Dolwendee

The solace of sweeping

2012-02-07T13:37:00.006+11:00

There is a certain calmative effect engendered by the rhythmic sweeping of a courtyard.

See that massive tree towering over my courtyard, resplendent in its summer livery? Hiding within that livery lurk spots of bright orange, thousands of tiny seeds. Circular seeds. Hard seeds. Seeds that are now, in this fading summer that never-was, falling inexorably onto the bitumen and courtyard below. Just yesterday, I heard the first crunch-crunch as the passing traffic squashed them into oblivion. Noisily into oblivion.

Those that fall into my courtyard, do so silently, but nevertheless messily.

Following that denuding. comes the autumnal falling of leaves, and leaves, and leaves. For months on end. Seemingly until the lime shoots find their way through the branches with the turn into the spring. But before they sprout into incipient leaves, we have the floating of 'fluff'.

A spawning if you will ... a mess of a spawning.

A cycle that encompasses the year. A year of messes, which require sweeping. And sweeping is such sweet solace.

Saving grace

2012-01-18T11:47:00.005+11:00

Every time that I move my place of abode, and it has been fairly frequent in the last 15 years, I declaim in my over-the-top way, that I must have dirt. I need to be rooted. Where I am at the moment is fairly expensive (and getting moreso with each contract), but the size of the outside is nearly as big as the size of the inside, and this suits me just fine. Not only does it sustain the inner me, but it also enables me to play host for play-dates with my grand-daughter, Alannah.

There have been, and continue to be, so many wild'n'wooly things happening in my 'greater' life in the last 12 months, that my daughter and I have agreed that it is time to move onto the next phase. We have agreed to find housing that suits her young family, and includes me as well. We are giving ourselves this calendar year to sort it out, and to find a property. They are all horribly expensive, and there is a specific layout that we are after. We have found one, but it is on the market now and we are not ready to action anything just yet. What we do know is that neither of us want to be involved with residental care for me, if we can sort an alternative.

But it will have a garden, and she is more than happy, nay overjoyed, if I were to take that on as my own personal fiefdom!

Virtual world of zombied friends

2012-01-14T08:33:00.007+11:00

On 'Sydney Eye' durng this week gone, I made a crack about the younger generation and their penchant for mindless computer games and electronic gadetry. And I did not twig that what is good for the goose, is good for the gander. Being someone who spends an inordinate amount of time in a virtual blogging world, does that make me, and those with whom I am in touch, zombies. Well, to reassure folks, that would be a definite 'non'! And this little parcel from Ararat which arrived late Thursday, is proof of that particular pudding.

Inside the parcel - to open I did not beat around the bush, but went straight to the Stanley Knife - was a cornucopia of goodies: two jars of home-made jam; two brown paper bags of purple potatoes; and, a handwritten note. What joy! I even put the parcel into my caddee and took it out to MUH to walk Kirsten through it. She was entranced. The fact that she threw up nearly immediately, was by-the-by.

All through yesterday morning as my 'baby girl' underwent yet another round of surgery (the 5th in twelve months), I slaved around my courtyard moving anything that was heavy. Actually, everything that was heavy. I wanted the taller things to provide afternoon shade, and I wanted more space for child's play. And there is another issue. I have been losing plants of late. Not meaning they disappear over the fence. No, they simply cark it! Why? Why? Why? I ask myself. Out loud.

Too much rain? Not enough sun? Not enough watering? Or ... eerie music ... Is my upstairs neighbour doing nefarious things when I am not looking? I lost a large Lavender. I lost my Wollemi Pine. My Lemon tree is sickly (now I ask you, who could kill a lemon tree?) And that Gardenia Augusta up near the gate looks out for the count.

Ah, well, what the heck! Look what I just had for brekkie ...

Staple of the Great Depression - Rhubarb

2011-12-26T19:28:00.008+11:00

I thought to start by listing the staple Australian foods of The Great Depression. However, upon reflection, maybe I should specify which Depression! I mean, of course, the depression from 1929 to about 1935. The one where everyone was so scared of losing their money, they all stopped spending, and started saving. All at the same time. Meaning not enough people were buying to keep companies liquid, which resulted in lay-offs. And so the circle goes around.

I think the staples of that era were things one could grow oneself, or find in laneways or up in the town common: rabbits, chokos, rhubarb, lemons, passionfruit, apple cueys, iceberg lettuce, Grosse Lisse Tomatoes, offal (cheap from the back-door of the butchers - especially tripe).

My rhubarb is growing well - better than anything else I have planted. See what the back of the packet says: 'Start harvesting when the leaves have some colour'. But don't eat the leaves as they are toxic. Only take a few outside stems during the first year.

It has been a strange old summer. I have pulled the lettuce and the baby pumpkin, as they both succumbed to mould. I squash about 10 green grubs each morning from assorted plants. A runner on my strawberry has rooted, and is sending up shoots.

As Kirsten and her family are down the South Coast for a few days, I went over and re-organised her balcony pots this morning. Need to find a punnet of Sweet Williams before Wednesday. Somewhere ... on a bus route.

Three steps empty and two steps full

2011-12-18T07:00:00.000+11:00

It is all very confusing and disheartening at the moment. It could be the weather. It could be me. More likely a combination of the two. I am losing plants more than I like at the moment, and I cannot figure out why. I lost a Redwing Azalea. I lost a French Lavender. I lost a lime, and my lemon is not firing on all cyclinders. Now my Wollemi Pine has curvature of the spine. I also have an influx of pests. More snails than normal. White butterflies chasing the tomatoes that I have and the guy in the flat above me has. Because I spray my tomatoes, the WB lays on nearly everything else. I have to be assiduous in looking under leaves for green caterpillars. I also have an invasion of sucking midges, which are keen on my 'erbs. Trials and tribulations.

Anyway, here are some Rockmelons I am growing from seed using the 'market forces' philosophy. Give them a chance to prove their mettle, and then weed out the runts of the litter. I shall weed down to perhaps four, and then see how that goes. Neither the pumpkin nor the zucchini is overwhelming me with produce. They don't seem to be able to carry fruit to term.

