Little Mama Update...

Alfie and her eggs are doing well, I have to lift her out 3-4 times a day to have something to eat, drink and have a poop or she would just sit there. Bev the egg lady did warn me that some hens will sit so diligently that they will end up sick or dying because they won't leave the nest so I am removing her (under protest I might add) so she can have a stretch and shake.

Last night I went out and quietly removed her eggs so I could try candling them. After watching a few tutorials I am confident there are a few chicks, the others I am not so sure about just yet. Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to hold an egg, a torch and a camera all at the same time so I couldn't take any pics.

Peas In A Pod...

Considering they havent been in very long, I was quite surprised to see a couple of these lovely little pea blooms a couple of days ago. What I wasn't expecting so soon was this gorgeous little pea pod that I found today...ooh the anticipation!

All Jammed Out...

I decided to make up the last of the Blackberries into jam the other day, the result...eighteen jars of sweet gold. All set and sealed beautifully, three jars gone already and a few I will pop in the post this week. Now all I need is a fresh loaf of home baked bread and I will be a very contented soul. 

Little Miss Broody...

Alfie is broody. 
Such is her dedication to being a good mama that I caved in and brought her some eggs. She is now sitting on ten little eggs, all mixed breeds and thankfully different colours than her own so I can remove hers out of the nest easily. I have used the big cat carrier for a nesting box and made a separate pen for her so she will be protected from the weather and feel safe. I'm going to be a grandma!

Days In The Garden...

Every day is bringing new life to the gardens now. The broad beans have lovely black and white flowers on them now and the peas have cute little white ones. The borage despite its small stature have all bloomed and they are already attracting the bumbles, one who was sheltering (or hanging on for dear life) the other day in our windy weather. 

Yesterday I planted some cucumber, marigolds, beans and fordhook beets. Today I put in all the sunflowers, some basil, Amish paste tomatoes and a few other bits...day by day it is starting to take shape and I can see how beautiful everything will look once we get some more sunshine and things start to get bigger.

Being sick on and off the last couple of months really set back my “Food Is Free” project so I decided a couple of weeks ago to offer my spare seeds and seedlings on a “Pay it forward” group to those who wanted to have a garden but may not have the resources to get started and what a success! I had so many people reply to my post it took me for a six. Some wanted to save money by growing their own, some wanted to make a family garden with their children and would share the extra yummies with others which is always a good thing. 

Heirloom seed meant they could save seed from this years yield for next year, for themselves and to share with others as well. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting such a large response but it gave me warm fuzzies that so many people were interested in feeding themselves and others. I still have a ton of seedlings and more to plant so it will spread even further over the next few weeks. I even got gifted a bag of seed mix as a thank you from one person which I will use for the next lot I plant. The back porch is chocka full of punnets and pots but as I plant or give away it gives me more room for more seedlings. 

 The next job I need to get onto is putting netting over the pipe frame I was given. I decided to use it for growing my pumpkins on this year and see how it works. If all goes to plan they will scramble over the frame instead of sprawling over the lawn and will make a nice cool place underneath for the shade loving plants.

The Next Project...

This gorgeous gal is the newest addition to the family. She will one day be our home. 

Despite being in very good condition and an easy diy for a gal like me with no experience in caravans, she does need a few tidy ups. Today I went and brought some bog, sandpaper in different grades and three tins of primer, just what I need to get started for a tad of cosmetic surgery. 

There She Blows...

The last few days brought winds up to 155km across our little country with disastrous results in many places. People lost lives, homes, vehicles, personal effects...many places without power for hours and days, the clean up will be quite a mission. I was fortunate in that the only damage I had was waking up to the rubbish bin blowing over and spreading the contents across the lawn and bags of recycling taking a tour around the yard...I feel rather lucky considering what some people have lost, I sincerely hope life gets back to normal for them soon.

One thing I have noticed from my garden groups is the amount of lost seedlings due to cheap mini greenhouses getting blown away or toppling over in low winds...if you are considering buying one of these, please anchor it down, stabilise to lessen the chances of hours of green fingering being wasted. I had moved all my seedlings to the back veranda for protection and didn’t lose any thankfully.