Pessssst

Any idea what's doing this to our almonds?

I've been scouring the internet looking for the culprit attacking our almond tree. It could be peach twig borer - seems to match the description of symptoms but I haven't been able to find a grub on the tree. The tree is only young - this is the first year it  has had fruit - and there are no signs of damage to the trunk or branches - just the fruit.

The question is: how do we control the pest - assuming it is peach twig borer - without using chemicals? Very disappointed with my nut book - no answers there for pest or control. Any ideas?

Just because

 Cocktail anyone? 

I do believe a vampire just walked in the door. How do I know? Well, for one, look at their faces.  And secondly, have you seen Duckie's garlic harvest? Puts my little plait in perspective! And thirdly, because I'm addicted to TrueBlood after my dear friend sent me all of season one,  I'm seeing vampires everywhere. Much more fun than Twilight!

And to answer my own question about when the next Doctor Who special is coming - I saw an ad for it on ABC 1 last night! Spooky. Apparently it aired ages ago in the UK (doesn't that make you cranky?) so we are way behind as usual but I'm excited about it anyway.

OK, well that's a pretty pointless post so  you can tell I'm avoiding work. Bye now.

Market magic

There's nothing like a bit of retail therapy to cheer me up! We had a winner market on the weekend with lots of goodies to bring home. We got:

• coffee beans roasted by Dave, our lovely local expert
• a handful of lemonade lemons which are terrific in a jug of ice tea with fresh mint
• a jar of delicious Victory Lane breakfast marmelade (not as good as Dad's but as he seems determined not to cross the border this year what can I do??)
• camphor laurel shavings to put in the drawers with the jumpers, and....

This fabulous old slide file - unused - I do have quite a lot of slides and I just love the box!

 

Don't ask me why - I know it's sad for a grown woman with no kids to buy toys but it just cracked me up! I love the bat and the cat and the crooked smile and she looks just fine on my lounge though I might give her up if a little one takes a shineto her on a visit.

 
 

And two lovely Egersund serving dishes from Norway that go very nicely with my dinner set! 

And here's what we pulled out of the garden on Saturday - I'm a bit out of practice with plaiting but I think I got it in the end. We weren't sure when to pull the garlic out but after reading various points of view online we settled for the advice that it's OK once half the leaves are green and half brown. We've used a few cloves and it has a lovely strong flavour so we're happy!:

And as if that wasn't enough fun and goodness, we had afternoon tea with champagne and cake to celebrate our birthdays with our lovely local friends. How's this for a beauty of a sponge cake?! Just add passionfruit and blueberries....mmmmm

And if you get a chance to try it, I can highly recommend Demeter certified bio-dynamic and organic bubbly - it's terrific (and vegan friendly).

How's that for a mood swing from the last post! PS Chris that made me laugh - I have a bit of a thing for John Simm so now I know why!

I brood, therefore I am

So what's my excuse? Maybe it's the gloomy weather, but I feel like crawling in the box with them. It does amuse me though, how they go all flat and vacant-eyed - silly chooks. A few weeks ago we moved them back into the Dome so they could finish off our winter veg bed and turn it over ready for some new planting. As soon as we made the change, Marjie snapped out of her brood.  Here she is among the Digger's Meadow Mix I flung around earlier in the year back to her old self:

Is it just me or does it feel like someone stole the year from you too? I just can't believe it's November again. Our birthdays are just around the corner, and my Mum gave me a lovely surprise on Friday when she and my step dad presented me with these:

This chair sat on my Grandma's front porch for as long as I can remember. Grandma would sit on the chair and I'd sit on the porch step and we'd chat for hours. I'm so pleased to have it. Grandma was a keen gardener and she had a magic green thumb - her front garden was full of roses. This one is lovely - every rose on it is different:

I have some seeds for an heirloom rose in our seed box - I like the idea of collecting the hips from them and using them for all sorts of things. I've never propagated a rose - must try that soon. Any tips?

