Queen of Sheba Orchid, Eneabba

Mike and I have been on the hunt for this stunning orchid for over 7 years.  The location is vaguely suggested in Bob Liddelows book “A Guide to Native Orchids of South Western Australia”.  When we realised it was so close to the farm, here in Eneabba we had to keep searching.

We have been doing searches for the Queen of Sheba for about a month now each time Mike’s home from work.  Wesley was with us when we found it and it was such a little victory for our small family!  There were six out in bloom on this particularly sunny morning we found them.

They are a sun orchid so need full sunlight to open… so we were very lucky!  Seeing them in real life, it’s insane how colourful they are.  Such a delightful orchid.

There has been plenty happening here on the property lately now that spring is upon us.  I’ve been gardening as fast as I can before the summer hits, and chasing Wesley through the bush showing him plants and bugs and spiders!  I’m still working on a community project and have also got word that a story is being published soon about all the spider’s I’ve found around the home.  Exciting times!  I’ll share that when it happens.

Wesley moved officially into his bunk bed this week – which has been awesome.  He’s such a big boy now.  He is a lover of nature, and I have to share this now before I forget.  But last week I found a large dead frog in the yard.  I’d placed it in the garden and told Wesley about a daddy frog I’d spotted.  He picked it up and gingerly played with it for 40 mins or so before Mike took him away.  The thing is, I’d watched him talking to the frog, high fiving it, and shaking it’s very stiff hand.  It was so cute.

This week we’re also preparing to host Great Grandad and Dee!  We’ll also be travelling North to Kalbarri which will also be a first for us.  It’s coming up fast – and we’re all looking forward to it!  I’ll post pictures when the trips complete so you can see what the place is like – apparently, it’s beautiful!

Hugelkultur

This past week I’ve been working on an epically large project.  The ground has been dug up to about two feet to be lined with logs and fallen timber in a process of soil regeneration called hugelkultur.

It’s a simple concept.  You’re taking carbon life forms and placing them into the soil to slowly decompose beneath your garden bed.  The results can have a lasting effect for up to 20 years!

The bed I’ve created was lined with logs then filled with jade cuttings and branches from around the house yard.  The next layer was compost.  Topping that was a huge layer of seaweed which we collected from Greenhead.  The seaweed took three trips to cover the entire bed.  The last few steps involve topping the green matter with the soil that was dug out, then adding a final layer of compost and hay or mulch.

My body has pulled me through this process – surprisingly with little soreness.  Overall exhaustion though was at an all-time high after I singlehandedly dug out the pit!  This is definitely a job for multiple people.

Wesley has particularly taken to the pit.  He’s also found great joy in all the mounds he can push his little dump truck over.

Only time will tell if the soil retains moisture – we’re going to let it settle and get some more decent rains on it before moving to the stage of planting.

All in all – this has been a thrilling project.  I really can’t wait to see how the veggies grow!

Farm endeavours.

In a few short months we’ll have been living in this little house for a year.  When we first arrived there was considerable time spent drafting a plan to rejuvenate the sand filled yards surrounding us.  It’s been many years since someone we here to properly tend to the gardens, and even 7 years ago when we first lived here we made several attempts to tame the landscape and they all failed (apart from this one strange tree that is overtaking part of the house and more pest than shade giver).

We have dreams of an orchard, lawns, veggie gardens, native flower gardens, trees to provide to luxury of shade and a new chicken coop,

With no one living in the house for a few years nature had crept in and the interiors and they needed to be reclaimed by mankind.  That would involve fixing a leaky roof, cleaning dust laid windows, vacating the space of vermin and spiders as well as painting or repainting several rooms.

Tackling these projects solo with a toddler (as a part-time single parent) is no easy feat!  Mike is away at work in the northern tip of the State every second week leaving Wesley and I to our own devices.

Thankfully we have a very happy boy who loves to participate and join me outside.  For this I am ever grateful as it’s allowed for a few projects to begin and move in slow but steady stages.

