TEA ROOM # 72

Its Spring. I thought we needed a fresh start so here we are back up the track again. The photo is part of my garden this morning in the rain. The blossom is stating and the wallflowers are out with the daffies. In another part it's not so pretty. Hubby said this morning did I hear anything loud in the night ? I said no , so he said look outside. We have ( did have) two old pine trees at the back of the driveway. They were here long before hubby ever came. This morning , half of one tree is now upside down on the ground. Completely flattened the fence and the cootamundra wattle . A very big job to clean up. Luckily no damage to anything else. We now have to watch the other carefully as it is next to the garage. The trees have been slowly dying for many years and it was time for this one to fall. One sees these old half dead pines everywhere in the district. A leftover relic of the earlier pioneers with their lack of foresight. They ripped out thousands of beautiful old red gums and planted the pines everywhere.
Oh well , this will keep hubby busy for quite a while, cutting the darn thing up , then we have to rescue the fence.
Better get out in the kitchen and have a cuppa while I see what I can find for you all to nibble on. Have a great day.
Nearly forgot...we came from here ....http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1122883/
Happy Spring
Jean.

This message was edited Sep 1, 2010 9:02 AM

Dont know why that link didnt work. Try again we came from here...http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1122883/
Sorry people. The link wont work . You know where we were anyway.
Heres the tree branch that fell .
Jean

This message was edited Sep 1, 2010 9:06 AM

It's Spring and it's been raining again. 23degrees yesterday but you could feel the rain coming. Gee Jean that old pine made a bit of a mess. It probably got waterlogged from all the rain. I'm hoping to have Aztec Gold out this morning. Haven't been out to see yet. Will post a pic if it is. Apricot, peaches and nectarines are all coming out. The apricot has leaves now too. I have a nice crop of oranges this year, but still no mandys. Be back later. Colleen

That's a big branch Jean, lucky that It didn't do too much damage except to the fence which is an inconvenience ....they are a very dangerous tree....we have a lot of them here too.
When Ray was working at Flemington, the one that they had been pruning fell on the truck that they had been on a minute before and flattened it.
It feels warm here this morning and a very gentle rain is falling, so all my pots are out from cover and having their faces washed....even the seedlings.
It's great to hear about everyone's fruit trees coming into blossom and leaf, such a pretty time.
How is your Donut peach, Brian....mine is just starting to burst into flower.
Love those chickens Colleen....
Have a great day all
Dianne

Happy Spring everyone ...even if it is going to rain.
Grey sky heavy with rain clouds here.
Oh jean wow that is a drama, thank goodness it did not happen while anyone was under it. We lost two Cootamundra wattles in a storm a few years ago, they have very small root systems for the amount of tree above. Good luck cleaning that up.
Look what I found this morning ...first plum blossoms and the Apricot is starting up too.
Spring has Sprung!
Have a lovely day everyone

Hi everyone I just popped back to put this in for anyone who has not found it yet ...you collectors and antique lovers

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/collectibles/all/

Don't forget to have a good look around there are lots of really interesting places to explore in here.

Thanks Chrissy. I tried twice but the link wouldn't work.
Rain here nonstop. Not as cold as it has been but very slushy outside. Going to be a wet shopping day tomorrow but I;ll still be looking for orphans.
Here why I like nasturtiums. One of the great groundcovers. I just leave them to grow and die as they wish. Makes a beautiful picture when flowering. Covers where no other plant or weed will dare to go.
Jean.

Gee sorry the link didn't work for you ...it works for me.
Try this one ...I can't remember who saw this one before so here it is once again, my "antique" bedroom suite in my spare room. Just love it!
Don't love the dust it gathers though.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/772711/
Yes all of the nasturtiums are carpeting the place here, aren't self seeders a wonderful thing? except for the triffids of course.

The first link worked for me Chrissy.

Yes ...first day of spring. A bit windy here at the Sunshine Coast.

I have just spent the afternoon bucketing out the water from the fish pond....AGAIN.
Can't find the leak so I have to pull out the liner and redo the whole pond. *Darn!*

Did enough for today will get Fred to help me tomorrow. He was away today.

Colleen...no not chickens...I need a rest from chickens.

Must go and have a "cuppa" and see what Jean has baked today.

well I finally looked up Blue Mountain pottery & found it is Canadian...
some gorgeous stuff on E-Bay including lovely swans that had me drooling.

