Kambarang- season of birth- in my garden

The Noongar season of Kambarang has begun here in South West Western Australia.  Known as the season of birth, it is common for us to see baby birds in their nests at this time. We have a family of magpies here, who are raising a new brood in a nest swaying high up in a tree on a neighbour's property. Each year they come to us for some supplemental feeding whilst the hungry mouths are in the nest. We are feeding kitten biscuits -with a high percentage of protein they seem to like them and can manage them. They come to us a couple of times a day for snacks, and also drink in our bird bath. It is also the season for wildflowers to bloom -especially yellow ones, and for the stalk of the Balga or grasstree to be in evidence.

The season is known for longer and warmer dry periods in between showers of rain. This makes the garden grow fast, but is also a time for me to start examining my reticulation and checking that everything is going to be watered as the hotter weather arrives. 

Source: http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/nyoongar/kambarang.shtml

In my garden I am busy putting seeds in the new wooden flats my DH made for me.

This tray has petunias, black tom tomatoes and rainbow chard. I am also anxiously waiting for chilli seedlings to emerge, along with some za'atar and clove basil which I am growing from some seed I bought via mail order from a local seed saving operation. I am experimenting with a seed raising mix which I have added some coir for extra water retention, and a bit of perlite. 

We also have planted some salvias and Mexican marigolds (Tagates lemonii) , and some Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia), to add colour to the garden. I have put up some teepee trellises for the early tomatoes. I have replanted some coriander, after my earlier success in winter, although I know that it is likely to grow more seed than leaf if we get some early hot weather. 

The garden is looking pretty good at the moment, thanks to the fact that I am now in a pretty regular routine of spending a couple of hours peer day in it whenever I can- which is most days of the week, really. I find it the consistently happiest part of my day. 

Here is a great article from Psychology Today about the mental health benefits of gardening - and it has some great tips on how to get started! 

 

The power of a good list for the garden

Rose after a wet morning

Are you a list-maker? I love a good list, it keeps me on track, reminds me of what needs to be done, and I love ticking things off when they are completed.  This week was a pretty good week for me, mainly because I came back to making a list of things I wanted to achieve, and have been reviewing the list regularly. 

Iris in bloom

One of the things I have learned about myself and lists, though, is that I often need to break down a task into some smaller bits in order to get the energy to complete it. "Make an apron" is better listed as "choose the fabric to make an apron", especially if that choice is the thing which is holding up the whole process. 

I am also a person who is quite happy doing things in stages. I had the idea that I wanted to totally revamp the garden bed which borders our patio out the back. It is in full shade in the winter, but in full sun in summer, and has a wonderful trellis which needs to be in use.

In order to get that done I had to remove some plants which were not really working there, including a gardenia which had always struggled-it was too hot for it during the summer, so I moved it under at tree.  In the course of several weeks I have removed and replanted some ground covers which were here.  I needed to weed the whole bed, to buy some plants which I hope will succeed there, and to prepare the soil. The plan is to try some roses here, as they are deciduous when it is shady but will cope with the sun. The trellis will have a passionfruit on it and possibly a climbing rose. 

 I am now keeping a sort of 'garden journal" which records what I want to do and what I have done -successfully or not-and I am finding it very helpful. It is just a spiral bound notebook, and all I do is write the date and anything else I find helpful. I stick in seed packets or draw a design for a garden bed I have in mind.

Today's citrus harvest

Today we had a good time in the garden, pruning the citrus. I like to keep my trees quite low, as I am a small person and the fruit needs to be within reach.  Next time I am in the garden I want to give all the citrus a bit of a feed and attention, as they have all given such a lovely crop of fruit this year. The grapefruit has a second crop coming, which is a surprise but very welcome. As a result of the rain we have had, everything is looking quite happy. 

rainbow chard

Yesterday I made this recipe for a chard and feta pie using my rainbow chard. It was really nice! I used fresh oregano, parsley and thyme as flavourings. Rainbow chard is a pretty vegetable -mine has lovely red stems, and it copes with our climate very well. I have had this one growing for over 12 months- I just cut it from the outside of the plant and it keeps on putting out new leaves. As a result I am always glad to get another chard recipe. 

I planted some more snow peas this week. The ones I planted a few months ago are now putting out flowers and pods. I am hoping for a good crop this year -who knows, maybe some will actually make it inside? I love to eat them right there in the garden! 

