Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Spring Comes To The Garden

In the strange year that is 2020, it's good to know that some things don't change......like the inevitability of the change of seasons. We had a weird winter this year with the almost unknown phenomenon of a quite heavy snowfall in Launceston. I'm still discovering things in my garden that were broken in that storm! The sound of breaking branches woke me in the middle of that snowy night and I rushed outside in pyjamas and gumboots to take a few photos of this once-in-a-hundred-year event.


But, inevitably, spring has rolled around again and quite early this year. The blossoms started to appear almost a month early and the blooming has been wonderful! I'm hopeful of some good fruit yields this summer with lots of blossom on the plum and apricot trees as well as the berry bushes.
Maybe spring is my favourite season - I like the changeability, the wind, the increasing sunshine and longer days and the way there are noticeable changes day by day. 

The backyard is just bursting into leaf - in a few weeks this will be green and shady and I will be regretting that I didn't dig more and sooner for vegetables! It ALWAYS catches me by surprise. 






 

Monday, September 14, 2020

Small Things

I must admit that small things give me a great deal of pleasure: a house filled with the smell of bread baking, a tree bursting into blossom, a contented cat asleep by the fire, home-grown vegetables and fruit and a line full of washing flapping in the sun and wind...........

About that last thing -  When I moved into this house coming up to five years ago, I found that the original washing line was quite decrepit, with broken wires, bent arms and it was stuck halfway down an inaccessible ivy-filled bank. I promised myself in those first few weeks that I would replace it. Soon.

As things panned out, there was always something more pressing to be done and money needed for other things, so it's taken almost five years to get it done! In that time, I've been drying my washing on a couple of clothes horses, which blow over in a gust and don't ask me about sheets taking days to dry! Oh, yes, I don't have an electric dryer for several reasons - expensive to run, prone to starting house fires if you are not ever-vigilant about cleaning the lint filter and the clothes just don't smell like sunshine. Yes, I'm an obstinate old biddy! 

But done it is now - I went out and bought a Hills Hoist (this is still the original company that designed the first rotary clothesline here in Australia, though I imagine they are manufactured offshore these days, like pretty much everything, more's the pity). I had to dig quite a deep hole to house the socket which has been concreted in place.......it's not going anywhere! So it's standing proudly in the middle of my patch of lawn and I dried my first load of washing this morning! It's removable, so when I want full use of the lawn, I simply have to take it out of the socket. Ah.......the pleasure!





Friday, June 26, 2020

A Golden Egg!

Having comfortably housed my three chickens and supplied them daily with nutritious food, I was happy to wait a few months for them to start laying...…..I really didn't think I'd be getting any action in the egg-laying department until August at the earliest. Imagine how delighted I was when I arrived home yesterday to hear the hens making a big fuss - that special sound they make when one of them lays an egg!

I went to check, and sure enough, there was an egg, still warm.

I hope this isn't just a one-off teaser - I won't count my chickens just yet!

I call this a golden egg, because with all the accumulated costs of housing, feed, bedding and the meal-worm farm, I estimate it must be worth its weight in gold!


I think this is the lady responsible:



Monday, June 1, 2020

A HENHOUSE AND RUN



The block my house sits on is quite large - there is quite a big area down the back that has been terraced flat, with old sheds, pergolas and a HUGE brick barbecue. Of course, like everything else it is wildly overgrown and weedy, but it had to wait its turn for a look-in while I dealt with more urgent projects.
The opportunity arose to give a home to a small flock of chickens when the owners (my son and daughter-in-law) had to relocate to the other end of the state for work.
That precipitated work starting on this back garden wilderness, because I needed to house the chickens safely - I'd had it in the back of my mind that a couple of old aviaries down there could easily be converted into a chicken house. So that's what I went ahead and did over three days.
The old aviaries were fortunately very soundly built, so they only really needed cleaning out and the addition of roosts and nesting boxes. Then it was a matter of clearing away weeds and growth to put in the run using star droppers and heavy duty chicken wire, with a treated pine fence post at the corner. 

Getting this all done has prompted me into really getting stuck into taming the jungle - lots of growth to remove, a couple of trees need to be gone, some of the sheds are redundant and will be dismantled, there is tattered shadecloth that needs removing and once all this is done, I can plan I rather lovely outdoor cooking and dining area. I think it will take me until summer to get it done, doing a bit on most days. There is a lot of concrete, but I think I can incorporate it into the design, by using potted plants and paving. 

