Day 11. Friday. 11th July 2025. An inside kind of day. Wind, rain and muddy underfoot. After lunch and in between rain showers we feed the little hens extra grain since they aren’t foraging outside – we don’t want them getting wet and catching a chill. Our reward is cups of tea in front of […]

Day 10. Thursday. 10th July 2025. Always waiting for me at the Back Orchard gate. These dear old ducks… * The ducks are now 11 years old and are Fawn and White Indian Runner ducks. The drake is called Ferdinand and he stands at the front. Behind him are the two ducks, Isabella and Esmeralda […]

Day 9. Wednesday. 9th July 2025. Dusk. Like tiny fairy lights, this sweet blossom. I’ve written about this darling tree out our lounge room window. You can read about it here. ~ A Moment in the Day Series. This will be my third year. Midwinter and I’m craving the everyday beauty that isn’t in your […]

Day 8. Tuesday 8th July 2025. Mexican Hawthorn. These mustard yellow coloured fruit almost glow on a cold Winter’s day. As I walk up to the Back Orchard the squish of the fruit underfoot reminds me to watch where I am walking instead of looking out to the sky and what is beyond the garden […]

Day 7. Monday. 7th July 2025. Feeding the hens and Honeybee some left over bread roll from lunchtime. Miss Polish (aka. Zinnia the Polish hen) was hatched in an incubator and raised by Lil. When I sit on the garden bench she more than likely comes and sits underneath the bench and pokes her head […]

Day 6. Sunday. 6th July 2025. Liliana made Elderberry Cordial. The cottage smelt divine. Picked from our own Food Hedges that we planted many years ago. It was a brilliant year for elderberries. A Moment in the Day Series. This will be my third year. Midwinter and I’m craving the everyday beauty that isn’t in […]

Day 5. Saturday. 5th July 2025. A beautiful afternoon. Liliana and I rugged up in our Winter cardigans and cowls and went out into the garden and gathered flowers. We stopped and talked about Spring garden plans, at different times the hens and ducks joined us. We noted what was already frost damaged, what was […]

  CWA Tomato Relish. “This recipe has been handed down through the family. My mother made it when I was young, I make it and now my children do too.” Phyllis Hingston, – Sassafras / Wesley Vale branch, Tasmania. I can’t recommend this recipe enough. I grew up only eating homemade tomato sauce, it was a treat […]

Prunus × subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ Winter Flowering Cherry ‘Autumnalis’ On the RHS website they describe the tree as an elegant, small, spreading deciduous tree with ovate leaves turning yellow in autumn. Semi-double white flowers 1.5cm in width. Other common names Rosebud Cherry ‘Autumnalis’ Winter Cherry. Winter flowering Cherry. Prunus Autumnalis.   Why am I growing it. […]