Nothing much stays the same around here, just when you think its all the same old same old, you have different kind of days than before!!! For instance, I said bye to Jack the horse, he literally went to greener pastures, just up the road for awhile. He was looking very handsome and had put on some weight. Here is a picture of him the day before he left.

He made a couple of 'dips' in the wire fence around my vegetable patch trying to get to the old corn stalks, and I had to wrap the pear tree up in shade cloth but other than that he caused no damage and saved me mowing the area.

The way I look at it I put the raw materials in one end and get the finished product out the other!!!

The vegetable patch is looking great, and the very thick layer of 'old' manure is keeping the moisture in and improving the plants.

They say you should dig it in immediately to prevent the nitrogen being released as a gas but my way of thinking is that it was long gone before I picked it up in the barrow!!!

Eight Black Cockatoos just flew past the window, this means rain and lots of it. It's an old wives tale but always works here, and a thunderstorm is just about to break overhead.

CHOOK REPORT;

I don't know why, all but Bindi have lost their tail feathers?!! Seems strange. They have just started to lay again, I get two to three eggs a day, and Easter Sunday I got two plain and two foil covered chocolate ones in the one nest!!!! :)

My resolve to stop feeding the girls from the back verandah has not lasted long. Visitors are just as hard to train. I will have to put a big 'DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS' sign up (to remind me too)! I have just scrubbed the back verandah and when the hot water hits the 'deposits' it is not a very pleasant smell :( !!!

My new herb garden is doing very well and I use it every couple of days. The little black net guards are working wonderfully. I am going to have to do something like that in the vegetable patch because a 'critter' has been in to eat a couple of tomatoes, carrot tops, celery, spring onions, lettuce and beet roots. My dad gave me a large spool of twine (like string) and said if I criss crossed it around some sticks all through the vegetable beds the birds and most animals won't get through it, but I should be able to pull weeds. It is worth a try.

My landscaping in the backyard near my new creek is comming along slowly but surely, every pay day I buy more edging and change my mind on exactly what I am going to do around the big pond area. I am tossing up whether to lay pavers or just gravel the area to level it for some table and chairs, it's a great little sun trap in the cooler months and a shade sail or pergola will be a great addition in the summer.

The days are getting very short now but it is still lovely and warm, they say 24 today but I think it's more, and humid, that thunderstorm has arrived.

I am off to Melbourne for the big flower show, Floriana, I will come back with some brilliant ideas for landscaping and lots of hints and tips for vegie growing maybe,

till then...bye for now.

Ending on an UP, after the ups and downs lately!

Can't believe its been 3 weeks since I last wrote, I seem to be very busy but not really doing anything that you can see for it?!

CHOOK REPORT:

Chickadee 'the diva' has finally come off the 'throne', she appears to have fallen to the bottom of the pecking order because she gets a peck or two from all the others now and she is very skittish round the group. But looks very glamourous still!

Rough Red has improved so much (apart from one area), I may take another picture of her next time to brag about the improvement, that is unless Chickadee takes to her in the meantime!

Her legs are still a worry, the vaseline treatment didn't seem to work or maybe its because it was so messy I didn't use it often enough. So I have changed to vegetable oil in a squeeze bottle because her legs are getting worse.

Black Betty is plodding along very nicely, she is almost as friendly as Red. Betty and Red look for some interaction from me during the day, the others just want food!!

Bindi is the only one producing eggs. Ever since 'The Diva' took up residence on the 'throne' I have only had 1 egg a day! But a friend said her chooks have gone off the lay too.

It was getting ridiculous when I walked out the back door, they would swamp me for food, and wheat would not do! They used to push the back door open if it was ajar and tiptoe inside! Yes I am telling the truth, I used to hear soft little tap, tap, taps from their toenails on my vinyl flooring! It took awhile but I got them used to the idea that all they got through the day was a bit of wheat thrown on some bare patches either in their chook run or on some grass up near the house. Every couple of days I boil up some vegetable scrapes and have a good fridge clean out I put some mash in it while it is still warm and pop it in a bowl for them, they go crazy for about 5 minutes and eat about half of it. The will eat beans now if they are cooked and potato peels, pumpkin is a favourite with most but Red still goes 'off' on feta cheese and olives, (you can tell she is my chook!) I don't feed them anything that is ' green' and 'furry', I worry about salmonela poisioning so I toss doubtful food in the rubbish or compost pile. They seem content with this diet now, they get excited over me scattering some wheat around and don't care much for bulk amounts on the feed tray. They really are true scratchers hey!

