Lucky's Duck Farm

Moving Forward

2017-09-04T14:28:00.000+09:30

Getting the raised garden beds ready was a good stint of physical work. Been a few years since I have put in the hard yard like this.

First bed finished. In the raised bed is 3 wheel barrows of chicken manure from their bedding area, followed by 3 wheel barrow loads of top scrapings from the chook run. This was topped off with 3 lovely loads of my very own compost.

These gardening beds came from Aldi and they are just the right height and size for me. Pat gave this one to me for my birthday. Who need jewelry when you can have gardening items???

Green bed is from Hudson and his family, they gave me two green ones for my birthday. Supervisor is checking to make sure all the work is up to plant standard.

Plants in and pea straw starting to be spread around, for weed control. Notice the rubbish behind those beds is now gone as well? Looks much better now. I have planted apple cucumbers, burpless cucumbers, loose leaf lettuce mix, curly parsley and zucchini. Third bed is just sitting and waiting for the long weekend in October. Then that will have tomato, capsicum and basil.

Lemon tree also mulched for the up coming hot weather, as well for weed control too.

Given my girls a job too. In that pot is a mixture of weeds, lawn runners and garlic chives. I want the pot in the up coming weeks and thought, they can have a feed and clean the pot out for me.

While spreading the pea straw we had a downpour of rain, with small hail. This has made me think I should leave the bale of straw for the girl's area until next fortnight. That way its won't be as wet and yucky for them. So I'll invest in another pea straw bale this fortnight and keep mulching.

My garden is powering along and already I can see new growth in the seedlings.

As Time Goes By

2017-08-31T20:17:00.001+09:30

My goodness, time has flown by so quickly and so much has happened. I have been through some tough years, from loosing my dad and taking a year to get through those very dark months.

To open heart surgery October 2015.

Birth of 2 more grandchildren.

I still have my chooks and ducks. Some have passed on and new ones introduced.

My beautiful cat Lucky and my White Russian Rebel have passed on. I now have a very independent cat call Lara.

Matilda is the light of my animal world, a dog.

That is Matilda with Harley who is nearly 20 years old. Matilda I call my therapy dog, as she was given to me by Patrick when my dad died. She makes me smile and laugh, even when I am having a bad day.

I stopped gardening for a few years, but did keep making compost with what ever I could, that the chooks and ducks didn't eat.

Yesterday that all changed.

I have decided to go back to gardening. For lots of different reasons.

Here is a tease photo.

That is my four year old grandson Hudson, checking out our new gardening system.

Over the next few days I'll be posting lots of photos of what is happening at Lucky's Duck Farm. I hope you'll come back and see what is happening.

Baby Rabbits

2013-09-30T13:07:00.001+09:30

Its very exciting here at Lucky's Duck Farm as we have 3 baby bunnies.

They were born early this month and both Pat and myself are just enjoying the little cuddles from the three of them.

At the very cute stage of moving around the cage.

And greeting me the the door of their hutch.

I'm Back.

2012-09-01T14:19:00.000+09:30

Yes, you did read the title of this post correctly.

I am back gardening after about 18 months away from it. I decided to take a year off for different reasons and then for health reasons from both Pat and I, it was another 6 months.

A lot has happened in this time.

My son James was married in January of this year and they are expecting their first baby at the end of November.

Amy has returned to work part time and we have little Cooper who is about 16 months old now every Monday & Thursday.

I have some lovely photos and a real shocker of a photo for you as well.

Little "Super Cooper" is now walking and this makes it much more fun here in Lucky Land. Cooper is able to spend time outside in the backyard on the nice days.

We spent last Monday morning out in the garden and Cooper had a ball. From emptying all the pegs in my basket to pushing the washing trolley around on the lawn.

Cooper so wanted to push the wheel barrow around and was getting a bit on the stroppy side as he couldn't move it....lol. So Pat and I are going to look around for a toy wheel barrow for Cooper to use when he visits.

Coop loves my chooks, ducks and little rabbit "Buddy". My plan when Cooper is older is to have his own little vegie patch. Anything he harvests can be taken home for him to share with mummy & daddy.

Now the scary photo. WEEDS!!!!!!!! lots of them. Tomorrow we are getting Amy & Ben's lawn mower and we'll give it a good going over. Weeds into the compost bin and then start to either remove the roots or just turn it all into the soil.

A rewarding picture now.

Fresh asparagus on our dinner plate that night. That made for all the back breaking work we did that day worth while.

