Monday, November 12, 2012

LATEST FROM NANA, Computers working again.

ROCKET HAS GERMINATED.
Girls the seeds of rocket that I brought home from your place....have started to grow...look forward to some salads soon.

These two pictures show how Nana makes the bottles of tea that go up the paddock for the men to drink......Pa has always taken cold tea with him to drink during the day working on  the farm...........very refreshing. Nana found that the funnels work great,.........put in the sugar....hang a tea bag in the funnel.................then pour the boiling water through................works really easy...........not to strong a brew.


XMAS GATHERING GET TOGETHER...SUNDAY 11TH NOV.
There were so many beautiful quilts in 'show and tell' time,.........however this one took my eye. The lady who made this one has always wanted to do a log cabin design..........you have too look closely to see this..........usually there is a light and dark side to the block............this one is is much the same all around.
I loved the log cabin quilt with all the animals...................the windows open up to show more animals. .....We had a lovely day..................numbers were down..........there was a concert in the Town Hall,,,,and something on in the memorial Hall............and a big fund raiser for a family with a very sick mother at another venue..................hard to not clash with some other event........A good day was had.

WOW ---a great pin cushion...........lucky door prize.............a friend who traveled won this and she loved it..................

We also had a swap present.............I made this little draw string bag..............the chook material was great...........
Only  6 weeks to Christmas.............will have to get a move on.............time will go very fast now and the New Year will be upon us.
Harvest has been a stop  --start affair---so far.................weather is very changeable...........can't plan ahead when conditions are like that...however I know that the  hot days will come soon..........will be looking for a cool spot .................maybe even a swim at the Lake.
Computer has been acting funny for the last week.............hopefully we will' 'iron' out the problem............turned off the moden for 5 minutes.............internet explorer seems to be happier now.
Bye for now.
Lots of love to all.
NANA ON THE FARM

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

HARVEST STARTED

Field Bin ready .............Pa will take out into the paddock.............The tractor will empty the grain into trucks...............to be carted away.

Fuel trailer and compressor organised..............enough fuel for one day...............and the compressor will be used to blow the chaff and dust off the header engine.

This series of photo's has Pa attaching the comb front to the header..........early morning and very dull..

Getting the header lined up ........

Connected...................comb is still sitting on the trailer............

Lifting off the comb trailer(Pa built this - very clever at these things-oop's this trailer came with Header ---our other header has the trailer by Pa)............this trailer is used to transport the front between paddocks.....Headers are not allowed to travel on roads with the front atttached....................trailer will be pulled by the ute...............

READY TO START THE HARVEST...................

Stripping Barley................paddock north of the house....6th November 2012.

Weather has been unsettled all day....

Looking up the rows of barley.............GPS...............makes the rows straight.

New Auger....................just delivered today..................should make unloading grain quicker.........that's what we want.................faster turn around between paddock and silo...............

CANOLA.....in the neighbours property next to our place...........see how the tops of the plants have been cut............and put in rows....................will dry out for a few days.............then the harvester will come..................

Change of story.................... cladding on the town clock..................bottom has tiles with a swan............then maroon tiles.............above this is four scenes around the town............back light at night................very beautiful........and on the very top row there are aboriginal dot paintings............a great addition now to the city..............and at last ----it keeps proper time.............
The day has been very cloudy and photo's are not clear.............hope you are able to see enough to understand...........
Must away to make some meals.
Bye for now.
Love to everybody.
NANA ON THE FARM.

Monday, November 5, 2012

MEMORIES. PA getting comb front repaired

This bottlebrush never fails to flower at exam time.
When HSC exams came around each year...................some of you used to study out side...........this plant was putting on it's usual display..................reminds me of your school days..................

Comb front for header is nearly fixed up......................ready to go to work for this harvest.

See the sparks flying up from the equipment?....................................The fingers sweep the crop up and put it onto the auger...................that is the spiral you can see..................then it goes into the header ..........................all the plant material now comes off...........and the seed goes into the bin........Ready for Pa to come along with his truck to collect..........................................take to a Silo or store on farm..
Happy Birthday to two big boys this week.
Love to everybody as well.
NANA ON THE FARM

Saturday, November 3, 2012

CACTUS FROM THIS - THIS

FROM THE ABOVE TO BELOW.

How exciting.......................I have two colours blooming.................I think I like the red best.................when the light gets into the middle.............it shines with sparkle.
During the year the strap plants are not very eye catching................but when the flowers burst out.............they are fabulous.
This is the time of the year when so many plants come into their best..............then rest through the hot times.
Love you all.
NANA ON THE FARM

KITTENS, COMB REPAIRS

so tiny...

Kids...............Smooth was looking into the bushes..............................so I checked out what he was watching.........................look what I found!.............................four little ginger kittens..............so tiny and fluffy.....................would be about 4 days old................SO CUTE...............

Pa has the header comb.......................doing some maintance on some parts......................ready to go for harvest..................When the repairs have been completed.....................Pa will bring the big header out to attach....................'then it is all go'
It is so frustrating waiting for the crops to ripen to the exact stage for harvest...........
See yah.
Lots of Love.
NANA ON THE FARM

Friday, November 2, 2012

ON WAY TO MAIL BOX

Our red Mail Box on road side.
On my way out to collect the mail.....................I found one of the Blue Martin Wood Swallows that have just returned........................but it had died..................don't know what had happened..................so sad,........... such a beautiful little creature.
Nana just loves to go out Monday, Wednesday, Friday to see if there is anything in the mail..................even bills ...............it is fun.............sometimes there is a parcel and can't wait to open them....

