Christmas update on the food crop and future plans.

New turkey bed with Sugar Melons

Corn patch (8 weeks of growth from seed) with bamboo wind support

The large garden in backyard, planted in guild style

Purple King beans, producing prolific numbers of flowers

Yellow Pear tomatoes, the first fruits on the bush

Big Red Tomatoes, first fruits on the bush

Californian Capsicum, first one on the bush

Well just to finish the year, I thought I would do a run down of the happenings of 2011 and bring you an update on the garden's growth and progress.  So let's begin.  The start of 2011 both my sons were still at home with me and we were plugging away at the yard and paddock to get new garden beds established, the woodshed built and to get the chooks sorted with a more permanent enclosure.  It saw my son, Luke, working at the local grain mill until work dried up and at that time both lads decided to move back to our hometown in the North/East of Victoria.  For the next few weeks, I rattled around the house adjusting to the quiet nights and sole company of Snake the cat.  In the early half of the year I managed to hold a WWOOF host gathering and to manage the WWOOF stand at the Back2Basics Expo in Kyabram.  Hosting remained in limbo until the second half of the year as winter presented bleak and dreary weather.  I completed my Cert3 in permaculture and took on the Cert4TAE which I completed in early December. Hosting WWOOFers began again in late September when Michael arrived from France,  all up Michael stayed for 5 weeks.  During the first week of October I managed the WWOOF stand at the Elmore Field Days with the help of another WWOOFer, Leanne.  The day after that had finished I received sad news that my last remaining/closest Uncle Wilf had succumbed to the cancers that had ravedged his body for years.  I partly feel he had pined away as his dear wife Nancy had passed away 5 years prior and they had a very close and strong bond.  During the comings and goings of the second half of the year, I was diagnosed with malignant cells in the Intramedullary tumours on my spinal cords.  They are inoperable and were actually found in 2006, but the malignancy only broke out in July.  I have completed an 8 week course of chemo tablets and now going through the barrage of tests to see how successful that was.  Still I remain totally positive about things and strive to continue with the plans I have in place.  In early December, I enrolled in diploma of Business and Diploma of Management. A 1 year course of study that will hopefully set me in good stead to set up and run an RTO that will specialise in Permaculture Design Course ( hoping for a kick off in 2013).  The last week leading up to Christmas is in full swing here and I am busily sourcing organic fruits and vegetables to make up boxes for my various family members as gifts.  A trip to Echuca is on the cards for Thursday to complete the gift buying and then the last 2 days will be filled with cleaning and making sure all the gardens and animals will be sorted out for the time I am to be away for Christmas.  In conclusion, I wish all those in the world of Blog a safe and happy time during the festive season.

A Peek At The Corn Patch

Stage 1:  Prepare the bed, mark out the rows with sticks and plant seeds.

Set up the Vertical Worm Composting Pipe.

Place 6 Bricks on one side for a stepping stone.

Stage 2:  Maintain the bed with plenty of water daily.

Observe the plant growth and foliage for any diseases and pests.

Stage 3:  Keep the crop weed free to reduce competition for soil nutrients.

This Corn bed was established where an old chook shed used to be.  The area you see had around 8" of chook manure on it and when we went to turn it over, found a layer of bricks beneath it.  Once they were removed, the soil and manure were then turned and the garden worked into the mound.  The Vertical Worm Composter was then prepared (holes drilled around the base) and then placed in the centre of the bed. This composter functions very well as the worms stay in there during the day, feeding on kitchen scraps and then moving into the garden bed by night to fertilise and break down the soil.  During the early morning they then return to the composter to begin the cycle all over again.  The lower of the photos was taken around 5 weeks after the seeds were planted.



Michael The WWOOFer cont:

Michael laying the bricks for a Turkey Mound

Filling the Turkey Mound using Lasagne style

Honey Dew Melon Planted

We have put together 3 more garden beds.  A 2 x 1 mt established using the lasagne style.  It has been planted with peas and silverbeet with room still left over for another variety of plant.  Then we put together 2 small Turkey Mounds surrounded with bricks to plant honey dew melons and QLD Blue Pumpins.  We are planning to put 2 more Turkey Mounds together for Rockmelons and Watermelons.  When they are built, it will mean that the plans for the 2011 season will have been reached.  We are off to town after lunch today to pick up Michael's travel ticket for Wednesday.  He is leaving then for his next WWOOF adventure closer to Melbourne.  I am really pleased his journey is continuing, but have enjoyed him being here so much it will be a difficult goodbye we will share.  Here is cheers to a wonderful spirit that came into my home and brightened life so much.. Journey well Michael.

