:: spying on Mother Nature this morning ::

At a time of the year, when these delicate Snowdrops are still lingering here.... 

...and one of my favourite fragrant flowers is just beginning to flourish...

...Mother Nature is magically composing the most joyous symphony in our garden...and I was drawn out there with my camera this morning...delighting in every single (seeming) incredible feat of growth and abundance...

...some of the fruit trees in the orchard can't wait to frock up in their best party frills and shiver in Spring frosts bedecked in petals all pink or white...they would be the stone fruit - plums, peaches, nectarines and apricots and their delicate blossoms are mostly all ephemerally dashed to the ground in the all-too-chilly Spring winds...

...while the pip fruit family like the pear and apple above, dress sensibly in their new leaves first...

...so many wonders - like the beautiful wrapping of these quince bud petals...

...and when was the last time you really looked into the centre of a flower to check out what happens in there? All I could really think about was the promise of luscious berries in Summer...

...and leaf buds literally thrusting miniature furry, leaf-babies heavenward...

...and can you guess what this is?  I was surprised to find this soft, pink tenderness surging forth from the woody tip of...a grapevine! ... 

 and amazed at firstly the brilliant red and secondly the exquisite unpacking of perfect rose leaves...

 ...and here is the plant that spurred my curiosity this morning...a tiny green fig pertly sitting up next to a very new, very first bright green leaf sprout...on a tree, otherwise bare-naked!

 ...and there were more surprises - here are a couple of the earliest plums, while the last unfertilised (?) blossom not yet fallen, dries brown beside them...

 ...lurking beneath leaf-shields are wee blackcurrants, swelling behind flowers as they wither, crumple and shrink... 

...and in the vegetable gardens the first strawberry blossoms were floating - and this - small and green, but soon to be plump, juicy and RED... 

 and last, but not least - asleep in their pod...some baby peas, merely slumbering or growing astronomically-fast?

Ah, Persephone's Return from the Underworld to bring back the light to the Earth - how confident, faithful and abundant indeed - how lucky we humans are - if only we would realise :)

:: walkabout wednesday ::

 

A couple of weeks ago now, we were invited to walk a neighbour's organic farm property with a group of other organic-growing farmers and gardeners in our small local area.

The weather afforded us a very fine, sunny Spring morning and we much enjoyed our morning tea then set out to walk their farm.

 It was interesting to meet the herd of lovely Dexter cows who have the privilege of fresh grass every day or so - yes - there are 30-something paddocks here for these bovine beauties.

It was good to just chat and discover ideas and perhaps solutions to common challenges to working with the land organically.

Like this simple, yet highly effective carrot-raising concept: lay newspaper in an open-ended piece of plastic guttering (in another container to hold the soil/seed-raising mix in), fill with soil/seed-raising mix, sow carrot seed.  When the carrots are big enough to go in the ground - simply dig a suitably-matching small trench in the garden and slide the seedlings directly into the ground, including the newspaper - which will break down - and firm up the sides with soil!

Carrots have been one of my difficult crops...and are notorious for their dislike of being transplanted...I shall definitely be trying this.

And I found it fascinating to notice that our neighbour, who is growing this garlic less than 500m from where we are growing ours, has so much more growth there.  Planted at the same time, I wonder whether their garden is just that much more elevated and sheltered than ours?

The name 'walkabout Wednesday' has been coined and the intention is to walk each others' properties over the coming Spring months.

Heck, it was just great to actually stop working on the land for a morning and go and talk with some real, local people about stuff that really  matters!

The Mandala Garden and Pruning the Fruit Trees

Here is our mandala garden. Wendy has been in it for two straight days and the results are amazing.
There were so many weeds to pull and there were about 50 plants (super sized) to plant. (That's right, this is Aaron reporting).

The chickens were moved first, onto a new bed. They clucked and squabbled all day - which they do - and demolished every bit of living green available. Not to many eggs though.

I have been pruning. Scared me to death I have to say. Having completed a certificate in organics and biodynamics with Taruna, I thought I would have a little more knowledge, however I found myself searching youtube for tips.

The fruit trees had not been properly shaped from the beginning and so 'water sprouts' had become large limbs and had to be 'sorted' out. If you had been watching you would have seen me up the orchard ladder looking confused, worried, pensive and all those emotions that come with having to 'deal' to a beautiful fruit tree.

The Mandala garden and its 14 or so fruit trees is now done... off to the orchard tomorrow... or sometime later.

:: the good wood ::

This is Aaron, Wendy's husband. So this post may not have the elegance of Wendy's posts.

I have been chopping wood and thought I would share some images of the process including the 'tools' I use to make it easier.

The Saw Horse
I think this is what it is called. Made out of 10 pieces of treated 4x2 it is an old invention with incredible usefulness and increased safety. Oh and better for your back as well.

