didn’t notice until tonight. In the end I got gloves on because every sod was hiding a shard of something sharp.
Todays odd finds?
I think a little toy car. Very old and a bit squashed. And VERY heavy.

And what is it with me digging UP holes??
This one is dead-dodgy…

Oh look – a hidden solar light.
Upon pulling it up?

Its like a drain… there is a pipe hole down there, water and a decent cavity. Debating on calling the plumber to have a squizz at it for us.
Its not smelly so not assuming anything septic – its not fully fragrant either! And its right off the back veranda!

Anyway – Thats me, totally overdoing things for the day!
A lot of my body parts are in serious conversations with my brain.
Nah – I am just being dramatic. I am sore but I am still functioning and really hoping I get a few more days of sunshine to keep up the garden work!
Hope your weekend was super!
Cheers!

Hello!
So – the other day. It was raining (a lot) and it wasn’t warm (really cold) but we decided to walk along Anniversary Bay and follow the coastline up to our favourite shell fossicking beach to see if we could find some cowries.
You know… because thats high on our ‘Must Do’ list (that I currently need a small bound book to keep them in haha.)

I just love the rocky shoreline. Its a real scramble picking your way across. We were at low tide, so plenty of the shore was exposed so we could walk over it.

I am pretty sure above is a sharks egg case. Cool huh?
The rain eased off so I was able to get the camera out for a few snaps.
It got put away when I had to use all hands and feet to get across some of the rocks though.

Along the way we could hear the black cockatoos calling out – and there they were! Chowing down on the seed pods in the bushes!
I didn’t have a suitable lens but nevertheless I was able to get reasonably close and they weren’t particularly fazed by our presence

They really are a beautiful bird – they have a distinctive cry – like a squeaky gate!!

If I get my act together, some time and enthusiasm, I’d like to return with the longer lens.

Ever changing rock colours

A small stream crossing. (Yes, by this point I have at least one wet foot)

You can tell its not just a normal hike or walk with the rocks to navigate over!
There is so much to look at too, whether you are looking at the big views or the small details.

This is an elephant snail!! I was so surprised to see one. It was a bit high up on the tide line too. The shell isn’t normally so visible as the soft parts of their body often cover most of it. Quite a fleshy creature and was a good addition to mealtimes for the Aboriginal people who used to live in the area.

Eventually we reached the sections where lots of shells had washed up and started having some fun searching through them

The cowries in this area on the beach are generally only small. That day we found the most we have ever found! I didn’t get a photo of our ‘loot’ but there were heaps!

Once we stopped, we got a bit chilled fairly quickly. Luckily the sun decided to put in an appearance at this point.

Jeff – in Overland Mode – had brought the gear to make us up some hot drinks!

That was very welcome indeed!

Is this living the high life or what?

Eventually we had to start the trek back as the tide was coming back in. Wasn’t keen to do any wading that day.

What a beauty! Even managed to get this back home in one piece!!

I left this one on the shore. I suspect it hadn’t finished decomposing the insides. Best left behind!
Oh and remember my ‘Not Ambergris’ story?
Well… there are more samples of that dreadfully smelly sponge on the beach at the moment too.

I’d forgotten how diabolically stinky it is!!

A much less stinky and more pretty sponge!!

All in all, it was a fabulous day out – just what we needed!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Cheers!

Hi!
My first day in Queensland with my sister, Rosemary, saw us heading out to the Eumundi Markets (where I bought some soap haha)
Lots of fantastic things to see and eat!
Rose then drove us over to Kondalilla NP where we did this really lovely 5km walk around the falls.

I think I took a million photos of staghorns – they were everywhere and just magnificent!

These bush turkey’s were everywhere too. Such brightly coloured faces!

Ficus watkinsiana, commonly known as strangler fig

They use an existing tree to grow on – and eventually kill their host.

It was a lovely walk down and around. We came across a few waterfalls, pools and of course lots of gorgeous trees and plants.

Love the roots! Like a skirt!

At the bottom of the main falls – a fun and slightly slipperly scramble around the rocks to see better!

Looking downstream… and upstream:

I was quite taken with the amazing woven patterns of these trees

(Garden Goals)

Rosemary couldn’t resist giving this beauty a hug! It was so tall and straight!

And then there are the hollow remains of these behemoths –

As we got to this pool, we heard the dulcet tones of a man screaming.
Apparently the water was cold.
Sure, we are in Queensland, but it is still winter, so swimming is probably going to be more refreshing than you anticipate!

It was a fantastic first day, thats for sure!
Cheers!

