Autumn failings in the garden

Whilst inside I'm loving the warmth that a fire brings...

Outside...well it's all very depressing really - out there in the garden that is.  I'm 'in-between' seasons and all my newbies are getting eaten by...bugs!  Possums!  Naughty big knickered fluffy bottomed hens!

Caught in the very act!!

 

Hoicking her bloomers up... 

And legging it!!

Poor old brassica

Worm farm is sprouting...something!

Had to shear the old chard cos of too much naughty nibbling by cheeky fluffy ladies

Poor old peas planted too early on the right wilted in the late sunshine we had in March, the guys on the left are doing ok though 

Only these silverbeet are doing ok due to the resident preying mantis and its special powers of chook invisibility.  How sad that the other 12 plants have been eaten to stalks!!

For a wonder the coriander (cilantro) is actually thriving despite frequent haircuts

Something...or someones!... is eating all of my pea shoots in the long planter!!

I've made a very half hearted attempt to protect some of my brassica sprouting

Hanging out innocently at the bottom of the garden after I've chased them away from my vegie garden

Except Cloud Zen the poor darling who can't fly and can never join the others up there on the wine barrels.

Hoping these sweetpea up here will survive being so high above the bugs and chooks

Even inside the plants are being ravaged by a certain Master Bok and his 2 yr old mischieviousness!!

But onto the good.

These guys at least won't be eaten but may succumb to Mrs Bok Forgetting To Water

The broccoli really are taking ages!  Or they seem to be!  They are doing better than the ones I sowed outside directly into the vegie beds though which are getting eaten by everything!!!!

We've been getting lovely fresh eggs - even if they are tiny! - every day

Love how eggwhites of a fresh egg really hug the yolk!

It's cosy inside

New Autumn apples are lovely aren't they?  So crisp and sweet...

Autumn gardening and progress on the ethical consumption challenge!

This post is just notes on my grocery shop this week before I forget what I've learnt and because groceries are just not very interesting, I'm interspersing it with a few pics I've taken lately.

Little Autumn froggy!

I have to say that this ethical challenge I've set for myself made my grocery shop very difficult this week...!

Chook ravaged silverbeet! Both pots for the chooks (one with kiwi the other with passionfruit) are showing signs of over-love!

There is apparently no ethical company and covered by the ethical consumer guide that makes real chicken stock.  Massel is the only Australian owned stock maker listed in the ethical guide but they are vegetarian so no good for real chicken stock.

Lilydale free range chicken whilst marketed as the kinder choice, is owned by Baiada and is under fire for unsafe and brutal workplaces and exploitation of workers.  Their unsafe practices resulted in the decapitation death of an immigrant contract worker, Sarel Singh.  Workers are told they cannot access workers compensation if they are injured at work.  Yet the company’s premium product is marketed and sold as... an “ethical choice” for consumers. Hrmm...I don't really eat meat but I do believe in chicken broth for colds and my little boy has a chest infection right now.  So what chicken can I get?  The guide thinks inghams is ok...but their chooks aren't free range so I'm just not sure. Decide to skip the chook after all.

Sophie so proud of herself and so much more confident since laying,

hopping up on my lap and coming to see what I'm up to

It is very hard to find frozen vegies that are from Australia...and not from Canada, USA or New Zealand!

Mission wholemeal flatbread which I use to wrap kids lunches in are Mexican but there's no ethical rating info available. The alternative, Wattle Valley wraps, my kids don't like.

Autumn acorn!

The things I've been shopping ethically today and don't need to change habits on are...

Huggies nappies THANKFULLY gets a tick!

Master Bok (2) made me a 'traffic jam mummy'

Barilla pasta and sauces are good!  Hooray for quick weeknight meals!  I like their pasta.

What else did I buy...hrmmm...planet organic Wintertime tea.  I have to tell you that it is horrible to my palate! but it gets an ethical tick.

Some random garlic is sprouting in unlikely places...

