The sun was lovely!

Today has been a big day. We had a top of 13.1oC, though it felt a lot warmer. The sun was lovely!!!

It started with breakfast out. My mum is over and she offered to stay home the the kids. Now that was an experience, we ate a hot breakfast, hot coffee and we chatted without interruptions. Funny the things you appreciate when you have kids.

 We visited the local nursery on the way home and purchased 5 native trees and a few plants for my cottage garden. We are wanting to plant more trees to encourage the birds and to create a bit of a hedge from the main road. We have Callistemon, Bottlebrush & Melaleuca. The Daisies and Aster mix are for the garden at the front of the house. The little pink-flowered plant (in the left pic, can't remember their name) are for under the front fence, hopefully filling the gap between the concrete base of the original fence and the bottom of the new palings. It was lovely being out in the garden again, weeding where needed and imagining a full garden bed.

The other job I had today was building the chicks a new home. Their feathers are almost completely through and as I have new Barnevelder chicks coming tomorrow they need to give up their heat lamp. They are still in the shed and have a heavy blanket over them, especially at night. I know that I have to be prepared to lose one or two but I don't want to and am so looking forward to their first night being over and done with. I used an old tool box from the Waratah mines and put lattice top on it. The lid isn't secure but heavy enough to stay.

I am very proud of myself. The ideas in my head actually came out correctly and it worked! Just got to work on a hinged lid...a solid lid I think.

I found this on the net last week. How cool is it! An easy project. Terracotta pots, blackboard paint, string and you have some lovely pots for the home and as gift.

National Op Shop Week

taken from the abc

National Op Shop Week is an invitiaive of 

Do Something!

I love Op Shopping, although I had many more opportunities while living in Victoria, I get into our local shop whenever I can. Op Shops aren't just about buying though. People need to donate for them to be able to sell and this is what the week's focus is on.

“Giving clothes is a great way to help out the community,” said Jon, the founder of action group Do Something. “These donations are a great way to clean up our cupboards and do something positive for those in need. By reusing clothes it also helps the environment.” original site

Spring clean. Such an old fashioned word but you will feel so much better for it. Clear out what is not needed. I think we collect so much that just isn’t needed. When is enough, enough? If you haven't worn it or used it, pass it on. I found two boxes in my shed labels Garage Sale/eBay. I think I will just donate them. I do not have the time to sit at the computer all day uploading items on eBay and I don’t want to have to store garage sale items.

The saying is ‘if you haven’t used it in 6mths you don’t need it’…I don’t think I will even open the boxes to see inside them should I be tempted J

Spring cleaning is the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the spring time The practice of spring cleaning is especially prevalent in climates with a cold winter.

The most common usage of spring cleaning refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom which would take place in the first warm days of the year typically in spring, hence the name. 

Take care when donating items though. The Op Shops are not dumping grounds for things that can’t be used. I have heard people say ‘Oh but if someone needs clothes they’d wear it’. A good rule for thumb is ‘Donate it if you would wear it or own it’.

- 60 million kilos of usable clothing a year is donated through charity bins and donations.

- A further 15 million kilos of donated textiles are converted into industrial wiper clothes.

- However 25 million kilos of donated textiles are unusable and have to be sent to landfill.

So many treasures can be found in Op Shops, especially the small town ones run by the older ladies in the community. Those are my favourite.

What treasures have you found at Op Shops?

Happy Spring Cleaning and donating.

Raising Chicks

I was asked about my chick raising by a friend/blog follower and though I would expand and explain. Please note, that chicks do need care and a clean house but I think anyone can do it. If unsure, just start with a small amount.

If purchasing fertile eggs, keep in mind they take about 28 days to hatch whether they are in an incubator or under a broody chook. I purchased chicks that were a few days old as I do not have an incubator. 

What you need:

A HOUSE

The chicks' first home is called a "brooder".  A cage suitable for a rabbit or guinea pig is terrific and easy to clean. Some people even use an aquarium, I started with a large plastic tub! Chicks should be kept indoors (or in a heated brooder box) until they have their feathers, about 5-8 weeks. I use a large wooden box with a flyscreen as a assess door, the rest of the box is sealed as they are outside in the shed. The bottom should have a layer of clean litter. Wood shavings are great, shredded paper is also good.

Baby chicks are prone to a number of diseases, most of which can be avoided with proper sanitation.

The size of the brooder depends on how many chicks you have - the chicks should have enough room to move around, and to lay down and sleep. You also need to have enough space in it for a waterer and a feeder.

Similar to what mine looked like for only 4 chicks.
If you have more chicks image this setup in a larger box. 

