Notes from a winter duck palace.

I never have much luck with strawberries. So this year I am trying something new. That's $60 worth of new strawberry runners (30 plants) from Diggers in $40 worth of hanging pots! Now, if a punnet of strawberries costs $5 (organic) then these little babies need to produce 20 punnets before I break even. Thats 2/3rds of a punnet per plant, so it really is quite possible. They are ugly, but I hope they are productive!

After the girls had a little moult in autumn we noticed the shells on their eggs getting a bit thin and brittle. Normally I would whack some dolomite into their feed but was inspired to try the "breakfast bar" approach to providing supplements to animals who are clever enough to know what they need. The idea is based on Pat Colbey's stock lick, but instead of mixing everything up together, the ingredients are kept separate.

For cows, you might use 20 litre drums cut in half but for chookies, an old ice cube tray works a treat. Sure enough, the next day one of the chooks laid a super wrinkly thick strong egg, and then after that they were all normal but very strong and thick. The ingredients are dolomite, seaweed meal, copper and sulphur. Sometimes there are little peck marks in the dolomite especially where a little girl had as a little beak full!

I haven't worked out how to set something up for the bastard ducks they they can't fill with water.....but I'm working on it!

In other news, here are some leek and onion seedlings from the glass house.

Kiwis finally ready!

that is all.

gotta love that life thing

Its been an interesting time with the humans lately. For example, one of them pinched the Mountain Man's honey truck from our front yard on Friday night. And then this morning at the farmers market everyone I bought anything off seemed to be just radiating joy. The olive oil man was happy, the bread girl was happy and the honey man wants my recipe for saba. We talked, or at least I listened while he told me about everywhere he takes his bees and which trees flower where at which time during the year. I think he enjoyed having a listener (and customer) who appreciated the incredibly hard work and heavy lifting in being a commercial beekeeper.

And I had a moment at the recycling depot while happily scrummaging around in the skips for empty champagne bottles to put my saba in. It would appear folks on this side of town drink 397 beers for every bottle of (cheap and nasty) champagne.

I realised I have crossed a line between relatively normal and completely loopy when a car pulled in and instead of thinking "oh, how embarrassing, these people are going to see me rummaging about in the bins" I immediately thought "oh, goodie, I wonder if these people have any champagne bottles"



I am the cat lady. and I am only 39.


In other news, I made another batch of honey plum saba. This one using big fat purple plums from the prune (splendour I think) in the front yard. These are beautiful meaty plums, probably the best I have tasted for eating fresh and I hesitated to put the last bucket full into the saba, but then, lets face it, its really value adding and thats a good thing right?



The saba continues to impress the neighbourhood. A bottle was consumed with the girls next door yesterday afternoon, and well, we all had to have naps afterwards. It packs a punch. Two glasses helped greatly to ease away the surprise that someone would take the gorgeous little old 4WD ute I was in the process of buying. I mean if Bruce doesnt want me to have the truck of my dreams, at a great price then who am I to argue? Luckily it was still insured.


And for those with an interest in the feathered goings on - Big Fella is definitely embracing the whole gender spectrum. She has gone clucky but gets off the nest in the morning to pretend to crow then gets back on the nest to try and make babies. *sign*

And finally, I got off my but and bottle some tomatoes today. They are coming in thick and fast now. Some of the tomatoes are so big (the black krims especially) that one tomato almost fills a No20 jar. Soon it will be time to start making relish. yum yum.

Carolyn and Hugh from across the road have invited us over for drinks this afternoon. They promised they had lots of empty champagne bottles for me - yippee. saves me going through their recycling bin when it goes out tonight.

I am lucky to have such beautiful alcoholic ( celebrative) neighbours.


that is all.

Pickles & Chooks n' Stuff

First up - greetings from Annie Claire and The Big Fella.




My favorite sandwich in the whole wide world is Pate, Dill Cucumber and Mayonnaise. This is because my BFF at primary school (Sutton Primary if you ask) was Amelia Salmon and this is the extravagant concoction her Mum put on my school sandwiches on morning after a sleep over.

Well. It was a taste sensation and I get all drooly just thinking about it. You can imagine the reaction from my cheese and tomato, devon and tomato sauce, left over sausages and tomato sauce or Vegemite and lettuce (this was my suggestion, not my Mums) sandwich filling parents when next asked what I wanted on my sandwiches.