All of my fresh food comes from the garden, farmers markets, or the CERES fair food box...all of my jam comes from farmers markets as well or it's clear that they are locally made. So I think I'm safe there with my fruit and vegies.  I've added a new item to my CERES fair food box this week...I used to love green & blacks organic chocolate but seeing as they were bought and are now definitely not fair trade, I need an alternative!  I'm trying Almond & Purple Corn raw dark chocolate, by Loving Earth Organic Chocolate. It sounds fab!  Well I was sucked in by the blurb anyway  :)  I'm such a sucker sometimes.

Purple corn is an iconic heirloom variety of maize from Peru. We use purple corn extract in this chocolate bar. The extract is the powder left when all the moisture is evaporated out of the pulp of the corn cob - all the purple antioxidants are highly concentrated in the cob of the purple corn. It is the most purple natural product on the planet and therefore loaded with the anthocyanin antioxidants. It has a slightly bitter malty whisky flavour that blends beautifully with the chocolate. When you taste it, the hint of a liqueur flavour that comes through is from the purple corn extract.

Harvest of the wine grapes - sure would love to have some of these in my backyard!

Earth Choice washing detergent thankfully also got the tick.

Spiral foods noodles, ramen and miso got the tick.

Lots of seeds have sprouted and are growing! (Miss Bok's plot)

Whitewings flour ok.

From my favourite winery

 

Jalna greek yoghurt ok.

Devondale and Coon cheese ok.

Loads of peas everywhere...

Lindt got the tick although they are swiss (and thus so so good!  I get huge jars of lindt cooking chocolate drops and they make the difference I reckon in my baking of chocolatey goods) so we'll have chocolate cake and chocolate brownies after all this week!

Rogue brassicas sprouting - oh and eggs

Cheezels got the tick hooray! although of course the nutritional value/harm still makes me furtively sneak them into the house so that Mr Bok doesn't see me!  :)  I know I know we all need a vice and my weakness are cheezels.  Horribly bad for your health but I like em!

Elderberry has survived the chooks

Blood oranges are forming

Baobaco is doing well - wasn't sure if it'd survive here

And that's my weekly shop done!  Another 3 weeks to go...

Sunday 30 Jan, 2011 A Country Break

 

Marysville - I used to come camping here and at Narbethong a lot before Black Saturday.

Two years on , it is both heartening and so sad to see the rebuilding that is happening here in what was once, and will be again, a bustling vibrant and beautiful township. The trees are slowly cladding themselves in new foliage, so odd to see gum trees swathed in green tinsel like this.

But there are also huge patches of mountainside that are still charred and show no sign of green yet.  I miss the wildlife although locals have said that the birds have returned and numbers are very slowly increasing.

Very happy to see the lolly shop is planning on rebuilding this March, currently they are operating from a shipping container.  I love their spirit and vivacity.

Look at the types of plants that have survived and are springing back to life in long abandoned gardens...wisteria is pretty hardy then it seems! Lots of it can be seen around empty blocks.

And how heart warming to see people in the town raising money for the QLDers hit by floods. If people who have suffered so much loss can still find the spirit to help others, why can't we all be willing to do the same and more.

We returned to a special place to us in the heart of the Yarra Valley. It was lovely to watch the kangaroos from our windows at dawn and dusk.

 

Old apple orchard.  Waiting until the apples are ripe enough for plucking!

Had to leave early on Sunday to return home because I worried so much about The Bok Flock and how they would cope with the heat - 40 degrees - we got home and hosed them down with a light sprinkle every hour in addition to sprinkling ice under their favourite trees to cool the ground down. Feel so sorry for them. In hot scorching weather like this, being outside is like being under the constant nozzle of a hot hair dryer. It's hot again today so I hope they'll be ok.

Also harvested a few vegies before it got too hot. Saw a cucumber peeking through from behind the trellis, had never even noticed it there before! It's huge!

Love to see community gardens like this one which was found on the edge of a car park next to a few supermarkets.  Terrific to see organic and home grown produce in so many places.  I hope it encourages more people to start gardens of their own.  It has strengthened my resolve to get a few apple crates to plant up more vegies!  Can't plant vegies in many places in my garden because really only the driveway gets all the sunlight which is why we've got the vegie bed running the length of it.