Week 33

Mowed the lawn today, using the tractor again. It took just over an hour, so am getting much better at it. Raked up some of the grass clippings to use as a mulch and weed supressant on part of the garden. Would have been a lot easier with a mower with catcher so I could just dump it on the garden instead of having to rake it up.

Finished pruning the rose bushes back. Some already seem to have new growth on them.

A possum made its way either onto or into the roof the other night, keeping P and I awake with all its banging and crashing. No sign of it since though. Hopefully it found its way out and is gone for good.

Speaking of noises in the night, lately there has been a lot of chirping sounds in the evening. Not sure if it is crickets or frogs or what, but I would have thought it was too cold for crickets at least.

Lost power again last night. Apparently some idiot drove into a power pole again. At least it wasn't till 9.30 so we just got an early night instead.

-M

Week 32

Was planning on mowing the lawn today but it rained lightly all day. Instead I started pruning roses and trimming bushes and trimming back the passionfruit vine which has overtaken the back staircase and surrounding garden.

The weather has been a lot warmer this week. Warm enough to go to the playground and even to eat ice creams, and the good thing was that the ice cream didn't melt!!!

Found a possum hiding under the house, in the workshop. P went looking for something and got a huge surprise to see a pair of eyes staring back at him.

-M

Week 31

Still cold and miserable here.

Got my lavender oil chemically tested recently to see its quality. I don't fully understand the results, but the samples are higher than they should be in linalool and low in linalyl acetate. But overall the scientist comments that they are of average quality. So I shouldn't be too discouraged, at least it wasn't low quality.

I spent a couple of hours today spraying organic seaweed fertiliser on the plants to help improve the quality for next year. I've been advised to also apply a compost tea in the next month or so.

While I was out I also thought about getting stuck in to the weeds and debris under the lavender plants. But it was only 8 degrees (Celsius) outside and my fingers were frozen, so I decided to leave it till another day.

-M

Week 30

Haven't done much this week. Everyone's still sick and it's still very, very cold. The weather was clear today and I had hopes of getting out and giving the lavender a good winter cleanup and weeding. But I also had lots of paperwork and bits & pieces and a tax return to do today, and that all ended up taking all day. So it was an inside day.

Have recently started making bread again, after taking a break for a couple of months. But I haven't actually been making bread, I've been making small, windowless buildings. Every loaf is a failure and I don't know why. The yeast is fresh. The flour is fresh. The milk powder is near the end of the bag but expiry date isn't for another month. The oil isn't its usual viscosity due to the cold weather but I can't see that affecting the bread as it quickly returns to normal once heated. I also can't imagine the cold weather being the culprit. It just doesn't seem to be mixing the flour in very well. Anyone got any ideas?

Apart from that it's just business as usual here. Looking forward to the warmer weather!

-M