Even though I have been on a blogging hiatus that doesn't mean that I have not been busy in the garden.

Our weekends during August and September last year were taken up with building a chook pen.

First Post 

Pen Taking Shape

Bricks and metal poles down and up

1/2 wire on

All wire on

Shed built, lawn mower catcher installed

satellite dish wired in

All ready for habitation

First morning exploring

First egg

As I said earlier, we are pushed for time during the week and this project took 8 weeks to complete.
I had set aside (mentally) a 5 metre by 3 ½ metre corner of the back part of our back yard specifically for chooks. I had figured that we could keep a maximum of 8 in a space that big which would more than cater for our needs.
Recycling for this one was a challenge, we had to buy the treated pine posts as I scoured Ebay and Gumtree for months looking for second hand building materials to no avail.
In order to make it Cattle Dog proof we had to have posts 3 metres in length buried in the ground to a depth of ½ metre (never underestimate the strength of a determined dog). We also had to purchase the wire which is not your average chicken wire – we decided on a vermin proof aviary wire which is very thick and very strong and of course the cement.
There are however, 2 dismantled Hills Hoyst Clothes Lines, 200 bricks, 1 satellite dish, 1 brick compost bin, ½ tin of house paint, some old fencing panels, timber left over from our house extension, external plasterboard also left over from our house extension and the piece de resistance … the fly screen door off the back of the house.
The satellite dish was a stroke of genius (even if I do say so myself) as it is attached to an upright pole in the middle of the yard and holds up the wire covering the top of the pen. The white, powder coated screen door adds a certain elegance to the entrance and is very secure with a 3 pin locking system.
The old compost bin now has a top on it and some perches inside on one side and 2 lawn mower catchers (acting as nesting boxes) on the other.

In preparation for our feathered friends I scattered sugar cane mulch, straw and Lucerne hay all over the yard and shed to give them something to scratch around in and also to encourage any worms or grubs to settle there.

The big day arrived, well, night actually – Paul and I picked up 'The Girls' and installed them on their new perches.

So far, in keeping with my dream of getting rescue hens, we have 4 white leghorn hens. Edna, Maude, Elsie & Dulcie. We were given them by a friend's Mother who is in her 90's and was worried that the girls would be someone's dinner if anything happened to her. She was very generous, including feeding troughs & food and even some home grown veggies for us humans.
Over the next couple of weeks I intend to go to the shelters and put my name down for another 4 girls who will be rescued from the battery hen farms. They will need some TLC as they will be very sick but I'm sure the Chicken Emporium at the Citrus Grove will be just the ticket for their speedy recovery.

Back on deck

I have been very tardy with my blogging over the last 8 months or so. One of the main reasons is the fact that I work a full time job in the city which takes up the better part of 10 hours of my day (including travel). This makes it difficult to roll up my sleeves and get dirty hands at the end of the day as I am quite tired - add cooking dinner, walking the dog and cleaning up after dinner you could say that most of our week days are pretty well time poor for gardening.

One other reason, which I will only touch on briefly as this blog isn't about petty intellectual snobbishness - I did get a few derogatory comments during what I thought was a fun blogging challenge. It is obvious to me now that some of the bloggers see themselves as giants of the literary world, bastions and custodians of the written word and so have the right to a) denegrate someone having a go and b) do it on a public forum.
I am not so naieve as to think that these were personal attacks per se, however, after reading the blogging offered up by these bastions I did wonder at the gall of them.

So, my blog for now is for me and me alone.  If any of my followers are still out there and wish to read along - please do. I am limited in time but I am still very passionate about self sufficiancy, the flora & fauna here in Australia and especially recycling.

Z for

Zinc Cream

I don't think there would be many Aussie kids who dont know what Zinc Cream is.

Zinc Cream has been used as a sunscreen by Aussie Mums for a long long time. Many of us would be sitting impatiently under the beach umbrella having white cream applied, by our long suffering parents, to our shoulders, neck, nose, cheeks, ears and lips – thickly. It was quite normal to have a bunch of kids running around in the sun at sports days, beach days or picnic days with a big stripe of white Zinc Cream from cheek to cheek. It was waterproof, sweat proof and would stay on for hours.

I used to think that we would take more sand home stuck to our faces and shoulders that we would in our swimmers.

As a sunscreen - Zinc Cream is exemplary, but as a fashion statement – it is dreadful.