Hosting Michael the WWOOFer

Michael at the local bakery

Michael feeding chickens

Michael's lovely yoghurt cake

Michael cooking crepes

Michael's crepes (delicious)

I feel I have been very blessed as a WWOOF host over the last few weeks.  I have hosted the most wonderful young man, who by all rights is a great credit to his parents.  Michael came to me the week before the Elmore Field Days and stayed until the day before I had to set up.  I already had Leanne booked in to help with that and in order to make sure Michael was in a good place, I arranged with another local host for him to go there.  The plan was for Michael to return to me when I had finished at Elmore.  Funny how life loves to throw us curve balls though, as soon as Elmore was done I had to make a trip to the Peninsula for my Uncle's funeral.  So instead of Michael returning as per planned, he stayed on with Richard until I returned from my trip.  We had decided that Michael would arrive at my place before me and feed the animals.  Imagine how pleasantly I was surprised, arriving home to the wonderous smell of a cake baking in the oven, he had also put away all the dishes I had left in the drainer before leaving, and done a few other small jobs as well.  This young man is so easy to share time with and he always makes working a pleasant time.  During Michael's time here, I have not stopped laughing or smiling and I will admit that my face constantly hurts from it.  Such a good hurt it is.  When Michael leaves here to return to France, it will be a very sad day for me.  He will be greatly missed and my only hope is that he achieves all he sets out to do in life. 

Elmore Field Days, October 2011

Annette (left)  Leanne (right)

Early Monday 3rd October,2011 saw me on my way to Echuca to pick up Leanne in order for us to go to the Elmore Field Days site and set up the WWOOF stand.  Got there around 9.30, pulling the car right up in front of the marquise.  All up it only took us 2 and a half hours to unload the car and set up the interior of the stand.  After this we jumped in the car and headed back to Kyabram to stock up on supplies and relax for the night in readiness for the 3 very busy days to follow.  Tuesday morning we rose to light cloud and news that we were due for some rain while the field days were on.  Not amused at all, but as it happened the weather held for us and we avoided getting wet feet.  The crowds rolled in and we were kept busy, chatting and sharing information about the guidelines and methods of joining WWOOF, both as hosts and WWOOFers.  We had a great deal of interest shown over the next 3 days and found that we also had a number of folk drop by who had already heard of WWOOF but would love more information.  During each day we also had a number of other hosts from a variety of places pop in to say hello and ask a question or two.  So good to see them there and share what they do on their properties.  By the end of day 3, both Leanne and I were totally exhausted, had very sore legs and feet but came away with a sense of achievement in regard to getting the word out there.  I am hoping to set up another stand at the Kyabram show in just over a week. Will see how it pans out as I am still waiting on word back from the organisers if a site is available.  Watch this space for updates.

Never a dull moment

My friends and family are always saying, "You will never have a dull moment in life".  Perhaps they are right.  Although the next two weeks are holiday time from the course I am doing, I still won't have an idle moment to contemplate the next phase in life.  Firstly, I am going to utilise that time to get the rest of the paddock area in order and prepare for the planting season.  It was with the greatest joy that I opened an email today from a french lad who is wanting to come and WWOOF at my humble abode.  The help will be greatly appreciated. Then on the 3rd to the 6th of October I am going to be running a stand at the Elmore Field Days on behalf of the WWOOF Australia organisation, with the help of a lovely lady (Leanne Seignior) who is also a WWOOFer.  I have all the promotional posters, bookmarks, flyers and books at the ready and have  laminated the two large posters I used for the Back2Basics which have photos of my past WWOOFers on them.  The stands are at this time being altered to suit the occassion and also to allow me to fit them in the Ricebubble car I drive.  (Small cars are not practical and I am missing my big old ute at this point in time.)  I still have just a few things I am working on to make the stall look its best, but feel it is all falling into place very well. So, to coin a phrase,  No rest for the wicked.   Bring it on.