We did a long hike in rather soggy conditions today! It was great but now I am a bit weary, so I am going to make all sorts of promises about sorting photos and writing stories tomorrow!!
Its supposed to be raining tomorrow again so I might just settle in with the fire and a steady supply of hot drinks!!
Nighty night! xx

Hi!
Such a lovely day… and I ended up being all domestic.
OK – it was a lovely day up until 60 seconds before I went to put my clothes on the line – at which at that point it suddenly started without warning or even turning off the beaming sun – POURING! haha – of course it did!

I invited Peggy and Amy, the two ladies in charge of the visiting Kinmen Island students in Wynyard, over to our place for coffee and cake. Peggy is a tour guide and Amy is a teacher.
So I thought I should make a slight show of tidying up etc.
And baking a cake!

We had a lovely afternoon chatting and hearing about their time in Tasmania. They loved the fire – our winter is a bit of a shock coming from their climate!
Peggy sent me the selfie she took of us all!

Pip was enduring it all – probably miffed I extracted him from his warm towel!
They are leaving tomorrow evening via the ferry and spend a day in Melbourne before flying home.
Its nice to gain a couple of new friends.

Anyway – you don’t want to hear about my dusting, vacuuming and so forth, so I am going to leave you in peace!
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers

First day back and Cousin Jeff drops off a load of firewood – the last bit he has available!
Yay. (With a small eye roll)
Since the rain has been coming and going I wanted to get this undercover ASAP

I moved the remaining wood up to the back veranda, cleared the rubbish and got stacking.

Between that and the dry Macrocarpa… hope that lasts us the rest of the season!!

Next… an important task had to be attended to. Some birds have decided that nipping off the garlic and onion stalks is all kinds of fun!
Not. Pleased.

I know it wasn’t my darling chooks because they would have dug the whole plot up too.
I decided to net the plots at least until they all reach a good size.

I’ve never had to net garlic before!!

Even the Duck Yard Garden had some damage

They are all mostly at a size where I can mulch them. Will schedule a beach trip sometime to see if there is seaweed being washed up.

So… the asparagus has been in for a couple of seasons now. Time for it to step up and do its thing.
Cut it all back and mulched it. Really hoping for some action this spring.

Next. Coffee. I had two bins worth… chucked them all in around the logs in one of the new raised beds.
Jeff trimmed the cognata trees back and I thought their lovely small leafy branches would be a great addition too!

This one is not far off being ready for compost and soil!

I went the total hack on the snowball bushes!! I know zip about pruning.
They were a bit out of control – hopefully they will recover in spring.
All the sticks I will run through the chipper – when I get a nice day and recover from today haha

My rhubarb is beginning to unfold again!

And I am pretty sure I am giving up on the brassicas this year. The cabbage have been in the ground 4 months and not even thinking of developing hearts!! Same timing as last year so I should have been picking them by now!

The chooks will be pleased.
I ate one measly sprig of broccoli tonight (tasted nice, but… volume wise, not impressive)
And I have one manky cauliflower.

It will all come out (eventually) and I’ll prep the bed and plant corn there later in the year.

I decided to pull up the last of the carrots! They have done so insanely well – remember they got planted last October!!
I think I will put this seasons carrots into the other end of this plot where the beetroot currently is. I know its not idea putting root crops following root crops… but I like living on the edge 😀

I washed, peeled and chopped the lot and put them in the crisper. They’ll keep for ages like that and will probably give some to Ruby & co.

No shortage of parsley

My new flower bed of iris and tulips needs a weed and a mulch but everything is up…. I have high hopes.

My hothouse potatoes are doing nicely.
I am also getting a good lot of worm wee.

The chooks finally discovered the lettuce in the strawbale garden (yah – haven’t done that wing clipping yet) so my last remaining lettuce is in the hothouse and looking fine!

Well… thats the day and garden round up! I certainly am feeling it every time I get up and try to hobble somewhere haha.
Old Lady.
I loved every second!
Hope your week has started well too!
Cheers!

Hello!!
How are you all??
Sorry it seems an eon since I got in here and caught up!
I got back from Queensland last night (walked off the plane in a t-shirt to a crisp Tasmanian 4C!!)
WordPress had updated something that I hadn’t – so after fiddling about somewhat, got in touch with my host server who solved the issue in under five minutes!
Lesson learned. Don’t agonise… let the people who you pay to host your site to sort it out!! 🙂

Amazing staghorns growing in so many of the trees! I loved them so much!

I had a really wonderful week away. I soaked up the warm weather, enjoyed heaps of walks and a bit of city life.
So many cuppas on my sisters balcony just talking our heads off and catching up on a heap of news and ideas and life in general.

I just ran a few photos through post processing so I could drop in and say hi to you all!
I’ve done a lap of the garden and this month is going to be crazy. Can’t wait to dive in!

Glasshouse mountains!

I didn’t take my camera everywhere, so I missed a few epic events… like the day Rosemary took me to Movie World…
So. Many. Rollercoaster. Rides!!! haha. How old are we??
Best day – no school holidays and mid week. Perfect.

