Mistletoe

A windy start to the weekend snapped one of the mistletoe from its mooring, high up in the silk tree.

Mistletoe are surprisingly large and heavy, and the branch it is anchored to, was very slender.

 So in actual fact, it was the mooring that snapped.

 

These protrusions are flower buds. Mistletoe flower, and set edible 'berry' like fruit throughout summer; a time when few other native trees blossom, making them an important food source for a variety of animals, birds and insects. This 'source of food' doesn't stop with the mistletoe itself, the multitude of insects attracted to the flowers, fruit and greenery, also benefit insect eating birds, such as magpies, wattle birds and kookaburras. 

For this reason, when we have the mistletoe removed from the silk tree (they are parasitic and too many can and will put stress on the host plant), we always leave one for 'nature'.

I had intended to break this mistletoe up for compost after photographing it, but I'll wait now until the grasshopper has moved on. Hopefully, it won't find the roses.

Spring Equinox

On its journey from dawn to dusk; winter to summer, the light and shadows in the house tell of the seasonal changes in the sun’s position. Midwinter, this desk is bathed in sunlight, but today, because the sun is higher in the sky, it is only the corner catching the light. Yesterday was spring equinox, the day that marks winter’s end, and it felt like summer wasn’t too far away.

Celebration Tea

SP’s birthday yesterday. He usually requests a cheesecake rather than a traditional birthday cake, however this year, he asked for a sponge.

It wouldn't have won an award at the Royal Show but it sure made a delicious end to a birthday tea.

Have a good year my darling.

In the Kitchen this Week

Half a dozen cucumbers and a radish that were beginning to look a little sad, have become two jars of fridge pickles. 

The same number of really ripe bananas were made into a cake using this delicious recipe.

And an excess litre of milk, is now this week’s yoghurt.

(Yes, wasting food does cause me more than a little angst. I guess that's what happens when you have a Mother who was raised during the Second World War by a Mother who experienced the depression). 

Making good things to eat though, isn't the only reason for spending time in the kitchen. The windows in here overlook the backyard, which means I can keep an eye on Indi and Bertie. They have become very interested in all the comings and goings to do with the callistemon, so spend their days camped under the trees. 

Looking up and ever hopeful...