Princess Castle Update

Things were warm and pottery today. I put in some cabbage seedlings

And started tidying up the veggie bed. I am thinking snow-peas next.

This straw was carefully pre treated by the ducks while it was in their house, and is now being used to mulch the raspberries.

And here is another update on Mr Bacon Avocado. As you can see, he is going very very well in his little hessian house.

Community Garden

How beautiful and warm and sunny it was today. Folks at the community garden are already talking tomato seedlings, eggplants and peppers. I picked leeks, parsnips, parsley and nettles to add to a chicken soup and parsley, sage and rosemary for a herbal tea.

Here is the news in pictures from my community garden plot.

Compost piles. These were 54 - 56 degrees today!

Field peas and broad beans.

Espaliered apples and green manure.

Garlic.

that is all.

Lacuna Sabbath

The Lacuna Sabbath came a day early today. I bought new shoes!

I took the lovely Selina in to the bike shop. Mal from Mal Adjusted thought she was delightful and he is sure they can easily fix her up.

We agreed she was a delightful color. I have been waiting on the phone call to say there is something expensive wrong with her, but it has been very quiet.

And in other news, the nice boys from South Pacific Hydroponics knocked me up an excellent stand for this big old flouro light the biggest hippy gave me. I can adjust the height of the light as the seedlings grow. This is very cool.

So in went some eggplant seeds.

From Franchi Italian Seeds: Melanzana "Violetta Lunga 2" and Melanzana "Prosperosa". From Phoenix Seeds: Eggplant "Diamond".

I don't know what it is about the Franchi seeds. They are imported from Italy. But the QUALITY is outstanding. Every time. No matter what. And you get HEAPS of seeds in each packet. They are worth every cent. They are my guilty delicious pleasure.

The Diamond eggplants are a Ukrainian variety. I didn't have much luck with them last year, my eggplant and capsicum seedlings got a bit damp and didn't thrive. So I will give them another try this season. Regular viewers will recall that Mr Duck is Ukrainian, so I like to pay homage to the mother country by growing Ukrainian and Eastern European varieties. The Ukrainians KNOW THEIR VEGGIES. This is why we have Black Russian and Black Krim tomatoes and 1000 varieties of beetroot.

I also put in a few swift and Siberian tomatoes. These are very early bush (determinate) varieties. Both around 50 days. My personal challenge is to have the first tomato ripe for Mr Duck Herder's birthday on 23rd November. You never know. These are not the main crop of course. Just something for fun. Its always a bit of a competition at the community garden to see who can get a ripe marty before Christmas.

I could only fit 1 1/2 seedling trays onto the heat pad, but I reckon the temperature should be OK for everything to germinate. I have been using the special projects room a lot to work in, so the heater vent is open in there, and the drying cuppboard is in there as well, so the room is pretty warm. It sure is a good use for this huge old light fitting.

OH, if you would like the contact for Phoenix Seeds, you need to ring or write to them for a cattle dog. The number is (03) 6267 9663 or PO Box 207, Snug, Tas. They have an excellent range of unusual veggie and herb seeds.

That is all.

Oh, I can't help it. These are my new shoes.

you gotta make your own

Hey duckie, this your new bike?........

So, not quite an original workcycles azor oma ......but with a lick of paint, some new wheels, new tires, an internal 8 speed hub, new crank set, possibly a longer stem, new brakes, chain guard and skirt shield, rack, baskets and bell I reckon it'll do. $20 from Tiny's Shed. Her name is Selina.

"hmm, cool bike"

The girls like her anyway.

PS - please notice lovely straw bale wall.

More evidence that the animals have taken over. Even though she is very big and fat Chu Chu feels the cold. She is able to open the lid of the laptop just that little bit more by herself, wake it up from sleep mode so it warms up and then well, sleep on it. And yes, she really is resting her head on the screen.

crochet house eaters & bikes

I have almost finished making one of these.

These have been eating my house again. If you look carefully, just to the left of this bastard cockies foot, you can see where he has been biting off pieces of pergola.

And I really want one of these:

But the one fellow in Australia who was importing them has just gone out of business............So unless I can import one myself, I may end up getting one of these:

I am over having to put on cycling gear and cleated shoes to ride anywhere. I want to travel by bike in my civilian clothes, skirts and nice shoes. I want baskets and bells and comfort and style - something to REALLY compete with the car for convenience and fun.

That is all!

10 Things

Not a lot to report. There has been a bit of tea cozy crochet action. After the previous post, I thought a nice crocheted king parrot might look nicely upon the topee of a tea cozy festooned with flowers, and *swoon* of course crochetroo has a pattern (with a bit of tweaking) . It would seem however, that my choice of 12 ply has resulted in a full size model.......which certainly wont be subtle........upon that little teapot.

Photos to follow shortly.

In other news, I am in a frenzy of de-cluttering. My brain can't cope with a "one room at a time" strategy - this seems too big and scary. So I am implementing the duck patented "10 things" program. Basically, every day I have to throw out, give away or otherwise remove from the premises 10 things. One week in and its working. By golly - its working.
That is all.

OH but wait, just one more thing. You know we love Leunig here. And here he has done it again. God bless Leunig. God bless the SMH for loving Leunig.





Duckwhistle Politics

In every human being

Is something we are not seeing

Down there in the muck

It is the inner duck!

So blow the duckwhistle gently

At least you can blow it mentally

And what you thought was lacking

Will gladly rise up quacking

And with this joyful meekness

And rounded yellow beakness

So beautifully unfurled,

Go out and love the world!

Michael Leunig

Mr & Mrs King Parrot

These two have been visiting us on and off for many years. They fly onto the pergola and sweetly ask for breakfast. They have such a distinctive gentle voice, how can I refuse? I am very well trained. When I hear them, I run out and quickly give them some sunflower seeds.