Weeds That Feed

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What is a weed?  A plant considered undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome, especially one growing where it is not wanted, as in a garden.

If the above definition is applied then my cherry tomato plants are definitely weeds.  They are not particularly pretty, grow in places where I do not want them and generally get in the way.  I am forever pulling the seedlings out of the ‘formal’ vegetable beds and The Duke must mow over thousands of them in the lawn.

However, we usually have a few that we leave to their own devices in areas where they are not causing harm.  There is one plant which has been growing and bearing fruit for several months on the far side of the driveway in ‘no man’s land’.  It has spread over a heap of mulch and has intertwined with thistles.  I had not picked any fruit for about 6 weeks so I braved the thistles yesterday and was surprised to find all of these fruit just waiting for me.

2013-04-29 01  There was about 3.5kg of fresh, full-flavoured cherry tomatoes.  I have cleaned, rinsed and frozen 3kg of them in readiness to make more tomato sauce.  I hope to do that next weekend.  The remainder are spread on a tray to ripen fully and then they will grace the last of our summer salads.

Plants that are self-sown which survive and thrive will be good as they have passed the ‘survival of the fittest ‘ test.  Perhaps that is why we have such success with the cherry tomatoes.  Other self-sown plants which provide use with food include pumpkins and cucumbers.

Do you harvest from any fruit or vegetable plants which just appear in your garden?

The Circle of Life

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On Friday afternoon I moved some of the wood that had been left to season.  It is now in the woodshed and will be split and added to the the stash of firewood which we keep for the wood heater.

2013-04-28 01Once I disturbed the ground, I was surrounded by the chickens who were eager to feast on the grubs and other insects which were lurking under the wood.  They had a wonderful time turning over the soil and looking for tasty morsels.

2013-04-28 02This weekend we have built 2 more raised garden beds.  One of them is lined with heavy cardboard that I had been saving.  Then we piled in a thick layer of dry leaf litter followed by some lawn clippings.  We will add more soil, compost and probably some mushroom compost which we will buy locally.  These 3 garden beds have been constructed entirely from leftover and salvaged materials.

2013-04-28 03I started to think about how we manage to use and recycle much of what is generated on our property.

The wood is from tree limbs that have fallen or been lopped on our block.  These will be used to heat our home.  The resulting ash is added to the garden beds, either directly or via the compost.  Any charcoal is saved in a jar of kerosene to use as firelighters.  We grow fruit and vegetables.  The chickens provide us with eggs.  The scraps and peels are fed to the chickens.  The chicken manure is added to the garden beds.  Leaf litter and lawn clippings are added to the compost.

It is all part of a never-ending cycle.

Leftovers for Lunch

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Every day The Duke and I take a packed lunch to work.  Since I do not eat bread it is often leftovers or a salad.  The Duke will sometimes take some homemade bread, cheese and tomato and make a sandwich at work.

Today, however, I was at home so was not constrained by what I could pack.  At lunchtime I looked in the fridge and pantry and found an assortment of leftover ingredients just begging to be used.

2013-04-26 01There was a small amount of mashed sweet potato from last night as well as some refried beans, 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes, an opened packet of corn chips.  As part of my planned gourmet delight I also have some yoghurt, cheese, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

In the interest of minimising the washing up I decided to use the glass dish that the sweet potato was in.  I spread it evenly over the dish, spooned a layer of tomatoes over it, then added the refried beans and the seeds.

2013-04-26 02I topped it with corn chips and grated cheese and browned in under the griller.

2013-04-26 03This made enough for 2 serves so I will be having the same again tomorrow.

2013-04-26 04Served with a dollop of natural yoghurt this was a quick and easy meal which used up a couple of things that could easily have been wasted.

Thank You

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There will be a new blog post a bit later but for the moment I just wanted say a big thank you to everyone who took the time to comment on the last few posts, especially, “Where Are We Headed”.

I have been a bit slow to respond but have now replied to you all.

A warm welcome to new readers those commenting for the first time.  I hope you will continue to participate as I think it is the comments that really make the blogs worth reading.

2011-09-29 02

Lest We Forget

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April 25th – Anzac Day.  This is the anniversary of the day in 1915 that soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli in their first major military action of World War I.

Since the earliest memorial services following World War I, Anzac Day has become a day to commemorate the service of all Australian and New Zealand military personnel.

