Keeping Jack Frost away

Because we get a few frosts during winter, though so far this winter we've had none, we have to be careful with some of our plants. While most that we have planted are frost tolerant there are some that are more sensitive and a few that we've taken a punt on in the hope they'll cope. There are a few things that can be done to reduce frost severity including removal of mulch from around the plant so that the soil heats up more during the day and also placing bottle of water at the base of the plants. The idea here is that the water absorbs heat during the day and then releases it back at night, though I suspect we probably need a larger volume of water than I've provided. You can also shroud the plant in a 'tent' of some kind as well, but we don't do this. Fingers crossed we don't cop any severe frosts this year.

Comparison Pic

Now I don't have the wide angle lens that was used to take the pic that I have used in the banner for this blog, but I think this one does give a reasonable indication of the changes that we've made to the front of the house and front garden. Incidentally, when we saw the pic I use for the banner on the estate agent's website the fact that the house was so close to the road put us off from looking, initially...little did we realise that the road was the driveway!

Misty Sunday Morning

Yesterday was another perfect day but we woke up this morning to mist and light drizzle, which still makes for a perfect day, just one that will be more indoorsy rather than outdoorsy. Which is OK because Steve will be at the Janome all day sewing costumes for the Metropolitan Players Production of The Boy from Oz which he agreed to costume from up here, and I'll be doing various bits and pieces of work.
This is our very first banksia flower produced by our Banksia integrifolia that we planted about 18 months ago in the garden at the front of the house.
The single banksia flower and the grevillea flowers next door are attracting lots of rainbow lorikeets to slurp up the sweet nectar with their long brushy tongues.

Primex Casino

The annual Primex Farming Expo held at Casino is a big deal, as you can see from this arial pic. Think Tocal Small Farms Field Days and then multiply it by about 10. The focus with Primex is on your serious farmers who buy Big Things, but we still enjoyed spending 3 hours looking at the exhibits on Saturday morning. And we have a new brush cutter, lawn mower and ride-on to buy so we had a talk to a few of the exhibitor and gathered info. The weather on both days of the weekend was glorious...even hot on Saturday.
Photos: Google Images

There were quite a few bulls and steers and cattle on show 'I'm very impressed with the quality of the hide and the nice large testicles on this one' came the evaluation of the judge at one of the bull showings that we had a look at, and it was possible to buy cattle embryos on the day too, but we opted for a pluto pup and bucket of chips.

We also picked up a few brochures on solar panel systems...

Pacific Bazza from my office window

Photo: Google Images

I've been flat out this past week but have enjoyed watching the antics of a pair of Pacific Bazza or Crested Hawks, that have been using the lilly pillies and other trees in front of my office window as an hideout to ambush other birds. It's 2.30pm on Friday as I write this and they are back again now. I really like this species - seeing three of them hunting through the stand of eucalypts on the property of the house at North Casino we were considering buying was almost enough for me to say yes to purchasing it. I've seen bazzas at our place at Larnook a couple of times but we just don't have enough canopy for them to hang around. I'd occasionally see a couple from the lunch room window in my building at Newcastle Uni as well. Not only do they look interesting with their little crest or comb on their heads, but they behave in a somewhat un-hawk like way as well. They seem to cooperate when they hunt.

I'm Excited....we pick up some new girls this afternoon

That's right...we'll be picking up four new chooks from the Lismore Rural Buying Service (never quite understood that name - shouldn't it be 'Selling Service'?...anyway, hazel phoned me yesterday to let me know the girls will be available after lunch today. Can't wait. No doubt there's going to be some squawking and skirmish when they are introduced to the rest of the girls. I wonder if Sushi the black Japanese bantam and at the very bottom of the pecking order will have her position elevated now with these newcomers. Stay tuned.

Eating from the garden

Steve had today off so I had the car and was able to leave work just before 4 so I could get home and wander around the property, before it grew dark, looking at the new growth on plants that we've planted. It is winter but many of the trees and shrubs are still producing new growth. It had been over a week since I'd been down to the creek so it was great to see the vibrant flush of red and pink tips of the lilly pillies and other shrubs that have been planted along its banks. It was also good to see the cudgerie, a rainforest tree, which I'd bought at the Kyogle market a few weeks ago from three cute, polite and enthusiastic late teenagers, and subsequently planted in our paddock behind the chookery, had started producing new growth.

I walked back up to and through the various gardens and plantings around the house. While I was on my stroll I picked and ate a mandarin, a lemonade fruit (like a lemon but tastes like lemonade), a few leaves of tatsoi (a japanese leaf vege) and some fresh young rocket. And today I'd given away lemons and Japanese pumpkin at work and Steve had picked lemons and a few tangelo (an orange grapefruit cross) sometime today and they are all boxed up and ready to be taken down to his work to give to his work mates. And we'll be eating pumpkin soup tonight for dinner that Steve made today from one of pumpkins. Eating straight from the garden and sharing produce with friends. Good stuff.

