finally i can feel springs on the way

Lately everyone's been talking about spring and how they can feel it just on the doorstep ..... finally I can say, I CAN TOO!!!

I just love these days.  We've still got rain on the way in a few days, but spring is definitely in the air.  The other day I heard a 'blowie' (big blowfly) in the house, you know the weathers starting to change when you can hear a blowie inside.

Today, I'm just going to post a few pics I took when I went out to welcome my 'chook children' to the day.  My dear little Matthew is at kindy today .... as I was saying goodbye to him (and giving him the biggest mummy hug) his teacher came up and asked what was wrong.  There was nothing at all wrong except, I just didn't want to let go!!

The carrots are really taking off since I fed them my special liquid chook poo!

Broccoli poking its head out to say hi to the sun.

It's just as well I never really have a plan for these cumquat's as Matthew and the birds just can't resist picking them off, especially when they're at 'little boy height'.

I longingly look at the strawberries in the supermarket ... but I'm determined to wait.

Mr Magpie quenching his thirst.

Think I'll invest in some netting this year, we didn't get one peach last year, the birds just loved them too much to share.

I watched this bee for ages, it buzzed from flower to flower for such a long time.

One of my favourite herbs - Thyme.

The lavender flowers are nearly there.

Look at the blossoms on the lime .... just bursting, and there's a few limes there too.

It was full of bees too ... they're so busy ... working, working, working!

New growth on the orange ... this was a transplanted tree that has taken a good few years to 'recover'.

And I can't wait for the gardenia to flower.  I love these .... I'm hoping with the breeze I'll smell it through the bedroom windows.

I'm thinking that's probably enough bombardment for the day.  Need to order some more seeds and get a twenty first invitation drafted for my first baby girl - who's a baby no longer!

Hope you all have a wonderful day :)

seeding away

A couple of months ago we made these awesome owls at playgroup.

As you can see, the top of the egg cartons were used and each 'end'.  I quickly gathered the centre's of the used cartons and brought them home to plant seeds in.

Matthew and I had a seed planting morning, then did a couple more rows of carrots in the vege patch.

DD2 - aka Emily - scored these Lemon Scented Tea Tree seed sticks from Uni for me, so in they went.  

She is about to become much closer to the family after today - she ran out of points and has to hand her licence in today.  You only get 4 in the first year and she got zapped for speeding twice in a week last December.  It's taken them eight months to get the notice out to her.  Guess who'll be running around after her!! Grrrrr ...

We've entered the Junior Landcare Watermelon Challenge this year.  We've done it years ago, I was reminded of it here on The Little Black Cow's lovely blog.

Matthew is eagerly awaiting his seeds, I can see the competition will be fierce, we'll have to start preparing a bed for the bestest watermelon!

Have a lovely day, I'm off to tackle the more mundane chore of ironing (yuk) :)

weekend update

Turned out to be a busy weekend.  Here's an update on a few previous posts.

Mousetrap update - not good.  I haven't caught any mice with my 'you beaut mousetrap', however, one did throw itself into the chooks drinking water!  DH thought it was hilarious.  I'm a patient woman though (many would dispute this) and will continue to inspect daily!

Neighbours sheep - not good.  DH found one in some long grass in the middle of their back paddock on Thursday afternoon.  She was not in a good way at all.  She was alive but couldn't get up or even hold her head up.  I couldn't contact my friend, so after some deliberation we decided she should be put down.  We went home to get our neighbour who would shoot her for us but by the time they went back she had passed away.  As it was dark by this stage we decided to bury her the next day.  Another neighbour/friend who is looking after her dog came over and together we buried the sheep.  On walking out of the back paddock she spotted the other sheep up against their shed in the house paddock.  It appeared to have just died.  Very strange.  As it was getting close to pick up time for school (and we wouldn't have been able to get her down the back by ourselves) we decided to dig the hole and come back with one of the blokes later.  So that's the story of the sheep.  I have since spoken to my friend who can't even remember how old they were.  We felt bad that this had happened while she was away, she feels bad that we had to deal with it.  They had been shorn and drenched just a few days earlier, so we're wondering whether there was something in the drench that affected them, it seems very strange.

