A Busy Day

A break in the weather allowed us to get a few jobs done, today.  Niamh, of course, was thrilled to finally be able to get outside again (nearly 2 year old with cabin fever = not fun for anyone).

The vegie patch is going well, for once - thanks in no small part to the aforementioned rain.  This season, we have planted heirloom varieties of pea, English spinach, silverbeet, bean and carrots, as well as some cauliflowers, broccoli and purple cauliflowers.  We also threw in some garlic, leeks and celery.

Here's how it's all looking:

The brassica bed has gone mad.  Great news for the caterpillars - which in turn is great news for the chickens.  Niamh, looking for caterpillars on the leaves of a giant cauliflower:

A pea flower, wet with rain:

Niamh likes to eat pea stalks, flowers and shoots straight from the plant (and she can, since the entire garden is organic):

In fact, most of our crop never even makes it inside and is eaten as soon as it is picked, plucked or pulled.  We have tried to remedy that issue (if having a child who LOVES vegies is an issue!) this time around by planting over 70 pea plants...so maybe we might even get to eat some ourselves this time!

A bit later, Niamh helped her Daddy put in a few new fruit trees.  Here she is spreading some rock dust around, since Perth is on a coastal plain, and the soil here is very mineral poor:

After lunch, Niamh headed out to the front of the house to help her Daddy dig up some grass for a new garden bed.  Lucy the chicken went too:

A few people walking their dogs were a bit surprised to see a chicken in the front yard, but Lucy had a wonderful time.  Next time, it will be Henny's turn.  Niamh pretended to be a rabbit called Little Tail, from her book of the same name:

 A well-earned tickle break:

While those two were kept busy outside, I had a chance to do some work on my latest hobby horse and hobby dragon (pics tomorrow, since this blog is already photo-heavy!).

A trip to the park on bikes, and a relaxing bath with candles later, Niamh is now more than ready for bed, so I should probably oblige.

Needless to say, today was packed full of learning, dirt, muddy puddles and joy.