Here is an afternoon shot of my courtyard. I wonder if I do not get enough direct sunlight to be successful with a veggie garden.

Schizophrenic sans paranoia

2011-12-11T18:13:00.007+11:00

My courtyard is bordering on the split personality: on the one hand, I want it to be productive; yet, on the other, I want it to provide sheer beauty, and tumbling variety. As you know, it is not large, although it is large in context. I cannot think of another apartment which has as much outdoor space as it has indoor space. That is one of the reasons I am paying a kings-ransom I suppose. And I hav just signed on for a two-year lease. But it is everything I could wish for. I need my feet on terra-firma. I like to think that my cat's have an outside available, even though the lazy blighters do not use in anything like as much as they should. Except for Cooper, who is making up for lost ground.

I was going to show you the black bins in which I am growing veggies. You can sort of see it in the shot showing the rhubarb and the capsicum. I need to keep the water AND the fertiliser up to these bins, as most veggies are gross feeders. I will learn from this year for next.

Next week I shall endeavour to show you a long shot, from above, to enable you to orient yourself. Today's shots were taken after the first wave of storm activity. In the first grouping we have Russian-Red tomatoes, then Black-Jack zucchinis. Below them, there is the rhubarb and the (red) capsicum on the left, and a couple of strawberries on the right. Don't know what sort of strawberries. Sorry.

In the second grouping we have Corn-flower blue Lobelias, together with a tumblng succulent. Beside them there is the staghorn and the fig, both of which are flourishing. The staghorn is particularly partial to diced banana skins. Following this are two shots of assorted succulents. I like succulents as they are easy to progagate making them cheap, and they can survive in small pots.

Small garden produce

2011-12-04T07:57:00.005+11:00

Looking at my previous post of flourishing figs, I am so envious of my last year's ability! My figs are nowhere near this standard, at this stage. Shall have to feed them up, like a little Chinese boy at a banquet being feted by his grand-mama!

Here is an introduction to my productive handkerchief garden. At the top, we have rhubarb, which takes three seasons to stop being quite so bitter. Then I have the Blackjack Zucchini. I love them simply fried in butter and with ground black pepper. And finally, my lettuce. I think a variety of Butter Lettuce. I have 6 plants and really only need 3. I reckon they orta sell a punnet of mixed lettuce, just like in the stores where they sell the mixed leaf!

All this is in black recycling tubs. Show you in my next post.

Utility vs beauty

2011-02-08T07:18:00.004+11:00

Swirling through the ether, the mantra is 'think global, act local'. I struggle to understand the emotions of standing in a large barn of an assembly hall whilst a voice booms over a PA '64 Sanderson Road - 100% destroyed'. I likewise struggle with how people can cope with the stench of river mud through 100% of their house, or lying for weeks through their paddocks. Or their house blown 100m up the road and all their possessions scattered. It has been and is, a trying summer. So, in a paradoxical way, my issues are the least of my worries.

I have a small courtyard, covered in tiles, surrounded by two storey terraces, except on the SW side - which is a road. The damage from the week plus of 32+ temperatures was more ambient heat than anything else. My garden was tended morning and evening.

I came to figs late in life, but am a devotee. My nostrils fill with the aroma of standing under a laden fig tree in the south of France in September 2008, the ripe fruit bursting from the pods. This year my tree has been equally laden. I have already eaten half a dozen . But now I have an issue. Most of my garden is ornamental, for pleasure rather than survival. I want to move the percentage just a little but worry about the lack of depth to the soil, and my own ability to cope with the workload.

It will always be the garden of a dilettante. I would love to have tomatoes tumbling down the wrought iron, but know that the grub of the white butterfly would make this a futile endeavour. What would you suggest? Perhaps zucchini or capsicum or rockmelon. Or green pea-pods dangling from a trellis.

An aspidistra in the parlor

2010-12-01T22:37:00.007+11:00

I've had this aspidistra for quite a few years now, but this is the best it has ever grown. Now, I am wondering if it sprouts flowers.

Found this on Wiki: Aspidistra elatior is well-known in cultivation and has a reputation for withstanding neglect, giving rise to its common name of Cast-iron Plant. It is native to the southern islands of Japan. It is tolerant of low light, low humidity, temperature fluctuation and irregular watering. It is best situated in a position away from direct sun to avoid leaf bleaching. Good drainage is also required for optimal growth and to avoid root rot. The species is not seriously troubled by insects, however mites and scale may cause occasional problems. Its leaves and roots may be subject to browsing by hoofed mammals such as deer, as well as rodents and rabbits. Wike also had an image of an Aspidistra flower which I include.

Fade to beauty

2010-11-27T14:46:00.006+11:00

This first gardenia reminds me of Richard Roxborough In 'Uncle Vanya'. And of her Cate-ness in 'Streetcar named Desire' - but not in Vanya.

There is a lived in quality to a gardenia past its prime - as though the essence of its life has been absorbed into its walls. It is real. It demands our attention. And our affection. It has a depth, a third dimension. It is worthy of our time.

A youthful gardenia can still trade on its beauty, as though that is all it has to give, just yet. There is a flatness, a singular dimension, that only experience, wrought by time, can remedy.

Green thumb at large

2010-11-18T23:47:00.002+11:00

The word is out: I can keep things alive that others can only kill!

I have offered my daughter an hour of gardening per week. It is going splendidly - aided, of course, by all the rain we have received. Next week, I shall set up an herb garden on her kitchen window sill (Basil, Coriander and Italian Parsley). I saved a bundle of self-seeded violets from the planter boxes on her window sill, and interspersed them with succulents which I struck for her. I have a little nursery here in pots, to use when necessary. Other than that, gardening is simply keeping the muck down.

Speaking of which, my son asked me over for some tips on his garden. I assumed he wanted elbow-grease, but no. No, he didn't. I suggested. I pointed. He moved. He pulled. We reorganised things according to the sun's transit and the type of plant. We pulled out old and dying. Trimmed and swept. We even worked out a good spot for a Hills Hoist. He now is charged with obtainng one - legally!