Week 2: Cert4TAE

Now at week 2 of my Cert4TAE I am throwing myself into my studies.  Week 1 was an introduction to what TAE involves and a few group exercises as well as an Icebreaker.  All intended to teach us various methods of teaching students and how to hold their attention. The end of class saw us with homework that at first I felt to be a great challenge.  We had to organise an icebreaker, select a demonstration, write up an assessment analysis and a session plan.  Although the week was rather busy, with a trip to Melbourne for medical reasons and then a lady running into my car,  I did manage to get all the work done.  So it was on the day of Week 2.  I arrived at class with all my work prepared and a good mindset to present my Icebreaker and do my demonstration.  I have chosen to teach how to correctly use a ph soil test kit and how to analyse the results.  Imagine my surprise when the trainer said our demonstrations will be done Week3, not that it is an issue, it simply means I am prepared ahead of time. After our classes came to an end yesterday, I came home to a lovely hot coffee and reflected on the days lessons.  I find that although I have past experience in teaching such things as craft and reading,  I am still learning a great deal from this course and am sure it will set me in good stead for the future.

Room to Move. Extending the ChookMahal

Mark and Snake watching the chickens as they forage in the new enclosure

The use of a recycled gate saved us a lot of money.

Clipping Little Dotty's wing.

Today I woke up determined to extend the area that the chooks had to forage in during the daylight hours.  So I scrounged around, gathering tomato stakes, some rolls of chicken wire and an old gate that was laying in the paddock.  My son and I then got to work driving in the stakes and stringing up the wire and gate.  After about an hour or so, we had set up an area about 10' x 20' with an external gate to allow ease of entry to feed and water the girls.  Once all the work had been done, we opened the gate to the chook shed and allowed Elvis and the girls out into their new yard.  At the same time I picked up Little Dotty and clipped her wing so she wouldn't fly the coop (pardon the pun).  They are all very content and have been head down, parson's nose up for a couple of hours. I so love the sight of my girls scratching and pecking happily in a big area.  Although this yard will allow the girls more forage space the netting is only a temporary solution until the electronet arrives to replace it..I plan to run that by solar power and a car battery.

The end result.

As a post script to my last blog about the permaculture cert 3 course.  I have received a message from the course assessor, advising me that I have made it through and achieved the cert3.  It was the one message that I have yearned for over a long and arduous time.  At this point, with all the elation I feel,  I wish to express my deepst thanks to every person who spoke encouraging words, who sat with me when I was crying in frustration, who gave me much appreciated advice, who had more faith in me than I did myself and above all rose to the moment and expressed their congratulations when the news came through.  You all hold a very special place in my life and in my heart. Know that in all you do, you too are loved.

A hiatus in life

A 3 year journey has come to an end.  The permaculture Design course I undertook in 2009 was a long and rewarding undertaking that I would not exchange for all the money in China.  Although I had followed the Permaculture lifestyle for over 20 years, doing the course has brought clarity, a greater understanding and a wider knowledge base to all that I have done during those 20 years.  On Thursday I made a trip to Gisborne in order to submit the last of my work units.  I met with Virginia at a wonderful luncheonette and during that time we went over the work being submitted and then clarified a few things.  As the drive had been a little hard on my back I decided to stay overnight in Gisborne with a dear friend (thankyou for that blessing my friend) and then drove home on the Friday.  The quiet drive home gave me a lot of time to reflect on all that the past 3 years has done for me and meant to me.  It also gave me time to contemplate the next phase in my life's journey.  I have enrolled to do my cert4 TAE, which will mean I am able to teach Permaculture once the course is done in October.  I am also hoping to do the Diploma unit in Whole Farm Planning.  After all this is completed,  the world is my oyster and the options open to me are endless.  So having said all this, why did I come away feeling like I had lost something.   Maybe this is the normal thing when you finally get complete closure on something you have worked hard to do.  Oh well, at least I have a few weeks to regroup and put a little work in on the system I am hoping will provide me with an abundance of beautiful organic food this coming summer. So out to the dairy with barrow and shovel to collect as much free fertiliser as I can for the about to be established gardens. Then to begin seed selection and decide on how I will propogate them this year.  Wasnt quite so keen on the little things I used last season, only had about 40% success rate with them. May need to go back to the old ways of using punnets and seed raising mix.

Last years propogation method using Jiffy pots, works well for smaller seeds, not so great for things like pumpkin, zucchini, melons, beans and peas.

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The good, the bad and the hard to do.

