Catch-up and a Question

Wow! It's been quite some time since I last posted here!

The Woodman and I have been having fun pottering around our little patch.

We have had some successes and a few failures with our fruit and vegies.

It's all still a big learning curve for us :-)

 But we are really enjoying getting our hands dirty and seeing what grows well in our small back garden.

The peach and nectrine trees were attacked by leaf-curl, which meant we ended up having to spray them.

The dutch carrots grew beautiful lush leaves and looked so promising - but were badly  deformed and wrapped around each other.

(Hubby now realises that he planted them much too close together!)

We are now in Summer here in Australia..

 but you'd never know it with all the rain we've had recently.

This has caused the silverbeet to suddenly shoot up like it was on steriods!

 But that's ok - the chooks are loving the bits we don't use.

Speaking of chooks..

I read recently that you shouldn't wash the eggs if you can avoid it.

Is that true?

I just automatically washed our eggs and dried them before storing them away.

The debate I read was something about them not lasting as long, and spoiling because of some film being removed by washing them.

Any advice out there for a confused "wanna-be backyard chook farmer", lol! ?

These silly chickens are obviously getting to me.. big-time !!

If you knew me well, you would know that I love country-style decorating magazines.
I used to buy them regularly and have a huge collection which I still enjoy re-reading and relaxing with.

Well, last Saturday I found myself in a quandry as I stood in the newsagent looking at the magazines on offer.

I simply couldn't decide if I wanted to buy the 3-for-1 country decorating pack..

 or the lovely glossy poultry magazine that had articles on how to build the most splendiferous chook houses!!

My hubby stood in disbelief and laughed at me incredulously...
so I bought the 3-for 1.

It wasn't nearly as interesting as the chicken mag :-(

Guess I'm in love with my chooks, lol!!

Catching up..this past month




I have been wanting to get some chooks for quite some time now, and finally this month we were able to  install a hen-house in a corner of our yard and set up home for 4 chickens.

I am very pleased with them and happy about how they came into our possession.

We got them by old-fashioned bartering!

My hubby will be repairing the timber frame on a friend's sofa in exchange for these chickens and their coop.

Over the years he has been able to use his skills in this way to provide us with a number of things for our home.

It's the way we like best - no money - just sharing!



Our new hens give us at least 3 eggs per day which is ample for the two of us, and leaves some to give away to friends and neighbours.

Besides that, they provide us with much entertainment and company - they really are funny creatures with sweet personalities!


I think they're bound to live out a long life here;  none of us has the heart or will to turn them into a chicken dinner any time soon lol!





We are much more into pet-cuddling than culling  :-)



Speaking of cuddling - my son's girlfriend and I are cuddling up to my 94yr old mother in this photo.

She has just left today to go back home after spending the past week holidaying with us.
I  am so blessed to have such a healthy and spritely mother still with me at her advanced age!
She had a ton of fun watching the chooks and all their antics which brought back many memories of her own childhood and mine.
Her parents were country folk and always had hens, and she and my dad did the same.
I was raised with the iconic backyard chookpen and vegie patch and have hankered for my own for ages!
Now I have both at last.
I spend lots of contented moments throughout my days watching and tending to them and thanking the Lord for His provision.
This month we've taken some more small steps in simplicity - and that makes me very happy indeed!

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