12 days to go

She has 12 days till her due date
Read about our Cow Brie here
http://briethecow.blogspot.com/

Miracles are Everywhere

you just have to tune in..sometimes we miss the everyday miracles that are all around us..years ago I watched a movie all I remember is what the chick in the pic said was this"there are signs everywhere" I have never forgotten & if you are willing to tune your dial slightly to the right you can see the signs of love ,little signs every day.

this morning while we where all down in the yard feeding animals and going thru the gardens we found this beautiful pumpkin then as we looked we found another 10..how miraclous is that hey! So I sent one of the children in to get my camera so we could share this miracle with y'all

Queensland Blue is I remember correctly

Here are my beautiful homegrown pumpkins Kedesha & Isaiah ..Miss K is the growing of this pumpkin vine(her 1st ever shes is proud as pumpkin about it)

Our Beeuitful helpers in the garden

One BIG update

Been kinda busy lately.. Still working on the swimming pool but we are almost there(1 more day)..we got it up filled and had to unfill it fix the sand up underneath and refill ,while we had the pool water in a spare tank ..the tank exploded(it was old)..

a few pics of some goings on round here

we got some new chicks and a new mumma-isaiah hit his eye-the sheep got shorn-and we got 2 new kittys fluffy & snowball

And we are in the final countdown till our cow Brie has her calf

Talking about countdowns we are in the last leg of the count down till christmas;;lots of excitment round here

Brie is Coming along

Poor darlin I really feel for her in this heat we have had of late..

Won't belong & it will be all over...the children think she is having twins cause she is SOO BIG

Here she is today @ 35 weeks 4days..

she is looking for all the pats she can get at the moment..I might not know alot about cows but I sure know alot about labour & birth

and here she is @ 34 weeks

Getting Ready

Today I rearranged the porch and pulled out the christmas decorations to get ready to start decorating..LOVE me some Christmas

Pottering Round the Yard

The weather has cooled enough for us to get out an about in the garden today, so we got some much needed weeding done ,pulled the old lettuces that are no good ,freshend the garden with manure ready for the next lot of goodies, harvested some large zucchinis for homemade pasta sauce for todays lunch and some baby zuc's for battering and deep frying while we watch the Melbourne Cup this arvo.

Pool Wear

I have not sewen anything in ages but in 2 days I have sewen 2 pair of pants and almost 2 tops...here is one I'm thinking by the pool

Outdoor Eye Candy

Just drooling over some cute outdoor spaces

Swimming Pool

I am a Weee bit of an ebay junkie...I have bought allsorts off ebay ..car..clothing..cameras..kitchen sink.. but the most exciting thing ever I won was 3 days ago and my hubby and 2 older sons are on there way home from melbourne right now from picking up a swimming pool*SCREAM*

I love to swim always have,as a child I used to have a reoccurring dream that I swam with the fish and that I came from the lost world of alantis(sure I had me some imagination)I used to swim competively, I had a dream of going to the olympics(in reality I didn't have that kind of talent but I thought I did)in my late 20's I used to swim laps for an hour just for fun( at 6am no less-what the hell was wrong with me?)...Ok so back to this pool its nothing fancy its not even that huge only 6 by 31/2 metres(20x12ft) but its enough I can get in and do a few laps which will help my back(have major back issues)

So here it is... 2 pics are from the ebay auction the 3rd pic is kinda what I would like to do with it...Oh wait I didn't tell you the best part the price.. I love me a baragin ,I'm always on the hunt for CHEAP..so are you ready for it....$635.00 smackers..they averagly go between 1000 to 2000... say BARGIN out aloud for me will ya..

Front Porch

Its really coming along well but 1st go have a look at the before here

its lovely in the mornings the sun rises over our property and we can sit on the porch watching the world slowly waking up

Gardens have to go in yet that will happen slowly

A spot to sit have a snakc or read the paper.. even weary travellers stop and find some shade and a place to rest
(dog)

when you are actually on the porch it has a retro kinda feel to it..

one night brian the chicken man was passing by with these 2 chairs on the back of his ute and i said "gee I hope your selling them" so he sold them to me and i put them straight on the proch and the color was perfect cause I had just painted the old wardrobe you see in the pic the day before to go on the porch( the robe was left out in the shed from the former owner)

