Sweetest November

I thought about calling this post 'how to catch a Shetland pony', but then figured I can't use that title because I'm still trying to work out how to catch the damn Shetland pony. Little beast won't let us near her, but happily scoffs down the bucket of food we give her every day. Breaks out of her paddock as she pleases to wander through the house yard and has taken to eating our pretty roses. My husband refers to Shetlands as the 'devil's horse' and I start to think he may be right. Do you know how to catch a Shetland?

Busted.

November is truly one of my favourite months. I know lately I've been less keen for the summer heat to arrive than usual, but I start to remember how much I love November. The trees are covered in the bright green leaves of late spring, flowers are blooming, the weather is warm but not excessively hot. The best days are the cloudy ones - for some reason I just love the sight of all the new spring growth against a grey sky. We've been treated to a few grey days so far this November, and even a little rain, so lovely to watch. Good for the senses, good for the soul, good for the garden and the land. The chooks have gone broody and are tucked up in their nesting box together, sharing the eggs to be kept warm. There are some fertilised ones in there, so we're hoping for some chicks in a few weeks...

Big shifts are taking place in our little home. My little one, 19 months old, has elected to sleep in his own bed, quite suddenly, after having co-slept with us since he was born. I must say, as happy as I am for him to be growing up and going happily into his own room and bed, I was not quite ready for the change. It still feels strange crawling into a cold bed without him tucked up asleep already. I had no idea it would happen this easily or this fast - I tended to think he might be a bit clingy and not want to leave our bed. I was wrong. I start to have more faith than ever that an attachment-style of parenting will produce a confident and independent little person. Certainly in our case it seems to be so. But goodness, the sight of my little boy tucked up in his own lovely warm and cozy bed is just the sweetest thing.

My efforts in the garden of late have been mixed. There is a multitude of earwig bugs ready to eat the leaves of any new growth, and so far I have lost broccoli and eggplant seedlings, a few potatoes and of course my favourite, silverbeet and rainbow chard. I'm not very happy about the situation. I've also lost some pumpkin seedlings to a late cold night, and I've got some tomatoes ready to plant out but I'm hesitant; when I check the weather forecast the next week still see's us having lows around 5 degrees. The likelihood of getting any cold-protection measures in place right now is low. But I have been building a nice rock wall, adding to some existing rock wall around the 'orchard' where the apple trees grow. That is a success, as is my parsley, my oregano and so far, some red onions.

And I'm still struggling with energy levels and tiredness at the moment. Sometimes the energy comes and sometimes I feel drained and flat. We're settling into some new routines for our days too, some things I've wanted to bed down for a long time but haven't managed to do. Grocery shopping on a Monday. Often times the library on a Thursday. A morning at the playground on Friday's. This is my favourite, I find it is such a lovely way to end the week, now that William is old enough to really enjoy playing at the playground. We pedal up on the bike and stay for a while. We pedal most places around town here, I much prefer getting the bike out for a trip up the street than the car. It's so easy here, I never even feel the need to chain the bike up. Small town life, it's good.

So anyway the post title comes from a line in a song by Sarah Blasko from a long time ago. Another favourite.

The First Week of Spring

Started out with days in the mid-twenties. T-shirt weather. What was I saying last week about not being ready for winter to be over? I take it back. These warm sunny days are just divine. They're certainly helping the garden grow - good for the vegies and the flowers and the trees. Less good for the weeds. My little dog Jock decided to have a lie down in the weeds growing near the clothes line. While I hung out nappies to dry and William napped in the pram at my side. I haven't hung anything outside to dry for months, as there's just no point in winter. I forgot how good springtime feels.

What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Garden Share Collective: Spring Has Sprung

Once again linking up with Lizzie of Strayed from the Table and a bunch of other bloggers for the monthly peek into my vegie garden happenings. Spring is definitely here and the garden is coming to life with new growth. Seeds planted in the last 4-5 weeks are starting to shoot and take hold, flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing and motivation is, well, mixed. We've just taken the decision to move, so this is likely to be my last GSC post for this garden, and leaving this garden behind certainly brings some sadness to me. However, we're going back to an old garden that we left behind 18 months ago, so all is not lost, and I'm looking forward to reinvesting in that lovely, albeit much smaller, vegetable garden. 

