Recycled paper.

Tivon tore up a pile of his old dot-to-dots and other assorted scraps of paper. We added water and whizzed it with the kitchen hand blender to make a watery pulp.

The mould is a mesh covered frame, Tivon slips the mould into the pulp mixture and lifts it out, much of the water drains away to leave the new wet sheet of paper which is tipped onto a cloth.

We pressed the paper with a board to remove excess water and then hung it out to dry. 

Alfie's apple pie.

Alfie chopping the first cooking apples of the season.

Cutting pastry to fit the tin. I rolled the base, Alfie rolled the lid.

Making holes to let the steam out.

Alfie's apple pie. Ingredients, flour, butter and water for the pastry, with egg wash on top, and apples.

... and to go with apple pie, Ice cream.... Alfie skimming the cream from the top of the churn.

No more photos but the ingredients are... Cream and milk from the top of the churn (from Kerry cow Amber), egg yolks (from the hens, I'll spare you their names), vanilla essence and honey (from the bees, as yet, unnamed!). 

Spring garden.

The garden is burgeoning with fresh spring growth, this is the bed at the house door April 24th.

Daffodils in the orchard April 3rd.

 Primroses have bloomed and self-seeded exuberantly. This was one of many bunches in the meadow on April 3rd.

A little bee, or perhaps hoverfly, in a Primrose flower.

The small pond and the big pond April 6th.

 
Alfie is discovering that these tulips don't have a scent!

We have been moving soil again.

This is one of Alfies favourite jobs in the garden!

Happy spring days!

Busy little hands.

Alfie painting March 4th.

Brothers painting in harmony, temporarily!

Alfie painting in the big tunnel.

Painting right to the corners of the page.

Alfie drawing beehives with lots of bees!

Alfie mixing flour for soda bread.

The flour and bread soda being very thoroughly and mezmerisingly mixed.

Then mixing in the seeds.

Alfie chopping Ruby Chard...

and cauliflower.

Busy little hands all day long!
As Alfie is growing his fringe out it's just as well I am fascinated with his capable little hands, his lovely face is disappearing under his mop of hair!

Season for mince pies.

We made lots of mince pies throughout December. Here are a few photos of Alfie and Tivon helping.

 Alfie.

 Dec 20th.

 Dec 23rd.

Alfie helping to make the Christmas cake at the end of November.

 (Now he is helping to eat it!)

Rain and shine.

Photos from the garden so far this November....

 Abutilon Ashford red on November 14th.

Zoe and Tivon playing in the rain!

 One of the Acers at the big pond is still in leaf.

After completely soaking their clothes one day, Zoe and Tivon came up with the idea of wet suits for our November weather!

Embothrium in flower!

This is why the swing was so much fun in the rain!

Nerine, unfazed by the downpours.

Arbutus unedo (strawberry tree), fruit starting to turn red, November 14th.

The sand pit was full to the brim with the rain.

 Foxglove in flower.

The stream was right up to the bridge.

 Fatsia japonica.

 This has been November so far! lots of rain and occasional bursts of blue skies.

Under planting blueberries and feeding hens.

 I removed the back from our old home-made cold frame a few years ago and it became a blueberry bed instead,  with strawberries planted underneath. The bed runs along the length of the small tunnel where the ground can be wet at times.

 The strawberries cropped well but they did compete for moisture with the blueberries at a time when the ground was at its driest and the plants were their thirstiest. The time came to replace the strawberries with something more compatible .... Poached Egg Plant, Limnanthes douglasii.

 This should work well as it grows vigorously in autumn, it's dense green foliage will protect the soil in winter and it's plentiful roots will help to soak up any excessive rain. It will flower beautifully in May and then die down completely in summer, allowing all available moisture to go to the blueberries when they are fruiting and really need it. 
 

In another corner of the vegetable garden the hens and turkey poults are clearing a bed and path.

From our 16 chicks that we hatched this summer only 5 are hens!

It is also the season for cutting back and dividing the early summer flowering plants near the house.

The garden season has seemed to go on and on this year, however the last few days have been very wet with more rain to come, so I may have to surrender to the indoors for awhile.