… and all things nice! We had leftover rice from dinner last night that we put out for a treat for the girls this morning. When we first got this brood they quite timid, but they seem to recognise us more and more each day as the purveyors of fine food 😀 The garden has gone … Continue reading
… a quick update. It is late March which in Oz means we are almost a whole month into Autumn (Fall) but you would not know it. I awoke this morning to another warm day: it is 26ºC now (9am) heading for 31ºC. It is far too warm and to be honest, I am over it. … Continue reading
… yes folks! It’s harvest day! It’s a balmy (?) 28 degrees in Woody Point but because of the 68% humidity it feels like at least 30 degrees. So today, after our regular Saturday morning date of bike ride, coffee and backgammon, we donned hats and sunscreen and insect repellant and headed for the patch! … Continue reading
It is an egg, and Juliet is the mum! 😀 (I am now cringing and already apologising to all and sundry for this terrible rework of the Bard’s beautiful lines!) Just a very quick post. Since we brought our new girls home almost two weeks ago, we have had only a small clutch of eggs. … Continue reading
… an adventure into the unknown A few weeks back I shared my experiences with making soap. At that stage I thought there was only really one method. How wrong I was! While Polly Pender’s 1983 publication seduced me into believing that soap making was easy-peasey, what with measurements in cupfuls and spoonfuls, and mixing with … Continue reading
… a new coup and a new beginning After the trauma of having to say goodbye to our last flock, and being told that we did not have to wait to restock (if it was leukosis* it does not persist in the environment) I did some research on chickens and suppliers and landed on a supplier … Continue reading
Introducing the Barracuda 6000 and the Biologic 8000! We have been fiddling around the edges with the aquaponics system. Ostensibly it’s a CHOP set-up (constant height one pump). I say ostensibly as one pump runs the main part of the system (to and from the grow beds and the fish tanks) but we have another … Continue reading
… is a little hard to take Sadly tonight I must report that our backyard is bare—our flock is no more. We had our remaining three chooks put to sleep after a lot of soul searching but, at the end of the day, it had to be done. Without creating ‘War and Peace’ the chronology of … Continue reading
was on me! A quick post for anyone attempting soap making off the back of my previous posts. The egg mould thing, while it looked great, turned out to be an ENTIRE pain in the backside! Yes, I did try to ‘shell’ one of the soaps too early and it did not come out cleanly, … Continue reading
… and the house smells amazing! Today I again dipped into the instructional pages of Polly Pinder’s Home-made and at a fraction of the cost. Published in 1983, it is delightful publication which includes chapters on growing herbs in pots, home-baked breads, soft cheeses, chutneys, pickles and mustards, smoked foods, sweets, nature’s drinks, fruit preserves, scents and … Continue reading
SuburbanSource 