We have had a week of frosts at night and warm weather during the day. It has actually got to the point now where hats are needed, sun cream is needed and I am having to stay out of the sun at certain times of the day. Luckily there is always somewhere in the shade in the garden so that is great news from a gardening point of view and things are now starting to grow. My most of my seeds are now seedlings and I can now see peas that have finally germinated. I have dug through another bed, this one by the laundry room door which much to the disgust of the chooks featured very little for them to eat. Into that bed, which is unfenced and outside of the veg plot area, went the ‘spare’ onions, ‘spare’ bronze fennel and some more garlic bulbs. Hopefully nothing in the way of local wildlife will actually like any of that. Certainly the chooks don’t which is good news and I should get away without having to fence it in.
Overnight frosts againThe view from breakfast earlier in the week. The lower paddocks were all frozen again this morning.
The chooks continue to entertain me no end chasing me around the garden and generally getting in the way. Luckily the garden is ‘rough and ready’ aka gone wild through a lack of maintenance, so their devotion to eating insects or anything that moves isn’t going to harm the population and may actually improve matters for us. It also won’t have and so far hasn’t had any impact of the general tidiness or content of the garden. It seems that other than wood sorrel, potentially clover and another weed that is as of yet unidentified, they don’t actually like anything other than the occasional touch of grass. So the lobelia, petunias, lavender and a few other things that have gone in remain untouched.
So far this week we have had 21 eggs from them and we have another day to go yet. I never expected this many eggs from birds as old as they are and one of the birds is not laying at all at the moment (due to her confinement because of problem behaviour). Even CC, the 6 year old is laying most days which is great fun because if she is later laying her egg or out foraging/eating when JJ our youngest is laying she then tries to create her own nest in the sawdust under their roosting perches (I have taken to removing deposits every other day, so this is a whole lot cleaner than it sounds). Once she has made this nest, she then goes wacky, totally wacky trying to cover herself frantically in camouflage material ranging from twigs to leaves to sawdust. Apparently only a few hens do this, and why she has started to is anyone’s guess, but how exactly a few leaves or bits of sawdust are going to hide a 2.5kg chook is another of life’s mysteries.
So how is VV (Vindictive Vickie or Trouble as she has been nicknamed) getting on? Well she isn’t really liking life in confinement, she never was going to and it was only ever going to be temporary. She has started to quieten down, but only just and today after the other 4 birds had all lain, we have let her out into the garden with the rest of the flock. It instantly split the flock again into their original 2 flocks, but they are now all standing under the conifer bush cleaning their feathers off. However, she has a preference to remain by herself rather than integrate with the rest of the flock… At least there are no food arguments or the likes, but tonight she goes back into her cage because we have taken the decision that we want to give her a second chance and the only way now we can do that, after a week of her in confinement and things only just starting to quieten down, and its not fair to her to keep her that way much longer (space requirements, food and foraging requirements, socialisation etc) is to adopt another chicken. Only this one is going to put her in her place and stop all fights between the chooks. We are adopting a rescue rooster named Ian. We decided that between the frogs, the birds, the kookaburras and everything else, adding a rooster to the noises here at dawn and dusk (and most of the day and night) isn’t going to make that much difference. And he needed a home, we need a solution to the issue with VV and don’t really want to split her from her ‘sister’ and another from the rescue (and the only one she can’t bully). He is coming from a Sanctuary for Roosters. He’s 18 months old and is going to be in heaven. Provided that we always round up all the eggs, there won’t be an issue resulting in any unexpected additional numbers to the flock.
Ian, the rooster we are adopting tomorrow
So a few other pictures of the wildlife around here. We had been told that there were Red Deer in the area, but until now we had not seen any at all, or any signs of them. Earlier in the week, that changed with this visitor to one of the lower paddocks. The following day, Stuart saw two of them as they nearly ran into him whilst he was driving to work along our track.
The White-faced Heron that has taken to roosting nearby.
The White-Faced Heron that is probably nesting on the opposite side of the creek from us which actually has a worse call that the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos.
Not the best picture, but a male Splendid Fairy Wren. We have quite a few of them around here.
One of the cute and colourful birds that are nesting in a massive honey suckle near to the sun room window. He frequently displays in the veg plot. As you can see, he is tiny so getting any pictures of him is quite challenging through a window. He (and they) are a noisy bunch however.
Some visitors from a month ago, the Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo. We had a flock of around 15 or so of them come through looking for pine cones.
