Lately it has been ever so slightly caotic around here, so haven't been spending much time observing what's happening around the yard. Yesterday my 4 year old pointed out a tiny honeyeater's nest which had magically appeared in the basil bush. It must have been there for a while because not only was the nest fully constructed, but there are 2 tiny and perfect eggs nestled inside. The basil is located in a high traffic area in our yard - hubby walks past it every morning and evening on his way to work, someone is always out there watering the garden and pottering about, so I feel as though I have had my head buried in the sand these past few weeks!
We did however think the honeyeaters weren't going to nest here this year. Last year they built in another pot plant out front and about 3 weeks ago we noticed a nest being built in the same tree, then suddenly it was gone before it was even finished.
Much pondering over the bird book last year has still left me unsure of the exact type of honeyeater, there are a few quite similar, however they are a very common sight in our yard.
Personally I think there choice of home is a bit weird, surely a basil bush isn't a sturdy choice. My husband tells me to "get over it, after all they are the nest building experts, not me!!" This is true, but still it's a bit freaky when you see the basil blowing about in the wind and the nest bobbing about with it. But these little guys are certainly amazing, it's fantastic how well made the nest is. Last years nest was still intact in the tree six months after they had flown.
The photos below are not very clear or large enough to get the detailing, still haven't worked out how to enlarge the photos. You can get a bit of an idea though.

On a gardening note - the corn has been pulled, and even after eating it fresh, giving it away to friends and the occassional ear to the chooks, I have still managed to freeze a large amount. Planted capsicum in its place yesterday, and intend putting in tomatoes, rosellas and more capsicum in a few weeks time once the seedlings are big enough.  Also have a freezer full of  french beans which have needed picking every few days to keep up. The snake beans are getting ready to pick now, I won't be freezing any of them though. My husband is a lettuce planting demon - he plants more than we can eat - meals are being planned with lettuce as the main ingredient! Pulled out the last of the snowpea vines this morning and also the cucumber which was being destroyed by scary prehistoric insects. Will be planting wing beans along that fence instead. Each week I try and remember to plant more sweet potato runners.
The Black Russian tomatoes looked wonderful, enormous fruit, but on closer inspection were all full of tomato grub. I honestly thought it was fruit fly and couldn't figure out why I was trapping so many but still having problems. Was chatting with a customer at the Expo and he told me it was Heliothis caterpillars. Because its such a huge problem in my yard I have decided to use chemicals to get it under control. Once the rains clear, will be using a Yates product called Success Naturalyte Insect Control, which contains spinosad which apparently is derived from beneficial soil bacteria. Feeling guilty about this but not sure what else to do.

Here is a tasty little relish recipe to help rid you of an abundance of eggplant (if like me you aren't a real eggplant freak but grow them because they are such great producers up here in the tropics).

EGGPLANT RELISH

Ingredients:
1kg eggplant
1kg brown onions
1 large green capsicum
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon mustard
3 cups vinegar
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:
Peel and chop eggplant then soak in salt water. (I only do this for a few hours, usually because I have forgotten to do it). Remember to drain the water off before adding other ingredients.
Chop onions and capsicum and add all other ingredients to a large pot.
Cook until tender.
Add 2 tablespoons cornflour and 2 tablespoons vinegar to thicken when cooked.
Bottle into clean sterilised jars. Label when cool. Enjoy!!
This relish is terrific on an egg and salad sandwich.

For quite a few years now we have had a hive of stingless bees living in a masonary block wall in our backyard. We have no idea which species, just that we happen to be graced by their presence and its a real priviledge to have them share our space. We have often talked about the possibility of propogating the hive but have never been able to find someone to with the knowledge or know how to guide us.
Recently my husband has read Australian Stingless Bees: A Guide to Sugarbag Beekeeping and it has given him the confidence to give it a go. He is using the Eduction (Budding) Method - connecting the old hive with an empty hive by using a piece of tubing. The bees in the wall will now have to travel through the empty hive before reaching the outside and the hope is that given time they will build a colony in this hive and we can eventually separate them, giving us two hives.
Fingerscrossed because we will be devastated if the process doesn't work. The last thing we want is our little pollinating friends to pack up and leave!
The photos below aren't very clear but give a bit of an idea.
About 5 days beforehand, hubby placed poly tubing into the original hive entrance. This gives the bees time to coat the tubing in resinous materials and pheromones, which is very important so that the bees can follow the scent into the new entrance.
Once everything was connected up the stingless bees were very upset as they tried to get back inside the old entrance (seen below with a funnel completely covering it). However it didn't take long before the bees inside started coming out the new entrance and by the end of the day most bees had realised how to get back inside.
This is only day two so early days yet, however so far they seem to have settled nicely. Will keep you informed.......and would love to hear from anyone who has managed to successfully propogated stingless bees.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not check out Sustainable House Day - Sunday 15th October. Townsville has some great homes open for display so should be a great opportunity to see what people have done to create a more sustainable environment in their home.

Have been neglecting the blog page, far too many other things need attending to at present. However thought I would post a few photos to show you how the front garden has progressed. (you can compare these photos to some of the first photos I posted, same gardens just a few months on. The corn has gotten huge and now has many cobs forming. The squash is still growing and getting heaps of fruit forming but they don't seem to get past a certain size as some sort of pest attacks them and they rot. This has been disappointing, but they were possibly planted the wrong time of year too.

I don't think my pineapple explanation was particularly good so have posted a photo of what our pineapple tops look like prior to planting. I'm not sure if this is the correct way of doing it, however it has been working for us. If anyone has a different way or  trade secrets please let me know as would be most interested.
We only ever plant the tops of sweet tasting pineapples, never the ones that were sour, assuming that any fruit that gets borne from following pineapples will taste the same. Not sure if there is any truth to this assumption though.

Next time you buy a pineapple don't throw away the top. If you plant this part, over time (we are talking a long time, about a year), you will eventually have another pineapple grow, and it was pretty much free! 
Slice off the top, remove any of the fleshy fruit part. Peel off the lower leaves so that you have a few centimetres of stump with leaves on top. Leave this on the counter or window sill (not where it will get wet or too hot) for a few days to a week. Then plant! Easy! 
We have pineapple tops growing in pots and they are quite happy to do so. They also look great as garden borders if you have the room and no children to fall into the spiky leaves.
Remember its a bit of a long haul before you see the fruits of your labour but worth it if you love pineapples and really pinapples are an attractive plant.
Did you know that pineapples are a member of the bromeliad family??

Have been meaning to post a photo of the squash I mentioned earlier. As you can see it is doing very well.
Our corn is also going ahead in leaps and bounds, however we didn't consider the wind factor when installing the garden beds. The wind will be of great benefit when its time for the corn to get pollinated, however at the moment it's wrecking havoc with the stalks being blown over. My husband has hopefully solved the problem by putting a standard in each corner of the bed and tying a rope around the entire lot, as it had a tendancy to fall over the sides.