Living in front of an operational dairy has many ups and downs.  The good side,  plenty of free cow poo for the organic gardens, beautiful sunrises, sunsets and not much traffic( apart from the tractor, motorbike and cows lowing).  On the downside, there is the wiffy smell of cow poo, multitudes of flies and mozzies, dirt roads and the fact that my poor chooks are no longer allowed to freerange.  It is understandable when you know the legalities and health regulations involved in dairy farming.  However, since Elvis the rooster and his harem have now begun to escape the house yard by jumping fences, the time arrived where the landlord asked in stern tones for them to be kept under control.  What to do?  EBAY to the rescue, long searches and big decision made.  I found a great kit form chookpen. It comes with a big removeable backdoor, slide out dirt tray, nesting boxes and perches.  Then entire yard section is enclosed and eagle proof.  So, I waited with anticipation for it to arrive.  One week, two weeks, then finally at the end of the  third week two large boxes are dropped off on my front verandah.  It was like christmas morning tearing the packaging open to inspect the goodies within.   The three of us layed out the panels on the front lawn, correlating pieces that went together and trying to make sense of those irritating, inadequate instructions that always seem to accompany flat pack goods.  A few hours of shuffling pieces and cursing the person who typed said inadequate instructions, the housing section was complete and ready to move into place.  That done.  Luke and Mark began the next stage, putting up the pen sections, the little ladder for the hens to go to bed at night and then last but not least add the food tower and water bowl, so we could release the hens.  Now, moving chickens should be an easy task and usually it is.  Just wish someone had told my chooks, especially Elvis the now very agitated rooster.  He really hates us handling his harem.  Not to worry, we'll get  him last.  By the time the hens are ensconsed in the new chookmahal, Elvis has quite a paddy up..it actually took us almost an hour to catch the demon rooster.  Note my love for this creature is immense, my tolerance however is declining.  Job done, gate locked, we all looked at each other and declared stumps.  Time for a good wash and hot coffee. 

SCORE:  Me 1.....Chooks 0



Returning Home.

UPDATE ON BEING A DISPLACED PERSON:
Although this past week has been a trying time, with emotional ups and downs, tension, harsh words aimed at me over a situation I neither caused nor wanted, I have come away with a sense of relief and lightness at having come home at last.  Problems seemed to be compounded during the last 2 days, when the main power company refused to sign off on the job due to confusion over names attached to repair bills and power supply bills, not to mention the indignant way I was told I was lying about who I buy my power through.  I sometimes wonder what people have running through their minds when they make such silly statements.  Finally on Thursday evening at 6.30pm the power company sent 2 workmen out to complete the process of reconnecting my supply and in turn me with my home.  These wonderful men said there was no plausible excuse for the tardy delay and couldn't appologise enough.  So I lit the fire, put on the kettle and served them a steaming hot coffee in gratitude for bringing balance to my life.  All the while, Snake had found a new toy.  He began climbing incessantly up and over, in and out of the big work truck.  Playing hide and seek with one of the men who had taken a shine to him.  They played for a good while until time came to pack up and head off for another job.  The man gently lifted Snake down and placed him in my arms.  Such a delightful end to an almost mind wrecker of a week.   For the words of kindess sent to me through fellow blogger  Melbourne Dreaming,  I say thankyou, they lifted my spirit and reminded me of my inner strength and ability to keep on keepin on.

Living for a week as a displaced person.

