Duck eggs by taliesin @ morgueFile free photos. With thanks

Duck eggs and Memories.

Duck eggs are fantastic for Gluten free baking according to a friend because the eggs are so rich!

Google “duck eggs” and you will find that there is an abundance of information from how to keep and raise ducks to cooking with duck eggs and Gluten free cooking.

Jamie Oliver the down to earth very popular cook gives a lot of cooking information. My mother too used them and a favourite of mine was her tray of Streusel cake which was a layer of plain cake topped with a thick layer of lumpy delectable streusel. Mother used the duck eggs for general baking because they were so large and given to us for free. I don’t think we ever ate them as scrambled or such, yet some people do like them.

A glance at a photograph of Duck Eggs sent to me some time ago on Facebook set off an avalanche of MEMORIES from my primary school years during the 60′s.

Photo by phaewilk@morgueFile free photos. With thanks

Living at “Bradley House” in Stirling in the beautiful Adelaide Hills.
Our old landlord Mr Voden. A Scotsman with a rumbling burr, his accent hard to understand at times.

He lived next door on a long property with the house near the top of the hill. There was a very narrow twin track drive way of white crushed limestone going from Mt. Barker Road all the way up to their house. Then a small narrow bridge linked the two properties near the main road. This is where my father would enter to park his motor bike (brought with us from Germany when we migrated). That narrow plank bridge went over a tiny creek which was an overflow from a spring.

In winter dad would have to be careful pushing his bike across as the wood became slick with frost….starting that bike six mornings a week was the local alarm clock for 7am . It was also our family’s mode of transport when dad put the sidecar on.

These were the days before town water was connected for the house and garden. We depended on rain water tanks which in summer sometimes needed to be filled by the fire Brigade with water from elsewhere. Also two wells, one of which ran dry in summer. All watering was done by hand with a watering can. Mr Voden I seem to recall had a small dam with some sort of small generator pump.

Thinking back now and wishing that I could wander along with Mr Voden because he had the most amazing array of fruit and vegetables. Also bees, chicken, Bantams, ducks and geese, and possibly pigeons. It was like a huge market garden and he was always out there with his battered hat on his head…I suppose like a Highland Crofter in his home country….and he always brought us something. In retrospect, none of the above I really appreciated as a child.

Red currants, black currants, goose berries, blackberries, apples, quince, rhubarb, spinach,salads. We even ate the darker green leaves of the lettuce; good for iron our mother said as we dutifully swallowed it

Photo courtesy morgueFile free photo by Marcin-Modestowicz

But the most memorable were the RASPBERRIES. Fresh, plump, sweet and soft. Bejewelled Red fruit in a glazed bowl. A bowl that us three girls shared oh so carefully.

The red currants were nice with sugar, but black currants…none of us girls really liked them! Though now I know they are very healthy and I suppose we got our dose of Vitamins. The motto was waste not, and when, as now, families have a lean purse all good foods are used thankfully.

So, back to the present again and an observation.

Homesteading, growing Organic Foods, Sustainable Living, back to basics. These are the modern names given. But for us as children it was a way of life and we knew no different. It was a great way to raise children. There was that sense of adventure, fresh air, open space, simple rural living…then we grew up, moved to the city and life carried on. Nevertheless the love of gardening was entrenched….and I have my tiny patch of herbs and such to give me joy.

Now over to you dear readers. What memories have you recently been taken back to.

Till next time, and to be continued…
Alexa

Joining in with Essentially Jess for IBOT

Thanks to Self Sufficient Home Acre for this link providing some interesting reading about duck eggs and much more…happy reading
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/10/how-to-use-duck-eggs.html

Courtesy taliesin @ morgueFile free photos

World environment day which was some days ago…

…well Life and Caring happened in between, but Hi, I’m back

How am I doing world environment day … every day
How do I see it … every day

In simple language, in a grandma, mum and dad and family way

Abundance of newly striked cuttings vigorously growing

Grow plants from cuttings to spread and share the abundant growth and joy around

Huge mushrooms on a dinner plate grown from mushroom compost by friends…a by product of spreading compost under the orange trees :)

