A visit to the orchard

Yesterday morning we headed over to the other side of Blackheath to visit Logan Brae Apple Orchard. It's crazy that we hadn't been before really, considering how long we've lived up here!

Logan Brae is now supplying the food co-op with all our apples, but I wanted to go and have a look at the orchard and also pick up some freshly made apple pies. 

It is a very old orchard but has new owners who seem to be doing a great job at keeping things going. The apple juice is beautiful, very crisp and a very pale colour. It's interesting to see it being made in the large glass bottles.

We also came away with some honey that is made from the bees on the property.

Garden inspiration

Yesterday, we spent a few hours wandering around the grounds of Mayfield Garden. It is a very large, cool climate garden near Oberon in the Central West Tablelands, west of Sydney.

It is on a very grand scale, and while we have much more modest plans (and budget!), it was still very inspiring and impressive to see what can be accomplished.

Today, it was back to planting out seedlings, giving everything a good dose of fertiliser and trying not to feel too overwhelmed by what there is still to do . . .

Some of the photos we took at Mayfield:

Chapel doors, made from recycled sheering shed timber.

View from Chapel down to House.

Walking through the tunnel, under stone bridge.

Orchard with the chickens let out to free-range (corner of Glass House).

Espaliered Apple Tree Walk.

Corner of the Potager, with herbs, vegetables, espaliered fruit trees and water feature.

Small door in corner of Potager.

Looking into the Glass House from the Potager.

Part of the Sunken Parterre Garden.

Mixed herbs

I did a little harvesting of some herbs this morning. We have them growing in drifts across the banks under the washing line. I quickly put together some bunches to take to the food co-op. Each bunch includes: rosemary, parsley, chives, oregano, thyme, sage and a nasturtium flower.

I also took along a some rosemary seedlings that I planted into little paper pots. The plants can be left in the pots and planted directly into soil and the paper will slowly breakdown. (I also think they look good!)

Easter

Enjoying the Easter holiday long-weekend with family and of course lots of chocolate!

   

Sunrise

This morning Keira is waking up after sleeping out in a tent with her school friends. The morning is beautiful and it's going to be a lovely, autumn day.

I watched as the colours increased in the sky from about 5.30 to 6.00am, loving the temperature outside and feeling the night slip away.

Sometimes people step into your lives and cause a great deal of upset. It's hard to keep steady, especially when it is your children that have been hurt most of all. But this morning, having a cup of tea with Keith before he left to catch the train to work, I felt the strength of our family and I am resolved to spend less time caught up in the issues of others who do not really have anything to do with us.