Driving lessons

We start them young around here.

At first they guide the wheel while sitting on our laps.

But soon it gets pretty squashy!

As soon as they can reach the pedals and see over the wheel,

they are perched on their own in the driver's seat.

Farm kids HAVE to learn to drive early.

Not just because they looooove it and there are no police in the paddocks. 

But because we need extra drivers when we are moving machinery around. 

and God forbid there might one day be an accident happen to the adult

and they need to get to the front gate.

(yes we have tested this one, but the accident happened only 100m from the front gate!)

To meet an ambulance that would never find them in the thousands of acres.

and I've been told that kids who learn early on farms are at a less risk of a serious accident on the public roads as young adults.

And that's why I like them learning now!

Happy Birthday Itty Bitty

This last week my little baby turned 9 years old.

He's been such a delightful little kid who always melts our hearts.

My mum always called him her little angel.

He would spend hours and hours snuggling with her while she battled her Cancer.

He was only 2 and a half when she passed away and he was the most patient snuggler I've ever seen.

When on holidays one year he took out all the kitchen utensils and pretended he was a plumber.

Having never ever seen anyone attending to plumbing before.

He is always into the wildest play that is going on.

and is always ready with a smile.

He can't stand long hair anymore, but I really miss it.

Our boy is no shrinking violet.

And works super hard at his Paparazzi skills.

Not frightened in the fashion stakes.

And will wear whatever will keep him warm.

I find myself regularly dragging him away from all sorts of mischief.

 
This Murray Cod was almost as big as him.
He had no fear in trying to hold it up.
(We did release this old man cod back into the very low river, which dried up about a month later in the drought. He was not found dead thank goodness. He was probably about 50 years old!)

His love for animals is huge and he will spend hours and hours with them.

Forever cheeky.

And a fabulous scrambled egg cook! (usually consumed with BBQ sauce)

You are the reason we are into whipcracking.

After a hard night partying with a few mates for your birthday.

Then by lunchtime, caput

I hope your mates at school enjoyed the brownie tower that you had to have.

Happy Birthday Champ.

cluck cluck cluck

After I put the kids on the bus yesterday morning, and I was walking back to the car,

I heard chirping noises from, I thought, the back verandah. I thought there was a trapped bird.
As I got nearer I realised that it was coming from the shed.

So to the shed I went, and as I got nearer it dawned on me!

The white eggs (Anconas) I had left under a clucky hen when we got home from holidays,

had hatched

and one was outside the chookyard.

It had hatched, fallen out of the nesting box and got itself outside the yard.

The other big hens were probably trying to get it.

They can be savage like that sometimes.

So I gathered him up and moved the whole nesting box with chook, about 6 unhatched eggs and another chick into a smaller cage inside the yard.

When I got home from work with the chick raising mix,

both chickies were outside of that smaller cage.

Itty Bitty helped me round them up again.

They need to stay in there or the big chooks will get them!

Although the big chooks did not seem at all interested in them.

Let's hope they survive.

~

In the garden:

These evening primrose have spread and are serving me well.

It has been really hard to grow anything in that clayey spot.

It's on the inside of the Banksia rose hedge, under the Chinese Elms.

I've now put a star jasmine and a pink honeysuckle in as other groundcovers nearby.

Silverbeet/spinach pies for dinner!

Other countries call them swiss chard.

My new snow pear garden beds are going well.
I've got a pink, white and blue theme going on in the ground covers under them.

The David Austins just keep shining through.

I dead head and cut to the second leaf shoots below the flower. What do others do?

I want more and more growth and flowers. Any tricks?

Happy Birthday Miss MDK

12 years ago I had this little squirt.

Who had next to no hair,

For quite a few years

And then it was glorious.

 You are always so independent

and having dramas with losing those teeth.

 you listen and take everything in.

and take some things out, (like that middle bag from your aunty!)

 Into Everything

And our little gracious champ

This fella came home to visit you,

 

and there wasn't too much of this business. He did this too!

I hope all your friends enjoyed this little chocolate and *purple* number at school.

Happy birthday big girl!

And then the ears pricked!

Sweet baby Gsd

has pricky ears.

I don't have to get her to look up at me to see them up.

They cross over,

and look big like bunny ears.

She is sleeping in her crate.

3 nights now.

Each night is less and less whinging
only 2 mins last night.
and only gentle whimpering.

No more screaming,

thank god.

She sleeps very quietly.

Her crate is right outside our bedroom window.

So she had better keep up the good work!

The second flush of Mary Roses are coming!

And there are baby lemons on the Eurekas.

How many mandarins can a little tree carry?

The Agapanthus are just starting to burst, it seems too early!


The star jasmine is pretty special.
I thought it would die last year when it was pruned with a chainsaw.
A snake got away from me in that liriope on Sunday.
How I will never know, I cannot work it out.
Bad season coming, we had 3 snakes in 2 days.
Still it doesn't beat one night last year when I went out at night and there were 2 at different places on the lawn!