Fire Ready

Today l spent a few moments putting together a fire kit for Geoff and l. It's hard to be fire prepared and fire ready on a place with so many animals. It's inconceivable for me to think l could leave the place and just say "goodbye kids.....good luck" If it came to it l wouldn't care at all about the house. We could always rebuild. But l would find it hard to live with myself if l never at least TRIED to save the beasties. So our Fire Kits are pretty simple really. Protective clothing for us. Boots, jackets, goggles and thick gloves.. A pair of bolt cutters in each bag to cut fences if necessary. A long length of rope and a knife to cut and make into halters if needed. A small plastic bucket with wheat in it to be able to rattle a tin and get the animals to a particular bare paddock OR a paddock to be able to cut the fence to let them go.

We can't always expect to be at home if it happened. We might both be at work and maybe not even have access to the place via our own road. At least dual access from two roads gives us more scope and the possibility of being able to reach a boundary fence . The bags are now in the cars. Ready to go. Ready to use. Hopefully NEVER to use....

 

 

The Ghastly and the Garish!

Don't laugh!!! l know it's ghastly but isn't it also great!!! It is an Op Shop $3 lamp that probably no longer worked. It might have done but the electrical cord and switch was so archaic l wasn't game to turn it on! So l ripped out the electric bits and put potting mix in instead! It has a Forget Me Not in there at the moment but l will get some Lobelia seedling punnets and put a few in so they cascade down the side.. It is weird but l like it!

Just think! It's a whole new world l can get into! Pot plants in old lamps! The possibilities are endless!

Oh and my very first Rhododendron is slowly slowly starting to flower! What an amazing (rather garish) pink it is too!

Bit exciting here also is the very first post went in for our soon (sort of) to be courtyard! It's been a long time coming! We concocted the idea probably two years ago but it always has been put on the back burner. No More! l dug the hole (twice..........as the first one was wrong!) and l dragged the post across and plonked it in the ground. STARTED!!!. It's now braced to the side of the house waiting for the concrete pour to happen! It was MEANT to have  been this afternoon but it has been soooooooo horribly windy we decided it probably wasn't a really good idea! It's an old hardwood sleeper from the original bridge over the Rivulet at the bottom of the drive. It is big and chunky and perfect for the door frame . Hopefully soon l will dig the OTHER hole! The ground is a bit hard though!!! But at least it is STARTED!!

And on a saner note l planted another three Silver Birches today. Well l actually planted five but two were replacements for a couple that either Bruce the Goose or an over zealous Bandicoot chomped off as l hadn't put a guard around them. The other three are out in the home paddock so they will have to be encased in Fort Knox style protection from Wallabies for the next three years or so!

(sigh!)

Hot October....

A little mosaic table l found at the Op Shop. Nestled into a corner of the garden it's quite cute!

With a candlestick of course!

How funny! l looked at this photo and it took me a few minutes to even recognise where it was! It's amazing how the perspective of something can change if you zoom in with a camera or maybe bend down, crouch down, and take a photo from an angle that you wouldn't normally see it as if you walked by ! Does that make sense?? l must have bent, lent and twisted to get this shot!

A quick nap on the table! It's been hot here. 31 degrees yesterday in Hobart which is hot for us!! Especially this time of year! Hottest October as of yesterday since records began in 1882. Two Total Fire Bans days already , a severe bushfire down South and only halfway through the month.. No wonder Pushka looks so exhausted!

And a quiet moment for old Treek. Maybe waiting for those Walnut leaves to shoot! She IS getting old now. Bit thinner, bit slower. Very deaf! A bit dotty.......

l think it's going to be a long Summer!

 

Cherry Blossom

The big old Cherry Tree is in full blossom right now.

It's a beautiful old tree. A haven for birds (and possums!!!) and at the moment humming with the noise of a thousands bees!

AND a very noisy goose underneath.! It's Spring time so of course Mumma goose is getting clucky, laying eggs and making nests (which l keep secretly stealing and destroying!) Bruce in the meantime gets more aggressive and definitely more noisy! He's all bluff and bad manners really ,although he DOES hate Geoff a  lot more then he hates me!!

Of course, when the blossom starts to fall and the wind blows, it all ends on the veranda stuck to everything! But that's ok! It looks like confetti! We will enjoy it while it's here!

The Benches!

A few days ago l bought a couple of benches from a local second hand/junk/ shop. As soon as l saw them I knew they would be great for the garden. Made of hardwood ,heavy enough not to blow over in our strong winds and in pretty good condition.

l couldn't see a price ticket on them though, so l asked the lady in the shop how much they were. (as you would!!?) She didn't know and she told me that the woman who owned the shop wasn't in!!

l asked if she could possibly ring her and find out a price which she did. Or tried to! The owner wasn't answering her phone.l then asked the lady if (as she was in charge for the day)  could she possibly make an executive decision and give me a price as l WOULD like to purchase the benches if l knew how much they were! She ummed and aaaahed as she really didn't know but eventually guessed $20 for the two..........l winced and made a bit of a face (well apparently l did...l must have done........ as she immediately said........"is that too much???" l replied "well maybe a little bit as they ARE a bit wobbly?"

We settled on $15 for the two which at $7.50 per bench l was quite happy with! It IS a second-hand shop after all! l paid the $15 and told her my husband would be along to pick them up in his ute after work and off l went.

Geoff sent me a message later on before l got home asking how much l had paid for them? l said $15 for the two , to which he replied. "Great bargain..there is a price sticker on the back of each one saying 'Green Bench- $40 each'!!!!! ...............Oooops!!

I  feel a bit mean......but they DO look great in the garden!

Bath time!!

Lucky we only have three ducks!!!!  As we only have three tubs! Three ducks in three tubs!

They were all sitting there when l got home last night. Geoff had just changed the water (not that you would know by looking at it!) So each one had obviously just had a lovely dip, a paddle and a preen. Then they just sat...and stared at me!

Very cute!

Beautiful Morning

Today was just one of those days..... Glorious was the only way to describe it! It had me running for my camera and having to deal with the frustration of a flat battery! The day was saved however by Geoff who was already out there feeding the animals! He came back in with some lovely photos on his NOT flat phone!

Down the drive.....

Then when l looked at Facebook later on in the day l saw that we were not the only people who thought this morning seemed a little bit special . Here is a gorgeous photo a friend of ours took of  her front garden up in the hills on the other side of the Valley. Stunning shot! l am so imagining a horse and cart trotting along that road!

And then another friend who lives at the end of the Valley heading towards Hobart ,spent a few moments enjoying and capturing the gorgeous light and mist on his early  morning walk as well....

A very much appreciated morning by all!