in between raindrops

in the garden is where we can be found lately
ambling in and out between rain showers
the raindrops are a good reminder for another cup of tea
to ponder our space
his creating
her creating (they are frogs by the way)
and Mama's creating
still shifting mountains of earth, slow but steady
it's all taking shape

to stay or to go

That top photo up there was taken just yesterday afternoon.
Don't be fooled by a nice fat bowl filled with produce though....take a closer look.
Sadly the girl and I had just plucked every single one of those fruitfly bitten peaches from our tree.
What a abundant crop that could have been....look at just how many that tree was bearing and I had already thinned the crop out!
I know there are always wins and losses in the gardening stakes.... and organic gardening especially is a fine art of observation, timing, wile, guile and some sacrifice.
Sacrifice I was aware of. I knew the fruifly were going to wage a pretty wild attack on these little fuzzies....I mean it is a peach tree...in Queensland!....in Spring!
And I had bagged as many fruit as I could and that I thought we would eat and cook.
But as all is fair in love and war those little blighters somehow managed to bite the fruit right through the bags ....so fare thee well peach babes before any more hatch out.
In addition to losing all these I also threw about half a dozen of my capsicums to the chickens.
Note to self.....bag everything....if that even helps. Sigh.

So the question stands.
Should the tree stay or should it just go?

I guess in any decision making process there are the pro's and con's.
And there are pro's of course.
Obviously it's a good bearer.
It performs such a pretty Winter show...and brings bees (of all kinds) to the garden.
I've been adoring our little native resident lady leafcutter for quite some time now. There she is above busily cutting those peach leaves and making nests for her babes in our bamboo.

But I guess in any productive garden...and from a sense of self sufficiency.... is it beneficial enough to be maintaining a tree, not particularly suited to this climate, for the blossoms and bugs?

Care to cast a vote?

birds and bits

With my permaculture garden taking shape in the backyard there was a need for the addition of a water element. Of course I had/have many plans for this but one we completed this weekend with the addition of a new bird (and bug!) bath.
We'd saved many parts of a tree we recently cut down (to make way for more and more practical growing space) to use around the place. How could we waste such an awesome resource? And the best bit we saved... the trunk crown...a place where Mia used to sometimes sit enjoying a birds eye view... has now made the base of our new bird bath. I dug (and dug!) it into the centre of what will soon be another large garden bed. I think it will keep all the birds that seem to be visiting us so much lately quite happy....

And for the bits... we have two new nature shelves, made from some garden hardwood.

This house seems to collect a crazy amount of oddities from the wild.

In every corner there seems to accumulate a myriad of rocks, stones, feathers, seeds, leaves, flowers, nests, bugs...dead bugs, live bugs, sticks, shells....you get the picture.

Secretly, or not so secretly, I love it....adore it.

So we made some shelves where we can let them collect together....so we can admire them all together, when we walk past or when we choose to curl up on the couch next to them reading from the book basket below or sit right there on the floor and sift through the treasures that have been collected.

I'm not kidding myself though... I have no doubt our goodies from nature will still accumulate in any other free (or not) space around here but it's still nice to have a relegated spot regardless right?

In other news...
the tooth fairy is sending us broke!
She's growing.

the whir

Can you hear it?
Me neither, but it's there... that whir.

I walked to work this weekend.
I worked two twelve hour shifts over both Saturday and Sunday and I walked to and from both.
With ipod in one ear and bird song in the other I blissed out for a full 25 minutes at a time with only myself, my footsteps and the freshness that is 6am.
I have to add I have fallen head over heals with these guys, hence the ipod, otherwise it would have been just me and the birds I tell you. Like I said..bliss... (and maybe a little side *training* for a January goal)...although as soon as my bike is on the road I shall be making the trip via pedal power.
But aside from my moments of quiet and solitude stepping it out rhythmically in between work the only glimpses of home these two days were of the shower and my pillow.
It made me realise how lucky I am that the whir of time really does have it's slow moments for me amidst the other business of my days. Do I really kid myself so often that I am that crazy busy?
I noticed this morning (amidst reorganising the chaos that is two days without Mama home) that the choko vine had reached the top of the chicken coop...really? In two days?
And the tomatoes are so fat... and so are the rosa bianca's (I can't wait for those grilled aubergines!).
The sugar cane setts have sprouted.
And could those banana's really be fatter too?
Noticing such changes after a couple of days without pottering and garden gazing really does show that I must find and spend quite some time doing just that in my days. A little indulgent for such a busy Mama? Or has that too become part of what my own business entails. Blessed me.

So maybe that's why I usually don't quite hear that whir.
Because I'm usually quite aside from it... taking that mindful time out to notice and watch amidst all my other doings.
I am however a little glad I got caught up in the whir for a weekend because sometimes it's that *carrying away* that gives us our reminder of what we have created at home...and just how different and separate our own whirs are....
and how very good that is.

skoooooky

Normally I guess like most Mama's I find myself helping the little ones with their pronunciation fairly often but in the case of skooky how can I just yet? Skooky is just so much darn cuter than spooky don't you think?
So it was skooky that was said numerous times yesterday as we celebrated our Halloween with treats from awesome inspiration via here...

and with some apple bobbing...

and our own witch's broomstick making. That was fun....from dried mulberry and lomandra prunings from the garden.

And after a trip out with friends to visit a real jack-o-lantern we lit our own candles at home for those no longer here but dear to our hearts who just may be that little bit closer in spirit on this special night...

and we bunked down in our pj's with pillows and blankets and teddies on the couch to follow in our other little tradition to watch our Halloween favourite... with just maybe a little chocolate to munch.

Happy All Hallows friends.

And happy longer... or shorter days wherever you may be.

I hope the ones you miss were closer by for a time.