Thought for the day of the one month of the year which could just as easily be for every day of the year.
have a heart.

roughbarked said:

Thought for the day of the one month of the year which could just as easily be for every day of the year.
have a heart.

Just read your “hoverbot”…have-a-heart indeed…I’m getting better at shutting up rather than saying the first thing that comes to my head, these days…I think it’s the laaaaiiiii-back lifestyle here…fewer stressors…

Well that’s the last time I use a honey body moisturizer and walk past a bee hive!

Happy Potter said:

Well that’s the last time I use a honey body moisturizer and walk past a bee hive!

ROTFLMAO!

My friend harvested her first lot of honey a couple of weeks ago, got 15 litres from one hive. The extractor didn’t have a lid and she said she had the best honey facial and hair treatment ever!

Happy Potter said:

Well that’s the last time I use a honey body moisturizer and walk past a bee hive!

Do tell…

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Well that’s the last time I use a honey body moisturizer and walk past a bee hive!

Do tell…

Heh, it’s a case of ‘ when you have to do a job do it your bloody self’. I have been ‘beeing’..melted wax sheet onto top bars for the hive, leaning this and that. Reading, watching vids, listening to others. My empty cow top bar hive was being geared up to accept another swarm. But we waited for weeks and weeks, nothing. So my bee friends decided to raid an abandoned hive that was full and put some brood comb into my hive along with several hundred bees. They did that and all looked ok. Until nighttime when the majority of them formed a big clump on the outside on the front of the hive. They were still there in the morning on the outside. I was just waiting to see if they would start moving back into the hive, or take off. I went inside for 4 minutes, came out and the clump was gone. Bugga.
Late last night hubby took the lid off to see if there were any in it. Hubby, being tall, could see into it but I couldn’t. He said there were two on the brood comb and a few dying stragglers but that was it, it was empty.
Ok so they’ve flown off. Argh.
So friends contacted me this morn with plan ‘C’, that is, I was to take 10 of the top bars off and take them to the hive where they would be inserted and left for the bees to build brood comb on. Then when full enough and there’s a a queen cell, we would whisk it back to my hive.

That’s where the drama started.
I went to take ten bars off. Took 8 off, easy as they are just 2 in wide pieces of wood, lifted the next one and uh oh it was a bit heavy.. bugger me bees started pouring out. They had not flown off at all! Panic stations, I’ve messed up the bars, left gaps and I can’t put them back on, never mind putting the lid back on, way too heavy for me. Holy shyte.

They chased me! I took off and went inside, but still had bees in my hair and on my clothing. Did a bit of a hysterical waggle dance and stripped off. Rang hubby and called him all the idiotic names under the sun! He couldn’t see the bees?
Not one sting though. Thank goodness.
So, plan ‘C’ is on hold to see if the bees re settle. Hubby gets home at 10.30 tonight and he has to put the lid back on, just leaving the gaps as it’ll all be fixed Wed night when my bee friends with their suits on will come over and straighten it up and put the spare bars back on.

The honey and beeswax moisturizer was a gift from a lovely lady who makes moisturizing bars, also soap and body wash/shampoo. I love it and used all the products with my shower this morning. I must have smelled fantastic to a few hundred bees!

It is normal for bees to hang around outside the hive in hot weather.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Well that’s the last time I use a honey body moisturizer and walk past a bee hive!

Do tell…

Heh, it’s a case of ‘ when you have to do a job do it your bloody self’.
………….
……… bugger me bees started pouring out. They had not flown off at all! …. …..

Hahahahaha!! Great yarn there! Pleased you didn’t get stung after all that…The Man will pay more attention in the future, I guess…

,,,annnnnd you ‘ve still got all (most ) of the bees! Yay!

Up at 04:30 but had a coffee and read a book instead…I think it will be warm today… yep, 35C…My plans to thoroughly soak the chicken roosts and then spray with Fido (for the red mites) has suffered a delay…all the hens are laying down there now…blast…so I have to wait for them to finish before setting the sprinkler…

A small problem with the chooks here. W got new new ones to replace the one he ran over but the pecking order and the nature of the chook tractor means that the two new chooks get chased into the nesting boxes and sit there frightened featherless all day fouling the nests. Don’t really want to let the old chooks think they have the rule of the roost by letting them out and not letting the new ones out too.

roughbarked said:

A small problem with the chooks here. W got new new ones to replace the one he ran over but the pecking order and the nature of the chook tractor means that the two new chooks get chased into the nesting boxes and sit there frightened featherless all day fouling the nests. Don’t really want to let the old chooks think they have the rule of the roost by letting them out and not letting the new ones out too.

Difficult. I don’t suppose there is another cage or tractor around?

roughbarked said:

A small problem with the chooks here. W got new new ones to replace the one he ran over but the pecking order and the nature of the chook tractor means that the two new chooks get chased into the nesting boxes and sit there frightened featherless all day fouling the nests. Don’t really want to let the old chooks think they have the rule of the roost by letting them out and not letting the new ones out too.

You need to separate them behind a temporary wire mesh fence, or pen off a part of their run for the new ones. They will get used to each other over a week or two and then you can put them in together.

Happy Potter said:

roughbarked said:

A small problem with the chooks here. W got new new ones to replace the one he ran over but the pecking order and the nature of the chook tractor means that the two new chooks get chased into the nesting boxes and sit there frightened featherless all day fouling the nests. Don’t really want to let the old chooks think they have the rule of the roost by letting them out and not letting the new ones out too.

You need to separate them behind a temporary wire mesh fence, or pen off a part of their run for the new ones. They will get used to each other over a week or two and then you can put them in together.

Yep, I’ve already taught them to use the same space without the nesting boxes. Next thing is to partition between both nesting boxes.

roughbarked said:

Happy Potter said:

roughbarked said:

A small problem with the chooks here. W got new new ones to replace the one he ran over but the pecking order and the nature of the chook tractor means that the two new chooks get chased into the nesting boxes and sit there frightened featherless all day fouling the nests. Don’t really want to let the old chooks think they have the rule of the roost by letting them out and not letting the new ones out too.

