Sowing the Seeds

Look at what is emerging from my soil and appearing amongst the grass! They are just so cute…if you are into fungi..and I am.

It is called an Earth Star. I am not sure of the specific species but possibly Geastrum triplex. You can see that it belongs to the ‘puffball’ kingdom of fungi. That puffy section in the middle of the fungi is actually very soft to touch and when it is pushed it ‘puffs’ out all the spores through it’s little opening there. I find it really fascinating and so wondrous. There is a whole colony of them out there growing in my little bit of bushland.

It really is that time of year for fungi and I have noticed some beautiful specimens around. They are just so intricate and often in the most amazing shapes and patterns. I will have some more great pics to share with you soon. Are you a fan of fungi too??

The other day I went for a beautiful long walk through the Panboola Wetlands.

The wetlands is a wonderful place to visit, especially if you are a bird watcher as it is teeming with birdlife. We saw many Egret’s and Swamp Hen’s foraging through the billabongs.

I of course, was most entranced with the absolutely beautiful and graceful Common Reed (Phragmites australis) that was growing so abundantly.

This native grass is also known as feather grass or thatch reed. It grows prolifically all over these wetlands and is excellent for providing habitat and food from the seed heads for the many water birds there. The reeds also provide a home for insects, frogs and lizards too.

Apparently the reeds were used by Indigenous Australians to make rafts which were then used on the lagoons for helping to gather food such as fish. The underground roots are also edible.

It would have to be one of my favourite Native Australian Grasses, so tall and graceful at 2 to 3 metres in height.

I have the most wonderful looking Siberian Kale (Brassica napus) growing in my garden. It has grown from seed purchased at Eden Seeds.

I love it’s crinkly, very dark green leaves that are packed with healthy vitamins and minerals. I decided to grow it after hearing Peter Cundall from Gardening Australia espouse it’s virtues for many years.

It grows magnificently over the cold Winter that we are now experiencing in this part of the world. Apparently the frost on the leaves also helps to take out some of the bitterness and leaves them very tasty and sweet. You can use kale in any dish that you would normally use green vegies. I like mine just lightly stir fried with a little garlic and sesame oil.

This would have to be one of the best vegies or food plants to grow in terms of value for money! For a $4.00 packet of seed you will be able to feed your family healthy, nutritious meals for many of the cold Winter weeks. Try putting loads of kale in vegie burgers or mixed through a yummy curry.

I also like it just for it’s sheer beauty, hope that doesn’t make me shallow!

Some of you may remember my post about our cute little garden terrorist.

Well, he is just so much bigger now!

AND so are the holes.

Also I have never known any dog to have such a love of toilet paper rolls. He sneaks into the bathroom and steals them at any opportunity then gleefully does an impression of Christo, wrapping up all my trees and shrubs…He is costing me a fortune in toilet paper!

During a recent road trip to Sydney from the south coast of N.S.W, our journey took us up over Brown Mountain. The mountain is approx 1200M above sea level and is very often quite foggy and misty up on its peak.

We stopped on the top at Pipers Lookout and as we expected, were shrouded in thick mist. There is Eucalypt forest all around and many native wildflowers, although this is not the best time of year to see them. On a clear day it is an excellent view right down the mountain and across the Bega Valley.

I couldnt resist a few misty Eucalypt photos.

It was very quiet in the early morning, very fresh and crisp too. Just very serene and beautiful, almost magical…

I know I have written a post before about these beautiful tropical Grevilleas, but they are just stunning at the moment!

I don’t think there is actually a time of year when they are not flowering. The Wattle birds just love them and are continually foraging the flowers for nectar.

Grevillea ‘Superb’ is actually a hybrid of a QLD Grevillea, ‘Grevillea banksii’ and a W.A Grevillea, ‘Grevillea bipinnatifida’. Now the QLD Grevillea actually has white flowers, whilst the W.A one has red, therefore the hybrid of Grevillea ‘Superb’ has these enchanting salmon pink coloured flowers.

This Grevillea is just so hardy and it even tolerates the moderate frosts we get here too! Because it only grows to around 1.5 to 2 metres high it is the perfect plant for many gardens.

There is a beautiful beach just near where I live that has the biggest, fattest beach worms living in it’s sand. This particular beach has become known to me for its wonderful worms due to a lovely old fisherman who frequents my workplace and shares my passion for all things piscatorial. When it is time to go fishing I often go there to catch some with my brother, who is a master worm catcher. I have tried many times to catch them but cannot. There is certainly an element of skill involved that I am yet to possess.

This is the first part of catching a beach worm. You really need to go down to the beach at low tide. You will need a piece of old smelly bait or a fish frame tied to some string. You then need to drag the old bait or frame over the sand and through the water at the shore line. You can actually then see the worms heads as they pop up to check out what the food source is! They really only pop their heads up by about 5mm or so. When you locate a worm you need to put the fish frame in front of the worm’s hole and wait for it to emerge to grab the bait.

Now this is the part that I find tricky…. When the worm comes up and tries to feast on the bait you need to try and burrow your thumb and forefinger into the sand behind it’s head. The worm will arch up slightly and that’s when you grab him! Easier said than done, I say. The worms are very fast and super slippery! Some people actually use pliers to grab their beach worms but my brother thinks that if you have a bit of sand on your fingers to grip them and are very quick you can catch them ‘no worries.’ Once you have the worm by it’s head you need to pull it from the sand in one fast, steady movement.

This a very big beach worm, probably around 75cm long but it is the average sized beach worm for this particular beach.

See their feelers and mouth? Kinda freaky huh? They do have pearlescent kind of bodies too. Anyway we got around 5 worms which we thought was a good amount for a days fishing. You need to keep your beach worms in a bucket of damp sand and it is best practise to take only the amount of beach worms that you will actually use or need.

With our lovely fresh beach worms we headed off to catch some fish and we had a fantastic days fishing, catching two big sand flathead, one big Aussie Salmon, around fifteen big silver trevally and one lone wobbegong who was subsequently released.

The beautiful, shapely crimson hips of my glorious Climbing Rose Masquerade.

With raindrops still upon them and their glory by my gate, I marvel at their simple wonder and by chance I hesitate. They really are sublime, their colour just divine, and I so LOVE Masquerade because it reminds me of a simpler time.

I had this rose growing in the very first home I rented when I moved out of my parents home at the age of 19. I moved into a fabulous little fibro beach shack right on the sand and a stones throw from the water.

The garden was full of so many amazing, textural succulents and this one rampaging Masquerade Climbing Rose just rampant over the back fence. I fell in love with it and then after seeing it available in a nursery, I planted it by my front gate on our country property 20 years later.

Oh and aren’t her hips just luscious?

Yesterday was very grey, overcast and drizzly. The sun managed to break out from behind the clouds for a few short moments and so I grabbed my camera to try and capture some shots of the lovely rain.

As I walked around our property I was amused by a beautiful little grey shrike thrush.

We have a remnant Black She-oak (Allocasuarina littoralis) in our garden. It is a graceful, beautiful tree that I adore and it seems like our little feathered friend does too.

This morning when I woke up and stumbled out onto the front porch I was greeted by the most phenomonal rays of morning light.

This is the view across our dam and through the tall Eucalypt trees. It was cool and dewy with lots of moisture in the air. The sunshine shone through the trees in beauiful rays of light, it was truly breath taking.

As Winter approaches the nights are becoming chilly and the mornings are just so crisp and fresh. I truly love this time of year….but then again I think I am a sucker for all the seasons! I love ‘em all.