Its been a busy week here at 230A. I find I haven’t managed to get any time out to post another update. So despite the glorious, if a touch cold (3°C this morning), sunshine and lovely colours and light this morning, I thought I would try to remember what went on last week.
Well I know that Spring really is finally arriving, albeit with a difficult start. We have had a lot of rain, and then some more. The water tanks are almost full, and the little one (3,250L) keeps overflowing whilst the big one (22,275L) doesn’t seem to want to get full, so I have taken us off the big one and moved us over to the little one. I thought I may as well be using the water that was running out of it! It is just a shame I can’t capture more rain water from some of the bigger roofs around the place! I still want to get a solar shower installed, even if it is a makeshift one (well it was never going to be anything else was it?). We have another roof with guttering on it already (the studio), it just doesn’t get much sunshine from what I can see. But if we could somehow change which end the water runs off (it runs off on the uphill end of the building next to the entrance for some mad reason, then back down the mountainside past the building!), we could maximise both the sunshine the shower gets and keep it out of sight, plus the drop would be better… and it is not as though anyone here is going to see us shower like that. We may as well use the free water and enjoy the view (he, he).
Two of the new chooks have settled in really well (Just Jenny, who is JJ2 and Chatty Charmaine, CC) but the 3rd is causing a few problems (Vindictive Vickie, VV or Trouble as she is rapidly being renamed). VV has taken to bullying the others whenever she can, with the exception of CC, and is pulling the others out of the nesting boxes before they have even lain the egg she is trying so desperately to sit on. The trouble is that when you give her an egg to sit on, she only sits on it for a couple of hours before going off. She needs to be sitting on them night and day before we could give her a couple of chicks to raise and deal with the broodiness that way. Mind you that said, last week we had 17 eggs. Even CC, who is in her 6th laying season (so could be 7 years old) laid 2 eggs and yesterday laid another. JJ has resumed laying eggs once she could get into the nesting boxes, she lays everyday without fail and is our youngest chook. HH (in her 2nd laying season) lays 2 days on, one day off. But she is a very small, light bird and a heritage breed so I don’t expect her to lay every day. Chooks don’t normally it is just that they have been bred to lay everyday by the egg industry. JJ2 is in her 3rd laying season, and I wasn’t expecting her to lay at all. She is now laying almost everyday and she lays very big eggs! VV is the same breed and I think the same age. She actually laid for the first time on Sunday which really took us by surprise but since then hasn’t lain again because of the stress of being separated from the rest of the flock, not that she actually spent much time with it when it was her own choice. She would usually be elsewhere doing something else entirely. Hopefully some time out in the naughty box will help her sort life out!
The Naughty Room
Oi
Visiting Hours. Actually they all roost together, in the same stable now renamed a chook house and can see each other. They all have to walk past her to get to their food and the enclosed outdoor area of the inner enclosure, so it is not like they are completely separate.
Hopefully this new arrangement which is only temporary will allow time for her to socialise without blood being shed. Lots of feathers have been shed to get to this stage and we have been talking with the lady who rescued the 3 birds in the first place as to what to do and how best to proceed. Ideally a hen needs a minimum of 1m² space, the recommended amount is 3m² per bird if they are kept confined to a certain area. VV has about 1.8m² at the moment, so it can really only be a temporary solution. If it does not work, then she will have to be returned to rescue lady where she had less freedom but was less of a problem. The other 2 have integrated into our flock without an issue luckily.
Yesterday and peace and quiet. From left to right, JJ2, CC, HH and JJ. Until I got my camera out, JJ2 was also sitting under the conifer bush enjoying doing nothing!
Today, VV was a lot calmer and has actually taken to sitting down and ignoring the laying chooks (so far only JJ) which is a really good sign. Hopefully once she has been ‘reprogrammed’ she can come out permanently. I’ll arrange for her to have a stretch of her legs later today.
So what else? Well the place is starting to flower. There are loads and loads around, mostly of the same thing. The lawn is less of a lawn and more of a weed patch – there’s a surprise and the paddocks have the most amazing green grass, such to the point where I am seriously considering a switch! I could sell the grass in the paddocks it is so good! Just typical though isn’t it. There are fruit trees everywhere – mostly plums or cherry I would guess, but we will see.
And closer. With a little more detail. They do really look cherry tree like. If they are, then I am going to have a lot of cherries, if they fruit!
As you can see, they are a mass of flowers right now.
In one of the lower paddocks, there is this clump of trees currently in flower. The flowers again are very much like a cherry tree, only pure white. I have no idea what they are yet.