This week I’ll be painstakingly dragging a wheelbarrow back and forth 150 metres to the old shearing shed near the house.  It’s a treasure trove of sheep manure!  To make this monotonous task more fun, I’ve given Wesley a harmonica and he hops into the wheelbarrow as we traverse back and forth.  He plays a little tune, and sometimes will stop and yell at me: 123 GO! When I set the whole thing down to give my arms a break.

It’s hilarious, and frankly Wesley’s company during the whole task has made it so enjoyable that when I went to do a load during his nap today – I missed his music and silly personality keeping us both entertained.  The job seemed a real effort without him.

We’re only into the start of winter, but with these beds not completed we’re going to be missing out on crucial rains!  We should have pushed harder to get this started but it was contingent on a lighter wheelbarrow (that only arrived this week).

Our chicken coop is up and working fabulously.  There are two separate pens one about 3x bigger than the other.  Our hens are all very happy laying at the moment.  They have such a grand, shaded space that Mike and I are both very proud to have built together.

Three bottlebrush trees, 4 macrocarpa trees, and one silver princess have been planted around the yard.  Several more will go in as we see how things fare the next few weeks.  Shade around this house is lacking so it’s an ongoing project.  All of the trees are natives and should be very hardy for drought.

Our mango, feijoa and avocado trees are another story.  These are doing ok – but only time will tell if they survive.  To have these fruits at our fingertips would be so wonderful.

Some of the plants mentioned above were given to us at a native plant giveaway last weekend by a group based in Jurien Bay (of which I’m now a member!) who survey the local flora and do bush tours together.  I’ve found my people!  They were given a grant to grow and distribute these native plants to locals to encourage more people to keep drought hardy species and grow native gardens, which is a fabulous idea.

Pictured are some trees, plants and bugs found around the farm the past couple of days and some of the aforementioned projects!

Huge thanks to Sally’s Baking Addiction for sharing her insanely gorgeous white cake recipe online.  We made it for Wesley’s birthday party.  It was so so so good.  Check out the recipe here. A testament to it’s goodness – I woke 2x in the night to polish of a few more pieces of the vanilla buttercream cake.  Wesley crammed much of it into his mouth during the cake cutting ceremony and discovered a love of frosting!  Even now a week later I’m still drooling thinking of it and I’m not even a baked goods person…

I’ll share more on the progress of the house and yards as we soldier onward!  For now, even though progress is slow – it still feels oh so good to see hard work coming together.  Even if it is inch by inch.

The August Wrap Up.

So, August isn’t quite finished however there have been some events of late which I have to jot down or they will go into the void of my brain, certain to never return.  We’ve been on the farm for nearly a month now and as each day passes we become more and more settled into this quiet, secluded and frankly peaceful life.

There has been plenty of elbow grease ignited scrubbing glass and cleaning the fly mesh on windows, floors, prepping walls for fresh coats of paint – all the while chasing, playing and splashing around with our darling little Wes.

Right, here is the list of memories before I forget!

