On Gardening at Home

Whether it be that I now have a little one who toddles along beside me as a precious little shadow, the recent rain we've had, the challenge to garden in the community or simply the deliciously brisk weather; cool days, cooler nights, crisp bright sunshine which beckons me outside, I have been spending lots and lots of time outdoors in the garden of late.

We have moved around some seedlings to find sunnier spots to grow into maturity now the sun is less hot.  Our bulbs are planted, both our freesias from last year as well as some new daffodils.  We can never resist a few pansies and I have vowed I will have to get some going from seed as every year we put in some seedlings to brighten our lives during the cold winter months.

I have tried my hand at some propogation of my succulents which are definitely stars in the garden at the moment, indeed all year round.  Last year I put some cuttings in a garden which needed greening again and had about a 75% success rate with those so I'll try letting them establish roots before I expose them to the bare earth this time.

Here is the reason every child should be exposed to growing radish seeds. They sprout so quickly.  Look at this little shoot, oh and there's another in the background.  They were only planted five days ago.

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden, we know that for certain.  They now have a new little home... or least they did before some curious little fingers needed to explore further than her eyes could take her.  We know the fairies will find many more places to dwell.  We brought them plenty of nectar to drink in some delightful gum nut cups found on our Sunday walk together.

On Being a Garden Guerilla...

für Juliane

We are very fortunate that our neighbourhood is quite well planted.  This street is close to home and around the corner we see this.  However we were inspired to join Juliane's Fröken Skicklig Garden Guerilla project simply because I love to garden and think that the world would be lots better with more plants, trees and bushes of a local variety.  I don't usually plant outside my garden though, so this was a unique way to contribute to our local community.   Thus we committed to participating.  As Ess said "we always do something Mummy...for Juliane's Giveaways".  Juliane is a very lovely inspirational lady, a special new friend, - you must pop in to view her precious handmade dolls.  Ess was also very keen to participate in order to possibly receive some delightful confectionary which Juliane has handsewn.

We found a spot where the effects of the drought can be seen as the plants have died back (see absolute top right) and some have totally disappeared.  This place should be suitable for our Spotted Emu Bush (eremophila maculata cerise flowered form) found at our local nursery.  It is native to South Australia (specifically The Mallee) so we hope it will thrive here in our neighbourhood.

Inspired by Steffi, we also carried along our chalks for a fun afternoon of outdoor drawing.  This is certainly a great way to get to know a few more neighbours.  We had people telling us that they used to see this all the time back in Lancaster - now no longer.  I was told I was creating a graffiti artist (in jest).  The local youths hung out their car door and called out "eat my path" or the like?? :)  We hope many others will look and smile.

So our neighbourhood now has a new little bush (see the planted emu bush in the bottom right corner above).  It is so tiny now.  

Photo sourced at Mallee Native Plants.

We hope it will grow and flower so our street will look like this in Spring - or perhaps one day down the track.  Then we will always remember our little garden guerilla project für Juliane.

Have you ever planted a tree somewhere in your local community apart from your own garden?  Have you contemplated doing it?  I do recommend it.  It satisfies the soul and is yet another thing which will serve to teach little Ess and Eee as we walk past the site watching the eremophila grow day by day.

The Murray Mouth

The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future.  ~Marya Mannes, More in Anger, 1958

The rain arrived just before we left Goolwa which created a perfect opportunity to refrain from beach hunting and explore the Goolwa Barrage...

...and the Murray Mouth.

I was intrigued by the number of visitors to the Murray Mouth with comments always in the vein of "it's so sad isn't it! :(" (with appropriate facial expression).  I was intrigued because at the mouth of the river you see the sea moving in and out with its regular tidal activity and lots of water.  Correct me if I'm wrong but it looks similar to last time we visited.  (Yet I confess I am not a long time local so someone could put me to rights).  

The real affects of the drought on the river can be seen at the Goolwa Barrage.  This is the last of many barrages along the river which have been placed in the wake of the Mighty Murray River in order for us to farm, primarily.  I cannot see any ecological reason for the barrages to have been built and I constantly wonder why people marvel at their construction.  Wouldn't it have been better for it all to have been left alone?  All this for human consumption and greed in the process of attaining our perceived needs.

The Goolwa Barrage is holding back the river...or should I say some pools of water and a lot of sand.

This is where you see that we are definitely in drought.  The barrages haven't been able to be opened to allow water to flow through as there has been none to flow.  I am sorry we didn't have the opportunity to see Lake Alexandrina a little further upstream (see map), as I know that this would be considerably lower than when we last visited a couple of years ago.  Water Level and Salinity Predictions for 2009 are quite startling.  The lack of flow is putting the Murray Mouth at risk as sand is building up which may cause the mouth to close.  This will seriously impact the ecosystem of the Coorong.  Thus sand pumping has been in place since 2002.

When you are visiting Goolwa do head on over to Hindmarsh Island and visit the Murray Mouth which is now signed with explanations for visitors.

But be sure to make your way round to the Goolwa Barrage - not so well signposted.  Take a walk, enjoy the magnificent birdlife, wonder along with me where the birds will be living in the future and truly be informed about the state of the Mighty River Murray.   No doubt you'll wonder, along with the rest of us, where on earth the "Mighty" went.  Fortunately it is the Almighty One who is looking after us.

It is certainly very clear that Goolwa needs water now!  If you miss that, as you drive through the town, you must be blind as there are bright red signs up everywhere pleading with us all to save the town, the river and the ecosystem of the Coorong.

