Category Archives: Uncategorized

Summer bounty!

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We have had a mix of weather so far this summer, with some heat but also lots of wind. Despite this, we have had some good growth – particularly our grapes that were planted around the ‘duckagon‘. They have really bushed up and now form a fabulous shady pen for the ducks, and there are lots of bunches of grapes too!

The bees seem to have finally settled….. at least one hive anyway. After some extensive bee dramas, which involved completely emptying each hive some distance away and then setting it up again and letting the worker bees fly back, we installed a nuc into each, complete with a queen and brood. Hive 1 is certainly on its way, with the new queen visible and laying well. Hive 2….still not sure, but the boost from the nuc has helped but there was no evidence of a laying queen, so we have put a new one in yet again! Fingers crossed.

As we usually do in summer, we have incubated some quail eggs and now have 10 very cute quail chicks. They are so tiny when they hatch, but grow and grow at a great rate! These little ones were hinting that it was time to come out of the incubator and into the brooder with some food!

Bee dramas!

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We have generally been fortunate with our bees- there have certainly been tricky times and disastrous times like when a fallen branched smashed a hive. Over the years it has been really helpful to have two hives- when one’s weakened we we have had the other to help strengthen, either by sharing honey frames or brood frames.

Currently though we have issues with both hives! In October both hives had brood and queens, but one was a bit aggressive so we figured we needed to requeen, which we did. Since then we have lost both queens in both hives, so both were requeened (one for the second time).

Over the past two -three weeks, the hives have settled and we can be pottering out there with no issues. Great, we thought- the queens must have been accepted as the hives are now settled.

But no, today revealed no sign of queens in either hive, no sign of brood in one hive and only drone brood and multiple queen cells in the other. This means we must have either a drone laying queen (who wasn’t mated properly) or a laying worker bee (who only ever lay drones).

We have never had this situation before, so after researching we now know how to tell the two situations apart- laying workers lay multiple eggs in each cell, whereas a drone laying queen still lays one egg per cell. In each case though, the hive is usually aggressive, but ours aren’t!

So, tomorrow it is back into each hive with a magnifying glass to see if we have multiple eggs in cells, single eggs in cells, or no eggs in cells……….. then we make a plan.

Spring is in the air!

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We have finally had some warm, sunny weather, and the soggy ground has started to dry up at last. The birds are singing and nesting, the insects are buzzing…..and the weeds are growing!!

We have had a very vocal pair of Striated Pardalotes near the shed the last few days- their call is amazing, and carries all the way up to the house!

Apart from weeding, pruning the roses now the risk of frost has passed, and generally tidying up after the cold and wet, we also had a new project! When we moved into McCarthy Park 2, we vowed to reduce the amount of lawn, and therefore the need to water it. We replanting the ‘oval’, a lawned circle in the driveway, with native plants, and while we have had to do some replanting in areas, it is looking fabulous!

the ‘oval’ is looking great, and we are hoping for a similar though bushier effect on the fence line

So the latest area to plant is along 60 metres of the neighbour’s fence line. This will give us (and them) greater privacy, and in the process reduces another whole section of lawn! We need to keep a considerable amount as part of our bushfire protection zone, but look forward to this new section of 125 native plants taking off.

pots all placed ready for the holes
thank goodness for the Ryobi post hole digger!
all 125 plants are in, ready to take over the lawn

The plants we chose are deliberately bushy, screen type plants that should eventually completely hide the fence line. As they grow, we will gradually work on killing off the lawn around them, but decided to leave it for now……. hopefully that works!

Delicious Dragonfruit!

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Wow! Success! We harvested 14 dragon fruit, and they were delicious! It was a bit of a waiting game to work out when to pick the first one, as we were unsure of the variety.

We eventually picked it on 12 April, 43 days from pollination, and although it was probably slightly over ripe it was amazing!

After that first one, we were more confident judging ripeness by colour, how ‘loose’ it was on the stem, and firmness which seemed to be around day 41 to 42. We enjoyed every single one!