Anzac DayThere are very few families in this country who have not been touched in some way by the military conflicts of the past 99 years.

Where Are We Headed?

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Today I want to share a question that was posed recently on an internet forum that I read.  The following is an edited version of the original question/statement that was put up for discussion.

“So many people seem to be in such dire straits with health – physical, mental, emotional and monetary problems.  Why? Do you honestly think it is normal?  I don’t.  I think that the world is in melt down.

So much hatred and heartache in the world, the home, the streets and the schools ,these days.

I think that if we could go back to a simpler life of less things and more love and understanding then we would need less drugs for depression, anxiety and emotional related illness.

The word dis-ease is of course a body not at ease, not happy, not content, not reaching its potential and of course we all know the health system is buckling under the weight of diseases.

So why is humanity doing this do you think? We are clever and we do have choices about how we live and how we work and live in our family units and amongst our friends and in our communities and the wider world.

What are people’s agendas?  Is progress the be all and end all of humanity, if in the end it only causes destruction?  I think that we have gone too far and that it is time to pull back from the vortex we are hurtling towards.”

I found this quite confronting and to be honest, downright depressing.  Several people responded and added their view of what was wrong with the world and I could literally feel myself being dragged down.

2013-04-21 02So I took a dose of my own advice, wrote the following response and immediately felt better.

“There are problems – there have always been problems.

Most of the issues have been thoughtfully identified in preceding posts.  (Original forum discussion not copied here).

So, what to do about it? Whinge? Wring our hands? Worry? These are not productive responses and will only drag you into the downward spiral with everyone and everything else.

Take a step back and heed Ghandi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

I do not believe that ‘Dropping out’ is a solution. We are essentially a social species and are not wired to live in isolation.

Make small, incremental changes that are sustainable, otherwise you will be overwhelmed and setting yourself up for failure.

Turn off the TV – or at least skip the advertisements
Do not buy magazines
Limit your exposure to news coverage
Shop during conventional hours (Mon-Fri 9-5 and Sat 9-12)
Support businesses that only open during those hours
Turn off your mobile phone/internet for set periods so that you are not connected constantly
Reach out to your neighbours
Give something back to your community – volunteer?
Participate in local activities
Eat simple meals

It is difficult to change the sense of entitlement, constant anger, greediness etc that we see in the world.

TO DO

Practise the sorts of things I have mentioned
Model positive behaviours to your children, family, friends and neighbours

RESULTS

You will feel calmer, more resilient and positive
This may be the first drip of a new flood

If everyone who is concerned about the direction that society is headed makes positive changes we can make a difference. We are the society.”

2013-04-21 03What do you think?  I am genuinely interested in how you view society today.  Are we all agents of our own self-destruction?  Can we change things or do we need to?  Are you perfectly happy with your life and your place in the world at large?

Deep Clean & Dressed For Winter

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Today I had a deep clean in our bedroom.  I took the mattress and base off the bed so that I could vacuum properly underneath it.  I turned the mattress when I replaced it.

2013-04-18 01I cleaned the windowsills, cornices and skirting boards.

The valance on the base was washed.

2013-04-18 02The valance was replaced and the bed remade with fresh linen.  I have swapped the light coloured doona cover that we use during the summer months for this one.

2013-04-18It changes the look of the room.  Although it is the same fabric, the darker colour  feels right for the cooler weather.  I have not yet put the feather doona on the bed – we have a cotton blanket and lightweight polyfill doona at the moment.

The weather is still quite warm at the moment but we will make gradual changes as needed.

Reprise

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It is exactly 4 months since I posted this after the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Today I post it for the victims of the Boston bombings.

*****************************************************************

No discussion, no recriminations.

A prayer for the souls who lost their lives, the injured and the bereaved.  May they find peace.

Getting Back on Track

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I have had 2 weeks back at work since my holidays and I still feel as though I am chasing my tail at home.  Somehow everything has been done but the smooth process seems to have flown the coop.  In fact, last Friday morning I had to iron a shirt for The Duke as there were no business shirts in his cupboard.  That was not good.

This weekend has been pretty busy as Miss O and Izz came to stay and that certainly limits what I get done.  However, I have managed to finish the washing and ironing, written a menu plan and have the meals prepared for Monday and Tuesday.

006Do you plan your meals?  What is your process?

I have have also decided what I will wear to work tomorrow so I feel as though I am ready to start the week.  How about you?