I’m going to again push my love of seeing bees busily collecting nectar amongst the bushes and herbs which we grow in our tiny patch….as soon as the sun comes out even in winter here in Australia the bees come out foraging. But soon I’ll have to prune my flowering Lavender hedge which I am so loathe to do. I know, I have to be cruel to be kind to keep my hedge nice… But still !!! Also this time of year our little veggie/herb patch looks a bit sad as I really need to plant spinach to fill in the hole left by the finished Basil and tomato

On an aside though, did you know that Rhubarb flowers and goes to seed. That spike of a tall Lacey flower though has the most disgusting smell which made me promptly cut it off…but there are still stalks of rhubarb growing for a second crop….firstly I wondered how to harvest rhubarb as I’ve never grown it before, so I Googled for info and found that you twist the stalks at the base and they come off easily. Then as I hadn’t cooked rhubarb for years I found a recipe which may have been a Jamie Oliver one. The instructions said to roast it which I did in an old-fashioned Corningware dish from the Op shop. The dish was just the perfect size. Pour the required sugar on top with a tiny dribble of Vanilla essence. Cover and cook. There was a suggested time and then also that you’ll smell it as soon as it’s done….well that was so correct as to the smell; divine. Next time though I’ll use less sugar. It was SO rich I could only eat a bit of it with my homemade thick Greek yoghurt.

I was happy to have learnt that old milk is a good fertiliser even though it was only half a cup….my parsley is thriving

Then memories…Remembering when…the tying up like a bandaged bear and staking, with a neighbours help, of a vandalised small tree on our park just opposite our house. It is now a huge gum tree.

Also saving a tiny acacia tree years ago from having the long leaves plucked off by then toddler grand-daughter, explaining that we wanted to see the tree grow big. It has!

So there’s many a way to celebrate World Environment Day. We care. We do it everyday without even thinking sometimes, just like the older generations before us.

If you pause for a moment, how or what have YOU done. How do you care.

Do you wish to share?

Even the seemingly trivial things?

Whether you are just starting life’s journey or well on the way like us. With a looking forward to it soon to be retired hubby. New happenings and new adventures and new horizons but always learning.

Courtesy of Lightfoot@morgueFile free photos

Permaculture is such a big fancy word…
A continuation of the previous post on Permaculture but let’s turn it into an everyday word that everyone can understand…Family friendly

It is a way of bringing together people with whatever bit of earth or space that you can work with and on. It can be as small as a pot of Basil on your window ledge, or as large as a farm. It can be on a tiny block or apartment in the city, the suburbs or in the country. It is a delicate dance, balancing at times many aspects, be it our parents adventures or this brave new world with people opting to try the old ways.

Homesteading is basically a lifestyle that promotes greater self sufficiency.

One of our family have a few chickens or hens which refuse to die. They seem to live a charmed life. Even surviving being rounded up by little boys. For chickens to survive you need a few things. These hens live spartanly in a fairly large sized fenced area. The roof also being fenced with wire mesh to stop flying predators. Their roosting and laying boxes were made of spare lumber. The door is a flash spare screen door double locking…once with the latch and next with a brick on the ground in case the latch doesn’t get closed properly by little boys going exploring in the hen house.

A frame from a video hence the wide space

You should see the hens when the scraps of veggies get brought out…it’s a mad scramble. They love their free range in the yard and apparently take themselves to bed each night before dark. Now if only little boys could be so obliging at bed time

So… A plot of earth, shading trees, safe habitat, food, water and if there also was time for a vegetable or herb garden there’s an excellent free source of chicken manure for food production….

…and then sharing some of the homegrown produce in celebration like at one venue a few weeks ago at their open gardens. They had toasted breads with melted cheese and tomato and herbs served on wooden bread boards. For us, I think Hubby will have a ploughman’s lunch served on a board. Aldi crusty panne De Cassa bread toasted with ham, cheese, tomato and maybe some onion…. I’ll top mine with red cabbage coleslaw…easy to make and nicer the next day. Keeps well too.