So as you can see we have a way to go getting my little vegie patch back to working and feeding us. We're both very egg-cited about this.

Until next time......

Queensland

2011-02-02T18:06:00.000+10:30

May God have mercy on Queensland
and hold the people in his arms and shelter them.

No GPS.

2011-01-21T20:41:00.008+10:30

Remember how I asked for a GPS for out in the vegie garden/jungle? Well if you sent me one, it got lost in the mail....lol

After tea tonight, I thought the evening was too lovely to be inside doing dishes. So I collected a basket and went outside to see what I could harvest.

Couple of duck eggs and half dozen chook eggs later, I started harvesting beans.

That lead to the following story. Pop the kettle on and make a cuppa before you start reading.

The asparagus had grown more spears and gone to that tall fern look, so the left of the Purple King beans was hard to get to. The pumpkin had grown on the right side of the beans, through the corn stalks. Making bean harvesting from that area, impossible.

Out came the gloves, up went my hair and in the jungle I went.

Looking into the corn area, I cut out almost half the corn stalks and any pumpkin vine I came across. No pumpkins forming in this area, so I was harsh in cutting the vines back.

Looking back towards the clothes line. At one time this view was blocked out and it was a struggle to get through to the back part of the garden.

I've left all that sitting there until tomorrow morning. Where I'll chop it all up by hand and compost it.

Look at poor #11, he's been underneath the pumpkin...poor bugger. Tomorrow I'll give it a feed and whisper to it, how much I love it and hopefully it won't sulk for too long.

Those stakes in the pumpkin area is actually the tomato area. This is the before photo.

After photo and once again the cuttings are laying there until tomorrow morning. Mozzies were coming out and I was getting tired as well. Huge amount of tomatoes to be harvested in weeks to come.

I found 1 pumpkin and I am hoping this one isn't the only one in the end for this season. This one is almost at the top of the fence in the duck area.

Future compost mess to be mixed with some chicken litter from their housing area.

Tomorrow I'll have my camera with me and take photos as my morning goes by.

On a more somber note.

I've been busy in the sewing room, (hence the pumpkin going feral) I have been making softies for my HUGGLES For Kids drive for children of the floods. There are some wonderfully talented ladies around Australia making softies to help me.

What am amazing country we live in, make me proud to be an Aussie. Seeing us come together as a nation.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: asparagus, beans, compost, corn, pumpkins, rhubarb, tomato

Harvest

2011-01-15T18:16:00.004+10:30

Last evenings harvest, was a lovely pleasure to collect. Something about picking beans. Pat was helping me pick beans, though he was eating his fair share.

Capsicum came in at a lovely 380 grams. The tomatoes on the right are from a self sown plant. Strawberries have been eating today, mixed in with my vanilla yogurt. Beans are in the freezer.

You can't tell in the photo, but this baby weighed in at a hefty 402 grams. We had half this morning on our toast and the rest in wraps for lunch.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: beans, strawberry, tomato, capsicum

Lucky's Tip Of The Day.

2011-01-09T02:48:00.003+10:30

Last night I thought I would see who or what is eating my corn.
So down to the vegie garden with a torch I went.
Couldn't quite see where I was standing, so I stepped in closer.

I had the nectarine tree brushing my face,
Chilli plant gently brushing my bare leg.....
Or was it??

Shit!!! Spider web!!!
Can't stand spider webs, spiders walking on me I don't mind.
But a web on me....no way!

So I back peddled, feeling the web sticking to my bare leg.
I shine the torch down to see what and where the web is.

Big arse spider wasn't happy I was wreaking his/her web.
Either that, or having a torch shone in their eyes.

Once I had stopped my ritual dance and was web free,
I had a look and gee what a beautiful spider.

Even dragged poor Pat out for a look. Come see, come see... I was yelling.
Wonder the neighbours all didn't some for a look.

Lucky's Tip For The Day.

Don't go out in the dark and climb through your vegie patch,
never know who you may meet!

Until next time..... Shit happens when ya party naked.

Ben

2011-01-07T19:05:00.008+10:30

In my last post I showed you the yummy tomato and how I am sharing with a rat, I am going to call "Ben".

I was willing to turn a blind eye, not now though, as I think I am being conned.

The little blighter (for a better word) is now snacking on the corn crop. Some of the ears have been stripped and just the empty cob is left.

This means war!!!! I've harvested the ripe ones and have popped some rat sack in the corn and tomato areas. I am going to invest in a rat trap and remove the rat sack on payday. The rat sack isn't sitting well with me, as I am worries about other animals. Also its a bit harsh of a death.....for the little bugger.

