Bunya Mountains Weekend

 Honeysuckle outside our cottage at Taabinga

After a lovely couple of days resting at Taabinga Homestead , via Kingaroy we wnt on to the Bunya Mountains nd stayed at Dandabah

 Taabinga , established 1846.

Taabinga is a fascinating place to visit with a very interesting garden history , wonderful outbuildings and the original Homestead.

Blackall range Horseless Carriage Club members at the Bunya Mountains. Great weekend and dinner at Lyrics Restaurant , Saturday Night. Home via Ringfield House Nanango

Old School House in the grounds of Ringfield House, Nanango

Wild Dogs , Bastards!

Last night I was awoken to the sound of howling , no not from Michael but the dreaded wild dogs. I quickly sprang out of bed to check on pampered pet 'Bear' to find him safe and sound in his locked up verandah room ,just listening.Thankfully we don't have chooks to worry about right now but it seemed timely to read this story by Chris Donlen.

 

"Chooks of the Obi Obi" - A cautionary tale by Chris

I live on a "farm". Fortunately for me living ON something is very fashionable these days. Like ON Buderim. I use quotation marks because that is also very in, whether written or denoted with fingers and also because I am beginning to question what exactly I am farming since everything seems to be deceasing from dry, wet, predators or pests and the fact that my mother has more stuff productively growing in her tiny retirement village garden than I do on my farm.

Anyway, because I live on a farm it is anticipated, indeed expected that I should therefore have poultry, particularly chooks. This applies to anyone on a 1/4 acre block or more. If you do not then you have somewhat failed in many people's eyes.

Farms must have an abundant supply of fresh eggs. Home grown eggs are obviously cheaply produced, almost free in fact. They are healthier because the grass is greenier & the air is cleanier. (Who owns that jingle? Is it copyrighted?)

The following is a personal record of chook keeping basics.

Week 1-Build a chook pen. Hunt around for any cast off timbers, wire, roofing iron etc. Build rudimentary pen and house. Buy 4-6 point of lay chooks. Excellent the whole show for under $80.Let the kiddies name the chooks.Oh ,the excitement. What to name them? Welcome Penny, Henny, Fluffy and Speckles.

Week2-F#*@%ing crows have discovered your chooks and are now taking all the fresh eggs. Crows are legally protected .You may not harm them.

Week3-Battle with but do no harm ,mongrel bastard ,legally protected hawks, falcons, eagles that have discovered your chookies thanks to crows. Bury any remnant chook pieces left lying about so as not to upset the children. Note: You can identify a predatory bird kill by the generally headless carcasses.

Week 4-Chin up. Buy a roll of good quality small gauge chicken wire and over head bearer timbers and completely cover chook pen. Bye Bye aerial attacks. Howzat eagles? Buy new chooks and let kiddles name them. Welcome, Sparkles, Cuddles & Dotty.

Roosters: Should we /shouldn't we? Are you freaking insane? Oh yeah, but think of the cute little chickies. And we could sell them to cover costs. Sure idiot go for it! Welcome, Ronaldo, big mongrel crowing, attacking, nasty bastard. Note: All your hens will be regularly decimated ,nothing will touch Ronaldo. You can chain Ronaldo out in the middle of the paddock and NOTHING will touch him. You can hide your chickens under your pillow and they WILL be decimated.

Roosters alone means that you need a certificate 3 in Zen Buddhism. These bastards crow on  moonlit nights(all night).They crow when they are happy, sad, randy, bragging, bored or just trying to piss you off.

Week 5 -Small wild birds will always seem to access the pen and they bring with them bird lice. By now you will probably also have mites creeping around the hen house.These critters are particularly attracted to warm fuzzy areas. When you realise that the whole family is in fact scratching and covered in small bites you feel a temporary sense of relief. You must now look very closely at your skin ( a magnifying glass may be necessary) where upon you will notice an entire frantic little world has taken up residence upon you. Don't Panic!