Anyway! Enough about that, more about the garden. The flowering trees are starting to do their thing, the lucerne trees and our peach tree are in full bloom. The apples are still a wee way off, and we planted an apricot this month as well, which may or may not do much this year. The fig is just about at bud burst as well. My little potted rosemary is also flowering like mad, the most I've ever seen it do. I'm a little bit glad I never planted it out in the ground now, as it means I can take it with me. I've been lugging it around in the pot for years now, I think I'll plant it in a permanent place once we move this time. I've been waiting for the right spot, but enough with waiting now. Poor thing needs some room to grow.

Peach tree.

Lucerne tree.

Rosemary.

The vegie garden itself is going well. Potatoes are coming up from leftover bits in the ground from the last crop, so I've left them to grow. Broad beans seeds I put out in late July are all coming up, as are most of the peas. I was a bit concerned about the peas, as we had quite a lot of rain during August and I thought the seeds might rot. And I'd say a few of them have, but those that have survived are looking pretty good. Also coming up are spring onions that I planted out [read: scattered seeds randomly] in July. I didn't think they were going to do anything but it seems they were just waiting until the conditions suited them a bit better. A couple of spinaches are also on the way, not many of those seeds germinated but a few have made it.

Potatoes and broad beans.

Spring onions.

Planted in August - seeds of carrot, beetroot, leeks, silverbeet and more spinach. A row of seed potatoes has also gone in; as luck would have it, I discovered a stash of last seasons potatoes that I'd unknowingly left for myself, 17 to be exact. The exact number that I planted out last year. How about that for unplanned planning. Also some strawberry seedlings that have been waiting way too long to go into the ground. In order to get these plantings in, I had some big jobs in clearing out the beds, getting rid of weeds, adding compost and digging it all over. And I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Such a wonderful way to spend some time, digging in the garden. As I'm sure most of my readers well know!

Rows of new plantings and helper dogs.

Harvesting during August - just silverbeet which has been growing like weeds [I pick all the big leaves, it rains, the sun shines, and there is even more to be picked again], and some sage and parsley as our cooking calls for it. The broccoli has all gone to flower and is competing with weeds for domination at the back of the garden. 

Plans for September - sadly, not too much more for this garden. Finish off tidying it up, we need to put down some more gravel for the pathways to leave it in a good state for [hopefully] someone to move in and take it over. By late September we should be back in our old garden, and thinking about what needs to be done with that. I have to say I'm looking forward to seeing it and working in it again. So it's not all sad. The hardest part for me is leaving the potatoes. I am quite attached to them. Go figure.

Thanks for stopping by my garden this month! If you haven't already, do check out the Garden Share Collective page and see what other garden lovers have been up to.

Spring Is... Early?

Spring is definitely in the air. The days are getting longer, the sun is shining and there is a mildness to the air that we haven't felt for months. The snowdrops have been flowering for weeks now, and will soon be finished, to be replaced by little blue flowers that I can't recall the name of. But I'm not ready for winter to be over! I was just finding my groove, and enjoying the blast of wintery weather that August gave us - rain, lots of rain, and cold and wind and more rain. And I'm normally such a summer-lover too, but right now I want to hang on to rugging up and wearing beanies and making hearty soups and keeping the fire roaring. I am so not ready for spring just yet. 

I picked a small bunch of snowdrops for the house. I love having fresh flowers from the garden inside. But to do that, you must have an abundance of flowers in the garden from which to cut. One of the [many] plans I have for our little piece of the world is to have a sea of flowering plants in the garden. We just planted some daffodils, and there is a lone tulip coming to life in the spot where we buried the little white chicken who got sick and didn't survive. We have a long way to go in the flower department. For now I'm grateful for the abundance of snowdrops along the side of the house, planted by a previous occupant with a penchant for pretty flowers. 

What's happening outside in your part of the world? Are you welcoming spring, or are your days getting shorter and colder?