When the chicks are a month old, add a low roost - a stick or piece of wood dowelling about 4" off the floor. The chicks will jump on it and may even begin sleeping there. Don't put the roost directly under the light, it will be too hot.

Wood shavings on the floor – can be easely changed as needed and keeps the chicks healthy.

FOOD

You need something to hold food and water. I use similar to what is in the photo above but you could use the bottoms of icecream containers. Just make sure that if the chick falls into the water they can get out again.

Chicks will naturally scratch at their food, so a feeder that keeps the food in one place is good.I check on the water and feeder daily and replace or clean when needed. They tend to make a most lovely mess of the water. 

Chicks start out with food called crumbles. I am using ‘Chick Starter’ from a local rural supplier or your pet store may have smaller amounts. The feed is a complete food, it has all that they need – and no other food is necessary. After the first week or two, you can give them a worm or a bug or two from your garden to play with and eat but nothing too big. Check the chicks for poo that is stuck on their backside area and preventing more poo from passing - if you see this, clean off their backside area (you can use a moist towel)

TEMPERATURE

A thermometer in the brooder is helpful, but you can tell if the temperature is right by how the chicks behave. If they are panting and/or huddling in corners farthest from the light, they are too hot. If they huddle together in a ball under the light, they are too cold. You can adjust the distance of the light until it is right, and this is what I do. 

I use a black reptile one like this. Shop around for the best price.


I hope this helps you Sarah! I also hope it makes sense lol

Chookens

It has been a hard day where the chickens are concerned.

I did a lap of the yard this afternoon and found an Isa Brown laying in the garden. There were chooks around her and a Plymouth Rock had been mating with her. She was slowly panting (best way to describe it). Her eyes were tightly shut and she didn't last long.
I went to check on the chooks while the calves' milk heated up and I found a Buff Sussex hen hiding in a corner. She was showing signs of exhaustion with a flopping body and not wanting to stand or sit on her perch. I have brought her inside, given her some Berocca, and we now have to wait and see. She is currently sitting in a box, coughing and throwing herself about. Aj said that she could be just sick but they were all fine this morning and no other chooks seem to be affected.

An update on the Barnavelder chicks (pics 1-5). They are all so different looking at this stage. I was told by the seller that she had used a new rooster this year. I guess I'm a bit of a Guinea Pig but that's ok. Afterall it's a learning experience on raising chicks.

Picture six is one of the four that were meant to have gone under the broody bantam - Blacky...here's hoping that he is a she and that she stays and lays lots of eggs, as MrT has claimed her :)

Here's to a happier Sunday.
What makes you happy? For me, the sunshine and being outside or inside creating with the sun shining through the open door.

Much to share

After the 13 eggs yesterday we only got 5 today. We were chatting about it and wondering whether the weather plays a part in egg production. It was a cold and blustery day today. The chooks were not out and about the yard. They stayed close to the chook house and hayshed. We also lost the brown leghorn  hen last night. She was hit by a car :( Two layers lost, both flighty leghorns which are the most unlikely to get hit. Oh well, that's life on the farm.

We put up temporary fences on Monday and removed the gate from the hayshed. The calves are now free to roam and start eating grass. Aj found it hilarious watching the calves discover what the electric fences were; I felt sorry for them hehehe They are still feeling safest inside but they'll get there.

Aj has been wood splitting today and I have been moving my craft items to a new storage unit; a beautiful retro kitchen cabinet. We went to Waratah yesterday and collected a few more pieces from the lovely Kate and Ben including an organ, and a metal meat safe. I will save the meat save to put up in the boys' bedroom. That is when the twins outgrow their cots and we move the kids around.

 

Thursday nights are foodie nights on the SBS with Gourmet Farmer, a local Tasmanian. Nick makes it look easier than it really is, he obviously has the cash behind him and the farm help that the average person doesn't have, but it's a great show. Destination Flavour and Our Food. A very insightful evening full of ideas to put into the memory bank for later down the track here at Providence Meadows. I am looking forward to tasting our own organically grown chickens; in fact I am seeing some of them are getting ready and my mouth waters. 

Oh and I am excitied to say that I now own a copy of The Contented Chook. My friend Bel put me onto it. Looking forward to making it my chicken guide and note book. :)

What has been the highlight of your week? 

Here’s to a Magnificent Monday!

9am - It has been a very interesting week to say the least.

-          MrW broke one of my large bushel jars with brown sugar in it.

-          MrT wrapped himself in the dining room curtains and pulled them off the wall when he tried to untangle himself

-          MissZ has found her the inner 3yr that isn’t so innocent

-          MissO pulled a coffee over my laptop and I now have a couple of sticky keys

-          I noticed this this morning that our oven has a few major cracks in the hot plate. I think it is from the weight of the milk so I’ll be oven shopping tomorrow.

