candle power

Arrived home Saturday and after a big afternoon in the garden the power went out just coming on dark.   Borrowed the candles from the spa and lit them via the gas stove.  Decided on a game of crib but problem was we couldn't find the good crib board.  Finally found the old three sided one which as it turned out was good as there were three of us to play.  Couldn't find any matches for the pegs so we used dry spaghetti.   Worked extremely well.   One deck of cards which turned out to be easy to find and yes as a bonus they were all there and we had entertainment for the night.

green green grass of home

Go away for a few weeks and leave the house at the mercy of a young man who is allergic to the lawn mower and bingo. You have a grass so long the dog gets lost in it.  By the way that is the back lawn.   It took us several minutes to find the trailer we had left on the front lawn.   When we finally found it it was still full of rubbish.   Guess young man was allergic to tip runs as well,

home for the weekend

Willow in her favourite spot.

I'm heading back to Melbourne for the weekend.   It seems strange doing a reverse visit.  I'm making it a long weekend.  As it turns out mums Friday appointment in Mildura was cancelled so I am using the extra day to spend at home.   Also it means that I don't have to be at the bus/train stop at 5 am.  I can leave at a more reasonable time.  Will be coming home on Monday so two whole days home.  Only problem is  now I have the chooks, the dog and my garden so have to enlist some help to go away.   Poor Willow will be wondering  what is happening.  I leave her at home bring her up here then leave her again.

found something the birds have left for me

Starting to get some beautiful figs. The tree is loaded this year and the birds don't seem as keen on them as the other fruit.

best laid plans

Sometimes when best laid plans go astray it can turn out to be for the best.   I went to pick mum up from the hospital this morning but they had been busy and she still hadn’t been showered and she was feeling tired so I decided to leave her for a while.  I was on my way to pick cousin Len up and take him out to his work so he could put some paper work etc. in concerning his work place accident that left him in a back brace for 3 months.  Lens trip etc took longer than expected so it was nearly lunchtime by the time I got back to pick mum up.   Decided to leave it until after lunch.   When I went across at 12.15 her room was empty.  Don’t tell me she has done a runner.   I checked with the front desk.  Just follow that hallway and you will come across your mum.  OK but where do I go when I go down the hall.   Don’t worry you will find her.

Find her I did.   It was the nursing homes Christmas Lunch.  The residents and their families were all seated at long tables and perfect timing for me as the buffet lunch was just being served.  They had invited a few of the older hospital patients along to their lunch.   How nice.  My cousin was there as well with her mother in law and I thought I recognised a class mate  that I hadn’t seen since school days.   She hadn’t been at the reunion.   I went and said hello.  It was nice to catch up.   She hasn’t changed, after all these years I still recognised her.

halo around the sun

These photos have turned out in reverse of what it really looked like. I don't have the skill to photograph something like this. The sun had a huge circle around it that looked like a faint rainbow. The area inside the circle was darker in colour to the surrounding sky. I first noticed it when I was down at the river. When I finally returned home I could still see the halo around the sun. I spent a long while trying to get a photo but my skill level being low these are the best of a bad lot. And to boot I think I now have sunburnt eyeballs.

first fruits of the season

The apricots are starting to colour on the trees. Nearly ready to pick. Don't they look beautiful.

On the other side however not so beautiful. The birds have beaten me to the first fruit of the season and no doubt they will beat me to most of the fruit. As soon as the fruit starts to colour it attracts the birds and most of the time they take a small bite or feed out of several fruit and leave it unedible for us.

what was it that I was doing

Time to do the weekly washing again so I loaded up the car. Bag with money, hair brush. mobile phone - check, camera in case I go for a walk and want to take a photo - check, laptop in case I don't go for a walk - check - car keys, right all set to go. Put keys in the ignition and about to turn the key. Now what was it I was actually going for. Oh the washing. Quick return to the house, washing -check.

lake benanee

Showing real age and character.

Weathered and burnt there is a real beauty here.

Dried out from lack of water during the drought when the lake was drained these trees have made a remarkable comeback.



 I look at his last photo and get a sense of walking trees.

my final plantings

I swear I am not going to plant anything else in my garden.   I have totally run out of room.   The watermelon has been planted over the fence in the orchard next to the Jerusalem artichoke which was a self sown crop but it is a good one.   Not counting the artichoke, the self sown strawberries, the mint and the passionfruit vine, I have planted 11 vegetables and 2 melons so that makes a grand total of 17 different items in my garden.   Now all I have to do is water and weed and nurture and hopefully my garden will look as good as I have imagined.