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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Friday, September 21, 2018

the arrival of spring

Hello friends,

And so it is Spring...

With Spring comes the beautiful sunrises.


Wildlife.




Flowers.















New growth.










Quandong season.






Orange blossom.


Bees.

I really love seeing these around.


Baby mulberries.


 Nectarine blossom.


Apricot blossom.


Oodles of grapefruit.


And mandarins.


Grapevines.


In the veggie patch...

Garlic.


Baby spinach.

This is the size of the baby spinach.


Beetroot and silver beet.


More beetroot.


Silver beet and beetroot all mixed in.


Ongoing crop of spring onions.


More silver beet.



Rhubarb.


More garlic.


I have been playing around in this area, but as there hasn't been a lot of rain this year (drought in our area), I will probably not do much with this space simply because I will need to be careful with water.



Spending time outside in the evenings.


What to do with an abundance of citrus from our trees?


Make marmalade of course. Grapefruit, mandarin, orange and lemon in this batch, using this method.


And a simple fruit cake using freshly squeezed orange and mandarin juice. 



Also making sourdough again. Got to have bread to put the marmalade on...yum!


Something new to read.


And the return of beautiful sunsets.

The sun was a brilliant red colour on this day.


Reflection.


The real thing!



Has Spring arrived at your place? With the weird weather this year it is winter and spring mixed in together.  Cold nights and really warm days with hot north wind and plenty of dirt. That is my life at the moment, but it is all good ~smiles.

See you all soon,

xTania

41 comments:

  1. Autumn here in West Virginia, of course. My favorite time of year, but I hate what follows. I hope you cook the beet tops for greens, they're delicious!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Gorges,

      I am glad we don't have winters like yours.

      We eat those beetroot leaves for sure, they are better for you than the beets. I throw them in lots of dishes :)

      Have a great weekend!

      xTania

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  2. You are amazing! I love seeing all that you grow and do. My garden is much smaller than yours, but I love it. It's time to plant the cols weather vegetables. Beautiful photos, as always.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Stephenie.

      Wishing you a lovely weekend,

      xTania

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  3. Replies
    1. Hi there Diann,

      Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the youtube link there, that will take you to the music.

      River flows in you by Yiruma :)

      Cheers!

      Delete
  4. Lovely photos Tania,

    The fruit blossom trees are my favourite.
    We are just about to greet Autumn although
    it has felt as if it has already arrived
    for a while.
    The cake looks so good :)

    Take Care x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Fiona,

      Autumn is my favourite time of year although I am not a lover of winter. Early spring when everything starts to pop with new life and blossom, and the birds find their voice is pretty special too :)

      Enjoy your weekend,

      xTania

      Delete
  5. Spring has sprung up here in Brisbane, Tania. Despite the drought, your garden looks abundant. I am loving the new growth and the blossoms coming out. It feels like a time of renewal. Meg xx

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    Replies
    1. Dear Meg,

      It is amazing how the plants are doing so well with the lack of rain. I am hoping it is a good sign for things to come, but they do forecast little rain for this area. We are heading into a very warm week this week.

      Definitely feels like a time for renewal. Loving that feeling :)

      xTania

      Delete
  6. I love the abundance of your garden even in a drought and then the wonderful things you cook with it all. I'm enjoying a coffee as I read this now and am salivating over the fruit cake. xx Susan

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    Replies
    1. Dear Susan,

      That fruit cake is delicious and so simple to make. It also makes a fairly big cake :)

      xTania

      Delete
  7. I have saved your fruit cake recipe -thank you

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    Replies
    1. Good luck with the cake recipe EMW, I am sure you will love it!

      xTania

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  8. It's all looking beautiful on your property, despite the dry conditions Tania. The music is lovely, and I got rather a surprise to find myself at my blog about marmalade. Thanks for the link. Have a lovely weekend. XX

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    Replies
    1. Dear Sally,

      I just realised that I didn't link to your sourdough recipe. Oops. It has been rectified now.

      Enjoy this beautiful weather :)

      xTania

      Delete
  9. Ah, your back with your stunning photography. I'm pleased.

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    Replies
    1. Yes I am back, and it is your fault Phil. You challenged me on facebook, so here I am haha!

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    2. I'll have to get cracking now too I suppose.

