Recipes, Travel

FINE FEATHERS AND CLAWS

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Tomato pizza at the Wye River Cafe, the Otways

Handcut chips and aioli at the Wye River Cafe, the Otways

Rosella eating seeds at Kennett River, the Otways

Housemates koala watching, Kennett River, the Otways

Male koala on the prowl at Kennett River, the Otways

Koala acrobatics at Kennett River, the Otways

Lady Koala having none of it, Kennett River, the Otways

Parrot eating seed from our housemate's hand at Grey River, the Otways

We stopped for lunch at the Wye River Cafe for some overpriced deliciousness. The food is such a treat and all with that gourmet amount of oil and salt, that is enough to make you really unhealthy, but hidden under enough fresh veg and herbs so you think you can get away with no one noticing.

Sometimes I can’t help myself and and I surrender to my primitive urges to take photos of food, why does sunlight glistening on crystals of salted chips tempt me so?

We took our housemates to spot their first koala and we barely turned the corner into Kennet River when there was one right in front of our faces. It is kind of anticlimactic when there isn’t even the slightest bit of tree scanning. They were treated to said koala, a lecherous old man koala no doubt, trying to get some action from a lady koala demurely perched on a branch. She would have none of it of course and no amount of his grunting and grasping could sway her, the claws came out and after some shrieking he slipped and skidded down down down the trunk to lick his wounds. She sat arms crossed in disgust.

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Travel

SUN GLINTING OFF SAND

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Gracie watching swimmers at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

Wild flowers in the dunes at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

Flowery romper and sun hat at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

Searching rock pools at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

Dylan at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

Dylan playing with Gracie dog at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

Tom chasing Gracie dog with flippers at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

Sunscreen and wetsuits at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

Sitting on rocks in a blue romper at the Grey River Beach, the Otways

The weather was finally dreaming of summer and two gloriously sunny days at the beach made up for weeks of mud and dreary grey skies above tarpaulins. We took our housemates for their first Australian beach adventure and, Antarctic water aside, I was proud of my little Australia, she really can impress when she puts a little effort in. So sun and salt washed away the tiredness, which we had been storing up, a sigh of relief that the main slog of the Permablitz was over and gently pushing the knowledge that there is so many ends untied in the garden out to sea bobbing towards the horizon for at least a few days of lazy leisure.

 

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Eco building, Garden

THE FLEMINGTON PERMABLITZ PART 3 – FROM WATERCOLOUR TO REALITY

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Watercolour plan of the espalier orchard and chook yard

Aligning the posts for the espalier orchard/chook yard at the Flemington Permablitz

Laying barbed wire in the earthbag garden bed wall at the Flemington Permablitz

Watercolour plan of the earth oven

Filling the earthbags, scoria and shadecloth laid on bottom of raised garden bed for drainage at the Flemington Permablitz

Felix levelling the scoria for drainage of the raised garden beds at the Flemington Permablitz

Kids rendering the earthbags at the Flemington Permablitz

Watercolour plan of the food forest

Mark mixing the earthen plaster to render the earthbag garden bed at the Flemington Permablitz

Rendering the earthbag garden bed walls at the Flemington Permablitz

Aerial of the garden after the permablitz, Flemington

Watercolour plan of the Flemington Sharehouse Garden

We called an armistice with the sky while we dropped shovels for lunch. The Blitzers made use of the newly constructed garden walls to gather around while we explained the design.

 

The raised earthbag garden beds form our Zone 1, the part of the garden we visit everyday. We were inspired by one of our Permaculture tutors who shared his garden responsibilities with his housemates by allocating each one a plot and a plant family to look after. This was so very appealing after oh so many days last year where we were late to work trying to get everything watered and sheltered in preparation for a particularly brutally hot day. So the annual beds are divided into four for a four year crop rotation so each housemate has a little piece of land all of their own and are assured of the purity of their seed saving (no more fights over contaminated brassica seeds, haha no we really are more civilised than that). Everyone seems pretty keen to get involved, even our housemates who have never grown a lettuce before (let’s home Melbourne’s climate is kind to them, she can be cruel).

The two “ribbons” of beds are thread so there is a path around the edge for a quick sandwich harvest before work with a more direct root down the centre to the woodpile/worm farm. The bags are at two different seating heights so kids, giants and the vertically challenged alike can find a nice sheltered place to soak in the sun or have a chat. The earth oven is the highlight of Zone 1, but will have to wait until after the Blitz to roar into life, as the rain just won’t let us make the sand mould! It is sheltered from the ghastly flats next door by the big tree, which brings us to Zone 2.

Despite the shade we are trying our best to grow a Food Forest to the West to block out the overlookers with Avocados and Tagasaste. Only time will tell how successful we can be. The Orchard to the east is where we will grow crops like corn between espalier trees, and maybe even our dream of a banana. (It can be done in Melbourne!) In summer the chooks, on the border of Zone 1 and 2 will doze in the shade of the shed and in winter when it is colder they will free range through the orchard after the corn has been harvested and reinvigerate the earth. And so that is how we have tried to make each area have multiple uses: the annual garden beds/seating & entertaining area, the food forest/neighbour shade and the orchard/chicken range.

 

And so the Blitzers went back to work, so keen that many stayed well after wrap up time and could’nt be pried from earthbag or rendering glove until after 6. The children in particular were so full of beans that when an exhausted father asked hopefully if they were ready to go they answered a definitive “NO” and he trudged defeated to the couch for a nap. As people started drifting away the transformation truely sunk in, it had taken us weeks to build the first two beds and in only a day the Blitzers had almost finished the remaining two, plus the posts in the orchard, a wicking bed and some rendering to top it all off.

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