A time of firsts

First plum blossoms

 

The first day of spring came around and what a morning it was! Very close to -8C, the coldest morning we have had since moving out here - and the water tank pipes froze! So that meant no water for us. Our youngest daughter came running into our bedroom and flung the curtains back to excitedly exclaim 'SNOW!' at the top of her lungs.  Must admit it looked very close to snow. Hubby braved the cold (OK I pushed him out!) to go over to our other tank to fill up the kettle for a cuppa and he reported back that there were actual icicles coming out of the hose!

 

Lucky for us we had the fire going and the house was warm and toasty. After so much hassle getting this thing in and approved we were very grateful for the warmth. I fall asleep most nights in front of the fire.

 

 

We recently built our first wood shed with very kindly donated tin from our next door neighbour. This also meant that I got my greenhouse back when all the wood could be moved in.

 

 

And here is our veggie garden as of this beautiful bright sunshiny day. We recently harvested our first lot of winter veggies from the garden. It has been so cold this winter that nothing really grew much. The broccoli and shallots are from the garden and the potatoes and carrots are from the greenhouse.

 

 

In anticipation of spring, and also reviving the garden, I have been planting out some seedlings in the greenhouse.

 

 

These are my herbs - Chamomile, Thyme, Mint, Marjoram and Basil. As the Basil was closest to the wall, it actually got hit by the -8C frost we had. It didn't completely die and has started to reshoot green tips so all the work wasn't lost.

 

 

These are my pumpkin, rockmelon, watermelon and loofah seedlings, although the loofah seeds haven't come up yet.

 

 

Here are my tomato seedlings. This year I am growing Roma, Grosse Lisse, Mortgage Lifter, Money Maker, and Sweetie. *May* have gone a little bit overboard :)

 

 

In anticipation of the dream of one day getting sheep, we planted some trees at the front of the house so they will provide some shade for them when the trees get bigger. We planted three manchurian pears (I have always wanted some of these trees and finally got my wish). Although they are not edible, they still have purpose - shade for both the sheep and the front rooms of the house in summer, screening the neighbours across the road, beautiful colour in autumn as well as leaves for mulch and composting in the autumn. After much discussion, we have also planted our new little fig tree out the front as well. Hopefully for shade for the sheep and front rooms of the house and fruit as well.

 

 

And finally.....TA DA! My first loaf of bread - raisin bread! tastes yummy too!

 

Time to cross another off my New Years Resolutions:

Make bread from scratch, even if just once.  DONE!

 

 

Other firsts in the household - my youngest daughter turned the big 6, my twin bubbys turned 3 and also started preschool (big boys now *sniff*). We opened our bees for the first time since ANZAC Day and - phew! - they are still alive! I am about to embark on a permaculture design certificate in a couple of weekends time and I have almost completed my first semester back at uni and survived to tell the tale! Well - that is at the end of October and a lot can happen between now and then!

Frog Pond Stage 1

To quote Dale Kerrigan from the Australian cult movie classic 'The Castle':

"I dug a hole"

Yes, folks that's what we did today. We dug a hole. A hole for our new pond to hopefully entice the frogs out of the swimming pool and not to their untimely death. We are also hoping this little pond will encourage more beneficial insects to our little patch of dirt. And more birds and bees. Preferably those that like aphids and the Cherry/Pear slug.

We chose a site up in our orchard near some existing rocks. I am hoping to incorporate these rocks as well as the ones we picked up on Freecycle to create a little rockery and pond combo.



The chooky girls love a good digging 'cause they get a bellyful of worms.

Gotta love child labour :)

And this is where we got to this afternoon. Next on the agenda is rock placement, overlaps and design. We hope to have some fish living in here as well so will need to make sure they have some hidey holes to dive into. I already have a few water plants sitting in a bucket ready to go.  I hope this little project works!

Passionfruit vines are deciduous, right? And other dreary winter tales

It's OK...deep down I already know the answer to that question *sigh*

I can probably count on one hand the amount of frost free days we have had in the last couple of weeks...no months really, so it is understandable that the passionfruit is feeling a little cold. We had a -5 here this morning, the third morning this week at -5 and below.

Maybe this is just a self preservation method, and come spring, new growth and flowers will be revealed.

Maybe the vines were just discarding unwanted leaves.

I think it's time to face facts...its dead.

Other dreary winter tales from the place include:

 - a fireplace that is finished, looks fantastic, but can't be used because of some issues with the builder which means we can't get final council approval. I think I feel colder just by looking at an empty fire. On the up though, its almost spring, warm weather will be here shortly, and we will have no need to use it until next year! Joy!

 - a rat has taken up residence in the greenhouse and has decided that lettuce, peas and rocket are his 'thing'. I hate rats.

 - I have only been half-heartedly doing exercise as it is too cold, even in the house! OK...now I am just whingeing!

 - I have been hibernating so bad that I haven't even blogged! Can't believe it has been so long!

Bring on the warmth and new life that comes with spring. We need a little cheering up around here.