And that barbecue...…...I don't think I'd use it much as it is, but a pizza oven - that's a different proposition altogether! I think I'd like to remove the barbecue and build a pizza oven on its concrete plinth. I've been reading up about pizza oven and I think it is something I could manage. I can almost picture it now...….hanging out down there with some good friends, cold white wine, shady spot with comfortable seating and home-made pizza cooking away in the oven! That's a promise to myself for six months down the track.

I had been dreading this job, but now I'm kind of looking forward to it...…….how do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time!









Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Recording A Journey.......

As well as keeping this blog, I have been keeping a record of my home renovation journey in sketchbooks.
In them are notes and sketches outlining plans and ideas, then I record with photographs what I actually ended up doing with each project - they don't always end up as I initially planned, because things can change along the way.
I'm also keeping a record of what I spend, quotes given by contractors etc.
Now I'm into the fifth year, I have filled one book and I'm a good way into the second...….I wonder how many I'll end up filling before this project is finished?






With the change in seasons, here is the view as I'm enjoying it at the moment in all its autumn glory! If you can't afford a view of the ocean or the mountains, at least you can create your own small, private view that is every bit as wonderful!



Monday, May 18, 2020

Autumn Arrives at last!

We're had a mild, rainy autumn with not even a frost to date, which is unusual. As a result, autumn has come late to the garden with the trees only turning now just a week or two away from "official" winter.










But now the trees have turned and the leaves are falling - time to hunker down and get on with a few inside jobs!
On the list are a few things that I want to get completed this winter: Firstly, I want to make the roman blinds for the dining room. Secondly, one wall and the ceiling in the hallway need painting and the other wall needs new skirting boards. The inside of the loungeroom window needs stripping and painting and I'm sure there are other things that I will find to do!





Thursday, May 14, 2020

Back Porch

I have a tiny porch outside the back door, which opens off the kitchen - it shelters the back door from the worst of the weather and that's about it! I decided to paint is as the last outside painting job before the colder, wetter weather of winter. The rest of it - the back windows and soffits can wait until spring.
The porch looks very much refreshed with a few minor repairs, holes filled and the paint job!




Here's an update on the frog pond...….with everything growing nicely. No evidence of new permanent residents yet, but I'm hearing them often at night.





Friday, April 24, 2020

A New Front

I finally finished repairing and repainting the big windows across the front of the house and now the scaffold has been taken down, so I can see how it looks. 
I like the colours I chose - these blues go well with the terracotta bricks, I think. Orange and blue are complementary colours (opposites on the colour wheel) so they always look good together. It replaces a nondescript, rather pustulent shade of yellow, which did nothing to enhance the appearance of the house. Probably, the windows and trim would have been originally painted white, I think, although when I was scraping and sanding, there was evidence that a bilious green had been used at one stage. 

I'm going to paint the little back porch in coming days, weather permitting, then that will be it until next Spring/Summer, when I can finish the windows at the back. There is always more re-pointing to be done, which can be done at any time of year.




As winter approaches, I'm pulling out the last of the summer vegetables and digging over the remaining beds to plant things that can grow over winter...….the plantings I've already done are growing well - indeed, I've already started using some of the Asian greens.
Goodbye summer vegetables for a few months - these zucchinis are the last!




The last of summer meets the first of winter in one dish - stir-fried ginger, soy and garlic zucchini with Asian greens. Delicious!


Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Repointing is FUN! Who knew?

While I was up on the scaffold in recent weeks to paint the windows and soffits on the front of the house, I noticed that some of the mortar in the brickwork at the sides of the gable was loose, cracked and falling out in places. I thought it was a good opportunity to have a go at repairing it while it was still accessible from the scaffold. It was high up and in a place that wouldn't be too noticeable if I really botched it!

So, armed with tools, mortar and new-found knowledge from Dr. Google, I launched in, expecting to find it an odious task...…...Well, surprise of surprises! I found it unbelievably satisfying to rake out the loose old mortar, clean out the debris, damp it down and re-point it with fresh mortar. It took a bit of practice to get the technique right, but I think I did an OK job of it. I kept it damp while it dried off, as recommended and this morning when I checked it is still intact and good.

Now I'm looking forward to repairing a few other places where the brickwork needs re-pointing!





