Haemochromatosis

A little over ten years ago two of my relatives were diagnosed with haemochromatosis, have you heard of it? It is a genetic blood disorder also known as "iron overload disorder". It was suggested that all members of the family be tested and when my results came back I discovered that although I don't have haemochromatosis I do however have two of the genes that cause it which puts me in the medium-risk category for iron overload. A few months ago, I had started to feel extremely tired, thinking that I might be anemic I had a blood test done, turns out rather than my iron levels being low they were in fact way too high. 

The only treatment for women past childbearing years, which I am, is to become a "therapeutic blood donor", so once a month, for three months that's exactly what I became. My last blood donation was a couple of weeks ago and I'm due to have a blood test next week to see if having blood taken has worked in lowering my iron levels, hopefully, they will be okay and from now on I will only have to give blood every three months instead of monthly. 

High irons levels may not sound like a bad thing, but left untreated it can lead to some major health issues such as cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes and congestive heart failure. People most at risk for haemochromatosis are those of Northern European descent, if you would like to know more about it this website, has some very good information.

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The Week That Was

Apparently, I'm no good with writing a blog post every day so here is what my week looked like instead. I'm hoping that once I get back into the habit of writing again, writing on a daily basis will become easier.

Monday - A Rainy Morning
I woke up to rain this morning which put the kibosh on the plans I had to work in the vegetable garden today not that I mind, there has been so little rain through winter, which is our wet season, that I'll take all the rain we can get, and there are always things to do in the house and that's just what I did. 

The rain cleared in the afternoon and I went for a walk. I'm trying to make this a part of my daily routine as my second youngest daughter is getting married next April and she has asked me to give her away, as you can imagine I was absolutely thrilled that she asked me and I want to look the best I can for her big day.

Tuesday - An Appointment and a Visit to the Library
I had an appointment in town this morning, which ended up being a waste of time, I did walk there and back so I got my walk over and done with early.

While I was out I paid a visit to the library and picked up some books, I love to read and try to read for at least an hour a day and on average I read a book a week.

I've just finished reading The Magnificent Mrs. Mayhew, by Milly Johnson and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The trip into town wasn't a complete waste of my time as I saw this family of ducks on the way there. There are usually a lot of ducks and ducklings around at this time of year but due to the lack of rain, we've had just over half of our normal rainfall this year, the river is basically dry except for a few large puddles, not ideal conditions for raising a family in.

I've sown a lot of seed this year and for the most part they are germinating well. I did notice though that not all of the bean seeds have germinated so I've had to sow more, I think the problem was too much water and they rotted away, I've resown and hopefully will see some germination in the next ten days or so. 

The beans that have germinated are doing well and are more than ready to go into the ground something I'm hoping to get done this coming weekend.

Wednesday - Hablar Espanol?
I've always wanted to learn another language so when Spanish lessons were offered at the local community house I signed up for them, not long into my second year of learning the language my teacher was offered a job, so Spanish lessons were put on the back burner. A few weeks ago I heard that my teacher was available again and I signed up for lessons straight away. I don't know that I will ever need to use Spanish but they say that learning a different language is good for your brain so I have nothing to lose.

Thursday - Too Hot to Work Outside
A very warm day today with the temperature reaching 30°C and very windy as well so I spent the day inside catching up on some housework, dusting, cleaning windows and vacuuming which since I bought my Dyson is no longer the chore it once was.

Friday - A Day in the City
 I took the train into the city with my daughter, I don't enjoy going into Adelaide (or any city for that matter) too crowded, too noisy, but I needed some art supplies and it was cheaper to travel into the city to buy them, then to order online and pay for postage.  

While I was in the city my daughter and I decided to do some clothes shopping, I don't often shop for clothes and I had forgotten how unforgiving dressing room mirrors are. I knew I had put on weight,  but seeing myself in the mirror was a bit of a shock so I've decided that along with walking on a regular basis I would start intermittent fasting as well. I currently weigh 74.3kg (163.8lbs) and for my height, 175 cms (5' 81/2") that means I am 5kg (11lb) overweight, my goal is to lose between 5 - 8kgs. 

Here are some photos I took while wandering around Rundle Mall. It's hard to take a photo without people in it when there is an endless stream of humanity going in both directions but I did my best.

Augusta - one of the four mall pigs on a day out in the city.

Truffles and Horatio 

Oliver

 

The Spheres - more commonly known as the Mall's Balls

There are always buskers in Rundle Mall and these guys were really good. The elderly gentleman wasn't part of the act, just a regular visitor to the mall who loves to dance with the different buskers who are performing.

I spotted this artwork on our way to afternoon tea at San Churro, one of many pieces of street art that can be found in the Adelaide CBD.

