This Weeks Random Photos

Well winter is quickly making way for spring in this part of the world and that can only mean one thing - dry weather!  After three years of a strong La Nina weather pattern resulting in very serious floods, the weather bureau now tells us we are entering an El Nino weather pattern and that means dry.  Someone turned the tap off in early July and we have not had a drop of rain since and wouldn't you think after three years of rain I wouldn't have to water the garden for months but already some plants are starting to suffer, I really dislike dry weather.  It would be so nice if we could have "normal" weather again with rainfall corresponding with historical monthly rainfall records but we haven't had that for about 10 years, now it seems to be either wet or dry, average no longer figures.

I have a few random photos from this week as well as some showing all the weeding Tony and Chelsea did recently, the result is really beautiful.

Showing all the fishbone fern growing in the forest



                                                                      

                                         A whole patch cleared                                   

                                               

                                        
                                One of the many spider holes that were hidden amongst the ferns!

Sturdy gloves were essential!

 

A whole area cleared.  This fern (a weed in this area) grows so densely that native species cannot compete with it.

                                         

      A strangler fig was uncovered.  This wonderful tree (will get really huge) attaches itself to a host plant and eventually kills it, but the fig tree will still be here in hundreds of years and is absolutely beautiful when it is fully grown.
                             

A winter flowering heliconia. 

                                            Giant bromeliad - Alcantarea Imperialis Rubra      

                                                                                   

                            A tiny little Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog catching some winter sunshine.  He is about

1.5cm long (half an inch).

                                                                        
                                                          A lily growing in our pond.
 

                                            
                                            Thought I better finish with some chicken photos!
                                                                    Hello Esmeralda : )

                                                           
                            So I just went outside and took these, what lovely girls they are.   : )

                                                                                                                                

Passionfruit and Lemon Season

At the moment we have an abundance of passionfruit and lemons, the passionfruit are huge and the lemons are very juicy.  With Tony and Chelsea coming up for the weekend to continue weeding out the fishbone fern (a weed in this part of the world) that has infested a large portion of our bushland, I thought I would make a little picnic for them using some of those passionfruit and lemons.

So I made lemon curd and passionfruit curd and bought some little pastry cases to finish off. 

                                                                                   

                        This passionfruit curd recipe used 11 passionfruit and 4 eggs, all produced right here, lovely.                   

                                                                                        

                                                                                                             

Chelsea is working hard!

I also made a Turkish feast for Saturday night but I didn't take any photos, needless to say the three courses finishing with Baklava which had honey, lemon juice and cloves in the syrup was unbelievably amazing!!  It was a great weekend.  : )



Not about chickens, well not directly.

This time I’m not talking about the chickens, they are fine, except for being stalked by an eagle/goshawk (?) three times in the past week which flies away as soon as it spots me coming out to see what all the fuss is about but apart from that they are fine.  : )

No this week it’s all about how much I enjoy trying something different that doesn’t entail sky diving or bungee jumping off some bridge, although I have done a 100 meter abseil which was fun but things we can do much more often than that with resources  we already have.   My Grandmother was the same; she loved trying new recipes which I do also.  Each one is a new experience – the lovely ingredients, the preparation, the cooking smells and of course the finished product – each new recipe is a revelation.  For me the process is the adventure and the end result is the icing on the cake! (Sorry about that). 

Bill sent me a recipe for a pecan pie that is cooked in a cast iron skillet, well I have never cooked a pie in a cast iron skillet so how could I resist this one.  The simple pleasures of preparing the ingredients, admiring the golden colour as it cooked and breathing in the magnificent aromas of freshly baked pastry have been enjoyed for generations.  In a world of change, these simple but rewarding activities are not only good for the mind and body but they are good for the soul.
                                        
                                 I had to get these eggs from the chicken pen, one was still warm.

                                                               Ready for the oven.

                                                                      
                                                                           Wonderful.

Hmmm, now I better go and check on those chickens.  : )

                                                                        

Chickens are doing well!