Our week began with a bang.  At 2am on Monday our power failed.  No big deal really, it will be back on.  However, by 6 hours later still no power, which meant in turn, no water for showers, cooking and cleaning as we have an electric pump to transfer our house water from the tank.  It also meant no lights or any other electricals.  Now what to do.  Number 1 son works in a job that is rather grotty and comes home looking like he has rolled in dirt all day.  He has to be able to shower.  Short conference with him and decision to relocate ourselves to a local motel.  Hmm, now we can shower and have a television, lights and water, but are unable to cook for ourselves.  It's ok we think, one night of takeaways won't hurt.  After all we are told that all will be restored by Tuesday.  Why the delay, it wasn't a simple power outage, our mains board had shorted and caught fire.  This meant a major repair job and two seperate companies to do it.  A local electrician and the main power company to turn the mains power off and on at the mains switch external to our property.   Tuesday comes, I wait and wait for that wonderful call to come so I can return home and settle back in.  Not to be, when the call comes, it is to say go back to motel.  After paying for the first night, I am now broke and not a dime left to my name.  Our biggest dilemma arose when the landlord became indignant and tried laying guilt trips on us over having to pay our motel bill.  Law is law, the fault was not ours, we had paid our rent in advance and as we are unable to use the home we have paid for, he is ultimately responsible to pay the motel costs. So once that is settled, back to the motel we go for night 2 and another feed of less than healthy food.  My body is already reacting to the change in diet, I only eat home made and usually organic foods I prepare myself.  With good reason considering my heart condition and the tumours on my spinal chords.  Wednesday morning comes along, I drive number 1 son to work and then go back to the motel to finish packing up and check out,  again.  Then off to the library for the day, where I can at least keep warm and do some more work on my studies.  I can't face more takeaways and decide eating is off the agenda for the day, my stomach can't take it.  At almost 3.30pm the phone rings, I get all excited only to be told, I need to go back to the motel.  Why?  The big power company who are responsible for inspecting and signing off the repairs for me to be able to go home, didn't do it.  They said can't do that today, landlords name on repair bill, my name on power bill.  I am now not a happy customer, but still try to keep a civil tongue and level head.  After all the landlord is doing his best to get things resolved.  Hmm pity about the increased intensity of the guilt trips.  So he will now only pay for me to stay in the motel as he said he is not responsible for Number 1 sons living arrangements.  Hmm ok,  back to motel to book "my" room.  They have one room left at a higher rate, he gets miffed about increased cost and argues the toss until motel owner caves to cheaper rate.  Room has 3 beds, so number 1 son is ok, not that grumpy landlord knows.
We are told that Thursday we should be right to go home.  I will wait and see, then update this post later. Wish me luck.  I am now more aware of how people who have no home feel, being displaced is demeaning, depressing and not condusive to a persons self confidence.  To all homeless and displaced persons in the world you have my kindest thoughts and I will keep you in my prayers.

Apulia Grove, olive picking

Ceilidh showing me the solar and biolitic systems in use at Apulia grove.

During the weekend of May 7th and 8th, I stayed with Ceilidh and Charles at Apulia Grove.  The olives are all ready for harvest and they were in dire need of help to them off the trees before they were lost to frost.  So I packed the car and headed on down.  Saturday saw me with a small plastic rake in hand stripping olives from the trees, along with the Stolk family, Charles, Ceilidh and Scott. 

JJ and I working in the grove

The pickers hard at work

At the end of a fantastic day filled with a lot of banter, laughter and a song or two shared with the Stolk children, we all gathered around a drum fire to cook a scrumptious dinner and reflect on a day that brought new friends together and taught me something about the olive industry. 

On Sunday, we arose to a wonderful breakfast of bacon and eggs, great coffee and a beautiful morning of sunshine.  Scott was first up and had been out shooting for rabbits.  He did manage to get one but doesn't have the skin and dress skills.  So, I took knife to hand and did the deed for him.  One rabbit skun, cleaned and ready to cook, as well as one happy shooter.  After this was done, Ceilidh, Charles and I got busy with day 2 of the olive harvest and pressing.  Charles was back in the grove with family members who arrived to help, while Ceilidh and I were in the processing shed dealing with the olives harvested the day before.  I got to see Big Gen running as I strained to hear what was said over her loud belly grumbles.  Then Ceilidh introduced me to Frank the olive processing machine, so called because he does things his own way.  The next stage I was introduced to was filling the filtering tank with the pressed oil and then draining it into storage drums. 

Big Gen

Frank the processing machine

The filtering tank

By days end, I felt very impressed with all I had learned from such wonderful people, thankyou Charles and Ceilidh for this opportunity and wonderful hospitality.



My poor baby chickens.

My poor baby chickens have been looking rather out of sorts during the past few days.  On closer inspection, I found little wart like lumps on their eyelids and beaks.  With a lot patience and a lot more research, I now know they have Fowl Pox.  This is transmitted by mozzies and open wounds.  If they get through this and don't suffer any secondary infections, it will mean immunity for life.  There are two strains of the Foul Pox,  Dry and Wet.  Sadly my babies have what I suspect is Wet.  The lesions are also showing inside their tiny beaks, so constant vigilance is now important to get them through.  The Wet Pox strain can cause problems drinking and eating.  If this occurs I will have to then feed t 

myself and give them fluids via a syringe.  In the long run they will be worth it as they will be a much stronger bird.  One Eye has no lesions showing and I feel it is possible she had this infliction herself as a chick.  I actually got her when she was 3 months old, so can't track her history.  Meanwhile I have returned the babies to the big bird cage in our house yard to provide special care.  Thankgod for the internet and all the wonderful information we can derive from it.