Thinking happy thoughts!!!!!

Snow Gold is the variety and we had our first feed tonight and boy no wonder the (you know who) is hopping into them. Corn is sweet as and oh so yummy.

Also I have been harvesting a bumper crop of beans.

More so the Blue Lake bean variety, but there is also some King Purple and Butter beans in today's harvest. Weighing in at 754 gram, I'm getting a lovely supply in the freezer.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: beans, corn, pests

2011-01-05T11:41:00.005+10:30

Late last year I had come to the conclusion my tomatoes had been mislabeled and I wasn't growing the Black Russian variety.

I am so happy to report I was wrong.

Second tomato for the season. First one was attacked by what I am guessing was a rat, as only 1 full side had been eaten away. Not a pecked hole like a bird tends to do.

Saved this one before it was eaten too much.

Yes I did cut the chewed bit off and the tomato was very yummy on our toast for breakfast yesterday.

So each day I am out checking for any newly starting to ripen fruits and bringing them inside. With the floods in Australia and talk of food sky rocketing.......its either us or the rat, that is going to be eating fresh organic food from our garden and I can tell you the rat isn't going to be the one.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: tomato, pests, organic

Send Food/Water...No A GPS!!!!!

2010-12-22T17:54:00.006+10:30

Have I been missed by anyone in Blogland???? I know that I haven't been posting as much.

Maybe that is because when I go harvesting, I am gone for so long.............think I need a GPS.

Check out the photos. OMG!!!!

That white/sand thingo is the bird bath and I don't think even the birds have been able to see it, let alone use it.

Number 11 is in there somewhere and I know he's alive, as we had a lovely feed of Rhubarb Saturday night.

Zucchini plants are still feeding us, though they are hard to get to as I can't just walk to them.

Tomatoes were miss labeled, we I have no idea what variety they are, but I do know no Black Russian tomatoes on our toast for breakfast.

A hedge of asparagus and corn so high, I am thinking of turning it into a baseball field and see if Kevin wants to film a sequel to his hit movie "Field Of Dreams".

Beans are feeding us and its only early in the season. Getting a nice little variety of them frozen for off season.

I was talking to my dad about how well the garden is growing. He like me, thinks its all the good winter rains while the plants were growing. Fruit trees in my garden and his are full of fruit.

I can also now harvest my own capsicums, that is great as I use a lot in my salads and cooking. They have been so darn dear at the shops, $9.99 a kilo. So I was hunting them down anywhere I could find them cheaper. But no more for this season.....yay.

Eggplants are almost ready to start to be picked as well.

Beetroot is yummy steamed and carrots are sweet as.

Garden is looking so FAB TAB and I am just so happy harvesting and enjoying this time of the year.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: asparagus, beans, beetroot, capsicums, carrots, vegetables, zucchini,

Rain

2010-12-08T16:08:00.010+10:30

If you didn't see or hear of the rain that fell in South Australia yesterday, you may have been elsewhere on our planet.

So here is some photos after the 2 inches of rain that fell at my place. Some of the water was still laying on top of the lawn even this morning.

This one shows the water sitting on top of the mulch in the vegie patch.

Ducks were pretty happy with the water that was laying around in there run.

Bobby needed to pee, as if there wasn't enough water on the lawn.....lol

No real damage to our place or area, just lots of water.

Until next time.......hoo roo from soggy old Luckyland.

technorati tags: weather, rain

Baby Chickens

2010-12-06T15:59:00.003+10:30

Klinger is now the proud mum of 3 little chickens. She's showing every sign of being a good little mother.

Two eggs came to nothing and 1 chicken didn't survive long after hatching.

Its been a couple of years since we've had chickens and I am just so pleased to hear the little cheep noises coming from then old rabbit hutch.

It's rain here at the moment and lots of thunder thrown in. Good for the garden.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: chickens, chooks, hens, Sussex, bantams, weather

Playground For Bobby

2010-11-28T10:51:00.004+10:30

Yep the little grandpuppy is coming over to play while the kids are at work until they move house next month.

Poor little guy had an emergency trip to the vet with a grass seed way down in his ear. So like any protective Nanna, I am going to baby sit him while they are at work.

So Bobby can help me spread more pea straw around the vegies and generally hunt for those FAB dinosaur bones he loves so much.

He's got some great jungle areas to sneak around in. He loved the corn area yesterday when the 3 of them called in after the vet trip.

