Walks, kitchens, gardens.

So I was helping out with the Little Man again.  It is getting to be a regular occurrence every other week or so. I remember why we moved out of the suburbs & into the wild. The Little Man loves being outside, even from the confines of his stroller so that is where we head any time he fusses as his suburban yard is both small & dull.

If we head down the highway we come across a large gate before too long.  There is no padlock, just a council sign saying it is parkland though very odd it is. On one side there is a long row of big fenced yards, then a dirt *road* [wider than a path but obviously not used for vehicles] then a strip of scrub & then the highway.

I unlatch the gate while the Little Man waits patiently  then we head bumpity~bump down the dirt road listening to the birds & the rustling trees until it all gets too much...

They are all cherubs when asleep.

If we walk the other way we come to 3 or 4 small farms where we can watch the horses. Down the bank is a half finished dam full of egrets & if we are still & patient the chooks come clucking through the weedy grasses.  The farms are rather derelict & run down, leftovers from a simpler age & an anomaly buried amongst the brick veneer homes & tidy lawns but we like them.  

All our kitchen benches are now in & I am so happy with how it is working. The stove has moved just a little bit but it is enough to give me 3 good working spaces along the back. It is very workable for our needs.  I will sometimes bake if feeling inspired but I don't used a lot of gadgets or nick~knacks & I am a good plain cook so we really don't need an awful lot of storage.  I didn't want corner cupboards or top cupboards: both are impossible to reach & I'm getting to old to be standing on my benchtops! We are shopping next week to replace our pots & pans & other necessary items & hopefully we can get the electrician in to hook us up.

Then there is the garden.  The MOTH has been hard at work building all his little boxes & after much discussion we finally hit upon something we both like & were keen to grow ~ weeping maples.  Half a dozen different varieties arrived by mail last week, bare rooted & grafted, all needing to be potted up & staked in the interim. We now have one of each variety from here. I think they are so pretty though how much colour we will actually get remains to be seen.

Tonight we are tucked up cosily, the fire ablaze, rain pattering on our tin roof, the cats snuggled close.  All is well with our little world.