cooked apples

it has been so incredibly hot here over the last week (yesterday was another 40C+ day) that my apples have cooked in their skins on the tree.



but I must say in all humility - it is a small thing to whine about given the devastation from bushfires in victoria yesterday - more than 66 dead, more than 600 properties destroyed... whole towns burnt off the map...

a few apples roasted is a nothing really in the scheme of things....

LibraryThing here too!

I couldn't help myself - I had to add a LibraryThing link/widget for my sams creek site just as I have for the other half...

Over here I've got my library set to only display my garden/farm/permaculture type books (whereas over at Art & Etc you'll have a random selection from the whole bunch)

Hope you enjoy

Oh I should add - if you click on the 'my library' link at the top of the widget you will be magically transported to my LibraryThing catalogue - where I've added a couple of comments to some books (mostly my particular favourites)

So if like me you are smitten with books and libraries - you might enjoy the little side trip

I'll be adding to the catalogue by-and-by

the heat goes on...

It continues to be very hot and very dry here at the creek... we haven't had another day of 42C... but the late 30's have made an appearance everyday for a week now... the garden and all creatures are suffering... and there appears no let up in sight.

look at poor Benny, Cinta and Maddy




they are hot little chooks!

I move them constantly over the course of the day – to ensure that they are under shade at all times.. and I need to fill up their water dish more than 4 times a day (poor little dears). I've been searching everywhere for an automatic water dispenser (they know how to use one... or at least they did...) but there are none around.



I planted out a row of celery last week – only to return the next day to a dust bowl... not a trace remained of the seedlings – they had been baked to a crisp. So I decided to take a proactive approach


This morning we created a shade tunnel.




Its a very quick and simple construction – using 5metres of 3m wide 50% shade cloth, 4 star pickets, 2 lengths of 2 inch poly pipe and a couple of long boards to secure the sides.

After banging in the star pickets, the poly pipe is thread over the posts to create an arch (it's important not to get overly ambitious as to the width of the arch... if you don't exceed around 2m you will create a strong beautiful arch – the tunnel can be any length however)

we simply threw the shade cloth over our 2 arches and secured the long sides with a long heavy slab of timber....



and there you have it – a simple (portable) shade structure!



This evening I'll transplant all the little seedlings that are groaning in their tiny seedtrays and hopefully the shade cloth will give them some protection from the unrelenting sun....

OMG it's HOT

look at my poor pumpkin plants!

the weather channel is saying its 43.5C in nearby Bega (at 3pm) our indoor dodgy thermometer is saying 42C here... and outside is nastier...

and yes that's Celsius not Fahrenheit.... to do the conversion - 42C = 107.6... 43.5C = 110.3F

that's mighty bloody HOT - stupidly, hideously HOT I tell you!

is there anything more lovely...

....than a beautiful butterfly?

I don't think so .... Here is one of the Orchard Swallowtail butterflies that were cavourting around our buddleia bushes this afternoon... it's wings were almost constantly fluttering so it wasn't an ideal life model...


nor indeed was it alone - look closely and you'll see not one, not two, but three darling orchard swallowtails in this shot...



these are HUGE! that's my hand in the shot - and whilst I may not have the longest fingers or largest palm in the world - it will give you some idea of the size of this beauty...



according to both my observation and confirmation in my copy of 'butterflies of australia' - the Orchard Swallowtail (aka Papilio aegeus) fly 'slowly and erratically' (tick) and 'when settled the wings are held outspread' (tick). This looks like a girlie - who have a wingspan of around 108mm (which is bigger than the boys - you go girl!)

The Orchard Swallowtail is quite common around my parts, enjoying not only the buddleia (purpose planted for butterflies) but use my neighbouring citrus as a larval food plant - they do no real damage... and give great joy


ooooo I just have to give it a wee love pat!




I love 'flutterbys'

this week is going to the birds!

As I pulled the car up this afternoon I could hear the raucous party...


...4 yellow-tailed black cockatoos were perched having a lovely picnic in my mature (and rather large) Banksia integrifolia...

Of course I rushed to quietly grab my camera and see if I could get a bit of a shot (my digital is a very simple affair - and not equiped with wonderful zoom...)

But it was great to download the pics and see that there was enough detail to check out their feeding habits... look at the stripped banksia cone!




Here's another of the foursome with a cone in its claws and a beak full of seed!



Yellow-tailed black cockatoo are not prolific in my area - but I usually see them a few times each year - in the past they have been attracted to a couple of old pine trees in a nearby paddock - and the allocasurina in the creek of course - this is the first time I have had them feasting in the yard

How great to see a long term plan pay dividends - I planted the integrifolia back in 1994 and crossed my fingers that some local creatures might find it nice... it's been a nice afternoon for both me and the cockatoos!

re-chooked at last!

It's been just over a decade since I've had chooks at Sams Creek - a long chookless drought initially brought on by a nasty bout of disease that wiped out my small flock

and today - at long last - I have chooks again!




not just any old chooks, but wonderfully cute and delightful Bantam Buff Pekins (the dear little chookies that I had before 'the great plague'... it was a sad time)


we found them at Candelo Markets this morning and despite having no enclosure at home I really couldn't resist (look at them - could you?)



These are from a cobargo breeder - so I know that they have been lovingly reared (he made me promise to look after them well!) - We have a male (here he is up front) and 2 females and they are all rather young (I forgot to ask what their birthday is - except I noted that our boy - (we've named 'benny') is from a different clutch than the girls ('maddy' and 'cinta')... which will be handy in the future




Sass and EJ have spent all afternoon perched beside our flock's temporary enclosure (long suffering farmer Phil whipped it together for us - isn't he a sweetie?) - so although it's a little cramped - it's only for a short while - I'm dreaming up 'poultry palace' as I type....