February 24th, 2008 AndrewD
And if I had a gun… It was Saturday evening approx 5.30pm and Lee Ann said “Hey Andrew have a look at this – it does not look right.” There 2/3 the way down the block water spraying up from the Biolytix dispersement area (The area that spreads the liquid from our all natural aerated sewage system).
It looks like some rabbits have tried to burrow in there and cut one of the underground pipes and a few metres away there appears to be a 2nd attempt to burrow in. I will hopefully get some photos later on and also some info on the way I fix the spraying liquid (at present I just put some straw over it).
Below is not the hole – but elsewhere and what looks like a rabbit hole.
Posted in Land | 1 Comment »
February 18th, 2008 AndrewD
Well the weekend just gone was a busy one with yard cleaning and vege patch number 2
Friday was a big day for us as we took deliveries from all over the place. First thou was someone to cut down our weeds which had grown to approx a foot high (all over the one acre), anyway a few weeks ago I was talking to a neighbour and commented that I was looking for someone to cut the weeds down to size, then during the last week an old guy came over and introduced himself as the “slasher” guy and so Lee Ann booked him for Friday.
Friday came and Brian the “slashing guy” turned up nice and early at 8.30am after a few minutes of instructions he off loaded his small tractor and slasher (sorry no picture) and two hours later he was completed and the place looks so much nicer – the kids can walk to the back fence again!
While the weeds were being slashed out first delivery arrived. This is lesson #1.
We ordered some recycled rock from a place in Canberra and while the delivery price was high the price of the rocks only $22/t. When calling them we specified the rock size of approx 10-15 cm and the image on the web supported that. What turned up were massive boulders which I can use but not right now – and when I do require them I will need approx 6 – 8 tonne of them not 2. Lesson learned, visit and inspect prior.
So as they were not what I required I thought that maybe rail ballast would do instead so I paid a visit to out local landscaping yard and and they had some so I placed an order for 3 cubic metres and 2 of soil. Later that day they delivered this.
So what did I need all this for? To make my second vege patch. The idea was to create the sides not out of railway sleepers like before but rock, wrapped in wire – I got the idea from the RTA. So getting a length of chicken wire (60cm x 90cm) wrap in into a tube overlapping. Then with some short pieces of wire lock tie the tube together.
Push one end together and fill with rocks, at approx 45 cm push the other end together.
Completed rock log
The reason for creating a rock log is that I can control how long the vege patch is and hopefully it won’t rot. The downside being you are moving a lot of rock and it is hard work (that is hard work for me and Lee-Ann), but towards the end we had a good process down pat. Anyway we created 28 rock logs.
So by the end of the weekend we had a new vege patch – Next weekend we start planting with, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, broad beans.
Posted in Gardening | 2 Comments »
February 8th, 2008 AndrewD
After a few hit and misses with lamb shanks etc, I believe I now have the perfect recipe – and the few times I have cooked it – perfect each time. This is also a “two pot meal” as we have enough sauce left over for a pasta dish the following lunch/dinner.
Lamb shanks with tomato, chilli and honey
- 4-6 lamb shanks
- 1 red capsicum
- 1 yellow capsicum
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 brown onions
- 750mls full bodied red wine (I use shiraz)
- 1 tbspoon cumin seeds
- 1 1/2 tbspoon coriander seeds
- 2 tbspoons olive oil
- 2 red chillies (or sometimes I use crushed chilli from a jar)
- 800grams (2 tins) chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbspoon honey
- 1 tbspoon plain flour
Place lamb in large dish, add chopped capsicum, garlic and onion. Pour over the red wine. Cover and place in fridge (I try to do this for at least two hours).
Place cumin seeds in fry pan and dry roast (no oil), cook for approx 2 minutes they should smell fantastic. Place them in your mortar. Dry roast the coriander seeds and place them in the mortar when done. Now pound them into a powder.
Preheat oven to 180. Take lamb from the fridge lift shanks out of the marinade (keep the liquid). Brown off the shanks in a fry pan. Transfer them once brown to a casserole dish.
Now pour the reserved marinade into the fry pan and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes, add chilli. After the 8 minutes add the tomato and honey and mix in. Simmer for another minute or two. Scatter in the spices and flour, season with salt and pepper.
Add the marinade to the casserole dish, cover with the lid and transfer to the oven for two hours. After two hours transfer the shanks to a warm plate and cover. Place the liquid in a saucepan, let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce.
Serve shanks and pour sauce over. I usually serve this with some roast veges.
Posted in Food | No Comments »
February 6th, 2008 AndrewD
Last weekend we got out first produce, a couple of coral lettuce, salad and lettuce for hamburgers. Behind there you can see the 3 zucchini plants that are doing really well, Also and not in this shot some corn, hopefully we will get some before it gets to cold. There is also some minuette lettuce that you cannot see that we also picked a few leaves from.
Next weekend start vege patch #2. Also the thing that surprised me is that the bloddy rabbits that live in the vacant block next door have not discovered the patch, I think it is hidden thru all the Patersons Curse.
Also just to share our sunsets.
Posted in Gardening | No Comments »
February 4th, 2008 AndrewD
Well Lynsey and Alyssa started school midway thru last week (Wed 30th Jan). Lynsey the eldest daughter is now in Year 7 (1st year of high school – Yass High) and Alyssa in now in 1st class (Berimba Public). While Lynsey will cope OK (I hope) Alyssa has always had her ‘big sister’ at school to help her, she does not know what it is like not to have Lynsey around – but so far so good.
Also Alyssa has started sleeping back in Lysney’s bunk bed with Lynsey on the bottom bunk. This is despite the fact that Alyssa does have her own bedroom. She is OK to go to her room and play etc, she just does not want to sleep in it by herself.
Posted in Family, School | No Comments »