I am really pleased with the progress we have made ..its a peaceful spot to sit and chat and watch the world pass us by

HomeKill

Another step in the whole process of learning to take care of ourselves happened today .. we killed our 1st 2 sheep - a friend came over to help us..There are moments when you think " I might become a vegetarian" actually our friend that came over his wife is.. It is not easy to take the life of an animal.. I was yelling thank you to the sheep just as they where killing her.. and the children patted the other one before her time was to come..I really am thankful to the animals for helping to nourish our family..(my 2 little boys sign "thank you" to Lucy the chicken when she lays an egg)..I was surprised at how fast and easy the process is and SOOOO much cheaper than buying it.Its all grassfed.. I have heard that sheep that get to eat Salt bush taste exceptional..so I have bought some old man salt bush seeds to get on the go and we can finish the sheep off on it to add to the flavour.

The boys having a look they kept saying meat thru the whole process.

One Year Apart

Look how lovely & green it is here this year compared to last year

Pretty In Pink

Makes me want to Sing

Wild Oats

Took the girls into the wild oats to take there pics these are my favs

Giles

We where given 2 dogs but one had to leave,she didn't find her way in our family very well, Almost the instant she left Giles changed ..its like he got it all, he knew he was OURS and that he was not going anywhere and he was the ONE.

Cakes

Micah had his 13th Birthday back on the 30th September & Isaiahs 7th is next week, we had a combined party for them but they each got their own cake..I found this place online that makes edible cake images..its a fantastic idea.

the boys went crazy excited for them

Here is Micah's..its him & John Cena there mates ya know

And Isaiah wanted Spongebob

This is the Image I sent them..I got it off the net ,I took some writing off it I didn't sent it in and within days they sent my ediable image back it only cost $18.95 plus $2.00 postage..

http://www.ediblecakeimages.com.au/

and while I am showing off cakes I made lately here is a football cake I made for grandfinal day

Lacto Fermented Beets

This was the first time I have grown these heirloom beetroots,ain't they adorable all spirally , crunchy & PINK..some where plain white.. I usually bottle my beets in vinegar and they are really yummy too, but you know I have to at least make an effort to live better and I think we all know enough about probotics now to know they are thee best..so I decided to lacto ferment them. I get the Nourished Kitchen Newsletter, her website is excellent too..I contacted her for her recipe so here is she said to do

Nourishing Kitchens Lacto Fermented Recipe
Simply take about 5 lbs of fresh beets, peel them and chop them into matchsticks. Layer them in a mason jar or one of those vegetable fermenters (you can find them online: http://nourishedkitchen.com/where-to-buy/#kitchen . After your layer is about an inch thick or so, sprinkle some sea salt over it, add another layer of beets and mash down. Continue layering beets and mashing them together until you create a brine of beet juice combined with sea salt. Weight down the beets so they're below the level of brine and allow it to ferment on your countertop for about a week. They'll keep in cold storage for at least 6 months.

then I found another website http://gnowfglins.com/2009/06/03/lacto-fermented-naturally-pickled-turnips-and-beets/ and I decided to adopt her method of filling with water cause I was in a hurry.

I filled a ziplock bag with water sealed it to use as a weight to hold the beets under the salty water.

So now they sit for around a week on the bench and then go into the fridge

1st Chicken Kill

you know how we are always being blessed by God well this week we have been given 3 water tanks(from 3 different people),fencing posts & 6 chickens to kill and pop in our freezer.. Before living here I knew that God was awesome, I knew that he loved us,and I knew he had a plan for us. But in my wildest dreams I could never have imagined how this life could be... It has been an enslaught of blessing one after the other.even my husband cannot deny this is the hand of God moving upon us...he has even said to me, this is God again hey hun..he has even started watching church on tv with me...

So back to the chooks(God is a great topic to get sidetracked on thou hey) yeah so these chooks 6 large nasty roosters that where causing havoc where given to us to kill..but we have never actually killed and processed a chook before..we learnt some valuable lessons..1 being hurry up and get that whiz bang chicken plucker built(have the bits and pieces just lacking the time)its a messy,smelly job and 6 at once on our 1st go was a bit much..in future they will get done in the storehouse(that I talked about yesterday) another thing is wear rubber gloves -feathers stick to wet hands and even if you don't like bleach any other time..you really need it for clean up.

