Keeping On, Keeping on!

Hi from Sunny Christchurch.
Its hard to believe how different this year is from last year, weatherwise. I dont follow the weather too much, but I have a Mr 12 who likes looking ahead to see what will happen re the forecast. Its both a blessing and a curse... See Mum, I told you I didnt need a jacket, you wouldnt get the washing dry... etc.

So, is this Autumn yet? Im not a good Winter person, I dont like the cold, but Ive started mulching and composting, and bringing in the citrus trees. This year Ive made a little *hide* for them, with straw bales at each end, to protect them from the wind, and ... well, if we have snow. The white stuff... sigh. We just might?
I have a new blood orange to protect. The last thing I heard from the guy I got it from was... Dont forget to protect it from frost. Theyre worse than lemons... My lemon was in the snow in its first year and survived, but I dont want to chance it :)

Which reminds me, Snow...I need to get a new shovel. The handle  from the one I have... err,... had... was compromised. It had to go onto the new eel spear. You'd understand the necessity if you are a 16 yr old fishing nut who just *had* to try out the new spear right that night... And they caught three good-sized eels, which they baked and ate with the neighbours. We only catch what we can/will eat.

Have some new seeds for sale this year - Ladybird poppy, Flanders Poppy, Broad Beans, Fenugreek, Catnip, and a few others that still need to be sorted and packed. I have the most beautiful cobalt blue larkspur popping through, and have a new echinacea, (above - its called Tomato Soup).
I love echinacea, its one of my favourites, and Im hoping it will grow well so I can divide it up and have drifts of colour throughout the garden, because the bees need all the help they can get, and they LOVE my echinacea. Nearly as much as the Bumblebees do... Theres always a bumblebee asleep on, or slowly crooning into the flowers...

Also have some marigolds, the African ones, that grow a bit taller, and have the crinkly flowers. I dont like the smell much, but they are good for companion plants. Always cheerful are the orange and yellow calendulas or Pot Marigolds. Ive been sowing them with the children at school. Theyve been watching their swan plants being eaten up by the monarch caterpillars... and enjoying the opening of the chrysalis!

Not a lot of other news for now, things are ticking along. Im working on a few new things, hopefully one of them will develop into something wonderful....

As a companion to this blog, I have a new site now, which is organized to detail the seeds Im selling...

Youll find The Seedlist HERE

Im selling through TRADEME and my listings are HERE until I get sorted.
Ive got regular $1 reserves, so you might just get a bargain!
Can post throughout NZ for just 80c for up to five packets of seed (except beans, which are oversized)


Hope life is keeping you smiling,
~Take care~ 
From my Hearth to Yours

Earth Butterfly
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Awesome Autumn... My Fruit Rant :)

Harvest

Well its Autumn... and its been awesome so far - not too much of the wet stuff, but lots of the windy stuff, which we anticipate at this time of the year anyway. It would be great if todays low cloud could blow away and the sun could climb through.
Have been thinking a lot this week about Japan and her people. Im hoping theyre slowly starting to heal and rebuild. I know how we feel here, and the numbness takes a long time to abate, the healing is slow, and time ticks away before you know it. The memories of our Events come back. And we are so lucky we didnt have the complications they had in Japan. My heart goes out to them, I wish there was more we could do, or say, that would help.

Winter Deluxe Pie - Pie Pumpkin

I was washing dishes (arent I always?) yesterday, and I washed a lid of a jar that had 3/12 scribbled on it. I had a flash back to last year, all my preps were covered in the date 3/11 because it was then I had started to prepare in case of emergency. I thought back to my confusion. Then, it was so obvious to me. I have grown since then. I actually AM better prepared than I was. There IS less confusion. I DO know what Im doing, and I am well guided, by whatever that force is that motors the Intuition.
I looked through the Preps. We could do a short stand-off (LOL Like theres going to be a Siege?)
Now to prep for the mid-length stand-off... Its all a part of my plan, to down-size, live harmoniously, but to live SIMPLY. Thats the hard one.

Cornucopia of Tomatoes!

This week, I heard on our TV news that Parents have been criticized for feeding their children too much fruit in their bid to feed their children their 5+ a day... which has been leading to accelerated rates of tooth decay.
See, I worry about reports like this. Firstly, parents DO THEIR BEST. With whatever knowledge and resources they have available, for the most part, parents DO try their best. Criticism hurts and doesnt change a thing, nor teach us how to counteract the problem.
Secondly -Why do the media choose such a strong way to get this message across? Responsibility. They have no accountability for what they write, its ok to take a negative stance... and it sells. And everything has become about the dollar.
It is also about educating Parents about the problem and how to solve it, without that condescending attitude.
People need to want to learn new things at any level  - Educate people on the importance of Milk and Water being offered with every serving of fruit, or put fruit after the main meal. Argh. Its NOT about criticism, it is about CHILDRENS HEATH. It is about Educating people, so they can make strong decisions based on good information.
PUT OUR CHILDREN FIRSTHave we forgotten the art of diplomacy and tact? I think as we fracture in society, we are becoming Islands. It is sad, but it is happening. Who can you depend on to give you accurate information about the things you need to learn? Do you learn something new every day?
We get out of the way of learning, but sometimes, it is just as important to REFRESH OUR KNOWLEDGE about important things, and not stop learning all together.



