Tuesday 4 September 2012

Some projects finished.......................



After some excavation work way back in January we were left with a huge pile of rock ..............what to do with it all ?

                                                   
It took most of the Winter months(and broken fingernails) but I have finally finished my Cairn .........

                                                      
           Over the months the stone has dried into different colors .


                                                       




  While I was playing with stones Hubby was building the new movable Chicken House on wheels !!
It has timber slats on the floor (gaps are small so no foxes can get in) and a wire panel for a door and at night time a blind that I pull down over the door and secure.  

At present its resting under a group of gum trees for added protection                    

It didn't take the girls long to settle in and next morning there was the usual 6 eggs in the nesting box.







Err.......who was a tad lazy these last couple of weeks?   the first sunny days of Spring were spent pulling weeds , 5 Ute loads !!! I kid you not !!!

A Wonderful spring surprise...........


Our first lamb for the season, Mum wasn't letting me get too close!    

Its white with black patches like his dad, the breed are called Damara or fat tailed sheep, they shed their fleece over the Spring/Summer months so no need for shearing. Were hoping the other 7 ewes will have safe births over the next couple of weeks.

On the Veggie front there has been lots of growth over the last couple of weeks with some things starting to flower mainly the 2 year old Kale, Garlic, Peas, Leeks and coming along nicely and seeds planted in the cold frame are now ready for transplanting.


The broad beans are flowering too.............


   My one disappointment in the plot has been my Broccoli Green Dragon, lots of healthy growth but no sign of flowers.......not sure what happened....

  Any Ideas??    Oh well I suppose the chickens will enjoy eating the leaves !

                                   
                                Happy Gardening..................   

                                                                                                         
                                          

10 comments:

  1. Andrea...WOW! A cairn??! Get out, you have far too much fun on your homestead. First with the chooks that I love hearing about (so neat that they now have new mobile digs), and now some lambs, and then some new life in the veggie department. I didn't participate in Harvest Monday as recent rains have slowed things a bit, but the forecast from today on is nothing but sun so I hope the peaches will get up to ripening.

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    1. Hi Rowena do hope there's plenty of sunshine to ripen up those peaches, what a treat they will be.

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  2. Loving your cairn. That broccoli is weird isn't it? Perhaps it will still do something useful? Really 5 ute loads of weeds? Lord I wouldn't have wanted to pull all those.

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    1. Hi Liz, yep 5 ute loads! The garden plus veggie plot is about 1/2 acre, large garden beds and good volcanic soil which the weeds seem to love........

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  3. such a beautiful Cairn, I'd wait and see with the broccoli, give them some more food.

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    1. Hi Kirsty glad you like the Cairn I'm waiting for a bird to sit on the top so I can take a photo, no luck yet.
      Will try feeding the broccoli and maybe give them a good talking to as well!

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  4. Andrea, the Cairn looks like it's been there for years. How on earth did you manage to get it in to a dome shape? It looks great.....
    Great mobile chicken house, your girls are delivering the goods. They must be happy......
    Spring lambs too cute, I love them and the Broadbean flowers are so pretty.
    Lots going on now the weather is starting to warm up a bit....

    Claire :}

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    1. Hi Claire, I started by laying a base ring of rocks and then just kept building and the shape just developed.......
      Watched a great program on TV tonite all about building in NY
      my goodness that place is huge.

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  5. Andrea, regarding your question about the cherokee purple tomatoes, they are best for fresh eating since they are so juicy. I did make a batch of tomato sauce one year since I had way too many of them, but it seemed a pity to waste all that wonderful flavor in something that would need extra time to cook in order to reduce the watery consistency. After much thought on the problem of overabundance (my neighbors would be wary of something that is not traditionally italian roma tomato or cuore di bue), I figured that for the 2 of us we only need a couple of plants. So that's the equation now, 2 of this and 2 of that and 2 of that and...oh, didn't I just say that I was concerned about overabundance?

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    1. Ok will stick to the Roma for cooking( i have 8 plants) and will try to find the cherokee purple for fresh eating. I do like to try a different type each year. Have cherry, yellow pear and black krim. I tend to plant too much(but never know what the season may bring) but can always give the excess fruit away.

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Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment,I love reading them all!!