Apple of My Eye

At first, I thought there was something wrong with the apple tree. But when I got closer, I found that the branches were simply laden with fruit.







The fruit still has some way to grow but it looks delicious already. Crispy and fresh.



There's just one single solitary fruit on the sultan plum tree but that's not surprising - whilst an apple tree will bear its first fruit between 2 and 5 years old, a plum tree shouldn't be expected to fruit before 3 years old.

Drainage Inspector

Geese off the leash

I found these geese grazing at the top of our drive the other day. When they saw me coming, they headed off up the road, back to the block next door.

Finishing Touches

All the serious construction work is pretty much finished inside now but the builders have been busy this week with all the most exciting parts of the project.

The linen cupboard is taking shape at the top of the stairs and I'm looking forward to stocking it, Martha Stewart style.



The doors have handles - and stoppers - and almost all the wardrobes are ready for filling.



Our walk-in wardrobe is still under construction so I'll have to hold my horses a little longer...



But I've fitted some lampshades in the bathrooms.



And the builders have put up our lovely enamelled bathroom cabinet.

Closing In

The summer has been a bit of a wash out so far. But when the rain clouds roll in and the world beyond our block all but disappears, it feels pretty cosy here in our newly double-glazed house.

The Best Seats in the House 2

The Best Seats in the House 1

I spy with my little eye...

...two cockerels and a hen roosting in the bush, ousted from the coop by the mother hens...

Summer Nights 2

Sunshine in the pine by the chicken coops

Summer Nights 1

Looking up from the chicken coops...

Guests in the Granny Flat

The house isn't quite finished and neither is the granny flat. There's no door on the bathroom, no handles on the kitchen cupboards and everything needs a lick more paint. But we managed to make it sufficiently habitable for the final set of visiting grandparents - the first to take up residence in the granny flat. Shame we couldn't fix up the weather too - they'll be asking for a refund if it doesn't stop raining soon!

Hibiscus

Hamming it up

One of the first rooms that we've managed to get up and running in the house (after the laundry, of course) is the kitchen.

No photos of the full effect yet as it's still a little messy but here's the (happy-pig) ham that we cooked in our new oven for New Year's Eve lunch.

And we're pleased to report that the oven performed very well - it did the pig justice.

Bleak Midsummer

The weather over the holidays has been miserable. Lots of wind and rain. We've had one or two stunning sunsets to cheer us up though.

Baby Bunnies!

We have a little family of bunnies which I've been keeping an eye on too. There are at least four brown kits and, unusually, two black kits.

Peacock Prowling

Summer Swallows

It's not just the chickens that have been raising chicks either. I've been enjoying watching the swallows in the barn learning to fly over the last week or so. They seem to have mastered all the tricks now.

Cute Chicks!

For a few weeks, our grey hen had all but disappeared. We suspected that she'd gone bush. And eventually she emerged - with an entourage!

Just like Jemima Puddleduck, she'd risked pests and predators to lay her eggs where we couldn't find them. But she did much better than Jemima and managed to rear a huge clutch of chicks - at least 12 at last count - before returning to the coop to keep them safe.

I've sent some cute pictures around the neighbourhood in the hope that someone will take some of them in. Otherwise, we'll be eating a lot of roast chicken this year...

My first view of the chicks at close quarters.

But what's going on here?

Could there be even more chicks under the little brown hen?!

How many?!

Back to the warmth...

Happy New Year!

We have lots of plans for the next year - a stock trough, improved pasture management, a new roof for the chicken run - but after our six month exile, our only resolution is to enjoy being back home.