Broody Chook Pen, Fruit Set 2013, Cuisine Night

Finally finished fiddling with the broody chook pen which was blocking the doorway of the workshop. We managed to slowly carry it out into position at the side of the workshop close to the chicken run. After getting it level a star picket was hammered in at its rear and a couple of metal straps attached to make sure it didn't get bowled over in a strong southerly. A job well done - free to good home item + a couple of hours labour and good as new ready for action.

Spent a couple of hours putting fruit fly exclusion bags on the apples and pears. There is so much fruit this year. I wonder if it is because of the dry weather that the prolific flowering has set fruit much better or is the serious pruning two years ago? The pears have these great bunches of baby fruit and the tropical apple is so prolific the tree is nearly completely covered with cotton exclusion bags.

It will be interesting to see how the season matures.

One of the two compost bins in progress was due for its first and only turning. It was well broken down and cool. This turning should stir it up again. Before shovelling it into its new bin all the fallen citrus was collected from the orchard and put in the bottom. There were also a small pile of pruning's that needed mulching and these were also tossed in. This should all be ready in 5-6 weeks for use in the vegetable garden and as potting mix. I'm excited by the speed at which a bin can be assembled from scratch and that it only needs a single turning. The high temperatures really do kill off any seeds and diseases in the pruning's. No need to burn anything - all recycled.

The base of this compost was some citrus windfall and mulched pruning's from a diseased Orange tree.

We were recently invited to a culinary event in the local area. The format is a brief meeting a couple of weeks before the event where a cuisine is chosen from around the world, dishes are planned and shared out to the participants. On the night we all bring our prepared and themed  dishes to one location and enjoy the result with the appropriate liquids.

This theme was Shanghai and so lots of interesting dishes pertaining to that area of China were on show and some Chinese beer along with various wines (Australian). After much eating and chatting we adjourn to the lounge (with drink glasses) and watch  a brief DVD on Shanghai, the region, it culture and food. The DVD cover has a booklet with various multiple choice questions on the DVD. What ensued was a Len Evans Options like game seeking answers.

The food and drinks were excellent and the DVD and follow on questions amusing. A good and interesting event and an opportunity to meet people.