No having mummy & daddy calling him out for the next 2 weeks.....lol. Nope..... gonna be so much fun just the 2 of us, bonding and enjoying nature at her best.

These photos were taken this morning.

Until next time......hoo roo

technorati tags: asparagus, comfrey, corn, silverbeet, vegetables, food

TLC My Style

2010-11-14T11:28:00.007+10:30

Tender Lucky Care my style is how I was in the garden today.

First off, I gave my girls a full bale of "what ever" for them to spread around their play area for deep litter. Wish I could remember what our good gardening buddy "Pepe" calls it. He dropped if off the day I was at the Craft & Quilting expo. So I missed saying G'day to him.

Still need to clean out their shed, but that'll have to wait for another day.

While they were having a ball, I started weeding the areas I allocated for today's play in the garden. Figured if I do a 60 to 90 mins a day, I'll have the weeds out, mulching in and the garden singing and feeding us even more.

Bush beans and the Blue Lake climbing beans are steaming along. Enjoying the spring weather and growing like little mushrooms.

Once again from Pepe, peas straw was spread around the beans after a weed and water. Also made sure any stray climbing beans were woven through the trellis.

Forgot to collect the seeds from the spring onions. So this afternoon once the plants have dried off, I'll collect them.

Corn was next on my list for today, weeded and then mulched as well. Used a full bale this morning for the areas, 2 bales still to be used. Weeded around the Purple King beans and I hope I didn't miss judge the area where I have them growing. The asparagus is hugely tall this season and right next to the beans.

Comfrey is starting to flower.

Tomorrow's effort in the garden. Strawberries are looking pretty darn good, though getting invaded by self sown Blue Lake beans and a silverbeet plant. Beans will go and the silverbeet will stay. Penny Royal will be cut back as well.

Last year we were invaded a poxy weed and its back this year, so they'll need to be removed and then mulching this are.

Psst..... home grown strawberries are yummo. That's a little secret between you and me ....okay?

The jungle area of the garden....look at the asparagus!!!! Think that parsley plant will go too, all my little self sown seedlings are now going to seed. So I want to remove the plant and put that are to better use.

Well that is about it from me today.

Garden is feeding us and running at about 95%, heaps better than last summer.

Last weekend while in Clare at my darling niece's wedding, I ran into Sophie Thomson from Gardening Australia. She's a lovely lady and we had a little chat, while having some lunch in a park. Last time I was chatting to her was about 3 years ago at the Gardening Australia expo.

Anyway time for a shower and then into my sewing room..... Christmas is just around the bend!!!

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: asparagus, beans, chooks, chickens, corn, strawerry, parsley, organic, vegetables, silverbeet,

Our Magpies

2010-10-11T11:42:00.006+10:30

Over these past weeks Pat & I have been visited by a family of magpies. They are often at the backdoor asking for some raw meat or if we're turning soil.....worms.

Mrs. Maggie has become so used to us she will walk around our feet and the other day Mr. Maggie was tapping Pat's toe nail looking for something to eat.

We don't feed them every time they ask, as with Junior now, they have to teach him how to fend for himself.

Last year we didn't get to see their offspring, but this year we have been given the honour of having the whole family visit us.

Mrs. Maggie and Junior

So far Junior has only come to the back fence and watching him learn to fly and land has been a joy. Other than the odd crash landing we have seen, he's doing very well.

The clothes line and other items in the backyard has made it a bit hard for him to negotiate his way in for a safe landing. So usually he doesn't follow mum or dad in, but sits on the back fence or in the gum tree.

Mum top, Dad bottom and Junior in the middle.

Until this morning. When I took a bit of raw meat out for them Junior followed mum in and he was standing right in front of me with his beak open and wings flapping. Waiting for a feed, it was the most amazing feeling and I was so happy to have been able to get so close to him.

He then ran over into the vegie garden and mum continued to feed him the last of the scraps.

Mrs. Maggie is scruffy at the moment, with all the shopping and food gathering for Junior. I think she needs a trip to a beauty shop and some TLC given to her. Mr. Maggie is as sleek as ever.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: birds, environment, photo

Latest Garden Update.

2010-10-07T13:42:00.009+10:30

Over so many days Pat has been cleaning up an area under the shade cloth for us to sit outside now the warmer weather is here. Pat decided to add some more second hand pavers so we had more room around the table.

Bobby was over yesterday for the whole day and so he got to spend lots of time around the side of the house with Poppy while Nanna pottered around the gardened keeping an eye on them both.