DS1 has been completing his modules for the volunteer fire brigade and training for the National Cadet Fire Fighting games to be held in Sydney in October.  Luckily the training is held at our fire station, the modules are at another town, so much time has been spent driving him around this weekend (as well as his part time job).

So, after having a weekend where I felt like I couldn't really get stuck into anything without interruption, I'm looking forward to the week.

I made one of our favourite things for Saturday night.  Makes up quite a lot which is just as well because we love it for lunch too.

CURRIED BROWN RICE & LENTIL SALAD

1 cup brown r ice

1 cup dried green lentils, rinsed

300g chorizo sausages, thinly sliced

1/3 cup olive oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tsp mild curry powder

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 red capsicum, finely diced

310g can corn kernels, drained, rinsed

2 green onions, thinly sliced

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over high heat.  Add rice an d lentils.  Reduce heat to medium.  Simmer, uncovered, for about 30 - 35 minutes or until rice and lentils are tender.  Drain.  Rinse under cold water.

Meanwhile, heat a large frypan over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic.  Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until soft.  Add curry powder.  Cook, stirring, for 1 minutes or until fragrant.  Remove from heat.  Stir in remaining oil and vinegar.  Season with salt.

Combine rice, lentils, capsicum, corn, green onion, and chorizo and onion mixture in a large bowl.  Toss to combine.  Serve warm.

It is so yummy.  We use our homemade Italian sausages that we made - chorizo are very expensive.

 

Hope you all had a nice weekend :)

the sweetest thing

Lots going on here today, but I just had to share this NOW.....

DH and littlest man are outside doing 'stuff', I'm inside finishing off beds and tidying up before going out into the sunshine.

I can hear the little man calling and calling me from the back doors.

And here he is ......

 

"I picked these for you cos I wanted to make you happy"

Oh my gosh, there are some times my heart just bursts with love for him .... this was one of those times.

One of those times you just want the world to stop so everyone can see whats really important!

I sure hope you're all having a wonderful day :)

on my mind

So much to do today but only one thing on my mind.  Join in with Rhonda at down to earth for her Friday photo feature.

When I started my blog, the idea was not to include pics of myself.  Not sure why, maybe because when you just read about a person you can form your own picture.  People can imagine you just how they like.  Maybe they would be disappointed.  Who knows.

This is a picture of me...

.... and one of my oldest and dearest friends.  We have been friends for over thirty years.  We have been close to each others family since childhood.  Our lives have taken very different directions, yet we have remained so close.  She has a wonderful career, lives in a beautiful house, loves eating out, married with no children (her choice) and travels the world a few times a year.

Yesterday she told me that her father has cancer, everywhere.  As I write this I cry, I can't stop the tears.  I suppose the realisation that I'm in my mid forties and we are getting to the age where our parents, friends parents and 'that' age group we knew as adults when we were kids are approaching death.  And she's my friend and we've been through so much and I'm just not ready for this.

I guess this is pretty heavy stuff for a feature that I feel should be more lighthearted, but today this is whats on my mind.

Hope you all have a lovely day and memory filled weekend :)

the neighbourly thing

One of our neighbours - and also a good friend - left the other day for a three week holiday.

I'm soooo jealous!!!!

There, I've said it.  I don't get 'jealous' of other people.  But as I had a farewell coffee with her on Tuesday, getting the run down on the 'looking after' of things, I have to admit I was.  She is off with her family in their camper trailer to Coral Bay - a stunning coastal town 1200km north of Perth.  It is the beginning of Ningaloo Reef where you can swim with whale sharks.  Who wouldn't be a teeny bit jealous, right?

So off Matthew and I went this morning to check the chooks, let them out for a scratch and check the sheep.  She had text me the night before she left to say she couldn't find one of her sheep, if we saw it to send her home.  Well, on inspection this morning they're BOTH GONE.  We let the chickens out, collected the eggs and went on a sheep hunt.  

They are gone, nowhere to be seen.

We walked up and down the street, looking in their neighbours paddocks, calling,  how can two sheep just disappear??  We live in a cul-de-sac, surely they couldn't go too far.

Should I tell her straight away or wait a few days in case they turn up??

