The rhubarb is unfurling and things are coming alive. The fritillaries I planted are looking good but seem to have had no effect on deterring moles. My front yard is a giant mole hotel. All the roses except the rugosas are ruined, the roots eaten to nubs.
It’s raining so I’ll be spending the day in the kitchen. I have more seedlings to transplant, (they are taking over the house!), and I want to catch up on some cooking. There’s chicken broth on the stove. We buy local, free range chickens and not a bit is wasted. Even the bones are used.. burnt in the fireplace and composted.
If I have time, I might work on some needlework later and make some berry crumble with the last of the blackberries and raspberries, in the freezer from last year’s crop.
Happy, productive days!
handmade. homegrown. beautiful life 
What great activities for a rainy day. Actually, this time of year, I like a little rain, as long as it doesn’t continue for too long. Gives the old body a chance to rest 😉
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Me too! I was a little relieved to see it:)
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Your poor roses, how frustrating. Moles might be incredibly cute and soft but complete pests in the garden! I guess they probably do the soil good or something? Your house looks rather like our conservatory. I hope you manage to get your needlework time! Have a great weekend, Sharon x
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Thanks Sharon! They really are pests! I can’t stand the sight of their hills and tunnels . I haven’t heard anything good that comes from them, lol. I think I would love to live in a conservatory.
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I remember my Uncle seeing a mole hill heaving up in his fields, he whacked it with his spade and killed it, it seems cruel but they were ruining his crops. I remember holding it while sitting in the trailer on the way back, it was the softest thing I have ever felt, like velvet.
The conservatory is great most of the time but we also use it as our dining room so it can get rather hot in the summer and chilly in the winter! x
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Sometimes they come out and squeal and run around. I get squeamish around rodents. I run away, lol.
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hehe, I am the opposite, I find them fascinating, I used to work in an old peoples home and the cat used to bring mice in, I usually got the job of catching them and putting them back out! x
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Snakes, spiders.. Ok by me. I am trying to work on the rodent thing
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Good to see your new growth
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You are so far along over there . I never realized there was such a difference in the weather, I thought we had similar climates
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This SW corner is rather milder than most
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I’m sorry hear about the loss of your roses and those pesky moles. I imagine they won’t stop at the roses. I hope you find a way to control them. I think Scottish Terriers are helpful, if you can live with that whole circle of life thing.
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I have a cat. She is feral and when I rescued her I agreed to never let her outside. She is a nightmare. I can’t get ahold of her to get her to the vet for a rabies shot. She bites. I would gladly let her out, in spite of the agreement but I worry that she isn’t vaccinated. She would be a great mole catcher.
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Our feral cats won’t let us near enough to even touch them. We were able to catch several and have them fixed, but we were advised to release them to keep the rat population under control.
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That’s interesting. Im guessing the rabies thing isn’t a concern. Maybe I should let her out. She’s fixed and I think both the cat and I would both be a lot happier. Kittens are the cutest thing in the world.. I remember reading on your blog about the feral cats.
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I went through our local group that helps with the feral cats. If you can tame the kittens and make them indoor cats, that’s best. However, the woman I spoke to only had limited success with taming adult cats. They suggest trapping and having them fixed. I think they were given shots at the time, but that was years ago. It’s understood they won’t be brought in for shots again. I think it also depends on if rabies is a problem in your area. The main problem we have around here are the cats being hit by cars. It’s heartbreaking, but overall we have a pretty healthy colony. I’ll have to post some pictures.
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What is that interesting looking plant in the top left corner? Rhubarb? Is it much work to maintain? Our last frost date is supposed to be 4/20. Finally able to put a lot of seedlings in the ground. We know what you mean about them taking over your house.
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Rhubarb is really easy and it comes up every year. The leaves are poisonous. lucky!! It’s more fun once they go outside. That”s an early frost date! soon it will be cherry blossom time:)
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Great activity days Cynthia! It all looks lovely and your kitchen is pristine, love all the white 🙂 Have a lovely weekend.
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Thanks, Agnes. You too!
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Cheery update! Except for those moles – mama cats keep gophers down in our neck of the woods.
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Moles are a nuisance but the woodchucks are a lot worse. I don’t think we have gophers here.. a cat would do it for the moles , for sure.
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Thank goodness no one ever released moles and voles into Australia. They sound so destructive…I am sorry about the rose bushes 😦
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I swear rose bushes off every year and somehow lose my resolve.. this year definitely no more!! Funny you don’t have moles or voles there. I hope it stays that way!
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Moles! Another pest we don’t have in Sydney, thank goodness but we have possums. They attack from above, denuding trees and stealing fruit but I am thankful for having the wildlife, living in the inner city.
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We have possums too. I didn’t know they ate fruit! Do you have raccoons there?
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No we don’t have raccoons or squirrels but we have fruit bats (flying foxes). 😦
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No squirrels! That’s surprising. Fruit bats sound kind of gross, lol. Bats are like flying rodents, ugh. Mosquito eating machines though.
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No squirrels so no ‘squirrelling’ either. Our possums just free range all year around. We don’t have a real winter here; lowest temperature seldom goes below 5ºC. in Sydney.
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I think we’ve got gophers in our back yard. Haven’t seen them but we’ve got enough holes in the yard. Sorry they’ve ruined your plants. You’ve got some great projects going on there! 🙂
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Thanks, Linda! I wondering if gophers are more of a southern thing. The only things I know about them are from the movie, Caddy Shack. They seem annoying too.
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We are not really bothered by moles I think perhaps the farmer on the adjacent field to us sorts them out before they do any damage. The rabbits have disappeared too at the moment. Your seedlings are sprouting well.
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Funny, all afternoon the farmer next to me has been shooting something…woodchucks, I’d guess. I love seeing rabbits in the yard but they sure do a number on the vegetables. The last of the seedlings will go out May 31!!
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Oh so cozy! We once had a lot of moles and we dug botles in their gangways with the opening tilted and upwards. It will catch wind and make weirds noises int heir burrows. It really helped!
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That is a remedy I haven’t tried. I think I will. Thanks Johanna!
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Sounds like a busy day 😊 Me too!! Enjoy and good luck with that pesky mole!
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Thanks! Busy time of the year!
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