I love autumn, the relief of saying goodbye to hot, dry summer.  The temperatures are dropping to a civilised degree and the rain has started.  So we are busy getting into autumn planting of vegetables.  The pile of composted pig poo and straw we bought a few weeks ago has already proved its worth, seeds are springing up out of the ground where we've dug this into.

 Here is the first broad bean, it only took a week to come up!

 And here are some of the brussels sprouts.  Whilst photographing these it was noted that the leaves had holes in them.  Steve investigated, discovered some secret squirrel green caterpillars lurking under the leaves and swiftly despatched them.  How dare they eat our vegies!

 Here is my little raised bed.  It's coming on rather well don't you think.  The lettuce have gone mental and I am going to have to thin them out more.  My plan is to plant the extra ones where my current compost bin is.  I'm going to pull the bin off the compost because I want to upend the goodies inside, the uncomposted fresh stuff I'm putting on the ground in a new spot nearby and will replace the bin over the top, and then I want to gather up the stuff that has composted enough, to use elsewhere.  Then I want to transplant the extra lettuce into that ground, which I figure should be yummy and nutritious, plus sew some rocket seeds as well.

 Because our property was vacant land when we bought it, we are starting from scratch.  So we also have to construct the growing areas as well as plant things.  When we lived in Perth, there was no problem deciding where to put a vegie bed, it went where it fitted and that was that.  Here, where of our five acres, two acres is open ground, it is amazing how much procrastination has gone on about where to position the main vegetable garden.  Too much land to choose from!  We've tried to be sensible and considered things like proximity to the shed, water tank, vehicle access and the house, where the sun travels and where the shade from the big jarrah trees hits.  We have made a tentative start and the first few beds have gone in, and the timber has been bought from the local sawmill for the next 2 beds.

 

The sweet potatoes are in the first bed here, they have leafed back up nicely after being pruned by the kangaroos.  No further problems since Steve put the fence up.  The bed behind Steve has just planted up with potatoes.

 The other job we did today was to bottle the cider, which has been brewing for the last 2 weeks.
45 bottles of cider for me, 45 bottles of cider,
Take one down and pass it around,
44 bottles of cider for me, 44 bottles of cider..... :-)

 Yesterday Steve and I went into Albany to a historical pub for a celebratory lunch.  Why?  We've been married for 30 years, amazing.  It's been good, we are fortunate to have very similar ideals and dreams, we've had a good life together, raised 2 wonderful children and found terrific friends.  And now we both look at each other down here at the start of our mutual big dream, our hobby farm, and pinch ourselves that we are here and how happy we both are.  Wonderful.