Preparing for Spring!

I have been a little slack of late with my blogging due to the fact that I have discovered Twitter, but I am back now! This week I secretly celebrated Winter Solstice, we still have a long way to go with Winter but there is no going back from here...Spring is somewhere out there on the distant horizon. I have given myself the task of preparing for a bumper Spring crop. First I am making a list of all the seeds (heirloom of course) I will need, the next stage is planning some new garden beds. I have one raised bed and originally I thought this would be more than sufficient, but after two seasons it is not nearly enough to feed a family.  Now I am ready to take the plunge and add a further two beds this will give me three in total, plus I do have a small area that is starting to look good for planting watermelons, pumpkins and Potatoes as well as some loganberries along the side fence. I am looking at reclaimed old railway sleepers to make the raised garden beds. I do need to find out whether they have arsenic in them. My current raised garden bed is arsenic free, it is fantastic but it was very expensive and  it is not very wide. Well the weather is very cold and my poor veggies are not looking that good except for the mini cabbages and wongbok cabbages.

The boys have been sick with bad colds and Leo the poor soul his eardrum burst this week, I have had about of asthma and really am longing for the warm weather that brings good health and lots of tasty veggies.
Here's hoping there is only six or so more weeks to go until we see the warm weather of Spring..........

The Manolo's of Chicken Coops!

I am sure these little chickens dress in Prada and wear Manolos!!!



I found this image courtesy of Debra Prinzing she has a beautiful website and some lovely books as well!

More weather for ducks!

Well the rain is here to stay! I long for blue skies and sun, and it seems so far away. My veggies look very sad and waterlogged, and the boys have turned into little wild things that want to escape the four walls that keep them inside! Considering all things wet and rainy we have managed to have an action packed week. Early in the week we went to the zoo and braved the weather, and it wasn't too bad a little drizzle but not enough to stop Leo and Jack having a great time.

Wednesday came and a trip to the hospital was our next adventure, Leo took a tumble and split his forehead open, a general anaesthetic, 6 stitches and 4 hours later and our day was just about over.

Thursday and Friday were a lot smoother apart from the torrential rain I had a great night out on Friday. I went to see the production of "Cats" with my Mum, Sister and Niece. We had a wonderful "girly" time, lots of giggling and laughing.

Now that my darling husband is on board with my idea to get some chickens I am now planning where to house them. We have a very large front garden so I have decided to put them there. As they will be out the front it can't look too shabby, so I saw this iamge on Urban Dirt and thought how pleasing on the eye this chicken coop and picket fence looked. Maybe this is the look we are after, the neighbours could never complain about a messy looking front garden!!

I want one!

I saw this today while I was looking through a fab blog called Urban Gardens it is apparently made from clay and absorbs moisture with a fabulous shelf below. It is by Swedish designer Mans Salomonsen. I really, really want one! Now to find out where I can get one.

Weather for ducks!

Sydney seems to be getting a lot of rain, while this is good for the garden it is terrible for the boys. After waking up this morning we couldn't face the day inside cooped up with them, so the decision was made, we would take them to Leo's second home "the museum". Off we all went and everyone had a great time, me included! I find the museum a very soothing place, the architecture is beautiful and the displays are very impressive.

This afternoon I decided it would be good time to plant out some seedlings, it is a full moon and the damp soil is just perfect for planting. So fingers crossed my peas, mini cabbages, celery and baby bok choy all like their new home!

So if you are a duck enjoy the wonderful wet weather!

Trees!

I am having a disastrous time growing veggies this winter! I have too much shade and not enough sun! Our next door neighbor has a whopping big camphor laurel tree that hangs over our side of the garden and hence we are only getting 2 hours of sun a day on the veggie patch. Yes the weather is a little warmer in Sydney but not even this is enough to grow veggies in winter. So I have come to a decision, the tree is going, well the bit on our side which equates to 70% of the tree. You see Camphor Laurels are a noxious weed, their leaves drop everywhere they are infact a very toxic plant according to 57 reasons why camphor laurels need to be eradicated. It is also where I want to put the chickens, but the seeds will kill the birds so I have to be patient and play the waiting game. So our dear next door neighbor you will soon find me knocking on your door with news that your tree will be cut down on our side of the fence! It has been a long time coming and it is one tree that I will be happy to see chopped down!

Animals

I was reading Purple Podded Peas Blog and saw this adorable pic of a cat sitting with the egg in the chicken coop. Cats are just adorable and are strange sometimes.



We have just come back from the vets with Milo and Mariah, poor Milo has been in the wars and has to have 2 teeth taken out. For Mariah it was a routine vaccination and the usual "she is a little over weight" chat from the vet......"don't look at me the kids feed her all sorts of fattening treats" I said. Luckily both the boys were there and they admitted straight away to the vet that Mariah loves bickies, and she happened to be covered in porridge from Jack's breakfast that said I rest my case! Love your pets as they give so much for so little in return!