Yesssssssss....(with a fist pump for emphasis)!!

My submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Rural Affairs and Transport about The management of the Murray-Darling Basin was accepted and placed into the interim report.

Submissions HERE

Now whilst very happy to see that the Senate has decided no more licences will be granted until a full investigation into CSG (Coal Seam Gas-Fracking) has been completed I have to say I was saddened by the lack of submissions. How many Aussies are there that care about our country???? Only 372 it seems!

Why is it so many are so apathetic? Every day we hear how unhappy someone is about this sort of thing yet obviously only a few bother to get their fingers into gear and make it an issue, how hard is it to write an email??

Anyway, enough of the ranting, let us hope that common sense will prevail and CSG will not be allowed to continue.

And if you are not sure about the CSG, you can find some concerning facts about the process HERE

Just call me Granny.........

I found out last night I am going to be a grandmother, what a wonderful surprise!! It seems so funny to feel so young (at 51) yet have that title lol.

Of course my mind has been racing with all the things I need to do, like buy a cot for the guest room, finish off my grandmothers rocking chair to give to my daughter, who was also rocked in it, crochet some beautiful soft blankets.......and the lists keep spinning around in my head lol.

Now back to more interesting things for you.......check out the sunflower, it towers over me and I am 5'10"! I will collect the seed from some of the flowers for next years crop and allow the birds the rest.

The Cape Gooseberries are still producing madly. I love these things, just little balls of delight, quick "on the go" meal if you pick enough of them:)
Calories 54.00, Water 85.90%, Protein 1.50 g, Fat 0.50g, Carbohydrates 11.00 g, Fiber 0.40 g Calcium 9.00 mg, Phosphorus 21.00 mg, Iron 1.70 mg,
Vitamin A 730.00 UI,Thyamine 0.01 mg, Riboflavin 0.17 mg, Niacin 0.80 mg,  Ascorbic Acid 20.00 mg

And here's one of my daily visitors. We now get about 8 of them every day coming in to see what treats I have left out for them. I make sure I have a day or two during the week where I don't put anything out to ensure they don't become completely dependent on the human providing sustenance.
 
 
 

If you look very carefully bottom right hand side you can see the 2 day old chick on its first day out of the roosting shed. Mumma hen was very protective and wouldn't allow me one step closer to get a better photo.
 
I think we have about 12 chooks now including the latest batch of chickens, which really is enough given we don't eat a mountain of eggs each week. That means either we separate the rooster out or find him a new home............the latter will be the best I think, otherwise we are going to end up with a pen for the males and one for the females!
 
I am currently loooking at solar pumps for the rainwater tanks....ready for next year. The idea being that we will have 2 very large tanks, one off the house and one off the workshop that we will be able to pump onto the gardens during summer instead of using tap water. Anyone have any recommendations please?
 
I am also looking into the cost of putting in a water diverter to run from the hot water taps. The idea is that the cold water we run whilst waiting for the tap to heat up in the shower etc is diverted into a rainwater tank until it reaches a certain temp, it is then sent back to the shower tap to utilise.  You can also buy a similar product that will recirculate your water back into your storage hot water system, not a bad idea given we all waste about 20,000 litres waiting for water to heat!
 
The strawberry and yellow cherry guavas are loaded with the last of the flowers, looks like a bumper crop this year, delectable and good for you, you can find the following nutrition in 1 cup (165 gm) of Guava, apart from Iron and Folic Acid:
•Calcium - 50 mg      •Carbohydrates - 19.6 gm    •Fibre - 8.9 gm
•Niacin - 2 mg.     •Phosphorus - 48 mg     •Protein - 1.35 gm
•Total Fat - 0.9 gm       •Vitamin A - 412 IU   •Vitamin B - 1.15 mg
•Vitamin C - 498 mg      •Calories - 84

Hope your week ahead is a good one:)

This month in the garden.......

Things are going haywire, as they do in Spring, although the fast approaching heat will slow that down somewhat soon enough.

The waterchestnuts are sprouting all over again, and although I detest them my mother adores them:)

In the pots either side of them are pitcher plants which I thought I had lost, it turns out they are annuals and are now sending through new shoots.

Remember what was inherited on the left when bought 2 years ago? On the right shows you where I am at now, still more shrubs etc to put in but slowly getting there, not bad given the whole thing was rebuilt into 3 areas.

I have closed the back run off now and have planted out with all manner of seeds, the girls now run in the front pen, and there they will stay for another year or two, this will hopefully turn what is currently absolutely shocking sandy clay soil into gorgeous garden bed soil for vegies.

I am madly collecting my seeds as plants are ready to give them up.

This way I get to keep seed that has performed the best in my home soil. This silverbeet is as tall as I am, amazing what plants will do to ensure they reproduce in following years!

All of the berries have gone haywire! I have about 6 varieties and they are all doing well. The only thing I do struggle with is how prickly most of them are, working with them requires gloves at all times.  The other thing I have noticed is that they are more than happy to spread all through the garden beds with new plants coming up, have cut out about about 4 that would otherwise have taken over everything!



The pineapple guava is producing fruit, something it didn't do last year. I cannot wait to taste this one having discovered I love all the others!         Did you know you can eat the white part of the petals too? They have a delightful "floral" taste.

The chilli bush is from last year too. The past winter was so mild that these and the tomatoes just kept on producing......unheard of to have year round plants in this area usually......sign of the changing climates we will face.  The yellow cherry guava you can see just to the bottom of the picture has flowered profusely and is covered ready to start fruiting. If you haven't tried these do..they are heavenly!

The chinese gooseberry has been absolutely loaded this year, I love nothing better than getting out there, picking a huge handful and sitting on the patio eating them for breakfast.......brilliant source of Vit C by the way:)

I left the last of the radishes to seed too, prickly bloody things those! This was my first time growing them and some of them were woody in texture, flavour was still ok.....anyone have any ideas as to why? I was thinking I may have left them in too long, or not enough water?

The ginger plant is coming along nicely. I have no idea why I am growing this...do you do the same thing? I think years ago my idea was to grow as many of my own herbs and spices as I could.......except I only have one recipe that uses it.......Ginger Bread Men LOL!!

If nothing else the flower is pretty on them, and who knows, further down the track I may use more....

The elders are looking beautiful. Not only are they a pretty shrub but I want to make both elderberry tincture and elderberry champagne from them once they are older.

Well, that's about it for me this month. Now the heat is coming in I tend to slow down a little, getting out early mornings or late evenings only.......thats the part of summer I dislike, my garden hours get reduced by the unbearable heat!

Hope you have a super week ahead:)

Our weather for the week......