The Windmill Paddock

May Days

10:14:00

Hello, Hello!!

April, May, and wouldn't you know it we have arrived at June. Where is the time going?

It feels like we are busy with the day to day but when I look around the place not much is happening around here at all. Hubby definitely wouldn't agree, but on my part and with the arrival of the cold and frosty starts here I am just not motivated to do much at all. I wrote a little post about my thought on winter here last year....

Autumn in these parts truly is a sight to behold. The colours are amazing but oh my the fallen leaves are quite the mess. Thank goodness we have have been tidying them up here sporadically and a few runs over with the mower has kept them in check. There has been plenty for the garden beds anyway and they really are a great mulch and cover to keep the weeds at bay.

I cleared the patch and planted some garlic that I ordered form Diggers at the end of April. They started shooting through the dirt only two weeks later which I though was pretty amazing. I found some Broad Bean and Snow Peas seeds stashed in the shed from my collection and planted these with the kids and now they are all shooting. I have since separated the seedlings and they seem to be happy out in the patch.

Last weekend I purchased some Spinach, Broccoli and Cauliflower seedlings and planted them out before it rained the following day and they are standing tall a week on. I am now on Moth and Caterpillar control and have some Dippel at the ready. The patch is a stark contrast from the Summer patch but it is very well organised I might add with pathways and beds etched out with the tomato stakes until the plants get a bit bigger. I have moved some of the old gates around to act as supports for the climbers. I contained the raspberries to the old corrugated iron tank and have strawberries and some Rosemary cuttings to border some of the edges.

I have been very conscious of the fact that I haven't been taking many photos of late and its on my mind to just grab moments in the day where I see it to just get out there and take photos.

One beautiful afternoon whilst taking the clothes off the line I noticed a shimmering of sorts over the back at the old fallen trees. At this time of year there is always a sudden explosion of spider webs absolutely everywhere. You never see the spiders but all over the the grass, on every fence, every tree, every branch, on my clothesline and in the air, thousands of strands of web are just floating by in the breeze at any given time. In the afternoon sunshine it is a sight to behold.

Any I thought id better march myself over with the camera in tow and the boys to see this mass of webs shining away and boy oh boy were there webs. It was like a shiny disco ball for spiders over there with not a spider in sight. I thought it was amazing and as you can see the boys just thought it was a great climbing opportunity. Go figure!!

Like I said the colours from all the trees at the farm and around town are just beautiful here and Autumn is such a lovely time to be out and about for a walk in the sunshine.

Whilst growth and spectacle is on the lowdown as far as the garden goes, if you really do get out there as I did the other day you do find magic is happening all over the place. Whilst I am not the avid winter gardener, I have been weeding, raking leaves, moving plants and cutting back shrubs as well as researching on what to plant for some permanency in the garden beds amongst the annuals and perennials. Its so hard to decide!!

How about this succulent hey? I knew that it flowered but with that beautiful bloom! Who knew? If anyone knows what it is Ill be very keen to know.

When will the Roses just stop? I know, I know but I need to get out and prune and move some and I just can't when they are still blooming in Winter.

Winter might be here, but Spring is always around the corner. Some of the Ranunculi and Freesias are already poking through.

Pretty native violets sporting sweet smelling blooms.

We cleared the bushes out of this bed by the front door and Cam bricked up a border for me after filling the bed with some fresh soil from the paddock. I kept the tree in the corner, a Weigela I believe with pretty pink flowers in Spring and have planted a white Crepe Myrtle in the centre which will grow up to create a weeping canopy of sorts and branch out to hide the wall which is a double story. As it is west facing I have also put in some white roses at the front from cuttings I got from the Benalla Gardens last year and i plan to do a dwarf lavender hedge as the border.

These little tubers I saved from our old place and as you can see have yet to be homed, however now one is about to flower. Love it!

My shade plant wall of hangers is going great guns here and I love being able to see them everyday from the kitchen window. Cams dad cut back all the grape vines overhead last weekend they have been basking in the warm morning sunlight since. I have a few more macrame hangings to put up yet, but am on the hunt for something really different to plant. Suggestions please.

The Jacaranda is under cover with its little shade cloth tent. I would hate to lose it as it has been growing so well. Fingers crossed it survives this week of frosts.

The Magnolia Stelata with new buds ready for another growth period very, very soon. I think its going to be happy in this spot.

Here is one of the Sesanquas that I transplanted from our old place. Its flowering so I think its in the right spot here and I can't wait for it to get bigger and weepier as its going to be beautiful.

Ha! Edie had a go at the camera and I just laughed that Zoe was posing for her. I had to share.

I have a few jobs lined up for this weekend including but not necessarily in this order...