This tree is in flower by the washing line. As you can see the leaves are quite dark in colour at the moment. The flowers are cherry tree like, a pale pink. I wait to see what happens with it
Then there are a few plants (not many and only a few) starting to show themselves in the garden. Not many, but a few.
We actually have something in flower in the garden that has survived. It is most likely a bulb of some form, and has only just come into flower.A close up of those flowers and leaves. It is planted in a Eucalyptus Gum tree that has been dug out (only very slightly though and I am currently digging out the others to make more room for soil and plants) and filled in with plants, topped off with quartz found locally and a few ‘plants’ planted in them. Most of these tree pots are, however, empty.
This pretty little plant is in flower. I’m sure it is considered to be a weed and the chooks love it for some reason, but I have precious few plants in flower and tbh, precious few plant other than Eucalyptus trees, honeysuckle and bamboo, so for the time being it remains. I can’t think for the life of me what it is called though despite recognising it from the UK.
The weekend, was as usual, rather busy, but Saturday being as busy as it was meant lunch out as a treat, so we went to our favourite restaurant which was packed out to the max. Even the outdoor seating (much more than inside) was all full which is fantastic to see. I overheard one person say that they had no idea so many vegans existed in Canberra! It’s a vegan restaurant, but I know that not everyone who visits it is vegan because it is so good. And they have now started a Thursday night opening as well! We had the special which was a burger with marinated tempeh, coconut bacon, coconut cheese, balsamic onions, and mushrooms served with a kale salad. It was, as usual, excellent if a touch messy to eat, but the best option is just to accept that you are going to get your hands messy and get on with it. As usual, I had too much! There was a vanilla cheesecake which was wonderful and creamy and too nice. The cashew nut milk hot chocolate was as always wonderful as well.
And we were home for 2:30pm which was a real surprise. I was expecting it to be much later. Sunday was spent making the changes to the chook house and some gardening, what gardening you can when the chooks decide to stand on the ground you are trying hard to turn over with the fork already in there. One of us now distracts them, whilst the other can get on with some gardening and when we don’t uncover enough insects, worms or grubs in general, they go and investigate what the other of us is up to. Stop digging for a few minutes and you can almost guarantee that they will be elsewhere!
So the only other thing that has happened is that there were a couple of family birthdays this week, so Happy Birthday needs to be said to both Sheila (Stuart’s mum) and Annie (Stuart’s Sister-in-Law).
And I managed to get to go to a garden centre. I wanted some wellies (gum boots here in Australia) and failed on that front. I needed some more outdoor gloves (I seem to get through them at a rate of knots) succeeded and wanted a few plants to brighten up the garden a touch, also succeeded on that front. A few veg and herbs were also purchased and they are being planted out slowly. The potatoes have finally started to show their heads above the soil, so have been earthed up which now almost frees up another raised border to be planted, but part of that is for courgettes and cucumbers so I can’t yet plant those out because yet again overnight it was 3°C, so too cold for them. But the onions, garlic, leeks, kale, cabbage and a few others can be planted out. I have also seen the first signs that the peas have germinated, but there is yet to be any sign regarding the beans – either variety. The fennel, thyme, parsley and coriander are all starting to grow. The marjoram, oregano rocket and peppermint remain indoors for the moment however. As do the tomatoes, aubergine and chilli plants.
The border outside our bedroom window now has so petunia and lobelia in it.There was a bird table here, but it was totally rotten, so I have changed the rocks around and made a new patch, and planted it up. As you can see the lawn leaves a lot to be desired!The ‘rcokery’ by the goldfish pond and the path to the kitchen. It now has a lavendar, some lovely pink corel plant and more lobelia in it. If they survive that is.
I did forget to mention we had our first harvest of mushrooms! Just under 1kg. Mushrooms are very expensive to buy in the supermarkets here, over AUD$11 per kg so growing our own may work out cheaper. It is certainly tastier anyhow.
Our first mushroom harvest
A few wild flowers from around the place.
This looks distinctly like a carnation! I actually have no idea what it is other than a wild flower than should soon flower!
No idea what it is, but it looks like a Ling or Heath, not Heather. I shall have to try to find out.
A close up of one of the Acacia or Wattle trees in our garden. The backdrop are the ones across the creek.
These trees, with the yellow flowers, are Acacia or Wattle trees. They are in flower now around us, but flowered over a month ago in Canberra!
This is one of a row of trees planted behind the chook house. It has me stumped.
And finally, I found this. A wombat skull with wombat droppings on it. Who said they have no sense of humour!
I’ll rip your head off and… A wombat skull with wombat crap on it. The irony!