You need to separate them behind a temporary wire mesh fence, or pen off a part of their run for the new ones. They will get used to each other over a week or two and then you can put them in together.

Yep, I’ve already taught them to use the same space without the nesting boxes. Next thing is to partition between both nesting boxes.

extra drinking and feeding stations helps to make sure that the new ones get access to food and water too.

Good morning Gardeners. It is 13 degrees and overcast here. Sitting about in knickers and a long t-shirt with all the doors open. Going for a 29 today, I think. Archery in the big tin shed tonight might be quite a warm experience.

Good morning Gardeners. We have 12 degrees. A little high cloud. And a deluge yesterday…ended up with 11mm. The garden is all perky and happy.

:)

buffy said:

Good morning Gardeners. We have 12 degrees. A little high cloud. And a deluge yesterday…ended up with 11mm. The garden is all perky and happy.

:)

No rain here but back home there was 19.0mm

roughbarked said:

buffy said:

Good morning Gardeners. We have 12 degrees. A little high cloud. And a deluge yesterday…ended up with 11mm. The garden is all perky and happy.

:)

No rain here but back home there was 19.0mm

10mm here in the end

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

buffy said:

Good morning Gardeners. We have 12 degrees. A little high cloud. And a deluge yesterday…ended up with 11mm. The garden is all perky and happy.

:)

No rain here but back home there was 19.0mm

10mm here in the end

17 mm in my gauge. Nice drop.

Today I’m preserving rhubarb in syrup. Or maybe tomorrow. It’s so muggy I hardly need a simmering pot on the stove.

I see in the news that the Earth has been moving for Melbourne…

Just picked and et the first of the loganberries for the season. With a bit of sugar and mixed into whipped cream. Yum.

:)

buffy said:

Just picked and et the first of the loganberries for the season. With a bit of sugar and mixed into whipped cream. Yum.

:)

Would you believe that none of the retail shops in the Northern Rivers area know what a raw peanut is. I’ve just done extensive research bothering all sorts of sales assistants.
Having done that I think I’ll go Troppo

roughbarked said:

Would you believe that none of the retail shops in the Northern Rivers area know what a raw peanut is.

Well where do they think peanuts come from?

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

Would you believe that none of the retail shops in the Northern Rivers area know what a raw peanut is.

Well where do they think peanuts come from?

Not sure. They probably think they come in packets full of salt. Which is why they stack them on the health food shelves.

roughbarked said:

Not sure. They probably think they come in packets full of salt. Which is why they stack them on the health food shelves.

Have you tried the cooking aisle?

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

Not sure. They probably think they come in packets full of salt. Which is why they stack them on the health food shelves.

Have you tried the cooking aisle?

I have to go tropo Tweed River Organic Producers Org.

The lovely sales people took me to the cooking aisle, the health food aisle the snacks aisle. However all the peanuts were roasted. I cannot plant roasted peanuts.

roughbarked said:

The lovely sales people took me to the cooking aisle, the health food aisle the snacks aisle. However all the peanuts were roasted. I cannot plant roasted peanuts.

Amazed

Whoever would believe the day would come that one couldn’t buy a pack of raw peanuts? An essential for that country cook standby, the peanut biscuit…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

The lovely sales people took me to the cooking aisle, the health food aisle the snacks aisle. However all the peanuts were roasted. I cannot plant roasted peanuts.

Amazed

Whoever would believe the day would come that one couldn’t buy a pack of raw peanuts? An essential for that country cook standby, the peanut biscuit…

Yes well, all things must come to pass.

Dinetta said:

Amazed

Whoever would believe the day would come that one couldn’t buy a pack of raw peanuts? An essential for that country cook standby, the peanut biscuit…

I had peanuts growing in the garden but now I need to start again in a different garden.

Well, the chooks are separated. The one that I’ve been threatening to put in the pot is separated. There is no reason for her to be such a bitch. I noticed that the magpie has the old chooks running for cover but the new hens that the cranky one was keeping locked into the nesting area are not only unafraid of the magpie but are capable of leaping into the air at the swooping magpie and changing the course of history so the cranky old bag is locked up and she can watch the cowards pull the fearsome magpie out of the sky. Lessons to be learned all around.

roughbarked said:

Well, the chooks are separated. The one that I’ve been threatening to put in the pot is separated. There is no reason for her to be such a bitch. I noticed that the magpie has the old chooks running for cover but the new hens that the cranky one was keeping locked into the nesting area are not only unafraid of the magpie but are capable of leaping into the air at the swooping magpie and changing the course of history so the cranky old bag is locked up and she can watch the cowards pull the fearsome magpie out of the sky. Lessons to be learned all around.

Your cranky hen sounds like shes the top hen. They can be vicious sorting who’s good enough to be part of the flock. Fight to the death. One of the new hens was also a top of the order hen by the sounds, brave, leader.
Old cranky hen felt threatened because everytime a new one comes in, or an old one taken out, a new order has to be established.

Long as they can eyeball and ‘talk’ through the wire, the new ones will learn where they are going to fit into the order. Then it’ll be peaceful. The old hen may concede to a braver stronger hen. Even when it all seems peaceful, still watch for hen/s with bald patch at the back of their head as they/it is getting pecked, milder form of bullying. If no blood, that’s ok, but if it’s bleeding take her out.

When all their heads are fully feathered, world peace has been achieved. :)

roughbarked said:

Well, the chooks are separated. The one that I’ve been threatening to put in the pot is separated. There is no reason for her to be such a bitch. I noticed that the magpie has the old chooks running for cover but the new hens that the cranky one was keeping locked into the nesting area are not only unafraid of the magpie but are capable of leaping into the air at the swooping magpie and changing the course of history so the cranky old bag is locked up and she can watch the cowards pull the fearsome magpie out of the sky. Lessons to be learned all around.

bullies tend to also be cowards.

roughbarked said:

I had peanuts growing in the garden but now I need to start again in a different garden.

