Back into the fray!

Home for three weeks now and just starting to settle back into a routine. Pat and I had a hectic weekend of catching up with friends, too many wines and late nights. The property, now nicknamed 'Hollywood' is coming along slowly but surely. This time of year is great for getting out and doing some work in the garden or on the house however, it's also the time of year when everyone wants to have a bbq, or there's some kind of interesting festival or party on. Being the lush that I am, it's difficult to say no to a party op. So I'm currently attempting to juggle our social calendar with the Hollywood 'work' calender.

We've discovered that the dam is perfect for swimming. It's muddy, but clear of debris. It's a perfect size for doing laps in or throwing yourself in after bushwalk or work in the garden.

The house is starting to look great. The double french doors we scored from the previous owner for a song are in place, and the house looks like it's been there for years.
Pat has been going through all his bits and pieces in the garage which he's been collecting for years. We have all the trimmings, door nobs, locks, screws, hooks, rails, lights and fittings. The old windows look great, and we also have some pavers donated from friends for the patio area. Thousands of dollars and landfill saved by collecting and scavenging, and I'm now feeling good about the 'junk' that has littered my backyard for what seems a lifetime. We also have a huge water heater that sits on the roof and is heated by the fireplace. In fact, we have so many water heaters, we could heat water for  a whole village! The house will eventually look very eclectic and I can't wait to see it finished! Still looking at the end of March.

I've stopped building my garden for the time being. It's just big enough to manage with a few short sessions a week. I've been collecting seeds and plants from friends and buying some trees. A temporary fence is up to stop the horses from eating it. I think the kangaroos can just jump right over but they haven't yet attempted. We're adjusting two beautiful horses for the previous owner of the property. The horses are mother and daughter and named Jasmin and Chance.  With lots of horse poo to collect I now have another ingredient to add to my layered garden.

Gardening tip:
If you want good soil for vege's, continuously build it up with manure, straw and compost. Make sure you don't throw fresh manure directly on plants as it will burn them. The best way is to prepare soil with manure between harvests and leave for a week before planting next. The dryer the manure the better. It's okay to put manure around established plants, but keep away from the roots. Root veges don't really like nutrient-rich soil, so keep this in mind when using manure or other plant food. It makes them leafy and the root (which is what you're eating) small.

Horses poo often has seeds in it but if you don't have a weedy paddock this isn't a problem. Otherwise it's better to use cow poo, unless your willing to pick the weeds out as they grow which I'm happy to do.