Black thumb proofing

2010-10-30T07:24:00.005+11:00

The 'green-thumb' gene is not on my family genome chart apparently. Both my children have an astouding ability to have plants die on them. Generally through lack of water, and any skerrick of interest. Not true. Kirsten has an interest but is time-poor.

So, over the next little while I am giving her 'garden' a lobotomy, much to the relief, I suspect, of my SiL. Whereas, 'til now, she has struggled with penunias and violets and marigolds, we have agreed that I replace them with a variety of succulents. I am establishing these in pots in my courtyard, and when I get back from Melbourne in the middle of November, I will transplate them into the planter boxes hanging off her juliet balcony.

A year down the track

2010-10-26T21:31:00.004+11:00

My, doesn't time fly! This time a year ago, I was signing a contract for this apartment and trying to not have it cost me too much to break another lease. Now look at it! Like a rumble in the jungle ...

In the pink

2010-10-22T20:42:00.004+11:00

Gardening in a courtyard does not afford vistas of annuals, or deeply fertile raised beds. It relies on ingenuity, nooks, and bric-a-brac. I have a range of plantings, but not multiples of the same variety. This week, I realised how many flowers there are in pink. Next week I will show you the difference a year makes.

Damn blast

2010-10-19T18:37:00.005+11:00

I tried, I really did. I had this lined up for what seemed ages before she jumped. But I grabbed at the shutter, instead of depressing gently. I think most of the movement in the image came when I allowed my shutter finger to come up too early.

Drats! However, I just know she will do this again. She is that sort of little black duck.

A pretty pink Protea

2010-10-18T14:22:00.008+11:00

This was a gift from the English couple who house-sat for me whilst I traipsed around France. It is a variety of Protea with the botanical name 'serruria florida x rosea' so I can see why the label says 'Pretty n Pink'. I have already increased the size of its pot and will now cut these buds to increase the quality of the foliage. I expect it to be a highlight of my 2011 spring!

My courtyard jungle

2010-10-15T18:05:00.003+11:00

Interesting progress in the case of the purple Iris from the previous post. The flowers last about 24 hours and then seem to self-implode - closing in on themselves, a bit like melting glass. This then gives rise to the next flush of blooms, which I expect to see over the weekend.

My courtyard is a bit purple and yellow at the moment, as you can see. The spray of flowers in the final photograph is from one of my olive trees. When I left for Europe, the tiny blooms were opening. Now the trees are awash with the blooms at the end of their cycle. Next is the wait to see how many fruit set for 2010. From memory I had about 40 last year.

Prehistoric

2010-10-13T22:09:00.004+11:00

A friend gave me a couple of cuttings of this last Christmas, and it has grown like the dickens ... mmm ... wonder where that expression comes from.

She thinks it to be an Iris. I have googled Tall Bearded Iris and it is not one of those. The TBI is like a double bloom, hose-in-hose and this looks like a totally different kettle of fish.

It is gorgeous though. And like a creature from another world. If I can tomorrow, between the rain, I will get a photograph of the entire plant. I put it up on my outside table so that the 'fronds' can gracefully dangle. It had its first flush of blooms whilst I was away. Yet about a dozen more graced me with their presence overnight.

Ready for La France

2010-09-14T20:35:00.004+10:00

All is in readiness for my departure to La France this coming Saturday morning. My house-sitters arrive in the early morning, I introduce them to the cats, show them around, answer their queries, and then I am off.

I have weeded out the weeds and the underperformers. I have trimmed and fertilised. I have tracked the trajectory of the sun and moved the 'orchard' into the warm corner. All is ready ...

When I return, I will go for a few more annuals and maybe - maybe - have a try at a 'grosse lizzie' tomato. I am reading 'Hunters and Gatherers' whilst away. That old lady had a wonderful garden in the film. I hope they describe it in the book.

Tirrah ...

On yer marks

2010-08-24T23:19:00.004+10:00

The arrival of Spring is a onestepforward onestepback process. The days are slowly getting warmer, but the winds are strill and bitter. I have trimmed, repotted, fertilised and weeded. All is ready. The African Violet on the sill beside my computer is a joy in waiting.

The avocado and the fig are filled with Thomas' 'green fuse'. Remember when the avocado was but a sluice of slime in a bottle?

And the olive trees are being their usual mediterranean selves: promising much, flaunting their fertility, but wisely producing much more than they need 'just in case'. Let's hope they all thrive during my absence in La Republique.

Tid-bits

2010-08-15T06:23:00.002+10:00

The northern side of my courtyard is a wall of a garage for the third (top) apartment. This Currawong is a regular client. The gutter is overhung by a large tree of some sort which drops berries and leaves by the bucket load. The get trapped in the gutter. The Currawong knows that beneath the litter is a rich moist compost which breeds worms. He madly digs the litter out, tossing it over the edge, and digs out the worms. It sends Sellie bananas! I caught her the other day chasing him half-way up a tree.

Why is it blurred? It was maybe 4pm but still tons of light. I think I must have jumped each time he made the quick tossing action.

Hose in hose

2010-08-12T16:41:00.003+10:00

When I lived in Canberra (1974 - 1978, inclusive), I bought my first house in the inner southern suburb of Curtin, although in those days there was no need to use 'inner'. The back yard faced NE which was perfect. Along the back of the house, I grew tomatoes, and zucchini, and capsicum and we lived off Ratatouille.

Along the western lap'n'cap fence I grew roses. Or tried to. Helen, a friend of my husband's from his uni days, was a rose devotee and introduced me to all the nurseries in the Dandenongs, especially the ones who posted boxes chosen from a catalog, a bit like an Abbott e-Bay. I planted them so far from the fence, and so far from each other.

But roses are 'just so' plants. They are like the maiden aunt who comes to visit, with her white gloves, and perky millinery, and stockings with elegant seams. Roses are all perfume, and no soul. And, they have thorns.

When we moved to St Ives (1978 - 1998), I planted azaleas. Red azaleas like Goyet, Only one Earth, and Red Wing. White Azaleas like White Bouquet and Alba Magnifica. No thorns. No princess mentality.