We also went into the city one evening for a Noodles At Night market.
Yum!

We also managed to fit in lots of walks and gardens too

So!! I am all inspired to get in and get a wriggle on with our spring plans, so stay tuned!
BTW – want to know what souvenirs I brought back???
Rocks for Jeff and 4 bars of hand made soap for me! haha
(Not to mention some chocolate, gardening magazines, a gorgeous rock and a tap timer from a lovely gardening friend I met while up there (Irene))

Catch you all soon!
Cheers

Hello!
I have been doing mostly unblogworthy things… getting ready to head out on Friday.
I actually got most of my bag packed. I’ve got more veggies and sauces than clothes I think! haha
I’ve not gone out to take photos as I don’t have much spare time to spend in photoshop

I dashed into town today to get a B12 boost, pick up some supermarket things, wheat for the chooks and dropped in to see Margie and Ruby. Nice to catch up with Ruby as I’ve been terrible about getting over there recently!
She is all cheerful but says she can’t believe how good she’s become at sitting back and resting. She does change chairs a lot though, just to mix things up haha.
We’ll have to make sure we’ve got a spot ready to plant her Christmas peas when I return.

Yesterday I went back out to Sharons to do another soap workshop (addicted much?) It was really good to go back. She only had one other lady booked in yesterday so it was nice to join in. (Plus Sharon puts on a fab lunch!!)
I fine tuned a bit of my technique and tested out her white colouring to get the base colour a bit less yellow. Going to look forward to doing more batches with white.
She also changed the recipe a bit (addition of a little coconut oil) which helped the mixture go to trace a lot faster (thicken)

I popped a post up on our community facebook noticeboard asking if there were any beginner gardeners out there that would be interested in a ‘how to start a garden’ workshop.
The short answer is yes. Lots. Haha – So… I know how I will be spending my flying times – writing up notes and ideas on how to go about it!!

I have a bit of a list to work through tomorrow to finish getting organised.
The weather is still fairly dismal. Everything is still squishy underfoot!
If I am super amazing I might get a real post up tomorrow… if not, you won’t see me stroll back until after the 4th August!
I am sure I will have one or two photos and a few stories for you by then!

Hope you are all doing well!
Cheers!

The many resting poses of Pip!
Hello! How has your weekend started? Well I hope.
I am working through a list of things to do before next Friday.
I am booked to fly up to Brisbane to visit my sister, Rosemary and niece Emma. Really looking forward to it and hope to enjoy weather that’s not quite as dismal for a short time!

As well as putting some frozen dishes aside for Jeff, I’ve made up some ‘worm spring rolls’ haha
Some scraps whizzed up.

Spooned into loo rolls…

Mmmmm-mmm. Looking mega delish hey?
Pretty sure Jeff won’t mistake them for his meals. I am guessing the toilet rolls are a solid hint that they are not for him.
I put two in the worm farm and froze the rest. That way if they need a feed while I am gone he just has to grab another couple out. Easy.

Little hothouse winter potato looking healthy!

A pademelon wandered in the front gate yesterday and proceeded to eat the lawn. It ended up around the back so I threw it some apple scraps!
It seemed pleased!

Last night I unmoulded the latest loaf of soap… it wasn’t cutting smoothly so I waited until today to finish slicing.

This one is a vanilla/rosewood fragrance. Quite soft.
Again the pattern was nothing like I was aiming for but its so much fun cutting the loaf soaps to see what you get.

What didn’t fit in the loaf mould, got put into the mould with the Celtic design… it came out beautifully. Totally got the hang of these moulds

So…. that was my Saturday! How was yours??
Pips was pretty relaxed too!
Cheers!

Sitting at home minding my own business and a local friend messaged me with a photo of her newspaper! haha
Front page no less!!
Want to see my concerned grumpy citizen face??

I hope you are laughing a little bit too as I think I was probably about to laugh while trying to look mad.
Honestly… I AM mad inside about the mess.
But maybe more attention will garner a bit of support and action.

Sadly, our local Mayor’s response wasn’t encouraging. You can read it here, if interested.
Sustainable Timbers is state government which is the area where the issue is. However, its our community members that are responsible for the issue and I think council should at least have a conversation how to manage local issues like this.
I think I was annoyed by the statement:

“…the problem had been going on for years, and that it came down to a problem in people’s attitudes.

“Nothing will stop what they’re doing,” he said.”

So, tsk tsk, its terrible, aren’t people awful, but shrug, nothing is going to work and its not our responsibility anyway.
That kind of defeatist attitude doesn’t endear me to people.
I hope eventually Sustainable Timbers has something more positive to say about what we can do.

So – there you go.
Me at the heart of local issues!
Have an awesome weekend!!
Cheers!