Broccoli - Waltham Seeds in Pods

 Prepping this week involves saving more seeds for next season. I have brocolli, lettuce in three kinds, soon to be four if Im quick :) And beans galore. I love the pink scarlet runners... Happy Beans!
We have Lollo Rosso, which is dark red, and likes low light and cooler days, a frilled green which grows everywhere and makes an attractive addition to a mixed salad. Theres a traditional buttercrunch, and Im waiting to see if we can catch up with seed from Little Gem who is a one-person sized  lettuce, compact and sweet. I often find Miss 5 hanging around the Little Gem, the leaves are very tasty. I have iceberg growing too, and it seeds later. I love watching the lettuce towers as they grow tall and then go poof! The seed is like dandelion fluff, the seeds at the bottom of the fluff go everywhere. Great for self-seeding.
Finally collected seeds from our carrot flower which seems to have been there for forever. Its taken a good four or five months, but we finally have some Nutri-Red carrot seed. These are our favourites, so theyll be replanted. Im trying to keep other carrots to seed, but it is so hard when the kids prey on them :)

Lettuce Fluff!

Well I best be getting on with it. The sun is making an appearance!
This week is shaping up to be a very diggy one.
Lots of weeds to evict... and poo to shovel.
Hope all is well with your world,

Scarlet Runner Beans - 3rd year!

Take care,
Love
E BUTTERFLY
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Getting Back into The Normal Things...

A message board post tonight on the Trademe Christchurch Quake Board has tips for Getting Back Into Everyday Life... Makes for good sense!

Its normal to feel scared and nervous about everyday things after an earthquake, but gradually returning to old places and activities is important


10 small steps that can help

1. Pick one place or activity you want to go back to

2. Break down the job of getting back into small steps

3. Take one step at a time and be patient with yourself

4. Breathe slowly on each step

5. Stay on the same step until it’s easier

6. Go back if its too hard

7. Its important to take a step often

8. Ask others for support to take steps

9. Notice how far you have come

10. Give yourself a pat on the back

Small steps to going back into a building
1. Go to the building carpark

2. Walk to the entrance door

3. Go into the building entrance

4. Stay on the same level and go further into the building

5. Gradually go to parts of the building you find more challenging



Today was one of those kind of days - Normal Things.
I couldnt concentrate on the inside stuff, it was a day to set myself free into the Garden.
So off I went. My little girl in tow, followed closely by several curious (nosey!) cats...
It was gorgeous. So good to relax and be back... into the Normal Things!
Mr EB has been very generous, I have a new computer... so I havent quite sussed some of the new
whizzy things yet. Im not sure how to get the camera software going, but I have some photos... Garden photos.

I usually find Autumn such a sad time, when you walk under the trees you love and their leaves are falling and dying... the crunch of the beautifully coloured spent leaves as you walk over them, then they clog gutters, rotting and blowing everywhere... Its part of the life cycle, I know.
Ive never been a very good Winter person, but I have seen things through different eyes now that I have my own vege garden. To watch the  plant spew forth its last act of generosity before it dies - it gives of itself in its seeds. I have such gorgeous yellow lettuce flowers. Now who ever heard of a lettuce flower? Not me. Whodve thunk it, a gorgeous full head of lettuce flowers that spurt forth and give their seeds... and so the life cycle continues. Not ending, but giving, so it can continue. I know, emotionally charged, but so wonderful. Life continues through the seeds. Noone should ever tamper with that.
Also, I noticed today that we have on our later plants, some life - the Borlotti beans are gorgeous (similar to Fire Tongues) theyre growing at a faster rate than I ever thought. I didnt know if, when I planted them, we would see beans on them, it was a bit of a lottery. Also, the butternut pumpkin is starting to grow one of itself. A tiny wee shiny green stripey sphere. Glorious! Im crowing about that one :) And I also continue to wander out at night to see if they need covering... Frosts cannot be long away...

So, there we be. Its another Thursday. The seeds are starting to form, and Im collecting, drying, packaging and labelling them as fast as I can. It is neat to be able to see where my garden will be going in the future, how it is taking shape through the seeds Ive collected... Awesome.
I like having things to look forward to... And if I dont give them all away to the neighbours, I may have some good food plants next season... Now to extend the Garden itself ...

Hoping youre all doing fine where you are.
Love and Growth

EButterfly
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