The killing part was quick and we thought really easy... we hung then upside down and swung them a little ,it sort of makes them sleepy and before they know it its all done.I helped hand hubby the knife each time ,I didn't actually do they deed ,but i feel confident that I could do one of our smaller hens, when the time comes.

Six Years

Today is the 6th anniversary of our son Noah Canaan going to heaven.

We woke this morning and hubby and I lay together talking about IF he was here with us today..we recounted the day of his death and all the bits leading up to that terrible ,shocking moment he passed from my body,,but you know there was this peace,just a sweet ,gentle peace..a knowing that no matter where any of us are ,or how far apart we are,from one world to another.absolutely nothing can stop us from being family...no matter how far we might go from each other we love each other, we care ,we will always be tight.

Waves toward Heaven " He Son, Mumma Loves you"

Laundry Makeover Begins

I haven't forgotten about the hallway maker over I just got side tracked by everything else,its half done thou & that has to count for something..actually almost everything in this house and yard is half done...its ok i have a life time to sort it out.. But I just wanted to let you know that before I tell you about how I am making over the laundry..

So the laundry its SUPER grotty.. its an outdoor laundry about 15 metres from the backdoor & no matter what I do everyone just dumps stuff in there..its foul out there,well it was till today..to say I decluttered seems like an understatement..I overhauled it LOL..

one half is the laundry the other is where we keep all the fridges.I want to turn the other side into a stock room ..we have fridges out there now but there is enough room to add a bench and some shelving to put my stockpile of groceries out there.. I also want to brew out there and do my cheesemaking out there also..

when we put in the new kitchen sink-which by the way is sitting on the kitchen bench...I will reuse the old stainless steel sink out in the laundry /stockroom .

Everything on this farm is half done and will remain that way for a long long time.. I have a lifetime to finish it off.

today I started by painting the tubs and the floor..Next some walls to put up & as long as to much life doesn't get in my way this week, I should have that done by next weekend..but we'll see.

Pimp My Pumpkin

Yesterday we planted out our GIANT pumpkin seeds, we bought 3 seeds to have go at growing these giants-Should be fun..Keep reading here to see how things go/grow.

How To Grow A Giant Pumpkin

1. PREPARE THE SOIL. Start with a pH test in fall and adjust your pH to between 6.5 and 6.8 by adding sulfur to lower the pH or lime to raise it. Apply three to five yards of composted manure per 30-foot-diameter circle where you expect to plant next spring. Plant a cover crop of winter rye in fall to be turned under in early spring, broadcasting one to two pounds per 1,000-square-foot area.

2. SOW SEEDS. Start seed indoors in six-inch peat pots about four weeks before your last spring frost date. Plant the seed with the pointed end of the seed facing down. Keep the soil temperature at 85 to 90 degrees F. Most seeds will emerge within five days.

3. TRANSPLANT SEEDLINGS. Transplant seedlings into the garden once the first true leaves appear or when roots begin to grow through the peat pot (usually seven to 10 days after germination). Handle with care because pumpkins are easily set back during transplanting.

4. PROTECT SEEDLINGS. Place a "mini-greenhouse" over the seedlings for six weeks to shield plants from wind and frost. These mini-greenhouses can be as simple as two storm windows nailed together to form a teepee or as elaborate as a four- by four-foot wooden structure made from 1x2 lumber nailed together with 6-mil clear plastic stapled to cover the frame. Once seedlings outgrow the mini-greenhouse, use a temporary fence to screen wind. I use "conservation" fence, which is bought with wood end stakes attached and is commonly used at new construction sites. A 100-foot roll cut into three pieces is enough for three 11-foot-diameter areas.


5. POLLINATE FLOWERS. Eight to 10 weeks after seed starting, the first female flowers will appear. They're easy to distinguish because they have a small pumpkin at their base. If you want to get a jump on your rival, you'll need to hand-pollinate the flowers. In the early morning, locate a freshly opened male flower. Pick it and remove the outer flower petals, exposing the stamen and fresh pollen. Locate a newly opened female flower and gently swab the stigma (internal parts) of the female flower with the pollen-laden stamen.

