It's getting chilli...

Check out these huge thai chillis that I have just picked from the garden.

I think I'm going to have a bumper crop this year, there are literally thousands coming though and all different types. Looks like more 100 chilli chutney (it's sooo hot).

As the sun sets...

I've been in the garden all day today with my three little helpers...

Max the Manx kitten (5 months) who thinks he's a dog

Baillie, now nearly eight and slowing down, but still the brains behind the security business

Roman (nothing else to say)

After a quick shower, I'm now sitting on the deck (with two cats and two dogs - security task force), watching the sun go down, with a glass of vino, listening to MOTH pumping out some original tunes from his studio. Now the rain has started to tinkle down... awesome Clear Mountain living!

Max earlier this morning counting his chickens (he does this every morning)

The many faces of Roman

Roman is one of our two Dogue de Bordeaux. He's special... really special - the vet even says he's special. You see, Roman is not as complex as most dogs, he's, well, simple in the head.

We love him very much but there's not a lot goes on in there. He mostly takes instruction from Baillie, our other Dogue (she's super smart). Let's just say he's the braun of the duo (he's very tall for the breed).

This is Roman's thoughts this morning. Pretty much sums him up.

 He's beautiful.

It's Easter and I've got no eggs

Autumn is that time of the year when the chooker moles molt. It's their off season in egg production when they lose and then grow new feathers and slacken off in the egg production department.

We have 5 mature chooker moles and 6 point of lay (new ones who are about to start laying) but I'm only getting one egg a day from Louise (short for "Geez Louise, you're a big chicken").

MOTH is beside himself, unable to supply at work.

What else can I do to make them happier so they will lay more eggs? I built them a bloody palace, they free range every day, their feeders are always full, they get all of our food scraps (except the ones they're not allowed)... fussy!

PS Kerri and Kelly, here's MOTH's hummus recipe...

MOTH - the dealer

MOTH works in an office with lots of young, Gen Y, beautiful people who, well, aren't necessarily very practical people. But they really want to be and MOTH has identified a niche opportunity in this space.

Known for his culinary skills as a wonderful cook, MOTH regularly takes home made left overs to work (like his curries that he makes from scratch - herbs from the garden stuff) and takes great personal delight in sharing the wafting aromas of his dishes with others in the lunchroom. He is often asked for recipes and treats this like, well I can only describe it like a fisherman who has spotted a brown trout and teases it with the fly until it is caught. You see, MOTH is slowly setting out to teach a man to fish.

He has a book that he records his favourite recipes in. I've managed to capture some to share with you.

Made from wild guava we found growing on our property a few years ago

Free range eggs are the secret to this recipe

Now to the crux of this story... MOTH sells the eggs I collect from the chooker moles to his work colleagues for $5 a dozen. This (as previously mentioned) funds his caffiene habit. And with the recently constructed chooker mole palace, we are now able to increase our flock. So 5 moles is now 11 moles and MOTH's supply has just doubled.

So, he has started to introduce recipes to the egg recipients, effectively getting them hooked like a cocaine addict!

Now they are much nicer than the ones you buy in the shops. The moles get to roam free every day, scratching around in the bush litter and keeping our lawns free of grubs. So, their eggs are big and the yolks are bright orange, not yellow.

One girl even told him recently (and was very chuffed with herself) that she had learnt to poach and egg but she had tried on a store bought one before trying it on one of his eggs.

My prediction is our eggs will be $10 a dozen by Christmas!

PS   Spot the 3 chooker moles in this picture...