'tis the season for baby chicks

I keep kicking the chooks off their nests as they go broody as I really don't need any more chooks or roosters, but they are persistent and keep finding new spots. I have left these last two chooks to be and hope no predators get them during the night. Also see if they last the 21 days required for the eggs to hatch.

 One of my two favourites has gone broody and sitting on eggs in the Acacia bush

 Another girl has gone broody in the junk corner

I also have four little chicks and today is the first time I decided to let them free range and hope for the best e.g. lost, drowning, escaping, predators etc. As soon as I let them out the mama chook left them on their own and they haven't ventured far from the safety of their coop all day.

 Terrified baby chickens

...but very cute.

Baby Blackbirds

I love all new life, whether it be native or not, so was delighted to see the blackbirds building a nest in the carport.

Take 1, really didn't work very well for them, so they rebuilt in the other corner.

 

It isn't a very good photo as I didn't want to get too close to Mum/Dad and scare them off as there are little baby birds in the nest now. You can't see them in this photo, but I have seen their hungry mouths popping up out of the nest. Also that is probably why Mum/Dad are sitting in this weird spot as there is no room in the nest and it is a stinking hot day here, so wouldn't want to sit on the babies - 36 degrees Celsius.

Not sure what will happen now, will they fall out of the nest when they get bigger? I will need to keep an eye on them, so I don't run over them and the chooks, roosters and ducks don't attack them.

DIY Shoulder Bag

I've wanted to try making my own shoulder bag for a while now, so whilst wandering through Spotlight I came across the perfect fabric colour in varying shades of purple.

Last night I decided to give it a go making a pattern out of one of my own shoulder bags.

Starting to cut out the pattern using brown paper using existing bag

I made a pattern using brown paper, cut out 4 pieces from my fabric (bag with liner as the fabric on the wrong side wasn't a very good surface) and pinned it together to see how it would work as a bag and found I didn't like it. 

I found it was a lot of trial and error to work out how to make my first bag. I cut the handles off, so I could reposition them, plus made them the same width, rather than tapered. Then found I didn't like the bottom of the bag curved, so I sewed a straight bottom into it and cut off the excess fabric. 

The trickiest part was getting my head around sewing the straps, liner and bag all together so it came out the right way at the end. A quick google and I was on the right track, but needed to make a hole in the bottom of the liner so I could pull the whole bag through once I'd finished sewing it together.

I'm very happy with the finished result as below, just need to find something to keep the bag closed and sew the hole at the bottom of the liner. 4-5 hours and $8 for the fabric. 

Finished product, minus something to keep the bag closed.

Springtime 2014!

I can not believe it has been almost a whole year since my last post. How time really does fly. I kept thinking about posting an update, but never got here. I have gone through my camera for photos I was going to post, but nothing relevant now, except for this photo of a spider and egg I found in my grass 12 October 2013.

I am planning on taking a few photos around the place to compare to the photos when I first moved in. It will help remind how much I have actually done.

Springtime!

Enjoying the outdoor area

My big rooster rules the orchard and occasionally attacks me if he thinks I am upsetting his girls!

My little chook with only one working leg, hops everywhere

Silver laced wyandotte rooster and hen, rhode island red hen and indian runner

Cutting my raised garden bed to size

Neddie working hard

Snow peas and green peas

Cherry tomatoes, rainbow chard, and trying carrot seeds under the board

Peas, lettuce, zucchini

Rocket, lettuce, chives

Peas, capsicum, spring onions, tomatoes

Potatoes

Fruit tree in flower

Spider in web in the fruit tree

Nectarine in flower

Love watching the bees at work

So much pea straw and the backyard is slowly transforming...

More pea straw kindly delivered by my brother

The bottom bale had to be broken up so that we could get it off the trailer

Down the side of the house, untidy and weedy

Adding pea straw

Notice pepper tree here

Zena enjoying the sun in her cat run

...and Jasper

All this pea straw had to be carted from the carport

Looking better presented and I can now see the gaps where I will need a few more natives to be planted

Pepper tree now gone! My new handsaw is coming in very handy.

Finished with a little pea straw left for a couple more garden beds.

The two plants on the left were tiny tubestock plants last winter, growing quite quickly. I am looking forward to next year when I can take photos to compare to tubestock that has been planted this winter. I have one more large bale of pea straw left to be used in the fruit orchard.

Sleeper raised garden beds slowing coming together...

My brother kindly donated timber sleepers to me months ago and I am finally getting around to working out how to build raised garden beds, for someone not handy at all!

These sleepers were easy to make into a bed as they have steel posts that I was able to push into the ground to hold them into place, then laid newspaper down and filled with pea straw, 3 blocks of potting mix (add water and it expands) and 3 bags of cow manure.

Added a couple of bed bases that came with the house, planted lots of kale and spinach for my daily green smoothies and sowed peas, snow peas, lettuce, beetroot, onion, rocket and chive seeds. Fingers crossed at least some of the seeds sprout.

 Picked up a hand saw from the local hardware store today and after work tonight tried cutting through the sleepers to trim to shape. Surprisingly much easier then I thought and in a short time managed to make four cuts, although did work up a sweat.

 Very happy with this cut!

Nicely trimmed to shape, just need to add a few screws to hold it firmly together, although don't think it is going anywhere.

Second raised garden bed coming together, just need to screw it together to hold in place, then can add the newspaper, peastraw, compost and manure ready for my spring plantings. Can't wait to get fresh corn on it's way. Finally think I have worked out where to grow my veggies. These garden beds are right at the back door step, on the way to the fruit orchard with the chooks and ducks, which I let out each morning and put away each night. It is the perfect spot to keep an eye on everything as well as watching from the kitchen window.

 It is fantastic to have my gardening mojo back :D