How is your garden growing? Do you keep a garden journal? 

Things to be happy about

Things to be happy about 

1. I finished Nanowrimo, the National Novel writing month -having written 50,000 words in November. In order to achieve this, you have to write for about 2 hours a day, every day. I enjoy the challenge and I think I learn something more about writing every time I do it, but it also 'steals' my time. The last two weeks I haven't' done much on my quilt, for example. But that is OK. There are 'seasons' for things, and November is the season for writing. 

2. We have been helpful to a family member who needed some practical assistance. The lady needed someone like DH to come and put up shelves and pictures at her place, and while he was doing that, I helped her declutter and sort quite a lot of things. This lady is not as young or agile as she used to be, and it was a bit much for her to tackle. I am glad she felt OK about asking us, and truly it was a pleasure and a blessing to us to be of use to her. She is a real sweetie. 

3. DH has been finding real relief for his back and knee problems by walking in the water down at the beach. He feels like he is moving better than before too. I love it down at the beach so I walk on the edge of the water as far as I can up to the reef, which is being exposed in the low spring/summer tides.

4. When you look, beauty is everywhere.

Here is a banksia I found growing in the city, behind the State Library, in a place which is very urban and very hot. Just the perfect place for a banksia, apparently. 

5. Our garden gives us great joy. We are harvesting garlic and blueberries and lots of herbs. I planted more basil, and the cucumbers haven't quite grown but they are not dead! It is all a learning experience. 

6. Community

Our choir is working very hard on our Christmas concert, which will be sung in the beautiful Winthrop Hall, in the grounds of the University of Western Australia. This has meant we are often visitors to UWA, and it is really a beautiful place. Here it is last week, with the Jacarada in bloom.

So that is it for November 2019.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Leave me a comment - I love to be connected in this way around the world.

The virtual water tank -how to have 3000 litres of water for the garden

DH and I have been attending a local course sponsored by the Water Corporation, on living sustainably in this drying climate. Our local flora and fauna need us to conserve the water in the underground basins -where half of our water for the city is now being drawn from, as Perth dams now get less than 10% of the runoff that they were getting 50 or so years ago, due to climate change. We need to save as much water as we can.

We have a 3000 litre water tank in our garden -but would like more, because it is collects free water! Our roof gutters are still sending a lot of water down the drains, when I would like to use it in the house and garden. One of the problems in putting new water tanks in, is that we don't have a huge amount of room to do so, as the house is quite close to the fence on three sides.

The good news is that, as a result of the course we are doing, we have found at least 12,000 litres of water that used to go down the drain, and all we have done is change a couple of habits.

1. Collecting the cold water from the sink while waiting for the hot water to flow through.

We have a 3 litre old milk bottle under the sink.  Every time we want hot water, we put the bottle under the tap. We have discovered that it usually takes 3 litres of water before the hot arrives-water which used to go down the drain. The cold water is then easily walked out to the vegetable garden a couple of times a day, and gives extra water where it is needed. In the course of a day we would do this 3 times, so that is 9 litres x 365 days per year or 3,285 litres of water per year - the equivalent of one full water tank per year!

2. A bucket in the shower in the en suite to collect the cold water before the hot water arrives

Similarly, we are now collected the cold water in the shower. It is further away from the water service, so we have found it collects around 9 litres per shower. We have a toilet right next to the shower, so we are using the water to flush the toilet. Not only does this use the cold water we collect -we save the water which was used in flushing . Our low-flush toilets use 6 litres maximum each flush. If we use the shower water in this way, we have saved the 3285 litres of water per year x 2 for DH and I when we shower - a total of 6570 litres,  plus the saving of 4 flushes per day at 6 litres = 8760 litres per year, which is close to three 3000 litre water tanks! This saving will help us when we are using scheme water on our garden -we can still have a thriving garden without using too much water!

I still want to do more water storage on our property -but finding this water with just a couple of changes to our behaviour is pretty good.

IN other good news, I have moved on from my quilting disaster of last week and am having great fun making a new quilt. I found the inspiration pattern in a book I picked up cheaply at a WAQA sale -it is called The Thimbleberries Guide for Weekend Quilters, and the pattern I am using is called "Welcome Home". I have always wanted to do a 'house quilt" and this is a great introduction to it. The original design is in the traditional muted Thimbleberries fabrics. I think they give it quite a traditional look.

