Happy New Year ~ 2008

Toots and whistles and all that she-bang...

Hope your new years eve festivities were good ones, and happy to say all of us made it in to see the new year. Those Sydney fireworks were utterly awesome (although in the back of my mind I kept thinking of the services it could have provided and, more self centredly, what I would have done with the monies that display cost ~ hell, even half of it / a quarter...) but watched those in awe on the TeeVee ~ kids were impressed!

We are eating heaps from the garden, learning a lot more about self seeding, when to collect, fleas, ticks and how the heat effects chickens, garden ~ and how different plants are responding differently!

Hubby is keen to get more pics so I will pop on some of the sunflowers - also showing the different stages - we are about 1-3 weeks off taking the seeds from one, maybe two of the sunflowers. No5 has just opened...

We have been looking into when is the best time to get the seeds and the three tips we've taken on board are:

• ~ 1. the seed is ready when it is black - when you think the centre looks ready, all the outer seeds are guaranteed to be.


• ~ 2. when the whole flower is hanging upside, and the outer rings are black, they are read to be cut and hung.


• ~ 3. When the native birds are eating them ~ they're ready!! *LOL at that one*

If you are using seed from a packet, using the seed you grow is OK to eat, replanting is OK but there is no guarantee you get them as good as the first lot.

So he has a heap of shots and over the last few days of his holidays, I will get a bit of a history up here for the sake of getting into the blogging habit. Will update a little more tonight. I have some back issues (for those who don't already know or aren't sick of seeing that!!) and have had some pain meds, so the wonkies are coming and I am playing with back space a bit.


Will come back to share some of our Christmas joy!!

~ Mands! :o)