Saturday - The Weather Can't Make Up Its Mind
I was so tired from walking around the city yesterday that last night I went to bed at 10.30pm which is something that doesn't happen often, I slept very well, and woke up at 7.00am but didn't actually get up until 8 o'clock. When I opened the curtains I found that it had rained overnight, 12mm all up, wonderful for the gardens but it's now too wet for me to plant the beans out, so I think a lazy day is in order. One thing I am hoping to get done today is getting these beauties hung up. I walked past the shop this picture was hanging in for two weeks before deciding to buy it. I don't often buy big items like this but I knew if I didn't buy it I would regret it so home it came. I love birds, especially our Australian natives so I know this will be hanging on my wall for many years to come.

Sunday - The Beans Are Planted
Well, at least some of them were. It was a strange day weather-wise, grey and overcast, then the sun would come out, then it would get windy and start raining and after being rained on a few times I gave up and called it a day. The beans that did get planted are the variety "Painted Lady", also known as seven-year bean and I've planted them on an arch so they won't be disturbed, the arch is not the best quality so I hope it doesn't collapse, I've tied it to the fence for some extra support.

I've tied the arch to the fence in the hope that it will keep it in place.

The beans were starting to get a little pot bound

Painted Lady beans, I planted three on each side of the arch, it should look lovely once they start to flower.

 That's it, that was my week, how was yours?

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This Weekend

Hello everyone, it's been a while, I know, and I'm sorry about that, life just got in the way but I'm back now and I'm hoping to write a blog post every day, it won't be anything of monumental importance just me and my everyday life. To start off here is what I got up to over the weekend.

Friday, September 13th
I slept in this morning, which is unusual for me as I normally wake up between 6.30 and 7.30 most mornings. It's a beautiful day outside, the sun is shining and the temperature will reach 21°C perfect for some outdoor work. 

The fish in my fish pond (it is an old zinc bathtub) are suffering from some type of fungal infection and I have lost half of my fish despite my best efforts so first up today I need to empty half of the water out of the pond, refill it with rainwater and then add some more fungal medication, hopefully that will fix the problem and I won't lose any more fish. 

It hasn't rained here for a while and the gardens are dry so I also needed to put the sprinkler on the vegetable garden which is looking very healthy but producing slowly it needs to hurry up and grow as it won't be long before I will need to start planting out my summer crops. 

As spring is in the air I fertilised all the pot plants, (I have a lot so this took quite a long time), and the fruit bushes, I gave the orange trees a drink of Epsom salts as they are looking a bit yellow, they are covered in flowers at the moment so I am hoping for a good crop of oranges from them.

Saturday, September 14th
There is a large area outside my backdoor that is all concrete so to soften its appearance a bit I have lots of pot plants there, but there were far too many small pots which made the area look very untidy so I decided to consolidate some of the smaller plants into larger pots and I got rid of any that had died or that weren't growing as well as it should. 

Before all this happened though I went for a walk to my local Aldi store for some groceries, I then met my daughter and we went plant shopping which is one of our favourite things to do which is how I ended up with so many pot plants, I've banned myself from buying anything but annuals and vegetable plants from now on. I came home with a punnet of Alyssum, one of pansies, another of dahlias and a clary sage plant which is for the flower garden in the veggie patch.

I also got my housemate to help me hang some plant hangers that my daughters had bought me for Mothers day last year. It took a few hours but it looks so much better now and I'm happy with it which is the main thing.  

The pot of dirt in the background has Calla lillies planted in it and they are just starting to emerge.

Sunday, September 15th
It was meant to be a day of relaxation and doing only those things that I wanted to do but I discovered that I have lost the art of relaxation and instead of enjoying the day I ended up feeling cranky and of sorts. I did get some photos loaded onto my phone and iPad to upload to my two Instagram accounts which I guess was better than nothing. If you would like to check out my Instagram accounts you can find them here and here.

Until tomorrow, Jan.

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Bloomin' Lovely - Spring 2018

Spring is over and after a very mild spring, summer is definitely here, as I sit here writing this post (10 am ACDT), it is currently 36.6°C (97.8°F) with an expected high of 41°C (105.8°F).

Spring this year was the strangest one I've ever known, the weather was all over the place with days in the mid 30's and then dropping down to the low teens, it was unbelievably windy and nighttime temperatures got down as low as 4°C (39.2°F) which meant that up until three days ago I still had blankets on my bed, which I didn't mind as I love the cooler weather and dread the heat that summer brings, we did have some really good rain at the end of November, but it has quickly dried up with the heat of this week.

Despite the strange spring weather conditions the plants flowered as they normally would so I thought that I would share some of the flowers that bloomed in my garden during the past 3 months.

I bought some daffodil bulbs at the beginning of spring, planted them and although they all grew only these two flowered, the one in the bottom photo is definitely my favourite.

