We have babies !!

My Hens have been sharing the load and we have successfully given birth to four little chicks. I can't tell who is who but the hens are now called Ebony, Sooty and Inky thankfully named by Lisa from Laughing Orca. We have started fencing a bigger yard for them and we will be starting on the new chook pen soon. I called into my local produce store and was asking about his day old chicks he normally gets in he said they have gone up in price to $11 retail each. I was amazed but I suppose with the rise in fuel and grain they are one of many things going up in price and I think there could also be a demand for the chicks as people are tending to lean to the self sufficient live style.

This is Belvedere ( also name by Lisa, thank you Lisa) our handsome rooster, he is in the shadow there because he doesn't want to take all the glory for the four little weeds that are now running around the pen.

I wouldn't mind breeding turkeys if anyone has turkeys could they tell me if they are just as easy as chickens to look after and breed from.

"Sarabie"

This is Sarabie, she loves to come in the veggie patch with me. I dig and pull out weeds and she looks for mice and anything else that might be running on the ground, most of the time she gets dirty.
These are my drums that were covered in weeds, Sarabie loves jumping up there and scratch in the dirt
She usually jumps up runs around then jumps off and jumps onto the next one hoping to find that mouse that could be still around.
She sometimes sits there and looks to see if anything is moving so as to get ready to pounce. I don' let her in here when the weather gets warmer or during the heat of the day just incase there might be a snake or shingle back.
A girl gets really hungry doing all that work in garden she has to come in for a snack. Abbey is not impressed with how dirty Sarabie is, Abbey is more of a lounge lizard.

Weeds & Weeds.. I'm going out of my mind!!!!!!!

My poor veggie patch has been sadly neglected and it has only been through me getting up at the crack of dawn to try and get these weeds under control that my patch might be alright for this season and feed us. These plants of broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower I planted at the beginning of winter and I don't know how but they survived and are still growing I haven't been gardening for long and I don't know very much about plants or gardening I have always had a brown thumb not a green one and I always seen to kill the most hardy of plants.
Under the cardboard are the weeds that have been pulled out, I'm hoping by the time I get back to the weeds they could be dead and decomposing into the soil (I sound so intelligent when it comes to the garden) There is also a bucket of liquid fertilizer (Horse manure) my seedling tray and also an empty box of cat biscuits (I have no idea why, probably for recycling)

Here are the turnips I also planted last season more weeds going wild in the back ground, my tank drums also full of weeds
Here is my no dig garden with rhubarb in the corner. I'm hoping this will be the answer to my prayers in regards to the weed problem, I can get heaps of manure and newspaper for nothing and lucerne is fairly cheap at the moment. I can just keep adding to it and pull out any stubborn weed.
This is my last big patch of weeds I'm hoping to pull out tomorrow morning. I did have big plans for my veggie patch but due to Dave's accident they were put on hold because I have had to work at our business 7 days a week but I'm getting there. If anybody has any advice or suggestions about keeping a veggie patch healthy and weed free I would gladly accept them.

Huey, Duey and Luey!!

No not really this gorgeous threesome are my little ones Jatzie, Sarabie and Abbey. They are waiting at the back door to come in, they have their own distinctive personalities and they get up to all types of mischief but they are so lovable we are fortunate to have them. We had visitors on the weekend so it was bath time for each of them, they know the routine and really enjoy the rub down after the scrub.
Usually if it has been raining and they have been outside and want to come inside they know they have to have themselves rubbed down especially their feet so they wait in turn for their rub down then run off and play it is so cute to watch.

Great views and horsey tantrums!

We had some friends over for a barbie yesterday the weather was really great and we wondered around our property .They have two little girls aged 5 and 6 and all they wanted to do was cuddle the lambs and pat the horse.

We took the kids fishing in the dam the paddocks look great at the moment with having the spring rains and all the dams are full. The fish weren't giving up that easy so we went up to the hill up the back the view is amazing you have a 360' view of the surrounding area which is breath taking. There is a lot of quartz on the hill and if you look carefully you can find pieces that have turned into crystal, the girls loved these and took home a number of prized rocks.

Don't you love snap shot :) Jess wanted to take a picture of me and if you look really close you can see Buddy in the left hand corner. I put him in this paddock the other day and boy did he have a tantrum. When I was leading him up there he started pulling back then he rear up and when I put him in the paddock I gave him a hug and said he'd have to stay here for a little while until we fixed the fence in the front paddock, well he started kicking and rearing then he ran off along the fence line snorting and kicking his legs in the air carrying on like a little kid then he would run back to me for another hug and rub then he would run off again kicking and bucking and snorting then he ran back again and stood there :( I felt terrible leaving him there but it is only till we fix up one of the fences which is prone to flooding so it not and easy fix.
The girls really loved riding in the back of the ute! The mattress was for the boney parts

Our New Ute! Leave the lights on !

I've finally posted a picture of our new Mazda BT 50 Ute, isn't she grand. This ute will be doing everything and her work is pretty full on, from farm work, deliveries for customers, 250kms every week for pick ups from manufacturers, traveling to and from work is 100kms and when we add the stock crate she will be taking stock to the sale yards. She is a beauty !