Doesn't it look fab?? We sat out there this morning after our good gardening buddy "Pepe" left. Not as windy around this side of the house, which is great for Pat as he doesn't cope well on those windy days. Maybe now he can be outside just that little bit longer, before it gets tooo windy.

Seven extra rows of pavers were added and its amazing how much more the area has given us. Pat wants to go further with the pavers, but he needs a couple of quiet days now to recover.

This is what we see when walking out our back door. This morning Pepe dropped off 6 bales of pea straw for me and already 3 are working in the garden. Pepe also bought out a pile of strawberry runners from his garden.

For the strawberry plants I sent Pepe home with a lovely comfrey plant and a pile of penny royal (think that is what its called......lol).

While Pepe planted them out for me, as he knows more about strawberries than me. Figured they will have more of a chance in surviving if they are given a good start.

We also sat out the back and had a cuppa and some fresh scones I baked this morning.

Pepe said I should know what ones will survive in the next fortnight and then I can mulch the plants.

Strawberries along with white nectarine fruits are my most fav fruits. I hope I do the plants justice and get a good feed from them.

In this area are 4 zucchini seedlings, 2 Queensland Blue pumpkin and some salvia and marigolds around the pavers. This is called "Sam's Place as Amy's dog was buried here 8 weeks ago. The kids are renting and we didn't want to leave Sam behind when they moved to a house once its bought.

So it seemed the most natural place was in our backyard. Flowers will pretty the area up and the pavers are to mark Sam's grave and his first summer there will be pumpkins and zucchinis rambling close to him.

What the area looks like after it was mulched. I had to make sure the mulch didn't swallow up the seedlings.

Garden is pumping with lots of yummy goodies and it feels good to have it running at 90% as I want to plant some other foods still.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: strawberry, mulching, comfrey, organic

My Nanna Says......

2010-09-30T19:59:00.007+09:30

My Nanna says I am too cute for my boots! Guess that is why I don't have any.

We had lots of fun out the back today. Much more exciting that bean planting yesterday.

Today we planted out some corn seeds, that was such fun as Nanna was raking the soil and I got to chase the rake. My Nanna says its okay to play like this, as she was going very slow and careful.

After the corn was planted I was allowed to run under the water spray from the hose. Nanna then spiked up my fur for a photo shoot. Now you know why I have no boots....

After the photo shoot it was back to playing. My Nanna says gardening isn't work it's playing, as she enjoys it so much.

I helped Poppy turn this soil over. I got lost a couple of times in the big parsley hedge. It was so much fun digging holes and helping Poppy. Nanna is going to grow eggplants, capsicum and silverbeet in this area.

After we turned the soil, it was time to collect more of that earthy smelling compost that makes Nanna happy.

My Nanna says the ducks are really cute dabbing for worms and grubs in the compost. They were so excited when the wheel barrow was filling with the compost.

Eggplant, capsicum and silverbeet all planted out. Nanna is getting so excited about the harvest she is hoping to get from her vegie patch this year. My Nanna says I have been a big help in getting the vegie patch organized before the long weekend. She likes to have most of it planted out by the end of the long weekend.

Poppy weeded the dwarf Red Delicious apple tree and then a thin layer if compost was mixed into the top bit of soil. Nanna planted out Poppy's portulaca seedlings, as Poppy has a black thumb.

My Nanna says........Poppy keep the weeds out of the area and those portulaca's will be flowering and spreading over the area in no time at all.

We called it quits once we had all the list done for today. Nanna sat with me outside after I woke from a big sleep and gave me my lunch. Then we had a little play and a cuddle. Nanna was feeling tired after all the gardening from the last 4 days and we had a nap together on the lounge.

Dad turned up and told Nanna I wasn't coming over tomorrow. That was news to us both! I don't think Nanna took the news too well. She was telling me that tomorrow we had zucchinis and pumpkins to plant out as well as some flowers. Now she has to do that by herself. Nanna was very brave when she collected all my toys and left over snacks.

My Nanna says I can come back anytime I want.

My Nanna loves me very much.

Special thanks to Ben & Amy for letting me enjoy Bobby over the last 4 days. Not being able to have a dog due to Pat's allergies to them, it was a special time for me. Best part was I didn't have to share Bobby until his parents came to collect him.

technorati tags: apples, capsicum, compost, ducklings, ducks, eggs, silverbeet, parsley

Beans Are Boring!!

