Category: Garden

Thursday 30th
by Kimliatach

F had another day care cold to start the week, cleared now. But we were all in sleep debt for a few days.

I’ve been fidgeting with the printer at school and pottering about trying to get the class aquaponics system up and running.

I’ve been holding off on delivering a lesson on cyclones as part of our natural disasters topic, Tuesday provided the perfect opportunity. I hope things ae calming down for everyone up north now. ABC had a shot of a street close to our previous residence in Brisbane deep under water so while we are grateful to not personally be going through that again.

Holidays are still a week away for us here in NSW and there is as always much to be done. We will be taking a trip to Canberra to rendezvous with my mother and step father for the long weekend. Hot tips for attractions are appreciated.

It is hard to muster energy for a good rant on school nights, but my goodness our pollies deserve more than a tongue lashing at the moment. I’ll leave off with Chomsky instead.

and a piece on the the noble Bin Chicken to lift you spirits

Chomsky day:

Just cos
by Kimliatach


Part six of the Sir Vader build video is up. Despite the best intentions we still haven’t gotten out to get some good shots of L in it.

Part seven and eight are being edited as one and should be done in coming days.

I’ve started F’s matching Storm Trooper suit, pics to follow as it develops.

Hung the bird house in a tree.

 

Lots of rich discussion about the years ahead but no answers yet. Indulged myself with a game purchase. Like it’s predecessor Just Cause 2, part 3 is 100% pure mayhem. Better writing than a Michael Bay film though every bit as silly and explody and much more fun.

Boxes, Birdhouses and Editing
by Kimliatach

A lot of long days have left me with not much to say of an evening save a string of Z’s. Nevertheless lots of projects have come together over the weekend and the beginning of this week.

A set of three nested photography sitting boxes. To be used for portraiture in the studio N has just signed a three month lease on.

 

A bird house.

Assembled from scraps and painted with a stinky old enamel helpfully labeled ‘Stromboli’ found in the shed. 

 

Puppets are taking over in my classroom. Yesterday I had a mixed group from various grades thanks to a sports day so we made free choice pin and paper puppets like this example which I whipped up in lunch. Today my class began making their own interpretations of the characters in the book we have been reading with the intention that they will then animate scenes from the story.

As noted on insta, we have denuded the entire town’s supply of split pins and I am now desperately hunting more. 

I finished another segment of the costume build video. We didn’t make it out for a costume shoot over the weekend as I had hoped to do. Looking forward to this weekend though.

I desperately need to do away with the huge and unwieldy collection of clips that are clogging up my hard drives. Editing a gogo.

Fell in love with the art and concept of this game:

I am absolutely devastated that I missed the kickstarter (and associated loot) last year. Can’t hardly wait for release.

 

 

Snake
by Kimliatach

In addition to a small terrarium I have yet to fill. I now have a large glass tank containing a roughly 1.3m long Southern Carpet Python called ‘Molasses’. He’s a beauty. Unfortunately I haven’t yet gotten a decent picture of him as he arrived in class at midday and meetings consumed my afternoon.

 


Witnessed a motley collection of children chasing a startled rabbit with every intention of catching it, killing it and taking it home for dinner. It got away, this time.

Marking yet to do.

A Good Day
by Kimliatach

Gone in a blur of first day activities, heat and paper. Week one, which is actually week three of the NSW school calendar begins.

This evening I moved and mucked out the hen house, modified the freshly 3dprinted Cardboard VR goggles to accommodate my phone and pulled a few hundred cat head seedlings out of the back yard, not even exaggerating. Everything else in our garden is half dead from the heat and alive only by effort of watering and yet every few days there is a fresh crop of catheads threatening to go to seed. The sheer quantity of seed in the soil and the germination and thriving growth given conditions is extraordinary. We are slowly sheet mulching the entire yard with cardboard and hay but in every nook and cranny, at every edge and in great swaths across every bit of open ground they reappear again and again. I am offended by their very existence as is N. All must die.

Also finally signed up to the local union for the frankly shocking cost of $550 for the year. I am proud to be a member of the federation but geez that stung.

