The rooster has started to crow, so we are giving him a week to shut up... and if he doesn't ... well lets just say we will have one lonely bantam chicken. If the rooster has to go then we may think about putting the bantam chicken in with our layers. And the chickens have started to lay again. We are only getting one egg a day, but it is a start. We could have fed them 'laying pellets' to make them lay but we figured if it must be natures way of giving the poor things a rest.

It's wet and cold and the children have insisted on having the cats indoors. I don't mind too much. The cats tend to sit under the clothes airers in front of the fireplace, so they don't get in the way at all. And I vacuum every second day or so, because of my asthma, so their hair loss is kept under control. The children just love to sit beside the cats and read, so it's nice and peaceful... well most of the time. LOL!

My grandads memorial is on Friday. Amber has written a poem that she wants to read out. It is going to be in my grandparents garden, family and friends, surrounded by all the trees and vegetable garden that he planted. I helped my granny weed the vegie patch yesterday as she wanted the garden to look all neat and tidy. The children got filthy digging in the dirt and running around the garden. My granny said it was just as my grandad would have wanted it, his great grand children laughing and having fun in his garden.

The garden got a bit of a spruce up yesterday. Weeded, manured and some seedlings planted. Amber planted some cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli under the supervision of hubby. I potted up a heap of aloe vera plants and lemon scented geraniums that I will sell at a local market next weekend. And then I put our Lily Pillies into bigger pots. They needed some extra room for their growing roots. Our garlic has started sprouting and we have to watch the boys very carefully when they are helping us weed as the sprouts look like blades of grass. It's hard to keep the children indoors these days! 

The children all had a ball visiting their cousins on Friday, totally exhausted, but that meant they slept well last night. Daniel keeps talking about 'Emily', but I think he has mixed up two of his cousins names to get a completely new one. So we have no idea who he is really talking about. But whoever it is he says he had a great time playing with them.

I'm actually glad the rain is here, the garden needed a watering and I just haven't had the time in the past two days. The plants were all getting a little thirsty. I got my first eggplant yesterday, I cooked it up in a pasta dish and served it to the children. Of course Amber had to declare to one and all that the eggplant we had picked that morning was now in their dinner and that she hates eggplant. (She had never tried it before last night!) And then she did a big theatrical sigh and said 'But I will eat it, for I am a good little girl and will eat anything mummy cooks for me.' Well thats the first I've heard of that! Daniel loved the fact that we had picked it that morning and he was eating it for dinner. And Jacob has such a big appetite at the moment that he eats anything put in front of him.

Well they are outside again and are letting their little bantams have a run about the garden. From what I can see though, it looks like the bantams are being blown about the backyard! I did say it was a windy day. And now they are screaming, for all the neighbourhood to hear, about the rainbow they have spotted in the sky. Well... we don't have children to enjoy the peace and quiet, now do we? That wouldn't be any fun at all!

Made some rhubarb jam last night. Thought I would try just using lemon juice, instead of adding a whole lemon and it didn't set properly. But thats ok, means next time I will add more juice and maybe add some lemon peel that I can pull out once it is cooked. It's a learning process that hubby is happy to be a part of as he gets to eat all the yummy rejects!

Amber has been busy in her little garden. Her basil and beetroot are all ready to be eaten. Shame she doesn't really like either. But I am sure I can cook something up to 'hide' them in. Her baby carrots still have a little way to go, but her flowers have finally started flowering and she has taken some lovely photos of them for her garden diary that she keeps.

The boys have been 'planting' their own little garden in their sandpit. They got into the chickens wheat and now the sandpit has a lovely green grass growing all over it. The boys are very proud of themselves, but I don't think hubby was too happy about having wheat spilt all over the shed floor! At least the boys are happy and out in the fresh air.

We went out to my parents yesterday afternoon to pick some chestnuts up from under their two trees. It took the children a couple of goes to figure out how not to be prickled by the outer casings, but they soon got the hang of it. We now have a huge basketful of chestnuts that hubby and I will have to shell. But first they need to spend a little time in sunshine, it helps when peeling them. And then hubby cuts a cross in the base of them, and we boil them for five minutes and then peel them together. It takes a while to get them done but it is worth it. They are quite tasty and Daniel just loves them. He is the nut lover of the family. I will be using the chestnuts in casseroles, to replace potatoes, until our own crop of potatoes are ready. And why should I buy potatoes when I can get chestnuts for free?! I've also heard that you can preserve chestnuts, but I will have to do some more research on that, as I am not quite sure how you would do it. My parents eat chestnuts like popcorn, rolled in some melted butter and lightly salted. We haven't tried that yet, I am trying to lose some weight and I don't think getting hooked on that buttery treat will do me so good! My grandparents orange tree is sagging under the weight of fruit it is yielding this year. The oranges are still green, but it is good to know that some fruit is on it's way and there will be enough to feed everyone and make tons of marmalade. I will have to find some more recipes to use up all the excess oranges. I don't like to see food wasted, especially lovely homegrown produce!

Amber has two new silky chicks that she is caring for. So far we have only ever had roosters, and I have told her that if she wants hens, then she will have to buy a mature chicken so that we can tell what sex it is when we buy it. But I think she is enjoying the 12 weeks or so she has to rear the chicks before they start crowing and need to be buried. It is a shame, but noone wants roosters, they all want hens. They are adorable little fluff balls, but can't be out of their hutch unless Amber is there to watch them, as one of our cats has taken a fancy for them. Hubby is going to make a moveable run for them, so that way they can get the sunshine they need, they won't be in any danger of being eaten and we can fertilise the lawn at the same time! So many things to do and so little time. At least we can't complain of ever being bored.

I am looking at getting a telescope, and saw one advertised in a local store, so I may go and have a look at that today. Amber has a few books on astronomy and space, so I am pretty sure she would find it interesting to watch the night skies. And when we go camping we could take it along with us. I used to be really into it all when I was younger (maybe it was all the Star Trek I watched!) and would love finding all the stars and planets. I've been trying to remember all the things I was interested in when I was Ambers age, only thing I remember about that age is living on a hobby farm and being able to run free. I had a fantastic cubbby (an old cow shed) in a paddock and could stay in there all day. I remember kicking and screaming all the way to the bus stop to go to school, and sitting on the edge of my seat all the way home. We had a horse that hated us all, and I would tease him by riding my bike up and down his fence and he would chase me, the only exercise he really got! We had two cows that followed all us kids around like pet dogs and a huge chook pen that I would sit in for hours waiting to watch an egg being laid. I even faked being sick one day so I could stay home from school and watch my cat give birth (I was only 6!). My mum was not impressed when I ran into the middle of her Tupperware party and yelled at the top of my voice how disgusting it had all been and that the cat had even eaten the afterbirth. I collected the tails of the rabbits that our cats caught (yes extremely gross!) and boy did my parents go mental when they found the 'collection' in my bottom drawer! I remember climbing out of my window, which faced the orchard, stealing fruit and hoarding it in my room. The huge vegetable garden that my mum and dad grew and eventually was the undoing of our 'farm' life. We moved out around about the time I was 8 into town, it was my worst nightmare. I remember the hell I gave my parents for removing me from my paradise, but now I am older and know that my dad (who lost a knee cap in a car accident when I was born) just couldn't have worked a hobby farm anymore due to arthritis! But as a child you don't understand why your dad (who is the strongest man in the world) can't live 'your' dream anymore. And I want that 'dream' for my children so much, as does my hubby. So I find it a little hard to suggest hobbies or activities to Amber. But I am getting better at it and learning a thing or two at the same time! So maybe a telescope is a step in the right direction.