Finally....

 

Finally we have had enough rain for this month! Finally I cannot walk outside unless I have the 'gumbies' on (wellies)! FINALLY..... we have a rainwater tank (2 actually) that catches and holds drinkable rain water!!! Both houses on this property have big old ripple iron rainwater tanks - bot have dirty amber, water with insects and other delights coming from the tap, BOTH have been on the replacement list for the 8 years we have been here!!!

 

 

A lovely example of a farm rain water tank - NOT........ this one is hooked up to our house that we have been in for 4 and a bit years. I have been buying 10ltr containers of drinking water in all that time. NOW I don't have to!!!!!

 

 

NOW I have 2 of these....... one for the front gutter and one for the back gutter. The front one is FULL!!!! The back one is not because the gutter dips in the middle and the rain water still runs over onto the back veranda thingy and then onto the garden (which is another sore point!). So someone will be getting onto the roof and fixing said gutter so I have another tank full of fresh rainwater!!

It isn't all hunky dory yet as I wanted the first 2 tanks on raised platforms so another one could be sat beside them - a little lower with an overflow pipe joining the two. That will happen sometime over the net 12 months (because I will see to it) but in the meantime I have one of these full - 1000ltrs of rain water - YIPPEE!!!

to think we have heaps of these tanks coming and going from our yard and not once did we think about using them for the house rainwater catchment - but I had a light bulb moment last week, made the suggestion and VOILA it all happened. better than waiting to buy the $2,000 plus one he was looking at!! AND there will be more of them around the house in time to come - and a pump and pipes to be able to turn on the tap for rainwater in our kitchen!!! Meantime I am happy to walk outside and fill the  water dispenser straight from the tap. Now for a break of a couple of weeks from the rain (I am very grateful for what we have had mind you) so that we can start the spraying the weeds routine again, and catch up on a few other jobs that it has been too wet to do.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

PS: the old rainwater tanks will be upcycled/recycled somewhere else and as something else within the perimeters of the house yard!! waste not want not here!!

 



No Need For Words!!!

 

Two days, 54mms - BLISS!!!....

 



Sunday Find...

 

On Thursday last week Karah went back up to Bredbo with our eldest son, Adam, and grandson Lachlan. They had come down to pick up some hay orders for Canberra and to get their horse crate for the back of the crate. While they were here they also loaded up 2 of Adam's remaining 3 horses (the 3rd got to stay behind because after 2 hours of trying to get it loaded it was still looking at the truck from the outside at ground level!!)  They were going home to load up their living gear and competition horses and heading back to Coolamon (about one and a half hours from here) to compete in a weekend of horse events. So we had to go over to Coolamon on Sunday to bring Karah home and to see Lachlan and Abbey compete. WELL.... we spotted a 2nd hand / junk shop at Ganmain (where Greg's family hails from) on the way over so of course we had to stop in on the way back.

 

 

The front window - just a sample of what is inside.

 

You need hours to dig through everything.

 

From the floor to the ceiling. The only way I could find Karah and she could find me was by calling out to each other.

 

It was sideways down every walkway and sometimes climbing over things.

 

lots of doubling back and finding another track to get to where you want to go!

 

probably more of a junk shop but I could fill in half a day or more in here!! Soooo..... here are photos of what I purchased - what I am going to do with them I have no idea but I will think of something!!

 

 

This I think might make a project case with a few additions - thread pockets, needle pocket, scissors etc - a bit more thinking to be done on this one.

 

 

And this one - I will probably clean up and keep for my own use also - just as it is a writing compendium!! Might have to do a little personalising to it though!!

 

*****************

Cheryl from over at Gone Stitchin' is once again organising her popular Santa sack Swap

 

 

 

- if you think you would like to be a part of this great swap pop on over to the dedicated blog HERE and leave a comment. Cheryl has extended the close off until the June 11th. You have plenty of time to make the gifts - from July to November - and it is a lot of fun to make but a lot more fun unwrapping your gifts made just for you!!