There are no more barley and molassas feeds for Jack the horse now he is back to a good weight, so they miss out on their little treat of left overs. Jack is looking really good now, the extra hay and dry lucerne (from a massive bag) have helped but I think he is getting spoilt too. Every time I go down the back he whinneys and snorts and stands near the feed bag waiting for another portion. I have been giving him 3 or 4 bowls of it a day and a biscuit of hay with it but he always wants more. I remind you that it is only a supplement, the owners come every day (?!) to give him some hay, they don't mind the extra feeds I give him. Now he has been kicking his feed bowl...a baby bath...and deliberately knocking over his water bucket! I caught him the other day when he didn't know I was watching, he was impatient for his lunch treat.

I will have to wean him off some feeds as soon as the grass is a bit longer in the blocked off section. or get the owners to drop off more hay so I know he is not hungry and he is just needing some interaction with me.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I was away for most of the week working or holidaying? !!

My poor unnamed fish has turned 3 years old this week! and apart from a regular feed now, he requires no more care till I get him into his new home. I am too scared to name him as I don't have much luck with fish.

My girlfriend asked me to babysit her 3 Zebra fish while her and hubby went for a weeks holiday, sounds pretty simple, she gave me a bottle of red wine to thank me and brought their pebbles and some plants down so they felt at home. She helped me set up the salad bowl I was using for a tank and settled them in before she headed off. I went down to the vegie patch and after an hour I came up and to my horror, I found one had died!!! He was floating on the top and another one was head up tail down, looking ill!! I ran outside and grabbed some water out of the creek to put the others in. If you have tank water the two different metals between the roof and the metal tank cause a chemical reaction and it is toxic to the fish unless left for 3 days to 'air out', it had rained the night before so I thought the water would be fresh enough and it would be ok to use. My friend thought the same, because she never has to worry about it at all, I don't think she really believed it could be a problem. Anyway despite my best efforts within 2 hours they were all dead!!! :(

I could have cried. I had a week to stew over what to do. Three new Zebra fish were bought because I couldn't stand the thought of her comming in to get them and there was an empty bowl. And these ones were prettier and were faster than 'racing fish' with blue stripes down the sides and all. But she declined them when I told her over the phone, they go away a lot and she was worried about having fish to care for anyway. Guess it was meant to happen but wish it wasn't at my house!!

I love the new fish but it hasn't been plain sailing either. I was given a friends whole shell collection and decided they would look good in the salad bowl instead of pebbles. I soaked and washed and made sure they were not salty and were clean. I stored some tap water for 3 or 4 days and then made the switch.... next morning I looked in and they looked green and appeared to have some internal bleeding under their chins!!!! I rushed them to the creek water again, to cut a long story short, they survived and now they are back in their bowl, shells and all and are thriving...I have no idea what it was but they are ok.

Psycho chooks!!!

Never a dull moment here at ' nana's zoo'. The Diva is still sooking, spread out on a nest that contains only a golf ball....hehe wonder what that will hatch. Might paint little eyes and a mouth on it with a marker!! I spotted her the other day, off her nest and jumping up to get the low hanging grapes that cover the chook shed. She spotted me and went back to her nest so I picked a bunch of grapes and put them near her beak where she lay, not even a cluck from her! Now I know where all the lower grapes have disappeared to, saw black betty going for some too, and that bird sure can jump!!

I bought some wheat for them...mmmm yeah I know I said they can just free range and eat scraps but they really were getting into all the wrong places....looking for scraps...(like under my bed) !!! They didn't like the mash so much any more, but it will be good in winter for them, when I add warm water...they went psycho when I put the wheat down, and for two days I hardly saw them...they ate so much they slept under trees most of the day...maybe that's where all the eggs are.... now the bugs have a chance to regroup and breed up ready for the next onslaught of the psycho chooks!
Must say Red is looking a lot better now that Chickadee (diva) is out of action. Her feathers have started growing back from the head area to halfway down her back, the vaseline treatment seems to have worked too, she is not pecking at her feet as much.

BUT!! My grandaughter Amber was checking Black Betty on her lap the other day and suddenly screwed up her face and went ooohhh... "Black Betty has dandruff"! I asked her to keep looking to see if it had legs or moved....you guessed right, except for the Diva, they all have mites, or lice whatever you call them. Groan, now what chemical do I have to buy and pour all over them to control these nasty little critters?, my dad suggested whitewashing the chookshed, that's what he did in the old days (he's over 80) he thinks they used to wipe them over with a 'rag dipped in kerosine' too...I wouln't even do that to the Diva..hehe, instead of spending time doing this I should be checking the net out for an organic cure.
Amber kept checking and suddenly looked up with a concerned serious look on her face and said "NANA, THEY HAVE ANTS TOO" another quick look and with a serious nod and a sigh confirmed this fact. Do they make flea collars for chooks....the way things are going I ought to hang some garlic round their necks to ward off vampires while I am at it...