Back 2 Basics Expo in Kyabram 2011

Well, my life became quite a whirlwind starting on Tuesday night.  I had been emailing back and forth with WWOOF Australia about the possibility of them having a booth at the Back 2 Basics Expo here in Kyabram.  The biggest issue for them was the distance they would need to travel.  My solution was to offer my services in setting up and manning the booth for the 2 day event.  They were pleased to accept and sent me the official pamphlets, bookmarks(giveaways) and a banner for the backdrop.  I then spent the next 3 nights at the laptop arranging 4 photos to a page, totalling 4 pages. After printing them, I cut them into individual pictures and on a poster sized sheet of card layed them out, along with the names of the WWOOFers in them and their country of origin. I also made a third poster with some handy hosting hints, set up a display using a glass head, hat, fly veil, mozzie repelent and sunscreen to show we need protect those we host from our harsh elements. I organised a small, basic first aid kit  and a display of organic produce to add to the look of the booth.  Once all was in place, there was little to do but wait for the crowds to roll in.  I then found myself busy answering people's enquiries and sharing my hosting experienc from the last 4 years(almost).  This has been a great opportunity for me to give a little something back to the WWOOF association for all the support, encouragement and time they give to managing this fantastic set up.
I will keep hosting as long as I am able to put shovel to dirt, for all the joy it brings through cultural exchanges and the lovely people I get to meet.



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A nifty use of an old bookcase.

After tripping over my garden tools for months, having marauding moggies knock them down and finding that my beloved sons were leaving them lay around the property, I took things into hand.  A few days ago while fossicking at the op shop in Echuca, I came across a bookcase that had no shelves.  Now, being the bilateral thinker that I am, my mind went into overdrive.  So after parting with $7.50 for the book case, Number 2 son and I squeezed said book case into my rice bubble car and made our way home.  It has been on the verandah waiting for me to finish the project for the few days since, so today while in town, I bought a hole saw and measured out the spacing to drill holes for my garden tool handles to slide through.  Allowing 10cm between each of the holes to allow room for hands and no cuts or grazes while getting tools out.  Then after attaching the hole saw to my lovely big impact drill, I set to drilling out the holes.  The old book case now has two rows of 9 holes and sits proudly on my verandah with most of the tools in place.  Next week I intend to buy a couple of hooks to put one end and hang the pruning shears and secatuers, as well as a bigger hook for the other end to hold the spade and garden fork.  Another job done and less mess to look at.

A small miracle in a world of Chaos

A SMALL MIRACLE AMONG CHAOS

The proud daddy, "Elvis"

  One Eye and her brood

I have had several weeks of sadness, worrying what happened to my favourite hen, "One Eye".  I had thought that Foxy Loxy had taken her as his lunch.  Today my sons and I were removing plants from the gardens, weeding and clearing up.  I asked Number 1 son to go and slash near the compost, imagine my surprise when he called me and said, "We have several problems here."   I walked out there with slumped shoulders and a dejected heart, only to be greeted by a very protective One Eye and her 15 fluffy chickens.  Turns out she had been laying eggs by the half finished woodshed and sat on them to hatch.  A small miracle to brighten my day. So, for this I give thanks to the universe.  One Eye and her babies are safely tucked in a box until we can put them in the makeshift pen we constructed today out of two bird cages.  Must apologise to our sweet cat "Snake", those cages formed his travel cage, which means no holidays for him for the moment.  How sweet is life?

CORN AND CURRY MUFFINS

CORN AND CURRY MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup P.Flour

1 Cup S.R.Flour

1/3 Cup Sugar

2 Tspn Baking Powder

1/2 Tspn Salt

1 Tspn Curry Powder

1 beaten Egg

1 Cup Milk

1 Medium Can Corn Kernels

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

METHOD

Place all ingredients into a large bowl and stir gently until mixed.

Divide mixture evenly into a greased muffin pan.

