Civic cabbages

The council gets a big thumbs up from me for its public flowers.  There are loads and they're all beautifully maintained.  The roses at Vansittart Park and the Cave Gardens are lovely but at this time of year they are nothing more than bare stumpy sticks.  Planted beneath them though are an abundance of cabbages.  There are also loads in planter boxes down Commercial street and the middle of roundabouts.  They're a quirky splash of colour in winter.  I love them.

Busy down on the farm

The old diary, tyres and submersible pump

It might not look like much but this tiny part of our five acres has been the focus of our most expensive works since we moved here 18 months ago.  And there's nothing to show for it!

Because our little farmlet was the result of a subdivision, our water supply was still connected to the neighbouring farm's.  The same pump was filling their cow troughs and our toilet. $5000 later and the problem has been fixed .... at our expense as the pump is on our land.

Right next to this pesky pump is a pile of old tyres.   It turns out 155 car tyres and 14 truck tyres were left on the property, which we inadvertently purchased with the house and land.  The only legal way to dispose of them is to have them taken away to a special facility that shreds them and passes them on to be recycled.  Having them removed set us back another $1200.

Infant orchard

On the positive side, we just finished planting the orchard.  Last year we put in four apples and a lemon.  Actually there's a funny story here.  There was a fruit tree already growing slap bang in the middle of our planned path.  Dad told me he thought it was a mulberry.  I LOVE mulberries and really wanted to save the tree.  It was surrounded by heavy duty wire and it had grown so large it was being strangled.  I snipped all the wire away and the Gander transplanted it into our new orchard.  A couple of months later it sprouted some leaves ... and then nine cherries!  Yum.  I love cherries too and they grow very well in this climate.  Anyway, we just planted an apricot, a peacherine, a greengage, an orange and a crab apple.  There's one spot left for an avocado - we'll plant that in spring and see how it goes.

A baby blanket

A dear friend of mine had her first baby yesterday.  I made her a blanket a few weeks ago in anticipation of the happy event.

My Mum is a very skilled seamstress, capable of making beautiful evening wear, hardy children's clothing and the most delicate decorative hand stitching.  Needless to say, I'm wanting in all these areas.  But she inspires me to give it a go, and I have another incentive - my Granny's sewing machine.  Check it out.  She bought it in Nigeria in 1952.  I had a few sewing lessons last year and my teacher could hardly hide her horror at such an antique, but it goes forwards and backwards, and does zig zag and button holes - more than enough for me!

Anyway, here is the blanket.  It is cotton on one side and fleecy and chenille on the other, with ribbons round the edge.  Miss Gosling was given a similar one when she was born and she loved the ribbons once she became aware of their existence and had some control over her hands.