This is the picture in the book

I am adapting it a bit as I go. My daughter commented that as a quilter, I rarely follow the pattern!  Two of the houses now have doors, and I am making scrappy stars. I am also thinking of making a 6 patch border and perhaps even sashing and cornerstones for the main blocks-all scrappy. I have chosen slightly brighter fabrics from my stash, and mixed up the colours of the houses.

Here is my version so far, still on the design board.

Here is the house with a door

I am pleased too that this quilt lets me use two of the Accuuilt Go! dies that I have -the one which came with it when purchased has a 4.5 inch square and a 2.5 inch square and 2.5 when complete half inch triangles -I am using this one for the stars. The 2.5 inch strip cutter is used for many pieces of the house.

So it has been quite a productive week! Which is a bit surprising, given that we had quite a few interruptions from our usual routine going to events for anti-Poverty Week and also for the launch of the Perth branch of Equal Voices. We also made dinner for friends on Friday night.

I have an optometrist appointment today -hoping for better general multifocals as a result!

Have a good week !

Counting down to Sustainable House Open Day!

I did it! I have finished mulching the whole garden, with three trailer loads of free mulch. 

This is an annual task, which we value for the way the mulch protects the soil and plants from excessive heat, helps keep the precious moisture in, and adds biomass to the soil. 

Mulch is also 'makeup for gardens' - and the garden in its spring finery is looking quite pretty. 

I am pleased the mulching is done, because spring is busy on its own anyway. I have seeds and seedlings to attend to, I have feeding to do, and the occasional clumping annual to thin out. These lovely cannas are in flower now. I donated one clump to a neighbour. 

The bottlebrush are in flower on our western boundary fence. This is a favourite tree for both birds and bees at the moment.

Apart from the wind and the rain, there is also the occasional hot day and that requires some extra watering. We are on water restrictions so we can't turn the reticulation on yet, but I have a water tank and a couple of watering cans, and can generally keep the water up to things so that they don't die.

Sap is rising everywhere: grapes, nectarines, mulberry, goji berries.

Blossom quickly follows. I am always worried about the strong winds which come at this time of the year, in case the blossom is blown away before the fruit is set, but so far we seem to be OK.

One casualty of the winds was the rather flimsy lid of one of the free compost bins we collected recently. It kept blowing away, and one night it did a proper job of it, and landed on the neighbour's driveway and got run over. Time for DH to get busy -making me a new one. I don't think this one is blowing away any time soon. It is made with some scraps of wood he had in his shed. He says it is very cool as "recycled chic" and I think it has a "junkadelic" kind of vibe. 

DH has also been in his shed this afternoon, sharpening my knives. I do appreciate this very much. My hands now have some pretty painful joints, so the ease with which a sharp knife cuts things is a wonderful improvement. I find a sharp knife is actually safer than a blunt one.

 We are just a week or so away from Sustainable House Open Day  In some EXCITING NEWS, an electric vehicle will be parked at our house for Sustainable House Open Day 2019! A volunteer member of the Electric Vehicles Association will be present to answer  people's questions for a couple of hours.

The other bit of excitement was that on a recent op shop trip, DH and I came home with this lovely picture for our bedroom. It turns out it is by a local artist, and is of a beach near us. I had been looking for a beach scene for some time, as we both love our beaches, but for some reason had no beach scenes in the house at all. The lovely thing about this is that it picks up the colours of my new quilt quite nicely, too. One the Open House Day is out of the way, we have plans to move into a redecorating mode in the bedroom, and this will inspire us on. We want to paint and we want to do some maintenance on the furniture. I am also looking out for a new set of drawers for clothes storage, if we can find some within our budget.

So that is a lot done this week, and we are on track in our preparations for Sustainable House Open Day.

Thanks for visiting. Comments from readers are always appreciated.

What I am growing and why

Just last night I ducked out to our kitchen garden to pick some lettuce leaves from the 'cut and come again' tiny patch I am growing in a large recycled tub which the "Buy Nothing" FaceBook group I belong to had provided. The leaves were tender and succulent and sweet. With the pasta we were eating, the leaves helped to make a fresh side salad. I have a variety of leaves to choose from -rocket, French sorrel, nasturtium, basil, mint and parsley can all go in the salad. With such a variety the salad has plenty of taste and each plant has time to recover before we come back to cut them again.

