In the vege garden....

 The self seeded parsley was beginning to overtake around the garlic, so I decided to pull some of it out and plant it into little pots that I have been saving.

this is the parsley crowding the garlic - before shot

this is after the parsley was removed

These will be gifted to family and friends.

The snow peas are producing wonderful amounts for our dinner plates...

This is the most successful snow pea crop I have ever had. I do not know why or how, the only thing different that I have done was sprinkling ash from our fire around the seedlings a while ago and we have also had good rain fall.

In my mini hot house, seeds are sprouting.........

Giant Sunflowers

These are Evie's Seeds that she planted during our group planting session.

 I planted giant sunflower seeds into my old bathtub, some little critter was having a nibble on the seedlings so I have placed these cups over them for protection, it also acts as an individual mini hothouse!

Spinach, beetroot, corn, zucchini, cucumber, and more spinach are on their way!

All of these seeds were sown 20/08/11.

And the potatoes are looking good! I have 4 pots of potatoes growing. I planted about 4 or 5 potatoes (seed) into each pot with potting mix filled to about 1/3, once the potatoes sprouted I covered them over with more potting mix - I did this twice more. Hopefully we will have a lovely crop of potatoes! 

Frustratingly, I did not note the date that these first went in. I am guessing 4-6 weeks ago, possibly the beginning of August.

Let there be light!

 We have come to the conclusion that it is a pesky possum eating the purple (red) cabbage leaves!!
It all started back here.

 There are only a few little leaves left on most of the plants... I do not hold much hope for what is left!

I pulled this one out as I didn't think it had any chance of growing into a delicious red cabbage!

 I also discovered that the pesky possum seems to enjoy swedes too!!

On the weekend, I heard a great tip on how to possibly deter possums from having a nibble in your vegetable garden at night...

Apparently they like to eat in the dark, so if there is light they will not eat!
I only put the solar lights into the garden yesterday and will be monitoring the cabbages this week to see if the lights have done their job.
My fingers are crossed!

knitted tunic

A quick and easy knit, perfect for this time of the year! 

I love it!

You can find the details here on Ravelry

time flies

It has been over a fortnight since last I posted, oops how time does fly when you are having fun!!

The weather has turned from the cold and dreary indoor type into some gorgeous sunny spring and get yourself outside type!! 

Which is exactly where we have been....here is a little snapshot of what we have been up to.

Evie had her very first hair cut; 3yrs 4 days old!

early morning walks to the back beach

lots of imaginative play

crazy hair days

enjoying delicious eggs from a dear friend

group seed sowing sessions

a bit of alone time in the lovely sun

a play with a friend

a picnic treat

book character dress up day - the Wizard from 'The Magic Hat' by Mem Fox

us

enjoying a sunny afternoon on the foreshore

For Today: Tuesday, 16th August 2011

Outside my window.....  it is raining the most perfect rain.

I am thinking...... about the things I need to get done today and the things I would like to do.


I am thankful...... for receiving the fresh eggs my dear friend's chickens laid.


In the kitchen..... I am about to prepare dinner!


I am wearing..... my favourite cardigan and cord jeans, with slippers of course!


I am creating...... a knitted vest for my little girl.


I am going....... to watch my big girl play basketball this afternoon.


I am wondering...... what we will have for lunch today.


I am reading...... Good Gardening magazine.


I am hoping...... to get out into the garden this week, we are expecting more rain so I don't think I will get as much time as I would like.


I am looking forward to...... a trip to the city on Thursday.


I am hearing..... my  little 3 year old daughter's voice singing and talking to herself as she plays.


Around the house..... my fore mentioned little daughter is creating a trail of books, dolls, pencils, clothes, and puzzles as she goes about her busy playtime.


I am pondering..... taking a short trip away.

One of my favourite things..... Summer sunsets. Oh summer I miss you ........


A few plans for the rest of the week....... visiting a friend, hair appointment, some baking, and hopefully some gardening if the rain stays away long enough,


Here is a picture for the thought I am sharing....

I love summer sunsets.

I am joining in with: The Simple Woman's Daybook

Three

 Our gorgeous, bold, energetic, chatty, busy, shy, independent, creative, jumping, cuddly, playful, always on the go, little 2 year old turned 3 today!

 Wow!

 It seems like only yesterday we held you in our arms for the very first time!

 Since that very first day, you have brought joy and happiness, and so much more into our lives.

Happy 3rd Birthday Evie Shae Matilda.

We love you to the moon & stars and back again!

Yesterday...

found some treasures

made a double batch of laundry powder

prepared dinner

played a game of indoor basketball

enjoyed morning tea outside in the sunshine

watched a creation being built

pottered and picked in the vege patch

inspected 

baked some more favourites

received all of these in one delivery! (for a little person's upcoming birthday)

sorted out the spring sowing 

visited the library

added some length with the sticks

laundry powder: Home-Made Laundry Powder
morning tea: Sour Cream Apple Slice

Feast

Last week when I ventured out to our vegetable patch, I was devastated to see a very hungry critter/creature had enjoyed a feast on my much loved growing purple cabbages, mostly the outer leaves were untouched, the middle and some of the newer leaves had been eaten - obviously quite delicious for the offending critter/creature!!

Below is how my precious purple cabbages looked only 5 days before the above photo.

So, after some huffing and puffing, and a little cursing, (I like to think of it as a reaction to growing-your-own-veg-only-to-be-utterly-disappointed-by-the-hunger-of-a-self-indulging-critter), I calmed down, had a closer inspection of the damage and a quiet think about things.

I am not sure if it is snails, slugs, possums, or possibly a rat!!

I decided it was time to take some preventative measures into place, albeit environmentally friendly but hopefully keeping the offending critter off MY PURPLE CABBAGES!!!

Firstly, I did an almost midnight dash with the torch to the vegetable patch hoping to discover any sign of the offending critter/creature - nothing observed.....

 So the next option I decided to try was the crushed egg shells tactic....

and so far, so good. No more cabbage leaves have been eaten! 

I am not sure if the success so far is the effectiveness of the egg shells or the fact that there isn't much left there to eat!! I am hoping that my precious purple cabbages recover to produce us with a feast!