Lice Infestation Procedure 101

Firstly put all bedding, towels, clothes, hats etc in a hot wash. Spray mattresses, chairs, carpet. Soak &scrub all hair items in hot soapy water. Vacuum and mop floor. Spray all shoes/boots that have been near chook pen. All family members must shower and shampoo diligently and finish with a dousing of preferably toxic insect.

repellent. Purchase large bottle of Pestene powder and a respirator for the pen. Week7-Awake to find foxes have dug into your pen. Note: You can identify fox kill by the lack of chooks in your pen and the neat bundles of feathers nearby outside the pen. There may be a remnant beak or two.

Buy more small gauge chicken wire .Attach to sides of pen. base of pen walls so this Buy more chooks. Pestene and name them yourself. Itchy, Scratchy, Shitty & Poo.

Week 9 -You have now discovered that roaming dogs can tear through chicken wire. Note: You can identify a dog kill by the fact that when you put all the strewn pieces back together there is nothing actually missing. It was just for sport.

Buy large roll of dog proof wire and erect securely on top of all other wire. Buy more chicks and name them if you must.

Week 12-Fereal cats eat chooks while they are free ranging. Note: You can identify a feral cat kill by the fact they eat into the body cavity but generally leave the exterior intact. Buy new chooks, name them Uh huh.

Never ever add up the cost of building materials, new chooks, pest treatments, food, grit, fencing, rodenticides and housing. Calculating costs will only ruin the romance of the hen house.

It is imperative that you let your chookies cluster woefully on your steps, verandah, roof shitting, stinking, preening and clucking for miserable hours in wet weather.

Week 16- Carpet snake has broached the pen and snacked. You may feel that this is karma for chookies. Have Chai tea and meditate on this. Remember that just up the road people  are relocating their carpet snakes down near you at dusk too. Fairs Fair.

Week 18  -Rodents. Tidal waves of rodents will have discovered your chooks. They are attracted to the eggs, the feed& young chicks . Rodent proof the hen house and rat proof the feeders.

Week 20- Now is the time to truly embrace the road to self sufficiency and all that earthy stuff. Killing your own poultry.

All our forefathers and foremothers and even your frail old Aunty Enid used to lop chooks heads off for a Sunday lunch. Everyone did. Too easy!

Grab Wormy and ignore her pleading screams and panic stricken eyes. Holding her feet, let her little head dangle down to the solid chopping block. Firmly wield the cane knife and behead her in one fell blow. Wham! Wait until headless body stops running and spurting blood and your head stops spinning and you can stand up again. Next, hot water, plucking, removing of gizzards etc. By now you will be coated in feathers, blood and the stench is palpable. The kids have all run crying inside to be vegetarian.

Mean Mummy, Chook Killer! Enjoy Roast Chicken and bottle of wine.

The Shambles Winter 2015

Open Gardens and Touring visitors have come and gone. The weather is lovely and the garden remain full of colour . Our winter being so mild the deciduous trees and shrubs are only just colouring with little in the way of leaf fall
New addition from Rowena Cavanagh
Spiraea prunifolia 'Plena' Bridal wreath spirea, bears tiny double white flowers on bare branches early in spring, before the glossy green leaves appear. Some red fall color

Roses from cutting and other plants with underheating from our front path paving.

Kniphofia aloides and Bauhinea corymbosa flowering for visitors.

