Hi All,
Today’s blog post is a little bit different than my usual word filled ramble. Today I am going to talk in photos while I give my brain a bit of a rest from the muses endless clatter. Please click on the link at the end of this post to visit an African farmer who has given me pause for thought and great hope with what we are trying to do here in our little patch of paradise…now on, to the not words…
Our old lecturer from last year gave Steve this excellent Adobe book when Steve was dropping off our last assessment in the city. Thank you Chris 🙂
Lets make Guyanese Butterflaps!
http://ambrosiasoulfulcooking.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/guyanese-butterflaps.html
Spread rounds of bread dough of your choice with garlic butter…
Bake them till golden brown…
And serve them with some delicious home made veggie and lentil soup 🙂
How to train a dog to use a treadmill…hint…make sure to have a LOT of treats…
“Seriously? You want me to walk on this?!”
“OH I get a treat? Sign me up!” 😉
My little indicator apple tree next to the protected pile of manure to prevent Earl from using it as a ramp to evacuate from the compound
I have been keeping myself very busy working hard in the garden. This is the almost extinct pile of earthworm packed horse manure prior to me wheeling it up to Sanctuary
And this is a pile of very damp oak leaves just about to be moved into Sanctuary
Happy chooks scratching through the remains of the pile and that log selection contains a small oak tree that grew from the debris
Acess to Sanctuary via the shed
A big compost pile in the corner now covered in manure and leaves
More manure and leaf piles that are feeding the surrounding citrus trees as well as becoming the beginning of future garden beds in the process. I keep adding buckets of veggie scraps and plant material and dry leaves and the worms and fungus do the rest
The last of the current compost piles inside Sanctuary. Earl has claimed this one to roll in…
Happy rhubarb in its forever home surrounded by oak leaf mulch
My transferred Jerusalem artichokes in their new bed where they can grow and expand to their hearts content
Weeds pulled out of garden beds and sunlight accelerating the growth of seeds that were already in the beds. Lots of free tomatoes, pumpkins and “other” things are growing
Curry the male Currawong in mid splash
I managed to save a little honesty plant inside Sanctuary and it has rewarded me by flowering. Now I just need to remove that blackberry that is giving it a hug
We had to redo our new compound gate as the old one was built out of obviously very green treated pine that warped magnificently. This new “Donna Hay” green gate is made out of dry timber and should last the distance
Steve got tired of my dehydrator being in his music room and made it a new shelf in the laundry
Veggie seedlings on Monday
Veggie seedlings on Wednesday. Growing like weeds 🙂
Looking back outside the glasshouse door you can see a dog sniffing around for the chook that I just saved that was stupid enough to fly into the dog compound
My purple artichoke babies 🙂
The other inhabitants of the glasshouse enjoying the sunny weather
I grow my nut trees from seed I collect on my travels and I obviously have 2 different kinds of walnut here as you can see by the leaf structure 🙂
Look Bev, how your babies have grown! 🙂 These are pepino cuttings a good friend sent me and aren’t they healthy little babies. Bev certainly knows how to grow a mean pepino 😉
Even under the potting table is green. This is a lemon balm growing out of one of the cracks in the glasshouse concrete floor
The first of the rhododendron blossoms on Serendipity Farm. The surrounding neighbourhood is full of them and we are enjoying basking in their beauty on our early morning dog walks 🙂
The first of our raspberry futures 🙂
Wait a minute…isn’t this for the dogs? 😉
Bezial relaxing after a particularly difficult trot around the garden…
My 2 fig cuttings that were bare sticks over winter that are now taller than the fig cuttings that I planted out last year. Ready to be planted out
Potato, yacon and “other”patch
Zucchini and some form of cabbage or cauliflower seedlings. My friend that gave them to me has no idea which they are 😉
That very overgrown area at the back of Sanctuary is just about to become my grape arbour. Who says that compost isn’t worth making? This area was where I threw a few buckets of compost last year and look at how much vegetation is growing in this small patch. Compost folks, compost now! 🙂
This photo was taken standing inside the fence looking back towards the rear compound fence. These trees would have been devastated by the combined efforts of the possums and the wallabies by now but the new compound seems to have given them a much better degree of protection than I would have initially thought. Earl is obviously VERY good at patrolling and marking “his” patch 😉
Look at how my little indicator apple has grown! It might just be a rootstock apple but I can graft onto it. Apple futures on Serendipity Farm, I never would have thought it possible 🙂
http://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/28/glimpse-climate-smart-agriculture-kenya/
Anyone who is struggling with the costs of growing vegetables and gardens in general take heart from Maurice’s story and go and get yourself a bucket full of hope, possibility and enthusiasm from this mans dreams that he turned into realities with his steadfast and most determined actions. He is a credit to penniless people everywhere and a great example of how anyone can do this, you just need to find ways to access cheap/free soil builders. We are just about to pick up 3 trailer loads of grass clippings from Glad’s place next door. Another garden bed inside Sanctuary once they rot down. Its all in the possibilities and in recognising them when they raise their heads 🙂
Last but by no means least…here’s a little pre Halloween image where I become a zombie thanks to Papa Doc Earl…
“BRAINZ!” 😉
