Apart from the occasional ‘self-sufficiency’ post, I try to keep the focus of my blog to the land outside our house, but inside the boundary fence. However, the native heath flowering in the Enfield State Park is so beautiful, I thought I would share it with you. We just happened to be driving past on … Continue reading Stepping Outside the Boundary Fence
Month: June 2013
A Sourdough Fiasco
Over the last few months I have been valiantly attempting to make sourdough bread. I’ve spent days cultivating the starter culture, adding wholemeal rye flour and filtered water every six hours to feed it. After about a week, I had a lovely frothy starter, that looked just perfect. My bread, however, wasn’t perfect. Despite my … Continue reading A Sourdough Fiasco
Cranberry Heath
In between documenting the native flowers on the property month by month, I’m pausing to post a flower we have open right now. It is a tiny plant – not much taller than lichen – and it is growing in only one spot on our dam bank, as far as I can tell. I’ve looked … Continue reading Cranberry Heath
Soil Analysis by Anthill
Last week, I noticed a very sculptural looking lip around the entrance to an ant nest. It took me by surprise. Shortly after moving in, I had just stopped noticing anthills. We have so many of them they become unremarkable. On this day, I was actually looking for fungi and flowers, but there was something … Continue reading Soil Analysis by Anthill
Baby Joey Photos: A new addition to our kangaroo family
It has been obvious for some time that the mature female had a joey in her pouch, but this is the first time we have actually glimpsed it. This makes five kangaroos here now. The middle-sized female also now seems to be carrying a joey, so I guess five will soon turn to six.
Playing Detective: Rainfall, Kangaroos, and the Lack of Native Flowers
Being new to this area, I don’t have a history of seasonal changes. What’s normal for these parts? I simply don’t know. When we arrived here in August 2012, the land abounded with native flowers, including ten species of native orchid flowering at one time. This continued in early and mid Spring, then as the … Continue reading Playing Detective: Rainfall, Kangaroos, and the Lack of Native Flowers
Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting – Momentarily Glorious
Momentarily Glorious … I wonder at the promise of a parched sandy landscape and one tiny orchid leaf waiting for rain to unfurl sensuous silken blooms … the fleeting moments of a violet sky calling corella flocks to roost somewhere other than here trailing sounds of raucous joy from North to South then silence until … Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting – Momentarily Glorious
Greenhouse Cucumbers
Pollinating the cucumber flowers while the plants are locked in the greenhouse, away from insects, turned out to be a non-issue. The plants we chose are self pollinating. That’s pure luck – no forethought involved at all. It’s now possible to see the baby cucumbers growing on the vine. The yellow flowers are a beautiful … Continue reading Greenhouse Cucumbers
After rain comes: More Fungi
The rain has stimulated a range of fungi to grow. I have not had time to research any of them, so at the moment, I can only write about where they were found. See the captions beneath the photos for this information. If you know about any of these mushrooms, I would love to hear … Continue reading After rain comes: More Fungi
Rainclouds through Sunshine
I’ve always been drawn to images which show a hillside, or a tree, in full sunlight with dark, threatening clouds in the background. There is something in the combination of bright green and thunderous grey that appeals to my sense of colour. The vivid contrast of sunshine and darkness is also a metaphor for life, … Continue reading Rainclouds through Sunshine
An Assortment of Cormorants
We have cormorants drop in to fish in the dam every now and again. Mostly, they come on their own, but sometimes they bring a friend or two. In the months leading up to Christmas, I was much more drawn to the herons, ducks, and more exotic species of bird, paying little attention to the … Continue reading An Assortment of Cormorants
Fifteen Acres 