Notice the "L" plates on the front Jess has been learning to drive , she has been doing really well and all we have to work on is reversing then she will be ready for her test. I have to tell about the time we were driving home at night and Jess was driving, we had a few cars behind us which was ok, then one wanted to overtake us , which was fine and Jess had to turn her high beam lights off for the car overtaking WELL! she accidentally turned ALL the lights OFF and I nearly #!#!#!#! myself It was pitch black and we were driving blind. But because I'm a cool mum I said turn your lights on and just relax. We practiced turning the high beam on and off all the way home so we could overcome the fear of turning the lights off WELL by the time we got home she must have turned all the lights off about 10 times and when I went inside to Dave I needed a stiff drink! (and a change of underwear)

Chook! Chook! Chook!

This is Abbey, she loves to watch the chooks especially the rooster. They have this game of staring each other down and waiting to see who moves first. My chook pen must have been built about thirty years ago and is just hanging in there, as you can see I have put a wire shelf across the door frame so little watchers can't get their paws in there.
They have been good chooks and have been waiting patiently for their new coop, which will hopefully be built this spring. Dave has been going flat out building furniture for customers and the last thing on his mind is a new chicken coop, but! he is yearning for a break so I can see a new chicken coop happening. If he gives me a hand with the uprights I can probably do the rest (maybe)
I don't have names for my chooks like Lisa from Laughing Orca Ranch but after reading her blog I have definitely been thinking about it. I haven't spent a lot of time with them and they sort of look all the same " black " They are presently sitting on eggs... well two of them are sitting in the same box. The rooster is very good looking and he is very friendly. I call him chook chook chook as well and he comes running with the others. When my coop is finish I'll have to get some different breed chooks so to add colour in there hehehehe! You never know I might even give them names.

I'm Back with a new Gadget

This is my horse called Buddy! And he was a bad boy! well Dave thought he was.





It has been a week and I have been all over the place doing all sorts of things. I had a great time cooking at the Health Resort and it was good to catch up with old friends. The weather was beautiful and the company was great. I bought home some organic oranges and I hoping to make some marmalade yummy! I missed the family and animals so it was good to come home, the lambs have grown and are running and frolicking in the paddocks. While i was away Dave told me that my horse Buddy got out and the neighbour down the road rang him to say he was eating the grass on his front lawn. Dave walked down there and got him and when he was walking back all the neighbour's horses ,cows and goats came running up to their front fences to either watch or cheer Buddy along it must have been so funny and because of the commotion Buddy thought he would start prancing around and look at everyone with his head up, tail sticking out acting like some prized stallion hehehe Poor Dave !

Jess worked in the shop for me while I was away and she had some of her male friends come in and rearrange the furniture as a surprise for me, well it was definitely a surprise it looks great and she put a lot of effort into it. My counter is now near the front door and a cool breeze blows in and it will be great in summer.
I had my photo on the front page of the local paper last week (oh my!) . The RTA will be re-doing the round-about which is right out the front of my shop. The people are really pleased because the road is in such a bad state and it is the entry to the main street of the town. The road is uneven with many dips and ridges and many large trucks use it as well as tourist with caravans and horse trailers.

On Friday we had to drive to Orange to get our new truck serviced we have only had it for about 8 weeks and have already done 10,000 kms in it. Then yesterday we had to do a delivery to Wagga Wagga and did another 825 kms. The drive was really nice we drove through country towns and the fields were so green and there were so many crops of canola so there was yellow patches here and there.

And the Gadget I have just installed is a new widget, FEEDJIT . I read about it on Rhonda's blog http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/ Like Rhonda says it is interesting watching people roll in over the world, not that anybody really knows about my blog as yet but it will be interesting to see who does watch. If anybody is there just click on it and watch.

The camel is called potato it belongs to a customer of mine, Jess and I actually pass him nearly everyday as we go to work, we never new his name up till a few months ago so we use to call him Alice ( there is a children's song about a camel called Alice who had two humps) . The reason I have a photo of Potato is that I do not have my photos on this computer because Jess in her changing everything around has swapped computers and my photos are on the other computer.
I will have to update photos later !!!

Do what you love!

I am off next week for three days to Bilpin Health Resort www.bilpinhealthresort.com/ It sounds fantastic to be able to lay back relax and be pampered, have healthy food, a little bit of yoga, a walk through a pine forest, a massage and facials (someone pinch me please). I will be there but as a cook, I will be making the meals for the ladies that will be going there. I have know the lady that owns this retreat for quite a few years and I help out when she calls me for a hand. I really enjoy cooking and pampering people it gives you a feeling of contentment. Plus it will be a change from farming and working in our furniture shop but I know after three days I will be itching to come home !

The 1st !

The 1st of September was spring and a beautiful day it was, we had 50mm of rain the day before and everything was given a good soaking. The paddocks will start to show their new green shoots the dams have been topped up our water tanks have been given an urgent top up. The mornings are getting lighter and the evenings getting longer I can't wait to be able to come home from work and head into the garden and potter around the yard

Another 1st is my daughter and son in-laws 1st wedding anniversary. They spent the weekend in the city they dined at the Centre Point Tower which they thoroughly enjoyed(http://www.todi-media.com/sydneycentrepointtower.php) and went to see the amazing Cirque du soleli
(http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/theatre/cirque-du-soleil--dralion.aspx)
What a weekend to remember!

The kitchen is coming along, Dave took off the bathroom door which at present opens onto the kitchen but will be moved to another section of the house , I know it sounds strange but we are renovating as we live in this house. I remember a house we renovated once Dave was doing the bathroom and I used to work night shift and I came home late one night around 2am opened the bathroom door and nothing was there! No bath, toilet, vanity, shower and No floor . I felt like I just enter the twilight zone!!!! I just closed the door and went to bed!