Getting a pumpkin set as early as possible, preferably before July 10, is key. The earlier you set a pumpkin, the longer it has to grow until harvest. Since these monsters can gain 25 pounds a day, losing 10 days in the early part of the season could put you well down the list at your local pumpkin weigh-off.

6. REPOSITION SET PUMPKINS. Once a pumpkin has set, its position on the vine becomes extremely important. Most often the stem grows at a very acute angle to the vine. However, for optimal long-term growth, the best position is to have the stem perpendicular to the vine. If yours is not at right angles to the vine naturally, coax it gradually, over about a week's time, until it is in that position. Be careful, because at this early stage pumpkins may still abort or you may injure the fragile stem.

7. SELECT THE MOST PROMISING PUMPKIN. If one plant has three strong vines, you could have as many as seven or eight pumpkins set and growing by July 20. Now you must choose the best pumpkin and remove most of the rest. Measure each pumpkin's circumference at the widest point weekly or daily with a cloth measuring tape. Choose the one that's growing fastest. Also, keep an eye out for the optimum shape. Young pumpkins that are round and especially tall grow the largest.

8. PRUNE VINES. Begin pruning vines early in the season to discourage random growth and an out-of-control patch. Prune each main vine when it has reached 10 to 12 feet beyond a set fruit. If you have a pumpkin on a vine that is 10 feet from the main root, cut the end of that vine once it is 20 to 24 feet long. Let side shoots off the main vines get no longer than eight feet before cutting off tips. Train side shoots so they are perpendicular to the main vine to accommodate access to the vines and pumpkins. Bury the ends of cut vines to reduce water loss.

9. FERTILIZE. During the growing season, most fertility needs of pumpkins can be met by applying water-soluble plant foods once or twice a week over the entire plant area. Give seedlings a fertilizer that stresses phosphorus, such as 15-30-15. Shift to a more balanced formula, such as 20-20-20, once fruits are set.

By late July, use a formula that stresses potassium, such as 15-11-29. I apply water-soluble fertilizer at the rate of one to two pounds per week per plant from fruit set until the end of the growing season. Some competitive growers will err on the side of overfertilization. But too much fertilizer can hurt more than help. If the pumpkins start growing too fast, they will literally tear themselves from the vine and explode. A very fine grower in New England told me, "Slow and easy wins the race." Remember this whenever you feel the urge to overfertilize.

10. KEEP TRACK. Measure your pumpkins at least weekly. Gains in circumference can average four to six inches in a 24 hour period. Measure the circumference of your pumpkins first parallel to the ground around the entire pumpkin, from blossom end to stem. Next, measure over the top in both directions: from ground to ground along the axis from stem to blossom end, then perpendicular to the stem-blossom-end axis. Add these three measurements together, then multiply by 1.9 to give an estimate of the pumpkin's weight.

Don Langevin is author of the book How-to-Grow World Class Giant Pumpkins (Annedawn Publishing, Box 247, Norton, MA 02766; 1993. $17.95).

Planting Seeds

When I plant seeds,dig in the earth,water,grow things I feel closer to God..its that whole new life,fresh beginnings thing,I really enjoy it.

This morning I sat on the verandah and planted out a heap of seeds.. I put in some lavender, marigolds,asparagus,parsnips,iceberg lettuces,chives & climbing beans.. I ordered a lot of seeds the other day so I will be planting out alot of other things this coming week..its so exciting thinking ahead to the harvest time.What are you planting out at the moment?

Venus Fly Trap

Sometimes as a homeschooling Mumma ,you get roped into things that are insane and you know they just won't work ,but you have to let them try just so they know.Then other times you get to do things that are so cool you can barely stand it..Last week while ebay for birthday gifts,I got side tracked by seeds(LOL you know how it is ,your looking for mario on wii and you end up in the seed section,I know you all do it too)So the girls where looking over my shoulder when I said to hubby " hey look hun, a venus fly trap,remeber those?" we had a giggle about how we had them at school etc, the girls where like (with nosed screwed oddly& heads tilted)" what is a venus fly trap,oh weird and incrediably old parents of ours"..when I showed them they thought there mumma & pappa where COOOL that we knew all about insect eating plants and asked if they could buy the seeds .

so the seeds arrived today and we have just planted them out..all while hearing them say COOL about 100 times.