Anyway, this early experience led to an off again on again life long search for the perfect dill cucumber. Like most things, the mass produced version is inevitably disappointing, and really, you have to make your own. It wasn't until yesterday I realised that the perfect dill cucumber is actually a weird zucchini and it is pickled in a brine not a vinegar. It is also embarrassingly easy to make. Just sliced veggies and salt and dill seeds and a weight to hold it all down. This one is cabbage, turnip (or is it a swede - I really should put more tags on my seedlings) zucchini and the unidentified zucchini thing that is growing on a vine. And it is YUM. And it is apparently also very good for your digestion being full of lactic acid bacteria thingies. (Well according to the Wild Fermentation book it is)

Amelia Salmon's mum - I salute you!


In other news, here we have some lovely summer/Autumn lettuce seedlings coming up. From memory they are red ice, little gem and crisp mint. See, LABELS.



And greetings from Chu Chu the coolest, hottest, fattest cat in town.


And "hssssssssss - get away from my nest" from Amelia who if all goes well, and one shouldn't count one's ducklings before they hatch and all, should hatch next week.

garden update

Trying something new this year. Black Russians and Black Krims growing in a hot house. Keeps the howling wind out a treat.


Gladalans - almost ready to harvest. These are short day onions - so they will be the first to harvest. They are starting to bulb up OK. I reckon once we have finished the bag of onions in the pantry we can start bandicooting these.

See! I can post about other things than bees.

In other news, Winky has hatched out one little Andalusian chick with what looks like a welsumer to go. I am surprised we even got one given the broken mess of gooey eggs that arrived in the post from Adelaide!

hello there

That whole linear concept of time thingy - take your eye off it for a second and all of a sudden weeks and weeks have gone by! Lets see..its been quite cold and very windy and a little damp.

Stupid things.... 5 days of continuous yoga and meditation whilst on a retreat (not the stupid bit) First morning home, cleverly tore the tendons that join muscles to my pelvis while doing...you guessed it - YOGA!


Tomatos in soil blocks waiting for the Melbourne cup!




Clucky Winky.


Actinidia Arguta "Issai" hardy Kiwi. Tiny flowers. Some fruit this year?

Kangaroo Apple - in flower. Bush food - but tricky to prepare without poisoning one's self.


Brassicas in toilet rolls.

Promise the next will be sooner xxxxx

Tuesday Stuff

free embroidery design from http://www.needlecrafter.com/

Well the duck herder is officially famous. yup. I have made it into "Inside Waste" magazine. Actually the project is famous. But still, it is the little things. There is nothing like finding folks who get the whole organics back into agriculture closing the loop thing. I think the editor liked the fact that I confessed to loving compost windrows perhaps more than anything. Luckily he didn't print that bit.

In other news, finally finally the tomatoes cometh in more than dribs and drabs. A WHOLE buckets worth yesterday. Now that's more like it. Enough of blackberry jam - bring on the relish! Last year was the year of the Brandywine. This year it's all about the Ukraine and surrounds. Today we give thanks for Black Krims and Black Russians and all the other gorgeous purple, green, black and dark burgundy tomatoes. Naturally we also give thanks for vodka - the other special thing from the Ukraine. Oh, we also give thanks to the Ukraine for half my beloved's genetic material.

The garden is loving us atm. We havnt bought veggies or fruit for weeks and week. I have the most AMAZING salads each day. There are two chooks laying now so we have eggs.

The young chooks are maturing nicely. The Big Fella is definitely a girl faverolle - probably too darkly marked for the standard, plus wrong number of toes, but she is lovely and sweet and quiet. I declare her an excellent introduction to the breed and I look forward to trying again next year to get a few more faverolle eggs to hatch at great expense and extravagance.

Poor old Charlotte the oldest crankiest red chook is feeling a bit down atm. She goes through stages where she gets all droopy, her perky comb goes all blue at the ends and she just sits on the back door mat all day in a bit of a daze. In the past this has lasted a week or so, and just when I think she is at deaths door (as well as the back door) she perks up, colours up and gets on with it. She is old. She has had a good life and I am OK with her drifting along a bit in her dotage. I wish she wouldn't crash tackle the silkie and pull out her pom pom feathers though - it is so MEAN.

The last of the baby ducks have gone their new home. Well, the last two drakes have gone to live with Mario untill they are fat enough for the pot anyway. So finally Miriam is back with his girls and a certain calm as returned to the backyard.

