Thanks Deb

After two nights of pouring rain and a little wind, HoneyDale has hopefully seen the last of cyclone Debbie. Our region had record rainfalls and the drought has been well and truly broken.

We had very little damage, apart from one large tree that had fallen across the access road.  This was swiftly cleared when Rog took to it with the chainsaw.  The bush is very soggy and none of our resident wildlife have been spotted as yet.

The sun is now peaking through and the garden should begin to dry up.  It is a bit too soon to tell if the pumpkins, rockmelons and watermelons have been affected.

Thursday morning after one night of rain

Friday morning after two nights of rain

We are very happy to see our dam is near capacity.  So thanks Deb!

Jen and Rog
Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

A Glorious Autumn Morning

A stroll through the bush at the bottom of the block

The last of the Summer Crops

With the hot days drawing to an end, we are picking the last of the Summer crops.  We have eaten the last of the sweet corn, but still getting a steady supply of Chillis, Eggplant and Tomatoes. Also, the odd capsicum.

 

Through the Summer we have enjoyed, sweet juicy rockmelons straight from the garden.  We thought that these were the best thing we had grown all season.  But we were mistaken.

This week end we picked and ate our first watermelon.  What a gem - simple Delicious!   We have about another seven still ripening.  So plenty of melons to eat over the next few weeks.

We will be definitely planting more of these melons, but a little earlier next year.  Apart from that we still have some QLD Blue and Butternut pumpkins growing outdoors.

Lately we have been preparing the shadehouse for winter. At the moment it is planted out with tomates, capsicums  fresh herbs, silverbeet and strawberries.  More will be added soon.

Over the last spring and summer months, we have learnt a lot about gardening, especially the timing of planting.

We still have a lot to learn and looking forward to what the next season brings.


Jen and Rog
Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Peek a Boo

Bella looking a little sleepy

East Coast - Heatwave 2017

Vacant Koala tree

It maybe hot outside, but in the bush its nice and cool!
Alas, no Koala sightings today.

Early morning at  the top of the block

Jen and Rog
Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Grass growing season

Regular Summer rains ensure that the grass just keeps growing.

Whilst Rog is recuperating, I have taken over the responsibilities of keeping the grass under control.  This has meant learning some new skills.

First up, mastering the ride-on lawn mower, which is a small tractor in its own right. I can now re-fuel the Lawn Boss by myself, attach the trailer and perform a tricky reverse park into the shed. 

Next, I took up the line trimmer, learning how best to tackle the edges and bush that can not be reached with the mower.  

This weekend I clocked up some hours on the mower.  Starting with the grass verge, inside the front fence and then around the shed and garden. 

Until the winter dry season, I feel this will be an ongoing weekly task.  Nevertheless, it is a satisfying when the end result looks good.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt

Garden 2 - Beans and other vegetables

It has been almost four weeks since we planted beans, sweet corn, pumpkins, cucumbers and various melons in Garden 2.

Beans and Sweet Corn

Melons and Cucumbers

The veggies are going at a good pace but we still have to wait a bit longer before we can enjoy the fruits of our labour.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt