The art of getting started

BLOG has been written on my things-to-do list for a few weeks now and I just keep adding it to my tomorrow list.

I think I may have been suffering from bloggers block!

I'm wondering whether I've reached the end of my blog writing days.....

It was hedge cutting and divert-the-water-day at Amy and Helen's house in Kyneton last weekend ( it is currently tenanted ).

The morning was rounded off with delicious Italian coffee and wine next door amongst the dahlias and dogs and talking local fishing spots with their lovely neighbours.

This dahlia flower ended up coming home with me.

It is gorgeous. May be I do like dahlias after all......the ones that look like this anyway. 

It felt like I was in the sand pit making roads as a kid when I got to work in the Ruby Garden. The channels are for sprinkling seeds of Billy Buttons, strawflowers and Blue Lace flowers in early spring. And the bigger mounds are for the dozen native tubestock plants I bought a little while ago which I will also plant in Spring when the frosts have passed ( I think ) even though I'm really keen to get them in now. Bill got two trailer loads of native mix from a nursery near here so that we could build up the planting holes. Natives require good drainage and we have clay. That's probably why a lot of the plants currently there don't seem to be doing as well as they should be.

A clutch of claws.

It's a miracle to me that these claw shaped corms....

..turn into these....

Bulb planting has been put off because it's been so hot, but it'll be all systems go here over the next few days. Some in pots and some in the potager to replace the veggies planted by Amy and Helen. 

I just can't seem to get as excited about veggies as I do about flowers.

This parcel of goodness and joy arrived today from Tesselars.

So much to look forward to.

Bill has been helping with cutting back all the dead foliage of the perennials in the rose garden. It will be put through the mulcher ( thanks Sam ) and then go on the compost heaps. This is one load of many that will eventually be removed.

We have been very lucky to have Sam staying with us over the last few weeks. He is currently turning the load of wood that was dumped out in the paddock into a seriously good-looking wood stack ( see if you can spot the supervisor ). Bill has named it our Mexican Wall.

We recently had a get together at Minyip.

Mum enjoys us all being there but I'm sure she's just as glad to see us go. We all talk over each other and the noise level just keeps rising!

Tas, the pooch, has replaced Bill in the family photo.

There was the usual argee bargee with Uncle Bill.

Each visit sees Ned testing his height against me. 

Oh dear.....I think by the look on his face he knows that this is the history making moment. It was only in January at the wedding that we had our previous measure up.

There's obviously been a growth spurt!

Autumn has been such a disappointment this year. The leaves have decided that enough is enough and it seems as though they've chosen to skip the colouring phase. They must go into panic mode when there's not enough rain.

I've still been able to pick flowers for my farmshop but they too, are starting to finish blooming.

Sew and sew

This is my winter collection of heat packs for Jacqui's shop. Nine altogether.

And a whole new lot of 100 Modern Quilt blocks to add to my thirty already completed. 

Couldn't help getting a few more bits and pieces to add to the stash.

I've started machine quilting my Farmers Wife Quilt. Still considering whether I may even add a bit of hand quilting to each block. That might be a Winter thing ( mmmm, I'm already detecting a bit of procrastinating going on there too).

And just because......

A new quilt for the lounge room.

These precious babes.

I love this quote.

Gosh we love a bargain don't we. I have been an op shopper for years and I'm constantly amazed at what can be found there. 

I came home with these two books today. One for $3 and one for $2. 

I'd love to read this one too....a recent publication.

The front cover and title conjure up all sorts of wonderment in my brain.

It was with great sadness that we said goodbye to Amy's campervan Bertie.

She has been sold to a good home and is going to be given a makeover. 

We will continue to refer to the shed up the back as Bertie's shed. 

It seems like a perfect planting day out there today. 

80 ranunculus and a punnet of stocks were nestled into their planting holes late yesterday. Now to get started on the rest......

We're thinking we may have to start demolishing that Mexican Wall tomorrow and light the fire. They're predicting a top temperature of 14 degrees here!