the Wise Robin

these slow days

 

These festive Summer days are filled with...

slow mornings and lazy afternoons

blue skies

ambles in the bush

heavy beetles buzzing by

adding bits and bobs from our ambles to our new seasonal table

the song of breezes in the drying grasses and leaves 

chicken time galore for my little ( I do believe she spends most of her waking hours catching, cuddling and singing to these growing chooks)

time outdoors in the garden

biting sun

snacking on Christmas leftovers, napping and cricket

inviting shade from a stray oak standing firm and wise

the green of kurrajongs

thoughts of a new year and what it will bring

enjoying the sight and smell of Christmas decorations throughout our home before they are packed away for another year 

the golden glow of early morning sun

~

Hope some of these slow and lazy days have reached you too.

Cxo

 

 

last minute making

Those last minute moments of making are all coming together...even if there is the odd gift half knitted under the tree.

Wishing you all a peaceful Christmas filled with merriment and love

~

Cxo

Solstice

 

It barely feels like Summer has begun and yet today marked the longest day. From here on in the days begin to shorten as we make our way toward to the dark of Winter.

Amidst the last busy days before Christmas, with an handful of tired children, some homemade lanterns and wonderful Mama friends, we headed into the bush to find a little evening quiet as we watched the sun disappear.

With lanterns lit we wandered home.

~

Peace to all those beautiful Mama's out there who make this time of year special for their littles.

xxC

 

 

'tis the season

 

'Tis the season for Christmas crafting, giving, family, peace, love and... fruit fly. I've never had a problem in my vegie gardens with these humble little bugs that are filling a niche in one of bio-diversity's hollow pockets...until now. I love how Green Harvest describe fruit fly as being responsible for more bad language from gardeners than any other pest, as a way of counting your blessings (if you are lucky enough to live in a fruit fly free zone) and a pest that can bring communities together.

With all the tomato and capsicum plants we put in this Spring, the abundance of apples on our tree and the anticipation and hope of homegrown, organic food we decided to prepare for the fruit fly onslaught that we heard so many stories of last Summer. We 're following all the basic fruit fly control methods such as planting cherry tomatoes instead of larger varieties (these are supposedly not as susceptible to attack), picking up fallen fruit, solarising  instead of composting and baiting early (we love Wild May). With an apple tree that our chooks roost in, my girl loves to climb and that is fifteen feet tall,  netting was not an option so we have reluctantly had to Eco-Naturalure as well.

Things were cruising along, zucchinis galore, salad lettuce, cucumbers and our first ripe tomatoes. There was much excitement in the vegie garden when the ripening tomatoes were discovered which was hotly pursued by that disheartening ache in my body that I had heard other gardeners describe last Summer. We were not the first ones to get to the first ripe tomatoes. The disheartening feeling was then followed by anger, a few choice words, a little bit of stomping, maybe some moping and then determination. I was not going to let the babies of this wee fly eat their way through our Summer harvest. And let me tell you there is nothing like a Mama on a mission. I consulted a permaculture guru friend, looked for exclusion products that would fit a tight Christmas budget and brainstormed. I concluded that the time it would take for some Green Harvest exclusion bags to arrive, with the Christmas loading on the postal service added on top, these little critters would get the upper hand. So in the forty five minute gap between swimming lessons and whatever else we had on I pulled out some calico, twine and my sewing machine and whipped up these rather crude homemade exclusion bags.

 Necessity as they say is the mama of invention.

In the meantime we're working on some fly screen bags for the capsicums and enjoying some windowsill ripened tomato 'tasty-ness'.

~wishing you all some fruit fly free gardening goodness~

warmly C

 

a breath of green

 

today stockings were made and hung...

and a breath of Christmas green brought it's delicious smell into our home.

There's something satisfying and soul soothing about dressing the tree...the colour, the smell, the music, the lights, family gathering together...I love it.

The tree brings with it a beautiful, calming energy that make the lists of things to do between now and Solstice seem inconsequential.

~ Cxo

 

 

getting our groove on

 

The Christmas crafting has been, well,  a little slow, to say the least, around these parts. There's been plenty of planning, a lot of looking at the beautiful making going on all over blogland and even a few supply trips. Then this morning we discovered a house sparrow had made it's way into the art room. One puzzled Mama, an excited little and one very curious dog looking on certainly did nothing to calm this little bird. After discovering the screens were bolted into the window frames, closing off doors and trying to gently usher our sparrow out through the front doors with no success we left it to rest and maybe find it's own way out.

