Spring in the garden

 The garden is bursting forth in all its spring glory! As I mentioned in earlier posts, the rain has been so abundant this year, that even the grass did not die off during winter. But now with all the fruit trees in bloom the colour is just majestic! For me, there is something so soothing and uplifting to see all of spring's colour just outside our window. It has taken over ten years (and most of these plants shown below we have planted in that time) but I can now look out my windows and see my cottage garden coming along. It hasn't been easy, with our long, hot summers and cold, frosty winters, but we are getting there. Many lessons have been learnt along the way and as the trees and plants take root (as do we, I suppose) they continue to thrive. Bloom where you're planted is the old adage that comes to mind here. 

These plum trees are always great producers. During long summer hours of playing in the pool or with the slip-n-slide and the kids get hungry, my motto is: "Go and grab a plum from one of the trees!" We have three of these producing plums and they are all different and all delicious. Last year though we lost a couple of harvests to the cockatoos, so this year I will be netting early as I would love to have enough fruit to enjoy fresh but also to make into jam. 

These gorgeous pink blooms are from the nectarine tree. I hope this is a promise for a good harvest!

                                            

There are more flowers around the yard, each unique and bringing colour and charm to my budding cottage garden. So much joy in these simple pleasures!

Even my lovely hydrangea is awakening after the winter. I really hope we get flowers this year as the heat and drought last year meant not a one 😞

The bulbs are flourishing. Although the jonquils are gone and the daffodils are on their way out, the grape hyacinth, snow-drops and tulips are coming along nicely. 

Crop-wise, here are the new wicking beds that we established this winter.

Currently they have zucchini and spinach seeds in them. Well, we thought they were just seeds, but already the zucchini is sprouting. They are warm and protected here against the wall and get plenty of morning sun. 

The chickens got into the snow peas, but thankfully the plants were saved. I love fresh snow peas picked straight off the vine. These guys look like they could do with a drink this afternoon. 

Our seed potatoes have also sprouted early. They will be covered over shortly with another layer of dirt to help them grow and establish under the earth. Potatoes like to be covered as they turn green if they have too much sunlight. And yes, that is flat-leaf parsley in the background, still going strong after all autumn and winter!

And to finish off, a photo of the king parrot that was spotted visiting our seed tray the other day. I love it when the rosellas come but these birds are so impressive! His mate had a greenish face, but she was just as lovely.

As the weather is still yo-yoing here in Canberra, I don't expect this lovely Spring-weather to last. I just hope there isn't too many big frosts, especially now as all these plants, flowers and vegetables are sprouting. Having learnt from the past, we have plenty of sheets and shade cloths in case we do get that inevitable frost. Rain is forecast for the next week (truly, it still amazes to expect to see rain for a whole week in Canberra!) so I'm hoping everything will continue to flourish and grow. 

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are today and you take the time to enjoy the flowers.

My family and other animals...

I have moved into a rhythm of slow days at home around here, which is exactly what I had in mind for my leave. I've enjoyed getting into a routine of house-work throughout the week, cooking and baking, writing and reading. I've also added a few new things to my days.

First of all, I taught myself how to make cotton face masks. As the situation in Victoria and NSW continues to escalate we are facing the need to wear face masks very soon here, so I didn't want to wait until they were mandatory. I used this really simple Youtube video to guide me. 

I have mostly been pleased with the results and glad that I hoarded so many little stashes of fabric over the years! The elastic has been harder to come by (perhaps others have the same idea at the moment!) and the thicker elastic I had to use this week on a second batch of masks wasn't as comfortable. Still, they will do. I plan to send some to my sisters, my mum and my friend in NSW. There are still plenty left over for us too! Once I started they became quite quick and fun to whip up!

Also I have joined two online courses, one through Futurelearn, called 'Short Film in Language Teaching.' This is through the British Film Institute and I am enjoying plodding through at my own pace and taking what ideas are useful for my own teaching.

The second course is a Heritage Teacher Summit, run by a group of US-based Spanish teachers on teaching Spanish to heritage speakers. This group is one that I continually struggle with in my planning and assessment so I'm really looking forward to this course, plus I have access to the material for a whole year. No rush.

Neither one of these courses feels like a chore to me - I enjoy both and when I've had enough I stop and do something else. Perfect pacing and interesting topics are definitely key!

The weather has turned the last couple of days and it is cold! There is snow on the mountains and the wind is icy. Last night we reached -5о so I'm a bit scared to see what has happened to our garden. Hopefully the cabbage and spinach will be protected by the shade cloth. 

The days are sunny though so the animals have been enjoying their run around times:

The two Isas even found a nice dirt bath between the wicking beds!

                         

                         

They are such good layers, we are getting three eggs a day now, which is enough for us and to give away. 