      Delete
  10. Beautiful photos, Tania! It is neat to see your seasons opposite mine. You are richly blessed in all that fruit and plant growth! I've never seen so much fruit (and of course we don't have that type here in our cooler climate where I live)….so bountiful. Andrea

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Andrea. It is hard to work out why we had such an abundance of citrus fruit this year especially considering it is a drought. Maybe they are tricked into thinking water is scarce so lets produce lots of fruit :)

      The seasons are passing by so quickly these days, it is hard to keep up. I am enjoying the warmer weather now that winter is over. It was a gorgeous day today, perfect for being outside in nature :)

      xTania

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  11. Hi Tania,
    Lovely photos. They say a picture tells a thousand words and it's so true. I can see the joy and contentment in the simple things in life that you capture so well. Even though times are dry for many of us, there is comfort in our home and routine.
    Del

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  12. Oh all those quondongs. I grew in the mid north of SA, and going for a drive to find quondongs was a highlight of my childhood. Yours look rather more lush sizewise. Are they irrigated? They are the yummiest of bush fruits.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Barb,

      We grew the quandongs from seeds we collected from fruit in the bush. We just scattered the seeds all around where native shrubs and trees were growing with mulch underneath. And up they came! We have them everywhere on our block. We no longer have to leave here to go out driving to look for some. The ones in the pictures get run off from one of our rain water tanks. We have an abundance of quandongs most years :)

      xTania

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  13. Wow Wow Wow really enjoyed both the music and seeing your garden. Really lovely Tania.

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  14. Thank you Chris, it is lovely to have you here.

    xTania

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  15. Tania you are right spring is a beautiful time of year and I am so glad you have so much fruit on your trees. Your gardens are beautiful :) .

    Spring has arrived here too in abundance with the beautiful tea roses coming into bloom and our lavender in full glorious bloom ready to be picked shortly. The rosemary has been flowering as has the thyme plants.

    We are looking forward to planting our own fruit trees in the ground now that our offer to purchase a house has been accepted and we signed the contract today but still awaiting bank finance to come through.

    Have a wonderful week and good to see you back again :).

    Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).

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    Replies
    1. Dear Lorna,

      So glad to hear you are about to purchase a house. Exciting times for you as you embark on another chapter of life. I bet you cant wait to get your hands dirty in the garden and make it your own.

      Spring is like a breath of fresh air after a dark dreery winter, except now daylight savings is here I find my energy draining away again. It takes a little time to get used to, at the moment, I am not tired at night and I don't want to get out of bed in the morning...ahhh!

      Thank you for visiting,

      xTania

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  16. Tania, you never cease to amaze me. Your garden is just incredible! Spring is lovely everywhere I think. Mimi xxx

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Mimi. It has been a very mild spring heat wise so everything is looking good.

      Love Tania xxx

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  17. So much going on in your garden Tania and so many great signs of spring. Those flower pics are so beautiful. I'm jealous of all that lovely citrus.
    I read that book recently too!
    Hope things don't get too hot too quickly down your way and fingers crossed for a bit of extra rain.
    Cheers,
    Laura

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    Replies
    1. Hi Laura,

      The heat hasn't arrived yet, but is going to this coming week with 40C being forecast. No rain to speak of though, it is very dry.

      xTania

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  18. I would love to try cooking with Quondongs. And your fruit cake looks so good. I am so behind with moving etc! But now I am fully enjoying spring. Today was gorgeous. I dont really look forward to summer but spring is wonderful! xxx

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    Replies
    1. Dear Annabel,

      I would love to be able to get some quandongs to you somehow. I have some frozen and dried. I haven't had much success with re-hydrating the dried ones to date, but mum said I probably didn't do it right because she does it all the time. The chutney I made is a big hit with everyone that tries it.

      xTania

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  19. This is all so very lovely... we are now getting ready to head into winter... The canning and freezing is done. The garden is put to bed. The deciduous trees are gloriously colored and pretty soon it will all be bleak, quiet, cold winter. But next Spring is eagerly anticipated. God bless!

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  20. Gosh what a fabulous garden and photos Tania. Not sure how I missed this but finally I caught up! Thank you for the wonderful post. Wishing you a very merry Christmas, Wendy (NZ).

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Your comments really make my day. Thank you for taking the time and for being so kind.