Waitpinga Beach

We love this beach, situated just west of Victor Harbor.  Its coarse red sand...

rugged dunes and cliff tops in the distance begging for me memories of the Cliffs of Moher  albeit on a much smaller scale...

Its rough coastline with deep crashing waves over the steep sandy banks.  Its feeling of distance and space, even though it is actually relatively secluded.    Popular with anglers for salmon apparently and also with surfers.

Of course, there was more castle building.  The sand was very easy to manipulate. It is just so coarse - quite unlike the usual soft white sandy beaches Australia is so famous for.

It is very difficult to remove and even after towelling off little Ess she still travelled home that day with newly decorated fingers and toes.

Sand, Sunshine and Rain

And for every child on the beach that day

stands a castle tall and proud ~ Sand Castles, Elvis Presley

What bliss to wake up to the sound of rain and be snug and warm in bed, home from holidays.  It has been amazing weather these past few days - rain, wind and cold that even stopped me walking to school today.  This rain, so long unseen, is definitely soothing to the soul.  I can hear the garden, veges, neighbours and schoolfriends all heave a sigh of welcome relief.

For the most part of our holiday the weather was delicious - warm and sunny, yet not at all hot.

We spent most of our time playing on the beach digging and building, having sandcastles stomped upon and chasing a certain little offender up towards the dunes amidst cries of laughter and swirls of girly giggles upon her capture.  Our new walker looked on with eager learning eyes and continued her dig, dig, digging and castle pushing!

In the afternoon, little Eee slept while we painted shells into sweet little critters.  This was inspired both by Ess' Princess Poppy: Fun and Games - A Colouring and Activity Book and our friend Bella with her rock painting...

and more castles...

Goolwa Beach delighted us all, day by day.

See you tomorrow with a few more holiday pics as I slowly regain my composure for writing.

This weather does not combine at all well with the mountains of washing we brought home.  I'm swamped in the chinese laundry our home now appears to be. :)

I'm packing.

We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.  ~Erma Bombeck

Blue seas and skies have beckoned again.

We are heading off tomorrow on a week's holiday.

It will be 100% tech free so I will see you  on our return with a few more photos which will probably look a little like this one...

Any guesses?  (Hint: you are viewing the Southern Ocean).

See you anon.

An Ethical Easter?

The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world.  Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice.  But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice.  ~Henry Knox Sherrill

I find it quite difficult to eat chocolate comfortably these days knowing that a child may have been ill-treated as a slave in the cocoa farms which were the origin of my chocolate.  Indeed this is the possible origin of 70% of the world's chocolate.  How did you feel at Easter consuming your chocolate Easter eggs?  Or perhaps you bought Fair Trade chocolate so you could indulge knowing that the economy of some family somewhere was being aided by your purchase in an equitable way.

We enjoy consuming Haigh's chocolate because they are superbly made, taste delicious, have brilliant displays in their stores, are local to us in South Australia and also support quality local causes.  They make a lovely Easter Bilby as seen above.  (Yes, it is still in the plastic wrapper and I really did take that photo just this morning.  Our family shares our chocolate and we enjoy it in the weeks following Easter.)  Part proceeds from the sale of Haigh's Chocolate Bilbies helps protect the Bilby's habitat through the work of the Foundation for a Rabbit Free Australia.  They also produced a Murray Cod this year to support this vulnerable species.  These were our Easter treats.

I was not entirely satisfied however, that our indulgence would be "child slave free" so I wrote to Haigh's indicating that "we are becoming increasingly concerned about the means by which chocolate is farmed.  We cannot sit comfortably with the fact that for us to indulge in chocolate a child has possibily been enslaved."  I asked them why they were not on this Good Chocolate Guide to Australia presented by World Vision.

http://www.donttradelives.com.au/dtl/Issues/Chocolate/files/pdf/ChocolateGuide.pdf

The little white bunny in the photo will soon be given away as a random act of kindness on our behalf.  Ess and I didn't read very many kindnesses which were made before Easter.  We hope this is due to the fact that you simply didn't get back here to let us know rather than that there were no kindnesses carried out! So keep being kind and perhaps a little less busy ;)

Haigh's passed my email onto the Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia who responded promptly to let me know what they are doing to change the lives of cocoa farming families in West Africa.  I find it quite encouraging but I still am not guaranteed that children are not being harmed.  Apparently "all Australian chocolate manufacturers are part of building an ethical supply chain through a holistic process called Certification that assesses labour and farming practices, implements remedial measures and then goes back to check on the progress."  The chocolate industry, local aid organisations and the governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast are working together to educate and break the poverty cycle.  More details can be found on the CMA website - candy.  (The name leaves a little to be desired, would you agree? sshhhh, you cynic).

So it seems that work is being done.  Did you know about it?  Is the media telling us this?  Am I ignorant of the positives?  Or is it simply that the work is supposed to be being done so that we can continue to be ignorant consumers and indulge in chocolate no matter where and how the cocoa is being sourced?  We just need to be told that improvements are being made and trust that hopefully they are??

It comes down to publicity doesn't it.  We can only believe what we are told and then what we discover when we question this information.  Unless we actually go to Ghana and the Ivory Coast and see the children and the families working to make a living on their cocoa farms, we will never actually know the truth of the situation.

What are your thoughts? Do you buy Fair Trade chocolate?  Are you happy enough with the situation to leave it to the authorities and the government to sort out what they think is best?  Did you eat your easter eggs and give a second thought to where they came from?