August

As we walk we look for tiny spots of colour.

August in the Trees

It's lovely to see my Australian Native Hibiscus in full flower for the first time since planting it.



Daffodils and bluebells. I wonder if anything will come of them? I've had a word with them all - not threatening, just encouragement. I realise this isn't English countryside but, hey, the past few weeks we've had some very "English" weather so what more do they want? It's been grim, lots of rain and quite cold up here in the hills. Surely they feel at home? Watch this space.

With so much rain all sorts of fungii has appeared from the damp earth.

What's happ'nin' up in the trees lately? TLOML is away mining - digging beautiful rocks out of the ground. He's digging Crazy Lace Agate at the moment. One of my favourites.

Meanwhile, we are back at the ranch, holding the fort (me and Woody, that is). But it's just tooooooo cold. For me, anyway. Six degrees Celcius outside at present and ten inside. I've put the gas fire on to defrost my fingers.

Poor Woody is recovering from surgery on his cruciate ligament. This is his second one, mind you, and my wallet is glad he only has TWO! Anymore and it would have been wheels!

The first six weeks after surgery are crucial for the healing process so only very short walks allowed for the "necessaries". Then, after xrays to ensure all is going well, we may be able to extend walks by five minutes per week. It's a long haul, especially for a dog whose sole purpose in life it is to chase anything that moves.

Woody and The Tramp

These are the stars of Lady and the Tramp - one of the Disney classics.

This is my dog - Woody.

Quite obviously a reincarnation!

Fragrant Crispy Winter

I am sitting in my work room with the window wide open.

The profusion of wattle bushes up on the hill is in full bloom and its

perfume is drifting down the slope and wafting in through my window,

filling this room with its sweetness.

The mornings are crisp and bright.

The sun shines on the moisture and clouds of steam

can be seen rising.

The vegie patch is thriving with the winter rain.

Although, it took some hours to discover the seedlings

amongst the weeds last week. I must keep on top of it!

Colour is coming back to the bush.

This sundew above is the size of a large coin.

Spike

Woody and I were out on one of our daily walks yesterday around our rather large 'garden' when we came across "Spike".

This is an echidna.

Isn't she/he beautiful? I couldn't get her/him to look at the

camera (in my phone); obviously very shy.

The website I have created a link for has just informed me

that a baby echidna is called a "puggle".

How cute is that?

I also learned that the female lays a single egg in her pouch.

After ten days the "puggle" is born; blind and hairless and

consumes milk from a gland within the pouch.

After about four weeks "puggle" develops sharp spines..

then mum says, "Hey, out of here!"

The main reason he or she didn't look up at me, of course, was

because Woody had had a good old sniff and the echidna's

natural defence is to curl up using its spines to protect itself.

"Bob"

Say Hello to Bob. A few weeks ago our neighbour, Shane, (over the hill) came over and asked Glenn if he'd seen a tame Galah around the area. Some time ago Shane had been driving along in his truck when he saw a bird being attacked by other birds on the side of the road. He pulled over and rescued "Bob" and Bob had been living with them ever since. Unfortunately, he had taken off after a fright. Someone obviously hand reared this friendly parrot.

Then Bob turned up at our place swooping about in Glenn's workshop one day but didn't stay too long.

Just yesterday he seemed to be swooping me. I continued pottering about in my vegie patch and watering plants and then he landed nearby. We had a bit of a chat and then, when he sat on the edge of the balcony, I offered my hand and he hopped on and was glad to sit on my shoulder for a while.

And this is the best bit - He says, "Hello, Bob!" and... yes, the inevitable, "Pretty Boy!"


(I took this photo with my mobile phone that I keep tucked down my cleavage when I'm working. Well, isn't that what your cleavage is for??)

Summer

For the past few weeks I have been up early every morning watering everything in the garden and all my pot plants.

Temperatures have been in the high thirties for what seems like forever.

We have swealtered.

I've come home from work and either hosed the dog down or taken him to the river where he has swam and swam, round and round, cooling himself down.

As a result of this weather (plus some good fertilizers and watering) the vegie patch is producing magnificent specimens! So much so that I am giving them away.

I find this very satisfying.

Then came the rain! I was woken at 4.30am this morning to the sound of what

I thought was the wind. Then realised it was rain falling on the tin roof!

It has rained all day. Wonderful. Woody and I went for our usual morning walk and I took my umbrella. The bush had gone from being dry and dusty to bright, vibrant and fresh. The fragrance of the eucalyptus oil that the rain has helped release is so invigorating.

The weatherman said Perth received its average rainfall for February in one day!

To think, for weeks now I've had the hose dripping into the pond constantly to keep

the level consistent for the water lillies. Now it's overflowing.

Christmas in Canberra

I finished work at 2pm Christmas Day and Glenn took me straight to the airport. I arrived in Sydney at 10.15pm and got a taxi to Doug's place. Their cottage is looking really good, especially as it's Christmas.
Next morning we had breakfast nextdoor with Jonathon and then left for Canberra. We left about 7am and must have got there about 10ish I think. Micky was there to greet us in his new hat. I can't believe I didn't take any photos of Mechant. He's always the centre of attention.

We went for a walk and a coffee at Lake Burley Griffin and as you can see Doug was still "post op". And kept reminding us constantly. Especially when there were chores to be done.

Glenda and Andrew's house is so homely. It's right next to a park so great for doggy walking. Renee is laying the table in this photo. You walk out these doors on to a partly enclosed deck where they have a large dining table. The roof is covered in creeper, there are numerous plants in pots and there is a water feature on the wall of huge jugs pouring water into a large bowl.

As you can see (below) Matt bought Renee some underwear for Christmas. And wanted to try it on for size!

Doug decided that the ribbon from the Christmas wrapping would be good for pigtails on his mother! The red box is something Matt made me for Christmas. Good thing I brought a large suitcase this time. Inside the box was a digital photo frame they also gave me and I'm looking forward to loading it.


Next day we decided to go to the lake again. The boys hired the bike and Renee and I walked. Unfortunately, we did not heed the weatherman's warning and we'd only been going about 20minutes when a storm broke right overhead. The four of us clambered aboard the bike and pedalled like mad back to the bike shed. But we might just as well have stood out in the rain because the four of us were soaked to the skin. Hilarious!

The following day, however, was glorious and we all went to the botanical gardens.

There was wildlife everywhere. Not just these delightful ducks but huge lizards and lots of birdlife.


OK... Here are some archived photos of Mechant. How could I possibly leave this "person" out of this blog?
And here he is, all dressed up for a bbq.

The Young Ones

We can't believe these vegetable seedlings were only planted four weeks ago!

They were literally only a couple of inches high. If I remember to keep the gate shut so the wildlife can't get at them and insects don't get them what on earth am I going to do with it all?

Woody's biggest problem in life at the moment is

how can he get into the compost? He circles it like a vulture!

Since we revamped the pond there seems to be more birdlife about.
I saw a small flock of birds all busy around the pond, sitting on

the rocks and popping in and out of the water.

Another morning I saw a bird that looked like a kingfisher taking dives

into the pond, purely for the bathing or the fun of it. We have no

fish in there yet. I can't remember seeing so many birds around the pond last year so I think the birds feel safer with this slightly bigger

and more natural looking pond.

This magpie took his time having a drink from the nearby bird bath and I was able to get a snap.

Yesterday, the young kookaburra that we have been watching since he left the nest near the house came and sat on the balcony. We've seen him flying about with his parents never far away but he's quite brave now and sat there watching us through the glass door.
He has the cutest fluffy head. He sat there for ages while we talked to him

and took photos. Woody needed a lot of persuasion not to chase him and

sat nicely, staring back at him.

It wasn't long before the parent came to a nearby tree to keep an eye

on the young one. If you click on the image and enlarge it you can see

mum or dad behind "Kevin" to his right.

(Hey, how do we know he's a boy?)