January Egg Count

112 Eggs from 13 Hens

21 Eggs from 2 Ducks-

Which I think could be higher if they didn't spend their whole lives being Clucky Ducky's.

Do you have chooks?

Do you keep a monthly egg count?

Caroline 

Around the Yard

Planted this gorgeous Bougainvillea, hopefully it will grow up & over this old gate that I've put in the garden. 

Water Chestnuts are doing well, they are so much bigger than this already. They seem to grow before your eyes. I've never grown them before. So I'll let your know the end result!

Should be in for a good crop of Lemonade fruit this year. Although the tree is looking very heat stressed the last couple of days. Over 40cdeg & high humidity most days is playing havoc with the garden.

YTD we have only had 1.0ml of rain - not even a teaspoon.

Every other morning I pick my chooks a basket of this.....

they love it......

then they lay me these. I'm so thankful to them.

Not like Mother duck who likes keeping them all for herself.

Thinks there may be some little ducklings  to start this new year.

New Year, New Life

Hope you enjoyed your morning walk around the yard with me. I'm off to have a cup of tea & a piece of cold meatloaf (left overs from last nights dinner yum!)

Caroline xo

Novella Carpenter - Farm City

I am reading.....

Farm City

The Education of an

Urban Farmer

by Novella Carpenter

It's interesting how you come to read certain books at times. This book was lent to me by my good friend Simcha who blogs over at Turkish Cooking, Everyday.

Simcha has recently come back to Australia to live after many years of living in Turkey. This book was sent to her while she lived in Turkey by an American blogging friend (sorry can't remember their blog)

When Simcha & her family recently returned to live here - bringing only a suitcase each, it was one of the things she just had to bring. Goes to show how much this book has been enjoyed.

You can listen to Novella Carpenter on utube here

I have nearly finished this book & I can thoroughly recommend it, especially to people that may wonder how much food can really be produced on a small amount of ground.

She is one very Cool! lady.

Urban and rural collide in this wry, inspiring memoir of a woman who turned a vacant lot in downtown Oakland into a thriving farm

Novella Carpenter loves cities-the culture, the crowds, the energy. At the same time, she can't shake the fact that she is the daughter of two back-to-the-land hippies who taught her to love nature and eat vegetables. Ambivalent about repeating her parents' disastrous mistakes, yet drawn to the idea of backyard self-sufficiency, Carpenter decided that it might be possible to have it both ways: a homegrown vegetable plot as well as museums, bars, concerts, and a twenty-four-hour convenience mart mere minutes away. Especially when she moved to a ramshackle house in inner city Oakland and discovered a weed-choked, garbage-strewn abandoned lot next door. She closed her eyes and pictured heirloom tomatoes, a beehive, and a chicken coop.

What started out as a few egg-laying chickens led to turkeys, geese, and ducks. Soon, some rabbits joined the fun, then two three-hundred-pound pigs. And no, these charming and eccentric animals weren't pets; she was a farmer, not a zookeeper. Novella was raising these animals for dinner. Novella Carpenter's corner of downtown Oakland is populated by unforgettable characters. Lana (anal spelled backward, she reminds us) runs a speakeasy across the street and refuses to hurt even a fly, let alone condone raising turkeys for Thanksgiving. Bobby, the homeless man who collects cars and car parts just outside the farm, is an invaluable neighborhood concierge. The turkeys, Harold and Maude, tend to escape on a daily basis to cavort with the prostitutes hanging around just off the highway nearby. Every day on this strange and beautiful farm, urban meets rural in the most surprising ways.

For anyone who has ever grown herbs on their windowsill, tomatoes on their fire escape, or obsessed over the offerings at the local farmers' market, Carpenter's story will capture your heart. And if you've ever considered leaving it all behind to become a farmer outside the city limits, or looked at the abandoned lot next door with a gleam in your eye, consider this both a cautionary tale and a full-throated call to action. Farm City is an unforgettably charming memoir, full of hilarious moments, fascinating farmers' tips, and a great deal of heart. It is also a moving meditation on urban life versus the natural world and what we have given up to live the way we do.

NEW ADDITIONS

Emerald bought these 3 little ducklings home from school, as the girl who had them wasn't allowed to keep them. We always have our laying hens and sometimes we raise a batch of meat chickens for our own consumption but we have not kept ducks for about 5yrs now. I had forgotten what a mess they make, not to mention the smell.

I do love ducks though and as a child I had one very special duck called "Mabel". When we went to live by the sea when I was seven I would carry her down for a swim in the ocean then pop her back under my arm and walk home again. Even back then I would get a few weird looks.

If these ducks are drakes(does that makes sense) we will prepare them for the table by Christmas otherwise if they are ducks(& I'm hoping) I will have lovely fresh ducks eggs to bake with. Time will soon tell but until then I will make sure I were shoes when walking in the garden!!

CAROLINE ......