Down By The River

After several days of being stuck inside because of rain it was good to be able to get out of the house on Tuesday and stretch our legs with a walk along the river.

 I even remembered to take my camera, so here are a few photos I took along the way.

 A pair of Adelaide rosellas enjoying the abundant supply of water in the river that until a few weeks ago was as dry as a bone.

 Time for a dip.

Another perched high in a eucalyptus tree.

Kookaburras sitting in an old gum tree.

A pair of Rainbow Lorikeets, he kept spreading his wings and flapping them rapidly. I think he was trying to impress her.

Living in the hollow next door,  a pair of Musk Lorikeets. The two pairs of birds were having a neighbourly dispute with each other just before I took these photos.

And a lone Australian Wood Duck.

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This Weekend

Was spent trying to stay warm as winter finally arrived. It has been cold, rainy and windy, just my kind of weather.

I made more chicken soup to freeze.

As well as a Gluten Free Pear Almond Cake, it smelt amazing. Recipe here.

The first flowers appeared on the pea vines.

And the first of the green sprouted broccoli made an appearance.

Knitting was done, undone and redone and still it isn't right. I think the pattern must be wrong, at least I hope it's the pattern.

Steamy artwork drawn by my youngest daughter.

I also started and almost completed a set of curtains for the kitchen window.
What did you do this weekend?

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Stormy Weather

Taken this evening at 5.46pm after I had locked the chickens away for the night. We could be in for a wet night.

 This one is blurry because the wind was really whipping the leaves around.

4.4mm of rain between 12.30am and 8.30am. It's cold and windy today (Thursday ) and looks like more rain on the way.

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Chocolate cake

Made by my daughter.

Eaten by me!

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A Walk in the Park

A beautiful, sunny Sunday morning seemed like a good time to take the dog for a walk at the local dog park.

Bella as always led the way.

Along the way we encountered a few of the locals.

Australian Wood Ducks

Runner Ducks (escapees from a suburban backyard?)

Musk Lorikeets

Galahs feeding on grass seed.

The winter flowering natives are in full bloom, heavy with nectar and bees.

Flowering Eucalypts

Grevillea

Melaleuca

Golden Wattle

The mushrooms are "blooming" too.

 

It was the perfect way to spend some quality time with my girls, with the added bonus of some much needed exercise.

The sunshine didn't last long though, this is what happened about one hour after we got home.

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First Snowdrop of the Season

But definetly not the last.

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Gardening

I hadn't really planned on doing much today apart from some knitting and maybe catching up on Criminal Minds but when I went down to give the chickens some greens this morning,

I noticed that two of the cauliflower/broccoli plants (not sure which they are because someone didn't label them when they were planted because she thinks her memory is better than it actually is) had fallen over and needed staking.

Then as I was closing the gate I noticed the peas had fallen over and they needed to be tied up.

And then I noticed weeds in amongst the garlic and the more I looked the more weeds I saw. So I let the girls out of their run to stratch around in an empty vege bed and while the sun came out and went back in again,

 I pulled weeds, hilled up the potatoes and trimmed back the asparagus and the passionfruit vine. 

 Before I knew it a couple of hours had passed, the weed pile had grown

 and my fingernails had become dirty.

But that's OK because I really can't think of a better way to pass some time on this sunny/overcast/windy/rainy Saturday. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend as well.

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Slow Living 2013 - June

Joining Christine at Slow Living Essentials for the month of June.

{NOURISH} 

Making lots of old fashioned stews, pea and ham soup as well as chicken soup to warm us on these cold winters nights.

Also tried my hand at making spelt bread. It turned out better than I expected and I will definitely be making it again.

{GROW} 

My first winter harvest, coriander which along with some chilli, lime juice, ginger and garlic went into chicken mince to make Thai Chicken Cakes which I served with rice and the first of the pak choy, bok choy, kohl rabi leaves and kailaan. Delicious!

 And I picked our very first crop of mandarins.

{REDUCE}

I use to leave any leftovers in the refrigerator hoping that someone would eat it, unforunately more often than not it just got thrown out. I have now started to freeze any left overs in single serve portions which are easy to reheat for a quick lunch and and I don't feel guilty about wasting food anymore.

{GREEN }

I've been making my own laundry powder for about six months now and am more than happy with it. This month I made a surface cleaner (original recipe from Tea with Lucy) . So far I have found it really good, you do need to let it sit for a bit before you wipe it off.

{CREATE} 

A two tone scarf for my daughter

 Pattern from It's a Stitch Up

and I started a ripple rug for my bed.

{DISCOVER} 

Some new (to me) blogs Tea With Lucy, Hettie Brown, Dusty Country Road and The Quiet Home 

and re-discovered some old favourite TV shows. 

{ ENJOY}

This month I have been  enjoying time with my family, the cold, rainy weather, 

 lunch in the city

and a walk along the river.

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