New chicks on the block

Some of the chicks in the 4 Welcome Swallow nests we have around the house. An enterprising 5th pair have built a nest in the back corner of the pig shelter!

Berry thirsty!

Taking those berry pics this morning gave me a craving for some brambleberry cordial. Luckily there was still about 4 kg of berries in the freezer from last season, so I whipped out a couple and made cordial. I modified a recipe I found on the ABC (Australia) website.

For each kg of berries add 1 litre of water, bring to the boil and simmer 15 mins. Strain through muslin (I hang mine to get every last drop of berry juice!). For every cup of berry liquid add 1 cup of sugar (I use a bit less), stir to dissolve, then bring to the boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat then add 85ml of white vinegar for every kg of berries you used (in my case it was 170ml for 2kg of berries). Pour into sterilised bottles and seal. I got about 4l of cordial. Serve a splash of cordial with water or soda water. You don't need much and it lasts for ages.

The jar to the left of the bottles is my ginger beer plant - I should be ready to make ginger beer next week. Yum.

Berry fruity

It's shaping up to be a berry fruity summer:
cherries and apricots,


peaches and blueberries,


currants (red and black) and raspberries,


and the king of berries - brambleberries.

Mushie update

Just got back from my 2 week PDC (permaculture design certificate - read about it here) so no time for much except a quick mushroom update!

Here come the mushies...... :*)



More updates (including the new greenhouse shadecover) to come this week once I dig myself out from the avalanche of work waiting for me in my inbox :*)

Spring garden update

Peas, pak choy, and the rampant raspberries!

garlic and onions, and the new dwarf nectarine in flower

More garlic, silverbeet, spinach and Kale, and the cabbage bed

partial view of the vege patch, and the Chickens enjoying some garden scraps

Phew! it's time to enjoy a rest in the sun :*)

Building a new chook shed Part 1

We (well, Jerry mostly) are building a new main chicken coop, with more undercover space for feeding and dustbathing when the weather isn't so good.





Last weekend we 'rescued' 2 sides and half a roof of a shed from the tip, and the rest of the corrugated iron and colourbond was also 'rescued'. It won't be the prettiest, but it ticks the recycling box, and the only things we've had to buy are the pine support posts. Even the hardwood cross beams were 'rescued"!