Lettuce  and other salad leaves are one of my favourite things to grow in the garden. We have a pretty small suburban plot -just 700 square metres -so the decisions we make about what we grow and based on some important principles:

1. I grow what we eat. This is pretty obvious: I don't want to waste time and energy growing kale for example. I grew it once, and we all decided that there are much better things in this world to eat than kale! I always have spring onions because we just cut the green tops off and they keep on growing for a long time, and they can fit nicely in a tiny spot in the garden, and I use them frequently in salads and stir fries. This season I have broccoli -once we cut the main florets off we can still harvest the side shoots for a good month or more. Did you know you can eat the leaves as well as the florets and stems?  Peas have gone in to grow on the trellis in the back yard: you can also eat the leaves in salads.

This is the way we know what is in season- from now on there will only be tomatoes in the shops which have travelled a long way from the north of our state up near Kununurra or Carnarvon where the seasons are warmer in winter than down here. Their prices go up from now on too, so I will need to make our salads from other ingredients which are in season. Once when I was in Switzerland I was served a salad made of finely sliced carrot dressed with lemon and olive oil- there are other cultures than ours who can show us how to make fresh local ingredients work even when the cucumbers and tomatoes and capsicums are gone for the winter. Coleslaw is great in the winter- we add fennel fronds and seeds for extra flavour. We will add the frozen pomegranate seeds now in the freezer to our couscous and sprinkle them on hummous. Roasted root vegetables like pumpkin and sweet potato can make a great salad with some rocket, parsley and nuts.

2. I grow what is expensive to buy. We don't grow carrots, potatoes or cabbages- they are cheap and good quality from the shops, and they take a lot of ground, which I don't have. This season I have put in a lot of garlic -it is easy to grow in tubs and costs about $24 per kilo. I grow a lot of herbs for the same reason -they are expensive to buy, especially when you only need a sprig of this or a pinch of that. Fresh herbs are so much more flavoursome than dry herbs, and in our climate most of the common herbs like basil, parsley and rosemary do very well. I can't grow coriander though -it bolts to seed in our warm weather- instead I grow Vietnamese Mint as a suitable substitute. I have curry leaves, makrut  or Thai lime leaves, a bay tree, and lots of thyme and lemon thyme.

Most herbs will self -seed here if left to set seed at the end of summer. I have some tiny dill seedlings popping up all over the place at the moment, and flat leaved parsley is everywhere.

We also grow fruit for this reason -lemons, pomegranates, olives, limes, mandarins, grapefruit and quinces. Our grapevines give us both shade and fruit. We usually have so much that after we have harvested and stored as much as we can, we still have lots left to give away to friends and neighbours.

I have strawberry plants growing -but haven't had much fruit yet -and have a new rhubarb plant which I have great hopes for!

This autumn season is a time for some concentrated gardening. The old beds at the end of summer needed a bit of tender care -out came the tomatoes and eggplants and then we fertilized and improved the soil with minerals and compost. I have been working most mornings for the past two weeks to get the winter crops in -but after that concentrated work I won't have to do much more than harvest things for several months.

3. I grow what I can manage. 

I have some sore joints, so I don't want to do lots of digging, but I really enjoy working in the garden, which is for me the best kind of gymnasium. I was a member of a gym a couple of times - I really didn't like the loud music and the fact that I couldn't even see outside. The garden provides me with mental and physical stimulation and challenge in the open air where I can notice the birds, smell the herbs and flowers and feel a sense of accomplishment.

We grow in wicking beds and have an automatic watering system which covers most of the garden. If we leave it to go away for a while most of the garden will survive.

Each watering can weighs at least 9 kilos, so I get some strength training lifting them around the place, when I am using the water from the rain tank and the home made liquid feed I make from the liquid from the worm farm. The worms are the only 'livestock' sadly -no chooks here for us. The garden is a bit too small and I don't want to cope with the extra work of cleaning the chook pen.

I have three big steps up to the upper level in the back garden, so I am getting my  'step class' going up and down them. I have to kneel to weed, and stretch to get under a bush for that last straggly bit of couch grass.

DH and I like to keep the trees pruned to a manageable size where we can reach the fruit without a ladder and move around the garden easily.