The chooks and Jack the horse get along really well, his owners bring food for him every day as there is no grass growing yet, when it's 'barley and molasses in the old baby bath' day, the chooks come running, eagerly they line up for the left overs!
A full size horse eats a lot in a day and Jack broke my heart watching him just standing there waiting for meal time. There is nothing for him to look at or anything for him to do (not that he is into chess or anything) no grass to just graze away the day, so I decided to remove part of the chooks back fence and let him in to graze, there is grass in there because the spoilt chooks won't eat it and because they are free range they don't go there at all. I had a bit of trouble moving the big gate to the side, Jack wouldn't move out of my way and kept putting his head over it to see if I had some grass for him!!!!! - I must point out now that 'I AM REALLY SCARED OF HORSES AND CATTLE' - I summoned up all my strength and bravery and succeded in making an opening, he moved in and didn't stop eating for about an hour. One very happy Jack. My house mate got hold of a bale of hay and we feed it to him in between his other feeds.
After I fed Jack some scraps (old corn cobs and husks) I noticed he was still hungry so I got a 'biscuit' of hay and held it up in the chook pen for him to come in and eat...he forgot that the fence was partly open and hung his head over it...I had to go right up the other end and entice him round...I walked in front with it so I could get him into where I wanted him.. I was very brave.. the faster I walked the faster he walked I looked back and he was breathing down my neck, by the time I reached the spot -I think I was galloping!!!!
He would never hurt me I know that but my heart still races when I am near him.

It occured to me this morning that now I have removed part of the back fence in the chook pen the chooks can come and go as they wish, no need to wait on me to open the front door!!! ( the fence was easily hopped over by them anyway but they never bothered). But not these chooks, no back door for them, they were all there in line waiting for me...I sneak down there some mornings, just to spy on them but no matter how quiet I am, they know I am comming. One of them will start clucking and then all of them shuffle round the front door, I have to be careful opening the door inwards, as I have knocked Bindi off her feet before with it.

We have had some great rain this week and the vegies are looking good, I put barrow loads of horse manure on most of the beds, it wasn't too fresh but I hope it I didn't overdo it. I know the tomatoes will appreciate it. Most of the tomato crops this year have failed and some of my friends have pulled theirs out, but after a shakey start most of mine are ok now and producing a nice crop, won't break any records and the bite size ones are poorly but I have been able to give heaps away already.
After putting lime on my garden I noticed the beans leaves going yellow, I looked it up on the net and if I have too much lime in the soil they get deficient in iron, but thankfully I only bought a small bag, so I didn't overdo it and I noticed all the garden has some plants with yellowing leaves. Maybe the drought has had a greater effect than I thought. I have wonderful trays of seedlings to go in or give away, I started planting some yesterday, lettuce, cucumber (bit too late though) beetroot and more spring onions. I have picked some rhubarb to encourage the rest to grow better, at the moment I am eating;

• CORN
• BUTTER BEANS
• GREEN BEANS
• ZUCCHINI
• CARROTS
• PARSNIP
• SILVERBEET
• BEETROOT
• SPRING ONIONS
• TOMATOES
• BORLOTTI BEANS
• PEAS
• RADISH
  

SEEDLINGS

• CABBAGE
• CAULIFLOWER
• SPRING ONION
• SILVERBEET
• BEETROOT
• LETTUCE 3 VARIETIES
• BOKCHOY
• BRUSSEL SPROUTS
• BROCOLI
• and heaps and heaps of herbs

More photos next post, in fact mostly photos next time.

All peaceful in the Hen House!

I followed instructions for the vaseline treatment on Rough Reds scaley leg mite , I do it every second night. Shame the dust and dirt sticks to it so much, her legs are dam ugly now!





It seems to be working she is not picking at them as much now. But a word of warning.. don't wear light coloured or good clothing when you do it, the vaseline does not wash off!!!




As you can see the other girls are still very attractive but Red is not getting any better. In order is - Rough Red, Black Betty (doing her head spasm again) Bindi and The Diva in the foreground. The Diva is the same age and breed as Red, go figure!!

I bought a tin of cat food to help Reds' feathers grow in a hurry. They swooped on it and ate it in record time. I isolated Red for a sneaky feed this morning, I don't want to feed them canned food unless its for a reason, they are free range chooks, not fast food addicts!!
As you can see Red loves her dust bath to help with mites (if she has them) just like the others but it's not helping, I wonder if there is a non chemical way of treating mites, I heard that fire ash is good, it's very fine powder gets close to the skin and mites can't live through it.

Black Betty is still alive and is heaps better, not quite the same old bird though! That red back spider left it's mark I think. She has a spongy swollen crop most of the time, a lot larger than the others but her head spasm is leaving her. She is eating well and laying so she is fairly happy.

Everyone is having problems with growing vegies this summer, even the big supermarkets are having a problelm sourcing them, it's so dry, I planted a lettuce in a pot, it was growing well and was quite crisp, but very attractive to possums!!! I only have half a lettuce now!!

