Autumn gardening and a gorgeous girl

The equinox was yesterday and I may have left it too late to do much in the garden except tidy up and tend what I have. 

I didn't realise asparagus had fruit until I saw these on the plants. Another thing to see if I can grow from seed and research the pros/cons of it. 

Today I finished removing the old bean vines and twined the seed grown cucumber plants that I started under them up the old gate. The furthest and nearest plants have begun flowering. I'll have to remember to buy more cane mulch.

Turned that compost pile at the top right of the cucumber photo and discovered my timing was correct as I found an "employee" under it. That means it was becoming too cool to compost effectively.

If you look closely at the left end of the worm you will notice a lighter coloured band near it's end. This is my future crop of free workers as this is the egg sac. 

I still haven't figured out which end is which with worms yet so I'm not sure how "ripe" this egg is or which end it is supposed to slip off.

Discovered some beans on my vine today that weren't there last time! 

Purple climbers are sneaky as they start maturing their produce half way down the plant or at the bottom so if you don't keep checking there are  beans there before you know it.





I was giving my asparagus a quick search for any last minute spears before I leave them over winter when I found this cheeky little bugger - "Here chookies". 

I'll be able to have one more feed of spears before winter I think. Then it will be time to add some mulch and let the asparagus die back before trimming them up for next season.  It's about time I checked the pH levels again too so I can add whatever is necessary to keep future vegetables happy :).

I'd just like to finish this post with a photo of my youngest daughter who is entered in the Teen Showgirl quest at the local Agricultural Show tonight. Her Dad has to take her as she says I make her too nervous. They'll be home in a couple of hours and I'll find out the results. 
*Fingers crossed*

Cheers,

Robyn xo

Now that it's a bit drier.....

...I can manage the vegetable garden again. When I can find it! The pile of future compost next to the upturned crate is mostly from the entranceway. 

This bucket contains those weeds that tend to be impossible to destroy unless you drown them first. The noxious climbers, onion grass and other types that can be difficult to kill even if you compost them.

My free labour hasn't been affected too much by the wet, thankfully. There were lots of little worm tunnels in the soil :). That's not a stick next to the tree label it's one of my workers!

The next crop of purple king climbing beans is coming along nicely. 

I did some minor vege bed alterations after I removed old tomato and lettuce plants and waterlogged spring onions.

A little more work and hopefully I can start some crops before the crisp nights begin. The pumpkin vines will begin to die off then and I'll feed them to the cattle, along with any failed pumpkins I've missed. If I hadn't let the pumpkins go feral I would have hardly any crops at all now!

Cheers,

Robyn xo

On a high, when it should be a low

I had an interesting week health wise. I wasn't feeling well so went to visit a doctor early in the week. New doctor, new medical centre, as my previous doctor retired. New experience as this doctor is the first one I have attended who is younger than me and he's Nigerian. I'm not racist as I've had Aussie, Pakistani, Indian, Chinese, Korean and English doctors in the past as I moved about a lot when I was younger. All within Australia!

Turns out I have high blood pressure so I was given a trial pack of hypertension meds to take, an automatic bp monitor, advised I should monitor my bp at least twice a day, given a referral for umpteen dozen blood tests and told I should come back on the following Friday (yesterday) for another checkup . 
Friday - teenager raised my bp in the morning behaving as teenage females sometimes do! I drank over a litre of water to help my veins be plumped up, and hoped my blood vessels didn't collapse.... as they are want to do..., at the site of a needle. Turned the volume up on the dvd player in the car on the drive to town and accompanied songs to keep from thinking about it. Fortunately it was Stella's day at the testing lab and she can take blood out of you without you even feeling it :D. My veins didn't have time to become frightened and hide or collapse! My stomach did a flip flop when I had to check that my name and date of birth was correct on 4 tubes of my blood though *eek*. She must have removed about a cupful or more from me! Can you tell I hate blood tests?

I had time to visit a nearby cafe and indulge in a pot of tea and a horrifically high caloried piece of slice before seeing the doctor.

My bp was still high at an average of around 170 over 100 so I was prescribed mild top up meds, to add to the ones I'd been taking in the morning, that I had to take at night. I also discovered the doc was seriously considering calling an ambulance when I was there on Tuesday and it was only a lower bp on the second reading that made him reconsider. I'd already told him there was no way I was going to hospital prior to that.

I think I'll keep him as my new medic as he answers any questions I have, I can discuss options with him and he explains it in words I can understand, not medical mumbo jumbo, and he doesn't have a superior attitude like other doctors I've had to deal with in the past. He has a sense of humour too, and as part of my attitude in dealing with new bumps in life is to joke about them, it's good to have a health carer who doesn't take this attitude the wrong way. A side benefit is he's easy on the eyes as well and nice scenery can make bad news easier to deal with :). 

Lol, I figure the day I die is soon enough to stop appreciating the view ;P.

I'd best make a dent in some of my crafting projects and cull a few of the more energetic items on my bucket list. Results of the blood tests next Thursday so I'll see how much I've gone downhill in the last 12 months! 

Huh, I'm starting to dislike being 50, but as Ned Kelly would have said "such is life"!

Cheers,
Robyn xo

Pit stop and Op-shop

Didn't start off well last Thursday as the car decided on an unscheduled halt on the way to town. Twenty minutes later, after jiggling everything under the bonnet and finally undoing the petrol cap, it started again. The mechanic couldn't find anything obviously wrong with it but we both agreed it's probably the fuel pump so that will be fixed in a fortnight when the registration check is done - now that I've received the paperwork. Meanwhile, loosening the petrol cap seems to correct the vacuum problem so I just hope it isn't pouring rain if I'm going somewhere and the car decides it needs a pit stop!

While the mechanic was checking things with his little electronic gadgets and tools I decided some therapeutic op-shopping would help with the stress already suffered and apart from buying a single bed size 100% wool blanket, a few "necessary" pieces of fabric, daggy bags with wooden handles that I can use on bags I create.... and buttons, I also found myself a new sewing basket.

Well, actually, it's probably a picnic basket but I'm going to use it for a sewing basket. I couldn't leave it there when it only cost $8, and now that I've lined it to prevent errant pins and needles from slipping through the weave, I just have to decide what items to place in it. The mug is in there for size comparison and I still need to Dubbin the leather strap.
 



I also found a twisted string bag, for 80c, that will do nicely for carrying my fruit and veges in when I shop :D.

Lol, I'll just have to wait for some more sunshine to take photos of items I've sewn without needing to take them outside. It's not the "outside" that's the problem though, it's the 4 legged furry feline assistants that have a fabric fetish!

Cheers,
Robyn xo