Blogtober Day 13, 14 and 15

 I didn't post on Wednesday because I had nothing to write about, I went to work, I came home, that was it. 

Thursday was much the same except that for the first time in years I went late night shopping with my youngest daughter. I wanted to buy some fabric to make myself some face masks to add to the ones I already have. The solid coloured fabrics were all from the remnants bin and the patterned fabrics were all on sale.

Each mask will have three layers a solid coloured layer, a patterned layer and a layer of muslin in between.

I also bought three new jigsaw puzzles at a price that was too good to pass up.

 

The sky on Thursday evening.

We had 26.4mm (1.03in) of rain overnight which I was glad of as it saved me from having to water the  gardens in my front yard.

That brings us to today. I had quite a long list of things to do today and I got most of them done. One of the things on my list was to give the fish pond pump a thorough clean. I took it all apart and cleaned it, put back together, put it back in the pond, turned it on and, nothing. So I took it apart again and made sure the impeller was seated properly, turned it back on and it still wouldn't work. I got the manual out to make sure I had done everything the right way and as I was looking at the diagram I noticed that on the bottom of the impeller was a small black grommet which I no longer had. Apparently it helps hold the impeller spindle in place and without it the pump won't work, so now I have to order a new one as they are a special order and not available in store. I just hope that fixes the problem.

Read More

My Week in a Nutshell

Monday

I was supposed to go out today, I had a few things that needed to be done, but to be quite honest I just couldn't be bothered, I woke up this morning feeling quite flat, I'm not sure why and it only lasted a few hours, I guess we can't be happy all the time.

It was overcast today and very warm (34°C) and with nothing better to do, I defrosted the freezer which was a job that was well overdue, it didn't take as long as I thought it would and now it's done for another two months or so.

This afternoon I took the shade cloth off the vegetable garden only to find the bloody blackbirds had dug up one of my watermelon seedlings, I'm pretty sure I didn't actually need three, but still.

Tuesday
Spanish this morning and a quick wander through the op shop which also has a small plant section and I came home with four tomato plants, one each of Mortgage Lifter and Money Maker and two of KY1 which I've never heard of, but apparently it's an Australian heirloom tomato so I thought I would try it, another punnet of Genovese basil and a small pot of Siam Queen basil it only cost me $10.00 for the lot.

I had to have my photo taken today for ID purposes, at my age, it's not something I enjoy having done, but needs must I just hope it turns out half decent.

I also needed to go to Centrelink to sort something out, I never look forward to going there because you can be there for hours waiting to be seen, but luckily I only had to wait five minutes and the problem was sorted out in no time at all. Home after that for lunch and a quiet afternoon.

Wednesday
A quiet start to my day today, my daughter and I went grocery shopping in the afternoon and then it was a trip to the vet as our dog has a bad eye, it turned out that she had managed to cut her eye on something and it had ulcerated, she is now on anti-inflammatory medication and ointment for her eye.

In the early evening I planted out the tomatoes I bought yesterday, as well as the basil.

Thursday

The flyscreen on my kitchen window has needed some attention for a while now as it was very dusty but being a security screen it can't be removed and the only way to clean it is to fill a bucket with some water and detergent and scrub it with the soft floor broom, it took some doing but it's now nice and clean.

I also had to empty out the fish pond as the fish have some sort of fungal disease, so far I have lost six fish and really don't want to lose anymore. Treating them involves emptying the pond, (don't worry the water didn't get wasted), refilling the pond and then adding anti-fungal treatment, fingers crossed that it works and my fish survive.

Friday
I didn't have a lot to do at home today so I took myself off for a walk and somehow my feet found their way into one of the several op shops in my area, I don't buy a lot these days as there isn't a lot I need but I am always on the lookout for books to add to my collection or to replace the ones that I loved, but stupidly gave away. I found five books to add my collection and when I got to the register I was happy to find that books had just gone on sale for 50% off so even with the price I had to pay for a bag to carry them in it only cost me $10.25 which worked out at less than the three big books would have cost. The books on the bottom are old favourites that I want to reread, and the others are a new series that I have just found.

Saturday
I woke up to grey skies this morning and hoped it would rain, but then the sun came out and dashed my hopes, an hour later the clouds were back and it rained.  As I couldn't get out into the garden as I had intended, (I still haven't fixed the irrigation system in the front garden), I cleaned the bathroom and laundry instead which was the last thing on my list of household chores for this week, by the time I had finished doing that the skies had cleared again but it was too late in the day to start on the irrigation as it is going to take quite a few hours to sort it out so I think I will leave the garden for tomorrow.

Sunday
Well, I won't be doing any garden chores or yard work today as I woke to rain this morning and unlike yesterdays intermittent rain it hasn't stopped and as I've finished all the housework that leaves me with a free day, what to do, what to do?