Oh that looks cool, is that the moon I can see hovering in the sky…?

roughbarked said:

Well, the chooks are separated. The one that I’ve been threatening to put in the pot is separated. There is no reason for her to be such a bitch. I noticed that the magpie has the old chooks running for cover but the new hens that the cranky one was keeping locked into the nesting area are not only unafraid of the magpie but are capable of leaping into the air at the swooping magpie and changing the course of history so the cranky old bag is locked up and she can watch the cowards pull the fearsome magpie out of the sky. Lessons to be learned all around.

I’m sure the cranky bitch will accept the status quo after a couple of weeks…actually speaking must be the stars aligned for crankiness, Puta even picked a fight with wimpy Manu this morning, has been cranky for nearly a week…

spotted the brown snake again when letting the ducks out. it slithered off pretty quickly. must have finished digesting the last lot of mice. it’s a worry.

bluegreen said:

spotted the brown snake again when letting the ducks out. it slithered off pretty quickly. must have finished digesting the last lot of mice. it’s a worry.

Well if it keeps the mice down…just make sure you stomp when you’re out in the yard…

Speaking of mice. One that’d just died was in the shed, middle of the floor. I told the man, he’s the rodent picker- uperer. Well he forgot and stood on it, swished it good. Well did he ever gross out, started hopping about, bursts out the shed complaining and yelling in a newly made up language lol!

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

Well, the chooks are separated. The one that I’ve been threatening to put in the pot is separated. There is no reason for her to be such a bitch. I noticed that the magpie has the old chooks running for cover but the new hens that the cranky one was keeping locked into the nesting area are not only unafraid of the magpie but are capable of leaping into the air at the swooping magpie and changing the course of history so the cranky old bag is locked up and she can watch the cowards pull the fearsome magpie out of the sky. Lessons to be learned all around.

bullies tend to also be cowards.

She was just trying to become top dog because the opportunity was there.

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

I had peanuts growing in the garden but now I need to start again in a different garden.

Oh that looks cool, is that the moon I can see hovering in the sky…?

Yes it is.

Dinetta said:

bluegreen said:

spotted the brown snake again when letting the ducks out. it slithered off pretty quickly. must have finished digesting the last lot of mice. it’s a worry.

Well if it keeps the mice down…just make sure you stomp when you’re out in the yard…

Yep. The snake will always stay away from noisy people.

Happy Potter said:

Speaking of mice. One that’d just died was in the shed, middle of the floor. I told the man, he’s the rodent picker- uperer. Well he forgot and stood on it, swished it good. Well did he ever gross out, started hopping about, bursts out the shed complaining and yelling in a newly made up language lol!

Haha! Did you make him clean it up?

roughbarked said:

Yep. The snake will always stay away from noisy people.

Which makes me wonder why they used to come into the other house, sometimes…maybe because of the drought and they wanted water…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

Yep. The snake will always stay away from noisy people.

Which makes me wonder why they used to come into the other house, sometimes…maybe because of the drought and they wanted water…

Which is one reason to give them water well away from the house.

Gonna have to vacuum the Silver Ghost (Honda Civic) today and lay down some towels on the seats…had to throw out dog poop into an unused garden, poor things were locked in all night (the back screen would not slide) and even tho’ I opened the front door at 05:00, somehow they didn’t want to use that…the only carpet in the house has been closed off…

Gardening wise, that rain will have been great for the mish mash of compost / roost leavings, and I need to find some pieces of cardboard to seal them off from the debuggers while the mixture is still nice and moist.

Hello Gardeners. We’ve been to the local show to help the archery club with the “come and try” area. We saw about 25 people come through in a couple of hours. But it’s misty off and on, with winds gusting around 45kmph, so we came home around lunchtime. Unlikely crowds of people will want to come in the afternoon with this weather. General complaints about the 16 degrees. I found it quite comfy except during the actual gusts.

:)

Arvo all. Boy it’s been a wild week weatherwise here. Lightning and thunderstorms every day this week and a good lot of rain. Too wet to get out into the garden today, so I have started my first ever sourdough loaf. It’s started it’s second rising, so before I go to bed tonight I should have some nice fresh sourdough bread, all being well. Fingers and toes crossed.

I thought I’d killed the starter a day or so ago when it started to develop a strong smell, a bit like acetone, so after doing a bit of Googling I have fed it a bit more often and it seems to have recovered. This first loaf might end up being a bit sour, but hopefully not too bad.

It’s good fun.

Happy Potter, have you ever cooked sourdough bread? Do you know if it can be done in a bread machine?

AnneS said:

Happy Potter, have you ever cooked sourdough bread? Do you know if it can be done in a bread machine?

I’ve been wondering the same thing. A friend here makes her own sourdough bread, and the fellow at the local markets’ bread is to die for. He grinds his own organic flour for it. The flour can be bought in Benalla, but I am lazy and would love to be able to just chuck it in the breadmaker.

Finished the lighting for my unconventional Christmas window today:

buffy said:

Finished the lighting for my unconventional Christmas window today:

Very nice, especially from a distance…

AnneS said:

Arvo all. Boy it’s been a wild week weatherwise here. Lightning and thunderstorms every day this week and a good lot of rain. Too wet to get out into the garden today, so I have started my first ever sourdough loaf. It’s started it’s second rising, so before I go to bed tonight I should have some nice fresh sourdough bread, all being well. Fingers and toes crossed.

I thought I’d killed the starter a day or so ago when it started to develop a strong smell, a bit like acetone, so after doing a bit of Googling I have fed it a bit more often and it seems to have recovered. This first loaf might end up being a bit sour, but hopefully not too bad.

It’s good fun.

Happy Potter, have you ever cooked sourdough bread? Do you know if it can be done in a bread machine?

And the finished product! Didn’t rise as much as I expected. Maybe I was a bit too impatient. The flavour is quite strong and the crust is a bit too hard for my liking, but I am happy enough for my first attempt. Just had a piece with butter and homemade grape jam…yum!<BR>

AnneS said:

Happy Potter, have you ever cooked sourdough bread? Do you know if it can be done in a bread machine?

I can’t see why not, although you’d have to do the starter separately. Maybe getting it going a few days before.

I bought some rye flour a few days ago.

I’m about to experiment with making – if not a rye bread – then perhaps a rye-style bread.

