Okay..not happy….the birds are hammering the cherries and nectarines ? sooo our gas-powered bird scarers, ”Big Bertha” and “Captain Jack” will be back in action as from tomorrow ?
I broke the news to them an hour ago and they are geared up and ready to fire. Thanks little buddies for being our “Guardians of the Orchard” ??
How ironic…the cherries are all under cover but the birds peck holes in the nets to get in and whilst I was thinning nectarines today, the birds were casually flying in and pecking the nectarines right beside me ????? Cheeky little blighters – they won’t be doing that from tomorrow! ???
Here’s some photos from the last few weeks ?
#timetorollbigberthaandcaptainjack
#littletootbigberthacaptainjackguardiansofourorchard

Today we wish our Mum, Sandra, a very Happy 65th Birthday.

Her integrity, patience, kindness and empathy makes her ‘simply the best’. 

Lots of love from me, Sam & Belle xxx

Here’s a few photos – a walk down memory lane. 

Our darling cat, Lugs, aka…Garfield…Ginger….Parker-Hobbs cat…Stoner Cat.…Lugsy-Pugsy…..has sadly succumbed to old age ??
We knew this day was getting close as she had been slowing down but it is still very upsetting.
Thankfully she wasn’t in pain, so her passing was very peaceful.
Throughout her six years with us she became my little shadow, trotting to the Fruit Stall with me at 5am and watching me pack up the Courier orders and stock the Stall…during the day she alternated her time between customers and Belle and then in the evenings, she would watch me pack up the Stall at 9pm and then would trot back to the house with me.
During winter she would sit under my hydra-ladder while I worked and then would hop on the Mule when I had other jobs to go to.
It is fair to say I will miss my little buddy ?

Frost-fighting started last night with Sam cranking up “Little Toot” at midnight ???? She was thrilled to be back in the thick of the action…..It was a fairly long run….“Little Toot” wasn’t shut down until 8:20am ? She did us proud ?? ?

#thankyoulittletootforsavingourcrops
#beautifulsunnydaynow
#keeppollinatingpleasebees
#nosleepformeandsamlastnight
#earlytobedtonight

Here’s some photos Sam took of the apricot blossoms ??
The bees and the bumblebees are hard at work pollinating ???
Sam hasn’t had to frost-fight as of yet which is great – so fingers crossed frost-fighting won’t start for a little while longer ?????
‘Little Toot’ is a bit annoyed with this wait as she is impatient to get started ???
#loveyoulittletoot #keepworkingbeesandbumblebees
#beautifuldaytoday #youareourfaithfulfriendlittletoot
#wewouldhavenocropwithoutyou

The buds are on the move so frost-fighting isn’t too far away ???Here’s some photos of Earli Ril apricot blossoms ?

“Little Toot” our frost-fighting tractor is so excited, she loves pumping the water from the dam as she knows she plays an important role in protecting our crops ??????????
When Sam turns the key, he reckons he can always hear her say “thank-you Sam, I won’t let you down” ???

Sam ventured out this morning to get a few photos of the snow that fell overnight ❄️❄️❄️Just a tad nippy in Hercules Flat today! ?

obb

Sam and I are having a great day pruning.  Here’s a photo I took a couple of days ago in the nectarine block from the top of the hydralada and some shots I took at morning tea today through the picture window in the sunroom of our front garden #lovepruning 

This is the view from the Orchard this morning ?☃️??
The trees are too wet for me to prune at the moment so my first job of the day is splitting firewood ?????❤️ #gottakeepthehousewarm#tomorrowsoundscolder #fruittreesneedchillhours#finallywinterhasarrived #loveworkingoutside#fivelayersofclothingkeepsmewarm

The last of our apples sold today so we are now closed for the Season ?
I will be putting the closed sign up as soon as I find a ladder ???

Grateful thanks to all our wonderful customers, both old and new…without you guys, we wouldn’t be in business ?❤️
We look forward to seeing you all again next Season ?
Much to my happiness, pruning commences immediately and I can actually hear my hydra ladder calling me….??