Every year you anxiously wait for the tomatoes to arrive then when they hit, you can't wait for them to be finished again. Never happy are we - haha! I've been pretty excited with the new addition to my tomato varieties this year with the beautiful little blueberry tomato. Nice and sweet tomato. There are heaps on the plants so I think when they kick in fully I may dehydrate with basil - great bite sized toms. I've been doing plenty of preserving - video to come - so you'll be able to see what I've been up to!
There is plenty of life around at the moment with the place feeling a lot greener with the rain that dumped down recently. Friday night saw the gauge catch 28.5mm of rain which was all quickly soaked into the ground - the soil life must be happy with that! I was pretty lucky with the timing of it too as I had South Gippsland Permaculture network social event here on Saturday morning. The rain stopped just in time as everyone arrived for tour and a chat. No photos sorry as I was busy showing everyone around. Lots of interest and great questions - was really good. The chat after was fantastic too - no masks made it feel quite normal - what a relief!!
Shot above are of a beautiful blue banded bee. I'm noticing lots more of them buzzing around the place - it's nice to know that my gardening efforts are supporting this little native bee. A couple of water lilies on the pond are always great to see. The last photo is of Star, my cow, and her seven month old calf Zumi. I'm hoping that soon they'll be eating plenty of green grass rather than the brown as the grass kicks back in with the rain and starts to grow again!
I've been finding a little time to get a bit of spinning going. It's really rewarding turning these fleeces, white - wool, dark brown - alpaca, into something that one day may be of use. Currently wool and alpaca fibre aren't as valued as they were in the past and we need to turn this around. I'm hoping to create some wearable pieces from these over the coming years.
But the food is what brought me here and the food is fantastic. Sometimes its as simple as bone broth with a little meat and veg. Other times I'll put together a big spread - especially when family and friends visit. Smoked shoulder of lamb (from the farm) and beef ribs (friends farm) combined with roast spuds, green bean salad, and a colourful coleslaw kept this lot happy on the weekend! Two young men were also happy with the haul they got to take home !!
Thats all I have for this week hope yours was good and the coming week even better!
Cheers
Linda