Slugs and Snails: Make a Beer Baited Slug Trap Mark II

I made this one using an instant noodle container and an Aqua Spike. I used my Dremel to drill a hole for the spike, to hold the roof up. The dremel helped me to add a bit of artistic flair by engraving the roof. It reads: 'The Drunken Slug Inn. Snails welcome.' and the 'S' in slug is a slug :)




Like the Mark I it seems to be most attractive to slugs rather than snails. So how do we deal with snails?



My housemate planted some cyclamens. She would usually scatter snail pellets around new plants like these but it hasn't been necessary. I had read that coffee grounds can be an effective snail deterrent so we've been scattering that closely around these new plants instead. Additionally, the grounds are a good soil conditioner. We would usually broadcast the grounds over the mulch. It feels good to use gentle, organic pest control that won't linger in the foodchain.

Dancing bears sticker

Not sure what this means.

Spotted on top of a post at pedestrian crossing near Victoria Market, Melbourne CBD

LadyMeerkat's Perfect Pot of Tea

It might seem obvious but if you want to have the perfect cup or two of teapot tea then you don't want to drown the tea leaves in excess water.

Swirl some hot water around the pot to warm it up. Do the same with the cups and the measuring jug if you want to be really thorough, especially if it's Winter!
Measure out however many cups of tea you need by the metric cup (1 cup = 250ml) with a heat proof measuring jug.
Add one heaped teaspoon of tea to the pot for however many cups of tea you want to make, PLUS one for the pot. One cup of tea = 2tsp  Two cups of tea = 3tsp etc
Add water and brew to taste.

cU  \(~)?  cU



Green Thumb Tip:
Scatter the spent tea leaves widely over your garden beds or add to your compost / mulch heap. I like to scoop them out with a tea spoon then rinse out the pot and pour that water in the garden as well.

Harvest Fish

I harvested a bunch of limes, mini capsicums and chillies in the garden on Friday afternoon. After dumping them on the kitchen bench I noticed an overall shape. I worked with that, embellishing it with the chillies which I collected in a bowl.

Identify your ear buds quickly - by tattooing one!

Yes we can tell L from R but when one is in a hurry it's nice to just grab them and pop them in your ears.

My brother came up with the idea of putting odd coloured ear bud covers on his iPod ear buds. The rubber around the speaker detiorates with time so the covers mean you don't have to throw them away, you can keep on using them. After my own odd coloured set wore out I was only able to get a pack of all black pairs from Dick Smith. Ear bud foam covers are really hard to find!

If you have ever got biro or permanent marker on something vinyl or rubber you know that even if you clean off the surface ink it penetrates into the material. This 'life hack' takes advantage of that.

You will need
a small point, permanent marker
cotton buds
methylated spirits


Carefully draw a line around on the end of one bud's stem. Leave for about 5 days or up to a week for best results. The colour will start to bleed a little into the rubber.


Swab off all the surface ink you can to reveal a permanent tattoo.

Wrapped up tree: Triage by Louise Lavarack

Coming in to work one morning I saw workmen wrapping up this tree with something soft and white. I wasn't sure if it was to protect the tree from adjacent construction or an installation artwork. My botanist coworker thought it might be an arborist thing. As it turns out Triage is an art installation by Melbourne artist Louise Lavarack. There are tributes to the dying tree at its base but I prefer the surreal quality of the tenderly wrapped boughs in the afternoon sun: