Duck Eggs!

Our three ducks have finally produced eggs! Well one of the girls although we aren't sure who yet. To update - after a few deaths we finally have ended up with three beautiful ducks - two, Jessie (drake) and Bob (girl) we've had since ducklings. The third Puddleduck (girl) we rescued from a Duck round up at a near by lake. A's 8 year old girl had her eye on this particular duck for a few weeks - people dump them when they are no long wanted as pets. It's really sad. So we ended up with the perfect family for ducks - one drake and his two devoted wives. I was keen on ducks mainly to experience the duck eggs! Althought they have turned into as much a part of the family as the dogs!

Then finally when letting them out of their pen last this morning - there they were. two eggs. Sitting there waiting for our wandering eyes - two perfect white duck eggs! They are a little bigger and more fragile than the chook eggs... now to find recipes!

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House Cladding

We finally bit the bullet and clad the front of our house. We have already done the side verandah part last year as an experiment and will now do the whole house. This took only one weekend so we should have done this months ago! It just seems more daunting that it is. The weekend was a beautiful Autumn day with blue skies and warmish weather at about 13 degrees. We can't paint below 10 so it was probably our last chance before Katoomba's winter sets in.

We have used marine grade ply (exterior grade) with a stain called 'Snow Gum'. Then painted the top half with a colour called Twisted Lime. We will keep the black around the window edges but probably evenutally change the dark (forest green) green around the windows. That's been the only colour we have found doesn't work.

We are pretty happy with the whole look. At the very least it looks so much better than the white dirty fibro that was there!

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LUNCH! The final corn harvest

Ok - so we may have only had about 4 corn cobs from the harvest but every single one of them was devoured! - Today we ate three for lunch. Next year I now know you can plant the sweet corn a little bit closer together and thus increase the harvest. I will also plant them earlier in Spring - they took a little long to reach edible size. I may aim I think for between 10 & 20.

Here was today's lunch:

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The new raspberry patch

After the dismal efforts of my only raspberry plant I have a new plot. [read about it earlier here]After preparing my garden bed for about 4 months I very unceremoniously planted the raspberry babies this week. I have tried to do my research about growing them as I intend to have a wonderful patch over the coming years.

1. - prepare the bed for months ahead. compost, manure - I also grew buckwheat as a green manure and chomped that in. I have planted these now in Autumn. I have chosen the perfect spot in the garden that gets sun from about 8.30 to 4.00 during winter - and not too disimilar in Summer.

2. - the bed themselves have been planted north to south - I read that's the way raspberry produce growers do it - so i have transferred that to my mini bed of nine plants.

3. - I helped myself (!) to the sucklings of the fantastic raspberry plants down the road at the local katoomba community gardens - they do really well.

4. - Raspberries are apparently cold climate plants and suit this area. I haven't actually met anyone who grows them in the backyard - but I have heard second hand they are plentiful in the region.

5. I have been collecting raspberry recipes over the last year or so for the eventual requirement for them in a season or two. So if anyone else in the big wide world stumbles on this blog one day and has a great raspberry recipe - please post it up!

Here it is:

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Ok I promise just this one more -THE BUDDHIST CAT

the buddhist cat praying by the bonsai tree

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Meet Ray

When I see pictures of others people's cats it usually induces a great big yawn. It's got to be one of that most boring things in the world. Pictures of cats.

Here's Ray.

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My first corn

It's been a long harvest and to be honest - not a great one. But I picked my first corn this week - mum was visiting and so decided to wait for her to do the honours. It's quite small and probably the rest (all 4!) wont get much bigger, but wow! - it was very fresh and very yummy. Mum said the best way to cook and eat corn is to

1) put the water on to boil.
2) go pick corn
3) put corn in to cook for a few minutes
4) bit of butter and eat!

Couldn't be much fresher! The funny thing about the corn I grew - about twice as many also turned up elsewhere in the garden - metres away - one in another garden altogether (the succulent garden). They just kept popping up.

I will have another go next spring - but plant earlier and plant more. Its just a beautiful plant both just as a plant and also a produce. How exciting to have discovered corn - back in the day - and unwrapped those layers to find a cob. It's just wonderful.

Anyway - here 'tis mine!

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