The lesson of "a little bit, often"

Ok well I have realised that getting out in the garden and doing a little bit at a time can really help.

With being away and I have found the imense value of being able to spend half an hour here and there looking after the garden. When I go out to check the chooks for eggs and food and water each day, or just for a wonder around the garden in the afternoon, pulling a weed out here and there, or spending a few hours on the weekend, tidying things up (like weeding the veggie patch, and pulling out marshmallow plants (or whatever is starting to take over) when I come across them).

We have been having some rain here (so my garden and rain water tank is telling me - yes I might be a little nuts) so what has been barren ground has now turned into knee high weeds, which I know will die off once the weather warms up, and I will be left with the sticky skeletons of the once lush weeds.

The view from the inlet of the rainwater tank (5400L/1200G) only a couple more rungs and it will be overflowing

The last weekend I was home I did a quick calculation of the amount of weeds in the back yard and the time that it would take for me to pull them out, and came to the conclusion that the time I had would come nowhere near the time needed, so out came the whipper-snipper. After a few hours, a fuel refill, untangling line a few times, and a few breaks for me, the yard looked a little tidier. Hopefully by doing this (and yes I know it wont be a quick fix) I will stop some of the seeds forming and also create some mulch, might as well put those weeds to some use. One good thing is it has meant that the veggie patch is doing well.

Yes those rows are still there theres just a few weeds in there too.

This weekend it has been raining (well light showers here and there) but I did manage to get out and pull up the weeds in the "Native Garden". That one wasn't whipper-sniped because the weeds were taller than the plants, and I didn't want any "accidents" so after what didnt seem like that long we have plants again. I didnt take a before photo but you can see by the piles of weeds around the place it looks much better than it did, some of these would have been past knee height. The bricks are to stop the chooks from deciding that is a good place to have a dust bath, oblivious to the fact that there is a plant there that I want to stay in the ground!!! LOL. The chooks had a ball waiting to see what grubs and insects were being uncovered, of course for the sole purpose for them to eat.

I am still around!!!

Ok I just realised how long it has been since I have posted on here, well I guess I have a pretty good reason: work has me working out on the Oodnadata Track, near Oodnadatta, which is about a days drive from where I live, and I am spending a week at a time out there coming home for a few days in the office and then off again, so life has been kind of hectic.

While I am out on site we are lucky that we have working (sometimes not all that well) Satelite telephones and satelite (free to air) TV, definitely no internet where we are, not even on those fancy new mobile phones people are getting around with now days (no mobile coverage at all outside of the "major" towns like Coober Pedy.

Winter is here, Good time for Pea and Ham Soup

Well the days are getting shorter and shorter, it is cold and.....wait for it....it is raining.....yep it is winter!

I thought I would share a recipe I made for Pea and Ham Soup Which turned out delicious. It is super easy and doesnt use anything to fancy.

Here goes.....

Into a slow cooker put some peeled and chopped potatoes, and a couple of peeled and chopped carrots (I put about 4 potatoes, and 2 carrots) then out in a bacon hoc, then around the edge of that put in soup mix (I discovered that I didn't have any soup mix left in the cupboard, so I put in what I could find in the pantry, a pour of red lentils, a pour of yellow split peas, and a pour of pearl barley) then fill up the slow cooker with water and turn it on.

In my case I had to go in to work, but by tea time it was lovely. Big chunks of meat had fallen off the hoc, the peas and lentils had cooked through to make a lovely thick soup and the potatoes and carrots had cooked enough to still be a bit chunky.

On a cold wintery day which we even had rain it was very much appreciated, and all for very little effort. Much easier than doing it on the stove top and forgetting to keep stirring it and ending up with that lovely burnt flavour though it.

Rain, Rain, Lovely rain

Its a long weekend here (Queens Birthday) and as I sit here writing this the rain is starting to get heavier, in yet another shower that is passing through.

It has been raining steadily since Thursday afternoon, stopping for yesterday afternoon long enough to do a load of washing and hang it out to dry before starting again last night. It has been truly wonderful a nice soaking rain, not enough to cause the yard to flood but enough to ensure the ground is wet for more than the top couple of mm's (the usual thing around here).

Checking the rainwater tank yesterday (cant convince myself to go out today and brave the wet and cold today) it is at least a third full and I think after today's efforts should be pushing the halfway mark if not more.

Now if only it would stop long enough for me to get the natives (mostly eromophilas) that I bought this week into the ground. I managed to decide which ones were going where, dug the holes, and filled the holes with water (before I knew there was rain forecasted) but didn't get around to planting them so they are sitting in there pots, in their holes waiting for the rain to stop so they can enjoy their new home.

Some pics

I just thought I'd share some pics of what is happening in my garden

I haven't been spending much time in the garden lately and it was a lovely surprise to go for a wonder and see that after a few mm's of rain a few weeks ago things have suddenly sprung to life and I even have water in the rainwater tank.

This is something that greeted me last week in the native garden an Eremophila Maculata in flower

The Acacia Argyrophylla (Golden Grey Mulga) growing new shoots

The veggie patch which is struggling along, and I think I have decided that in the future I'll grow most things to seedling stage and then put them in the bed, It has been very difficult to try to work out what is weeds and what is a plant and then there is the elusive rocket thief which has left me with 1 rocket plant out of a row (decided that the two leaf stage plants were irresistible)

From left to right, there is rows of silverbeet, ruby chard, rocket, broad beans, beetroot, and carrots, and that bushy thing in the back is a pepino.

This is something I noticed this morning, one of the succulents in the front garden is flowering

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend, the weather here is just wonderful, the nights are getting chilly but the day today is sunny with blue sky and just warm enough to lure you outside into it (which is why I am going to sign off and enjoy it while I can).