Pondering The Hours Away

Forgive me for bragging, but TM is really quite talented in so many ways. He's one of those people who can do anything he turns his hand to. And so it was, that I discovered him making a pond at the back of our house. The pond is now complete and we now also have goldfish, much to Elise's delight. TM would have preffered Koi Carp, but they are apparently illegal in Victoria. Oh well, one day perhaps.

Elise and TM now enjoy "yachting" adventures on their pond, as the fish scramble for cover under the rocks and this little 'shrine'. Made from any recyclable materials that they can find, the boats enjoy hours of travel on the calm waters of our pond.

The other thing Elise enjoys is harvesting the produce that we occassionally manage to successfuly produce. This would have to be our biggest radish yet. Now that Spring is here, we are expecting more sunflowers and (fingers crossed) watermelon in Summer.

A Humble Harvest

Today was such a lovely Autumn day that we decided to set out on a picnic/drive.
After one bbq sausage too many and a bit too much bouncing around playing soccer,
we headed home, much to the dissapointment of Elise who continued to ask why we
had to go home (a bit of an icy-pole bargaining did the trick in the end though).

On arrival home, I decided it was time to harvest some of our prized veggies that we
have finally managed to grow. Although a very humble harvest indeed, this is a big
improvement on our carrot harvest of a couple of years ago! (Refer to picture up the top!)
Our first attempt to grow lebanese eggplant, cucumber and capsicum was successful, so we are now looking forward to planting some things for the winter and reaping the delicious rewards.

A Cubby House for Tea Parties & Secret Gatherings

Last week, I decided it was time Elise discovered

the joys of the good old cubby house.

Tea parties have been held every day since

and a handmade wooden tea cup and saucer

set from a friend is her most prized possession.

Happy Easter!

Re-using/Recyling & Giving Back to the Flow of Life

When the fence that divides our abode from

our neighbor's was replaced over the summer

(much to my distress as our energic puppy & Elise

were not impressed at being confined to the verandah),

we decided to keep all the untreated timber for fire

wood for the winter.
As we lugged all the old timber that the

contractor threw onto our front lawn

(happy that he didnt have to take it to the tip)

down to the back of the house,

I wondered whether we had lost our minds,

just for a bit of free kindling.

When TM came up with the project idea

of converting some of the tired old timber pailings

into a deck to spruce up the old concrete area

at the front of our house, I was still

skeptical. It's hard to imagine old greying timber

that looks thirstier than our labrador,

turning into a decking area.
But here is the result of our modest effort.

Some nails and stain from the hardware
shop were the most it cost us.

And a few little gnomes to keep Elise happy!

Sometimes its nice to have things with character.

Not everything has to be brand new.

And it is the most pleasant feeling

when you can give back, rather than take

from the environment.

(We have also started composting all our

food scraps and we have managed to

significantly reduce our rubbish volume).

We also grow all our own salad leaves (rocket etc).

It's the easiest thing in the world,

1000 times tastier and we don't have to

buy expensive bags of mouldy salad from the

supermarket anymore.

Cultivating Happiness - Sundays in the Garden

Sundays are a day for rest and quiet

(to the extent that a 4 year will allow..)

and aimless pottering around in the garden.

Today we planted mini eggplant, more cucumber

and Russian tomatoes.

But Elise and Forest were oblivious to these 

goings-on ...

Oh to be that small again!

Our Cherry Harvest

Having a cherry blossom tree in the garden at home

has become a very valued and almost necessary

pre-requisite for where we live.

Cherry blossom trees hold great sentimental
value and significance in the
Japanese culture. When the cherry trees bloom
they produce dainty little pink and white flowers,
which are very short-lived.

The flowers only survive a couple of
weeks at the most, before they flitter to the
ground like gentle snow-flakes.

The Japanese love this dramatic notion of a short-lived life

that can only be cherished for an instant.

After the flowers have died and left the cherry tree,

the trees start to produce fruit. We call them cherries

but they are probably more like miniature plums.

Elise loves picking and eating these and its TM's job

each year to help her harvest them.

Here are the photos!

Takamitsu the Ladder

Elise with her humble harvest.

P.S. you have to be quick and beat the

birds to the cherries.

DIY Verandah Clean-Up

TM spent a couple of hours yesterday re-vamping our small verandah area.

Using a couple of pieces of nice timber (decking timber), he created a 

wooden ledge on top of the verandah fence
(apparently so he has somewhere to put his beer?!)...

My newly planted rose bush - a breath

of fresh spring atmosphere.

The resulting timber 'bar-top' around our verandah. 

Our Little Vegetable Patch

I love gardening and the thought of making

some of my own veggies has always

been very appealing to me.

I have had numerous failed attempts

due to position being too hot, Melbourne

watering restrictions, not to mention the possums

who seem to love my parsley.
Sick of digging up clay and rocky ground

I decided to buy two big pots.
We are currently 'trying' to grow

tomatoes, snow peas, cucumber and

strawberries. Wish us luck!


Elise also has own little 'veggie

patch' - which quickly gets forgotten

as she races around the garden

like a butterfly let loose!

Oh to me so young, innocent

and care free again!!

Nani Ge Nai Shiawase - It's the little pleasures

Ahh, spring is here!