As happy as a pig in...

I got a treat today,'cos I've been a good girl.

Firstly, I was given a beautiful day. 24 odd degrees, cool breeze, warm winter sun.

Secondly I was driven down to Glenbrook to gather some lovely free mushroom compost from the odd little mushroom farm off the highway. I hold the garbage bags and Brett shovels it in. Go team, Go!

Thirdly I was treated to a leisuely drive down to Sun Valley to buy Cow Poo, Lucerne and seed potatoes. I was also allowed to coo over the beautiful layer hens they had there for sale, as well as having a fairly decent chat with a male and female pheasant. I flirted a little with a jet-black rooster who was literally half the size of me, and Brett didn't mind at all. Lastly, I indulged in some pretty inane baby-talk with some wee hatchlings. They didn't have much to say, having only been on the planet for about a week. Some excitement about how fun straw is, and how yummy food can be.

Home again and the human earth-mover gallantly carries all the heavy stuff from the car down to the vege garden, where I am gently admonished to put on sunscreen and a hat. He leaves me standing amongst piles of excrement with my shovel, literally grinning from ear to ear. Come to think of it, I'm sure I was even happier than the proverbial aforementioned porcine individual.

1 hr later. The garden has been nourished by a lovely mixture of very stinky cow-poo, lucerne hay and tonne of mushroom compost. Into this warm bed of yuck went seeds for golden squash, and my seed potatoes. Everything was watered briefly, and now I'm tickng off the minutes til 4pm when I can go out and give the whole kit 'n' kaboodle a good drenching (1 and 3/4 hours).

Following the drenching, I intend to weed amongst my love-in-a-mists and herbs, aquasol the flowers and have long lavender and ylang ylang bubble-bath.

Thus refreshed I will embark upon barbecue seitan steaks with hassleback potatoes, cauliflower gratin, honey/sesame carrots, steamed broccoli and brown-onion gravy for Dinner.

All in all, a most satisfactory kind of day that leaves you feeling kind of clean, and earthy and healthy and good. Highly recommended as the kind of day to have whenever you can.