I’m thinking about doing it with half and half rye flour and bread-flour, and using normal yeast rather than a sour-dough yeast.
…………..

One site I visit from time to time is the alt.bread.recipes usenet group.

I meant to add .. the alt.bread.recipes usenet group is a very handy resource.

You can find it on Google Groups if you can’t get to Usenet.

AnneS said:

Arvo all. Boy it’s been a wild week weatherwise here. Lightning and thunderstorms every day this week and a good lot of rain. Too wet to get out into the garden today, so I have started my first ever sourdough loaf. It’s started it’s second rising, so before I go to bed tonight I should have some nice fresh sourdough bread, all being well. Fingers and toes crossed.

I thought I’d killed the starter a day or so ago when it started to develop a strong smell, a bit like acetone, so after doing a bit of Googling I have fed it a bit more often and it seems to have recovered. This first loaf might end up being a bit sour, but hopefully not too bad.

It’s good fun.

Happy Potter, have you ever cooked sourdough bread? Do you know if it can be done in a bread machine?

You can, but, imho, an oven beats a bread machine everytime. I do bake a sourdough loaf in a football shaped lump, really more like a flatbread. I give the starter away and it’s been shared about wide enough that I can always get back enough to do a loaf or two now and then.

AnneS said:

AnneS said:

Arvo all. Boy it’s been a wild week weatherwise here. Lightning and thunderstorms every day this week and a good lot of rain. Too wet to get out into the garden today, so I have started my first ever sourdough loaf. It’s started it’s second rising, so before I go to bed tonight I should have some nice fresh sourdough bread, all being well. Fingers and toes crossed.

I thought I’d killed the starter a day or so ago when it started to develop a strong smell, a bit like acetone, so after doing a bit of Googling I have fed it a bit more often and it seems to have recovered. This first loaf might end up being a bit sour, but hopefully not too bad.

It’s good fun.

Happy Potter, have you ever cooked sourdough bread? Do you know if it can be done in a bread machine?

And the finished product! Didn’t rise as much as I expected. Maybe I was a bit too impatient. The flavour is quite strong and the crust is a bit too hard for my liking, but I am happy enough for my first attempt. Just had a piece with butter and homemade grape jam…yum!<BR>

It looks perfect to me. That’s what mine look like :)

AnneS said:

And the finished product! Didn’t rise as much as I expected. Maybe I was a bit too impatient. The flavour is quite strong and the crust is a bit too hard for my liking, but I am happy enough for my first attempt. Just had a piece with butter and homemade grape jam…yum!<BR>

Well done!

Dinetta said:

Well done!

Thanks Dinetta

Happy Potter said:

It looks perfect to me. That’s what mine look like :)

Thanks HP

Good morning Gardeners. We have ten degrees and mist. I’m going over to Casterton to see how many of my tomato plants have survived and plant out some straggler seedlings. I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but yesterday I looked around this garden here and thought “This is the nearest to all organized I’ve ever been in this garden”.

:)

buffy said:

Good morning Gardeners. We have ten degrees and mist. I’m going over to Casterton to see how many of my tomato plants have survived and plant out some straggler seedlings. I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but yesterday I looked around this garden here and thought “This is the nearest to all organized I’ve ever been in this garden”.

:)

Congrats. :)

I have the best organized garden I’ve ever had that isn’t actually producing anything yet.

buffy said:

Good morning Gardeners. We have ten degrees and mist. I’m going over to Casterton to see how many of my tomato plants have survived and plant out some straggler seedlings. I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but yesterday I looked around this garden here and thought “This is the nearest to all organized I’ve ever been in this garden”.

:)

I wish :)

AnneS said:

buffy said:

Good morning Gardeners. We have ten degrees and mist. I’m going over to Casterton to see how many of my tomato plants have survived and plant out some straggler seedlings. I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but yesterday I looked around this garden here and thought “This is the nearest to all organized I’ve ever been in this garden”.

:)

I wish :)

It’s not all organized. But it’s fairly close. I usually have some bed somewhere that needs weeding. And I don’t think I have, at the moment. I am picking the loganberries and the occasional cape gooseberry. A few bits of broccoli sometimes. The asparagus has finished, I’m leaving it to fern up now.

Here in Casterton there is quite a bit of stuff to do. But I’m taking it slowly today. I’ve picked some roses to take home, and deadheaded some roses. Pulled off or cut off suckers on the lilac, the apples, the bay tree and the apricot. And started on pruning up inside the Kings Park bottlebrushes so they form a sort of cave for the birds under there. The plants are now about 15 years old, so they have quite some height. Now I think I’ll get the mower out and do the tidying up (read mowing over) the stuff I’ve cut off and spread out on the grassed areas. I use a mulch mower over Summer.

buffy said:

Good morning Gardeners. We have ten degrees and mist. I’m going over to Casterton to see how many of my tomato plants have survived and plant out some straggler seedlings. I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but yesterday I looked around this garden here and thought “This is the nearest to all organized I’ve ever been in this garden”.

:)

Well done Buffy, you’re getting there now…

My compost, recently made up, consists of dried horse manure and chicken sheet mixed with LOTS of shredded paper. It is breeding maggots and it smells like a dunny…Would it be too wet? There is a temperature in there. I have just forked it over and the chookens were thrilled with the maggots on the lid of the bin…Also smells very ammoniated…should I withold water and just keep forking over? The scraps I put in two days ago have melted clean away…

Dinetta said:

My compost, recently made up, consists of dried horse manure and chicken sheet mixed with LOTS of shredded paper. It is breeding maggots and it smells like a dunny…Would it be too wet? There is a temperature in there. I have just forked it over and the chookens were thrilled with the maggots on the lid of the bin…Also smells very ammoniated…should I withold water and just keep forking over? The scraps I put in two days ago have melted clean away…

horse sheet and chicken manure is a recipe for very strong aromas.

got any sawdust to mix in with it?

Dinetta said:

My compost, recently made up, consists of dried horse manure and chicken sheet mixed with LOTS of shredded paper. It is breeding maggots and it smells like a dunny…Would it be too wet? There is a temperature in there. I have just forked it over and the chookens were thrilled with the maggots on the lid of the bin…Also smells very ammoniated…should I withold water and just keep forking over? The scraps I put in two days ago have melted clean away…

more carbon materials

I was thinking of one of those cheep potting mixes, hopefully without additives, these have a lot of sawdust in them don’t they? Otherwise no sawdust…plenty of grass clippings tho, somebody has tipped their entire lawn cuttings onto a street tree. down the street…

Dinetta said:

I was thinking of one of those cheep potting mixes, hopefully without additives, these have a lot of sawdust in them don’t they? Otherwise no sawdust…plenty of grass clippings tho, somebody has tipped their entire lawn cuttings onto a street tree. down the street…

It is frustrating to see, but the people who do this usually think they’re doing the trees a favour. Perhaps you could call the local council to sort it out and while they’re at it, have a kind word to the people in the house nearby about what’s going on.

I see it all around the town, Speedy…and we’re talking about a Council that’s wrapped the trunks of the street bauhinias in black plastic weed mat (I think to stop the trunks from sending out little branches at car height?)…however I will go down later and help myself, with the recent rain ‘twill not be a dusty job…

Dinetta said:

I was thinking of one of those cheep potting mixes, hopefully without additives, these have a lot of sawdust in them don’t they? Otherwise no sawdust…plenty of grass clippings tho, somebody has tipped their entire lawn cuttings onto a street tree. down the street…

Horse manure is one of the best for breaking down wood chips and sawdust. So rather than buying potting mix look for surplus wood chips maybe. Lawn clippings aren’t the best to add to compost heaps in bulk. They need to be in thin layers rather than thick. They do mix well with other materials though if used sparingly. I prefer to spread them thinly on the soil.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

I was thinking of one of those cheep potting mixes, hopefully without additives, these have a lot of sawdust in them don’t they? Otherwise no sawdust…plenty of grass clippings tho, somebody has tipped their entire lawn cuttings onto a street tree. down the street…

Horse manure is one of the best for breaking down wood chips and sawdust. So rather than buying potting mix look for surplus wood chips maybe. Lawn clippings aren’t the best to add to compost heaps in bulk. They need to be in thin layers rather than thick. They do mix well with other materials though if used sparingly. I prefer to spread them thinly on the soil.

Straw would be another option.

I could come into some sawdust in the next fortnight, might check the Mitre10 to morro and see what they’ve got, guess the wood shavings for errrrmmm bunny hutches would be OK? In moderation? Just to get a bit of roughage into the mix?

Dinetta said:

I could come into some sawdust in the next fortnight, might check the Mitre10 to morro and see what they’ve got, guess the wood shavings for errrrmmm bunny hutches would be OK? In moderation? Just to get a bit of roughage into the mix?

yes, the wood shavings would work well. Stuff from Mitre10 might be chemically treated, check with them.

Oooh my sore back. I’ve been working hard.
I planted out all the saffron bulbs, about 600, but I wasn’t counting. Most are in a metre sq raised bed, plus lots of little bulblets that went into deep pots.
As I planting out seedlings I replaced them with herbs in larger pots. That could get a bit messy with cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets above the shelf, but I’ll see how we go.

I got help from a friend to relocate a dwarf mandarin to the front. After the spuds com out and I’ve cleared the area, and remove a daisy shrub, I’m going to plant the cherry tree out there.

Yep I’m gradually turning the front over to food plants. The mandarin has it’s own little bed bordered by rocks to hold the mulch in and this has created a ‘fork’ in a path. So those who don’t know where to walk take the wrong path and have to step over the rock wall, or fall down, I put a couple popping corn there as a roadblock. Heh. It’s as interesting as it is mad :)

The flashy fast nbn cable laying people are out front digging up peoples nature strips. They are parked over my drive and there’s a huge hole in the footpath, but no doubt they will either finish or cover the hole so we can drive out. Funny they didn’t dig up my nature strip with my three lillypillies, but have dug up every other in the same block.

Happy Potter said:

Yep I’m gradually turning the front over to food plants.

If I did that, people would be nicking stuff all the time…pretty sure the council would find some objection too…

Another little gardener and latest addition to our clan, Hunter James Murphy born tonight (two weeks early) to my daughter Bridie and Cristopher. Mum and bubs well. A brother for Tiahna :D

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Yep I’m gradually turning the front over to food plants.

If I did that, people would be nicking stuff all the time…pretty sure the council would find some objection too…

Let them nick some. A good garden always has surpluses. Maybe they’ll offer to help by having their own surpluses to share.

Happy Potter said:

Another little gardener and latest addition to our clan, Hunter James Murphy born tonight (two weeks early) to my daughter Bridie and Cristopher. Mum and bubs well. A brother for Tiahna :D

Cute gardener. :) congrats to your family.

Happy Potter said:

Another little gardener and latest addition to our clan, Hunter James Murphy born tonight (two weeks early) to my daughter Bridie and Cristopher. Mum and bubs well. A brother for Tiahna :D

Congratulations to all.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Yep I’m gradually turning the front over to food plants.

If I did that, people would be nicking stuff all the time…pretty sure the council would find some objection too…

Let them nick some. A good garden always has surpluses. Maybe they’ll offer to help by having their own surpluses to share.

We’re talking caravanners who would nick the neighbourhood hoses if they thought they could…not all of them but some are on the look-out…probably nick the produce and sell it at a F & V market…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

If I did that, people would be nicking stuff all the time…pretty sure the council would find some objection too…

Let them nick some. A good garden always has surpluses. Maybe they’ll offer to help by having their own surpluses to share.

We’re talking caravanners who would nick the neighbourhood hoses if they thought they could…not all of them but some are on the look-out…probably nick the produce and sell it at a F & V market…

Some people simply cannot be trusted with anything. Someone nicked my pen this morning in a few moments of not watching.

roughbarked said:

Some people simply cannot be trusted with anything. Someone nicked my pen this morning in a few moments of not watching.

I put my name on my pens, even at home…also I chew the tops of them, I don’t know why…and nobody really wants to use my pens…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

Some people simply cannot be trusted with anything. Someone nicked my pen this morning in a few moments of not watching.