Have a great day everyone. Enjoy your spring you readers in the Northern Hemisphere and us Down Under try to get over those colds and sniffles….BUT we have a glorious blue sky here at home. So a bonus!

Linking in with #IBOT at Essentially Jess

First Sunday in May is traditionally World Permaculture day
It is also Honey month

A day when and where people come together to share ideas, ideals, ways of doing and the how’s of doing. A day of places to visit to learn about this big word Permaculture. Work shops and open gardens. Community events.

How to look after the gardens they have. Ways to improve their soil. How to make mulch or compost. What to use the compost for. How to encourage worms into their gardens whether of flowers, vegetable or a mixture because these wriggly friends move nutrients through your soil and break it down silently. They are your invisible friends working in the background or in the worm farm.

Why, how and are you allowed to keep the humble hens for their eggs in your suburban back yard or rural property…but watch out for Mr Fox or other predators!…how to build their little hen houses or castles.

How to make use of your small suburban block in a productive way. Suburban homesteading. There don’t have to be grand ideas or spending lots of money. Starting small or micro small. Just the act of getting to and starting and not being afraid to give it a go.

As I wrote in a post on “Sharing” …it’s not in the big words of Sustainable Living or as now Permaculture, it’s in the doing it simply without worrying about the big words. Read what I said about sharing. Remember how our parents or family did things in their little patch of earth called home. They did it to support the family budget. They worked hard, had to work hard to survive, and just got on with doing because there was no other way.

They worked together, had working bees, helped each other, supported each other and shared with each other. I know I had chores which gave me the love and understanding of gardening to this day….but there’s always things to learn which in itself is good even as one approaches retiring age. Ones brain doesn’t become stale. New horizons are there beckoning.

Try growing a few herbs in pots or on a window sill. Share what you have with a friend or neighbour. Do a bit of research. Do grow a few marigolds or such amongst your veggies to attract the bees for a productive garden.

Bees our friends that I blogged about on “World Health Day”. Little workers that the world can’t do without.

Share with the children and teach them about the simple things of a garden. The joys of a garden. The responsibility that goes with gardening too. The awesomeness of growth. Share the beauty, it’s free.

So many things that we can simply do or already are doing unknowingly, without the need for big words.

WHO…World Heath Organisation

A bit of trivia information for you today…

Google was my friend today taking me to Wikipedia, every man’s fount of knowledge and easy to understand. There I just learnt that on April 7 every year W.H.O. celebrates “world health day”. This commenced in 1950 being the year before I was born….and THAT makes me feel old!

Each year a different topic is discussed with Vector Borne Diseases being chosen for this year.

Vector-borne diseases” are infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that living creatures carry and pass on to other living creatures…..cited by the British Columbia Ministry of Health.

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/ehp_vector.html

What is a vector? Well a common one is the humble mosquito. Not very humble though as there a many varieties of mosquito in different parts of the world which cause a multitude of illnesses. I suppose the most commonly known one is Malaria which is the scourge of the tropic as also is Dengue fever….A friend of ours travelling in the Philippines contracted this and was very ill and still suffers at times some of its effects.

Another is the Varroa mite which attacks healthy bees and causes hive collapse due to weakened bees, with devastating effect. Google the word to find out more.

This attack on bees has the potential to have massive effects on food production. Little hard-working bees which we see every day in our gardens, amongst the herbs, on flowering trees, on our Australian native trees, the eucalyptus gum trees. All over the world. They are the backbone of our ecology, the food bowls…..besides providing that golden honey.

How can we encourage bees into our gardens? Plant flowering herbs or companion plants in amongst our established garden….
and watch that little bee next time. Pause a moment to observe it and give thanks….and in so doing we feed and refresh our inner being.

…..this short post was sparked when I was cleaning out my emails late last night. There was one advertising world health day, so I had to check it out, and as they say the rest is history.

Short and sweet today.

Breathe and observe.