2010-09-29T17:34:00.013+09:30

Beans are boring and I think they are about as over rated as those dinosaur bone I found yesterday.

What is so exciting about a kidney shaped seed and a hole in the soil made by Nanna's finger???

So I decided to sleep on this question, while Nanna finished off the boring beans.

Seeing as Bobby slept the morning away, I'll have to take over for today's play out in the garden.

The only time Bobby really showed any interest was when he was inside chasing our cats. Most of them scattered and hid, but not Harley.

Harley stood his carpet and gave Bobby a low growl to say back off pup. Thing is that made Bobby want to play more and next thing they were off through the house.

Not long after that Bobby's dad turned up and took him home for the rest of the day.

Now what did we get up to out the back today??

Well Pat finished off his area of turning the chook litter into the soil. That had been sitting for a few weeks on top and had lots of rain wash the goodness into the soil

While Pat was doing that, I finished off those not so boring beans.

Blue lake beans will grow on the trellis. These beans I saved myself and I must say, I'm a bit nervous as I am not sure how they will go germinating and growing. My carrots and spring onion are fine and I have been saving them for years now. Time will tell I guess.

In front of the trellis has butter beans and hawkesbury bush beans sown.

There wasn't enough room for the other bean trellis, so the Purple King beans are sown in the main vegie patch.

The leafy area is looking great and I have already started to harvest the rainbow chard and baby spinach. Radishes are now up too.

Also this morning I sowed some carrots and beetroot seeds between the tomatoes and leafy greens.

Pepino plant is thriving against the "people fence" and look at this little truss of fruit on the vine. This fruit tastes a lot like a rock melon. We are already eating them while more are fruiting.

Once Ben had picked up Bobby (at about 2.15) we headed up to Garden Grove for some seedlings for tomorrow's planting.

Chives, eggplant, silverbeet & capsicum for the vegie garden. Corn seeds grow better than seedlings. I bought "Snow Gold" & "Terrific" for this coming season. Been a few years since we grew corn and so we're really looking forward to the coming season.

Marigold and saliva (blue & white) for the vegi patch to help attract bees.

Pat wanted more portulaca seedlings for under his apple tree.

Always wanted a weeding fork and we needed more seasol for the seedlings.

Well that has to be about it for today. Bobby I hope will show more interest tomorrow in the garden.....lol. But then again, with all the seedlings going in, maybe sleeping in the sun is a better job for him.

Until next time...hoo roo

technorati tags: beans, beetroot, capsicum, carrots, chard, chives, seeds, seedlings, silverbeet

Bobby Works The Compost

2010-09-28T18:03:00.018+09:30

Hi there its me...."Bobby" and I am back at Nanna & Poppy's place again today.

After some stomach crunches and warm up lap or two around the yard it was back into gardening with a passion.

Today Nanna said we were concentrating on weeds and compost. Sounds like a lot of fun and not long into it, I was finding some really cool things in the backyard.

Nanna put her ducks over in a different area for the morning. She wanted to have their gate open to take a wheel barrow back and forth to the compost heap.

Ha....who's on the wrong side of the fence???

Nanna didn't notice that I ran into two of these funny green things and broke them off. I just kept running and pretended it didn't happen. Pretty sure it worked and Nanna didn't see them break.

What??

The compost tumbler was a bit scary and once it stopped going around and making a big noise, it spewed up this smelling black stuff. Nanna said it was good for the garden and helped to retain water. Don't know why it wants to retain water......makes my tummy hurt!

Poppy reminds me of "Wilson" off that TV show "Home Improvements" You never see his face. I was checking on his work and making sure the compost was mixed into the clay soil properly.

Poppy helps Nanna out in the garden when his health lets him. Poppy was so tired after he did all his soil/compost turning for Nanna. She kept checking on Poppy and asking if he was ready to quit for the day.

Nanna & I collected 1 tumbler and 4 wheel barrows full of compost from a compost bay for this area. Nanna said she was going to grow corn here. Said she likes to feed the soil before she plants out seeds or seedlings. My Nanna knows lots of cool things about growing vegies.

We even found a dinosaur bone. I was allowed to have a little nibble on it. Didn't thrill me as much as yesterday's chicken bone. I think dinosaur bones are overrated.

Hey mum...look.................. I got worms. Ha ha ha ha........ get it, got worms!!!! Oh I am so funny...got worms. Did you get it???? You don't look like you think its as funny as I do, mum.

This is the area where the beans are going to be planted out. Lots of weeds for us to pull out.

