No, this is not a cooking post. It is an excuse for some pretty pictures of chickens, and a way for me to assuage my guilt about not posting recently. I’ll explain why soon. Get ready, we’ve been working on a Big Project.… Continue Reading
It’s been a year since I started the Mediterranean Garden and it’s really only just starting to look garden-like. We’ve all seen those renovation shows where people create impressive landscapes in 24 hours, but real life gardens are not instant. I can’t help thinking that half those… Continue Reading
Hello, how are you doing out there after the excesses of the festive season? If you’re at the stage where finishing off that last box of chocolates has started to feel like something to cross off the to-do list, you’re probably ready for… Continue Reading
It’s that time. Time to harvest the farmlet vampire deterrent crop. From the original 22 cloves, I harvested 17 bulbs. What happened to the other five is a mystery. Should I be looking for a crucifix wielding hedgehog nicknamed Buffy? Or just a… Continue Reading
I like to think I’m a believer in the permaculture ethic of fair share, but really, enough is enough. Since my autumn planting of kale, the humans in this ecosystem have managed to scrounge only two meals from 12 plants. The rest was gobbled by gastropods. Northland snails… Continue Reading
Yesterday was so warm and sunny here that it felt like spring. I was out working in the veggie garden, and so were the bees. It’s the first time I’ve seen them this far from the bee tree since the… Continue Reading
Well dear Readers, having talked about our zombie defense prep, we now turn our attention to growing an effective vampire deterrent. You can never be too careful when you’re living out in the wilds of Northland, you know. All this to… Continue Reading
The in-laws visited last week. Mama is 84, Papa is 90. It had been quite some time since the Forbearing Husband had seen them in person. Not knowing how frail they might be, he had thoughtfully organised wheelchairs to move them between gates at… Continue Reading
I feel unusually organised. Not because I’ve finished unpacking (heck no!), but because I’ve just placed my order for the fruit trees we will plant over winter. The voucher was given to me about this time last year by my lovely workmates (now ex-workmates, but still dear friends). At the time… Continue Reading
I thought it was time for a little update on the garden situation. Those of you who were concentrating may have noticed that I did indeed divert the Northland drought with my Mediterranean garden experiment. That was no thanks to the local farming… Continue Reading