We also enjoyed home grown mango! Unfortunately only 2 fruit made it to maturity, but they were amazing to eat! Protecting them from the frost over winter really helped the tree grow and produce fruit, so we shall certainly be doing that again this winter.

Dragon fruit….again!

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Last year we were very disappointed to loose the few dragon fruit flowers that had grown for the first time, but are really hopeful for this year! After annual setbacks due to frost, we had to move them again from the raised beds and planted them in large pots just on the edge of the verandah, and they are thriving! They have grown so much, and several now have multiple buds…watch this space!

Even if some of them fruit, we will be thrilled! Especially as we have lost a few things towards the end of this hot Perth summer…..

Busy Spring!

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It has been a busy, though strange, spring. Perth has seem hot days, windy days, cold days, rainy days…. and sometimes all four in one day! The gardens and the bees have sometimes struggled with the changing conditions, but overall are going well.

We had lost a queen in one hive a while ago, and the newly purchased queen did not survive or stay for some reason. This is where it is very useful having two hives, as we were able to transfer a frame or two of brood from the strong one to the weak one. We had to do this a couple of times, but eventually they did produce a queen, who is now laying prolifically!

We haven’t had a honey harvest so far this season, but it won’t be long before we do!

The orchard has gone well generally, with some good harvests of nectarines, peaches, loquats and plums, though unfortunately one of the nectarines we transferred from McCarthy Park 1 (see There is never nothing to do!) suddenly split and was rotten inside.

This, plus a plum and an apricot going the same way, are disappointing nearly four years after transplanting! The rest are going well though….

a few avocados, hopefully will develop beyond pea size!
Hopefully a few develop into fruit!

The dragon fruit are loving their new home too, after some trials and tribulations- fingers crossed we finally get some fruit develop this year. Moving them to the verandah certainly helped to protect them from the frost, so this spring they have taken off!

Despite the variable weather, there has been plenty to harvest from the pumpkin palace as well as the aquaponics.

Pumpkin Palace early November…. now harvesting heaps!
plenty of things to eat and preserve!

Eggs!

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The chooks are laying well, and despite giving plenty of eggs away to family and friends, we have still had an excess….so…. pickled eggs!

Pickled eggs is a great, delicious way to preserve for a short while, though they do take up a lot of space in the fridge!

Beetroot pickled eggs and turmeric pickled eggs

We cook the quail eggs and hen eggs separately, but then pickle them together. They are delicious!

Rhubarb!

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The rhubarb is growing like crazy at the moment, before it gets too hot, so lots of preserving is happening.

We have had the odd mishap however…….. perhaps the jars have been reused too many times!

oops!

Yummy! We love a bit of rhubarb on our porridge, hence just using small jars to preserve.

Turmeric!

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We harvested some of our turmeric this week, which grows really well in the aquaponics grow beds. We chopped up some for the freezer, and the rest was dehydrated and ground into powder. It smells divine!!!

just a little bit of turmeric!
sliced and spread ready for the dehydrator
wow, what a wonderful aroma and colour!
ready for easy use!

We have really been enjoying it in a hot cacao (with soy milk) drink, as well as our cooking.

Yum!

The ups and downs…..

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It is tempting to just share the good bits of our lifestyle (after all, it is mostly good!), but it is important to be realistic too. Over the years we have certainly had ups and downs related to rural living, some we can even look back on and laugh. A few of those stories are in our ‘setbacks’ page as well as the odd post.

After living this lifestyle for over 30 years, we have experienced most setbacks, but some never feel easier. Recently our lovely doe rabbit, Kep, died while heavily pregnant. She was fine one day and not the next. Even though we breed rabbits for food, our breeders are pets. They are loved and cuddled like any pet, so there is a sense of loss when one dies.

She was a very skittish bunny when we first got her as a kit, but with time and patience she eventually enjoyed a pat, and tolerated (!!) being picked up.

We have a new girl now, and she is pretty friendly but not quite as big and impressive as Kep.