Category: Garden

Garden Beds and the Font of Absurdity
by Kimliatach

Garden progress, Finally filled the raised garden bed tanks to the brim today, though we are expecting some subsidence, they will be ready to be planted into very soon. Each is filled with a nice wet lasagne of sheep poo, soil, potash, cardboard, hay and compost, some layers mixed more thoroughly than others. Shade cloth for the poly covers is still required. The chook tractor build is stalled waiting on suitable plywood for the roost walls. N made significant progress on the orchard bike path digging and paving should commence there tomorrow.

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Spending this evening preparing a go bag for my first tutoring session tomorrow. In the process I have discovered that the only way to legally acquire the official handwriting font for NSW and the ACT ‘Foundation Handwriting’ is to pay this dubious and outdated Northern Territory based site $30. More hilarious and baffling still, judging by the pricelist they also charge schools $60 a licence as well. So despite no doubt having been paid to create the fonts in the first place, they now have the gall to charge the education departments, parents, teachers, tutors and schools for the privilege of using the mandated font for NSW school students. All free hosts back to page 5+ of the search have received takedown notices or are obvious scams.

Absurd.

Anyway ‘Foundation Handwriting’ appears nearly indistinguishable from the frightfully ugly QLD QCursive handwriting font and in yet another discovered policy win for QLD v. NSW they at least give their font away for free.

 

Lots of interesting biology around yesterday and today.

Mantids

More baby mantids, so many more. #macro

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A lizard

Tiny bearded dragon on my pinkie.

A photo posted by @liatach on

Didn’t have my lens with me today unfortunately.

Yabbies caught on the farm.

#yabby says “I will cut you!”. >200mm

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#yabby s are really rather alien looking creatures up close.

A photo posted by @liatach on

 

 

 

Seeking Materials & Waiting.
by Kimliatach

Slow progress being made in the back yard. Projects reaching completion, others just begun, others are still waiting on materials, help or decisions. We need help with the fencing, which will wait on in laws convenience. Shade cloth for a number of things including shading the garden beds, creating a shade sail to block light to the radiant brick wall and another sail to shelter the other side of the house.

Soon to be bikepath

A video posted by @liatach on

Today I scored metal framing used in the transportation of quad bikes from our neighbours the motorbike store. Frames which will form structures in the chook tractor. Some parts of this project require timber, in particular decent ply, which I have been unable to find locally. The local hardware is unreasonably expensive. There was one decent piece I could find at the tip, though it required some unearthing, turned out to be be too big for me to transport home which was very annoying. That project may have to wait until our trip to Dubbo for my First Aid course on Feb 2nd. 

Cobar tip has got it all.

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This image shows the building waste slope. Timber is on the ‘Trees’ slope and is primarily composed of broken pallets and garden waste. The household waste field is truly repugnant and as Cobar has no recycling at all, it’s pretty depressing.

 

Finished the first two steps of another terrain card today. I should be able to finish the rest tomorrow.

No more calls about tutoring yet.

I’m getting ready for a side by side comparison of the Samsung GS4 and iPhone4. It can’t be completely fair as the GS4 is a full year newer and more powerful. The Iphone 4 has a lot going for it all the same. Not going to start that this late in the evening though. There is a much bigger tech and politics story brewing tonight though.

 


I am very curious to see what is coming out midday tomorrow.

Quick Garden Update
by Kimliatach

A fresh photosphere to show progress in the yard. The first phase of paving is complete, now moving into the second patch surrounding the nearest garden bed tank. After which a widening of part of the path and addition loop for the boys to ride bikes and scooters on through the orchard will be added.

Both garden bed tanks have been edged with poly for safety. Each will be filled much higher with a nice mix of manure, earth, straw and compost when the wheelbarrows replacement wheel on order arrives. Each tank bed is also getting a poly framed shade cloth cover to reduce the intensity of sunlight through the heat of the day.

Thanks to some good thinking by N the big metal frame visible among the brick piles is going to form the primary frame for the chook tractor. Rolls of chicken wire and star pickets will be used to create barrier fences to stop little ones going out front to rattle the gates and to close off nasty rusty metal piles.

Long hot days, sunburnt today despite a double application of spf 50+.

Finally got around to watching the last episode and a half of Jessica Jones this evening. A satisfying finish to what was a very mixed first season. managed to get a little drawing done, nothing finished.