Joining in with http://essentiallyjess.com/fish-chips-blogging-ibot/

I Blog On Tuesdays

Declutter…
Releasing the old to make way for new

…to renew
…to refresh

Declutter is a word for this modern word. Why?

We have so much
We are so busy,
We are too busy to deal with it
We want more, always more
Never satisfied with the today
We want tomorrow and more tomorrow
Instead of happy with what today brings
Instead of SEEING what today brings
…we create a vicious circle and a burden

We clutter our minds
Society clutters our minds
Our thoughts
Our children’s thoughts
Instead of slowing down and actually taking a moment to observe
Instead of doing, sit awhile

What have I
So so much
So much collected over time that it clutters the mind

What to do
What to do

Start one step at a time
A tiny sort out here…lots of memories!
Another clutter here
…not finished today, must continue tomorrow
Else my brain has another fit – of sorted clutter unfinished
Cull photos on my iPad
…there are so many to sort!
…and so to carry on.

But wasps…that was an unexpected sight…They definitely are going tonight when dark. Horrible things. I’m glad we didn’t bump into them when mowing the grass on Saturday!!!!

These thoughts came about because I have so many ideas racing round my mind today….
This would be a fabulous idea to write about to continue on from my last blog post…
But so would this on herbs. ….and round and round they go.

Off on a tangent there…
Outside to take some photos of this …
This would be so cool
And look at those leaves…a different slant on this idea.

Puff puff….STOP! Sit down and write.

Do you find your mind so racing at times.

Rest awhile with me and reflect.
Pause and wonder.
…Alexa

Photographs and article belong to Alexa-asimplelife

It’s raining sort of…
Drizzling
Grey skies
Soggy washing on the line
Wet washing languishing in basket
Dew drop beads of rain on washing line
Don’t accidentally knock the line, or
Big cold drops on your head

But….
Green grass
Mowed lawns
No more drooping plants
Now vibrant and crisp herbs appeased
Weeds a-growing abundantly
Happy not to get poisoned today,
in the space where hedge will grow…

Autumn has arrived much too quick!

Can you see me…

Here I am , a busy bee after the rain

A little bit of rain yet so many impressions…affecting the laundry, garden, and nature. Broaden it out and it’s endless as can be seen by some of the tag words I’ve used

Why is it raining, refreshing, washing, water, rain, save water, rain drops, Basil, Nasturtium, Lavender, vegetable garden, herbs, fresh herbs, bees, pollination , herb garden, grow your own vegetables, grow your own herbs.

So if there’s no bees then no honey and so the circle continues on…I don’t think I’ll ever think of a wet day in a stereotype way again!

This post started off as being a short poem …it grew from there.

To all, have a blessed day and try to find the best in maybe a grey sort of feeling day…in Sydney anyway…spring happenings to you all in the northern hemisphere.

From Alexa

Content written and photos belong to

http://www.Alexa-asimplelife.com

Many thanks to leele at morgueFile free photo

What did you not see as you rushed about your day today?

What DO we see in the everyday as we go about our routine.
Another day?

As we go about our chores.
Boring?

We make a meal and make the bed.
Sort out another bed.
Take some garbage out through the gate.
Walk back in another gate.
Lock the gate.
Inside for a cup of tea…
…before we tackle the pile of laundry.
Up the steps to hang the washing …
…and brush past the garden.
Inside again to check a book…

So many beautiful sights we don`t even notice.
Yet we could!

Taken as photos and put together they create a gorgeous virtual tapestry of colour, shape and texture. Of memories and of ideas. That if we paused and reflected on would make us be thankful for all. For God, for beauty in all, for simplicity, for friends and for family.

Won’t you come with me and follow this little everyday path way that I took recently…. Part 1

Colours cool

Colours fresh

Colour accent

Colours contrast

Colours bold

Colours corner

…another corner

So from in this little corner of my tapestry I leave you for a short while to find your own jewels. Share them with us if you like.

I’ll return with some more stitches for this tapestry in Part 2. Till then, see the unexpected in the ordinary.

By Alexa