This is a Red Wing.

Natural geometry

2010-08-05T21:25:00.005+10:00

I managed to break up a clump of these and now have about 20 smaller plants scattered throughout the garden in small pots. Their winter garments are gradually deepening in colour, with the delightful flush around the gills. August is the month of preparation. What I reap throughout the summer, so I sow in this last month of the fallow.

Assistance when 'wintering' the garden

2010-07-11T16:00:00.004+10:00

An NE facing sill behind glass

2010-07-09T17:09:00.002+10:00

My orchids may not have relished the move from their sunny southern walkway to a more open courtyard, but these African Violets are thriving in their new environment.

Easter is late this year

2010-05-20T23:03:00.003+10:00

If the Christmas Cactus has rounded edges to its segments, while the Easter Cactus has spikey edges to its segments, then this is an Easter Cactus. This is the first of many blooms that will open over the next couple of weeks.

Winter's cusp

2010-05-16T14:28:00.007+10:00

Hard to believe that in just two weeks winter will be upon us. Unless you espouse the equinox theory, like my new friend, BB.

My courtyard is going to crash to ground with a thud. It is nicely protected from nasty winds and is totally tiled, which warms up nicely. Even my struck avocado is checking out the environment.

It is only now that the early mornings are becoming a wee nippy. And these poor darlings are very confused.

As I undertook 'ward duty' this morning, I explained to them all, that when I choof off to the Bungle Bungles in the middle of June, they will have a nice young woman come in and chat to them, chuck them under the chin, and check their tootsies.

They hummed in bliss.

And here she is yet again ...

2010-05-02T00:00:00.003+10:00

She likes to sit looking out the courtyard gate, at the cars and buses but mostly at the people. When she hears a sudden inexplicable noise, she makes a dash for the dark beneath my bed. But mostly she sits and watches. Occasionally, she will walk along the brick wall, flirting with passers-by, who then come and talk with her, and rub her back. She likes people. But not the man who reads the meter. The man who reads the meter comes in at the gate. That necessitates a dash for darkness.

Being out in the open with an exposed back takes courage. This day she was dive-bombed by a chatter of noisy minors. The green of her eyes deepened, her ears became more erect, every muscle in her body was on alert.

Then she made a dash for the heart of darkness.

Sellie

2010-04-26T16:48:00.004+10:00

In March 2005, Sellie was born in the cabin of an abandoned table-top truck on a small landholding on the outskirts of Sydney. She came to me five weeks later.

At the age of five, she is slowing down, sleeping more, hunting less. As she ages, she is becoming more affectionate and hungry for my company. She sleeps here, in an A4 wicker tray, beside my keyboard.

Is there such a thing as an autumn equinox?

2010-04-23T00:00:00.003+10:00

There is much growth in my garden at the moment, not frantic clambering growth at any cost, but a calm, mature segue into the cooler months.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.

Still life with fur

2010-04-20T10:00:00.000+10:00

A precedent is a pretty silly thing to set!

Once upon a time, my cats, Sylvie and Sellie, were happy with the odd scratch, maybe every other day. Maybe just an absent-minded scritch behind the left ear. Not anymore. No siree ... Not any more.

Now, they come to me. And if I pay scant notice, they sit on my keyboard and thwack my cheek. Whadda we want? A scritch. When da we wanit? ... you get my drift.

However, I have come to realise there is lots in this for me. Less hair inside, for starters. Less asthmatic reaction, for seconds. And a very healthy, toned pair of cats into the bargain.

Now to the mug of coffee ... I used to make my own each morning. Just Moccona and hot water with a dash of milk. Not any more. Jools has wisened up - past participle of 'to wizen'. She now nips across the bus layby and into the corner shop for a 'large flat white, no sugar' for $3.80. And what a delight it is, and I only need one to keep me going all day!

Finally, here is a bud forming on a segment of the Holiday Succulent that I was given over the weekend. What joy!

Early morning sprinkle

2010-04-17T07:00:00.000+10:00

This is the best I have ever seen my Poinsettia. However, I thought they were meant to flower at Christmas.

Fig cycle

2010-04-15T00:00:00.000+10:00

This is a Black Genoa fig. I don't know much about its seasonal cycle, but it had no sooner matured this first fig, than others are forming on the new growth.

It suffers damage to its leaves, though. It looks like it could be wind and rain that tears at the edges, although I suspect it rather is a bug, but I cannot locate the blighter. The fruit was as delicious as the shop bought variety even though not ripe to the very edge. Maybe I was just too keen!

Another additon to my orchard

2010-04-08T23:14:00.006+10:00

This Shepard Avocado was so delicious that I googled how to grow avocado in my climate and figuring I could manage that (I figure I can manage most things, so long as I change the rules!), I set about striking the seed. I found me a coffee jar, broke a bamboo stick in half, and using two pointy ends, set up a cradle across the lip of the jar so that the seed just sat in the water. I guess that was about the beginning of March.

I took it out of the water when I returned from down south, to be greeted by this long root covered in slime.Figuring that to be for the good, I stuck it in a good friable soil, watered it, and proceded to sit back and watch it grow.

So, now I have an avocado, a fig, a lemon, a lime, two olive trees, and herbs (basil, oregano, parsley and mint).

Goodo ...

Autumn repose

2010-03-19T11:41:00.004+11:00

What a perfect week, the temperatures on the up-side of the mid-twenties, blues skies, slight nor-easters. My favourite season, which will last from now until the middle of about July even thought the evenings chill of a smidge. Just right for my two lovelies ...

Now for a sharp cheddar & CSM blend

2010-03-12T12:52:00.004+11:00

Twenty days in a brine that was changed every other day. Read the recipe from the ABC site again, and decided to wing it. My usual method.

Mixed a big slurp of extra-virgin olive oil with a small slurp of raspberry vinegar. A good sprinkle of cracked black pepper, about 8 or so cloves of garlic roughly sliced. A generous handful of oregano straight from the garden, chopped but not finely. Shake all together. Pour over olives, put lid on and store on bench not in fridge.