As today is December 1st it's time for the Christmas tree to be put up a job I leave to my daughter now, we have gone a minimalist this year, no tinsel, no garland of beads wrapped around the tree, just baubles and lights.

Not great photos but it is grey and rainy today, I will try to take some better ones when we get some sunshine.

Until next time, stay safe, Jan.

Read More

A Week In The Garden

I had the week off work last week, it was so nice to be able to stay home and potter in the garden instead of having to rush to get everything done. I thought I would document it so that I can look back to see what was happening in the garden and what the weather for the week was like.

Tuesday July 12th 

Sunshine, rain, hail and very strong winds, the only thing missing was snow. Two trees in my street, one an olive, and the other a jacaranda, lost a big branch each. On a quick trip to the greenhouse I noticed one of the cauliflowers was lying on it side, I will have to remember to fix it tomorrow if the weather improves.

Wednesday July 13th 

Another strange day weather wise, overcast, then sunny with intermittent showers thrown in for good measure. I still managed to spend some time in the garden, cutting the spent flowers from the Lion's Ear, tying up the larkspur that was lying on the ground where you couldn't see the flower stem properly. 

I noticed that the earwigs have had a lovely feast on the turnips and my only wombok cabbage, so I raked the pea straw off the bed so they wouldn't have anywhere to hide. I'm hoping that they will recover, but only time will tell.

 I finally remembered to move the coriander seedling that had come up (from the seed that was sown six months ago) between two rows of peas over to the carrot bed.

I also managed to get one and a half beds weeded before the rain returned.

Thursday July 14th 

No rain today, instead just periods of sunshine followed by grey skies. I added more soil to the potato pots, I'm really pleased with how they're coming along.

Four pots of Red Delight on left and four pots of Kestrel on right.

The three pots on the left are Kipfler, it's good to see them starting to put on some growth.

I had to give some of the peas a helping hand as I think some of them must have missed the memo about what their tendrils are actually for.

Dwarf Blue Bantam and Early Crop Massey.

Friday July 15th 

It has been an absolutely beautiful day today. The sun was shining, the skies were blue and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. It was the kind of day that is just too good to stay inside and it was a joy to be able spend some time in the garden.

The first thing I decided to do when I got down to the greenhouse was to put the seedlings outside so they could get some sun, as I lifted the first tray the weight of all the seedling pots was too much and the tray broke and the poor seedlings ended up on the ground. Luckily I was able to save most of them. The calendulas, which were more out of their pots than in  planted out in the insect garden, hopefully they won't mind the cold too much. The only ones that I'm worried about are the snapdragons. They are still so tiny, I'm not sure if they will recover.

I managed to finally take care of a job that has been on my to do list for far too long, but I kept putting it off because I just couldn't be bothered, but I'm so sick of the blackbirds kicking the soil and straw out of the asparagus bed I decided to just get it done. It took less than half an hour and now the asparagus bed finally has edging!

Asparagus bed before

Asparagus bed after

I sowed 26 broad beans, being a first for me I was unaware that they should have been sown last month, I'm hoping that I haven't left it too late.

"Early Long Pod" broad beans

The variety I wanted to plant was the "Crimsoned Flower" type, but I could not find them so I settled for Early Longpod. According to the packet they should be ready to harvest by October 21st. 

Finally time for a cuppa and to just enjoy the garden for a little while.

Saturday July 16th

Another beautiful day today. It took a few hours, but all the vegetable beds are now weed free, at least for a little while. I found a baby eggplant on the plant I am overwintering in the greenhouse, totally unexpected, but a very nice surprise.

Sunday July 17th

Another nice day, although not quite as warm as yesterday. With nothing left to do in the vegetable garden I decided to sow some seeds, Red and green lettuce, Mendania spinach, carrots Nantes, Top Weight and Chantenay, (I had sown some in the garden a few weeks ago, but they came to nothing, I'm hoping I have better luck this time), also some Kwang Moon pak choi.

I transplanted some of the flower seedlingss,  Poached Egg, the larger poppies, and the wallflower into bigger pots and fertilised the potatoes, the rocket and radicchio have sprouted

Six of the broccoli plants have developed heads, I don't now how I missed seeing them when I was weeding yesterday. 

I'm hoping to be able to do a similar post next month to keep track of how things went, so check back then.

Read More

Summer's End

Although today marks the end of summer, and autumn officially begins tomorrow, the autumn solstice is not for a few more weeks and there is still some warmer weather to come, but I can already see and feel the season changing.

Read More

January 2016

There were lots of clouds that promised much, but gave nothing.

Walks on the beach were taken. 

I wish I lived close enough to do this everyday.

This beautiful girl arrived in our lives. We are all completely smitten.

Harper May Rose
4.05kilos (8lb 15ozs)

And it finally rained. I could almost hear the garden sigh in relief. I know I did.

Read More

After The Rain

Read More