I have a secret project happening - I am crocheting a jumper. There is no pattern, except for a conceptual idea of how a one piece top down raglan jumper can be constructed from one piece of string and a crochet hook. The colours are a bit crazy, but as a prototype it has been a good experience. It has been hard to stay focused on one big project - my mind and hands want to grab different colours and make small projects such as tea cosys and beanies. But I am gently persevering.

And in the continuing vein of doing things that don't involve my brain unless I am being paid, I found this cute free embroidery design from www.needlecrafter.com which I am planning on trying to sew onto a plain food cover keep the flies off thingy forgotten what they are called. I wish my Nanna was still alive - she would be so proud of all my fruit growing, the veggies, preserving and crocheting and feeble attempts at embroidery. I miss you Nanna. The older I get the more I become like you and that is only a good thing.

monday postscript

Question: Getting out of bed in the morning and stepping on chook poo with bare feet before you are even fully awake is an indication that:

a) you accidentally fell asleep in the chook house
b) your beloved left the back door open again yesterday while hanging out the washing and that bastard red chook Charlotte got lost on her way to the cat bowl
c) that bastard red chook Charlotte was just checking out the rest of the house on the way to or back from the cat bowl
c) Charlotte is a bastard red chook
d) my feathered friends are taking over my life and making a move on the house
e) Charlotte is a bastard
f) we are bad bad parents with no boundaries
g) its probably time to get the carpet cleaned again
g) all of the above

resolutions and a roll call

Small but significant new year developments include a resolution to let go of desperately yearning for a farm and instead to totally surrender to being here. Anyhoo, the princess castle and surrounds pretty much looks and feels like a farm already - minus the fencing maintenance. After having a big long hard look at myself, I realised that the things I associate with living on a farm are deep peace, deep quiet, stillness, calm and solitude. Well, obviously these are things I can have RIGHT now. I can have a farm on the INSIDE and take it with me everywhere. And as such, 2009 will be the year of the farm on the inside. And its cheaper too.

And anyway, my kiwi vines are fruiting. I can't leave now.

Now, a quick look at who's who in the duck herder zoo.

This is "Big Fella" the $50 chicken. He is supposed to be a faverolle cockerel, but who knows. He has the wrong number of toes. Regular viewers will remember he was the only one of 12 faverolle eggs posted from far off Proserpine at great expense to hatch. He is called Big Fella because he hatched out with about 20 pekins and he TOWERED over them. I think he is going to be a boy, but he doesn't seem to be colouring up very well yet - too much black, not much red....... but he is quiet and lovely and is BFF with............

Winky. Winky is a pure bred pekin hen. Now unlike the faverolles, the pekin eggs hatched out wonderfully - 75% which adds further evidence to my theory that air travel does not do fertile eggs any good at all. One of Winky's eyes was stuck closed after she hatched, which explains the name. Nothing that a deft touch with a wet cotton bud couldnt fix. She is all good now.

Here is a shot of Miss Quentin and Annie Clare. Winky and Big Fella are hiding on the left.

And here is Camilla. The only chicken on the block who is actually laying. Everyone else is either too old, too fluffy or too young.

For example, dear old Charlotte here, is WAY too old to lay eggs anymore, but she has very important jobs like pooping in the garden and marching inside to steal the cat food and entertaining our guests by jumping up on the outdoor table to see what is for lunch. Charlotte loves BBQs.

Well, thats it for chooks. Perhaps ducks next?

bliss

Sorry I have been a little quiet lately.......

The garden is looking so lovely atm. This picture was taken just after Mr Duck Herder's 40th. Sorry about the fold up chair - sort of spoils it a bit, but you get the idea. It is hard to tell that there are nashis and mulberries and all sorts of food trees hidden in this mess with glass house, duck ponds and chook runs up the back!

I miss represented the nashi trees - there are close to 40 baby nashis coming along, and the KIWIS! well, at least 200.

In other news, poor old Nefley the original fluffy chicken passed away (the plague again - regular readers will remember Maurice the Trojan horse rooster who bought beauty, babies and death to the backyard) So that just leaves Quentin. Quentin went clucky, so I popped a little day old egg layer under her (ok, lets just pretend you have been sitting for three weeks, and these plastic eggs were real, and that this is your baby and she looks just like you)

The little one just shot strait in under Quentins wing, and Quentin started cooing and keening and it was the sweetest thing ever and they have been inseparable ever since.

