One thing for sure--Waterfall Road is well named, or maybe it should be "Rainfall Road". No solar cooking after the one success-- just rain and clouds. Lucky I have other things to occupy me- like the eightieth birthday cake I made Margie. never again will I look at iced cakes without feeling great respect for the icers. This cake took many hours, and then, in the end, I dropped it splat face down. Lucy the flowers stuck well. They just got pushed in a bit. never mind, it is a delicious cake-- Delia Smith recipe.

Today we have cooked our first meal on the solar cooker. A big day. Ever since it arrived the days have been partly cloudy or rainy. Today was a corker, so I put the veges in 3 pots and put it out, about midday. I was quite sceptical as to whether it was warm enough, so I left it out until 4.
As a result, the veges are rather overcooked! Never mind, we cooked them with not one jot of coal powered power. The solar panels are due to arrive, and we have the bases for the 2 new tanks, so we are pretty pleased with ourselves.

We are visited by these birds every afternoon. The king parrots arrive at 4.30 on the dot, announcing their arrival with a piercing Peep. They are beautiful.
The bkack cockatooes can come at any time. They seem to favour the big gums way up the back, but we often see them flying over all parts of the town. I love their plaintive cries. There is something melonchly and yet beautiful in their cries.

I just had to show you our first mandarin and the lovely flowers on the sweet potato. So like morning glory. Our potatoes, by the way are galloping. had to keep the mulch up to them. And the daikon radishes in the new no-dig bed look great. they are supposed to go deep and break up the soil. Alos the ordinary radishes and garlic are away. And the capsicums look nearly ready. What a lot of activity there is here!

Well, I just wrote a post that says " no comments'. I wonder why.
My post was about my frustrating experience yesterday; On the way to the shops we pass under a railway bridge, just before a stop sign. So we often stop under the railway. Yesterday, as I was parked there, along came a 20 carriage cattle train . ( I know because I counted). So here I was, with 20 carriages of beautiful cow manure passing over me, and me being quite unable to retrieve a single pat.I nearly wept. And to think they will probably hose those carriages out at their destination!
Thems the breaks.
On a more positive note, we had a beautiful swim at Alex today and the water was 22 degrees.
I hope to swim all through the winter. I will keep you posted.
Today was another mondo grass removal day. I hate that stuff! And so must the worms---there was not a worm in sight.

PS The ginger beer brewing has been a great success

Its all go here on the pseudo farm. We have extended the chooks' home yet again. I think they have had a change about every 2 weeks. Now they can run right round the shed, and up the swamp--creek area. This means lots of lovely new digging areas of dirt and old compost heap. They seem to spend their days digging in a frenzy. We are stiil getting 3 or 4 eggs a day. Still, their diet is A1. As well as that, the potatoes in the no-dig gardens grow about 6cms a day. Amazing really. And the daikon radishes are up in the newest no dig bed. Apparently they have deep roots and they break up the ground. Also, the ice-cream bean seeds are up in the pot, and the Wampi now lives in the front garden.
We are in the process of exploring water tanks, 2 more, we hope.
We have more sweet corn growing, but the carrot seeds are not co-operating.
The grubs have had a lovely time in the cabbages--now the grasshoppers are winding down, the grubs have taken over.
We also had a big drama the other day when a very big black dog appeared in the garden, about 4 inches from my nose, despite the new gates,apparently it had come in under the house. Well, it turns out it is one of the 2 big dogs from next door and it LOVES the taste of chook. Apparently someone had let the dogs out from their 2 separate yards and they were having a lovely time roving. So we put them back and tied the gates up. Later Mick and Tammy from over the back visited, looking very worried. They had come home to find 2 dead chooks under their clothes line. Were they ours? No? Then , according to M and T they must belong to "him up the back" who is most unfriendly and has already taken M and T's dogs to the pound on another occasion, even though he lets his chooks roam free and the gets angry when they roam in M and T's "wood". So, you see, its all go.