All my seedlings are doing really well, maybe I should just give up the garden and grow pots of vegies for the family, they will either look after them and take an interest or have to spend their hard earned dollars on second rate goods...

I have withdrawn the watering to some beans, I can't look at them when I am down in the garden, I almost feel like apologising! but I can't find any flowers on them and I certainly can't 'up the watering' to produce more flowers so they are the first to go :-(

No rain forcast so I am glad I like pasta, rice noodles and the odd spud I may have to live on them till the rain comes.

Glad I can't eat home grown chickens (too strong tasting) !!! Bet the girls are happy about that too!!! :)

All is not well in the hen house!

OOH Dear... it's a worrying time tonight! Rough Red is feelling poorly, she stands in the middle of the yard with her head tucked in under a wing, but she is eating ok and she laid an egg ...she is a worry....and Black Betty hasn't been herself since she ate the red back spider this morning. But if it was going to poison her she would have 'gone' by now...!
I know I have spoilt them, little treats all day keep them following my heels all the time...they love bread so it's not too hard to please them...but when they try and eat my bread coloured gardening gloves (while my hand is still in them)! and never leave me in peace if I have a sit down I think it's time to discipline them and have a designated feed point!!
I was going to isolate Rough Red but other sites have warned about isolating one chook over the others....they will pick on her when I put her back in...and poor thing she gets pecked all the time...not many feathers left now...but I stand there and stop her getting bullied while she eats...

I had some 4+ year old chook manure stored...I put some on the garden. I wonder if it is still too strong because no rain or weather has been on it...oh well will soon find out! :-)

Ran out of tank water to the house last night! now running on the 'emergency supply' seems weird watching Queensland flooding, with life, property and stock loss, while our little part of the world is supposed to be green and lush...but is dry and dusty.
Rain is forcast in about three days so I will go very gently on the water till then and just maybe get out of buying another load.

Now it has rained....!!

Last time I wrote it was

• windy
• hot
• my tank was dry!

So I gave in and bought water for the vegie garden, so then it rained (Murphys Law)! My mum went halves with me because she enjoys eating homegrown vegetables and the rest of the family appreciate them too, when there is enough edible vegies or herbs to go around.

I am still learning how to cope with very little water and sometimes the lettuces etc look a little sad from lack of the wet stuff...

I have black sandy soil that will not retain water so I am big on composting and mulching, with the worm farm set up on the side you would think my garden was perfect...
not so, there are problems with weeds in the compost soil and more worms in my compost than my worm farm, even with mulch on top of the soil the water just keeps flowing straight through to china!!

My girls (chooks) are free range and fertilise everything - except the compost bin or my garden. They are not allowed to scratch around in there after I had to replant a whole bed of lettuces!

I am not one to give up so I will just keep making compost- minus the weed seeds- and spoil the worms in the worm farm more.
My favourite chook Rough Red, is not getting any prettier, she is the ugliest chook I have seen for a long time, but I love her dearly and she knows it!
I noticed her feet were getting worse, the scales were enlarged and lifting and she seemed to be pecking them, she kept comming up to me to get attention. So I 'Googled' the symptoms and she has scaley leg mite...nasty little mites burrow in and annoy her.
Treatment is easy, I don't go in for really strong chemicals but a smear of vaseline should do the trick, it takes a year for the scales to regrow normally poor thing just as well I don't have a rooster she would be embarrassed about the way she looks!!!!
I'm out of here, off to plant some capsicums
cool cloudy day with misty rain (gardeners favourite)

Free range chooks, home grown vegies what a life!

Here it is nearly two years since my last post and its hard to imagine what my life would have been like if 'plan A' had eventuated. I am still in my original home and will stay here now.Now Chooks, vegies, travel and surviving on tank water all form 'plan B'. My chook family keep me laughing and entertained, my vegies keep me healthy and my tank water woes keep me fit as I run around trying to stay ahead of it all!!!!



Let me introduce 'The Girls' (chooks);

ROUGH RED (bush pig) !! BLACK BETTY

BINDI

and we couldn't forget the DIVA (real name Chickadee)

More about these charactors later, all I will say now is that, it is all well in the Hen House at the moment ...stay tuned though!!



THE VEGIE PATCH is up and running and providing goodies, there's a long way to go to feed the hungry of the world !!! but there has been some amazing produce come out of it. You just don't get that home grown taste from the supermarket. I've picked out a picture for you, of when it looked very lush and healthy on New Years Eve.

A Big Thank You to the Girls for all their assistance too!!! Scraps in one end manure out the other! But best of all organic bug catchers (and they keep the spiders from

running up my trouser legs too) !!!

Temperature- 29C

Wind- gale force

Water storage - empty!