Lily
The eager anticipation of biting into her first strawberry. Her little plant from last year is fruiting again, and every morning first thing she races out to check the ripening process. Now one seems to be ready every day, but nothing beats that first glorious bite!
Eli
I couldn't decide whether this should be Eli or Miles' portrait but decided to file it under Eli in the end. It's very quickly snapped but a rather precious moment. Just before loading everyone into the car on Sunday morning for church, I overheard singing and discover the kids in the newly mounted hammock (a popular spot these days!). Lily and Eli are rocking Miles, and singing his song 'You are my sunshine' as they gently sway the hammock. Miles is peacefully swinging, content in his role of beloved baby of the family. Lily and Eli are so devoted to this kid! Goodness, I hope he isn't spoilt rotten by all this adoration ;)
Dear Eli, what a beautiful brother you are. Just look at your little sibling, gazing up at you in total adoration. What a lifetime of brotherly adventure awaits you both!
Miles
A grubby little face that only a mother could love ;)
Mmmm, he is a beautiful mess indeed!
One coat of pasta sauce, one coat of chocolate mousse from the beater - yes, he sure loved every morsel!
Mark
His Saturday morning ritual, whipping up a batch of pancakes for the family.
Delicious and cherished x
Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2014.
More highlights from the week that was....
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| Anticipation.... |
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| 'This is the most delicious strawberry in the world, Mummy!' |
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| Our little kitchen garden is growing... dare I even say - flourishing?!! I gaze in wonder, lol! I must give most of the credit to the chickens who have significantly contributed - first the manure to mix with the soil to make it so fertile, and then they ever so kindly parole the perimeter, keeping our veggies free of bugs or snails. Thanks, chookies! Of course, they can get a little tooooo keen to get involved in the veggie patch, hence we had to construct this little fence deterrent :) But they certainly earn their scraps! The kids are just loving the veggie patch and I am too. Simple pleasures of home life. (Here grows lettuce, spinach and rocket from my Mum's seeds) |
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| Corn |
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| This is a random huge plant. We have no idea what it is, I don't remember planting it. Theories abound - celery, potatoes, etc. Latest theory is some unusual celery, but I don't know?! Votes?? Regardless, it sure is healthy but I kinda wanna pull it up! |
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| These are the flowers of mystery plant... and the leaves are serrated. |
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| Oregano nestled amongst the herb garden - parsley, coriander, chives etc |
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| Eli's tiny tomatoes starting to grow! He is very eager to eat them ;) |
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| This week I got a (second hand) Thermomix which is kind of like the dawning of a new era for our family food life! I am both excited and overwhelmed at the possibilities. This was a super quick (like, literally 1 minute) snack I whipped up - CADA (coconut, almond, date and apple). Fresh, delicious, nourishing little snack/brekkie. I'm loving the Tmx and feel so grateful and blessed to have this handy little kitchen tool! As we continually move more towards more wholefoods/less processed foods in our diet, the Tmx is a definite helping hand :) |
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| Deliciously messy, joyful little boy. You exhaust and delight me daily :) |
Love your garden, ours has been a focal point for family life. Peace. Brad.
ReplyDeleteLovely comment Brad, I know what you mean about a focal point for family life, i love that! :)
DeleteYour garden is looking lovely. How do your chickies though not jump the fence? Have you clipped their wings? I would love to let ours out but they would just go nuts on the garden :(
ReplyDeleteaw thanks kate! Just a teeny garden compared to your incredible spread, but it's manageable for me, lol!! Firstly, yes, i clip the chookie's wings (w memories of helping my granny clip her duck's wings many years ago!!). Just so they dont ever try to jump the fences, lol. Our veggie beds are just a little bit raised, as you can see... we experimented when we first planted and they did jump up there (cheeky!!) so then had to work out a way to keep them out as i really do loooooove having them pecking around free range and I think its good for them and good for the garden (plus our enclosure is much smaller than your big area so i think they need to be let out daily just for a couple hours or so). ANYWAY, we found this basic garden stakes and (ridiculously expensive IMO but couldnt find any other option) chicken/aviary wire keeps them out no worries! You shoudl have SEEN their cranky/shocked looks when they realised they couldnt jump up there, lol!! Anyway, I think the height is just enough of a barrier, since we erected it they havent attempted to get in. But I love that they parole the perimeter and keep bugs away!! The visual barrier of the mesh helps too I think. ANYWAY sorry that was very long and I think probably your veggie gardens are so vast and varied it would be pretty hard/expensive to fence them off huh? They do have a lovely big enclosure to run around in though! Sometimes I do wish I had that too, so we didnt always 'have' to let them out (chook poo on the back deck for example!!!). mmmm pluses and minuses! xx
DeleteLottie is just super sweet & now her friend Finn makes play complete! Thanks for introducing us to Lottie, my daughter is in love with them & I'm so happy about it as I love them too! Keeping all our fingers & toes crossed as we'd just love Autumn Leaves Lottie to join our family! Thanks for the fabulous competition & the chance to spread some Lottie Love! Katherine (kathmu@hotmail.com)
ReplyDeletehi katherine, thanks for your comment! all the best for the comp! just a note to say are you able to make this comment again on the actual lottie giveaway post so it can be part of the competition? I would hate for you to miss out! cheers, Kate
DeleteSeveral vegetables and herbs have flowers like that...dill, carrot, possibly celery, but also some poisonous plants such as hemlock, cow parsley, queen anne's lace.
ReplyDeletegoodness, thanks for letting me know! i am thinking I am just going to pull it out as I dont want to eat something we are not sure of, especially if it could be poisonous and it doesnt look all that appetising anyway!
DeleteWhat a lovely garden! Seems like you have been maintaining it well and have put in considerable effort to really make it grow. It's particularly amusing how you even have a de-facto anti-pest deterrent in the form of the chicken. Hahaha! For me, it's righteous in so many ways. Anyway, you can stack up on other pest control stuff should you seek to get rid of the pests and nip that problem in the bud in more thorough ways. All the best!
ReplyDeleteDebra Owen @ Invader