spring?

Its not spring until next week - but tell that to the trees...




the apricot began its blossom run a few weeks ago (and with it - so began the aphid invasion.... grrrrrrrrrr)



The white (or 'king shahtoot') mulberry (Morus macroura) is not far behind - the leaf bud is about to unfurl and with it will come the fruit.

But before I can gobble into their super sweet long fruits its neighbour the Black mulberry ( M. nigra) will be ready - look its already got fruit on the go...




YUM!

all this reminds me - I haven't pruned the trees yet - eeeeek! this happens every year...

note to self - DO THE PRUNING IN JULY...

mulchy gifts

what's one of the best gifts you can give a rabid gardener? - why something for the garden of course!

Here's my birthday present being unloaded - its 18.5 tonne of eucalyptus mulch....



ahhh true love! (now I just need to find someone to move and spread it all for me...)

winter vegies...

Ooops has it been that long since I added a note or two here?.... goodness - it would seem that nothing much of note happens around here - and that's sooooo far from the truth it doesn't warrant talking about.

well - just to bring you a little up to date - I've dropped in a pic of the vege raised beds in their winter glory... (click the pic for the full view...)



we are still eating full time from the garden - with an abundance of bok choy, broccoli, tuscan kale (YUM!), silverbeet, snow peas, late parsnips (YUM YUM YUM - these are great this time of year.... leave them in the ground and harvest as you eat)... the large red leafy plants in the right hand bed are mizuna - delicious lightly cooked or crunchy fresh from the garden... still to mature are some leeks, cauli, cabbage, more broccoli and asian greens and the broad beans have only just emerged from the ground (they were planted a little late - and its been a mild winter so far)


so even though I may not be posting pics and stories - I've still been working away in the garden!

wombat problems

Whilst we were out walking/working this afternoon Sass and I stumbled over this little one...




the poor dear wombat has a dreadful case of mange - which I must say is rampant amongst wombats and foxes in the region (I don't have near as much sympathy for the affected foxes - an introduced pest - as I do for the poor native animals, like wombats, that are struck by the disease) It's unlikely this creature will overcome the terrible skin condition - many wombats in the area die from mange infestation.... and I fear this one will add to the toll.

It's sad to see and imagine any creature suffering. Some farmers are getting permits to euthanise infected animals... And I agree that a quick death is better than the slow and painful death that awaits this one... and the inevitable passing of the disease to an untold number of other animals it encounters...

Poor little one.

for mothers day

For Mothers Day I thought I'd post a couple of pics from the garden...

these are a few from my collection of delightful 'antique shades' pansies...

these are in the garden bed to the front of the house -

and I've got to say...

I love each and every one of them!

For you my dearest mum -

Happy Mothers Day!


(and Happy Mothers Day to all mums out there - hope you have a lovely day)

where's my creek?

Living on the land is not nor has it ever been a walk in the park... Often I think folk who have not been intimately and constantly connected to tracts of land tend to hold romantic and idealised visions of what life on the land may entail... The reality - of long hours, little money, hard physical labour, no holidays, and no luxuries are often not mentioned.... the harshest realities - those of extreme deprivation, injuries, animal deaths, floods, fire and drought are rarely spoken of or examined in depth. Yet all of these are very much a part of what living on a farm is all about.


For the past 8 years our farm has experienced a prolonged drought (there has been a few showers, enough to make the place look green on the odd occasion - yet all the time the land and dams grow ever drier) For the first time in my memory my dearest Sams Creek has ceased to have any water whatsoever. It is a pitiful and heart-breaking sight/site...





I have visited this creek for more than 40 years... I've never seen this - nor have I heard any anecdotal reports or viewed physical evidence that might show that the creek has ever ceased to flow. It is so hard to witness.




Sams Creek has always been a major site for water for animals in the adjoining Kooraban National Park... and although they are still coming out of the Park in search of water - there's nothing to be had save a few algae covered isolated pools.

Oh for some rain!

snakes alive (and wallabies too)

FP was cleaning up the yard this afternoon with the whipper-snipper when he almost snipped right over...




we weren't completely sure what this was - and not being the sort to jump to conclusions (or rush for the shovel...) FP carefully (and gingerly) collected the small one for identification



attempting to herd any snake into a jar is NOT something I'd encourage or endorse - but FP was keen to ensure that we were not about to be inundated with some particularly nasty little fanged beasties. (and we are LONG term country folk - snakes are an ever present reality - snake awareness and safety training starts very very VERY young... we began with Sass and EJ when each turned 2yrs old) Australia is renown for its venomous snakes - and our area is 'home' to a number of venomous species: the red-bellied black snake is abundant here at the house - I've had them just a few feet from the kitchen door - and my dear german shepard 'sasha' died as a result of a red-bellied black snake bite 8 years ago... but the 'blacks' are not as venemous as many other species in oz, and are generally not overly fiesty) - the eastern brown however is an altogether different creature - its larger than the black, much more agressive and damn scary if you ask me! we apparently have tiger snakes and taipans, (not the inland variety - usually named the most venomous snake in the world)- but I've never encountered these around here...



we were intrigued by this snake's dark head and yellow ring around its neck - It didn't appear like any baby brown we have seen.... even though these DO have a dark head (and red spots on the belly - something this one was missing) so FP took the bottle containing the snake to town to consult the snake expert... 'parksey' from the co-op


'masters snake' he pronounced - as he took the small one from the bottle and gave it a pat... apparently this is about half full size - so they are really quite small. For its own protection, we relocated this one away from the yard with its dogs and whipper-snipper... it happily slithered off none the worse for its encounter with FP, the whippy-snipper or 'parksey'






after all that excitement I headed of for a nice afternoon stroll - and stumbled over a far friendlier site...






a swamp wallaby - having a relaxing rest near the dry creek bed of sams creek - oops startled the sweetie...





after giving me a long hard look the wallaby thought the brush of the Kooraban National Park was much more attractive than me... and bounded off (have you ever heard the sound of wallaby as it moves through the bush? imagine a flat rubber mallet being whacked with a quite some force onto hard packed dirt/ leaves... they are not exactly silent movers)


oh and all the shots today are via my lovely new DSLR - expect to see a flush of photos in all my bloggy places and at my flickr bit too over the next wee while...