More Seedlings Planted Out and Being Prepared.

The cold frame is producing good results. Planted out today were Cucumbers (two varieties), Beans (two varieties) and Corn. Looking forward to some wonderful vegetables. The Dill and Basil seedlings purchase earlier finally found their way into the ground. Most of the Basil went into the big Tomato bed amongst the Tomato seedlings. Supposedly to ward off the fruit fly. The remainder will be planted close to the kitchen. Some dill went into the Cucumber mounds and some into a pot near the kitchen.

Over the river (our paid workplace) the Travelling Irrigator experienced a disaster when it rolled onto its side. A poly threaded joiner on the spray head stripped its thread. Spent a lot of time trying to find a replacement but there were no spares to be found in the collection of poly fittings. Being after 5 that was the end of irrigation for the day. A good topic for preparedness.

Preparedness

When our watering system was set up many years ago we put taps at regularly spaced intervals to make it easier to access water from any point in The Orchard and garden. The original thought was it would make it easier to attend to a grass fire but in fact the real benefit had been to allow individual trees to be hand watered when they are in need. During dry spells not all the trees suffer. Some either have found somewhere to put their roots to obtain moisture or are just resilient. Others  need more attention.

Gradually over the years we have collected inexpensive but good quality hoses which are kept at each tap (well almost each tap). With so many projects on the go efficiency was achieved by not dragging hoses about and also allowing multiple points to be watered simultaneously.

Being prepared for a break or breakdown makes a lot of sense. For the want of a backup spare the entire day's work can collapse into chaos. A good example is our watering system which is split into three parts enabling the isolation of all or one part should there be a problem such as a burst ot broken pipe. The entire water distribution system consists of 1" poly pipe. There are two spare parts kept. One is a 1" poly joiner for big breaks. The second is a stainless steel hose clip in a suitable size for 1'' pipe for small holes.

Part of preparedness is thinking about most likely scenarios and having a plan (and a part) at hand. Just like having a spare set of mower blades. Lowering the dependence on outside help is part of preparedness.

One important item is organisation. If it can't be found because the storage system has no methodology then it is a complete waste of time. Whether that be tools or parts. Nothing more frustrating than scrabbling about in bins or shelves looking for something you think you might have and not being able to lay your hand on it quickly.

Trying to be self sufficient and live life simply involves a lot of work and time is a precious commodity. Planting, watering, harvesting and many other tasks are time critical and cannot be put off indefinitely.

Ramifications of Renovation, Newly Tiled Floors, Weeding and Planting for Autumn, Gordon's Birthday

Ramifications of Renovation

One of the bonuses of renovating is in packing up all the belongings in a room. It inevitably leads to review the need for each item. Our rationalisation saw a lot of books and unused bedding going to the Salvos. Nothing wrong with the books it was just that they were not of use to us e.g. Some Pritikin Diet cook books, many old history texts and technology books. The bedding was for a double bed which we no longer have since upsizing to a King size. The added space on the shelves will enable a better presentation of the many treasures we keep.

Newly tiled floors

The tiler was very quick only four days to completely finish the lounge room, hallway, dining room and laundry. Hardly any inconvenience other than to the dogs who had to be tied up all day and then kept out of the house while the adhesive dried. But what a spectacular change to the feel of the house. So much brighter and cleaner looking lines. Should have been done 20 years ago.

Of course the work only started when the tiler left. The grouting dried overnight and allowed the vacuuming and washing of the floors the next morning before starting the re-assembly of all the furniture. The hard work is in the cleaning of all the furniture to remove dust from crevices and rubbing the wood items with furniture polish. Another tedious task is to sort the books into some type of order on the shelving given their different heights and topics. After two 10 hour days for both of us the lounge and dining areas are complete and the the books are all back.

Gradually over the next couple of days the laundry came together and the skirting boards renovated and replaced. Still to come are the linen cupboards and the welsh dresser. Easily another few days work.

Weeding and Planting for Autumn

With all the effort devoted over the last 6 weeks to renovations the unused garden beds have become overgrown. Because we have been living off the produce from the Summer Tomato bed little attention has been given to anything else. Well now the time has come to clean up and commence planting for Autumn and Winter.

All the weeds and vegetables gone to seed are composted. Most of the area is covered in chicken litter and heavily mulched while a small amount is fertilised with compost and planted with a few cabbage and Kale seedlings. A few more lettuce are planted and a row or two of beetroot. A few weeks ago we sowed some Chinese vegetables to give us an interim crop of brassicae. The radish ready and they were under sown with carrot. The rocket is also large enough to be harvested. And so the transition starts.

Happy Birthday Gordon

Gordon turned 20 on the 1^st of March. Gordon is one of our cats, the last survivor of a litter of five found 20 years ago at the local produce store. Mum had disappeared after being dumped at the store with her babies.

Gordon Full Tummy Asleep on Food Dish

They were tiny back then only an eye dropper could be used to feed them as they fitted into your hand. We guessed them to be 3 days old. The workman at the store was glad to get rid of them. Gordon was very weak and he (the storeman) commented “He won’t last the night”. Well he was very wrong. Gordon outlived all his brothers and sisters. His brother Silva would look after him and play with him in those early days.

The original plan was to raise and then adopt them out. But that just never happened. They grew up with us and because of the early intervention were particularly bonded. Allowing all sorts of handling that cats normally don’t accept.

Gordon is a bit special. He was born with a withered leg which means he cannot hunt. If moving slowly he has to drag his withered paw awkwardly. If moving quickly he has a three legged hop. The nearest thing to hunting is chattering at a blowfly in the window. Sometimes he would use the withered poor as a club trying to beat something into submission (with no success).

When one of his siblings brought home a baby rabbit, Gordon quickly jumped on it smothering it with his body. He looked up with a glint in his eye “look mum I’m a big hunter”.

He is an undemanding little bloke. Always eats what is put in front of him, drinks his raw milk afterwards and loves to sleep on your lap. His favourite food is meat especially in the form of mince and consequently for his birthday he was treated with top grade mince over a number of days. At his age he has a limit to how much he can digest in one sitting.

Now days he joins us for breakfast then sleeps all day until dinner time after which he sleeps again.