 

 



MORE FROM THE LAST WEEK!!

 

A bit of a focus on food here this week!! A walk around the vegie garden this morning - last remaining basil plant - going to seed now but still a few leaves to pick. A couple of 'to do's' for through the week - gather the seeds to propagate for spring and cut all the leaves off to dry. The latest planting of broccoli.

 

 

broccoli, cabbage, silverbeet and cauliflower - first winter planting well on their way.

lettuce ready for continual picking.

 

 

seeds coming through - I believe there are carrots and parsnips here, along with celery, cauliflowers and cabbage seedlings just planted this week.

 

last years strawberry planting - well and truly established - runners starting to root into the ground - soon time to find another area to start planting the runners!! And yes we did get some nice strawberries from the plants through summer.

 

Pak Choy/Bok Choy or whatever they are called and celery plants. Need to remember to save all of the juice and milk containers to make the guards for the celery!!

 

weeds grow really well in our yard!!! At least we know the ground is fertile with the stinging nettles flourishing. I finally found my long 'welders' gloves through the week so now I can pull the nettles out!! Thinking I will soak them in water and make some green liquid manure tea for the garden beds!! Just cannot bring myself to make what I have always known as weeds into something I personally am going to eat - no matter how many people tell me to!!!

 

 

Our first plantings for winter are starting to come to maturity fast.

 

 

Our freezer has been well stocked this week. It is salami making weekend here and these are the bones leftovers and pork sausages from our salami pigs. A friend of Greg's and his father make the salami - our share will arrive in 5 weeks. Underneath the pork is lamb that Greg did on Saturday and underneath that is chicken (commercially raised) and beef (homegrown) that my stepson gave us. The only problem is that I now have to unpack the freezer to get to anything below the first layer. My good upright freezer decided to stop working so it is at the freezer doctors - be glad to get it home - uprights are so much easier to pack and to get what you want out of!!! I still buy fish, sausages and mince but what we produce ourselves is quite a saving!!

 

 

Last nights dinner - lamb fry, heart and bacon with gravy (there was a glass of a nice white beside it on the table also!!) - one of my most loved comfort meals from my childhood!!

 

New season lemons starting to ripen.

 

Old and new season navel oranges - the old ones are starting to get a green skin but we have just about finished them just in time to start on the new season ones!! I am not an orange eater but Greg and Karah usually have one each day.

 

New season mandarins starting to ripen.

 

It is always a good feeling to know we have a good supply of home grown on hand. We are spoilt and I always feel a bit guilty saying we have a roast a couple of times a week, or a casserole made from the expensive cuts of beef - but we are very appreciative that we are able to do that and we do love our home grown!!

 

All of our vegie gardening is done straight into ground level beds or raised beds made from recycled containers and materials. The bed below is the next in line to become raised - using 1000ltr containers cut in half (you can see some already in use in the top right corner of the photo). The digging and maintenance of planted vegies is so much easier for both Greg and I in the raised beds that we are both looking to convert the whole garden over. The joys of getting older!!

 

 

Re-arranging the vegie garden means I have to shift my compost heap. On the left is the remains of it which will be shovelled onto existing raised beds. just have to decide where I am going to put the new compost heap!! I am also gathering any old carpet I can get my hands on - getting fed up with my green thumb weed growing and then having to spray to get rid of them - the carpet is going down on all the walking areas between the raised beds. The rocks are all being slowly moved into the yard garden - going around existing beds so I can top up with soil and keep the mulch in (our dogs love the straw mulch for sleeping on and in!!).

 

Have a great week everyone!!! 



THE WEEK SO FAR

 

 

Sunday morning brunch - pikelets, jam and cream with mum because we can!!

 

 

New Chrysanthemums planted and mulched

 

First frost of winter two days in!

 

the start of Naomi's memorial garden in our back yard. 

 

Promise of stunning flowers to come very shortly!!