In the Pink 2

In the Pink 1

Swan plant - chapter 2

A few weeks ago, we put in a swan plant in the hope of attracting monarch butterflies. We inspected it last weekend and were amazed to find out that we already have a caterpillar in residence. Just need to make sure that the plant doesn't become overwhelmed with hungry creepy crawlies now...

Cicada

Every wondered what a cicada looks like? Here's one...

Hard Labour Day

This Labour Weekend, we decided to set about doing some civilian engineering and built a small extension to the chicken coop.

The chookateria was taking up a quarter of the floor-space and getting rather messy under the perch. And the water dispenser was making the sawdust soggy. So we've moved the food and water outside now and hope that the coop will stay cleaner.

The best thing about the extension is that we made it from bits and pieces that we had lying around - the chicken wire which had made the original temporary run, stakes from the trees which the last owner planted, a scrap pallet, the leftover plywood from the biltong box and some offcuts of building paper from the shed repairs.

But the most important resource was the bird seed which distracted the chickens whilst we worked.

Eventually, we'll add a self-watering unit with water from the roof flowing into a tank and then, in turn, into a stock trough with ballcock. Need a few more bits and pieces for that though.

Gooey Green Goodness

Kiwi fruit isn't quite two-a-penny but at 25c per bag, it's not far off. So I whizzed up this kiwi fruit smoothie - kiwi fruit flesh, home-made yoghurt and honey. Mmm...

Happy Birthday Joan

J's granny's birthday list consists of consumables. And so J has cooked up some pickled eggs for her which are now maturing nicely in the pantry ready for the big day (don't tell!). Let's hope she likes them...

Flaxbud

Rosebud

(...to be said in spooky Citizen Kane voice...)

Fence Line

And it's all downhill from here...

And once we'd worked out how to go uphill, we had to master downhill.



Again, low range, first gear, no brake, no clutch, tight left hand turn at the bottom. Down a narrow ravine in the middle of a sand dune in the forest. It was much more frightening than it looks here!

The trick is to put both feet flat on the floor and press hard to ensure that you're not tempted to hit the brake.

Uphill struggle

The next skill to learn was how to get uphill safely.

We were told that if you lose power part way up a slope, you should calmly roll back down the hill in reverse gear (no brake, no clutch) before taking a good run up with the gas flat on the floor.



It seemed to work - but listen out for the remarkable words at the end of this clip.

Home on the Low Range

We decided to work on another rural skill this weekend - four wheel driving. Just in case we ever need to tow the chicken coop to a different spot.

Our instructor gave us a radio and we set off in convoy into the forest.



The first skill that we learnt was "walking" the truck. We put it into low range 4WD mode, first gear, and with no brake and no clutch meandered our way around a muddy field.

Then it was time to negotiate some trees - trunks, branches, roots and stumps - as we moved at slow speed and precarious angles along a forest track.



I even managed to get two wheels off the ground at one time.

Mother Hen

We found out recently that this little grey hen was laying her eggs in the undergrowth underneath our bedroom window. She'd wait until we let her out in the morning and then make a dash for the back of the house.

But we tracked down her clutch of eggs eventually and ended up putting 20 eggs on the compost heap.

The next morning, I chased her up the hill, barely keeping up. She headed straight for the bushes where she'd been laying. I arrived just after her and then three roosters turned up. Poor old hen was confused by the lack of eggs, scratching around looking for them, and then embarrassed by all the attention. She wouldn't settle down and after a good hunt around, went wandering off to find another place to lay.

I left her alone and retreated to the house. She re-appeared under the bedroom window again and then spotted me on the balcony. I was astounded when she fluttered up to find out if I'd put the eggs up there! She eventually decided that the eggs weren't around.

And then got her revenge by laying in the middle of the border in front of the house. I had a good poke around later but she'd hidden her new egg well. I'll have to wait until there's enough of them to stand out in the undergrowth.

Mistle Thrush

Cherry Blossom at Sunset 2

Cherry Blossom at Sunset 1

Doodle Stitch - the real thing

Here's the real life inspiration for my Doodle Stitch design...


(the only difference is that the monarch butterfly isn't quite ready in this shot...)

Doodle Stitch

This is what I made when I got home all-inspired from my trips to the quilt show and the sculpture gallery recently - a doodle stitch from a kit that I found in my stocking at Christmas.

I've done a little bit of embroidery before but always from a pattern so it was fun to start from scratch this time. For those, like J (and J), who can't work out what it's supposed to be, it's a collage of scenes from New Zealand native bush. From left to right...

• Tui and a pohutukawa
• Flax with flower
• Monarch butterfly
• Koru (new tree fern frond)
• Fantail
• Kowhai blossom
  

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of the real thing for comparison purposes...

Magic Muffins

If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. If your hens give you eggs, you bake muffins.

My first batch of muffins were ricotta, sun-dried tomato and spinach muffins, a variation on a recipe from the ITV website of all places.

Steel Magnolias

Straight after the quilt show, I headed over to a gallery to see their latest exhibition - a great range of metal sculptures in the garden. I just need to work out where to put them now...

Patchwork Fantastic

(click on the picture for a closer look...)

I went to a quilt show last Sunday. I was the youngest person in the room. Apart from the toddlers.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and got some inspiration for when I buy my own sewing machine soon. I was just slightly disappointed that there were no anarchic or political patterns like this one from Grayson Perry at the V&A exhibition earlier this year.

New Ewes

When we got back from holiday a few weeks ago, we found new sheep in the paddock - five ewes and five lambs.

Rooster chorus

Disapproving Chickens

And what are you doing in my house?

Bird's Nest

Every trip to feed the chickens turns into a nature walk. Last weekend, I found a bird's nest below the old pine tree. It was beautifully made from twigs and flax and lichen. And it was full of woodlice.



When I picked it up, I was amazed to find that the floor of the nest was smooth like plywood.



And under the gum tree just down the hill, I found a bright blue egg shell. This is the colour that J wants for our kitchen cabinets. We'll see.

Iris

The same gardening friend who named our sparaxis for us, also supplied me with some other bulbs - two varieties of iris - virginica and louisiana.

Here are the louisiana bulbs that I've planted by the chicken coop. The branches are designed to deter the hens from scratching near the newly planted bulbs.



When I planted these, I also found some other bulbs flowering nearby. The only problem is that I now need to find a name for those.

Swan plant

I picked up a swan plant from some members of the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust last weekend. This is the best possible plant for attracting the big orange and black butterflies and then feeding their offspring before they turn into a chrysalis.



I've planted it on the edge of a patch of bush, in full sun, and will be looking out for big hairy caterpillars. But first I have to look for eggs. And if I find too many eggs on a leaf I have to squish them apparently so that the plant isn't devoured by ravenous caterpillars.

Red, white and blue

The bulbs are blooming under the coral tree. I've finally found out the name of the red star-shaped flower - sparaxis. The others are freeshias (blue) and harebells (white).