Sweltering
is a good way to describe our life just at the moment. My vegetable garden is hot, crisp and
battling against the elements. However,
we are safe and sound and really that is all that matters.
Earlier this week as I waited for Terry to return home from fighting a bushfire I watched the sunrise over our house dam. At the moment this is the coolest and calmest part of the day.
In the cool of the mornings I have managed to make two batches of passata thanks to Terry's family and their bumper tomato crop.
After a few failed attempts I have finally produced an acceptable batch of sourdough in our wood oven. Cooking with fire certainly adds an extra challenge to bread making.
Our chooks have been enjoying crispy dried up sunflower heads.
Some home butchering has been done and our meat supply has been replenished.
Our children are now old enough that we can enjoy swimming in our house dam, just as we did years ago. This has been cool relief in the afternoons for everyone.
We have been eating zucchini chocolate cake and drinking our coffee with ice, I just cannot face hot coffee at the moment.
Where ever you are I hope you are safe, cool and enjoying the simple things in life.
I am pleased you are safe Jane. I hope it stays that way! Enjoy the cool change...and maybe even a coffee this morning. I am!!! Kx
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate x
DeleteWhat fun Jane. Annabelle and Geaorge look quite beautifully entertained. Nice shady dam to swim too. Keep cool. A xox
ReplyDeleteThe dam is nice and shady Annie, it is lovely!
DeleteI relate to the swim in the dam - use to love doing this at a friends farm years ago. The dam water is always so cold and on a hot day it is so refreshing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me of a wonderful memory
Thanks Jacana!
DeleteJust so hot at the moment! Hang in there, Jane! xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Celia, you too x
DeleteGlad to hear you're safe. I heard on the news this morning that it's cooled a little though obviously still hot by our standards. Beautiful photos as ever Jane. Ax
ReplyDeleteThanks Anne, very kind of you!
DeleteGosh the heat is full on.
ReplyDeleteEven with the high temps I too am drawn to baking. Roast lamb yesterday and a banana cake today.
Good to see you are mastering wood fired cooking.
x
Its funny isn't Zara, the temp dropped to 30 yesterday and I immediately cooked a lamb roast too!
DeleteYour wood fired sourdough looks so good Jane.
ReplyDeleteHope some cooler weather comes your way soon.
Thank you, I wish I could share a piece of bread with you!
Deletethat sunrise shot is so beautiful. mother nature sure knows how to turn it on....shes turned up the heat just so we cant forget that this is summer in Aus.
ReplyDeleteAllison x
Very true Allison!
DeleteIt's horribly hot here too! Your bread looks so good...I might have to do some baking today after looking at all those tasty pics :-)
ReplyDeletexx
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DeleteThank you Sarah Jane, happy baking!
ReplyDeletei love all of your photos jane but the top one is just so beautiful with the shadowy windmill, earth and trees bathed in the glow of sunset..x
ReplyDeleteThank you Jane, sunset and sunrise can be so hard to capture on camera but I keep trying!
DeleteGlad to hear you are safe, Jane! It is fearsome hot here too but our small vegie garden is hanging on. Your sourdough looks AMAZING. Seriously!! x
ReplyDeleteThank you Jess, I wish I could share a loaf of bread with you!
DeleteThe heat has been just AWFUL, hasn't it?! But of course compared to those who have been affected by fires this week we really have nothing to compain about. Love the coffee with ice! That's one of my favourite things in hot weather too!
ReplyDeleteKatie xx
Thanks Katie, I hope the weather is a bit more reasonable in your part of the world now x
DeleteIt's even been hot in our little corner of the country.
ReplyDeleteyour dam swimming photos bring back fond memories of my childhood. your posts and pictures are good at doing that!!
rachel xox
Thanks Rachel, I am pleased to bring back some childhood memories...they are my childhood memories too!
DeleteGood to know all is well out your way, my friend. Stay safe and thank you for sharing your world with us (me).
ReplyDeleteIt is my pleasure Lizzy!
Deletewhat a wonderful "australian summer" post, jane. i think this summer is going to be a challenge to everyone who has a backyard vegie garden. every lot of peas i have sown this year have failed miserably. it's hard work keeping everything going, even with mulch and water.
ReplyDeleteThanks e, I hope life in your part of the world is getting back to some kind of normality :)
DeleteGorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous post Miss Jane.
ReplyDeleteIt's freeeeeezing here today again and making it hard to believe that we've been doing much the same as you guys lately.
I hope you get a bit of a cool spell soon and that we get enough warm days to ripen ourt millions of green tomatoes. x
As per our earlier Twitter conversation Kate, it is hard to believe we are in the same country sometimes. Thank you for calling in x
DeleteHi Jane, hope it has cooled down for you a bit now..we've had some relief in Melbourne. Lovely to see your daughter helping to make the passata and chocolate and zucchini cake sounds delicious. Stay cool..thinking of all the people fighting fires at the moment. Pray they all stay safe including your husband. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful words Catherine!
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