I got a bit confused and was pulling the weeds out of the bucket. Nanna fed the weeds to her chooks.

All the weeds are now gone and more compost went into the area and mixed in the soil. Those spring onions are going to seed and Nanna has been collecting seeds for years.

Climbing beans and bush beans are going to grow here. Oh I wonder if Nanna has checked to see if beans and spring onions grow nicely together? Gee should I tell her or just watch her face when she thinks of it herself?

Can you see the tomatoes in the background? Look at me near all that parsley. Between me and the turned soil is where the asparagus is growing Savvy Mummy. She bought about 10 crowns 10 years ago and gets heaps...oddles ...piles of spears off it. They were 2 years old when they came and after 2 years in the garden, started to harvest for a few weeks.

Area ready for corn and Nanna isn't sure if she'll grow pumpkins down the back.

Nanna's compost, it was brewing all winter and now she's using it. Nanna collects heaps of stuff for the compost area.

Long distance shot of the compost bay. Ducks were home by this time.

I helped Nanna and Poppy from about 9.15 in the morning to 2.15 in the afternoon. I flaked it on the lawn and Nanna carried me inside for a well earned cuddle. I was still asleep at 4.45 when mum picked me up after she knocked off work.

Nanna is talking about planting out the bean seeds tomorrow. Hope so, as I thought that was happening today.

Mummy is dropping me off tomorrow around 8.30 again and I can't wait. Mum told Nanna I slept really good last night.

I so hope your having as much fun as what Nanna and I are.

Until next time....woof, woof.

Bobby & Me

2010-09-27T17:07:00.007+09:30

Hello my name is Bobby and I am a King Charles Cavalier puppy. I'm 9 weeks old and I have spent today with my Nanna and Poppy. My Mummy & Daddy think I am too young to stay on my own in the laundry or out the back with Charlie (my bigger 1/2 sister) while they are at work.

I thought you might like to see what I got up too, while I spent the day with Nanna. Poppy is allergic to dogs (saliva and oils) so Nanna was so happy she didn't have to share.

Mum left me with Nanna & Poppy at about 8.30. Mum looked like she was gonna cry....... Nanna said this was good practice for the "real thing", not sure what that meant.

After introducing myself to their cats, gee they sure are funny things...... they turn real fluffy when I bark at them. I had a morning nap and Nanna was just so happy to rock me to sleep.

I don't remember getting put into this box. I had a good sleep and didn't feel Harley sticking knives into my back.

When I woke up, Nanna said it was time to go and play out the back.

I helped Nanna dig a hole for a self sown parsley plant. My job was to take the little lumps of clay out of the hole and chew what ever I thought was yummy.

I found a bone and Nanna took my photo, before she had a near heart attack and took my golden chew bone away from me. She said I can't have a cooked bone and even worse it was a chicken bone. Not that it mattered as it was real old, though it was fun to chew.

Anyway I have a toy duck to chew when I want to. It quacks when Mummy or Daddy squeeze its tummy and it makes me go nuts and bark. Mummy said Nanna would be pleased I have a duck squeaky toy.

I saw some real ducks this afternoon when Daddy was here to pick me up. They quacked real loud and I ran to my Dad.

After we finished in the garden and had our lunch together out the back, we had a rest.

This is me & Nanna watching TV. I found Days of our Lives boring and Judge Judy really silly. If you want to get back at some one......just wee on them I say.

I'm hoping I can visit Nanna & Poppy's tomorrow while Mummy & Daddy go to work. Nanna in planting beans out and she'll need someone to help dig the drills for them.

Until next time....woof woof.

Mrs. September

2010-09-22T18:11:00.007+09:30

This morning the sun was shining and while out the back I was enjoying the warmth on my back. When I came across our mother magpie................ with what I thought was a dead Mrs. Maggie.

My mouth dropped and I thought.....Oh Shit!!! Didn't know I could speak French did you????

All I could think of was her hubby and babies will be wondering where she is. As I rushed over to her...she jumped up and said "What!!" ...."I'm naked avert your eyes human!!!!"

With relief I told her not to scare me like that again... ever. I then went to collect the eggs as the chooks were singing out how clever they were in laying an egg.

As I head back inside....Mrs. Maggie was doing it again. So I grabbed my camera and snapped off these photos. She was happy to pose as Mrs. September.

This is how I found her, she does look like she's dead.

I am sure she's smiling and who said animals don't show expressions.

Hope you enjoyed the photos, she was happy for me to stand close to her and snap away.

