Spring sunshine

Today's spring sunshine has been magnificent.

The chooks were allowed out and given the left-over breakfast pancakes and weren't they ecstatic! After this they wandered all over the garden before enjoying a sand and dirt bath, then they did a little judicious scratching about before having a wander about the fruit trees in the glorious sunshine.

After this I herded them back in the run, got out the treddly and did a nice 55km ride down the Great Ocean Road, along Forrest Rd and few back streets then home via the Moriac General Store. Birds were out in great numbers and saw the most cheeky little superb blue wren, numerous parrots, fan tails, honey-eaters, magpies, ravens and many others I could not name while negotiating the hills.

Came home, let the girls out for the second Sunday free-range and finished making the pea and ham soup i started yesterday. Took some over to a friend who's not well and his fabulous wife who has an amazing veggie and herb garden (who also loves the eggs I send her) gave me some cabbage which had gone to seed and the little madams went into another frenzy.

Bees were also out in force today, zipping about the nasturtiums, coriander flowers, roses, passion fruit flowers, apple and peach blossoms and the marigolds.

A bee in my flower bed having a great time...

Gardening in gumboots

The heavy rains my surfcoast garden has enjoyed over the last couple of weeks has been wonderful for deep soaking the soil, filling the 9000 Lt water tank and flushing out the gutters, but bring on the sun! I’m more than ready now to ditch the gumboots and raincoat needed while weeding and harvesting for a week or two of warming, steady sunshine and toes on the grass. The chooks too are tired of mud rather than the dirt baths they prefer. On the positive side, everything has shot up like a triffid. Those yummy broadbean plants are now taller than I am (OK not difficult) as is the celery which is being used as living stake for the snowpeas. The sugarsnap peas and climbing beans are also towering. The other bugbear is the wind which has blown down loads of passionfruit vines, beans, celeery and climbing roses. But it's summer in a couple days so fingers crossed balmy weather is on the way...