garden fun

Yesterday I found myself back in Brisbane not for baby sitting but to help our daughter to do something with her garden. Thankfully when she first moved in to her Northern suburbs house we insisted on planting trees as a starting point to creating a more inviting place to go outside.
The main issue was the harsh western sun that would beat across the back of the house but now thanks to the trees there is a leafy view from the upper story windows as well as protection from the heat.
Often most of the stuff you need to do some garden renovation is actually just lying around the house, at least it was yesterday. A pile of shabby bricks , assorted pavers  and some pretty good mulch from a previous cutting back day.  All that was needed was a plan .
What we ended up doing was just making a series of stepping paves out of the assortment including some pretty weird zig zag ones.We moved plants that were struggling into new positions and also have the start of "Zen corner" purely because we decided to place a small tree( that came up by itself) in the centre of a meditative circle, though how much actual meditation could actually happen there is yet to be discovered. ( three children under 5) It is more likely to become a round about for push toys and that is fine too.
All of our paving has just been set into the ground and the garden beds have been created around them using the mulch and some plants that I brought down from home. The idea is just to see how it goes and to see if the kids like the idea of playing using the new paths as well as the swing set . The beauty of making a changeable garden is that it is not locked in and further down the track we will probably change the paths or do something completely different. I like the idea of children using their imaginations in play and having natural elements to utilise . A slide may be just a slide but rocks and dirt and stepping stones can lead you to a castle or a Zen round about if you want them to.

Trinny and Susannah of gardening?

What your garden says about you.

Michael and I have decided that this Friday we will be the Trinny and Susannah of gardening as we have been invited to Brisbane to consult on the" Collies Garden" at Brighton.
We are keen advocates of the domestic garden and what that garden says about you from the street.Almost everything that Trinny and Susannah say can be related to your garden.
I don't feel comfortable showing my garden .
There's nobody in my life to dress up my garden for.
This shapeless garden protects me from the world.
Is my gardening underwear really that unkempt?
Nobody really sees my garden anyway.
I don't really want people visiting my garden anyway.
Gardening is a real burden to me.
Someone might see my garden and make a nasty comment.
Now back to the garden. We have asked that the Collies prepare a white board and lots of coloured pens for us to brain storm with. (I have always wanted to be the person in a cop show who sets up that map of clues. Lots of photos, string lines and lists. )
We will go on a deep and meaningful journey of discovery as we throw around some new gardening directions and some totally unattainable goals over a cup of tea.
A domestic garden is an awesome place that reveals your peculiar personality to the street and the world at the front and has those special private places that only you know about so lets keep it that way.

PERFECT WEATHER FOR AN OPEN GARDEN ON ANZAC WEEKEND

Gatehouse at "The Shambles

Perfect weather and a wonderful selection of trees, shrubs and perennials in full flower helped make our ANZAC weekend Open garden a very enjoyable success. Lots of delighted visitors came and supported the event which proceeds go to Legacy Australia. Legacy catered tea nd scones and had a stall of ANZAC badges and momentos and books.

Legacy Australia, catering and fundraising at "The Shambles"

 Our Border Collie 'Bear' proved to be a very popular part of the event, as did the treasure hunt for children. On Saturday afternoon music was provided by 'Smokin Melaleucas, which lead into a relaxing dinner for all of us after the gates had closed.

Everything seems to flower on time. Megakapasma at "The Shambles"

The Gordonia axillaris, the perennial Salvias, Plectranthus, the Holmskiodias, Brugmansias, Camellia sasanquas and just about every other genus in the garden was showing off, helping to make the event a wonderful show for visitors. 

Thankyou to all our visitors, to Legacy Australia and to the 'Smokin Melaleucas' for making this a memorable weekend                  Michael Simpson  

A bit of light entertainment

After you have paid your respects at the Anzac Day dawn service and walked in the parade it will be time to head up to Montville and do your bit supporting that great organisation"Legacy" by coming to our open garden at " The Shambles". Purchase a cup of tea and scones and take a wander in the garden after all I  have done nothing but chores in the garden for several weeks now and I think it's looking pretty good.
There are plenty of flowers and a few new bits to discover but wait there's more.
At around 2.00 pm the back verandah will be alive with the sultry sounds of the
 "Smokin' Melaleucas". Feel free to sing along or tap your feet as you pass by .
Just a quick reminder to visitors that it is a good idea to bring a  cardigan as it gets a bit nippy this time of year.
The cost of entry to the garden is $8.00 . As far as I know the music is free.
So forget the music festivals at Byron and Gympie have a stroll and enjoy the ambience and be home in time for Gardening Australia! See you in the garden, Kyleigh

Here's Michael labouring over a hot key board in preparation for this weekend.