Now to wait for a week and then devour them out in the courtyard with Mel Torme drifting out from the radiogram.

The beginning of agriculture?

2010-03-07T08:31:00.003+11:00

Last September upon my return from Hobart, I found my previous crop (of two) figs had shrivelled and dropped off. Maybe figs fruit each between-season, as we are entering Autumn and, once again, I am blessed with fruit.

I did not realise that the common fig is posited as the first known plant grown deliberately, eons before things like wheat and barley. Not sure how they work this out, neither do I care. I adore figs.

In a pickle

2010-03-04T14:06:00.002+11:00

Day 9 of the pickle-process. I tried one today to see whether I have to continue for 20 days or whether the bitterness will have eased sufficiently by 14 days. See my gnawed seed? I think I am heading toward a 14 day PP. Invariably, as I go about my chores, I have assistance.

Getting pickled

2010-02-24T10:35:00.004+11:00

Taking one's eye off the ball is never a good move, and leads to one's olives shrivelling. Never mind, shall still go through the pickling procedure so that I am ready for a bumper crop next year and have the gear and the procedure down pat.

Aunty provided this "recipe" which is probably as good as any.

Sill behind warm glass

2010-02-20T22:12:00.003+11:00

The window-sill in my sunroom faces NE and warms up delightfully. It is just the spot for these African Violets which I rescued from my father's room. I am trying to teach myself how to photograph them indoors using artificial light. As you can see, I still have a lot to learn. I used a tripod to keep it all still. However, I now have to solve the problem of TOO MUCH light! I want the edges to be lit. Next I will use a white light and see if I can project from beneath.

Shonky identification ....

2010-02-16T22:27:00.007+11:00

My brothers confidently identified them as Major Mitchell Cockatoos. Well they're not! They are Little Corellas which are distributed across the north, throughout Central QLD, NSW, VIC and parts of SA. The Little Corella perfers woodland, farmland and wetlands and it feeds on seeds and cereal crops. With the more obvious characteristics noted in the image, the Little Corella has a small crest and a yellow tip of iots tail.

Another step forward ...

2010-02-14T18:42:00.003+11:00

My second purchase on e-Bay was this Eames retro-style Danish 3 seater sofa with timber frame from a seller in the Blue Mountains. Recovering is a consideration, to enable this sofa to match my existing two single sofas. It's only money.

Didn't it rain, children

2010-02-07T10:00:00.002+11:00

Oh, it rained forty days
And it rained forty nights,
There was no land nowhere in sight.
God send the angel to spread the news
He haste his wings and away he flew.
To the East, to the West,
To the North. to the South.
All day all night, how it rained, how it rained.

Ripening

2010-02-04T23:41:00.003+11:00

There could be 30 - 40 olives on the tree. The other tree has none. There are also another two figs developing.

Home is where the cats like

2010-01-31T21:15:00.000+11:00

Oops ... think I am displaying a big carbon footprint.

This is such a good home for the cats. They can sit outside all evening slaying moths and stalking cockroaches to their hearts content. Wish they could do something about the blasted cricket. And the cicadas during the midday sun. And the bats high in the tree. And the cockatoos that trash my yard. At least they keep the Noisy Minors noisy.

Outdoor living

2010-01-21T13:51:00.005+11:00

Details from my courtyard prior to going to Melbourne.

I will clean it all up tomorrow and Friday, recover from the 30+ days, and then show you some more at the end of the weekend. I have decided to cease buying cut flowers for inside, so will think about a Peace Lily and a Golden Cane palm to go with the Aspidistra and the Money plant.

Missing? Who me?

2010-01-02T00:20:00.004+11:00

I was just stooging around the bin area in that dopey looking block of flats 10 doors along in Glenmore Road. She shoulda known that smart sassy cats (loik me) always go on scrounge-patrol when its dark!

Geez, I got her a beauty when she tried to pick me up, though. Was okay being back "home", I guess. Dying for a drink!

Care and responsibility

2009-12-30T17:22:00.007+11:00

This was taken on Tuesday evening, yesterday. I have not seen him since he scarpered up those stairs and out of sight. I have checked the roadside gutters. I will give him more time. Having heard that animals can somehow navigate their way home, tomorrow I will go over to Kirsten's apartment to check. Then, I guess, I have to ring them.

And I think he was having a good time, at least he said he was.
Bugger ...

Thurs 31 December
Still no sign when I awoke, so went around the back and through all the lanes and alleys. Nothing. I texted D&K. I walked over to Double Bay and combed the joint: inside, on the balcony, in the fire-well, in the garbage disposal area, in the gutters. Nothing.

Let K&D know again. This afternoon. I pinned up two MISSING posters on poles in walkway areas. Then combed the area again taking a wider arc and walking down every every every alley I noticed. I cannot see his body in any gutters.

I met a lady who said there is a pack of feral cats down near White City, cross Alma Street, walk alongside the murrayas, cross the little bridge and then stand there ever so quiet. They will come out. Won't let you get within a bull's roar though. I will do this tomorrow.

Fri 1 January
Wrote out two more big posters for light poles. One outside the corner store. Spoke with two neighbours. Wrote out 16 smaller notes and put them into letter boxes on either side and me being on a corner are the wedge. Looked over the large grounds of the nursing home where my Dad is. Nothing.

Nothing nothing nothing.

Grass without a lawn

2009-12-11T17:03:00.003+11:00

Joan had a clump of delightful looking silver Fescu near the entry to her driveway. The green eyes immediately glowed - I must get me some of that!

However, being a little less mobile than before, I have settled for the achievable instead. May I introduce to you two clumps of "Purple Fountain Grass" which, the label trumpets, is a Sterile Hybrid. Mmmm ... manufactured specifially for we the indescriminate consumer. If we want more, we have to buy it - not breed it.

As Diana "Bubbles" Fischer used to say, "And it comes in such lovely colours!"