The companies making Zinc Cream brought out a skin coloured cream and an invisable cream about 15 years ago as the white Zinc Cream seemed to be used only on children. Sun protection here in Australia is paramount, especially if you have a skin type that is suseptable to being burnt. There is nothing quite like White Zinc Cream for sun protection but most grownups wouldn't be seen dead with it on their faces. Some makeup producers see the advantage in including clear Zinc as an additive in their products, most women would appreciate the fact that they dont have to apply sunscreen and makup separately.

Some of our cricketers have been made famous more for the Zinc on their faces than their prowess on the field, in fact it's a bit like the chicken and the egg – did the cricketers promote Zinc Cream or did the Zinc Cream promote the cricketers?

Sports people were partially responsible for a resurgence of wearing Zinc Cream out in the sun the other factor was the fun colours now available. Zinc Cream comes in bright colours, every kid and big kid now goes to football games, cricket games, international sporting events etc with their team colours displayed proudly in Zinc.

There are so many colours available now that kids face painters are using them instead of paint. The advantage of course it that the kids are protected from the sun and look like spider man. Win win.

Aussie Cricketer Andrew Simons

 

Y for

Yabbies

This is a post I have been waiting for almost the whole alphabet to share.

Yabbies are a fresh water crayfish and they live in dams, waterholes and rivers all over Australia.

In the cities they are considered by most to be a 'special occasion' purchase, much the same as lobster. The reason for this is because we arent allowed to catch them in nets, so they aren't always available in retail outlets. Mostly, each individual is allowed 10 Yabbies per day unless you are purchasing them from commercial Yabby Farms. They are expensive to farm as they are migratory, you could wake up one morning to find the entire yabby population of your dam has moved out to greener pastures. Most of the Yabbies commercially grown in Australia are sold to restaurants and to Asian markets.  But out in the country areas, yabbies are not so 'fancy'.

 

The paternal side of my family comes from the far south coast of NSW, most lived in the nearby town but we had quite a few relatives who owned large dairy farms with massive dams on them.

One of my favourite things to do down there as a child was to go yabbying down at one of the dams with an old pair of pantyhose or nyolon stockings, a bit of string and a small lump of rotten meat.

We would put the meat in the toe of the stocking, tie a long bit of string to it and throw it into the dam. Yabbies love meat, especially if it has a strong odour.

One of my older cousins would have a small fire going and would put the billy on to boil. As we caught a yabby we would drop it into the boiling water for a few minutes and then fish it out and eat it right there on the dam wall.

Sometimes, when swimming in a dam, if you put your foot down into the mud at the bottom of the dam you would catch a yabby with your big toe. Painful to say the least but if you could get to shore with the yabby attached – you had a snack.

Yabbies are nocturnal, they will eat anything from the animal/aquatic/vegetable worlds and they make pretty good pets. I myself couldn't keep one, I love eating them too much.

The taste is sweet and the flesh is delicate, once you have tried a yabby a prawn or a lobster pales into insignificance.

If we go out for dinner and Yabbies are on the menu, I just can't order anything else. As long as they are done simply (sauted in butter or just boiled) and without a lot of herbs or spices or strong flavours, they will be wonderful.

They grow to about 16 – 18cm long, they range in colour from brown to green to red to black to blue – they can change colour to suit the conditions in order to camoflage themselves from preditors.

We eat a lot of seafood here in Australia, fresh fish and prawns are the top sellers in our fish markets. Freshwater critters are not as popular except for the Barrumundi (a huge fish that lives in the Northern parts of Australia). I hope the Yabby stays relatively unknown – all the more for me.

X for

XXXX Beer or Fourex Beer

I cant believe I'm reduced to blogging about beer. 

Beer is not my tipple of choice, I prefer a cheeky Merlot or a nice mellow Cabernet Savignon.

We have many fabulous wines here in Australia but we are known for our Beer.

Some of our beer infamy is negative, in fact because we have such a problem with alcohol consumption in this country, beer has been much maligned. The ugly Australian is a beer fueled yobbo usually gatecrashing the German Beer Festivals – Bali has it's fair share of idiots also fueled by beer (amongst other things) and here as well, our pubs and clubs are full of beer swilling pigs who do not know how to have a drink without getting smashed.

But, I'm here to try to garner some pride in our beer making skills not mock the drinkers of it. Besides, there aren't many Aussie Icons starting with X let me tell you.

Most of the States of Australia have their own favourite brand of beer and usually, there is friendly rivalry amongst imbibers as to which state makes the best one. NSW drinkers prefer Tooheys or Reschs, South Australia – Coopers, Tasmania – Cascade in the South and Boags in the North, Victoria – Carlton Draught, Victoria Bitter (VB) & Melbourne Bitter, Western Australia – Swan.