Here they are, a few weeks later, still inseparable.

chickie sunday

Here are the kids - three weeks old today. Joe is taking two and I am giving the remaining 4 to my neighbour Mario. He is giving me a bunny rabbit in return. (and I don't mean a fluffy one). Hmmm, yum. Bunny Rabbit. I am thinking some kind of English Bunny Stew......

And here are today's babies. Nine so far. You can see they are in various stages of fluffing out. So far they are all Pekins bar one weak little Faverolle. Fingers crossed some more faverolles hatch out!

chicken tv

We have some new babies! They are now in a brooder box in the living room. The box has a wire mesh front so we can see what they are up to. I could watch them for hours. Its like Chicken TV.

They sure do poop a lot.

In other news, Amelia the wonder duck looks like she has decided to sit. I wonder if she has the patience to go all the way. She is a little more highly strung than her mum.

Backyard Rompy Pompy

This time of year it is all about sex. Fruit sex to be precise.

Fruit sex and the BIG questions.

Big questions like.........

Will the male kiwi vine blossom in time to fertilise the female kiwi vines?

Is my golden kiwi fruit seedling a boy or a girl?

Do I need to buy an earlier male?

Will Kosui the Nashi catch up in time to have nashi sex with with Hosui who is already in full flower?

Will Kevin Goldmine, the new nectarine tree, self pollinate this year?

What kind of pollinator should I buy my greengage plum next winter?

And in other news, there are 8 eggs in the incubator which should be hatching out tonight or tomorrow. The sooner would be better, as I have another 59 eggs sitting here ready to go in as soon as the others are out.

yep, thats right - 59.

Thats 1 dozen Indian Game Bantams (WOOHOO - walking roasts!) and 1 dozen salmon faverolles.

And for other folks (I seem to have suddenly become a hatching service) 2 dozen Pekin Bantams and 11 (oops) black Indian runner eggs.

My only concern is that I will get then all mixed up and won't be able to tell them apart! (except the ducks that is...)

silkies love porridge

What looks so cute from above is actually a very sticky ground level feeding frenzy.

But there is no lovelier way to start the day than to share the left over porridge with those that love it most.

The Chicken Olympics

Happy weekend here in ONC. Its the Chicken Olympics. (and Ducks and Geese and Turkeys and Guinea Fowl). In case you haven't heard, its the National Royal Poultry Show, or is it the Royal National...... anyhoo, it happens but once every four years. THOUSANDS of birds. Folks traveling from all over Australia. The photos of the Australian Game Birds are for Mr Duck Herder - where ever you are in Kansas Toto! And the little Barbu d'Anvers roo is for me!

I got to meet some other Silkie Club folks at a meeting. That was really lovely. I also caught up with lovely Lucy - the lady I bought Maurice from originally. I was looking for a new white silkie rooster to replace poor old Maurice. I made some good contacts, but didn't manage to find a new boy yet.

Lacuna Sabbath

Has a month really past between posts? Sorry folks. I am still alive.

I spent today at home, working on a big report for work, interspersed with trips out into the garden to visit my feathered friends and little plants. Lots of lovely homegrown food for breakfast and lunch. Robin's organic apples - stewed with cinnamon for breakfast, homegrown peppermint tea (with licorice root) throughout the day, fresh scrambled eggs for lunch with herbs and salad picked straight from the garden. Fresh bread baking in time for tea. Eating for Victory at its delicious, most effortless and joyous best.

Here is an update on whats going on in a winter ONC garden.

Here is little Quentin. She and her sister (Miss Bricey) are both named after the new Governor General. Quite appropriate I think. They are almost full grown - perhaps 5 or 6 months old. Their mum Nefley is already clucky again. They should start laying in the next couple of months - although Silkies are very slow to mature.





Here in this little garden bed there are broadbeans coming up, lots of self seeded parsley, lots of Asian greens germinating up the far end and what I very much hope are nettles. I love nettles in winter. For me they are not a weed at all, but a welcome winter guest. delicious. much tastier than silver beet. high in iron. delicate taste and they cook in an instant. just remember your gloves. This variety is not very stingy at all, just a little bit and they can be picked carefully with bare hands if needs be. There are also some pea seedlings along the trellis on the left - but you might not be able to see them, because they were CRUNCHED by something - perhaps some snails, so I have sprinkled the sad little stalks with derris dust.






