All dressed up...

...and nobody to scare.

Halloween isn't celebrated around here. So, I wonder why that little bug bothered?

Does anyone have an idea what bug that could be? It looks quite funky, doesn't it? :)

Honey ice-cream

First ice-cream of the season. Honey.

 Only 3 ingredients. Cream, eggs, honey.

Just perfect for this warmer weather. :)

Spring pasta!

The neighbour's ducks are laying like crazy. Yeah! We received quite a bit of that bounty, and the first thing that springs to mind - Pasta! Duck eggs are just perfect for making pasta, and baking. But that will have to wait.

So on to making tagliatelle.

Broad beans and asparagus from the garden. Some leftover chicken. Plenty of parsley. A perfect meal! :)

Jostaberry flowers

Everything is going wild in the garden. Here are some flowers of the jostaberry.

The jostaberry is a cross between a blackcurrant and gooseberry. The berries are big and black,  with a lovely taste. The plant is really hardy and easy to grow. I am already looking forward to picking some berries in summer.

The window sill is getting crowded

Spring is always crazy. The first seedlings have moved from the propagation boxes to the window sill.
Some have already had to move further. On to the decking outside, but where they are still protected from frost.

How is your spring planting/sowing going? Isn't it a marvellous time of the year?!
Crazy busy but wonderful.

First seedlings!

The propagation boxes seem to work well. The first seedlings emerged after only a few days.

They are now basking in the sunshine on the window sill - making room for the next seeds in the box.

The weather is glorious at the moment. Frosty mornings, then warm sunshine during the day. :) The spring air is filled with hope and expectations.

Propagation box

It's still winter, but now is the time to start the first seeds. I am keen to have some biggish seedlings when it is finally time to start planting. Chillis, capsicums and eggplants seem to need longer to grow to a decent size. What to do?

Make your own propagation box!

Take some styrofoam boxes.

Add heat mats (in this case they are actually reptile mats).

Put your trays on that. (The seedling punnets will go in there.)

Cover with an old window.

Get yourself a thermometer with a probe, so that you can measure the temperature of the tray.

Start sowing! :)

As you may be able to see in the picture, the temperature inside the box climbed to 24C within a few minutes.

Frosty mornings

...and this succulent is still looking good!

Hope all is well with everyone! Life is good here. :)