One of my favourite natives, Geraldton Wax, this one is "Raspberry Ripple".

I bought this Gerbera for $2 at a local nursery and managed to keep it alive long enough for it to bloom. The photo doesn't do it justice though as it is a lot more fluorescent in real life.

My "Lavish Rose" Lavender flowered so much better this year than it did last year it could be because I actually remembered to fertilise it this year.

I've waited five years for this Melaleuca "Apricot Delight to flower, it was worth the wait.

My rock orchid didn't flower at all last year so I was pleasantly surprised to find it covered in flower spikes this year.

I have never sown seed for or planted Hollyhocks, but every year they pop up in my garden, some years there will be a lot and some years like this year they will only be a couple.

I was lucky to have any Sweet Peas at all this year, every time I sowed seeds the Blackbirds would dig them up while they were hunting for bugs in the garden.

I love this Rain Forest Lily, the flowers last for weeks and when they are finished these unusual seed pods appear.

Scabiosa, it copes with whatever nature throws at it and the bees just love it.

They might be considered old-fashioned by some, but wallflowers will always be a favourite of mine, their fragrance alone makes them worth growing.

The Wonga Wonga vine was absolutely spectacular this year, but no matter how many photos I took I could not capture just how amazing it looked.

What flowered in your garden this spring? Do you have a favourite spring flower or like me do you love them all?

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Monarto Zoo

Located 70 kilometres from South Australia's capital, Adelaide and set on 1,500 hectares Monarto Zoo is Australia's largest open-range zoo. Opened in 1983 as a breeding and pastoral area the zoo is now home to over 500 species of exotic and native animals some of which are now on the endangered list. This was my second visit to Monarto and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time.

There are walking trails around the zoo, but the best and most comfortable way to see all of the animals is to take one of the buses that depart every half hour.

Before you do that though it is well worth paying a visit to one of my favourite animals the Meerkats.

Then stroll down and visit the chimpanzees.

One of the two baby chimpanzees born at the zoo this year.

On your way back up drop in and see the Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies

The last time we visited they were all out sunning themselves, this time we could only see two.

This rhino sculpture by Gillie and Marc Shattner,  was originally part of the Sydney Sculpture by the Sea Exhibition, it is now used as a reminder to visitors of the plight that rhinos face in the wild.

Emus roam the grounds of the zoo, they weren't phased by the humans watching them at all.

Przewalski's Horse is native to Mongolia and is the only truly wild horse now in existence and it is currently on the endangered list. Monarto Zoo has a breeding herd of 20 horses and has successfully bred 20 foals since their arrival from the United Kingdom in 1986.

A pair of American Bison were the first species to arrive at the zoo in 1983 and since then has grown into a substantial herd and they're HUGE. I knew they were a big animal, but it's not until you see them up close that you realise just how big they really are.

 The original herd of 13 Blackbuck that arrived at the zoo in 1983 has successfully bred over 300 more which can now be found in zoos all over Australia.

Female Blackbuck resting in the grass.

Monarto is home to a herd of giraffes, 5 females and 5 bulls (the bulls are housed separately from the females), the first calf was born in 1995 and since then a further 43 calves have been born making it the most successful breeding institution in Australia.

Although this is the only Tasmanian Devil we saw on the day the are 13 more Devil's who call the zoo home, they are part of a project to ensure the survival of the species if no cure can be found for the cancerous facial tumour that are decimating the wild population.

One of the three rhinos seen below , Umqali, is pregnant with her sixth calf which is due in November. Did you know that a herd of rhinoceros is called a "crash"?

Southern White Rhinos

One of two male cheetahs at the zoo Saadani was born in 20011 in the Netherlands and arrived at the zoo in 2013, he is the father of the 3 cheetah cubs in the photo below.

Kesho with her 3 cubs that were born in June this year

There are 3 lions and 8 lionesses at the zoo making it the largest pride of lions in Australia. We were fortunate to see the females this visit, they were in their enclosure last time.

As we were taking a break for lunch this cheeky crow decided to join us.

After lunch is was back on the bus for one more circuit before leaving for home.

Plains zebra, also known as Burchell's zebra.

Monarto is home to 7 different species of antelope and deer which include Addax, Blackbuck, Bongo, Eland, Indian Antelope, Mesopotamian Fallow Deer, Red Deer and Waterbuck.

Unfortunately I can't remember which species this is, but I think the might be Red Deer.

African Painted Dogs.

The photos are not the best I've ever taken I know, unfortunately the day we went the sun was very bright, that coupled with the fact that it was very dusty due to a very dry winter this year made everything looked very washed out.

I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse at Monarto Zoo, if you are ever in South Australia and looking for something to do I can highly recommend a visit.

Until next time, Jan.

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