I miss my man!!!  He should be home today. But if the weather was bad it could be tomorrow.  I’m hoping for today. I have been okay but I have just struggled with having to do the whole outside/inside routine for a week by myself, especially having kids at the age where they just don’t seem to get why I really do need them to help out more than normal. I have realised just how much we share the running of our family and what a support he is to me.

My blessings this week have been:

• Having a friend and her 3 kids come and stay for a night. It was so nice to talk to an adult and not just the kids and animals(lol), and being able to chat and share craft ideas.
•  Having my Aunty & Uncle from Melbourne pop in for a visit and bring a couple of bags full of fruit.
•  MrT spending some time up with our neighbours. He had a ball "helping" with the general farm jobs and hanging out with them. He probably talked their ears off.
• Having someone drop dinner off last night.

My morning routine, my ‘me’ time:

• 6.30 alarm – hit snooze (this time MrT had turned it off and I overslept) 
• Put milk on to heat
• Make coffee for me and bottles for the babies
• Give babies their bottles and head outside with instructions for MrT  to get them out of their cots and sleeping bags
• Feed calves
• Refill calves' water
• Release an enthusiastic flock of chookens. 
• Check their feed and water
• Check on chicks
• Let hen and ducklings out and check their feed and water
• Come inside, another coffee and housework

Well the sun is out today and I have a more positive outlook. 

Here’s to a Magnificent Monday!

5pm - I have still not heard from Aj. It was find in practice to say 'But if the weather was bad it could be tomorrow (tuesday)' but i am trying not to worry.

I'm tired, and the kids have been really unsettled. I have a very tidy house though, I managed to just get into it today! Oh well, dinner time here now. Catch ya.

'Hi, thinking of you'

Today is International ‘R U OK?’ Day.

I have had depression for many years, diagonised when I was 14. For me it is a generational issue with my Grandfather having suffered greatly. I now know my triggers and can see the signs. Tireness, loneliness, a lack of vision of the future and having a mess about me where I can’t see the starting point... This latter is especially hard because of my chaoic creative way of thing. I have had to come to the realisation that I will never have the tidy/spotless house that I want because I have to use things, don’t always pack them up and that just isn’t me. Oh that and I have kids lol

I have seen so many facebook status updates today with the words ‘R U OK?’ To me, writing it as a status update is not asking. Social networking is not the place to being communicating that if you really want to know. It’s like sending a group message and hoping the receiver will think it was a personal text.

Call, text(make it personal), visit someone. You don’t have to ask if they are ok but just a ‘hi, thinking of you’ is better than nothing. For me today it was my neighbours (where we got the calves) dropping off some milk, saying hello, and going to look at the calves.

They then took MrT for a short while to sort some cows giving me a wonderful hour or so where I could knuckle down and get some housework done while the others slept/watched a movie.

I made this up today. I want to take the photos with a camera other than my phone and to add the ducklings and some daffodil flowers too. I have a couple of shelves on the kitchen dresser for my collection of yellow things. I find yellow so cheery and happy. The teapot pictured below is my latest find.

May you be encouraged and blessed this week xox

(I apologise for my grammar/spelling mistakes but my proof reader is currently somewhere between Cradle Mountain and Lake St Claire. Its a five day hike and he should be home Monday or Tuesday if snowed in a day. He'll blog about it when he is home.)

 Why hurry over beautiful things? Why not linger and enjoy them? Clara Schumann 

Secret Garden

I am writing this blog outside today. Aj moved the dog kennel and replaced it with an old garden setting. I should share my ideas via my blog more often hehe

I have a very clingy cuddly 3yr old on my lap, who is asking me lots of questions, two are asleep and the other is outside riding his bike and enjoying the sunshine…ahh the beautiful sunshine, shame about the cool wind.

My friend Rach aka Squiggly Rainbow does a weekly garden blog and asks for people to share what they are doing in their garden. As I share regularly with you about my garden I thought today I would share what I would like to do.

I would like to have a Secret Garden. We have an old door from the precious owners or maybe the owners before them, and I want to use it. I would like an open space inside with maybe a table and chairs or a water feature. Maybe I use even use some old window frames and make it into a bit of a cubby, giving the kids lots of areas to run, hide and play in the garden. I see the wall of the garden being plants with an occasional timber wall. Here are some ideas I have found that inspire me.

I hope that you are enjoying your day and that the sun is out where you are :)

xox

More chicks and Strawberries

Yesterday 4 of us went to Wilmot to collect 13 beautiful little 5-day-old Barnevelder chicks. It took 2 hours from our place. It was a lovely drive, although the road was very windy at the end and driving was making even me feel car sick. There were some most lovely homes, letterboxes and other sights to see. I would have taken more photos if I didn't have a little 3yr old saying 'I want to go home!' in the back seat. She is normally fine, but not that day.

