Eating from the garden

Steve had today off so I had the car and was able to leave work just before 4 so I could get home and wander around the property, before it grew dark, looking at the new growth on plants that we've planted. It is winter but many of the trees and shrubs are still producing new growth. It had been over a week since I'd been down to the creek so it was great to see the vibrant flush of red and pink tips of the lilly pillies and other shrubs that have been planted along its banks. It was also good to see the cudgerie, a rainforest tree, which I'd bought at the Kyogle market a few weeks ago from three cute, polite and enthusiastic late teenagers, and subsequently planted in our paddock behind the chookery, had started producing new growth.

I walked back up to and through the various gardens and plantings around the house. While I was on my stroll I picked and ate a mandarin, a lemonade fruit (like a lemon but tastes like lemonade), a few leaves of tatsoi (a japanese leaf vege) and some fresh young rocket. And today I'd given away lemons and Japanese pumpkin at work and Steve had picked lemons and a few tangelo (an orange grapefruit cross) sometime today and they are all boxed up and ready to be taken down to his work to give to his work mates. And we'll be eating pumpkin soup tonight for dinner that Steve made today from one of pumpkins. Eating straight from the garden and sharing produce with friends. Good stuff.