Our Lovely Weekend

This has been such a lovely weekend...
Our beautiful Jenna turned 15 years old yesterday, time has flown...

I went for a walk around our garden early this morning after feeding the chickens. It was -1 degree Celsius, really freezing, my hands were burning after taking the ice out of their water, but how lovely to be out there. I looked up at our neighbours tree with the moon in the background and had to go and grab my camera. I do know that this tree is indigenous to Australia and has a thorny bark with the most gorgeous pink flowers, such a sight to see...( if you know its name please could you let us know)

This little pond by our front door is frozen over...(It was 3 degrees inside our home this morning, the fires are blazing now)

Yesterday family and old friends come over to celebrate with Jen, she has had a special time...

Our chickens' warming themselves among the Lavender bushes in the early morning sunshine...

Frozen water in the chickens enclosure...

Jenna's birth orchids...
This beautiful orchid was given to me on the day of Jenna's birth 15 years ago. It was a single orchid in bloom. It was given to me by my wonderful mom-in-law as a gift. Each year around the time of Jenna's birthday it give us the most beautiful show of flowers. It has become a huge plant with many blooms and I probably should divide the bulbs but it seems so happy on our front veranda, just as it is.

I spotted some Violets flowering in a pot outside, do you see the mesh? This has been placed here to prevent our curious chickens from jumping up into our pots and scratching every piece of greenery out while they search for little grubs to eat.

Here I am squinting into my camera, taking a photo through a window reflecting off a mirror inside our house. I am wearing my Shalom cardi and I must tell you, it is so incredibly warm, I love it!

The Red Hot Pokers are flowering again, their bright colours make me so happy...

Even Jack popped out in the cold for an early morning snack.

Have a lovely week.
Linda

A Saturday of Chickens

Have I ever mentioned how much we LOVE our chickens?
I know I have, just kidding:)

Everyday we go and visit them, sit with them and just watch them really, they have such sweet characters, each and every one. They all have names and follow us around the garden, Erin loves to sit on the grass with them. Today she looked up at me and said, "Mom, you just don't know how much I love our chickens!" I know how she feels...

PS if you haven't entered the Mama Nature giveaway, go here.

WIP Wednesday and Yarn Along

I am so excited about this Tea Leaves cardigan, I am past the armholes now, tried it on and it fits perfectly! Happy dance!! All that doubt I had, dreading knitting this far, thinking it would be too big and well, it isn't :) What joy!

I am also thrilled the colours are showing through in this photo above...

PS 'A Faithful Journey' asked which wool I was knitting with. The wool is an aran weight which I hand painted myself with earth friendly dyes. I was going for a vintage, antique effect.

Our Koek-koek and Buff Orpington chickens have grown so big already...

Meet Marty, she lives in the garden with her other rabbit friend Jack.

Joining in with Ginny today.

Have a lovely day and thanks for visiting...

Oh My!

These are all our sweet new family additions that arrived over the weekend. We bought some new chickens, the gorgeous black and white ones are called Koek Koeks and the brown ones are Buff Orpingtons. They have the most amazing natures, so gentle and calm. The Rhode Island Red chicken above in the tree is Millie, she is having a look at this new lot from a high vantage point.

Our rescued doves that live in our aviary have just had two eggs hatch with the loveliest chicks!! This has been the most wonderful experience.

I am also knitting a new pattern and it should be ready in a few days.

Wishing you a peaceful Monday...

***Easter Pattern Special***

I am having a pattern special in my shop for today and tomorrow. You can choose 1 free pattern per order. Just type "Easter Special" in the comment section of your invoice and also let me know which free pattern you would like:)

xo

Chickens and Egg Collecting

Most days Kye will walk with me to collect the eggs from our chicken coop. This is a lovely time we spend together and it's amazing how similar each time is. It's like a little ritual that he enjoys tremendously. When he sees me with the egg box he will eagerly ask if he can go with me. Of course, I say yes, because this time we share is so special. I can almost see his mind thinking hard about these chickens of ours...
Here are photos from one of our egg collecting journeys...

This is actually an owl box that we used to have in our garden, the owls never used it and so we put it in the chicken house and the chickens just love laying their eggs in there. That is Lavender hanging on the wall, we find it keeps the mosquitoes away in summer.

Kye loves looking in the owl box each morning to discover all those new eggs..

Kye: 'Do you see this perch, mom? I used to fit under the low one and one day I will be able to fit just under the top one too.'
 It's hard to believe that he will be six on Wednesday...

Kye:'I found a warm egg! Oh, mom it's so warm, I think I'm going to stand here a while and hold it in my hands.'
(He puts the egg against his cheek and smiles to himself, marvelling at its warmth)  just taking his time until he feels he is ready to continue egg collecting. I love it...

Once all the eggs have been placed in the egg box, he counts each one and tells me how many he has.

Then he proudly brings them inside and feeds the chickens some lucerne pellets to thank them...

Conversations about Chickens

We spent most of the morning outside in our front garden with the chickens today. We watched as they sand bathed and then suddenly climbed into a tree to roost for a while. What I think I like the most about having these wonderful girls is the impact it has had on our family. Our children, especially adore each and every one of them, they all have names and they can tell exactly who is who, (I can't yet, but I am getting better, I do know some of them) I know that my one is called Boo and she is the only one who has green eyes, all the rest have brown eyes. Caiden told me this morning that each one has her own personality and then he started telling me all about their different idiosyncrasies. The richness these girls have brought to our lives with their colourful natures' is just priceless...