If we ever get to the position in the future where we can't manage the work I will just get a gardener in to remove some of the fruit trees and the veggie beds and we will turn it over to local native species which will need less work.

4. We do it because fresh is best and it is fun 

The whole point of the fruit and vegetable garden is that we can grow organic fresh fruit and vegetables right here at home, with no carbon miles (because they have been flown in from far off places), just picked before being eaten.  Our diet is thus more varied as a result, than it would be if I was buying everything from a supermarket or green grocer.

We are not aiming at self sufficiency, but it is clear we can fit a lot of food growing in this small space  using pots to supplement the bigger vegetable beds and mini orchard.

The best thing, however, is the tremendous sense of achievement that you feel when you go out with a basket and a pair of scissors and come back with the makings of a meal, or when you hand out bushels of fruit to your neighbours as you have such an abundance.  You plant a seed and then you go out each day to see if it has come up. You experiment with your food because you try a new taste and you like it (or not, see Kale above!)

Hard rain gonna fall

The hard rain did fall in Perth this past week -and it was very welcome! It has soaked into the dry soil, washed the dust off the leaves and the roof, filled up the water tank and generally refreshed everything. After such a dry and long autumn, the rain is such a blessing.

It has been very dark and gloomy on most days, and we are wrapping up in warm jumpers and scarves and hats. I have a new-to-me coat which I found in an op shop -it is wool and cashmere and so, so warm. I also found a new red knitted beanie. Both of these items are getting some use as we have been out and about, especially in the evening. One of these events was a very special one -we were invited to celebrate an Iftar meal (for the breaking of the fast during Ramadan) with some Muslim people and a church group.

My quilts are back in service as snuggle rugs in the evening, and I have one in my sewing room on the chair, ready to pull over my legs when it is a bit cold. DH is often called upon to share, though.

Our menu has changed with the seasons -we are once again enjoying warming soups and casseroles. This is one of the lovely things about the weather -it brings back into our lives those practices and foods we left behind when the summer came along. Let's face it, we have summer for such a long time here in Perth, and our winters are quite short and sharp, so it is quite a novelty, really- something to be indulged, to be celebrated.

I found this book in a second hand shop: a classic from a classic cook. Such great ideas to keep us bringing in the changes -we like to try new combinations and flavours.

On Friday there was a small clear window, so DH and I took advantage of the break to go down to our favourite beach for a walk. You can see Rottnest Island on the horizon, and the showers were still over there. Unlike the strong blues of summer, the winter beach is full of grey and steel and deep purple.

We also had strong winds, and thunder and lightning...which sent poor Dora in search of any cubby hole which felt safe to her. She has since emerged!

I took advantage of the weather to get back into the sewing room. I actually tidied it up a bit, and in celebration have got back to sewing again. My "leader and ender" project ( inspired by Bonnie Hunter, but as usual doing my own thing) is a bunch of yellow and blue 9 patches, which I thought would create a good quilt for the community quilters group to donate to someone who loved one of our local footy teams, which has the same colours. 

I am using up scraps to make something new. Not sure where this is going -thinking I might try to make some string blocks to go in between the 9 patches, to soak up even more scraps.

You will notice that the first block of the yellow below is wrong...I didn't notice until I took this picture! I will get out my quick unpick and fix it in a minute though.

I was glad to be able to get out of the house this morning to do some weeding in the garden. The daisies and nasturtiums are springing up after the rain, and the couch grass only needs to be left alone for a minute and it thinks it can take over the whole place.  We actually don't have any lawn any more but the couch is a 'forever friend'.  It is time to refresh some of the wicking beds, and even to move the smaller ones out of shade and into  the sun. We picked our first eggplant -they didn't start to fruit until very late in the autumn this year and now I don't know if I should leave the plant a bit longer or pull it out for winter veggies. 

DH's orchids are doing so well this year -now a second racime has 15 blooms! 

Bye bye cafe blinds -and other developments

We have a south west facing patio. It gets a lot of sun and a lot of rain.

For years we had those plastic cafe blinds on four sides -but they quickly went cloudy, then dirty, then they stretched and buckled and the zips failed.  Time to get some new blinds! The first two were installed this week -they are mesh and have stronger framing and more user-friendly maintenance.

Can't wait for the others to be made so we can enjoy this patio for more weeks of the year. 