1. Wesley boldly running at the ocean, and I trying to keep one hand on him while he became soaks and covered in sand.  He was stripped to nothing and continued to enjoy the warm, salty, frothy water for another 10 mins before we called it day.  He was obsessed.  We’re investigating swimming lesson’s pronto.  There is a pool in town and as the weather continues to heat up over the next month – he will be definitely getting some practice.
2. A massive wedge tailed eagle was about 3 feet from my head.  Funny enough, mere moments before it happened I said to myself – I would love to see one of these eagles much closer than I’ve ever been *usually it’s at a great distance and through the lens of my camera.  This bird was flying just above my right side view mirror and I actually was breath taken.  I could see under it’s breast and beak and in the split second that I actually was looking (my eyes had to go back to the road) I took in the under span of it’s wings.  It was truly incredible.
3. Wesley grinning with flies stuck in his teeth on account of eating them like they are raisins.  I laugh and gag… He keeps finding them!  He also keeps sampling sheep poop as if it’s a treat.  *I shudder when he offers me them too.  Nah mate, I’m alright!
4. The thousands upon thousands of blue/black wasps that were in the air yesterday afternoon.  I drove a short while up the road and they were popping off the front window glass.  So much that I pulled over to see what it was I was inadvertently killing.  About 10 minutes later they were completely gone.
5. The soft call of an owl at three am this morning.  It roused me from a rather odd dream and at first I thought it was Wesley calling for me.  I soon realised it was an owl, and crept onto the porch.  From three am to five am it called out, a beautiful sound in the dark along with one frog and some crickets.  The sky too was glowing with the clarity of millions of stars.  Gosh I’ve got to set up my tripod when it arrives and show you what I mean.
6. A procession of blue tongue lizards lining the roads as I drove to Perth two weeks ago.  It was almost as if they were out to say hello.  There have been a few teeny tiny ones as well which look like they might have only just been born.
7. We’ve been out to this really beautiful spot called three little springs with a large portion of the community for a remote picnic.  There were fresh yabbies, pastries, salads and even coffee and tea was provided from a billy can cooking session.  There were plenty of kids, and Wesley powered through the entire day playing in the dirt.  At one point all the older kids crowded around him to play in the sand with them.  In return he stole one boys cookies and ignore their efforts to connect.  He was in the sand play zone!  It’s meant to be an event that reoccurs every 6 weeks and it’s honestly so good.  We saw some many old friends and were introduced to some new faces too, though technically we’re new…but old.
8. Another Wesley moment – I wish I’d had a camera for it.  He was gently holding Tessa’s bear *she’s made a collection of impressive bears and keeps them in her living room – and as we were distracted talking, I caught him out of the corner of my eye illuminated by the golden afternoon sun.  He was backlit, and pulled the bear close to his chest and snuggled it.  Then he gave it the softest, sweetest little kiss.  He’s just beautifully kind hearted.
9. Climbing into bed after the sheets have dried in the hot sun.  The smell is so relaxing and comforting – those simple pleasures…
10. The wildflowers are late this season due to very late rains.  There have been a few orchids spotted and plenty of insects are buzzing about pollinating their little hearts out!
11. The last and most important of all – Wesley has been sleeping through the night for 1.5 weeks.  We are both soaking up the joys of sleeping for long periods of time!  It has been literally life changing.

In about a month we’ll be hosting Mike’s brother Rayden and his sister Stacey for a week and hopefully we’ll have finished some of the major projects built or nearing completion before they arrive.

Rayden had been here a few years back and it’s Stacey’s first time in Western Australia from Melbourne.

We all can’t wait to see them and show them the area.  Wesley is keen to see his Aunt and Uncle – and decide which is ultimately his favourite, ever!  Haha the race will be on!

The first crop of onions.

To put a seed into the soil is to believe in the future.  You trust that earth, water and time will bring you nourishing food.  Time has brought us 8 red onions and a random white one.

They grew in rather close quarters, and a tiny lesson has been learned.  We must plant them at a greater space to allow for bigger bulbs next year.

I’ve trimmed them and foolishly placed said onions onto the mantle in our kitchen.  Now, I am airing out our whole home from the intense perfume of fresh onions.

Another novice mistake.

Now they sit on the porch airing out for a few days before I store them in the cupboard.

Do you have a recipe that features onions that you love?  I’ll probably need to get through these red ones rather quick!  

We’ve been misted today in a dainty almost microscopic rain.  You know the kind that lightly falls on your face and skin, it feels refreshing?  Eventually it saturates you to the core, and yet at the same time is lovely because it is warm.  Summer rain, is so pleasant.

This constant rain has made New Zealand’s soil fertile and created an optimal growing season in many regions.  Palmerston North has had one of the wettest summers on record.  We can only help but flash back to our struggles in Eneabba trying to grow our food in the hot heat of summer.  We watered it endlessly.  Many of our plants died.  Here, we hope for some more sunlight to help ripen our green tomatoes. Though, I’ve heard they are good fried green anyway!