Although we don't live on a farm, we are living on an acre of land, big enough for chickens and I am so glad we decided to make them a part of our life a few years ago. They have taught our children so much, they understand why they do the things they do, like sand bathing and scratching in the dirt, that their straw and droppings are turned into compost for our veggies and then of course there are those amazing eggs. Each morning Kye and I walk around to the laying boxes, he collects all the eggs and once he has put them into an egg box, he counts each one and tells me how many we have for the day. Then he fetches some lucerne pellets and gives it to them to say thank you for their precious eggs. This is the highlight of his day, it takes a while but I enjoy sharing this time with him. It's our time together in the midst of a busy day...

Our chickens have also become really tame, they follow us around when we walk in the garden and really Love to be inside our home. They try to get in any way they can, flying up onto high windowsills by the kitchen and then jumping through the window. Erin's chicken, Millie walked into our schoolroom, jumped up on the couch and laid an egg there the other day, I think she feels quite at home here...

PS. oh and that's Charlie in the last photo, he also loves to sand bath with the chickens...

Portrait Sunday, Egg Collecting

I love that I can go outside and collect eggs from our chicken coop each day... I really need an apron for this, but a shirt works just as well... Each egg has its very own colour, shape and texture. I am so grateful for these precious gifts from our chickens...

Thursday

Thank you so much for all the many birthday wishes that were sent through yesterday and for all the lovely emails and Facebook messages too, your kind words made me feel truly special and very blessed indeed! Yesterday was a wonderful day, we did go out to the nursery and bought a Ruby Grapefruit tree and some comfrey plants. I will wait for the comfrey to grow and then add it slowly to the compost heap. Comfrey acts really well as an activator, giving the breaking down process of the heap a head start. As for the spinning and dyeing, I didn't quite get to that, I spent a wonderful day with family and then went on a lovely date with Richard last night. My girls baked me the most delicious birthday cake and they just added 10 candles, we all decided 39 would just be a bit much:)

It was so heart warming to see that all the birthday traditions we have introduced and added to our family over the years for our children, ie. a birthday table decorated with flowers, a beautiful table cloth and presents, a crown, baking a birthday cake etc.. were all so generously gifted to me yesterday by my children. They organised everything, wrapped presents and made me feel so very special, I just know that they will continue these traditions one day with their own children, how lovely... This brings tears of joy to my eyes and fills me with gratitude...

My beautiful and delicious vanilla cake baked by Jen and Erie...

Kye was so excited and couldn't wait to sing happy birthday...

Today these girls flew up onto the kitchen window sill and had a look inside...

We collected a basket full of eggs this morning and Richard delivered it to friends on his way to work this morning...

I started working on orders again today... I have missed it:)

I must just share these two Royal Doulton plates with you... They were a gift from my wonderful mother-in-law. I love them so much! They are so beautiful, I am going to have them both framed in a box frame, I could look at them forever... Thank you mom!

Have a lovely day and do pop in tomorrow for Creative Friday if you have a chance:)
xo
Linda

Jasmine, Green Leaves and Spotted Eggs...

There is nothing quite like the smell of Jasmine wafting through one's garden, is there? We have quite a few Jasmine creepers in our garden and they are all flowering together, creating a heady perfume for the olfactory senses to enjoy. I love this time of year, so exciting, the re-birth and regrowth can be seen everywhere... The garden is turning green and each day, when I go outside for a walk, there are new blossoms and green leaves...

I have planted some Daffodils and Snowdrops amongst my veggies this year...

A flowering plum hangs gracefully over our swimming area...

Oak leaves at the top of our English Oak tree...

The broad beans are flowering too...

Strawberries... we planted some Pennyroyal under the strawberry plants to keep insects away...
(Please Note: Pennyroyal is not edible, should not be planted near pets or where children play, it is an excellent insect repellent to keep away ants and mosquitoes and insects that want to eat your gorgeous strawberries and tomato plants). I own a copy of 'Companion Planting' by Margaret Roberts and it is wonderful. Please always check the safety of herbs and certain plants before planting them in your garden. 

This is Erin's chicken Milly, Milly was very ill and now she is looking much better, Erin and Milly have formed a special bond, as you can see...

The young chickens have started to lay! I just love their little speckled eggs, so sweet!

Heart Swap Update:
If you took part in the Sending Love Heart Swap, please could you send me some photos of the swap items you made so that I can blog them with a link to your blog. I would love to share some photos of your beautiful treasures... You can email them to me at lindadawkins@mweb.co.za

Yarn Stashes for knitting Patterns:
Fehnna, you commented about buying some yarn stash to knit my patterns, I would be so happy to put some yarn together for you to knit with, 20 grams of each colour should be perfect. Just send me an email to the above email address and let me know what you need:)

Cat Pattern:
Thank you so much to everyone who sent such lovely and kind hearted comments about my new Cat pattern, I loved reading them, if you would like to enter the Cat pattern giveaway, just leave a comment in the previous post.

Hurricane Irene:
To those who are experiencing hurricane Irene, my thoughts are with all of you, please do stay safe...

Have a wonderful Sunday and week,
xo
Linda