Down time.

Hello folks 🙂
I’ve been busy filling in for a workmate whilst she has a well earned holiday away from the laboratory. Here’s a little of what I’ve been doing in my down time.

Making Orange and poppy seed muffins.

These were a very easy recipe that used oil and buttermilk that gave them a very nice crumb texture. They were meant to come with a cream cheese frosting but I felt it would detract from the lovely citrusy flavour and the poppy seeds would give you a teeny euphoric lift anyways 😉
I made a yummy Garlic prawn risotto for our tea last night and it made so much that we will be eating leftovers for tea tonight.

I also spent most of the afternoon making a whole big pot of delicious golden chicken stock which I’m about to pack into individual freezer bags for future recipes.

Our house is pretty much finished being externally renovated excepting the last few coats of paint and wood oiling and the lights being put in. The carpenters came and cleared away all the wood pieces and planks they’d left behind and I was able to get in and weed a part of my garden that I hadn’t been able to safely get to for most of the year. Still have a bit to go there but it’s looking better. I have to move a pear that is dormant at the moment, from where it is to a spot up a terraced section of the garden where I can also plant another pear to help pollination. I wondered why I never got any pears till I learnt that pears need two to produce fruit. Talk about a naive gardener 😛 I feel spring in the air. The sun is just that little bit warmer and it’s rising in the sky just that little bit earlier in the mornings 🙂
Here’s a picture of my newest acquisition in the pet stakes. He doesn’t make a lot of noise thankfully. I won’t be getting neighbours hammering on my doors saying he wakes them up early in the mornings 😉

I haven’t really thought of a name for him yet. The little metal kitty that was my mums is looking a wee bit terrified of him judging by the look on his face.
Here is a photo taken in a large shopping centre in Perth recently whilst I was on a mission for some child friendly gifts. The things you can do with Lego is amazing 🙂

I will leave you with a final photo of our favourite little French restaurant Lavender Cottage. It is where Jason and I go on our date nights and sometimes, if we have days off together we get to go there for one of Elis soufflecinnos! Magnificent cappuccinos with and inch of creamy froth on top 🙂

Have a wonderful life and, in the words of our dearly departed Robin Williams (as Mork, from Ork), Nanoo, Nanoo!

Gardening joys.

I have been a little bit occupied over the last couple of weeks and haven’t had much time to sit down and write a blog post. I still don’t have much time as i’m off to work soon at 730am but want to give you all a glimpse into what I’ve had going on recently.

We’ve been waiting since June for the man to come and gyprock/plasterboard a few of our back rooms, the hallway and the entrance to our home. He decided to come the day before our youngest daughter arrived for a much awaited visit!!!!!! We managed to get him to just do the room she would be staying in and he did but will be coming back this week now that she has left to finish the job.

Talk about timing. He is a very busy man but I hate feeling like we’re in the wrong when we phone him to ask when he’s coming. Gotta man up and be more forceful. 😀

We have finally had a few nice days in a row and have been able to get some soil/mulch/manure mix delivered for our fruit trees and potted plants and have been shoveling and distributing it like madmen.

We had it tipped from the truck onto the tarpaulin from where we shoveled it into our little wheelbarrow. You can see the outline of the “tipping” and we have a couple of barrow loads left wrapped in the tarpaulin above for my tomato bed. It is such a joy to see how happy and healthy the garden and plants look with a bit of good soil applied. Here are a few more shots of my flowering dwarf Granny Smith apple, Santa Rosa plums and Sweet Williams which grow all year round it seems. Such a cheerful little plant and one of my favorite border plants.

I also took the time to replenish my fruit fly baits as the little beggars are already eyeing my tiny fruits off. I also made my own batch of baits out of a jar, apple cider vinegar and plastic bag with hole in top.

Next weekend I’m thinking I’ll need to start netting my fruit trees to protect them from the parrots I can hear chattering away in the gum trees.

I have 3 weeks of full time work ahead of me so am seriously going to be looking forward to some days off as I have become accustomed to my week on, week off regime now 😀

I hope you all have a lovely Autumn/Spring wherever you may be and are looking forward to the fruits of your labors at the end of it all.

Is that Spring I see on the Horizon?

This is the first blossom out on my Satsuma Plum tree. It is so amazing the joy I feel when I see these blossoms. I hope this poor old darling of a tree has a better year than it did last year. It was decimated first by aphids, then by a brown rotting mould that atacked all my stone fruits last year. I must get onto spraying an anti fungal/mould spray this week. It has been pouring with rain and very cold all this week and the ground is very damp and wet.

I am most disturbed by this fungus growing on a dead bit of my old apricot tree. All its fruit was damaged by fruit fly/brown rot last year and I have serious concerns about it now i’ve noticed this growing on it. Time to get me another apricot as a back up. I might get another year or two out of this one but I believe it’s on it’s way out. I wonder if the fungus is edible? Anybody know?

This is a delightful creeper that I was given a few years back for helping out with art classes at my daughters primary school. I think it is called Pandora but as I am only vaguely horticultural, I am happy to be told otherwise.

Here it is shown climbing all over a brick post next to it and what you cant see are the triffid like tendrils heading off towards the roadway. Looking for a lift elsewhere perhaps?

This is a native pea bush growing in the bush bordering our block. Very delicate little purple and white flowers, no scent but the bees love it.

This is called the Sydney Wattle and even though it is a pretty bush, it is classed as a weed bush here in Western Australia and we pull it out as it outgrows all our native species here and runs rampant.

Here is a photo of my first blueberry flowers. I love these little sweet fruits and enjoy picking them off the bush and popping them straight into my mouth whilst watering them.

I’m hoping my blue iris comes out in flower soon. I’ll post some photos of it when it does. Spring is on the horizon. I look forward to sharing it with you all.

😀

Spring flowers for winter days.

   

This is actually a winter flower. A lovely fuschia. One of my favorite flowers. They bring colour and delicate beauty to dark and wintery days.

My lovely Floribunda rose “Slim Dusty” named after one of Australias best country and western singers. Has a delightful scent and is very pretty.

This is another deeply perfumed rose that I cannot remember the name of. My mother in law Maxine gave it to me. Love her muchly 😀

One of my mothers Grevilleas “Robbie Gordon” I do believe. Beautiful nectar producing native bush that the birds and the bees love. Google grevilleas and rejoice in their splendour as I did. Must plant more of these.

My gorgoeus blue Iris that is about to flower any day now again. I keep meaning to dig up the tubers and split them each year but never remember to. Maybe this year 🙂

I know, more a fruit than a flower but it is winter and chillies warm you up for sure 😀

I hope you enjoyed a few of the flowers growing around the place. I shall go take more photos and pop them in a future post. Some more natives from around the area probably.

Adieu 😀