Sweet and pink

Some little know facts on the humble watermelon:
- they originated in Africa
- the Japanese have managed to grow them in a square shape
- the rind can be pickled
- the flesh can be turned into wine (sounds appealing!)
- they make a great salad combined with feta and mint
- they take over the garden if given half a chance!!!!

This year I tentatively planted two seedlings in a garden bank. While our climate may not be quite as hot as Africa, the surviving seedling has taken off. The plant is covered in melons of all sizes. I am looking forward to tasting the pickled rind while sipping on some wine. Yum!

Home making

I love browsing 'home' magazines and books. There are so many interesting ideas on everything from making chalk boards for your kitchen through to decorating cupcakes.

I find these magazines far more appealing than 'house' magazines showing emaculate houses with subtle lighting, spotless kitchen benches and tastefully arranged bath towels.















A home has those personal touches ... the birds nest that the wee people found walking home from school... an old vase from my grandmother... the cushions I made one wet afternoon. Of course it also has a pile of unfolded laundry hiding in a spare room, hand prints on the windows and in my case piles of fabric, pots of paint and a box of scrapbooking paper tucked into a corner!

I guess a home really is what you make it.

All a twitter

This summer has been amazing - every day dawning clear, hot and dry.

The absence of rain does mean a bit of work keeping the gardens alive and the animals well watered. However the sprinklers have worked wonders.

I have watched (and encouraged) the intriguing daily rituals of our local wild birds. After bath time in the sprinklers, the sparrows, thrushes and wax eyes move on to left overs in the hen house. Around midday lunch is served on the garden post - a pinecone smeared in peanut butter and rolled in wheat, followed by honeyed water.

The evening sprinklers provide a final bath before the resident Morepork announces 'lights out'.



It's not surprising that these feathered visitors are starting to look quite tubby!!!