I put the poor little bird in with some plants to give an idea of size.................Around the beak they are very blue,............but hasn't shown up in this picture.

Grey with a touch of white on the tips of the tail feathers.................RIP
It breaks your heart when creatures die....
This is the pattern of farming...................things come and go..................
Bye for now.\
Love to everybody, keep well.
NANA ON THE FARM

TYRECHANGER, GUM BLOSSOM

HOME
Been to the city...................we had to collect this tyre changer................no longer needed...........business was expanding..

Waiting to be unloaded.............at the back door...........in the distance is SMOOTH the dog............slinking away...........'.they have that camera out again!'..........'.boy oh boy'has that dog got a complex about camera's!  !   !

Pa using the fork lift to get the pallet  lined up.................so he can get the prongs into the right place..........ready for the lift.

Lift up time...............just about off the back of the ute.......

Pa now has to put it in the shed....................but it's down off the ute..................will be able to change flat tyre's easier now....................still will have to go to town or have the men come out to the farm to have tractor tyres done....................they are a specialist's job.................

PINK DANCER'S
I was looking around at my plants..................when I came across this gum tree........................how beautiful is that? ?.........................I thought it looked like a cluster of little ballerina's in their tutu's..........all dancing around in the sunshine..............you have to just imagine that.
Caught up with three beautiful grandchildren in the city...............big excitement.............eldest has lost her first baby tooth.............they are lovely and so much fun................growing up very fast.
It was another long day...........but went well............
Love to all, take care till we see you again.
Lots of Love
NANA ON THE FARM
 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

OPEN GARDEN, TRUCK, CROPS

Open Garden...................small selection of plants that were available for purchase...........very pleased with the number of plants that were donated.

Prime Mover..................going to town to get the blinkers adjusted.................not working...................

Chick peas.................end of October.........not ready as yet.

Wheat,.......................lots of green heads ............a way to go yet.

Peas..................drying off...............tops still green............

Barley..............looks closer to being ready.
Decided to take some photo's of crops as the end of October..............Today was quite hot..............need more days like this.........................things will start moving then.
The photo's are not very clear,................only used a small camera...............if you look closely you can see the pods on the two different peas crops.......................note that the barley heads are starting to curve down........................filling up with seeds..................Wheat has beards................not like the older varieties they looked different.
Bye.
Lots of Love.
NANA ON THE FARM 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

STRAWBERRIES, UGH LAWN,CACTUS FLOWER

YUM,  strawberries from the patch.......still lots there.

Results of ROUND UP applied during the winter......................................this beautiful South African couch grass
looked dormant.................I sprayed to get rid of the weeds...............now very patchy...............hopefully it will come back green as ever....

More affected lawn...........watering............soon will be beautiful.........I hope...........................Can only be better than the weeds.

CACTUS..............I can't wait till these flowers open..............they will be a real show.............the strappy leaves are not the most beautiful during the year.................but.................wait.....till the display starts then it will be a real eye stopper. Must be at least 50 flowers..............they look like they will all open at the same time.
Bye take care.
Love from
NANA ON THE FARM
 

HEADER COMB PREPARTIONS. FLOWERS

 
It's nearly time..............comb for header is out of the shed............being inspected for necessary repairs before going onto the header...........Today the temperature is going to be in the low 30's..................crops will start to dry out and be ready for the harvester.
 

 
Our OPEN GARDEN DAY has been held.......................the Ladies Hospital Auxillary very happy with results................raised $4,751.00.............and I am happy to say the plants above that I took...................all sold........... as they had flowers..............................The plant stall made $612.00..........will do the same again next year.
Now I must get together some plants .........................for a bit of colour for Christmas............which is.sneeking up very fast.
Bye for now, take care.\
Love from
NANA ON THE FARM
 

Saturday, October 27, 2012

SPRAY RIG,STRAWBERRY THIEF,WOOD SWALLOW RETURNS

Grandies, Pa is back from the paddock.................very hard to see.........but the spray booms are folded behind the tractor.............the yellow tank is for the water and chemical.............Pa will have many early mornings now.................keeping down the weeds ................they all have their cycle and grow at different times..............especially milk thistles after a rain.

.............THE STRAWBERRY THIEF....................
.when I went out to the strawberry patch today..................quess who was just making a getaway...............this stumpy tail lizard!!!!!!!!!!!!............just loves eating strawberries.

looks quilty.....................

Return of the swallows.................I went outside to see what birds were making very excited noises............they are back................most years they return late spring early summer...........spending the winter up north where it is warm.............come back here to build a nest and have a family in summer.......................

I can't get close enough for a good photo ,........................out comes my bird book................... tells me all about them...............They are mainly a dark grey..................with a very white brow...............and a beautiful chestnut tummy.............
There are other birds coming for the summer...................but it is hard to get a picture............the bee eaters - Rainbow Birds.............can be heard around the farm.................
Bye for now..............will keep my eyes open ................hopefully something else will come by.
Love to all.
NANA ON THE FARM