Saw Horse with wood stack in back.

I have been gifted access to about 5 acres of Kanuka timber. The farmer next door to us has dropped the lot in order to return to grass.

Saw Horse and Chainsaw

Kanuka is a very good burning wood. Very hard and full of heat. Really important to cut as soon as possible after felling as it gets harder by the day. The only downside is that the pieces can be small due to the stringy nature of the way it grows.

Tyre Chopping

I found this idea on http://www.instructables.com/ an amazing website with a constantly increasing number of member submissions on how to do just about anything.

* Get a tyre tube and place it on a wood block
* Put a number of pieces of wood in
* Hit real hard with splitting axe
* Done!

This is such a simple - Recycling - and safety idea.
Not long ago when not using a tyre I was chopping wood and one piece flew out at me and hit me so hard on the knee that I almost passed out. And it happened twice!

You can walk around the tyre chopping away until you have the number or size of timber that you want. So easy.

I also use a splitting axe. This is quite different to a wood 'cutting' axe as it has a large head - bit like a sledge hammer with a cutting edge. Very useful and a timesaver.

Garden fence and mist on DOC Reserve

And woolly wet (needs a haircut) DOG

:: Brag Basket #3 ::

bounty

Tonight's dash about the garden beds was a mad hurry at the end of another busy and hot day. And in about 6 or 7 minutes I had this lush basket full of everything to complete our evening meal - and a few bursts of pretty colour for the table - for is a vegetable garden complete without...flowers?!!
Varieties:
Silverbeet - or chard: Argentata and Rainbow Brights, Basil: Sweet Genovese, Broccoli: de Cicco, Zucchini: Lebanese, Black Beauty and Florence Long-ribbed, Kale: Toscana di Nero, Parsley: Triple-curled, Thyme: French, Nasturtiums and Dahlia.

:: Spring arrivals ::

poached-egg daffodils

 When, after months and months of literally endless (seeming!) rainy days, the SUN finally graces us with it's presence, well, what will we be doing?  Well, not spending very much time inside and definitely not much time in front of a screen.  With so much raw beauty to feast our eyes on such as these 'poached egg daffodils' (my name for them!) I have been filling up on the wonder of our surroundings. As well, we have many, many tasks to do in the garden, the soil of which is now finally workable and all those garden beds we've just had to leave - we are beginning to plant out.  What a relief!

Sweet Pekin duckling

We have welcomed two new creatures to our farmlet -this young duckling was needing a home - so Phoebe who has been longing for her white ducks was nodding her head very vigorously when there was the suggestion that we might like him.  It came to us in a box labelled "Stew Steak" - so I thought we could call it 'Stu' - but, not knowing whether it is in fact a he or a she, we will have to wait - not holding out on the name, though as Phoebe says 'NO'.

'Shirley' being bottle-fed - 3 x a day!

This young female kid was sadly orphaned and gratefully received by Phoebe who has mostly been enjoying bottle-feeding her the rich, raw cow's milk we have been getting from the lovely Dexter cow we've been milking, 'Lady'. Coming to us at just 10 days old, Shirley needed 3 bottles of milk a day and lots of loves and cuddles - she seems very attached to Phoebe.

What has Spring been bringing you?

:: sheltered ::

As part of a Farming theme in Phoebe's Class 3 year, she has been experiencing 'shelter'.  This has stemmed from her own very strong desire to form shelters around the property and in the home, when the weather has not been very co-operative for such ventures.

pallet play platform under the old apple tree

So far, she has managed to get Aaron to rig up a very simple platform 'house' from pallets, directly under the beautiful old Apple tree.

She has another one in the gardens under a large, old, wild Rosemary 'bush', which she has shaped into an arching 'shelter' with the help of secateurs and imagination -this is her 'Spring cubby'.

her stick 'bender' - a temporary temple?

 And over the past few weeks, Phoebe has been creating - with my help - a stick shelter, using the available materials - in our case at the moment, this is fruit tree prunings, flax and bamboo.

embellishment

 

We have been looking through and discussing the various simple and ancient shelters in this little and informative book - Simple Shelters, by Jonathan Horning -  borrowed from the library.


She is curious as to whether some of the prunings might sprout and grow. 
Phoebe has been learning about lashing sticks together to secure the house.  She has been weaving busily with a variety of materials and methods, endless experimentation and embellishment.
Yesterday we planted 20 sweetpea seeds in the hope that they will grow up and fragrantly and beautifully cover her little stick shelter. 

the second smaller stick house being constructed

After the first little house was made together, Phoebe began a second smaller version, right next door, all by herself - the 'store', she says.
Once Spring has arrived and settled in, and the earth is a bit less wet, also in our plans is an adobe playhouse with a cement foundation, which she and Aaron will build together - she can't wait!