There have been more birds visit our place lately, so we must be doing something right for the environment! It was fabulous to be able to photograph the elusive Red-capped Parrot (below)!
Wagtail nest
Birds in our backyard!
Geese again!
Well, after having no geese for a couple of years, we decided we really needed them…..even with the ducks! Ducks go where they like and tend to rummage for bugs and weeds rather than graze. The geese are grazers, and so eat the pasture in the paddocks, and since we haven’t had them any more we have had to mow in the orchard….there is NO WAY we are putting our Wiltshire sheep in the orchard to eat the grass, there would be no leaves left on the trees!
So, we decided we would get a small number of geese only for the orchard….we bought an incubator (something we had been considering for a while) and 8 fertile eggs. Of course after ordering and paying for the eggs she also offered us a goose and a gander (we had been unable to buy them previously, hence the eggs!!). So we now have an adult goose sitting on a few eggs she laid since being here, plus we have had four of the eight eggs hatch into cute little goslings!
We were so lucky to be photographing the first two hatchlings when the third egg hatched right before our eyes!
Starting to open
Getting there!
squeezing out
There are now four, and all doing well in a homemade brooder box!
Honey harvest!
Well in the space of a month there is honey to harvest! The weather has been unpredictable so we only took two frames from each hive, but the bees look busy and healthy. It was fascinating to see the different honey from each hive- the ‘kitchen hive’ produced a slightly paler honey than the ‘billabong hive’, though each hive gave us a good 3 litres just from the two frames.
Because the bees were so healthy and obviously all was well, a week later we also added a super to each hive. This time we are going for WSP supers and frames as they are a bit lighter (because they aren’t as deep). A full super of honey gets quite heavy to lift off, so this should make it a little more manageable!
Spring is on its way….
It has been very mild here in Perth lately, and with the warmer weather the bees have become much more active. They are bringing in lots of pollen, indicating they are feeding lots of brood! There isn’t enough for us to harvest just yet, but won’t be long now!
Pollen laden bees (photo courtesy of Lucky Mac Photography)
Latest McCarthy Park update….
Everything is really growing at the moment- we have had a fair bit of rain but lately the days have been quite mild- perfect growing conditions! The orchard has really taken off in the last couple of years, we have had ample mandarins and it looks like a good crop of nectarines and plums again this year.
Bees pollinating the nectarine
After the bushfire a couple of years ago, the bush is growing back. Though many species have completely gone as they were burnt too severely, other plants really regenerate after a bushfire. Most of the balga (grass trees) have grown back and quite a few are now flowering, lots of gum trees have self sown, and the prickly moses (a type of acacia), has come back with a vengeance (they really are prickly).
Prickly Moses
Running postman (Kennedia prostrata)
Regeneration
The almost spring weather is also shown in the animals activity around! There are lots of birds around making nests, particularly the wild ducks.
You looking’ at me?
The turkeys are nesting in their nice ‘bush’ nest (though safely in their pen!) too, though two on the same nest!
Sharing a nest
Fermenting…..
Our latest preserving venture is lacto-fermentation, a process which has been around for a long time and has many health benefits. After a few experiments and a couple of hands on workshops (in particular with Yoke Mardewi from Wild Sourdough, we are now well on the way and have a few delicious items fermenting away!
Just a few….
There is a batch of sauerkraut and a batch of kimchi in the fridge being eaten, and in this photo is two types of sauerkraut, more kimchi, rhubarb and beetroot (left), saltless carrots, garlic in brine and garlic in honey. Next on the list is a mushroom ferment…..when we can find the shimeji mushrooms needed! Recipes will be added soon to the recipe section.
Turkey nesting time
Winter is the time when turkeys start to nest. This year our poor turkeys have been laying eggs, which have then been stolen by the crows. We have now had to lock them in a more secure enclosure, but made them a nice little nesting spot!
Turkey nest
Turkeys like to nest in the scrub, so we brought the scrub to the turkeys! There are now 8 eggs covered up in the corner, so soon one of the turkey hens will sit on them, and we will be able to let the others out.
Like the rabbits, fish, ducks, sheep and poultry, we breed the turkeys for meat- just enough for us. They take longer to grow, 20 weeks or so, but are worthwhile for the amount of meat they produce.
Dressed turkey
Welcome rain…
We had great rain in May, though so far in June it has been warm and sunny…not really what is needed in winter!
The ‘complex’ complex has had a bit of a revamp which includes a fence around it. Traditionally what we have done is bury the left overs once we have prepared rabbits, chickens etc for the freezer, plus use animal manures freely. We haven’t been able to do this in this new raised bed garden as the dogs are big and agile enough to jump in and dig it all up again! The gardens were suffering from a lack of nutrients, so fencing was the easy answer. Once the fence was in, we were able to really nourish the soil in the raised beds and replant area, and it is really starting to take off now, especially with the rain we experienced in May.
Secure from the dogs!
Autumn?????
Well, most of us here in Perth are still waiting for the Autumn rains, and we are 2/3 of the way through already! Since the end of November, we have had only 18mm of rain!
The aquaponics system has grown well regardless of course, but the dirt gardens have struggled. Now there is a really good reason to get into aquaponics!
View across two of the growbeds
We harvested the perch from the AP fish tank, keeping 28 for the freezer and putting 10-12 into the swimming pool to continue to grow. The perch had a slowish start when we moved some from the pool to fish tank for the summer, but they made up for that with the largest being 912 grams and 39 cm long!
Silver perch ready to fillet and freeze
The trout fingerlings are now in the fish tank for the winter months, and the grow beds tidied, harvested and replanted. The dirt gardens have also had a tidy up and replant for the cooler and wetter (hopefully!) months.
Fire fighting strategies at McCarthy Park
Bushfires are always a possible threat here with so many trees around, so it pays to be prepared. We have always had sprinklers on the roof of the house, which wet the entire roof and surrounding area. Of course we rely on the electricity still working though! This year, we have had a couple of close calls again so have redone the roof sprinklers with a larger diameter pipe to enable a higher water flow. We also added roof sprinklers to the Flopsies House (rabbit house) and the adjoining workshop which houses the tractor.
In addition, we bought a second hand, unlicensed trailer from the local rubbish dump shop and fitted it out with a water tank, pump, and hose. Now, with the tractor, we can tow it anywhere on the property where spot fires may come in as a result of fires and strong winds in the area, rather than just relying on the electricity to power the sprinkler systems.
Mobile firefighting unit
Filling the tank from one of the sprinklers