Lavender - lavandula dentata

2009-12-06T13:32:00.006+11:00

There are quite a few variations upon Lavender down in the nursery. I have not investigated, but I think the lavendula may be a poor man's lavender: one not grown for cut flowers, or for oil but purely for pleasure. Corrections welcome.

The flower spike to this one is quite different for others down there.

And the container from yesterday was a gift from a couple of friends for my 60th last year. I had asked for "something old and junky" and they found this which was labelled turkish.

Baby's Breath is really gypsophila and is a bit like an incredibly small daisy.

New additions

2009-12-05T17:31:00.004+11:00

After the kids brought over their cat for his sleepover whilst they jet off to a wedding in Hawaii, I wandered up the hill to the Paddington Markets in the grounds of the Public School up on Oxford Street. I bought this lavender for $6, an alyssum for $2 and 5 Babys' Breath for $2 each.

My lemon tree, lime tree, daphne and two of my gardenias have new shoots. Two other gardenias are in grave trouble.

My backyard shed

2009-12-01T21:26:00.003+11:00

I have always drooled for a shed to sort my "stuff" out in some reasonably organised way that enables me to find things. This is the back wall of my laundry.

This staghorn

2009-11-30T22:58:00.003+11:00

My window on the world

2009-11-29T14:54:00.006+11:00

Sort of came to a grinding halt last week due to medical tests and lack of money paid WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAID!!!

But here is where I sit to do all this research and writing that I do after I have taken copious photographs. It is also where I do all my Family History work.

Next week one of my tasks is to get a new motor for the foundtain on the wall near my desk so that I can have the tinkle of water to keep me harmonised.

Tuesday, I traipse over to RPA where the very informative neurontology nurse, Alison, is going to strap me into a device that will rock from side to side and up and down. Yes, she knows that I am prone to both car sickness and sea-sickness and is used to "the obvious reaction". On Thursday I am over to Missenden Road way again to be podded and poked by the opthalmologist. I think the main thing he is going to do is to check whether my retina has fallen off its perch.

However, the week is not all medical tests. Tomorrow, I train up to The Blue Mountains to spend the day with the wonderful Joan Elizabeth. Wednesday I get to tour over State Parliament House in Macquarie Street. Thursday I get an introductory tour over the State Library and then on Friday I get to look after my daughter's cat as she and Darren choof over to Hawaii for a week to attend a friend's wedding.

Retirement is okay thus far.

My courtyard

2009-11-24T11:38:00.009+11:00

Here are my new digs with my persona starting to show. I do have a table to go with the black chairs but have to use that inside until I find a dining room table I like. I have a dining room. A dining room!

A sunroom. A laundry. A courtyard.
A dining room. A living room. A kitchen.
A bedroom. A bathroom.

Each area is quite commodious to these eyes.

This is the largest footprint I have held sway over for quite sometime. The tiling is a very mediterranean thing to do (the owner is Greek) but it is easy to clean and the cats love its coolness.

I waited for a bus to come past to show you how far I have to walk! It is only one bus route: the 389, which meanders charmingly through Paddington.

Now ... where was I?

2009-11-23T12:19:00.008+11:00

This is a little treasure, which we are so lucky to have found. I say "we" because although I first found it online, it was my son-in-law who was convinced it was what I was after and who took me to check it out.

It is all on one level. The shower has space for a stool and is not over a bath. There are no internal stairs like at Glebe. It is about 5 minutes by car from Kirsten's place in Double Bay. It is about 100m from my father's nursing home and there is a bus stop right outside - important if the driving ban continues. It is the ground floor of three apartments and is entirely tiled - meaning very cool which I noted yesterday when the mercury topped 40C.

This first image is of the north facing sunroom directly inside the courtyard and exactly where I have set up my work space.

The other criteria were that I needed space for my cats and for my plants. So there is a large courtyard (which I now know to be common area but not used "much") which is tiled making it very easy to maintain - except maybe for the eucalypt droppings but the tree has such other delights that it can stay! The little "out" building across the courtyard houses the garage for apartment 3 and my laundry. In my head, this laundry is now my "shed" with all that connotes in the Australian psyche. These photos were all taken whilst waiting for the moving guys to bring my junk over from Glebe.

Tomorrow, I will start a leisurely tour showing how I have made the space my own in the last ten days.

Pining

2009-11-08T17:19:00.006+11:00

Having been away from my garden, small as it is, since Tuesday 20th October (nearly 3 weeks), it has dawned on me how rent asunder I feel. In that time, I have seen it twice, plus we have endured a 37.5C day. I expect a lot of damage when we are re-united on Thursday.

But that will be a challenge for me to overcome which I shall relish.

These photos were taken in Vic Park as I walked up to the University on Friday to hand back my swipe card and say hoo-roo. Agapanthus and Jacaranda flower at the same time and are close to the same colours - except that aggies can also be white.

Come Friday, I will start to post about the new venue for my transportable garden1

Francais en Double Bay

2009-10-25T12:30:00.002+11:00

After my second collapse in two weeks I was given these rules by the cardiologist: no driving until further notice; no up and down stairs; no living by yourself. So I am camping out with my daughter and SiL for a few weeks. The cardy cauterized a wayward whatsit that was causing the arrythmia (?sp) and I see him in 10 days. The neurologists are still trying to work out the vertigo and the seizure.

Having a BP reading of 60/40 was not nice ...

The purple haze has begun

2009-10-19T22:56:00.005+11:00

Jacarandas are filling the blue of the sky all along my way to work. I took these photographs about 5:30 this afternoon as I sauntered home, much to the delight of a snuffling doberman.

There is nothing like homegrown tomatoes!

2009-10-18T17:21:00.002+11:00

I bought this seedling at Gardens-r-Us on Gardeners Road on 20th September. The growth rate is astounding.

A spray from Tassie

2009-10-13T23:41:00.008+11:00

Read this post in conjunction with the post on the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens which is up on Sydney Eye.

Accentuate the positive

2009-10-12T23:00:00.000+11:00

The second fig had dropped off the perch when I returned from work today, but I knew that was going to happen. Just like many miscarriages indicate that the seed had not grown properly.

Here instead are two images full of potential: olives and limes.