Bake at 200c for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

NOTE:  These muffins make a great substitute for bread, to eat with an evening meal. They are also good lunchbox fillers for kids.

Stepping outta the square.

Well, well, well. Here I am, looking at a history of having been in the entertainment industry.  First as a singer, then as a clown for a long time.  Yes, you did read that right, a clown.  My diary for the entire 8 year career in funny land was so heavily laden with bookings, I had to offload a heap of them to a chap I helped to get started.  He became so successful that even today he continues to entertain and please people around his area.  Go Sparky.  Now, a long way down the road, I am making the move to leave my comfort zone.  I have been most industrious and made myself a Rastaphone (Lagerphone).  Mine however has been made with a twist.  It has a dyed mop for hair, a styrophoam ball for a head, a rasta hat, a boomerang for arms and a homemade ukulelee for the main feature.  Ta Da..instant rastaphone.  My friends and family are in hysterics and some in disbelief that I am going to take up a different instrument and get back into music.  Hoping like mad I can pull this off, tuning up the vocal pipes and having such a ball with it all.  Think I have even shocked myself. What the heck, it's all in fun and hopefully a lot of laughs will be had by all.  First step though is to go to a few open mike nights and just jam with some of the guys and ladies I knew way back when. 

Zucchini Slice

ZUCCHINI SLICE

INGREDIENTS.

700gm of coursley grated zucchini, drained in a colander.

Mint, parsley and dill.  Large qty.

500gm grated parmesan or fetta cheese.

5 eggs.

½ cup olive oil.

1 bunch of chopped chives.

Salt and pepper.

1 cup S.R Flour.

Chopped cherry tomatoes for top.

METHOD.

Whisk eggs.

Add oil and herbs.

Stir in zucchini, cheese, flour, salt/pepper and oil.

Pour mixture into a 22cm lined and greased cake tin.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 180c, until just set in the middle.

Preserve Them Vegies.

Today began as usual, with me waking to Snake chewing my toes.  So after shaking him off and consuming a considerably good coffee, I began the process of chopping and grating zucchini to make both pickles and a zucchini slice.  Seemed to take forever and a day to get them all done, along with big bunches of fresh herbs that needed chopping up.  Once I had the chopping done, of course nothing runs smooth, found that I had no onions, eggs or vinegar.  A quick run to town, supplies in hand and then home again to tackle the rest of the cooking.  I made up the slice first so it could be in the oven while I was doing the pickles.  How amazing I got 3 trays of slice from a double quantity of the recipe.  Woohoo, means I can cut and freeze it to meal sized pieces later.  Then onto the pickles, lots of tears later from chopping the onions and they are on the go.  Wonder what it is with onions these days though, they seem so potent that nothing I do can stop the tears.  When all the cooking, bottling, cutting and wrapping is done  I survey the dishes and sigh.. Another mess with great success.

Riverboat Cruise.

Today I had the most wonderful surprise. My dear friend shouted me a trip on a riverboat  and then a nice lunch at the Barmah Pub.  A two hour cruise that saw us meander along streams, a river and then the Barmah Lake.  A lot of the smaller streams and parts of the lake are usually high and dry all the time, but with all the recent flood incidents there is still a lot of floodwater laying around. It is only dropping very slowly and as we past through the Barmah Forest area, I was able to see the watermarks on trees that showed how high the water reached at it's peak.  It brought a much more balanced perspective to my outlook on what the surrounding areas had been through and made me wonder how people kept their wits about them.
I was able to take many photos along the way, mostly of scenery. I was lucky to capture a few photos of wildlife including a tiger snake swimming in front of the boat.  Along side one of the riverbanks sits an old abandoned paddleboat, it had been moved there a year back due to water levels at its original port being too low.  It now seems the owner has forgotten it altogether.  I can't find enough words to express the joy, the peace and at the same time the awe I felt as we motored along and passed all the flooded areas.  To my dear friend, I say a big thankyou for sharing this day with me.

As many know, last night the Queensland state endured yet another natural phenomenon in the form of a category 5 cyclone.  My hat goes off to the Queensland premier for all her efforts and standing so strong in the face of adversity.  She kept her dignity in presenting our country with the vital statistics and information needed to keep the people in the path of the cyclone safe.  To the people of Queensland who have suffered loss in so many ways,  my thoughts and prayers are yours.  May the tide of hardship turn and good things return your way.