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...