.

.

Tuesday 15 April 2014

Raining today! First time in weeks

Has me realising that Winter will hit quickly; we have a true Indian Summer with daily temperatures still in the mid- 20's. I've even planted more beans a few days ago to see if they'll grow with the remaining heat. But the rain is so welcome; so pleased I finished one part of the new garden borders and whilst I'm still up to my neck creating a guest washroom and struggling to have an installer finish putting in  the new wood burner I know I've only a few weeks to prepare and tidy the vegetable garden for Winter in preparation for Spring. I've asparagus raised from seed ready to go out and have potatoes ready to go in. hoping this rain will help the avocado grow larger. Makes me think I've got to get to the duck pond though very soon if I want to re-build it before the continuous rain we get during Winter..otherwise it'll be full of water...

A final farewell to Dolphin...

It's been almost a month since Wayne (Dolphin) left us and 2 weeks ago we gave him a farewell that was appropriate as well as moving. Being a surfer all his life and traveling the World to indulge his love, his wife Adrienne chose a Hawaiian tradition, a Surfer's Farewell to confirm his place amongst the element he loved the most: Water. In this tradition surfers paddle out with leis and form a circle by holding hands and within which memories are shared and the individual is fondly remembered.


 The leis are tossed into the sea together with the ashes. It could not have been a better morning: crystal clear with sun bright upon the water....





Thursday 3 April 2014

Just found this..so many ideas..check for the link at the end

And I have to try and catch up today with so many things. Converting the pantry to a guest washroom, finish renovating the laundry and one of the garden beds. Trying to get a new wood burner installed..such a protracted affair with the local council taking 20 working days to process 1 piece of paper i.e 1 month! So the new burner is sitting in the middle of the living room floor.
Autumn is hiding - we've stunning weather still reaching 25C or thereabouts everyday so when Winter comes it will be a real 'smack' of change. This morning was a typical Autumn start - misty with a hazy sun.




 
Yesterday was cool so took the time to continue with one of the flower borders and I felt good when I'd seen how much was done..the whole garden looks rough to my eyes though mostly due to my impatience. The last garden I made took 3 years so why I should expect to have achieved more I don't know..
 Don't like the bright yellow of the wood mulch but it won't stay this colour for long once the Winter weather has had it's effect. And it works: I've lost a few shrubs due to the drought and most are hanging on. That one weekend of cyclone weather managed to fill all the tanks so I can water without being too concerned about how much water is left. I've a separate tank for the garden which is ideal; I've seen two water truck drive past to my neighbours in the last week as they haven't enough left, given the weather pattern shows a fe weeks of hot weather still to come.


I tend to wake up with thoughts of what I'd like to do to the garden next or with what I need to fix inside the house. My dreams still veer towards and it's potential. It's a mix of different components and I keep thinking about building a wooden pathway through the dell on the other side of the drive. It slopes away to what used to be the old road so could be ideal to have a few wooden terraces would be great. Have to build it myself though.

And I found this wonderful website - now I'm thinking of a Summerhouse. look for the Architecture link and the Wildlife photgraphy

http://www.demilked.com/