The Desert Echo

Beach picnic

January 8, 2019 No Comments

After a day spent obsessing over card shuffling like the pros we realised the sun was setting on our last days of vacation. So we set up at the beach to soak up the last rays of sunlight before the hot day to come. We nestled in a sheltered nook out of the wind amongst rock pools and beached seaweed. The dogs played with the ball until cheese, corn chips and frittata came on the menu thanks to Nanny Annie.

Ember tasted her first lime which looked like it tingled on her tongue, but she kept licking her sticky fingers with some interest after the remainder had long since fizzed in Phil’s corona. She didn’t sample the corn chips but the packet held her interest for the duration of the picnic.

Whilst little dog dashed into the surf for the ball, elderly grace dog hung close to the pack. Dylan set up his tripod for some ND filter magic as waves closed in almost sweeping the tripod of its three feet. Spirits were high as we climbed the steps home, despite the fact that sandy dogs have to sleep in outdoor cupboards not on their customary rag rugs in the laundry. Some things are worth the sacrifice.

Family, Garden, Permaculture design

December in the food forest

January 4, 2019 No Comments

I’m taking the time while I have Dylan around to shake off the thick layer of digital dust my photo archive has been gathering. I have so many moments to share it’s hard to pick what to tick off first.

Baby is in a feather light sleep next to me which involves a lot of dummy sucking and arm flailing, but let’s see if I can finally post these photos of what was happening in the food forest as spring turned to summer. Today a scorching hot day, so I imagine it will look a lot different when we next visit. So glad we have a watering system!

Things were too hectic with the new baby to capture the apple blossom in all its powder pink glory, but we were organised enough this year to net the apricot and peach against fruit fly and the red apple against the birds. The billowing white nets are actually quite beautiful in a way, they float above the thick carpet of yarrow like a mist of benign ghosts.

Last year the feijoa had its first two, maybe three flowers. Now it is covered in red Christmas bauble blossoms. The jar of parsley seeds I saved from home and lazily broadcast months ago has also come good. The umbels are beautiful under the trees and promise we will have parsley this coming year too without having to resow. The nasturtiums and pepinos had withered in the late frosts, but their massive amount of regrowth following has smothered all competitors.

The food forest was looking a bit grim in November and I thought it just couldn’t cope without my attention, which had been elsewhere while I was pregnant. Turns out all it needed was a good water after a dry winter and a broken timer on the watering system. Drip irrigation operational and some heavy downpours saw the food forest lush and green in a matter of weeks. The weeds also awakened though and we had to do quite a lot of grass pulling.

The silvanberry fruit are ripening and unlike the thornless bramble we have at home birds seem less willing to grasp their stems to feast.

Family, Travel

Baby’s gone bush

January 2, 2019 No Comments

Summer holiday mornings are idled away watching Ember back stroking on a sea of hardwood floor. With a cushion under her she frog legs along, ceiling gazing, until she disappears under the couch. This new activity seems to have usurped quacking and no new words have surfaced if you don’t count the odd “ungee” which can’t yet be confirmed as “hungry”. We pass the rest of our lazy days playing cards (together), painting and surfing (separately). Sometimes this routine is punctuated with baby sized adventures.

We took Babu on her first Bush walk, that turned into more of a Bush bash thanks to grandad by association, Phil’s neglect of the path. Emby enjoyed the view while dad, hampered by the baby backpack and mum, hampered by her choice of sundress scrambled, ducked and scampered over branches and through overgrown scrub.

Some sections were veritable fairy glades with moss covered carpet, fern umbrellas and mauve fan like flowers. Once out of the eucalptus, enjoyment dipped as the tea tree scramble was accompanied by a path that suddenly sprouted blades of grass or reed like a corridor of paper cuts.

It was pretty, many parts like a Totoro forest maze (thanks aunty Jessie for the lend of the dvd, we finally found time and a dvd player to watch it) but spirits were high once we exited into open air and spied that flat ocean horizon.

Little one was just about napping due to the gentle rocking of the walk but perked up a plenty once a snack and sand were on the table.

On the way back the scrub beside the path crunched and swayed like a dinosaur was barging its way through and Ember and I held our breaths to see what monster would emerge. Out of the wildly dancing ferns appear a snout and then the hilarious little body of an echidna. No wonder they need the spines for defence with the racket they make. I’ve only seen an echidna once before at Grey so it was a real treat. I suppose Emby will think it’s standard as she’s 1 for 1 echidna sighting per trip.

After her adventures she has some of her best naps and our strict routine is still rewarding us with much better sleeps.

Family, Garden

End of year celebration

December 31, 2018 2 Comments

This year there is an immense sense of achievement in the community garden. The transformation over winter was stunning and now the raised gardens are overflowing with verdant growth. After the long winter the joys of rummaging through the prickly leaves of zucchini to find succulent fingers of fruit evoke a chorus of memories of happy summer’s days both lived and locked away in our genetic memory. It’s pure ecstacy of spirit. A feeling I hope Ember will enjoy one day.

We celebrated with a morning tea and it really showcased the cooking talents of the group. Sarah impressed with homemade lavosh created with a pasta machine, which I can’t wait to try making myself.

Ember sported the turmeric and marigold dyed cardigan that I started before she was born and almost didn’t finish in time to fit her. It paired nicely with the pink cosmos which I think have become the unofficial emblematic flower of summer in the community garden.

After all the hard work we put in we can now look forward to leisurely years of planting and harvesting, grass free and water secure.

Wishing you all the same in the New Year!