Fourex is a brand of beer made in Queensland, also very popular in Queensland. (just not anywhere else)

There are even different varieties:

XXXX Bitter, the original. A pale full flavoured lager. 4.6% alcohol

XXXX Gold, a mid strength lager with 3.5% alcohol and is also lower in carbs than XXXX Bitter.

XXXX Light, a full flavoured, light alcohol content. 2.3% alcohol

XXXX Summer Bright Lager. (who came up with that one?) a full strength, low carb beer.

4.2% alcohol.

As with all beer in Australia, it is drunk ice cold with a minimal head (froth on top).

One thing I do remember about Fourex was an advertisement campaign from around the late 1980's which featured the line ......   “Australians wouldn't give a XXXX for anything else” 
if this ad was shown on a TV in our local, most of the patrons would chant 
“Australians wouldn't give a XXXX for Fourex” 
And the Ad Execs couldn't see that coming?

W for

Waratah

Like most of our native plants the Waratah is complicated.

At first glance you see a brilliant red flower that looks hard and harsh. The foliage also, while green, does not have the soft lines of roses or lilacs.

If you look closely however, you will see many small flowers densely packed into the head, there could be 5 or 6 different shades on the same plant. They look spectacular when in full flower (up to 15cm in diameter).

Waratahs grow in sandy soil, need minimal feeding and hate wet feet. Most of the time you will see Waratahs in prolific flower about 3 months after a bush fire. A bush can be burnt to the ground and will regenerate from the root system. They are the true flower of the bush and, to me, herald hope & regeneration much the same way a rainbow does after rain.

Unfortunately there isn't much success for the home gardener with Waratahs and commercial growers have to be very vigilant with their trees as they can die if over fed or if there is too much rain and not enough drainage. It is very expensive to buy them as a cut flower, most florists will make up a bunch of native flowers with a Waratah as the centrepiece rather than sell them in bunches. 
There are some hardier varieties available in nurseries presently but I wouldn't spend $50.00 on a plant that will probably hate where I put it.  I'm content to go on a bush walk or visit the Botanical Gardens in the city to see them in their preferred habitat.

V for

Today is Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand.
To all our troops, thankyou. God be with you and bring you safely back to Australian soil.
To all our fallen, thankyou, you are in our thoughts and prayers today - rest in peace.
                                                    

 

   - Lest we forget -

Vegemite

Vegemite or Veggie is as Aussie as an Echidna, or a Hills Hoist or an Akubra.

In a nutshell, Vegemite is a black paste made from yeast mixed with salt & celery and onion extracts. The yeast product is the waste produced from beer making.

We drink a lot of beer down here – in 1922 a man named Fred Walker was given the task of developing a spread from the used yeast being dumped by breweries. A similar product had been produced in England but imports had been disrupted by World War 1.

Fred came up with the recipe that would become Vegemite and it was on the market in 1923.

Most of us are brought up on Vegemite and start eating it as soon as we can chew a bit of toast.

A Vegemite sandwich is a staple in a kids lunch box at school especially if that child is a picky eater.

Many a tourist to our fair land has fallen prey to our sense of humour by being tricked into trying a spoonful of Vegemite & whilst I don't agree with the trick I have witnessed some hilarious reactions. In fact Mr Obama actually commented to our Prime Minister recently that he thought Vegemite was foul. Heeee, obviously he was not given the correct advice, I wonder if an Aussie tricked him into trying a tablespoon full.

To say that Vegemite is salty is like saying the Antarctic is chilly. Vegemite is almost as salty as eating salt straight out of the shaker but there is a subtle undertaste that has to be tasted to be appreciated. The problem is that no one bothers to tell new comers that there is a right way to eat it and a very very wrong way to eat it.

Wrong Wrong Wrong

Perfect

To fully appreciate Vegemite you need a nice thick slice of bread. Toast it until it is golden brown and while it is hot spread it with a layer of butter. Not margarine, not butter substitute BUTTER.

As the butter is melting into the toast, spread a very thin layer of Vegemite.

You can add a slice or two of cheese or an egg if you wish but just plain is fine.

If you spread Vegemite like you do peanut butter or jam your taste buds will never trust you again.

So if you meet an Aussie and the conversation turns to Vegemite and they try to get you to taste it, remember this blog and ask for a nice, hot bit of toast and some butter with that.

950 Grams lasts us about 3 months

Nearly time for a new one