Sunshine in the Blue Mountains

Steve and I spent the long weekend doing what we've done for over a decade now: enjoying the company of good friends in Carinya, the lovely old rambling home in Leura. There were 9 of us staying there and we enjoyed a high dinner in the formal dining room on Friday night of broccoli soup and tarragon chicken cooked by Ross followed by Steve's now famous banoffee pie, washed down with (many) large glasses of wines bought earlier in the afternoon from our friends at Leura Cellars. Saturday night saw some of us dancing to Lady Gaga and Peter Allen among many (it's a very eclectic dance mix) at the Blackheath Community Hall and then Sunday was the Grand Ball (this year's theme being Broadway) at the grand old Carrington Resort in Katoomba. Lots of fun, caught up with friends we pretty well only see on that weekend and Steve won a prize for his outfit on Sunday night (continuing a long tradition), while Mrs White Trash took out equal second place at the Blackheath dance talent quest with her interpretation of the Doris Day hit, Pillow Talk.

Weather was great - cold but sunny, fine and still days, freezing (literally) nights. Bought some books, some candles, some soaps.

Arriving in Brisbane on Friday afternoon

I'm still a little apprehensive about driving into and through Brisbane. I can cope with getting to South Bank, but crossing the river into the CBD and the inner suburbs scares the bejesus out of me. I find the city's roads very congested, there lots of one way streets and roads as well all these 'ramp' things which I don't understand. Anyway, on Friday afternoon I eventually found my way across town to Fortitude Valley and to the apartments I was going to be staying at while I attended my massage course (see posting below).

When I got to V Apartments in 82 Alfred Street, just around the corner from the methadone clinic and the four strip joints - hey it gave the area some interest - I was alarmed that after I pressed the intercom thingie to speak to reception, nothing actually happened. There was no friendly, welcoming human voice reaching out through the amplifier thingie greeting me and making me feel at home. So I then pressed the 'After Hours' buzzer which did elicit a reasonably friendly voice which told me that The Manager was 'in a meeting' and could come and see me in 'half an hour'. 'What the?', I asked incredulously. Seems that my wotif booking hadn't actually made it to V Apartments and so didn't exist and in the mysterious mind of The Manager, neither did I. So I waited for half an hour before The Manager appeared. Not a hint of an apology, just a certain kind of disdainful look that you get when someone's broken wind in front of you at the checkout in Woolies....I was pretty fired up...'how very dare you!' I muttered at a volume which was almost audible...anyway he upgraded me to a 2 bedroom unit which was fantastic because it's always good when you are by yourself to have a choice of two bedrooms when you stay somewhere strange, I think. No apology though. And then he sent me to the incorrect parking bay...'How very bloody dare you'.

Introduction to Massage weekend

Much to my surprise (and that of Steve's) I made a reasonably substantial decision in the last month or so and decided to enrol in a Certificate IV course in massage practice through the Australian College of Massage. The course comprises 8 subjects - 4 'theory' based subjects that I do via distance learning (I've already completed Clinical Aromatherapy and am two thirds of the way through Human Biology). Anyways, this weekend was the first of the practical subjects, Intro to Massage, which was held in Brisbane.

There were 16 of us in the group, 5 guys, 11 women, I was probably the oldest, and they were a very nice group of strangers with whom to be learning how to massage. Lynda, our instructor was also very good and so we went though a series of instructions about draping before learning how to do back, back of legs, upper buttocks (who would have thought the proper name for bum-crack was 'gluteal fold'*), shoulders and arms and face massages. I go back for two more workshops in August and the final one is in September. Then, all going well I'll be a qualified massage therapist. Not planning on leaving work, but will be nice if I can build up a small clientele.

* My good friend, Louise, who is an Emergency Department physician at Orange Base Hospital pointed out politely that in fact, the bum crack is not the gluteal fold but is instead the natal cleft. Indeed, it is more a cleft than a fold, when you think more deeply about it. The gluteal fold, a term with which she in fact, was not familiar, is the crease at the base of the arse cheek and your leg. Thanks Dr Louise!

Meet Ludo

Ludo is a French Help_Xer who stayed with us last week. Not only was he great outside - painting our wooden seats, clearing away weeds from fencelines and mulching one of the vege gardens, but he also happened to be a cook. A French cook! So Ludo spent some time in the kitchen creating delicious chicken dishes, crepes with chocolate sauce and ratatouile (hmmm that's most probably misspelled but you know what I mean).
The weather was rather ordinary for about half the time he was here and most of our equipment (brush cutter, Rita the ride-on and Rove the lawn mower...oh what the hell, that's Brad the brush cutter..anyway none of the buggers is working at present so Ludo had to contend with the old fashioned way of removing weeds.

Ludo left us on Friday to head to Noosa and so he drove up with me on Friday afternoon to Brisbane where I deposited him at his backpackers, before he headed to Noosha the next day for more Help_Xing.