Moving to Instagram

6:29 AM instagram No Comments

We've decided that it's much easier to post more frequent updates on Instagram rather then continue the blog, so just as our place is evolving so is our social media output. We've had about 170mm of rain over the last few weeks and its obvious from the growth we've seen from our fruit trees and vegie garden. It looks like we may get our first paw paws, grapes and pecans this year. Frogs are lovin' the current stormy weather ! We were away from the property for a few days last week so the verandah...

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LANTANA !

5:00 PM lantana No Comments

One of the jobs on the property that we feel is a priority is clearing lantana. This tenacious and invasive weed chokes the native vegetation, obstructs the view of the land and restricts our ability to walk the property.  Aside from the cleared area around the house and sheds the whole property was covered in it when we arrived. It varied from sparse, to thick, to impassable.  Since we arrived we have been clearing after it rains and the ground has become wet enough to allow it to come...

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The start of our grove and much more...

5:45 PM 1 Comment

The Start We have an area in the back yard which was once a small dam filled with an invasive weed. The weed was a great additive to our compost piles as it added heaps of nitrogen and was a great mulch but we were concerned about the weed escaping during heavy rain and washing into the surrounding creeks. A friend of ours did a great job of filling in the dam with a front end loader. After filling the dam in 2012, thanks Steve. This will be the start of our grove. Over the last two years...

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Renovating !

6:16 AM bench seats, chainsaw, fireplace repairs 1 Comment

Chainsaw Originally we had one "middle powered" saw but as anyone with a property knows, eventually you discover you need a large saw and a small saw.  We managed to find a great bargain on Gumtree for a large petrol powered saw in immaculate condition and when doing some research for a small saw we decided to go with the cordless Stihl MSA 200.  Being on solar, the energy for this smaller one is essentially "free" from the sun. There's no pollution or carbon emissions as from two...

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Bountiful harvest

6:51 AM No Comments

We have been very slack with posting lately. We have been berating ourselves and this morning I decided to come upstairs to the computer and start a new post. Instead I found the below draft so I decided to publish this one and get cracking on another. The last few months have been the driest any of the locals can remember and we have started to despair. Trev placed a stick on the edge of the dam and said 'I hope it doesn't get much lower. Then another stick further in as the water dropped and...

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new stuff

9:34 PM luffas, rosella jam No Comments

Luffa (or Loofa) We're always exploring new things. Toni was given a few seeds for a luffa plant which she'd never encounted. Undeterred off she went and planted them.  She now has heaps of her own home-grown luffas, what a thing. Use it like a scourer in the kitchen, a loofa in the shower and when it wears out, throw it in the compost. Skin removed and dried, then you just cut them to whatever size suits From the end Rosella Jam Another one we're trialing is the Rosella...

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we're back

8:28 PM citrus, dragon fruit, garden, mulberry No Comments

Back from our sojourn to Cambodia.  You can read more about that here if you're interested We had some decent rain while we were away, about 170mm or so and a few more showers since we have been back.  The rain was great as we had been in a drought, the locals saying they had never seen it this dry... now we have some green in the grass that aside, our guest, Mark, kept the place looking great, the garden is still alive and thriving Kale doing well Toni has been busy in the...

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