It’s citrus heaven here right now.
Mandarines, oranges, lemons and grapefruit.
You may even find me singing….Oranges and Lemons, the bells of St Clements,
I owe you a farthing, but when shall I pay you,
Today or tomorrow, chip chop chip chop,
The last man’s head, head, head, head……OFF!!
Did we know what we were chanting with so much glee??
A traditional English folk song/ nursery rhyme and like many of them apparently, there were some dark connotations to the original but I remember it like yesterday and the excitement of the head chop bit.
I even made a batch of marmalade jam. I’m not really a jam maker. The cups of sugar involved are staggering. But the simplicity of ingredients makes it very doable. In this case, oranges, sugar and water.
Of course it required a fancy label.
So much has happened in the last couple of months. It’s hard to believe that it’s been just 12 months since our first visit here with the real estate agent. From that day on, we launched into making Marmalade House and its humble cottage a new place to call home.
The chickens seem to be very happy in their new home too. We collect eggs from them most days.
For the rest of the property it’s been all about clearing away the dead and fallen branches….from everywhere really. We’ve had to have regular bonfires to keep on top of it all, but have saved what we could for other projects like stick fences and of course more stacks of logs to cure for use in our heaters over coming winters.
Amy makes a formidable chainsaw expert.
A cleared space which we might leave just as it is.
The plan is to grow grass under these trees at the front of the farmhouse. The white contraption at the front was originally part of a flag pole and has been cemented in so will need some extra muscle to dig out.
This little area will become home to some roses and bulbs. A climbing rose is already rambling up and over the arbour with a lavender bush at the entrance.
A Chinese star jasmine has been planted here to drape over the arbour.
We have more sheds than you can poke a stick at but they’ve all been so useful. Bill has started another wood collection in this one so there’ll always be dry wood to use each winter.
I’m going to
I’ve already planted one of these in there. I adore them.
Helen has transformed the vegie patch and Orchard into a veritable food bank.
I took great delight in painting some signs for us to remember what was where. Old fence palings lying around the place were put to good use along with paint found in the paint shed.
There was a rogue “ mirror bush” ( coprosma ) taking up permanency in the fork of our big tree. Discussions of how to remove it resulted in some serious attempts by all.
It finally succumbed to a rope tied to the ball of the car.
A makeover at the entrance.
Some repurposing…..
This old compost bin was left here. It’s rusted through on some of the main surfaces and was not fit for purpose.
We cut it in half and put poly pipe on the cut edge just like Dad would have done.
It has a new life at the farmhouse now.
Steps have been added to the decking at the back of the farmhouse. The timber came from one of the bridges at Buchan Reserve after the recent flood there.
Winter on the beach at Cape Conran.
Overlooking Red Bluff at Lake Tyers Beach.
Typical days here at Marmalade House…..
The Fairy Garden gets visited every single day. It’s so calm and peaceful following the paths around. There’s always something new to see.
There are still many dead branches and shrubs in there that need Amy’s chainsaw attention but we’re gradually chipping away at it.
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Our septic system for the Cottage is in the way of our new extension. It needs to be relocated, so the removal of trees at the back has commenced. It makes me sad but we really have no other option for building.
¡Our septic system for the Cottage is in the way of our new extension. It needs to be relocated, so the removal of trees at the back has commenced. It makes me sad but we really have no other option for building.
For those of you playing at home, you’re perfectly correct. That path veers away from the front door. In fact, it’s nowhere near the front door. I don’t mind a bit of quirkiness but I’m still wondering why the path ends there.
I’ve tried to imagine how it might look to straighten it all up. Very rough and ready I know, but you get the picture. Three veranda posts will become four and the path will lead to the door. Still contemplating a little fence across the front on the veranda. As usual there’ll be lots of mulling ( from me ) before any of that happens.
It’s been a shock to our systems to have the sun setting so early here ( before 5 pm !! thank goodness that’s started to change ) but the sunsets have been glorious.
Hope we’ve been able to keep you updated with some of the goings on.
Stay warm and well everyone.