Iron Cams shirts and the rest whilst listening to the Couldabeens and Grandstand on ABC radio, weed the front garden beds in the warm afternoon sunshine ( I knocked over the driveway bed yesterday), make a cake with Edie, clean fingerprints off the windows, a bit of dusting and some blogging and reading of blogs. That'll do I reckon.

Ill give you another update soon. Its probably about time I gave a little tour of the inside of the house...

On the baby front...I am now 26 weeks and 8kgs heavier and starting to feel it. If I do too much physical activity - incidental activity mind you like housework or standing up too long prepping dinner as I found the other day I feel it about 2-3 hours later in the form of aches, twinges and pain. Oh my!! I knew it was coming, but so soon. The upside is that I think the baby is sitting pretty low so no heartburn yet, but its a long road yet til September. I have been given some advice to work on my Gluteals and Pelvic floor to strengthen up and I have my gestational Diabetes test next week so fingers crossed that doesn't come up. Ive been testing in the meantime and my levels have been very good so pats on the back for me. We shall see.

What are you up to this weekend?

Have a good one and thanks for visiting today.

Elisha xx

garden

Paddock Update; April '17

16:14:00

Good Afternoon,

We are surviving the latest arctic blast from the south here at the moment and it really is starting to feel like winter is on the way. The wind is certainly chilly indeed and the fire in the dining room is burning away just to take the edge off here. Thanks to hubby collecting the firewood yesterday.

A suspect smell has been looming the last couple of days here in and around the kitchen and I have searched high and low and have not found a culprit. Im so paranoid of mice hanging out somewhere, even worse dying somewhere and the smell lingering. With a mice plague imminent in some parts of the state (thank goodness not here) I can't help but be a tiny bit paranoid. Though with the cooler weather having arrived they always search for warmer areas and the sheds and the house are unfortunately always a good option. Im ready to bait the shit out of this place!!

Anyhow, as I was saying with this smell, I decided to clean out and wipe out all the draws and cupboards in the kitchen today and I even cleaned the fridge in case of a rotting leftover hiding in the back and all I found was a small bit of blue cheese. It could be the culprit, but Im not so sure. Hmmm!! So now my kitchen is sparkling clean, the scent of eucalyptus oil is mixing with the smell of the open fire and Im just feeling all like all pats on the back and happy as a pig in shit here. Who doesn't like a clean kitchen?

So what do the kids do whilst I clean my kitchen?

They make a big mess everywhere else thats what! I seriously have been nagging them for the last three hours and bribing with Easter Eggs to get them to clean up. Unbelievable.

But alas my kitchen is sparkling!!!

On the gardening front nothing has been happening here except that I pulled out the tomatoes last week and I ordered some bulbs and garlic from the Diggers Club which I am now a member of. So much cool stuff to browse and buy on that site. Very dangerous if you ask me!! he he.

I also did a bit of weeding around the pots by the sandpit (see pic below) and pulled out and transferred a heap of Calla Lillies that were growing in the wine barrel.
I went back through my Instagram the other day and found this pic of my Hydrangea cuttings from May last year.

Look at how much they have grown in terracotta coloured the pot! They will definitely be ready for the garden this Spring.

Our town has been taken over by the third annual '2017 Wall to Wall Street Art Festival' held over the weekend just gone and it was absolutely fabulous. I can't speak highly enough of such a wonderful event to embrace our small little town.

Cams parents and I took the kids for a ride around town on the Friday to check out the beginnings of over 20 murals and I took the following pics along the way.

There are plenty more on my Instagram account too. The artists are all really talented, they have come from all across the globe and it truly is mesmerising to watch them in action bringing a dull wall to life.

If you are ever heading up the Hume Highway between Melbourne and Sydney, it is definitely worth your while to pop in and visit to see the artworks.

We also had the opportunity to showcase our wines at a little market set up on the Saturday. Whilst it was quiet on the sales, heaps of people tried our wares and we were right in the thick of the action here in town which was fun. I dont think I've ever seen Benalla so busy; there were people absolutely everywhere.

Did you happen to watch the Star Gazing on the tv last week? I really enjoyed the show and learning about the stars and planets. So much so that I just had to take my camera out and try (try really hard by the way) to get a snap of the stars. As you can see I have a lot of night time photography lessons to learn on Google. Ha ha!!!

On that silly note, I will depart ways here and bid you a great evening. Enjoy the rest of the holidays if you so happen to be on them and a Happy Easter to you and the family.

I also might add in case you were wondering, that I am now currently 18 weeks pregnant, feeling mighty fine and starting to feel kicks. The tiredness has dissipated somewhat and Im in the good lull before the heartburn and the aches and pains begin. Im definitely not waddling yet and it still feels like a really, really long road to September.

Thanks for visiting

Elisha xx