We took the chance to get rid of the last remaining vertical blinds in the house.  Hello insulated concertina blinds. These windows face north so we want to be able to keep the heat out on very hot days, but we also want to be able to see out and let winter sun in.

I will be purchasing filmy white drapes for this bedroom to go with the blinds. 

The quilting is finished on my latest quilt, which I am calling 'fly away home'. Need to get on to the binding, but I have been busy with a few events outside the home this week. 

One of the events was our community quilting sewing bee. I won these pretty fabrics in the door prize! I know I don't need any more fabrics but it is always nice to get new fabric. It often inspires new combinations with older fabric from the stash. I came home with some donated blocks which I want to wrangle into a community quilt. Someone donated them -perhaps they cut them the wrong size..it was a bit of a puzzle but I have an idea to use them and make a nice quilt with them. 

It is pomegranate season -we have to process and use these soon. 

We also have olives to process. 

And the citrus is ripening fast too! We are soon going to need to process grapefruit, tangelos and meyer lemons, but I am hoping these mandarins will be edible without processing. 

I had better stop going out! There is work to do here at home! 

Decluttering and bread making while the garden grows

The third week of Advent and Christmas is approaching fast, but we mostly feel under control -presents have been organised, cards sent, and festivities begun with the usual end-of-year events.

There are two other things going on around here, one is that I have been experimenting with refining my bread making techniques, and the other is a growing tidal wave of decluttering.

Regarding the decluttering -the new lounge room cabinets liberated a chest of drawers that was used to store craft supplies.  It turned out to be just the right size to fit next to my bed, which until then had only had a bedside table, without drawers. I love being able to put everything away -and there is plenty of room to store my extensive collection of op shop scarves, too. I like the look of the drawers -neat and tidy.

DH was inspired so we measured the rest of the space in the room and were happy to realise that there was room for the same unit on the other side of the bed -and off we went to IKEA buy one for him- they are called Alex and are in the office section of the store. The shallow drawers are great for keeping books and medicines  near the bed. DH is talking about painting the whole bedroom -he is feeling really good about the opportunity it gives to update and refresh everything.

This in turn has led to him taking a keen eye to clutter in his study. The former bedside tables are now side tables in his study, and go nicely with the new photo frames he has been setting up to refresh the decor. The study is a work in progress, because the lead-up to Christmas is a busy time for him. I think that once Christmas is over, he will be happily pottering away on making this place work better and look better.

I have been continuing to tidy up too. DH mentioned that he was feeling the front porch was looking tired, so we rearranged and changed some things there too, to make a less cluttered and spacious entrance to our home. I moved the seed trolley to the back yard -now that I am not working it is easier for me to keep an eye on it there. The mulch is all spread, the roses have been fed and dead-headed and all the junk is gone. The only thing left to do is to get rid of some weeds in the brick paving - I have ordered a special tool for that, which should make it easier to achieve. Have you ever wondered how weeds in dry and hot brick paving seem so indestructible? I can't imagine there are many plants which could survive our baking hot sun  and dry weather, but these things are determined to take over the whole driveway. I am likewise determined that they will not!


Bread making

My sourdough technique has been improved by the use of an overnight first proving of the dough -and also by cooking the dough 'under the dome' of my roasting pan. The result is that the bread is more spongy with good sized air holes and has a thinner but crisp crust. Read my bread recipe and technique here 

The garden is looking great at the moment. Summer production is under way! We feel as though our garden has done a lot of maturing this year, and is now a micro-climate of its own, which is bringing good results in the production of food. Our place looks so lush when others in the street are a bit dry and bare.

Our pomegranates are coming along -not a huge crop, but growing nicely. This one will be cherry red and about the size of a baseball when ripe.

The kalamata olive is in production. 

The grapes on the trellis are ripening. 

The biggest crop is the passionfruit however -there are so many fruits on it just now! 

We are getting good sized Eureka lemons this year, which is confirming we made the right decision to plant the tree to supplement the Meyer lemon out the back. The Meyer lemons come all at once, but the Eureka is more of a continuous cropper. I can't imagine being without a lemon tree or two. Lemons are $4.50 each in the shops! I have a plan to make Nigella's Lemon and Thyme Bundt Cake for Christmas -as we have lots of lemons and thyme. I will probably serve it with some yummy icecream, out on the patio. The forecast for Perth for Christmas day at the moment is 29C, which should be just about perfect.