Martha Stewart doesn't know an Araucana from a Pendescenca.

Ahem...well who would?

Money for Jam....

Yesterday Dad and me made strawberry jam together, with the abundance of fresh strawberries he had in his fridge.

 

 

 

Here is Dad stirring the jam!

 

 

 



And here is the finished product!

Recipe and tips to follow :)

The Lost Trades Fair - Kyneton

The weekend before last  was our long awaited visit to the Kyneton Lost Trades Fair, now in its second year and much bigger than the 2014 event according to one local.

Originally this tribute to the traditional trades and the people who made them, fitted entirely into the Kyneton museum, with some of the artisans working from their nearby premises.

Now the festival, created by chairmakers Lisa and Glen Rundell, spills over the Kyneton racecourse with 84 stall holders and incredibly, 13-14,000 visitors this year.

Nanna's bunnies...and the Harcourt Apple Festival

 

We found ourselves by complete chance at the Harcourt Apple Festival last weekend. 

This festival was a lot of fun and we felt very lucky to have caught it as it enabled us to get a feel of the local "vibe" as well as sample great  cider and perry - or rather purchase great cider and perry,as we have been lucky enough to sample the goods via family in Castlemaine, in recent years. ;) 

All in all a fine quality product we can highly recommend!

Nanna's bunnies

These utterly charming bunnies were made by the young stall holder's Nanna.  I loved these so much I had to ask M to buy me one - and yes this little fellow is now living at my place - isn't he cute? And Nana (of a grand old age - not - of 65) made him!. Go Nanna I say!

Apart from the cider and perry stalls there were many more stalls of face painting, circus acting classes, and animal petting.All in all a great family fun day.

Circus training for all

This happy fella was content to just "sit" in the petting pen - and I have never seen a more contented incumbent at a petting pen than he.:)

Apples at the Harcourt Apple Festival

And this sweet caravan could not fail to charm...isn't it gorgeous? All in all a good afternoon and one we can highly recommend for next year!!

Little Mouse Tea House

Taking a break ..Part 2

Have you ever been to the Mid North Coast of NSW, and inland to the Dorrigo? If not you are missing out on a stunning part of our beautiful country, full of flavour, natural beauty and interest. Of course as a Victorian, I can say that humbly, having been introduced to this part of the world by my NSW born and bred other half, Michael.

Michael's father Athol loved the Dorrigo plateau, just inland from Urunga on the coast by about half an hour, driving through it as a logger on many, many trips,  back in the 70's. Michael first saw it as a little tacker riding with his Dad and fell in love with it too.

Taking a break...Part 1

In Late January we abandoned the chooks and the garden to head North.

This was our destination  in Northern NSW - So gorgeous and unspoilt I am reluctant to name the location ! Let me think about that :)...We were away for a month and the next couple of posts will be about some truly beautiful places and inspiring people, trying to live sustainably, creatively, and connectedly.

Anonymous walkers on Mylestom Beach

Chook breeds for Freya

Three Jappies and a Bitzer sitting in a row

A little bird told me Freya, 13 year old owner of "only two types of chicken!" (woe how can this be?) was looking for some new chicken breeds to try so I wrote this post just for you Freya.

There are some gorgeous birds out there and it really depends if your focus is their decorative qualities, (living garden ornaments as my brother calls them :)) personality type or big egg production.

Here are a few of my favourites and that combine at least two if not three out of three!

The Japanese Bantam:

Tiny birds, small eggs (30g or so) and BIG personalities. They can become very tame, sitting on your lap or arm readily. They cope well living with larger birds because they fly well and they are pretty self confident.
Michael has noticed Mimi "shouldering" bigger birds away from treats in a very quiet determined way that is very amusing (that's Mimi in the pic below)

Jappeies have gorgeous tails that they fan out when strutting about which are nearly as big as them. They come in some gorgeous colours.

Even though their eggs are small they are actually quire useful for small baking jobs as there is no waste.

You can baste a pie for example without having to throw away unused egg.

Also handy if you need to halve a recipe (ever tried to halve an egg? Ever left unused egg in the fridge and forgotten it was there for a week or two? Yerk!).

Downside of Jappies? They do go clucky.. a lot. Best to have a clucky cage ready come Spring!

Below are four of my five Jappies in situ as I type.  Note: The rather stark looking clucky cage (a rabbit pen in fact ) is a temporary measure to help ease the birds out of their hormonal urge to "sit" on eggs and hatch chicks.  A futile exercise with infertile eggs.)

The next  photo gives you an idea of their size. You can literally hold them in your hand!

Mimi checks out my foot

Meditation time?

The Australorp

The only Australian breed of chook. Great calm temperament and friendly. Regular and frequent  layer of gorgeous eggs ranging from 40g (bantam) up to 90g. Vegemite our black Australorp laid a 90g and when I showed Michael he winced - "Is she alright?" he said with concern!.

Little Vegemite surveying the vegie garden

Her shiny feathers in the sun

Happy the Bantam Blue Australorp - Blue is a rare colour but becoming more popular

The Polish 

What can I say about Polish? Amazing! Curious and diligent diggers for bugs they are like puppies. Always under your feet and quite enjoy a cuddle (especially if purchased young). I've had Bibi go to sleep on my lap as I stroked her. They lay a good medium sized eggs 3-4 days a week and come in gorgeous colours. 

Bibi is a Bearded Polish (no not like a bearded lady - much prettier but a bit more lugubrious looking *rofl*) One thing to note is that Polish are a rare breed because they are less hardy than say Australorps. 

Bearded Partridge Polish

 BiBi and Jack were inseparable.

BiBi and Mangrove Jack 

Jack in the sun

Silver laced Polish - LuLu

So Freya these are three amazing breeds of chicken that I have in my garden. If you want to learn more about chickens I can highly recommend www.backyard poultry.com  (an Australian site) for more information and do feel free to email me with any questions! :)