Boo hoo!

2009-10-06T21:16:00.002+11:00

One had dropped when I was away, and the second I think will drop within the next 24 hours. The tree is too immature to sustain fruit and leaves.

I think I have solved the problem of the yellowing of the leaves of my lemon/lime trees. I applied two doses of iron chelates before I went to Tassie. They are looking better already. I will thin out the just setting fruit once all this inclement weather passes and give them some seaweed mix as a gee along!

Grow you little beauties. Grow!

Black genoa fig - Week 3

2009-09-25T16:30:00.003+10:00

So I am away for ten days. Hope these little blighters are still on the twig when I return!

Swamp cooler

2009-09-23T05:30:00.001+10:00

I called this a humidifier because that is what it is called on the inventory. However, it is also known as an evaporative cooler, which I think in the USA is known as a "swamp cooler".

There is hole through which you pour water. There is a tray in which you put ice. You connect it to electricity and blow air over the ice and water and the place cools down and the air becomes more moist.

More pleasant all round. I might also get a pedestal fan just in case.

How ingenious is that!

2009-09-21T05:30:00.001+10:00

You have to agree that this fits with my blog persona!

There simply is not enough room for a wardrobe upstairs and I am loathe to set something up downstairs even though that is where the bathroom is. So I bought two lengths of 22mm dowel from Bunnings: one was 1.8m and the other 2.4m. Then wedged them into the V of the window.

The one that rests on the brick of the shoe rack is the most "fragile": but I am training myself not to be too bull-at-gate on that side. It is a challenge to change the bedding, but I am up for that! Kirsten reckons the clothes should not get too dusty if I cycle through them on a regular basis.

When you get your breath back, let me have your thoughts ... gently, of course!

What a difference a week makes!

2009-09-20T06:00:00.000+10:00

This small image shows my Black Genoa fig tree on Saturday 12th September. I am astounded at the rate of growth in such a very short time. I will try to post a cumulative image each weekend to monitor growth.

Blighters!

2009-09-19T07:20:00.004+10:00

That cat has a need to know everything that I do! Blame the wonky focus on her ... chemicals, nibbles, silver trail ... just no carcasses ... they seem to have melted into the shade of the soil.

... *evil laugh* ...

Here is another problem brewing: cute maybe, but I think this fellow is the cause of black soot on my lemons and limes. Here he is on the lemon tree which has a smaller flower and many many more of them. Now that I have found this blighter, I note that the lower leaves are covered with a liquid and THAT liquid is what ferments (!?) black mould. Maybe I should research this ... need to take action before I go to Tasmania for 10 days next weekend. My housesitter will not even notice this sort of problem!

Exterior a month along

2009-09-18T05:30:00.002+10:00

I have not disposed of last season's crop of leaves, yet. Nor trimmed all the droopy branches. But everything is going along swimmingly. My daughter and I go out to the garden shop on Sunday. I have promised myself no more pots. But will get me some scarlet petunias. And some more basil - bloody slugs!

Which is which?

2009-09-15T05:30:00.001+10:00

One of these is a lemon and the other a lime. I forget which!

The lemon - whichever it is - produced about 10 fruits last year. The lime nil.

Fruiting

2009-09-14T07:29:00.004+10:00

Both trees are totally covered. Lst year I thought this was the olive itself. Now I know it to be but the flower. Last year none of the flowers opened.

Patience is a virtue.

A sense of musky velveteen

2009-09-12T05:30:00.000+10:00

When I worked at UTS in the first half of 2006, an Italian colleague insisted I try my first ever fresh fig. I was captivated from that moment forward. During my sojourn in the Languedoc last October, figs littered branches and ground alike. The ripe smell of musk clogged my nostrils. I bought me a variety on my return. This be it.

Bit between the teeth

2009-09-11T07:23:00.006+10:00

I think I was fairly accurate with the term "plonk" (past participle "plunk"). Have yet to get the guts to hammer hooks in the walls for paintings and photos. I went overboard at the last place and repairing the walls was a burden. So have taken many photos out of frames and tossed the frames. I feel as though I am down-sizing for old age!

See the boxes in front of the book-shelf? They contain kid-things. Things that I can only sort a bit at a time because it becomes too emotional to throw things out - which I must.

Then need to buy a rug. And a table - sick of eating off my lap! However, yesterday (down near the viaduct of all places) I stumbled over a Lawson's Auction House which had a perfect table with just the central pedestal foot. Just what I am after. And next door to them is a wholesale carpet warehouse.

Over the weekend, I shall show you what spring is doing to the outside. And show you my nearly-fig!!

Cats' eye-view

2009-09-10T11:45:00.004+10:00

Why dincha say? A cat's-eye view I can do.

Now THIS is the secret cubby house

2009-09-10T05:30:00.001+10:00

They LOVE the stairs! They bolt up, eyes like saucers, when they are frightened. They caress them with their backs for that lovely scratchy feel.

And they hang out through the gaps to check out what I am doing ...

Moving forward slowly

2009-09-03T06:00:00.001+10:00

It did not take her long to find this spot. I am having trouble working out which plants to put in which thin slivers of sun. I am more buildinged in than I had thought I would be.

The nest prior to nesting

2009-08-28T11:40:00.005+10:00

Taken during the initial inventory inspection, these images show the living area. Essentially, I live in one big room: a studio if you will. The stairs are very steep and do not have a balaustrade. The main doors open to the south making the interior a little dark.

The first shot was taken on WB=cloudy and the rest on WB=Fluoro which explains the difference in warmth. Next I will show shots of the garden and then come back inside and show you the nest after it has been twigged up!

Hope springs eternal

2009-08-26T11:14:00.003+10:00

Both my olive trees - planted on my return from Italy in October 2006 - are awash with these small buds. Now the same thing occurred this time last year: only for them to shrivel in-situ. I gather from a friend that there is a massive rigmarole required to take olive fruit from tree to martini-glass ...

