plum update and a christmas giveaway!

The lorikeets of a week or so ago have moved on and gemma has been finishing off anything that was left of the plums...

You might not have believed that I have a plum eating dog...but not only that, she's a plum picking dog!

Be patient with me re the dog pics...I just find gemma so darn cute when she does this (as you can see hugo is none too interested!)...and it's the only plummy amusement I'm going to have this year.  I'm wistfully thinking back to previous plum abundance...this next piccy was the low down branch that gemma was picking off after she was finished yesterday...

And that's about all I can see on the tree, so this years harvest is a total of three plums!

I'm not going to have any jam to give away this year...so for fun I'm offering a giveaway to blog readers...if you would like one of my plum jam recipes which I was folding up yesterday for christmas cards, send me your snail mail details to remnantgleaning@gmail.com and I'll post one out to you - anywhere in the world!  Hopefully you have more fruit in your neck of the woods than I do right now :o)

p.s. this final pic is last years jam :o(

damson in distress

My poor damson plum hasn't been doing so well since the end of blossom time.  The bumper crop that seemed to be developing here, unfortunately didn't come about when the last of the blossom just didn't set fruit in late September and withered away...

 I think it may have been because we had a very dry august here in Melbourne...something was not right at that time because the pluot tree (plum cross apricot) had blossom at that time and it didn't set fruit at all.

Now that the plums that are there are just beginning to ripen, the lorikeets have moved in!

They've been having a good peck...and this is the result!  Even the plums on lower down branches are being pecked...in previous years they ate all those at the top which I couldn't reach anyhow, and there were so many plums that there were enough for everyone.  I don't mind really...I do love watching them waddling about and hearing their gentle cooing then their raucous squabbles...and it's nice to see them enjoying a feed.

At least Gemma is getting to eat some too...she nosies around the bushes (a bit of dog gleaning) and finds those that have fallen from too much pecking but still palatable...at least for her!

So there will be no plum preserving party this year...it's amazing thinking back to the absolute fecundity of this tree considering how it is going this year.  It's probably quite anthropocentric of me to say that it is the plum tree in distress when it probably is actually me.  I do think I took the plum bearing powers of damson for granted at least a teensy bit.  I thought it would be there every year, providing me with the means to make lots of christmas jam pressies.  Maybe damson isn't in distress at all...maybe she needed a break this year!

Tabliers pour le Printemps

EXCLUSIVE premiere...


Tabliers pour le Printemps from tania splawa-neyman on Vimeo.

one night only...

Everything is in place for the exclusive premiere of 'Tabliers pour le Printemps' here tomorrow night @ 6.30 pm EST
To RSVP go to the invite here
I'll see you then!

FASHION event preview: Tabliers pour le Printemps

For most, a celebration of SPRINGtime doesn’t go much beyond seed catalogues, soil preparation, manure, mulch and snail hunting, but for this fanatic from Melbourne obsession goes way beyond the ordinary. “APRONs are just what everyone needs for springtime,” explains remnant gleaner Tania Splawa-Neyman as she prepares for a showcase of DOMESTIC delights to celebrate the upcoming spring of FASHION. Think 60s influenced popovers and an abundance of garden inspired prints to channel an appreciation of all that is homegrown.
WATCH the online fashion show for a limited time from the comfort of your own screen only at www.remnantgleaning.blogspot.com
EXCLUSIVE premiere @ 6.30pm EST, 6th September 2011.

RSVP @ www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=240601929308331

last year preserved and this year promised...

all things spring

Yay!  First day of spring is here!

I've been very obsessed by the blossoming of miss damson plum - no. 1 fruit tree here.  I've taken to calling this lovely by a name.  Miss damson has become the center of my attention when observing the happenings in the space.  Maybe because the tree is opposite my workroom window?

Makes for a nice comparison with previous lace and reflective space :o)

sunlight and blossom

Beautiful day today with a real hint of spring in the air.  The damson plum is blossoming and it brings some other sunlight and blossoms to mind...

The inaugural preserving party

I held a preserving party a few weeks back - the link here for the event on facebook.

It was a lovely day and something to think about for future projects - not sure how or when!
Pics here
And a little snippet below!