A Tour thru Town

A neighbour called us today to say the river is running,thats a BIG deal out here its the first time in 10years its run..its a start hey...I thought while we were down at the river I'd give you the grand tour of our town..the river runs thru town..Ya ready Hold On here we go

Here is our Church

Here is our Hall, the community gather here often for table tennis and darts

And here is Brian the chook mans place..

So thats it folks tour over..

No really I ain't kidding that all there is here

Now to meet the neighbours

and our other neighbours place

and Home

Who Inspires you?

If you had to pick only one blog that inspires you the most who would it be?.. I know how hard it is to choose just one cause i have so many favs too but this is the one that really inspires me.. I have never even left a comment on her blog before but gosh this couple really inspire me.. they have so many fab ideas ,some i have planned for our farm..

go read but be warned you'll be eating a few meals at your comp for a few days ..there is just so much exciting info
http://lafermedesourrou.blogspot.com

Dog House

we had left overs from building the verandah, so daddy & children built a dog house..but now the children want daddy to build them a cubby house LOL

click to enlarge

Wander Round the Gardens

This morning we went for a walk round the gardens,its a lovely morn after all the rain we had yesterday..so I thought I'd show you how somethings are coming along

This is our first ever cauliflower we have grown,harvested and weighed 765grams and we are eating it for lunch today..the broccoli is coming along just nicely and the silverbeet is booming we have been eating that for some time now

the peas are only ever grown for garden eating , just a sweet treat as we wander round or the children want something to snack on while they are playing

I thought i'd show inside the polytunnel its really coming along,Miss Kedesha & I are having a tomotoe growing contest (shes winning),so we have aload of tomys in there , and the beetroot leaves & spinach we have been harvesting for sometime we feed them to the chooks and geese..I just recently planted out lettuces,capsicum and zucchini which are doing really well... a before picture of the polytunnels shows we how far we have come along since last summer..lookin good hey!!!

Fruit Trees

top left: Lemons are budding top right: My newly planted Gooseberry bush is doing well

lower left:Pomegranted we planted when we 1st arrived is doing well lower right:Rasperberries have alittle growth

top left:I went to the Jung markets with my neighbow a few weeks ago and bought some 2 Apricot trees & they are already have blossoms on the them.top right:I also bought from the nursrey 2 white peaches and 2 nectarine trees(still have to plant them out)but they are blossoming inthe pots and the peaches have tiny fruit on the..

lower left:Look and my Fig Tree ,I thought we lost it , in the Heat wave back in Feb,it looked dead but we have some signs of life lower right:I still have to plant out the Kiwifruit and Black currants as well.. I started on the garden bed for them and have the postsin for the carport which will support them..but you know how it all goes.. so much to do such little time.

Last time she will be 11

Its really sad how fast children grow up..it should take much longer than it does.

Here she is on the last night she will ever be 11 again(click for a large view)

She is a very shy girl,almost never talks around other people , she's always been this way,she is a sweet child, very capable in many ways and still so very young and innocent in other ways

she is 155cms tall(she is almost my height)..she loves to paint,and scrapbook..she is an animal lover,she is such a farm girl thru & thru,she loves the peace out here,she loves a good giggle but shes not silly,she saves almost all of her pocket money (nothing like me as a youngin),she loves to cuddle with me on the sofa at night (she thinks I'm soft)... now she is 12..I am going to make the most of every day of 12 she has cause it won't be long and she will be gone..

One Year On

What a difference a year makes

Today is the one year anniversary of us living here at Canaan's land

Its hard to believe a year has past, we have been so busy ,done so much ,met new friends,and had the time of our lives.. we celebrated by having a yummy BBQ on the open fire(we where burning off some stumps etc) its was nice having camp food by the open fire..we sat round talking about the last year and I asked everyone if they missed anything from our old life(life in suburbian gold coast) everyone answered with a loud"NOTHING" we miss nothing at all..Our world is so far from what it used to be and we are all really happy about it..

Heres to another 50 yrs living right here in our little Paradise

Isaiah INSISTED on helping with the BBQ

Lamby

He has had a name change --No one liked calling him Jesus..so he is Lamby or Lamb Chop..I prefer Crazy...Have a look at him jumping round like a wild thing LOL

He sure is cheap entertainment

A Sad Day

today at 3pm paul uncle Billy passed away aged 65 lung/liver/kidney cancer