Shiny Branches and Blue Boys

With the onset of a touch of warmer weather, there are few things ripening up in the vegie patch and orchard.  This was the harvest the other morning, one of eight apricots (yum!), an egg and many many Lebanese cucumbers, yahoo!  These cucumbers are so nice straight off the vine, crunchy with a hint of sweetness.

 As we had a horde ripen all in one go, it was pickle time!

 I make a cucumber freezer pickle.  Just a simple pickle, sweetened vinegar with a bit of turmeric, chopped onion and mustard seed, but what's good about it is that you can freeze it in small pots, and when you defrost it and keep it in the fridge for a week or two, it is still quite crunchy.  Anyway it's a great way to preserve a glut of cucumbers.

 Then it was the beetroot's turn.  There were some monsters under the ground!  A good scrub then wrap them in alfoil and bake in the oven for an hour or so.  When cool the skin just slides right off.

Then it's time to slice them thinly and pop into sterilised jars and top with sweeted, spiced vinegar.

 Seven huge jars of pickled beetroot, that will keep us going for the year I think.  There are still smaller beetroot growing in the vegie patch, I'll use those grated raw on top of salads, yummo!

 With the warm weather, the wrens are everywhere, including the beautiful Splendid wrens, the males in full, glorious coloured plumage.  I had spray painted a big branch silver and used it as a Christmas tree of sorts.  Now Christmas is over I just shoved it in the ground out the back, and this beautiful wren obviously considers this shiny branch befitting to his gorgeous self, and has taken to sitting in it, singing his little heart out.

 Silver and blue, lovely :-)

 I love that the roos come right up to the house, they are seeking out our greener grass more and more as the summer progresses.  I love seeing them and the new joeys learning to hop and to eat grass.  :-)

There has been much excitement next door at our neighbour's place.  Two of Claire's four minature mares have had foals, within 24 hours of each other.  Aren't they adorable, and so tiny!!  Barnaby is on the left and Rosey is on the right.

 You can get a better idea of the tiny size of Barnaby in this photo, little weeny boy!

 I have finished the bag I was making last week, after lots of swearing and sewing machine hissy fits and broken needles.  It has many many pockets which were a pain to make but I now realise, after filling it with my crochet bits and pieces, that it is in fact a very useful bag.

 Ta-dum! One finished bag with 4 outer pockets and three inner pockets.  Thanks for the help Ruth!

 Speaking of crochet, this is where I am at with my Mandala Madness.  I am liking it more and more with every layer, it gets more complex colourwise and I am learning so many new stitches and techniques, each layer is different so it keeps me interested.  I'm just starting Part 5, ten more parts to go!

 Michelle is here for a visit and she got into the crochet thing in this house too.  She whipped herself up this lovely cowl, is making a second one and is doing a bit of cross stitch too.  That's my girl!  xx

 I thought this was interesting, a timeline of Mandala Madness, at the end of Part 1, then the end of Part 2, then the end of Part 3, then the end of Part 4, left to right, top to bottom.  Isn't it amazing how it changes with the different colours.  A little ray of sunshine :-)