Meanwhile we finally found our Christmas crafty groove ....and it felt good, just pottering and making. I'd be painting too pretty a picture if I didn't tell you that it's taken a while, well most of December really, to find our seasonal crafting groove. I was beginning to wonder that it hadn't disappeared all together this year. But then the sparrow came. What does a sparrow have to do with creating and making I hear you say! Through a friends suggestion that a bird in the house was something special, a message of sorts, I decided to do some digging. Turns out that a bird indoors, or more specifically a bird that circles your living area three times, is a symbol of ill fortune or death. Hmmn. This wasn't rocking my boat, and besides it was in the art room not the lounge, so I dug further and found out that a sparrow indoors heralds simplicity, creativity and productivity. Of course, I should have known a sparrow indoors was all that was needed to help us find our rhythm!

~

Cxo

Oh... and a quick manoeuvre with a tea towel was just the ticket to setting our sparrow friend free.

 

 

 

these Christmas skates

 

(my go to pattern, Saartje's bootees, in Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo... yummy to knit with)

I'm a list maker.  And right now my list is growing rather than shrinking. It should be shrinking because most of the things on my list are Christmas crafty, present type things and the number of days between right now and Christmas are slowly dwindling. I've written the list, cleaned my workspace and played with ideas...all that's left to do amidst the baby crafting, birthday making  and seasonal get togethers, is to actually start. Herein lies the problem. Where to start. Maybe that knitted present that I've yet to by wool for, or the needle felted stocking stuffer, and indeed the stockings themselves. Or perhaps Sasha,the doll Zahra has has fallen in love with, the homemade decorations I'd still like to hang or the sewing for my sister. So many choices, so little time.

(Nutcracker by Sarah Jane Studios, tree is Zahra's)

(design by SoSpetember)

There have been small inroads in the decoration department over the past few weeks but these December days have been so crazy, busy that I haven't had time to strap my proverbial Christmas crafting skates on...yet. So this week I have cleared my calendar and I'm looking forward to being at home catching up with my needles and thread, wool and fabric, scissors and machine...slowing down.

Hoping there are moments of stillness and slowing down for you throughout this busy season

warmly

Chontelle

growing good

There was much activity this Spring sowing, planting, waiting, transplanting, extending, watering, weeding, thinning and tending this little garden of ours. It always amazes me how much growth and productivity can happen in such tiny spaces...we are enjoying zucchinis, zucchini's and more zucchini's, climbing beans, snow peas, basil, radishes, salad greens,the odd cabbage (still! oh my goodness) and eagerly awaiting sweet corn, ripe tomatoes, spring onions, capsicum, chillies, sunflowers and carrots. After the hustle and bustle of Spring things are starting to slow down just a little...there is still the odd bit of weeding, staking, successive planting and of course harvesting to do, but it feels like there's more time to just wander around the garden listening to the plants grow, see the bugs crawl and munch, hear bees buzz and watch the sunflowers turn their heads. Everything is growing good.

 As the garden has grown and changed so has our wee flock of chicks. The days of sweetness and fluff have been replaced by a rambunctious gaggle of adolescents. Each day they wander further from Mum, finding their own tidbits and learning to roost but at the end of each day they still make their way back to the cosiness of Mama's feather bed.

There's nothing I like more right now, especially after a crazy, busy day than finding myself in our little garden. It soothes and slows, grounds and centres. It makes me smile.

Happy garden time to you too

Cxox

Oh, and if anyone knows what that ladybug lookalike is munching on the zucchini leaves, I'd love a heads up.

 

Summer is...

 

We slipped quietly into Summer last week barely without notice. There are chilly winds still blowing and quilts are pulled up every night. Today in the garden I felt the tiniest inkling of Summer by the way the sun bit my skin. She is truly on her way, slowly but surely. In that moment I was reminded of all that Summer brings...

bare feet and bindies

fresh basil and homemade pesto

cherry tomatoes warm from the sun

ripening

fingers running through dog's fur searching for corkscrew grass seeds

rhythmic cicada singing

growth

next years seeds

a dry, brown land

running under the sprinkler

the smell of earththy warmth after a storm

Queen Anne's ever so delicate and oh so beautiful Lace

a glut of zucchinis... and the visiting of friends that accompanies this abundance...always with a zucchini gift under one arm

river side, pool side, seaside

bathers on the clothes-line

sunshine reaching the dark places of Winter

the heavy touch of a cotton sheet on the hottest of nights

the quietness of bushfire smoke

 

Although I'm a cold weather gal these small reminders bring a sense of comfort to these crazy, busy December days.