Here is Tabitha Jemima having a bath in the water bowl as Miriam tries to work out how to get in too. They do have a huge pond you know, they just like to get into anything else they can too.



A peak inside the greenhouse shows lots of lettuces and parsley coming along nicely in the hydroponics system. Well, it's more of an automatic watering system, as the plants are grown in soil and apart from liquid seaweed and microorganisms, they are fed just water through the system. I would still like to get in a couple more boxes of lettuce seedlings. The door of my greenhouse has FALLEN OFF. This is going to take some fixing as it was cheaply held on with fabric hinges which of course, rotted after a few years.




Still in the greenhouse - here are my pine nut seedlings - grown from seeds I gathered from a secret copse of pine nuts. In all my travels around NSW for work, I keep an eye out for pinus pinea trees (they are everywhere once you know them) but the trees that these seeds came from seem to be the only ones around that kept fruiting (coning?) during the drought. They are also from quite small trees - relatively speaking. The will be a year old in spring - time to find them a permanent home. The idea was to plant them at the new duck herder farm - which hasn't materialised yet - so perhaps I will have to find a landed friend who would like a little pine nut plantation on their place.

Well, thats it - a quick tour of the garden. Its nice to be back in blog land.

off the streets

Something that has been keeping me off the streets lately is crocheting. I am definitely getting better at it. Here is my first attempt rug. Mr Duck Herder wants to know if it I am making myself a security blanket. (!) It is almost finished.

Last measurement was 137cm x 131cm.

Ma Duck Herder, and her friend Dot have both put in orders for rugs too. But I think I want to move on to scarves and shawls. I have purchased many balls of lovely coloured wool. I think I am ready to try a new stitch! Maybe even some designs..... squares 'n stuff......who knows! Hopefully something faster than a blanket in double stitch!

but it does keep me off the streets.

In other news, after seeing poor Mrs Nefley pom pom head run straight into the nashi tree trunk while attempting to escape from being chased by a duck, it became apparent that she couldn't see. Pom pom too big- as you can see from the picture below.

So I gave her a Mohawk. She can SEE! And I think she is very happy now. The funny and adorable thing about silkies is that under those silly pom poms they have the most beautiful, large glossy dark brown eyes. You would just never know it.........

farm hunter returns

Where has the duck herder been? - BUSY! Work has been busy. Here is proof - the duck herder at work! Can you believe I get paid for this?

What is she doing? Well, this is a little trial we are doing - seeing if we can compost kerbside collected green waste without an expensive shredder, without adding water, and without turning every week. I am mixing up some wonderful Effective Microorganisms (love bugs!) The clever thing about these bugs is that they are a mix of aerobic and anaerobic (and also some friendly yeasts and fungi thrown in for extra love) love bugs. After we sprayed this lot, we covered it with plastic to keep the moisture in and protect the anaerobic love bugs. It is very clever - so far with our trials - the temperature shoots up to almost 70 degrees within 48 hours - this is the aerobic microbes doing their thing. The initial high temperature pasteurises the while lot - killing any seeds or pathogens. Then the other buggy friends take over. The temperature drops down to between 50 - 60 degrees, while the whole lot ferments along nicely. No smell, just love. Big huges piles of bokashi!

So far it is working REALLY well - and we will save THOUSANDS if it continues to work. Because of the anaerobic process, we should only have to turn once (at 4 - 6 weeks, and then after another 4 - 6 weeks, uncover the pile and spread it out to dry and cure. voila! Much better than an aerobic system that needs to be turned every week!

And here is the duck herder again - resplendent in hi vis, perusing the level of contamination folks are putting into their green waste collection.

"preen" its a lovelly day when you can make 20 tonnes of compost before lunch!

Did I mention I loved my job?

In other news, here is a little shot of one of the three remaining adolescent children of Nefley - how cute! I am keeping all three of them!

And here is a blurry shot of Camilla - the new secret chicken. She has just started laying - lovely little white pullet eggs. Why is she secret? Well, unlike all the other hand raised animals in the back yard, who trip you up while you are walking because they are so bold and tame, Camilla runs and hides whenever she sees a human. She is slowly becoming more confident , but she is a secret chook because no one ever sees her!