Saturday, 27 February 2016

Blackberries and pallets

Each morning for the past week, we've been slathering our toast with blackberry jelly/jam. 


It has the most delicious sweet taste and texture. Thanks Jamesy. Wish you'd tell us your secret spot to go blackberry picking.
Actually, now I come to think of it, you go, you pick them, you make the jelly......and we'll eat it!

We are looking forward to attending this show in a couple of weeks.
Bespoke makers practising their crafts and trades.


It's on Saturday/Sunday March 12/13 at the Kyneton racecourse.

Bill has taken his pallet constructions to the next level. Another trailer load of free pallets...... 



.......has become the first level of a windbreak for the horse shelter.


We are hoping it will block some of those southern and westerly winds that blow through the paddocks in Winter without blocking them off altogether. 
More to come but looking great so far.

At the moment I am reading...

....the first in a series. Elena Ferrante is one of Italy's most acclaimed authors. I'm really enjoying it.

Bringing in some garden loveliness.
Rose hips and sedum.




And some baby loveliness..


Farmer's Wife Quilt update...
Still sewing. Haven't  supplemented my stash, but I'm coming awfully close. Over fifty blocks done now but still only one per day usually.








I am being hugely inspired by this beautiful garden. Thanks Mel.


Around the garden path today.

Pretty greys and purples.

Amy just returned home from fishing. She caught some beautiful rainbow trout just twenty minutes from here.

Very happy with herself and her little fishing buddies.


A perfect afternoon.
For anything.



Friday, 19 February 2016

Tomato red


Amy took this photo of a Tommy Toe tomato from the garden.


Couldn't resist buying some from a roadside stall though.
 They were fire- engine red and not a blemish to be seen. $4
A perfect companion to Amy's brightly coloured chilli pot purchases.

Out and about.
Bill and I ended up here during the week.
This is the old Kyneton hospital. 
It has been featured in our local papers recently. It's a two storey bluestone heritage listed building from 1856 and served the community for 90 years as their local hospital.

The public interest has been created due to the possibility that it may be turned into a residential complex by developers. The locals would like to see it as something the whole community can enjoy.






There was something eerily foreboding about being there for me.
Perhaps it was the overcast day that cast it's gloominess over the whole place. It was all boarded up so entry was not possible, however I couldn't help but wonder what this room may have held. Someone had tried to pretty it up with lace curtains.





We will watch with interest to see what eventuates.
It would be such a pity for this historic building to fall into disrepair even though the restoration would be way too daunting to even contemplate for most of us.
I found these photos here on the Internet.

The first one was taken in 1997.
And the second one in 2008.


And this is how we found it a few days ago.






The process of disintegration is rapid when buildings become unoccupied.
Such a shame.

On a much brighter note, these little boys make our hearts sing.
Some snaps from Facetime....











Not a day goes by that we don't think of these two little loves.


Farmer's Wife Quilt update....still using scraps.
 But I'm starting to get restless with the same old scraps......


The HAPPY sign is on the diagonal because I think I'll arrange the blocks that way when I make up the quilt. I forgot about that when I did the ducks last time, but that's okay.

Mmm, a bit of puckering on this one and those points are way off! 
It was tricky.



That's better.

It's just like doing a quilt-a-day. Choosing the colours, choosing the pattern, cut, sew, press, repeat!

Around the garden path....
The roses are blooming again!




They are so much happier when the days are not as hot.
Oh, the quote for the edging around all the garden beds in the Rose Garden.........
Did anyone guess $2,000 ?? 
Timber with steel pegs. No pathways of small  pebbly stone, just edging! 
No words....

This time last year Amy was in Cambodia. 
Since returning she has completed seven units online for a Bachelor of Education ( Primary). She will shortly begin her first semester at RMIT continuing the course on campus.  She has started working with the before and after school care program at a local primary school.
The structure works well for her.
 Today she promised a little boy that she would play cricket with him next week after school. 




Some bird love that had to come home with me today. May have even been two....



A stack of library goodness for the weekend.....



.....or perhaps I should get out there and start edging.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.



Friday, 12 February 2016

Wishful thinking





There's been plenty of wishful thinking going on here lately let me just say!
That's what happens when we I start poring over books about other people's gardens, which happens to be one of my favourite pastimes.
These two to be precise.




We have visited both these gardens, each quite unique but both beautiful.
And that's what led me to start thinking about putting down pebble/ gravel paths in the rose garden.
 Actually that's not quite true, I have thought about it before ( that's because I think more than I do!).
So...........yesterday we had someone here to give us a quote to do just that.
I know.......it'll be ridiculously expensive. There's more than 450 metres of edging ( according to Farmer Bill's steps ) and I have already seen the prices of Tuscan pebbles/ pea gravel etc
But a quote doesn't cost anything and at least I won't be forever wondering about what could have been.
I've been trying to think outside the square and come up with a "free" path topping just like we used  on the potager paths ( tree mulch ).
That might be the compromise. Get the edges done and come up with a material ourselves.
Stay tuned for the quote.

Fennel and Dill


The flowering heads of fennel are so pretty in a vase.
I will collect the seeds from both our fennel and dill plants and scatter them in the rose garden too. They will be good fillers with their soft, lacy look.
( That's what Michael McCoy did in his garden).

We have been to watch Amy play cricket over the last couple of weekends.



Almost had to play too at Mount Martha when only eight of the girls were available to play! And just like the troopers they are, they played on anyway and were only defeated by a handful of runs in the end.


Farmer's Wife Quilt update













Around the garden path this week.
These white belladonna lilies look amazing right now.
I'm so glad I dug up the clump and separated them. They are scattered throughout the garden.



A curious visitor..


And a couple of thirsty ones..




Some sweethearts..














Two years on from that fateful February day in 2014, we couldn't be more grateful for what we have now.
 In fact it's  becoming less and less obvious that there was ever a fire here in the first place.

Mmmmm, I wonder how much that quote will be......... :-) :-) :-)