I put my name on my pens, even at home…also I chew the tops of them, I don’t know why…and nobody really wants to use my pens…

:) this one had the Teachers Credit Union written on it.

Thankyou for the congrats, also passed them on to the new parents. I went to see them this evening and baby is gorgeous. My girl looks good too, easier this 2nd time round.
They say they have their pigeon pair now so that’s it, wont be any more.

Happy Potter said:

Another little gardener and latest addition to our clan, Hunter James Murphy born tonight (two weeks early) to my daughter Bridie and Cristopher. Mum and bubs well. A brother for Tiahna :D

Looks yummy, how heavy was Hunter?

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Another little gardener and latest addition to our clan, Hunter James Murphy born tonight (two weeks early) to my daughter Bridie and Cristopher. Mum and bubs well. A brother for Tiahna :D

Looks yummy, how heavy was Hunter?

3400 grams, 400gms lighter than his sister. They are home now but I haven’t been to see them, laid up with a kidney infection.

Happy Potter said:

… laid up with a kidney infection.

:(

Hello Gardeners. Already up into the high twenties in the shade here, after a lovely start at eleven degrees. The wind is getting gusty now too. So no gardening out there. I have tied up the tomatoes this morning though. They are now over a foot tall and about to start that spurt they do when you have to tie them every four or five days. One of the Tigerellas has flowers on it. It’ll be pushing it to set and ripen for Christmas, but it shouldn’t be too far beyond it.

And the scarlet runners are go!

And remember my Very Rustic Beanpoles?

Well, the beans are up and away….

Happy Potter said:

3400 grams, 400gms lighter than his sister. They are home now but I haven’t been to see them, laid up with a kidney infection.

7 lb and about 8 oz – still a healthy weight…I think I was heavier than my bro and look at the lump he grew up to be…taller, bigger bones, more muscle…

Happy Potter said:

3400 grams, 400gms lighter than his sister. They are home now but I haven’t been to see them, laid up with a kidney infection.

Aww that’s no good…get well soon…

looking good buffy.
I planted dwarf beans this year as I could never get a support big enough for climbing beans! I have been picking the last couple of weeks and I should plant some more for a follow up harvest.

bluegreen said:

looking good buffy.
I planted dwarf beans this year as I could never get a support big enough for climbing beans! I have been picking the last couple of weeks and I should plant some more for a follow up harvest.

They do go very high. Last year they exceeded the six foot fence. Those euc sticks are probably only about 6ft too, so when they go further I’ll have to tie them in a knot or something!

For the skywatchers among us…

The “girls” have gone home, I want my cat back and Puta put a cat up a tree last night over in the Railway Reserve, spent 2 hours barking at it before I could catch her…

Good morning. Ten degrees and foggy.

I see the Sydney thing was a violent criminal. He should not be described in any other way.

“plink”

Thought I would see if I could get the Whipper Snipper started for the first time since I’ve had the frozen shoulder. First full, hurt a bit but manageable, except the cord wouldn’t retract again. So much for that! In the back of the ute to drop off in Benalla tomorrow. I did try and see if I could have a look at it in case it was an easy fix, but it looks like it needs a special screwdriver to get the housing off. Pulled a few weeds instead.

You weren’t meant to be whipper snippering (oh my goodness, how did that turn into a verb?) right now, BlueGreen… Worth getting the genuine article to fix it. As you know they check other things (evern tho’ you don’t ask them to) whilst they’re handling it…

Still shuddering here, the spark plugs for the Honda Civic cost about $40 each (inclusive of GST). This being the rounded-up number. This mechanic shop does not charge full rates if the job is handled by the apprentice: they clearly state apprentice rates…so I think I got quality work for a more than reasonable over-all charge…It’s a 4 cylinder, very grateful it’s not a 6 right now. This was the 200,000 km service.

A good day for whipper snippering…adding twigs to the compost and turning it over…

I also had never heard of it. American? Maybe southern Black American.

But it means fine; completely satisfactory; OK.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/copacetic

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/copacetic

So I hope everyone is copasetic about that :)

Gave up on the current compost heap, it’s too gluggy…so I have tipped half and half into the wooden garden beds, and put pallets on top to keep the chookens out…they’ve plenty of nice damp soil to scratch in now…I’ll be adding twigs and stuff from around the yard, they seem to just melt away? Highly ammoniated it was, my sinus don’t know whether they’re swollen from whippersnippering the green panic (which has gone to seed) or if they’ve been cleared by the fumes from the compost…

Watching Arachnophobia. Besides being a really bad horror movie, they are using harmless huntsman spiders to depict the hybrid offspring of a really deadly South American spider that are overrunning a little American town.

bluegreen said:

Watching Arachnophobia. Besides being a really bad horror movie, they are using harmless huntsman spiders to depict the hybrid offspring of a really deadly South American spider that are overrunning a little American town.

That’s just a really bad movie.

Bought the last bottle of YellowTail Sangria…it was shelved with the liqueurs…the feller said they dont’ sell much of it and I said that’s because it’s a well-kept secret…I still have some Cointreau to go with it…mmmm.

Dinetta said:

You want the inside on the Casella family?

You can talk about the wine. I reckon it is made for the less than $2.50 US market. Which should surely = crap.

I’ll ask this here too:

Question….foodie sort of question. I used to keep stuff called Tomato Magic in the pantry. It was dried tomato flakes. I can’t find it any more (well, for some years now). Online I can find somewhere I could buy a 20kg bag…..a bit big really for domestic use. I’ve checked the supermarkets in Hamilton and Casterton and can’t find anything like it. Does anyone know where such a thing might be obtained? I wonder if I should check the health food shops.

buffy said:

I’ll ask this here too:

Question….foodie sort of question. I used to keep stuff called Tomato Magic in the pantry. It was dried tomato flakes. I can’t find it any more (well, for some years now). Online I can find somewhere I could buy a 20kg bag…..a bit big really for domestic use. I’ve checked the supermarkets in Hamilton and Casterton and can’t find anything like it. Does anyone know where such a thing might be obtained? I wonder if I should check the health food shops.

http://tokyo3.org/forums/holiday/posts/650090/

buffy said:

I’ll ask this here too:

Question….foodie sort of question. I used to keep stuff called Tomato Magic in the pantry. It was dried tomato flakes. I can’t find it any more (well, for some years now). Online I can find somewhere I could buy a 20kg bag…..a bit big really for domestic use. I’ve checked the supermarkets in Hamilton and Casterton and can’t find anything like it. Does anyone know where such a thing might be obtained? I wonder if I should check the health food shops.

