While we were in the garden looking for kereru we wandered over to the vegetable garden. The children heard my exasperation over my losing battle of trying to control the white butterflies and their caterpillars.
Sadie decided to take control and collect all the green caterpillars she could find.
Oscar decided that catching the white butterflies would be more fun ~ net in each hand.
Natural pest control doesn't get any better than this.
Forest and Bird launched a nationwide Kereru count on the 19th February. It runs until the 27th so we have been on the look out for kereru in our area.
We see them quite often in our town. They like to sit on the power lines and gorge themselves on the flowering and fruiting trees.
One flew over our backyard a couple of days ago, we heard it flying before we actually saw it. They fly quite low with a heavy beating of wings. So we have recorded our siting.
If you see one ~ this is what you do. Go to this website and log your siting ~ easy! The information gathered will help in learning about the Kereru's distribution around New Zealand and what they are eating.
Happy Kereru spotting!
One of the great things about participating in a regular craft market is getting to know the other crafty stall holders. One of my favourite stall holders is Hella. She makes stunning felted birds, nests, rabbits, lambs and babies from wool.
Normally at the market I take some hand sewing with me to keep me occupied during the quiet periods of the day. Last Saturday I had forgotten to take it with me and hated sitting there with idle hands, so Hela offered to give a quick needle felting lesson. I'm officially 'Hooked'.
I purchased one of her needle felting kits. The kits contain a lovely bag of wool in various colours, an instruction booklet, piece of foam and a felting needle.
This is what I made with my first attempt with help from Hela.
It really is that simple.
With my second atempt I felted straight onto one of my wool pixie hats.
I'm really happy with the result.
If anyone is interested in purchasing a needle felting kit from Hella for $10, email me and I can't get one sorted out for you or visit her stall at the next New Rags Market.
Tonight was pizza night and we thought we had better make the most of the warm summer evening.
So it was a picnic dinner outside the Gingerbread House.
Homemade pizza with Grandma's lemonade.
Greedy!
Homemade Pizza
Base
1 tablespoon of active yeast
half teaspoon sugar
1 cup tepid water
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups plain white flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tablespoon oil
Put the yeast, sugar and tepid water into a bowl and leave aside until frothy. In another bowl put in flour and salt. Add the oil and yeast mixture into the flour. Mix and kneed until smooth. Put dough into a clean bowl covered with a tea towel and place in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size. Punch down and kneed again. I cut the dough in half and make two smaller pizzas. Roll out and put onto a tray and top with your favourite flavours. Ours is super basic ~ sauce, cheese and free range bacon. Cook 220.C for 15 minutes.
A weekly meal in our house.
There's been lots of craftiness going on these holidays in the Heart Felt household.
Today Sadie and I made clothes peg dolls using traditional wooden clothes pegs.
First Sadie drew their faces on with pens.
She then chose scraps of fabric for their dresses which I tied on with a piece of wool.
For the man doll I wrapped wool around each leg for his trousers.
Then we wrapped wool around the top half for the doll's shirts and secured the loose end with PVA glue.
For the hair I wrapped wool around my fingers and tied the middle with another strand of wool and glued into place.
Add little details such as hair bows, belts, buttons and ties to give each doll their own character.
She played with them in the garden this afternoon.
She wants to make more to complete her family.
We used the same process to make wooden spoon dolls.
Here Sadie painted the face and also made paper crowns.
Inspired from the book 'Green Crafts for Children' by Emma Hardy
Our vegetable garden was taken over by myriads of poppies this summer. I didn't have the heart to pull them out so we had a poppy garden for a few months.
Now they 're a sea of seed heads and it was time to claim my vegetable garden back. We left some seed heads to do their job along with some vegetables plants that have gone to seed. So pretty.
The wild cat that explores our garden wasn't too impressed with the clean up.
"The wood sprites and the little lost nest"
By Sadie
One day there lived a girl wood sprite and a baby wood sprite.
One windy day the baby wood sprite found a little lost nest.
He gave the lost nest to the girl wood sprite because it was a magic nest.
The sun was going down and the girl wood sprite wondered what to do.
"I know!" she said, "I should put it back into the tree".
And she gently carefully put the little nest back.
She hid in the bushes and waited for mother bird to come back.
The mother bird was so happy she turned the wood sprites into a real children.
The End
xx
Who needs a sister when you have a baby brother to dress up and play fairies with?
The scenario was:
Sadie was the mama fairy and Oscar was the baby fairy.
I was a fairy hunter and I discovered the fairies in the poppy garden.
Shhhhhh....the fairies are sleeping.
Sometimes Oscar was caught slipping out of character. xx
Our happy gorgeous boy turned two years old today.
A fairy helper laid a beautiful afternoon tea table with roses from our garden and bunting made from paintings
Charlie and Sadie made a sailing ships from bark and fabric scraps as presents for Oscar.
Birthday cake made by Grandma
Locally handmade leather plane from Mama and Daddy.
Loving being two years old
and not looking back!
