Sunday 10 March 2013

Water Woes.



Sunset over the garden
Last night, I snuck out into the garden with my headlamp torch affixed to my forehead, feeling like a thief in the night!  I felt a thrill at doing my first night-time activity while neighbours were safely sitting in front of their tellies, or tucked up in bed!  I turned on the tap and hosed our veggie beds and fruiting trees.  No, no pilfering of neighbours' goods!  All perfectly legal activity!  We have had water restrictions imposed last week.  No hoses or irrigating to be done between the hours of 6am and 9pm!  We are allowed to irrigate only on consecutive days - so, as our house number is an odd number, we can irrigate on odd numbered days!  This arrangement will continue till April, and then it will be reconsidered whether we need to keep these restrictions through April.

Darn!!  One of our goals for 2013 was to install a 2000L rainwater tank at the end of the year!  We shoulda done it sooner!  Our area is probably one of the last to have water restrictions imposed, because we normally have a high annual rainfall record!  We shall see if we can keep everything alive through these times!  Just goes to show, that although we have so called free water supply (averages $1 per day), we can't rely on town water alone, we should really install rainwater harvesting tanks!!  


2 Chickies getting acquainted

We are enjoying watching our mother hen, Miss Molly, and her 8 baby chicks.  The chickens have learned to fly with ease, and they easily fly up to the sleeping quarters.  Their fluffy yellow coverings are slowly being replaced by real feathers, giving them a uniqueness in regard to colouring and markings.  Our daughter has fallen in love with a caramel-coloured chick who tends to enjoy being cuddled, even falling asleep in our hands, while the others cheep anxiously while being handled!  Now we have to wait till we discover which ones are male and which ones are female.  We will keep 2 females and Miss Molly and the 6 remaining chicks will return to their original owner.  The good news is that our noisy little bantams, Liz and Spence have been rehoused and accepted by their adoptive flock!  Hooray!  Our new chickens will hopefully be quiet like their mother, Miss Molly, whose partner was a Barnevelder.  This breed is one of the quieter ones and does not mind being confined to a chook run or tractor.



Feeding one of our friendly visiting doves
Raw Food Week
 My husband and I have just undertaken a week of "cleaning out", just before we go into winter with all the starchy, stodgy, warming foods.  We try to do this at least once a year but normally we juice for a week (have once done a 10 day juice fast).  The juice recipe we use is one from Don Tolman and is soooo delicious, one does not mind drinking it in gallons!  This time around, I looked at our peach and prune tree, dripping with fruit and it seemed a shame to not be able to harvest and eat that summery goodness, so we decided to simply make it a raw food diet for the week.  Wow!  What a wonderful way to clean out the pipes!  We ate as much fruit as we needed to, drank Cabala juice and had a great big garden salad in the evening.  We did not feel hungry or even deprived (as one can feel on a juice diet alone).  Fasting or cleaning-out diets restores the body and most importantly, cleans out the intestines and colon, the site of old stagnant foods and waste.  I highly recommend an annual clean-out.  One feels vibrant, refreshed and restored!

My father suffered from diverticulitis, a nasty and common ailment which often comes from a diet low in fibre and high in meat.  Basically, pockets of old food get trapped in the colon wall, these bulge out and become infected, causing bloating, discomfort,fever, nausea, cramping and pain.  Regular colon clean-outs can help prevent such a condition.  Prevention is often easier than cure.

Cabala Juice
2 1/2 kg carrots
2 x red apples
1/3 fist-sized beetroot
2 x green apples
1 lemon, whole, rind included
2 x yellow apples (we use Freyburg)

Juice above ingredients - this is the minimum amount needed per person per day, if juicing alone.  As we were eating raw fruit and veggies as well, we shared this daily amount.  If juicing on it's own, one should try sipping constantly throughout the day, rather than sculling a glassful down in one go.  This way, the body is constantly receiving nutrition and it negates the feelings of hunger.  The different coloured apples target the emotions we go through on a "fast".  The good thing about juicing was that we could use up our coddling moth apples - cutting out the scungy bits and making use of the good bits!  Waste not, want not!  I think "fast" is the wrong term, it conjures up a sense of deprivation, where juicing actually provides us with all the nutrition the body needs.  After 3 days (clean out and detox), the body craves protein, so it looks for protein within it's own self!  Amazing!  It feeds on dead, dying and diseased cells, thus cleaning up tumours and growths!    All it takes is a little willpower, the mind keeps on bringing up chocolate cake, chocolate pudding and chocolate muffins up to test you!

Last of our zucchini harvest
New Artwork for the Walls
I bought 2 wooden frames for $60 and framed 2 prints of our children's artwork, with music as the theme!  I am happy with the results - originals!  Now I have to try to hammer nails into our new brick walls - just not sure how to do that yet!
My son's Dali-esque electric sounds

My daughter's Braque-esque ukulele sounds

Gardening Activities
The sunshine was been wonderful, but it has transpired this water crisis.  The garden is however in that final summer transition time, needing a good clean up.  I have begun by pulling up the first of the bean teepee beds.  Took all of yesterday morning to harvest all the pods for the seed-saving venture I took part in.  But it feels good, I have about 1kg of Purple Yeome Bean seeds to use as seed and to send back to Central Tree Crops Association.  I have a lesser amount of the Turkey Craw seeds, having picked quite a few to cook as green beans.  I have sowed some winter vege seeds to replace the cleaned up beds.  Once I have managed to take down the teepee structure, I shall place the chook tractor onto the bed to do the last clean up and tilling of the soil for planting out the winter seedlings.
Seeds to sow:  parsley, silverbeet or swiss chard, NZ spinach, coriander, root veges - carrots, beetroot and parsnips, and brassicas - cauli, cabbage and broccoli.
Sky-scraping sunflower blocking out the sun!



2 comments:

  1. So inspiring, as always. Your write so well, I can see, smell and taste it all. Almost as though I am there with you. Plumgirl xx ;)

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  2. Thanks for your comment! Wish you were here with me, sitting in the sun, shelling heritage beans!

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