Happy New Season wherever you are

~

Stop by and check out Madeline's lovely little space over at The Things We Do, where she has some great seasonal crafty ideas, perfect for the littles too. I'm doing my first guest blog over there tomorrow  for her weekly Wednesday Holiday post!  

 

 

 

make

Earlier this week Zahra and I kickstarted our Solstice and Christmas crafting by making these sweet and simple clay decorations. They are a treat to whip up and are fun for littles too. As promised here is the tutorial so you can all admire your own handmade, seasonal keepsakes.  

SEASONAL KEEPSAKES

YOU WILL NEED

Cookie cutters in designs of your choice

Air dry clay

(we love DAS modelling clay which can be found in most art/craft stores or here)

Rolling pin

Stamps, lace, buttons, objects from nature...or anything that creates a pattern when pushed into the clay. Experiment with lots of different things, use your imagination!

Ink, watercolours, pencils for colouring your clay cookies

a nail file

scissors

a skewer or something similar to make a hole for hanging

ribbon or string

and lastly a ceramic, glass or marble board so the clay doesn't stick when rolling. I used a large ceramic outdoor tile that I found down in the garage. A wooden board with some freezer paper between the board and clay also works.

* * * * *

Now you're ready

Roll your clay until it is no less than 3mm thick

Press out your shapes using the cookie cutters

Decorate your shapes any which way you like.

Materials such as lace can be gently rolled over the clay, leaving it's pattern behind.

Objects from nature like leaves can also be gently rolled into the clay, then removed, leaving the

leaf outlines and veins imprinted in the clay

Painting can be done while the clay is wet or dry.

We like to stamp words into the clay while it is wet, this way it leaves an impression in the clay instead of sitting on top, creating a lovely texture. It also makes the tidying up part that we do later a whole lot easier. 

Using your skewer make a hole in each decoration where you want it to hang it from, making sure the hole is the right size to easily thread your string or ribbon 

Pop your decorations in a sunny or warm spot to dry. Don't forget to turn them over to dry the underside too.

When your decorations are dry you can tidy up the ragged edges and any unwanted marks using the nail file

Now your ready to thread your decorations for hanging

At this point you might want to seal your clay by spraying with enamel or painting with clear nail varnish. We love the earthy, raw feeling of the unglazed clay...just be careful not to get them wet!

Now you have some simple, seasonal keepsakes that you can use as gift tags, to decorate your Christmas tree, use as jar labels or even make a seasonal branch.

Happy Solstice and Christmas

~

warmly Chontelle

 

 

 

letting go

 

This year I really, really wanted to make an advent calendar for Zahra. I spent a decent amount of time looking around for inspiration...in books, at fabrics, on the web... but nothing really spoke to me. With December first looming I could feel a teensy bit of desperation rising. And then I did something that I find at times incredibly hard to do...I chose to let it go. I let go of the obligation and expectation I had put on myself to have something handmade waiting for her on the morning of the first... and instead I chose to ease out of November slowly and begin Summer with Eric Carle's beautiful Dream Snow Calendar from our local bookshop. I know it's not very seasonal for this time of year in the Southern Hemisphere but my deep love for cold weather and snow kind of high jacks me from the here and now every December. It's truly adorable and we both love it.

By Bec of Red Jacket

Bringing out the decorations today, lighting the first advent candle and hanging the wreath (albeit a little naked right now, but nothing a forage in the garden and a walk in the bush can't remedy) was just the thing to get me thinking about advent calendars again. This time I was thinking more of a mama version that would keep me on track through this busy month. A reminder to let go when needed, slow down and enjoy my favourite time of year. After all that time mulling over ideas the previous month it all came together with nothing but some card stock, stamps, scissors, glue and an old fridge magnet.

find these here

For each day that we move closer to Solstice and Christmas, I will add something small...words to inspire, motivate and remind. I always seem to forget then marvel at how simple things truly are if we just allow them to be. 

 

~Happy Summer~