 

 

Rain!
by Kimliatach

Yesterday was one of those days where everyone got up on the wrong side of the bed. Things went from bad to worse at the breakfast table where even the bananas were not of acceptable standards. Things improved by the time we finished the day with a family barbecue and sun headaches. It was a hard day compounded by relentless heat and irritability.

Today a heavenly break in the weather allowed a very productive day. Knocked out a few little jobs in the garden that have been waiting for soft ground and cool conditions to be completed. Also made a lot of progress on the Sir Vader costume, which is now almost ready for painting.

 

Finished Stephenson’s ‘Quicksilver‘ this morning which has taken a while to get though, having first attempted it in Scotland. Already almost finished book two of eight ‘The King of The Vagabonds’ (technically published in the one volume with the first). It isn’t often that I hear nine plus hours of an audio book in one day though.

 

Sunburned Toes
by Kimliatach

And other joys of life in Western NSW.

Our ongoing war with cat heads on the property progresses.


For now only a small area remains afflicted until next week when another thousand will appear. A spot of extra fencing to stop the hens going under the house is responsible for the burnt toes. The sun is brutal before nine at the moment and woe betide those who step out unprepared.

We have the sewing machine back, cleaned and repaired. Sewing is a whole lot more fun with a machine. Hoping to finalise the costume within the week now.

I finally started the day with a 6AM run and swim. It feels good, now I just need to keep it up every other day for a while. Other habit tracking is going remarkably well and likely due a post at some point soon.

Spent the heat of the day sorting super and health insurance technicalities. It seems one of my super accounts was charging double the required amount on insurance because I hadn’t identified my risk status to them.

Exploring Thingverse looking for some useful trinkets to try as my test prints. Enjoying scouring youtube for wonders and peculiarities. Like the Exceptional Reggie Watts:

 

 

 

Sat 14th
by Kimliatach

A days break in the relentless heat allowed for some garden work, path packing, cement laying, wedding and mulching. Our two hens are free ranging and thanks largely to the sheer quantity of mulch for them to scratch, not being too destructive of our garden.

Some good costume progress, straps are now on all but one of the arm and shin pieces. Doing a spot of hand sewing in front of the television this evening as the sewing machine is still in the shop for servicing.


More detail available on instagram

Monkey Day
by Kimliatach

It is Monkey Day.

Not of real significance to me.

Part of my daily teaching routine is checking the ‘On This Day‘ Wikipedia page. It is always the day of something, though I’ve never noticed this one before. Monkeys are cool, apes are even better. Cut out Palm Oil!

 

Image from my collection, origin unknown, even Tinyeye is of no help. 

 

Tomorrow we depart on our festivus adventure.

Today we have created a web of irrigation poly that will allow our nominated waterer to set three timers every other day and thereby keep our garden alive in our absence.

Our rough itinerary includes;

A night in Orange, a few days in Sydney, a night on the road north, a few days in Brisbane and a week in Maleny before making the return trip to Cobar.

I need to get packing and I’m hoping to put the sewing machine to work before bed.

 

A Weekend
by Kimliatach

Creative

Painting again tonight. Currently working on sketch cards, that is, draft copies that demonstrate layout and vision for the evolution and terrain cards. As I’ve been really struggling to produce finished pieces to a standard that I am happy with. Partially lack of practise, partially distraction. There remains quite a few unsketched cards so I am working my way back in by finishing little things.

Last night a deep and meaningful with family took precedence over posting. A little work on L’s costume, a spot of fencing and gardening have eaten up the weekend. We have three new garden beds laid and not a moment to soon as our next crop of seedlings are desperate for planting. We are also looking forward to the return of our hens from the farm. Which is waiting only on the completion of the new dividing fence.

The foam armour is coming together and I have another progress video almost ready for publishing. My editing process is rapidly becoming more streamlined.


Spent the morning rocking out to this rad remix.

Product Envy

I would dearly love to be able to justify the purchase of one of these, but it honestly wouldn’t last long in my house.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/machinationstudio/codename-colossus-mki-cyclops-electronic-walking-m?ref=category

As talked about here: