drawing

Lots of it happening around here. Birthday cards, late night doodling. One of my favourite things to do is sit and draw with the kids. They love it too. Beau started making a book at school and asked if I would make one too....

Struttin'

There are two resident peacocks at my Uni. The kids have come in with me the last two days as they are on school holiday and I am not. We found the male dozing under a bush much to their delight and slowly approached to take photos. He got up and edged further and further ("no photos, no press!") away until Bella went in for the relentless paparazzi technique. After 5 minutes of that he turned around and as if to say "Oh well if you must..." and gave us his best. It was all Rio show girl from then on. 

Bee Season

fiddy

My gorgeous man turns fiddy next Saturday and we had an early celebration for him yesterday. Happy he was; visited and gifted and very much loved up by his best mates and family. So good to see him beaming with joy.

spring house

Tired and Happy

What a weekend. Sheesh. Exhausted but happy. Some time by the Yarra, different parts on different days. Gleaming new white goods, delicious successful salami, flowers flourishing in the garden, sunshine, and a sense of renewal for our family. I hope spring is dusting off your cobwebs and making you smile.

spring planting

We sprouted lots of flower seedlings - Calendular, Cosmos and Sunflowers, red and yellow - our favourite garden flowers. This morning the sun inspired us to plant.

Calendular around the apple tree. I'm making calendular oil for our skin and drying petals for tea.

The echium about to bloom - we planted it for the bees - all the flowers are for the bees - our spring gift to them for all their hard work....

We have to implement a snail plan for the sunflowers. They love those little seedlings so we must cover them each night. 

The top bar hive is in action again. A new swarm collected by Big Honey last night (on the bicycle no less - our car gave up on us on Friday!) I very much wish to make Big Honey a bee suit for such ventures.....

The two new swarms seem to have settled. They will love their sunflower forest and perhaps this year, we will be able to take some honey. There was none for us last summer. We always leave honey for the bees, but they hardly had enough for themselves, so dry a season it was! 

We have been eating our salami - it is so good! Next year we will make much more, and prosciutto too. Nitrate free! 

Soon we will plant the legendary tomatoes we inherit from Illias, and cucumbers, greens, beans, basil, peppers, and passion fruit for the children! I would love to have an avocado tree, oranges, lemons, grapes....gradually.