I’ve made my own by blitzing home dried tomatoes.

The answer you gave was for crushed tinned tomatoes.

buffy said:

The answer you gave was for crushed tinned tomatoes.

Yeah we know. The trade name was Tomato Magic and it is copyright.

roughbarked said:

buffy said:

The answer you gave was for crushed tinned tomatoes.

Yeah we know. The trade name was Tomato Magic and it is copyright.

There was something on the Australian market some years ago which was dried tomato flakes and I’m pretty sure it was called Tomato Magic.

buffy said:

roughbarked said:

buffy said:

The answer you gave was for crushed tinned tomatoes.

Yeah we know. The trade name was Tomato Magic and it is copyright.

There was something on the Australian market some years ago which was dried tomato flakes and I’m pretty sure it was c lled Tomato Magic.

Perhaps there was or maybe It could have been Tomato-magic or some other variation.

Just in case you don’t see it at FFFS.

Tomato Magic was made by SPC. They took it off the market in 2003. It was a great product for bushwalking.

Teleost said:

Just in case you don’t see it at FFFS.

Tomato Magic was made by SPC. They took it off the market in 2003. It was a great product for bushwalking.

Aha.

Teleost said:

Just in case you don’t see it at FFFS.

Tomato Magic was made by SPC. They took it off the market in 2003. It was a great product for bushwalking.

Thank you Teleost. I didn’t think I was imagining it. I know I still had some when we moved here (12 years ago) and that I made that stretch. There doesn’t really seem to be anything else on the market like it. Well, not in general market. It must be still around commercially because bakers put it on bready things and barbecue shapes have tomato flakes on them. I used to cook baked oven potato wedges and then toss them in Tomato Magic and garlic salt.

I think I might have found the ideal filing tray arrangement for storing my herb and spice bottles…I grabbed some of the wire “lines” brackets from the bin when a local IGA was replacing their shelves…and I thought “oh if I could find a way to stand these up in a filing tray, they’d be beaut for organising my herb and spice bottles…”

The filing trays are on my desk in front of me, I have just “noticed” them now…

Nearly lost a recipe book last night because I didn’t realise the top of a bottle of ice had some loose…worth the 20 minutes spent wiping every page and then letting the pages flap in front of the standard fan…then on to the dining table where the through breeze dried it out even more…no stuck pages…

I missed that tomato magic when it was discontinued. It can be made even better with home grown tomatoes though. Dry slices in a food drier until they feel really dry, but finish off in the oven until crisp on the lowest setting for a couple hours, then blitz them. The powder is really strong, less is needed.

Happy Potter said:

I missed that tomato magic when it was discontinued. It can be made even better with home grown tomatoes though. Dry slices in a food drier until they feel really dry, but finish off in the oven until crisp on the lowest setting for a couple hours, then blitz them. The powder is really strong, less is needed.

Thanks, yes, I think I might have to do something like that. I’d sort of forgotten about it until about a month ago when I decided to do some searching for it again. I don’t have a food drier, but I imagine you could do the whole lot in the oven, it would just take quite a bit longer. And I’d keep home made stuff in the freezer, I think. Not as reliably dry as freeze dried stuff.

buffy said:

Happy Potter said:

I missed that tomato magic when it was discontinued. It can be made even better with home grown tomatoes though. Dry slices in a food drier until they feel really dry, but finish off in the oven until crisp on the lowest setting for a couple hours, then blitz them. The powder is really strong, less is needed.

Thanks, yes, I think I might have to do something like that. I’d sort of forgotten about it until about a month ago when I decided to do some searching for it again. I don’t have a food drier, but I imagine you could do the whole lot in the oven, it would just take quite a bit longer. And I’d keep home made stuff in the freezer, I think. Not as reliably dry as freeze dried stuff.

Sun dried tomato tastes better. Only need some muslin to keep the insects off.

Good morning Gardeners. I rode my bike a bit after 6.00am. It’s very nice at that time of the morning. And we’ve walked the dogs. The Pug has decided running upstream in the creeklet in the park is just The Best. I have to run alongside to keep him onlead.\

Presently beating some eggs to make some loganberry icecream.

And, the mix tastes rather good. Although perhaps a little less sugar with the next batch. I was really just using up some leftover beaten cream. I have a recipe that doesn’t need an icecream maker.

Beat 8 eggs until thick and creamy. Add in 300g caster sugar slowly. In a separate bowl beat 600ml cream with 1 Tb vanilla essence (and one litre of fruit puree or other flavouring (melted chocolate and cream!) if desired)

Fold the two mixtures together and freeze.

You don’t have to pull and and rebeat and refreeze or anything like that. It just works and is very rich.

:)

I do make sure they are superfresh eggs for that though, as there is no cooking of the mixture.

buffy said:

The Pug has decided running upstream in the creeklet in the park is just The Best.

Sounds like fun :)

Good morning green ones. We’ve had Giant Son here over the main Xmas days.
Still busy keeping him well. His days of living in the apartment are numbered and different accommodation being decided apon/sought elsewhere. He is disturbing the peace too much. This ridiculous cyclic thing is still is still going on where he needs a medical reassessment, but refuses to do a short stay in a hospital so that can happen. Without the observation of the head medicos seeing and documenting and reporting his mood changes and paranoia, so his medication can be changed or increased, nothing ever changes.

GS is convinced another resident of the block of units has a master key to the apartments that a cleaner dropped and this person is entering his place and stealing things. Nothing will convince him that that’s not the case, and when GS saw this person in the foyer, he decked him! And other incidences similar happen all the time. He is arrested, section 10’d and taken to hospital, but the distraction cause his mood to shift, he says all the right things and gets released. And so it goes, round and round. I can’t handle it when he hurts people. I go to ground and hide from the world.
And where GS is, so is his gf, and she’s hopping mad that GS might just end up back in shared accommodation, ie, aged care or a disability residential unit, and that she is not included in these plans. She considers herself to be his life partner and carer and does not want to be separated from him. She isn’t, but the authorities don’t see it her way.