Maybe we'll have another look this afternoon.

Back home to do some seeding!

Hope you have a lovely day :)

making a mouse trap

Lately we've been having a mouse problem in the chook pen.  DH kept bringing up the dreaded 'baits' but I've been very loathe to get some.  The other day I was reading my latest 'Grass Roots' mag and was reminded of an old method involving a bucket, bottle, piece of wood and some yummy smelling mouse treat!

As I'm sure you're all aware, the key to a successful project goes in the preparation.

So ..... the first thing needed was an empty bottle.

After inviting some good friends over who were more than happy to help with these preparations, we had an empty bottle or two.  Needless to say, its been a few days since then because the day after, the last thing on my mind was a mouse trap!

With all other items handy and needing much less effort in the prep area, I set to it.

And this is the result.  The mice should run up the wood, smelling the fat on the end of the bottle.  When they reach the bottle neck or end they should slip off into the bucket.  I've filled the bucket a quarter full of water.

Stay tuned to find out if it was indeed worth it to suffer through that loathsome preparation ... he he.

Have a lovely day :)

meals and memories

When my niece was turning twenty one she asked me if I would make her an 'Aunty Julie cookbook' as our present to her for her birthday.  I have always loved cooking and especially for others.  I was very excited, what a wonderful gift to create.  I have also always loved that people love to come to our home for the cooking, its a very special feeling.  As my brother says "you always know you're going to get a good feed at Aunty Julies".

I got working on it never expecting it to take so long - her birthday was the end of last year - that's the embarrassing part.  The thing is, I didn't know when to stop.  I wanted to have pictures of our family through all the years, stories of special occasions, traditions that we have maintained and little hints, tips and quotes.  I'm so happy with how it's turned out, although the more I think, the more I could add.  

I find myself sitting, flicking through the pages, looking at the pictures and the memories each and every one bring back.  I have laughed and I have cried.  I 've been happy and I've been sad.  I feel privileged that someone wants to share these times.  

And now, the orders are flowing in!

One hundred and forty six pages and over eleven thousand words later, its done.  Some final touches to the cover and assembling, is all that's left.  Hopefully this will be done in the next few days.

Soon I can show you the happy face of one very special young lady who had such a wonderful idea!

Have a lovely day and don't forget to make some memories :)

go away illness & injury :(

What a long week it has been.   Its taken me quite some time to catch up on my blog reading.  We seem to have had nothing but illness over the last week.  The littlest man had been back at kindy for a day when he got sick.  This continued on for a few days until he managed to pick up.  As he was getting better, I was at the Doc and physio with the middle man with his back.  The result of huge growth spurts, age and decreased spine curvature in the places it should be curved, specifically the lumbar region.  This results in decreased shock absorption for a teenager who plays sports most days and tight hamstrings.

The rain has seemed to be endless (except for the last three days of beautiful sunshine). 

At least I was able to get some baking done.  Choc chip cookies, Anzac's, this easy Date Loaf that I found here and the following yummy slice. 

MOOMBA FINGERS

125 butter/margarine

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup mixed fruit

2 cups SR flour

pinch of salt

Melt butter in a large saucepan, add sugar and allow mixture to cool slightly.  Add beaten egg, mixed fruit, sifted flour and salt.  Mix well.  Spread in a greased slab tin 23 x 28cm and bake in a moderately hot oven 190C for 20 minutes.

Ice with lemon icing and top with a sprinkle of coconut or chopped nuts.

It seems that I have no sooner baked and filled the tins and I'm at it again.

 

I also managed to get some knitting done, trying to finish off a jumper for the little man.  We had some nice quiet time during the wet days where I knitted.

Unfortunately, the knitting now has to wait for a few more days.  Over the weekend we went to our friends wood yard to collect some logs from their 'scrap pile'.  As I was picking one up another bounced off the loader bucket and landed on my finger, crushing it against another piece.  PAIN!!!!  It is still quite swollen, a beautiful patchwork of colours and very immobile.  This post has taken me oh so long to write.  I've been itching to get back to my blog and was very determined to get this done.

I now have to find something to do that doesn't involve the index finger of the right hand!!

Hope you are all well and have a lovely day :)