The leaves from the pecan nut tree are falling everywhere so there is lots of raking to do.
The CEO rescued a heap of pecan nuts before the cockatoos got to them. Now I wonder who is going to crack them all. I think I know the answer to that already. Sigh!
The oranges are tasting absolutely delicious despite being neglected...
...and I will have to get a ladder to reach the mandarins.
I think there are enough chillies left to fill up the dehydrator once again so I will have plenty of flakes to make more chilli salt.
The Queensland Blue pumpkins are still growing up in the macadamia nut tree ...
...but fortunately some butternuts are growing on the ground and easier to pick.
The fig trees are bare and there isn't a lot of colour around at the moment...
...except for this stunner which brightened up the day...
...the chrysanthemums that I bought myself for Mother's Day and the plant my son bought me. Now tell me if you know, why would the yellow flower in the above photo....
....start turning purple? It's quite odd!
I have made two lots of soap this week...Rosehips and Honey Soap...
...and Aloe and Cucumber Soap which are both based on recipes in Jan Berry's 'Simple and Natural Soapmaking' . More about my soapmaking exploits in future posts if I can ever get the Aloe and Cucumber soap out of the mould as I misread the amount of olive oil in the recipe and added 40g more than was needed so it is a tad soft at the moment and won't come out of the mould for another couple of days at the rate it is going. I really should have turned the light in the kitchen on so that I could see better. Oh well! So much for saving electricity.
I hope those of you in the Southern Hemisphere are enjoying the cool days of winter which I am sure many people appreciate after the dreadful heatwaves of summer and I imagine those who are enjoying Spring are busy outdoors making the most of the sunshine after such a long and cold winter in the Northern Hemisphere. We are fortunate here in Australia to have sunshine through much of our winter and a drier than average season has been predicted so I foresee lots of frosty mornings followed by stunning blue skies and warm sunshine.
I’m so enjoying this cool change. It’s wonderful to see everything greening up. Summer here is as brown as the eye can see due to the crops. This time of year is always my favourite as a tinge of green slowly creeps in! Xx
ReplyDeleteIt is quite dry here, Emma. We drove out of town the other day and everything was brown which has the firies worries.
DeleteWow at the produce! The Oranges are beautiful. Those flowers...beautiful.
ReplyDeleteChrissy, the oranges taste better than the ones in the supermarket this year.
DeleteThe blue pumpkin on the tree makes me smile every time I see it. How are you planing to pick it Chel?
ReplyDeleteNil, I have no idea. One is almost at the top of the macadamia nut tree but I might be able to reach the other one with a ladder.
DeleteChel it went down to single figures overnight here! Some of the oldies were saying that there might be a frost but this didnt happen. My garden has decided that it doesnt like the cold and most of it is now coming to the end of production. As beds empty I am covering in cane hay and leaving till Spring.
ReplyDeleteI just love the colour of the rosehip soap. Hope it holds this colour as it cures and hardens. I also hope you get the aloe soap out of the mould without too much difficulty.
Jane, I have a few winter veggies doing alright but I am giving brassicas a miss as it is too hard to control that white moth pest.
DeleteI knew it was going to be cold for the first day of Winter when I saw the pretty pink sky the evening before. I'm loving it! Meg:)
ReplyDeleteMeg, I did answer your comment last night and just noticed it had disappeared. Hmmm, I think someone here has been fiddling with something on the computer.
DeleteThat harvest of pecans looks impressive. I was wondering about those pumpkins as you were giving us a tree tour - glad to see they made an appearance. If you can't harvest them I'm sure the birds will enjoy them eventually.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the colour change of the flower is some change in the nutrients available in the soil similar to how hydrangeas can change colour in different soil? It looks pretty either way.
Hope you keep warm up there.
Cheers,
Laura
Laura, the flowers are in the same pot of soil so I am not sure what is happening with the change in colour. There is hardly any yellow left now on the once yellow chrysanthemum. Quite strange.
DeleteI love those floral rubber boots Chel. I wonder what Lavender (cow) would do if I walked into her paddock wearing them? Loving the cold climate here now, so invigorating! We were given some pecan nuts whilst away in Bellengin,so delicious, we had to crack and eat them all at once because we couldn't bring them back across the border. I noticed that your citrus are far more advanced in ripening, than our trees down here in SA.
ReplyDeleteSally, I haven't had much success with the gum boots I have bought. I bought some from a camping place once and thought they would be good quality but they only lasted a season. Lavender would love mine I am sure. Ha ha! I still haven't cracked the pecan nuts. I am surprised the cockys haven't discovered the container of them which is sitting out in the sun at the moment.
DeleteI have those same flowery rain boots Chel, I love them. I'll think of you aearing yours now when I put them on :) I wonder if the bees have pollinated your yellow flower.....I have some orange cosmos that are now flowering yellow.
ReplyDeleteThe boots look nice but I just hope they last a while, Nanette. Perhaps the bees are the culprits as regards the flowers :-)
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