kiaora koutou, well summer has pretty much done it's thing, and we're heading into autumn, equinox has happened and the wind has really changed, very cold, easterlies and southerlies blasting away, and a bunch of rain which is always good for the tanks and the thirsty gardens. Nights are getting longer and my inclination to snuggle and hibernate is getting stronger..... However, the garden is still growing! I have been overcome by pumpkins, I thought I'd chuck a couple of seeds around the place and see what happened.
Sally the Cat supervised proceedings
- and they grew...
and grew...
and grew...
and grew
It seemed like I could turn my back for a minute and the vine would grow three feet, it's quite spectacular.
They are growing in the original compost pile, which has also sprouted avocado trees and several tomato plants, as well as some more borage. They are also growing in the back vege bed which our first woofers, Kat and my mum, were building and working on almost a year ago - so well done guys, all that horse poo and digging and building has paid off heaps!
What else? well, one of my chooks (Blondie) has eloped with next door's roosters,
and can be seen leading her entourage around a la Marilyn Monroe, and giving me filthy looks for being so stupid as to expect her to stay in the coop and be fed regularly and lay eggs.... what was I thinking. Another rooster (there are 6 in total!!) has been seen flying into the chicken coop and sexually harassing my other chooks, who are a bit more compliant and obedient, until he hopped in, at which point there was a lot of frustrated chicken sex on my lawn and much squawking and flapping. This has led to me standing out in the pouring rain for 2 hours fixing extra pieces of chicken wire onto the fence to make it too high for him to get in again. He is also now giving me filthy looks, but my girls are a lot happier! Heaven knows what their eggs will turn out now though, as it's not entirely impossible that they will have been impregnated, I'm sure the rooster was not responsible enough to use a condom.....
Zucchini has been a star deliverer, I have grown one which was the length of my forearm, from wrist to elbow, and another one is looking to be about the same size. Monsters! I have been feeding everything worm tea from my worm farm, which seems to have been successful, and made zucchini fritters, with eggs from my chooks, and basil and chilli seasoning from the garden also. Roll on pumpkin soup with home grown basil and chilli soon! Yesterday I dug up the first potatoes of the season, they were just sitting under the surface of the earth in the compost pile, like little golden and red eggs, just waiting to be picked up. Quite a few came out, enough for a meal for two. There are more potato plants in the horse poo pile, so I will see how they go. On on, I'm off home to taunt the roosters with the information that they will soon be going in the pot hehehehe. Ps earplugs are really a must-have when living in the "peace and quiet" of the countryside! ka kite ano lou
