Sunday, August 23, 2015

Getting warmer..

The hugel bed is growing nicely with all the rain. The asparagus plants are poking their heads up asking "Is it Spring yet?"


The almond trees certainly know it's warming up. They're blooming like crazy and look really happy after the permie group pruned them. The bees are humming away up there happily, and the old flowering broccoli is yesterdays news.


And one more sign of spring - a broody hen is fighting the massive urge to scratch around in the lush green grass and is trying to sit on some eggs. :) We've set up a special area just for her. Here's hoping for good news in roughly 3 weeks..


Don't forget, you can click on the pictures to get a bigger view. :)

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Tree planting at home


The other day, we went to a clearing sale that was a bit of a bust, then the next day we went to a poultry auction, which was also a bust. I think something is telling us we should just stay home! So, on the way back we stopped in to the nursery and brought home 12 tubestock trees. Today we got stuck into planting them all.

These trees are the start of a woodlot, a windbreak and a screening of the neighbouring properties. First we mowed the area, then we marked contour with the A frame, dug the holes, planted the trees, put a guard around each one, and came back with the wheelbarrow full of water containers for them all. Initially we were going to use the contour line to rip a small trench using the tractor, but decided against it.. It was a bit more curvy than we expected.. but the little trees look great anyhow!

It's much more productive staying at home. :)

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Running out of winter


So, a friendly electrician took pity on us and took a look at our setup, and we're hoping he's able to help us out. In the meantime, when the weather allows, we've continued to practice welding by putting up the shed. It's been fun, frustrating and exciting, all in the same day sometimes. We're both getting better at welding, and I'm pretty sure it won't fall down.. Mostly pretty sure. After all, when it's done, we're going to park the tractor and the cars under it! Yikes.

We've had some lovely rain, the wattle trees are blooming, and so are the almonds. The chooks have been amazing, too. They're laying enough to keep us with 2 dozen eggs at a time in the cupboard, and a few more to give away occasionally. They're out scratching around in the cold, from just before dawn to a little before dusk. The naked-neck breed is the work-horse of the chook world, I think, followed closely by the langshan. The dorkings are a bit more laid back, but it'll be interesting to see how the next generation fare, given their role models! I can't wait until we get a broody hen!!

It's nearly the end of winter, and we're scaling back our heater usage now. For a while there the Nectre 15 was running 24 hours a day. Now it's only really in the evenings, except for the odd 10°C (50°F) rainy day, when going outside just isn't going to happen. The wood we stored is getting a little low, but we'll make it through with spare.

Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes plenty of ideas and plans. Lots of seeds to plant, a few earthworks, bamboo planting, food production, renovations.. the list seems endless! It's like I say to Marty all the time though, there's no rush or time limit. Just us two, doing what we can. :)