Barnevelder

The Barnevelder is a popular breed renowned 

for its dark brown eggs. It originated in Holland

 and is a placid, friendly bird easy to contain. 

They are dark brown with double lacing on the

feathers and are excellent layers.

Aussie Goldminer letterbox, Workman & his dog letterbox, brilliant door on a tree at the entrance of a driveway, Mt Roland (in the background of the property where I collected the chicks) and 3 of the chicks.

We built the chicks a new home today. Four of them in a little-used bathroom was great, but 17 means they need to go outside. They are set up in the shed now.

Strawberries

I had wanted to do a gardening blog but I guess the chicks are a tad more exciting at the moment. But I will show you how the strawberries are going in the milk bottles. I do need to replace or add some more raspberry canes below them though. The dog has had a nibble at them.

I have some lettuce in an old teapot that has just sprouted and my oregano has also just sprouted. I would like to get some more quirky things to put my herbs in. I'm wanting the herbs and lettuce, etc, close to the house.

I need to do something outside the side door. Maybe we need an outdoor setting...I'm hanging for the summer :)

Night all xo  

4 ducklings

This is a short and sweet follow up blog on the ducklings.

We are the proud owners of 4 of the cutest ducklings ever!!!

The cage stunk!!! So I got in there tonight and pulled out the egg shells and a rotten egg. That one was just an old duck egg. The chook is the best, she just allows me to come and go and is so patient with me. Never pecking, just ever-watching.

I took the chicks and two ducklings into Mr T's class room today for show and tell. He was over the moon when I told him there wasn't just one but four ducklings. The class loved it and the chicks/ducklings survived the 'show' part :)

I want to share some gardening stuff with you over the weekend. And please don't forget to leave a comment if there is anything you want to know or chat about. xo

‘I’m so excited, I could cry’

Well well well. What a day!

Mr T wanted some baby chicks…so we got another broody chook (an Indian Game Bantam sitting on some old duck eggs) and 4 little chicks.

The plan was to take out the duck eggs after dark and replace them with the chicks and hope that she took to them. Instead, I found a little duckling starting to hatch. The chicks are back inside under the heat lamp and we will wait a few days to see if the other two eggs hatch or if they were just ‘old’ eggs J

Mr T’s comment as he went off to bed… ‘I’m so excited, I could cry.’ Beautiful boy! 

Well at 9.30pm we went out to check on things and the egg wasn’t any further on and was smelly!!!

I broke open the egg and the duckling was eager to be rid of it. It is such a special situation to be in to see a duckling emerge from an egg, to see it unravel itself and stretch out. It had pooed in the egg (hence the smell) so I think it was stressed.

I put it back under the hen and as we were shutting the door on the cage a little 'chirp, chirp' could be heard. Beautiful, just beautiful. I feel so blessed!

Crazy week

I am watching Call The Midwife while writing you to all. We have eaten our 'adult' dinner of turkish bread, dips, brie and olive oil/bush dust :) Mmmmm......

It has been a crazy week here. Aj has been on lock-up at the school and not home until 6ish each night. We got the calves on Tuesday and they need feeding twice daily. I feed the calves at 6.30 till 7am before the morning routine starts. I have been feeding the children at 4.30 getting them all ready for bed, giving the bubs a bottle and running out to do the evening feed. It seemed to be working, well that was until Thursday ;) A friend dropped in and our Father's Day craft took longer than thought; we had family arriving from Melbourne for the weekend and the school concert was on that night at 7. It was rush rush rush but all good.

Father's Day Craft. A bunch of
painted hands, and chocolates.

Feeding Shady while the others try and eat me or the bottle

A large name decorated for my niece for her belated
birthday. I highlighted a few of the butterflies on the paper
with ModPodge. I was really happy with the outcome.

It has been wonderful having my sister-in-law and nephew/niece over. The kids have loved having their cousins to play with. They were playing hide-n-seek today. So much fun helping them find hidey-holes. Brought back so much wonderful memories and so even I joined in too.

I babysat on Friday and Saturday. For payment: Meet Ravi, our new Brown Leghorn Rooster.


He came with a Brown Leghorn hen too but I couldn't find her at the time of taking pics :) They are a beautiful pair and just look at the colours in this rooster. Ravi is very friendly and was eating out of our hand today; not bad for having only been with us for 2 days.
Ok, the pics aren't uploading so I'll post them tomorrow :)

Sleep well all. I'm off. xox