No new posts since May because that's when our intrepid travellers arrived back home but now they have moved away and taken up positions suited to their careers, it's time to once again keep up the "Chicken Chronicles",  hello Bill : )

The chickens are doing very well and they survived the constant rain far better than I expected, as a matter of fact it really didn't seem to worry them.  It worried us because all the ground around their chicken house turned to mud when it was lovely grass only a few months ago.  A few of the chickens seemed to like playing in the mud and that really made a mess of their outdoor area.  As a result of this we had to spread saw dust, about 15cm deep, to cover the mud and provide some relatively dry areas for them to spend their day. Yes, that is the main culprit in the foreground, young Esmeralda loved playing in the mud, I think she is looking a little perplexed about her new surroundings!

Because of all the rain and then all the mud, the chickens are completely without greens to browse on so every day I have to cut chick weed, grass, dandelion and nasturtium leaves and flowers for them to eat.  Luckily we have an abundance of these plants, so the chickens are staying healthy but I have a little less time then I had previously!  They still have their organic layer mash, which is always there for them plus natural yohurt with grated carrot or rolled oats every second day so they are doing well and we are getting plenty of gorgeous eggs.

I can't tell you how beautiful the weather is now the rain has gone, today is spectacular, a brilliant winters day - I can't describe how blue the sky is, just perfect.

Yesterday I made Anzac buscuits and a carrot cake, the recipe for this was on the coconut oil bottle and it is fantastic, really yum!  This morning I am having white tea plus some of that fresh baking. : )

                                                                                


                                                                                

Rainy Days and Baking

It is raining today and what better thing to do than fill the house with the warm aromas of wholesome home cooking.  As you know I love making old fashioned recipes, tweaked to make them healthier and a few weeks ago I was lucky to find a recipe book that was printed in the 1970's at our local Easter Fair for $3.00.

I decided to make a slice with the most beautiful ingredients - dates, walnuts, lemon rind (our own lemons), our gorgeous eggs of course, rice bran oil instead of butter and 1/4 cup of sugar instead of the 1 cup asked for in the recipe and organic flour.  It is such a pleasure to cook using fresh, wholesome ingredients, the mixture smelt great even before it went into the oven.



 
I also found an intriguing dessert recipe from another book that I thought I would try.  It is a baked rice dish with crushed pineapple, sultanas and nutmeg.  Once again using our eggs as you can see from the beautiful colour. 

 
OK the rain has stopped and the chickens are clucking, sounds like they would like to have a chat so I am going out to say hello. : )

  
See you soon everyone, including you GG! : )))                                                                                                                                                                   

Mandarins and Passionfruit

Tony and Chelsea you are coming home just in time, I just went to check on the chickens and while I was there I picked a lovely mandarin and shared it with Jet and Esmeralda and then a sweet passionfruit that I shared with Ruby.  There are delicious!

I tried to trick the chickens into not all using the same nesting box by putting two porclain eggs in a separate box.  After about two weeks there was a third egg in there!  Now they don't have to cue up to lay a egg. : )

The chickens are so funny!  They are really scared of kangaroos.  They go mad and I run out to see what all the noise is about and I can never find anything but they are very obviously upset and nervous.  After awhile I hear a kangaroo hopping off through the bush and then they are all fine and can continue with their day.  

Chickens getting ready for bed, they have plenty of room but like to all roost together.

Enjoy your last few weeks in Mexico guys, we have enjoyed your photos so much, what fun! 

Chicken Update

Yesterday Jet, one of our beautiful Australorps, laid her first egg!  Hurray!  There was a bit of jealousy from Abbey at one stage when she "removed" Jet from the nesting box but it all settled down and now Jet has been elevated to the prestigious position along side Abbey as our champion egg layer. : ))

Apart from this, the chickens have been enjoying life.  The rain has stopped so there has been plenty of dust baths and foraging amongst the sweet potato vine.  They love eating the leaves of the sweet potato vine also which gives them plenty of vitamins and minerals.  You should see the colour of their egg yolks - very bright yellow as you can see from the colour of this lime dessert.

Jet and Esmeralda are great friends and are rarely apart.  It is obvious now that Esmeralda is about three weeks younger than Jet.

         

The chickens love their daily yogurt and oats and wait around  their outdoor area every day for it, then they are happy and their day can begin. : )

Bedtime is still a ritual but they all manage to sort themselves out and roost in their designated areas, after one last meal!

  
Have fun in Mexico guys, we really loved those gorgeous seaside photos.  ♥♥♥