My writing has been slow to start but this week I hit a patch of inspiration and have been spending a lot of time on both the novel and the short stories. Reading truly is the best inspiration and this week I picked up a couple of books on a trip out to Dirty Jane's Canberra, a lovely big warehouse full of vintage and handmade things. I picked up some Agatha Christie (two that I don't have and haven't even read!) and the fantastic "My Family and Other Animals" by Gerald Durrell. 

You may already know the Durrells from the BBC show. The writing is absolutely beautiful in its descriptions and Gerald Durrell paints such wonderful portraits of all the members of his family and the animals that he voraciously studies on the island of Corfu. 

            "Perhaps the most exciting discovery I made in this multi-coloured Lilliput to which I had access         was an earwig's nest. I had long wanted to find one and had searched everywhere without success, so         the joy of stumbling upon one unexpectedly was overwhelming, like suddenly being given a wonderful         present."

Such joy!

There truly is beauty and magic all around us, and now that we have the time, why not take a pause to appreciate it?

Herb Garden

     

It is the greenest winter that I ever remember seeing here! Out on a walk today (one of our favourite routes in our neighbourhood down to the local creek) I couldn't help but marvel at how green everything was. It looked like spring! At 14 degrees it almost felt like spring too!

                                 

The creek was actually a babbling brook! Amazing to think that six months ago everything was brown and dead and we could see the rocks and silt at the bottom of that creek bed! (when we were able to go out for walks in the summer due to the ubiquitous smoke haze!)

Amazingly in the garden we are still harvesting our herbs. One of my favourite Youtubers, Self-Sufficient Me, has the catch phrase, "You don't have to be self-sufficient in everything but you should be self-sufficient in something!" We are so far from being self-sufficient in everything but the one thing we are self-sufficient in is our herbs.

                                

We have basil in summer (and then dried and stored for winter), parsley, rosemary, mint, oregano and thyme. These are the herbs that we use most anyways so it is wonderful to have fresh and dried organic herbs on hand year round.

I use them all the time in pasta sauce, soups, casseroles and stews, roasts, focaccia, breads and pizza, just about everything savoury!  So tasty and they really do make a difference to your cooking. Even cultivating a little pot of one of these herbs (preferably the one you use the most) is worthwhile. The mint is also lovely as tea. I simply dried it in a very low oven and then crunched the leaves up into little "tea-sized" pieces. Add to hot water and enjoy!

Today we had such an abundance of herbs that I grabbed a few handfuls and gave them to the chooks. I read somewhere that oregano from the garden is a natural antibiotic for chooks so I was happy when they began pecking at it. Not that they are sick, but hopefully this will be a nutritious snack for them. As for the bunny, his favourite snack is mint - which keeps the crop in the garden under control (consider planting this one in a pot if you don't want it to take over your whole garden!!)

                                   

A study in mushrooms and taking inspiration from the Good Life

We have had so much rain here lately that mushrooms have sprouted up all over the place. I've discovered a little love of these fungi and whip out my phone to take a photo whenever I see one. Here are a few: (I have no idea what kind they are)

I've lived in this region long enough to know not to pick the mushrooms for food, though I'm sure some may be edible. However, the mushies aren't the only thing taking off at the moment. 

After a long, hot, burnt summer we have had so much rain in the last few months. This means we have had far fewer frosts than is normal at this time of year. So we are still cultivating lettuce, oregano, parsley and rosemary from the garden (under shade cloth in the garden we have chinese cabbage and spinach growing but they're not ready yet).

 In our little green house we have beetroot and cauliflower growing happily in containers, waiting for their permanent homes in our new wicking beds to be ready. 

                                                

                                                

Yesterday we planted seed potatoes for spring. It's early but they will sit and wait patiently (more patiently than us, I'm sure!)

The chooks have started laying again after a winter / feather loss hiatus. Nothing beats fresh eggs. Thanks Brownie!

                                                  

With panic buying and an uncertain global future I think it's best to grow some fruit or vegetables if you can. I also think it's best to grow what you eat. We are only planting food now that we know we will eat. No need to add to the waste. 

My biggest inspiration is still Tom and Barbra Good, from the 1970s show, "The Good Life." I love this show and their dedication to suburban self-sufficiency. We often dream about "escaping the rat race" and moving to the country, but recent events have shown that isn't necessarily the safest or wisest idea, especially if funds are low and job security an issue already. Tom and Barbra didn't have a mortgage - that was established in the first episode - nor did they have any children. But they made it work for them, with many challenges along the way.

                                       

                                                                               Via

What Tom and Barbra offer is extreme, I'll grant that, but there's something for everyone - take what you want from their very forward-thinking (or is it a throw-back to the old ways?) philosophy on self-sufficiency.

If you're interested you can check them out on Youtube:
The Good Life