Another thing we've never grown before are these:

Do we let them go to flower or do we eat them? It's the first year so we're not sure. Pretty exciting though - and stupid the way you get so thrilled that they look just like the ones in the shop...well, der!

It seems our enthusiasm for gardening has spread - I got some pics on email from my Dad yesterday showing us the veg box he has built. I particularly like his solution for the leeks - a few old weather boards on each side and they can be easily mounded as they grow. This pic is before the possums raided:

And after:

Seems the dome netting is taking off! Such a simple and effective solution, I know, but in our yard it is taking over somewhat:

We get lots of birds up here and it's the only way to keep everything protected from their relentless attention. We were anxious about the almonds after every single fruit was attacked on the peach tree and while it's keeping the birds off, we've noticed something is getting into the almonds and leaving a resin-like substance on the outside of each fruit - any ideas what that might be?

And lastly here's our spud experiment - we thought it might be a neat way to mound the spuds as they grow - just roll up the sack and add more dirt. I hope it works because I loved the spuds we got last year and this year we have some new varieties growing that I'm keen to try:

So that's all from me - I'm feeling a bit flat after the huge effort of working on my assignment and developing a new project proposal for work next year. The proposal is looking promising - if it gets up it'll be exciting but we've got a few hurdles to jump yet and at this point in time I'm happy either way.

Happy Halloween

Bet you didn't know I'm married to an Intercontinental Playboy. Well, I am (they say opposites attract). Anyway, that's him, second from the right, wearing a cravat and looking sultry (least I think that's what he's doing). They've been gigging in Melbourne this weekend, in celebration of a new album and Halloween.

And while I'd have loved to have been down there with them, shaking martinis in my best lamé frock, I can happily report that I have been home enjoying a wonderful weekend of sloth. I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed. With nothing pressing on my mind (assignment is in and work at a point where what will be, will be) I have been lazing around in my pyjamas, reading trashy vampire novels and communing with the chickens. I even prepared and ate proper meals which is something I usually forgo when I'm left to my own devices - just can't be arsed. It has been very therapeutic, I can tell you.

Almost as therapeutic as reading your funny by-lines for the patterns I posted last weekend. I have to say, it's been quite tough picking the winner. But before I announce the lucky lady (no posts from the y-chromosoned I note, not altogether surprised), let's have a few remarks from the judges (i.e. me - the girls just didn't get this one):

Kelly - that's exactly what Loani said when I showed her! Scary, huh?!
Xena - I think you are on the money in regards to number three!
Chris - making yellow look hot indeed!
Ceilia - I think I'd be too scared to pull that chord!
Lisa - I wondered if anyone was going to pick up on that - either she's got a monster wedgie or  I'm with Xena and she hasn't got any on!
Boogirl - first up - welcome! and what can I say? I was awed by your copy - I'm thinking you could make a living out of this if you don't already. Very funny!
Liz - I love the eco-touch and that you could find a place for eggs and egg cartons in this tickled me immensley
Kate - I'm sorry you missed out but I think you should go back to the oppie because somethings just have to be preserved for future generations and it's our job to do it!

So! The winner is: boogirl and because I can't resist mountainwildlife is runner up! Thanks everyone - and to all you Blogtober festers, well done on getting through a month of postings. Now I have some time on my hands, I'll be visiting!

Email me your details at chooksrus4 at gmail dot com and I'll put some patterns in the post for you both!

Superheros to the rescue NOW PLEASE!

Things are pretty stressful here at Dome central. Not the girls - they're fine - it's the support team that's shot. If one more thing lands on my plate I swear the whole lot is going out the window. Drastic, I know, but that's how it is. There is only so much a girl can do. Lucky for me the superheros have come to the rescue:

 

 

Maybe if I just wrap myself up in it I will make it through the next few weeks...