A dacha

2009-08-21T08:56:00.005+10:00

Somewhere through the years, I have seen a grainy film shot in 1901 which shows Tolstoy walking along, stick in hand, near his country estate outside Moscow. The landed gentry in those pre-revolution days, had a dacha to escape the madness of urban life.

This is my newly acquired dacha.

Long handled duster

2009-08-12T06:00:00.003+10:00

In the mail today arrived a package of "Thou shalt do's" from the exiting real-estate agent. The missive is 7 pages in length. I could be a shit tenant; I could be a good tenant. All are treated equally: we will scarper leaving the place looking like a pig-sty.

Here be an example:

Window furnishings
Curtains to be washed/cry cleaned and re-hung
Venetian blinds to be properly cleaned, preferably professionally. They may be carefully taken down and washed outside. Particular attention should be paid to the area behind the tapes.
Holland blinds to be cleaned professionally and rehung.
Venetian blinds wiped clean and rehung.
If you have removed any curtains or blinds belonging to the premises, please ensure they are re-hung prior to vacating.

Now my problem is this. The curtain in the front room was hanging from a piece of electrical wiring that was poking through a hole punched through the plaster and suspended from a ceiling strutt. When I had the place repainted upon moving in - from grecian-urn blue to antique white - I requested they plaster the hole and I would reassemble the rod from a stay that I would assemble and attach above the window jambe. I wonder if this should be rehung as was?

It could be arranged ...

Glebe

2009-08-09T06:00:00.002+10:00

My cottage is out the back of this terrace in Glebe. I will move my household goodies next Wednesday and my garden goodies next Saturday which will leave me a week to return my current terrace to the condition it was when I moved in three years ago.

On the move

2009-08-06T19:43:00.003+10:00

This photo was taken in November 2006 six months after having moved into the street. I move out next Wednesday.

It is not easy finding an alternative given these criteria:

must have dirt
must have light
must have sun
must be old
must have an open plan living area
must be allowed to have cats
must not be too expensive.

But I found a one-bedroom cottage out the back of a two storey terrace in Glebe, about 12 minutes walk from my work and 200m from a great coffee shop. I met the owner today and got a big tick. I like the RE agent whom I will liaise with. More photos later.

Give me your answer do ...

2009-08-04T06:00:00.000+10:00

Daisy, daisy give me your answer do
I'm half crazy all for the love of you.
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford a carriage.
But you'll look sweet
Upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two.

Springing early

2009-08-02T18:45:00.002+10:00

A tale of two pots

2009-07-21T06:33:00.005+10:00

Cylamen are a mystery to me. However, I suspect Joan's advice may contain a seed of truth. Both these plants were bought at the same time, and resided on the table on the front porch. One thrived, the other dived. Like totally ...

I put them both out among the bedded azaleas and nandinas, and regrowth is the result. Now the decision: to plant out or not.

Gardening semantics

2009-07-20T06:00:00.005+10:00

In my endeavour to compose text for this post, I could not think of a word to describe the planter pot. So looked it up:

Container
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: holder for physical object
Synonyms: alembic, bag, beaker, bin, bottle, bowl, box, bucket, bunker, caisson, can, canister, canteen, capsule, carafe, carton, cask, casket, cauldron, chamber, chest, churn, cistern, cradle, crate, crock, dish, ewer, firkin, flask, hamper, hod, hopper, humidor, hutch, jar, jeroboam, jug, kettle, magnum, package, packet, pail, pit, pod, poke, pot, pottery, pouch, purse, receptacle, reliquary, repository, sac, sack, scuttle, stein, storage, tank, tub, utensil, vase, vat, vessel, vial

Friday morning - just to show you the rain!

2009-07-17T22:37:00.003+10:00

Thursday morning - final

2009-07-16T23:18:00.004+10:00

This was only early morning dew. Right now at 11pm it is pouring with rain: heaven only knows the condition of these poor little blossoms come the morrow!

Wednesday morning

2009-07-15T20:00:00.003+10:00

Why do I suddenly feel naked! My poor disembodied thumb ... Yes, I guess the flowers are fairly small.

Tuesday morning

2009-07-14T23:29:00.006+10:00

They are a riot now! They don't all come out together as you can see, but each individual bud turns into a fully fledged flower within not much more than 24 hours. I guess the day-times temps at the moment are averaging 17C.

Monday morning

2009-07-13T20:30:00.000+10:00

Now I admit to getting all confused about which bud was which so ... but I do think the one from yesterday with the closed mouth with smudge is the middle left in this collage. I think the other three are different angles of an adjacent bud.

They have changed a lot just over 24 hours, yes?

24 hours later

2009-07-12T22:00:00.001+10:00

This is the more refined of the two orchids I was given for my 60th: the Duchess to yesterday's Courtesan! However, there was one bud from this plant in yesterday's post. I knew it would be just that little bit wider by this morning and it did not disappoint. The large image shows the red lip while still encased. If the light is any good, I will try to capture one image each morning this week as it unfolds.

Winter's delight

2009-07-11T07:45:00.007+10:00

Time to reflect

2009-07-08T00:05:00.004+10:00

Alleyway dreaming

2009-07-06T06:39:00.004+10:00

Cerise swan

2009-07-03T19:38:00.004+10:00

Although I love Cyclamen, I am rarely able to keep one alive from one season to the next.

Winter winds doth blow

2009-06-30T07:00:00.006+10:00

As I have mentioned before, I live in a narrow one-way street, about 100m in length with a very large verge down one side. The dominant natural feature is two very large trees, oaks I think but I would be guessing.

This week my street looks like this. I thought it worth capturing as today the winter winds blow up from the south and I expect all these leaves to have gone within another week: even those still on the trees.

Does beauty do cute?

2009-06-23T06:00:00.002+10:00

Sellie

A thing of beauty

2009-06-21T06:00:00.001+10:00

An offering for those of you who prefer their beauty from a classical mould.

A perfume from the past

2009-06-18T22:50:00.003+10:00

This is my newly planted Daphne which I suspect will flower this coming spring. It is such a compact flower: full of self-control that presents itself just-so. And yet it emits this overwhelmingly profuse perfume.

I like that in a plant: the hidden whammy.