I just go to ground and hide from the world in my garden talking to the chooks and warning the new ringtail possum that’s decided to hang out on top of the patio gate, to stay out of the backyard away from Max.

Love the photos everyone :D

We did have a lovely quiet Xmas lunch at Critters parents place, he and Mrs. daughter and grandbabies. GS and gf didn’t attend, preferring to sleep the whole day at home. KK and Le Le went to his parents in B’rat for Xmas lunch but joined our families later in the arvo. When that girl walks in the door, the fun and the noise starts. We talked on the phone to eldest girl, in Darwin where Joe is currently stationed, and had a good laugh. She is missing us all and we are missing her very much. I don’t know where JJ is, but I hear from him through his ex gf. He is ok.

I baked a big load of Anzac bikkies. They were a real hit, disappearing as they cooled. Something was weird though, they were thin and crunchy, unlike my usual ones. Well that might be because I forgot the flour!

So we have a new biscuit here, oaty coconut toffies, lol.

Oh and I have another bee hive. It’s out the front where the other one was. They settled quickly and are all over the passionfruit :)

Happy Potter said:

Oh and I have another bee hive. It’s out the front where the other one was. They settled quickly and are all over the passionfruit :)

Bees have to settle quickly or they die.

Sorry to hear that things aren’t going well for GS, needs an “in-house’ type of assessment by the sounds of it. Someone to stay with him for a few days in his home environment. Can’t see that happening though, the level of expertise required would preclude that. Sounds like you had a lovely Christmas though.

Good morning Gardeners. Bright and sunny here and warming up rather quickly. Not much breeze though, so slightly relaxed about fire. The plains are crispy this year with minimal rainfall.

This morning I made the most of the cool and tubed out some Brassicas. Just leftovers. If they survive they can go in later at Casterton. I’ve also planted out some beetroot – better get another lot of seed going for continuity. And tied up tomatoes again. It’s looking good for them this season as long as I can continue with the watering. And the raspberry canes are shooting away. They are new ones, so just establishing. Prickly buggers they are.

Yesterday I picked all the peaches off the tree in Casterton. I could smell them last week but couldn’t find any even close to pick. This week the birds have started pecking, so I picked the lot. I know from experience that these ones do finish ripening after picking. Interesting that they were at that stage when the same variety here in Penshurst (about 100km South) are still little green hard rocks.

My Mum and Dad are still here, came last Tuesday, going back to Melbourne on Tuesday. It’s a bit like being in the company of the bemused and confused, but low level. I think Mum might even be a bit better for the change of food, scenery and us forcing her to walk a bit. Could be imagining that.

Now I need to do some ironing.

Happy Potter said:

Love the photos everyone :D

We did have a lovely quiet Xmas lunch at Critters parents place, he and Mrs. daughter and grandbabies. GS and gf didn’t attend, preferring to sleep the whole day at home. KK and Le Le went to his parents in B’rat for Xmas lunch but joined our families later in the arvo. When that girl walks in the door, the fun and the noise starts. We talked on the phone to eldest girl, in Darwin where Joe is currently stationed, and had a good laugh. She is missing us all and we are missing her very much. I don’t know where JJ is, but I hear from him through his ex gf. He is ok.

Good to see you sign in, isn’t JJ the one with the serious fractures? Shame about GS but I think you’re the best MuM he could have, if you get my meaning…always good to catch up with family for Christmas, if you can…Ragamuffin is in Mexico but she rang us on the day…

Happy Potter said:

I baked a big load of Anzac bikkies. They were a real hit, disappearing as they cooled. Something was weird though, they were thin and crunchy, unlike my usual ones. Well that might be because I forgot the flour!

So we have a new biscuit here, oaty coconut toffies, lol.

sometimes cooking accidents have great outcomes…I now make what’s called a “cake slice”, because Fashionista (8 yrs old at the time) made them with plain flour instead of self-raising…

Happy Potter said:

Oh and I have another bee hive. It’s out the front where the other one was. They settled quickly and are all over the passionfruit :)

Refresh my memory, can’t recall what happened to the first hive…there was a complaint or the bees got lost? I know The Man got into strife because he did not see the bees were still in the hive…

Have stuck the wing of my specs back on with electrical tape, am wondering if Elastoplast would have been better…

Dinetta said:

Have stuck the wing of my specs back on with electrical tape, am wondering if Elastoplast would have been better…

neither.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

Have stuck the wing of my specs back on with electrical tape, am wondering if Elastoplast would have been better…

neither.

Found out that was true altho’ I didn’t try the Elastoplast…

I can barely believe there’s another plane missing. RIP those poor souls on it :(

Happy Potter said:

I can barely believe there’s another plane missing. RIP those poor souls on it :(

I took a double take when I heard, because they have been revisiting past disasters on the news and I thought this was one of them.

I see where the ABC’s Gardening Australia’s Message Board shut down as of May this year…apparently you can stay in touch via Facebook…if you could be bothered…

Dinetta said:

I see where the ABC’s Gardening Australia’s Message Board shut down as of May this year…apparently you can stay in touch via Facebook…if you could be bothered…

Nope, I haven’t been to the FB one and can’t be bothered.

Facebooks the go for gardening groups and ‘chatting over the fence’ with nursery people/ experienced gardeners/ horticulturalists and are able to help answer questions, without spruiking their personal businesses.
The ads are ignorable. Mostly.
I joined a ‘yuppiesville’ inner city sell swap buy group of 12 thou people. Oh I wanna thump some of them for the waste. My trailer and me are ever busier rehoming some of the throwaways.

Off to see My Fair Lady at the cinema followed by a festive supper to see the new year in.

bluegreen said:

Off to see My Fair Lady at the cinema followed by a festive supper to see the new year in.

Oh you social gadabout, BlueGreen…wish we had something like that going here…