Guinea fowl's first night in the trees

 Our guinea fowl are about 6 months old now and have recently started venturing out of the chicken yard. They also decided that it was time to roost in a tree for the whole night!

We screwed that branch into the tree when we were building the big coop (still unfinished in the background) thinking they might like hanging out up high. But they never showed much interest, then they refused to come down on Friday night. And on Saturday with the crazy wind the branch has somehow been snapped in half so they're back in their coop at night.

I was wondering if they'd ever start patrolling around the house after I was told that you really need a group of twelve plus. But they are getting brave and curious - they even went next door. And after landing in Archie's yard twice they've luckily survived with no injuries and seem to have learnt that it's a no go zone. So here's hoping they continue being brave and that they happily accept new guineas in spring!

Toddler trackpants

 What feels like forever ago, but was in reality only last year, Mum dropped off some polar fleece remnants from my Grandma. They are about 30cm wide so I decided to sew them together so I could make Lily some more trackpants since she never has any clean ones - apparently her clothes are too dirty multiple times a day!

Now this was supposed to be a quick, no fuss project... But of course I decided to practice matching seams. Which went well sewing the two pieces of fabric together. Then I messed up and didn't mirror the pattern pieces. So I had to sew together two more pieces of fabric, pattern matching went fine, but I sewed the wrong sides together. Decided that just matter since they're just for around the house and promptly cut out a third of the same piece... 

I got there in the end, one leg is fuzzy on the outside and the other is fuzzy on the inside. Somehow I've managed to get the back pattern matched (you can just see the orange on the elastic casing) and the fuzzy leg is matched quite nicely, but the rest is all over the place! Lessons have been learnt - I don't have the patience (or the mental capacity) for pattern matching.

Once I got past the hurdles of cutting out the pieces it was a quick no fuss project. Even better this is a free sweatpants pattern from Life Sew Savory. Now I've got two more pairs to make since I've aready cut out two right legs!

Tawny Frogmouths

 I have been trying to get a good photo of these tawny frogmouths to share with you, and finally I have one that is alright, only because you can easily see they are birds and not branches!

Most days I can find them both in this tree, occasionally there might be just the one or neither of them. There were four for awhile last year, so I assume they are a breeding pair. I'm hoping they'll build a nest (which they're not great at) in this tree so we can watch the babies grow. They're in a good spot with a view of the chicken yard so I'm sure they're helping with the inevitable mouse population.

Ditch planting started

 There is probably a better name for it but I call it the ditch which runs between our property and the road. It's a big slop that has a lot of grass and weeds, along with bare patches where the soil is getting washed away in heavy rain.

A couple of months ago I started with this little section and it has held up well so far, to be fair we haven't had any heavy rain (or light rain really) so the true test will come in summer. I don't water it often because I don't want to cart watering cans out here or waste our precious water in a spot that just runs straight into the ditch. Survival of the fittest for this "garden". Ultimately we want the grass gone as it is not easy for Ray to whipper snip along here.

I'm also trying to not spend too much money out here so random rocks and sticks are creating little terraced sections to hold and soil and plants so they don't slide down the hill.

The dead tree is supporting a dragonfruit I planted a year ago, it could really do with more consistent watering, it's surviving - definitely not thriving! Otherwise I've randomly planted things quite close together so they can outcompete the grass, and spread lots of roots to hold the soil in place.

So far I've got coreopsis, a ponytail palm, dogbane, geranium, gazania, petunias, cineraria, some aloe from the neighbours and some plants mum gave me. All in all they're still alive, not doing a whole lot, but that's the same for the grass and most of my plants. 

Winter will be over soon, the rain will start and everything will grow faster than I can keep up. Hopefully it looks amazing soon so I can share an update - you'll be able to tell the difference between the mulch and the grass once it's all green!

And these little pardalotes are making a nest in the culvert right next to this garden, they're insect eaters so I'm sure they will appreciate the new garden.

A little orange tree

 I've been making progress with my garden planning, as well as changing my mind and moving a couple of trees! But so far my method of planting them in this horrible ground is doing well, I suppose the true test will be after a full year with all the seasons.

My process is as follows:

• Dig a big hole (width is 4 times the size of the pot and the depth is the same as the pot)
• Add a whole lot of mushroom compost and mix in and break up the clay soil
• Plant the tree about 20cm above ground level, mounding with mushroom compost/soil mix
• Create a ring around the edge of the hole (I mainly use the clay soil for this part) 
• Cover with mulch

The little ditch around the tree is necessary as it is so dry here that the water never gets a chance to soak in. I tried a mini swale with the elderberry I put in the chicken yard but it couldn't compete with the possum traffic and the gum tree. Next was a panama berry using a little ditch all the way around and it's doing great, although to be fair it was a small healthy plant that I grew from a cutting. I then planted a sublime tree that was on clearance and desperately needed to be planted which seems to have settled in so hopefully this little orange will do well, if not I'll blame this horrible cold wind we keep getting.

Next project is to figure out a fence for this section, the hares have found this garden and even chewed the top of a mango and avocado seedlings! Currently a very floppy and hastily set up chicken wire fence is keeping everything safe, although the magpies have been eating the strawberries so maybe I need to consider bird netting as well...