This fantastic piece of superhero fabric came concealed in a stash of goodies that Purlie gave me last week when she came to visit. I can see it manifesting in all sorts of wonderful ways and I plan on using it, just as soon as I can. Herewith the rest of my goodies:

Mmmmmm fabricy goodness and a wonderful book on fissshhhh. And while we discussed the vicissitudes of life and exchanged patterns we amused ourselves making up saucy lines to go with the pattern images:

 

Now it's your turn. Best caption wins a surprise pack of vintage patterns (I promise, promise, promise Taccolina that I will send your giveaway soon!!) Get to it - I need a laugh and posting this has made me very late for work!

Conditions:

You many enter as many times as you like. International readers are welcome to participate. You need to state whether you prefer knitting to crochet, and adults to children or babies. It will be assumed that everyone loves a bit of hobby craft. You have until my assignment is in - let's say Monday 26th to be safe.

Broody Contest: New contenders

I think we are approaching the end of week four in our broody contest and like all good reality tv shows, there has been an unexpected twist in the form of a new challenger. This week Buffy decided to join the competition and Violet is showing far too much interest for my liking. I don't really care about loosing egg production (they are entitled to a break) but there are logistics to deal with that make it a tad tedious - such as there being 'no room at the Inn' as they insist on occupying the same boxes. I've tried removing all boxes (whereupon they lay on the roost where eggs get trampled on or rolled off the ledge) and introducing a third (which they ignore), so I'm leaving them to battle it out. Here is a sample of what that entails:



The other side of it is making sure they don't get mites and getting them up to eat and stretch (which they will do, it's just that I like to see them doing it). Marjie is the hardcore one - every time I feel her crop it is empty. Fluffy's, on the other hand, always seems to be full. Ah the joys of chickening. Here they are this morning, packed into the boxes. On the left we have Fluffy (front) Buffy (middle) and poor Daisy (back) and on the right Violet (front) and Marjie (back) with Pippy waiting patiently to get in.

Update: make that four - while the video was uploading I got them up and Vi has joined in....sigh!

You say goodbye and I say hello

Well, I wouldn't blame you for saying goodbye 'cause I haven't exactly been posting much lately. Most days I'm looking at my diary trying to figure out what day it is, where I'm supposed to be, and what I'm supposed to be doing. Not good..

In breaking news, Poss has been evicted and she's not happy. We've had three 5am visits since she was locked out that have consisted of loud scrabbling over the tin roof and vigorous attempts to find a way back in. I'd have been happy for her to stay but the rats who moved in with her - no way. Things came to a head during the recent wet weather when a very unpleasant smell settled in our bedroom. So M. called Possum Man. He swears Poss won't get back in but I've been awake every night since worrying that a) she's got babies up there that we can't see (flat roof - only way in is to take it all off) who are starving and b) she'll find another hole and eat the rat poison (I know, I know - I've had a twitchy eye all week from not enough sleep and too much worrying).

In other news we have finally had the radiata pines out the front of our yard removed. They are listed as noxious weeds on the Blue Mountains City Council weed site, and I'm glad they have gone. Our lovely neighbour, who is 82, remembers the old lady who lived here planting them many moons ago. She told me that she warned her not to, telling her they would soon grow big, but she promised she'd prune them into a hedge. Some hedge. We were both at work the day they came down but I saw the first branches falling and it was quite something to behold.

So the wasteland known as our front yard can now be planted. We've chosen spiny leaf hakeas to replace them and some other native shrubs and ground covers. Today was our first chance to do a bit of a clean up and I can't get over how much space there is out there now that they are gone:

Since this is turning into a post about plants and wildlife, we've been tending to a little field of toilet rolls filled with potting mix and seeds (thanks for the tip Duckie) and we're ready to start planting. Because we ran out of room outside, there's been a few on the kitchen window sill. I'm glad we held off planting because the weather has been foul - ferocious winds, rain and today we had hail! A few more weeks should see them safe in the ground.

I'll be back soon to share the hightlight of my week with you (I'll give you a hint: it involved the Tea Cosie Queen) and a broody update. We now have three contesting the crown - Buffy has decided to join the ranks of the mad chickens and Violet is looking suspicious too. Here's some of our recent harvest to excite the taste-buds (anyone got recipes for parsnips?) Happy gardening.