Movember

Well, the month of 'Movember' is nearing an end!

Four weeks ago, when my husband came to me and told me he was taking part, I was filled with dread. Tim... with a Mo!? Oh dear.

However, maybe because it grows so slowly, or maybe because he decided to grow a mean bikie looking mo (as opposed to a french waiter style mo!?!), it wasn't so bad.

The scary thing now is, he is starting to look very comfortable in his mo, don't you think:

Mumma Bird

A follow up to the Baby Bird entry!

My neighbour brought the baby bird back over, in a little hanging basket, to try and secure in the tree. When we got to the tree we realised the branch that held the nest had a big crack at the trunk and was about to snap off. So we pulled the whole branch gently down and in the nest was another bird and an egg. The mumma bird was there too of course.

My neighbour put the baby bird back in the nest and then put the whole nest in the hanging basket, it fitted snuggly there. We looked at the tree to find another branch to put the nest, but realised a huge crack that looked like the whole tree could come down if the wind kept up. So she put the nest in a nearby tree, and secured it tightly there. She did a great job, because we got a lot of wind and the nest stayed secure and upright, the baby birds safely tucked in there.

We watched from a distance to see if the Mumma Bird would find her relocated nest. As we watched, a huge gust came through and with a loud snap, down came the whole tree - Mumma Bird and all.

It was an anxious wait for about an hour or more, as the Mumma Bird seemed to go to every tree except the one where the nest now was!

But she finally found it! I am glad to report that the two babies were fine and reunited with their very devoted mum this afternoon. The wind has also since died down a bit!

Here is the mum, swooping the fallen tree, looking for her nest.

Baby Bird

Today is extremely windy!

Tim and I were up on the hill at the front of the property, weeding, when we found it. A tiny baby bird. No feathers, eyes closed, peeping softly. It was sitting in the blazing sun, just under one of trees that was getting bustled about in the wind.

I ran and grabbed a flat cloth nappy and scooped it up gently. We brought it back to the house and rang WIRES. While we were on hold, we gave it a little water through an eye dropper and it seemed to love it.

We got through to WIRES and after ringing the local number we were given, they said they would pass on the details to a WIRES member that lived in our suburb.

We put the bird in a box in a dark, quiet room.

Next thing I know, our neighbour is hopping the fence with a big grin on her face! I thought she was with WIRES but not being sure, had rung the number on the website.

The best thing to do, we were told, was to put the bird back into the nest. We found the nest but it was quite high and hard to get to. Also the wind was bustling the tree all about.

After trying to figure it out for a while, my neighbour decided the best thing to do would be to take it back to her place and care for it, at least until the wind died down and until the storm that is supposedly coming tonight, passes.

Not sure if baby bird will survive or not, but I feel comforted knowing it is in capable hands.

Here is a photo, sorry about the quality, I didn't want to use the flash.

Chicken Sitting

For the past 10 days we have been keeping an eye on a friends chickens, at their property. Going and letting them out for a run, collecting the eggs, then coming back later and giving them some scraps and seed and locking them up for the night.

They all have such characters and are pretty well behaved except for when you are trying to herd them back into their house when they have other ideas!

The kids just adore them and have given them names too.

Here is 'Big Boss' the rooster:

And this one they have called Eve:

So here is Wall.E... can't have an Eve without a Wall.E... apparently!


I know there's two.. there's actually 3 of those brown ones.. I think they're all called Wall.E!





This black one is Henny Penny:






And this one is named Foreign Contaminant?!

I can't wait to get our chooks! I am hoping to get four, one for each of the boys and one for me too! I am still looking about at chicken house designs, but here is one I have come across that I like the look of:

Pretty cool, hey!

Soft Jingley Blocks

These Jingley Blocks are easy to make.

You will need 6 squares of fabric 12cm x 12cm. Try to use different colours and textures to make it interesting for bub, but that complement each other.

Because babies love tags, I have sewn in ribbon on some of the edges.

Sew up the cube inside out, leaving one side open to turn the cube out the right way, hiding the stitching inside.

Stuff with toy stuffing or ripped up wadding and hide three jingley bells inside so block will ring when shaken or pushed around.

On the final edge, fold each side in on itself a little and sew up with clear cotton by hand.

Ta Da!