Until next time...hoo roo

technorati tags: birds, weather, environment

Today's Harvest

2010-09-16T11:44:00.005+09:30

This morning I had a very rewarding harvest from my vegie patch. Its days like these that make me so happy and glad I get to play in the vegie garden.

Nothing beats a good fresh home picked vegie. Also I love not buying them from the green grocer shop.

This broccoli is going to be so yummy to eat. Going to spoil us with a lemon sauce with tonight's meal. Pat won't eat shop broccoli, but I can put as much as I want on his plate, if its from our garden. Says something about taste and freshness.

One of the caulies that'll feed us for a good many meals.

These vegies were watered by the rain that fell over the months from May when I planted them out.

Wish I took a photo before I gave away half of this morning's harvest. Photo would have looked a lot better......chuckle.

Pat gets sick of the asparagus, but not me...... love it and its so sweet and much better than the bought ones down at the green grocer.

Well you can see we're eating fresh organic grown vegies and that has to be the most wonderful thing to happen to a stomach. Also great for one's health.

Until next time.... hoo roo

technorati tags: asparagus, brassica, broccoli, cauliflower, organic, vegetables, rain

Working For A Crust

2010-09-12T12:11:00.006+09:30

Our whipper-sniper has died and we need to save a few $$$$ to get it fixed. With all the rain of late and us both being sick, the weeds have taken over an area on the side of the house near the carport.

So I have employed my 7 lovely ducks to work the area over. They weren't too impressed when I popped them all there.

Though I will say they were happy to be walked to the area.

I'm not standing on anything very high here. Just the cement, but it looks like I am on a chair.

Lots of weeds for them and I bet some juicy snails and slugs too.

The sheet is covering my bunny "Buddy" as he's working for a crust today as well. Mrs. Magpie seems rather interested in him. I'm worried something awful will happen. So the sheet is hiding Buddy, while he chews through his area.

Make me feel like the are in prison.....lol. Been watching them on and off this morning. All 7 ducks have settled in and have been dabbing around in the weeds and also eating the long blades of grass.

Hope by the end of the week, this area will look heaps better and trimmed down some.

Going to be interesting to see if the ducks run to this area tomorrow. They tend to form habits and can let me know when they want to go to a particular area.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: ducks, ducklings, eggs, food, muscovy, rabbits, weeds

Wet Weather

2010-09-09T16:08:00.008+09:30

Its been a wet and cold winter here in Luckyland, so wet that gardening has been a hit miss affair.

Some plants have thrived with the rain and some have been lost.

Spring is starting to show with our fruit trees in blossom and now we seem to be having more sunny days to cloudy and overcast.

Lost all the carrot seedling as they just couldn't cope with the rain that fell. In the end the soil wasn't soaking the water up as quick and it was laying on top of the soil for a few days and slowly soaked away. Silverbeet and baby spinach thrived next to the carrots.

I was even hanging clothes out standing in water. The lawn was saturated, making for me to be extra careful that I didn't drop any freshly washed clothes into the water. Thankfully this didn't happen.

We've had a dry spell for a few days now, though we were woken to some rain and thunder last night. But not enough to cancel today's plans in the chook run.

Pat had helped to remove the top layer of mud from the girls run and this was placed in the vegie patch where the pumpkins will grow this summer.

With that being cleaned up, the 4 mm of rain last night wasn't an issue for me playing in their area.

With the sun shining, the girls took advantage of this and began sun baking. It was lovely to see this instead of the wet soggy chooks of the last few months.

Today I removed 4.5 wheel barrows of bedding from the shed that houses the poultry at night. The girls were so enjoying themselves in the shed.

So helpful I gave them some weeds as I was forever tripping over them in the shed. I was scared I would slice a foot off one of them when gliding the shovel around collecting their waste.

Pat thought some pavers would help if the run became muddy again. At least the girls wouldn't be standing in mud while eating.

After the shed was all cleaned out , the girls helped me separate a bale of straw, most went into the shed as deep litter, while 2 feed bags were saved for the rabbits. Pavers are now hidden under the straw. I let them have some in the open run, as they were having fun scratching around for tid bits.

Egg collection has increased. Collected 5 chook eggs today and 4 duck eggs. The Ginger Nuts are finally starting to lay. Love those new eggs from the pullets when they first start to lay.

Watching the run round was a great reward for the effort Pat & I have put in over the last few days.

Until next time....hoo roo

technorati tags: animal manure, bantams, ducks, chooks, compost, seedlings, poultry