Sunday, April 12, 2020

A Frog Pond

During the summer, my neighbour gifted me a fibreglass pond which she'd taken out of her garden and no longer needed. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it...…...I had a kind of weedy desert where I looked out onto the garden from my dining room window - it's a fairly shaded area, so I thought it would be a great spot to establish a fern and shade-plant garden. So with the free pond and a bit of rock shifting and digging, that's exactly what I did...…...I bought a few plants and shifted some from other parts of the garden where they'd been struggling to compete with other plants. I'm happy to report that everything is growing well and looking lush. Now the frogs just need to move in. 

On that point I heard some frogs in the garden a few nights ago for the first time ever.....I hope it's not too long before they discover the wonderful home I've created for them. I've still to buy a little solar water feature so I can have the sound of water as well.

Oh yes - I'm also planning to make some small pieces of sculpture for the pond surrounds using a cement based sculpting medium that I bought a while back.



Saturday, March 28, 2020

More Recent Work

Here are a few more pictures of recent works - firstly the front deck with its new coat of paint and refurbished wrought iron balustrade (so much work restoring that - I don't think I ever want to do something like that again!) Secondly, the restored and refinished kitchen floor with the hand-painted "tumbled tiles" design.
I've also had a good start on painting the front of the house - it's a brick house, so its only the windows and soffits that need painting. I was fearful that paticularly the end window was badly damaged, but I was surprised to find that it was remarkably sound under the loose paint. Only one tiny repair in one corner where the wood had rotted a little. Because it is the two-storey part of the house, I needed to access it safely - luckily I've been able to borrow my son's portable scaffold for a few weeks while he doesn't need it. I think the grey/blues I've chosen look great with the red brick - complementary contrast and all that!
Work has continued in the garden, too. the seeds I planted last week are coming up and the seedlings are looking healthy and perky. The weather is still relatively warm so I'm getting a late flush of scarlet runners and zucchinis.








Blissfully unaware, Oliver sleeps on!



Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Surviving in Strange Times

In a matter of a few months, how the world has changed! As the corona virus sweeps through countries, virtually shutting them down one after the other, we find ourselves forced to stay home and with as little contact with others as possible to mitigate the possibility of spread. Social distancing. Who knew what that was just a few weeks ago?

All that notwithstanding, I have still been pressing on with my renovations - nothing like a bit of hard work to keep yourself occupied with the added bonus that it leaves little room for brooding!
Fortunately, I quite like my own company, so being at home alone is not an ordeal for me. Missing the communal music-making, though.

So what have I been up to? I converted a useless corner cupboard (you know the ones - in a corner so its almost impossible to access what's in there. They end up being repositories of forgotten jars of unspeakable things!) I opened the back of it so that it faces into the dining room, framed it and painted it and now it is far more useful as wine storage.




I've been doing quite a bit of work outside. I've put in a ferny frog pond in a shady corner that my dining room window looks out on. No residents as yet, but I'll get some tadpoles in the spring. I've also painted my front deck and hand-rails. I don't have pictures of those two projects, but I'll take some tomorrow. The vegetable garden is expanding and in recent days I've planted beds with winter vegetables......seemed like a good idea, given current circumstances.

Some digging around and clearing up unearthed this set of steps that had been completely buried - they lead up from the backyard bungalow. When the conifer is finally removed, I'll make this area into a pleasant little garden.



Unfortunately, my excavations didn't yield any treasure - just this:



In late summer last year, my friends from Switzerland stayed for a week or two - they helped with some of the jobs around the place. This is Hannes' fence - such an improvement on what was there before! that one got used as kindling to start the fire with last winter. And Ursula helped me to strip the layers of old lino and vinyl from the kitchen floor and remove the old glue (big job!) After they left, I finished it with liming white and painted a decorative tumbled tile design where the kitchen and dining room floors meet. I'll add pictures of that to my next post. 

But the biggest job in the past year was getting the fascias, barge boards and down pipes replaced. I had this professionally done - it was beyond my skills to do this kind of work properly. I'm glad I did - it looks so good and absolutely no leaks since the 50mm downpipes have been replaced with 90mm, which can cope much better with heavy downpours. The colour is Colorbond Deep Ocean - a kind of dark blue-grey, which I will also use on the garage door and the gable ends. The windows will be a lighter shade of blue-grey.

 





So that's about it for now - I sliced the tip off my finger today using one of those lethal mandolin slicers - bit distracted, I think. I'm throwing that thing away tomorrow! I don't think I'll be able to do much work in the garden tomorrow - I need to let it heal. Maybe a day reading and tea-dinking is in order!