Good morning all. After rain all day yesterday, it is fine and mild this morning. The sun is trying to come out from the clouds. Being shopping day, I hope it stays fine. i got that link to work Chrissy. it was me having a granny moment.
I am as usual , in a rush , because we have to be early today. Got an appointment at the bank to discuss our insurance. The company we started with was taken over years ago, then that one was absorbed into another and so on , about 4 times. Now we seem to be with the bank. Oh well, maybe we'll find out this morning.
It seems a large expense these days , but one has to have all the insurances, house & contents, car, life etc. It adds up to a lot of money which goes into the bottomless pit .
We were out looking at the half of the tree that fell yesterday. It is large and a lot of mess to be cleared later when the weather is dry. The poor cootamundra wattle is flat but will likely reshoot.
I see I have a red ranunculi still out. A real early bird.
Better put out something for everyone to nibble and get myself moving.
Here we are Apple and Almond Slice.
Have a great day and I hope you have nice weather.
Jean.

Good morning everyone. A dull but calm day here today. Lovely gardening day. Happy orphan shopping Jean. My ranuculi were growing very nicely but the chooks thought so too. I'm going to have to cut their wings so they can't fly over the fence. Little buggers. Must go and do something. Be back later. Colleen

Colleen...how high is you fence that the chooks can get over?

Working on the fish pond all morning. Had an accident . I fell over some stones and hurt my shoulder.

Oh dear....must have a sit down for a while.

This getting old is for the birds!

Marleneann it's a five foot fence. Hope your shoulder is okay. My bones are aching today too, but I haven't fallen over, touch wood. Colleen

It's been raining, so jean where are those orphans?
Sorry you are aching ladies hope you feel better soon.
Anyone else enjoying the X factor?
I love watching young performers strut their stuff, some great talent so far.
I miss Masterchef so it's nice to have something take it's place.
Enjoy your evening everyone.

have a good weekend everyone.i've had one hell of a week,the daff show is this weekend and as usual,someone throws a spanner 'in'.=--=-=-=c'mon sunday

Morning all.
They are forecasting over 100mls of rain for the weekend, so we are in for a soaking.
No good for the MCG, Anthony....good luck at the Daff show....hope you do well.

Marleneann, be careful....it shakes you up for a while, when you take a fall and you are usually more sore the next day.
I know what you mean about getting old being for the birds.

Hope you finished your wing clipping, Colleen.
I will grab a cuppa then go, you will probably get some of that rain too, Jean
Bye for now
Dianne

Good morning everyone. Still very cold but none of the heavy rain predicted so far. Yesterday was dry and mild . I found one little orphan. A nice pink Gaura that was very tatty a few weeks ago with hardly a leaf but has grown nicely since then. I had seen it there but waited . It ended up as only $3 , so a nice bargain.
I must get more of the white Gaura again. I did have lots but it just died away over time. I love the waving little flowers . It is easy to see why its called butterfly bush.
There is lots of water in all the creeks and the river so we will take a few more waterfall photos on Monday as we have to go across to Hamilton again.
Hello Anthony. Lots of asiatics up here now and growing fast. I hope you do well at your daff show.
Chrissy, I see a few shoots on the brugs, so hoping for lots more growth as the weather warms. While you were away, I bought a small bright orange bougainvillea that I hope will soon grow as big as the purple . Should make a spectacular show along the fence.
Marlene, you have to take things easy, can't go falling over. You may end up in the pond.
Hello Colleen. Chooks can be a real pain when they decide to where you don't want them. Try putting a bit of stiff wire bent slightly inwards along the top of the fence. I would only cut the feathers on one wing , as I was told years ago that even with shortened wing feathers , they will still manage to flutter if the wings are even.
Hello Sue, glad your trip went well. I will be watching the brom thread for your pics.
Hello Leisa, Elaine, Brian and Teresa.
Louise, hope all is well with you there. I hope the hot weather has eased a bit for you.
Better go and put on some washing. Its so hard with the new washer. Ha ha.. I love it..
Try these Chocolate Mint Squares with your cuppa.
Happy gardening
Jean.

I love the Gaura too Jean, for some reason it has been declared a weed here in NSW (the white one) but the hybrid pink is allowed.
I used to have it too but it seems to die off in clay. They are very pretty waving around in the wind.
I would love to see how you go with your new orange boge I love mine as you know, I haven't given up on trying to strike them as soon as the weather warms I am going to try again ...water this time, most other things grew roots in water so I will give that a go.
http://www.home-herb-garden.com/bougainvilleas.html
We have been told to expect a "rain event" here just now on the radio, sorry I can't share that with you.

Elaine are you playing around under shelter?
A big wave to everyone, stay dry today.

Chrissy, you may keep your 'rain event' as we are supposed to get over 100mls of rain down here. I am watching some hippeastrum seeds now which I have in the lounge . I am trying the water flotation method which seems to be working. I have lots of tiny roots showing on the seeds , plus there are 3 with leaves stating. great fun to watch. They took quickly, so I may try a few more later. Som eof the seeds are from H. papilio.
Jean.

Gee that is interesting I have never gathered the hippy seeds but if they sprout in water that would be different. hmmm. very interesting indeed.
Some Angel seeds start to sprout in water too.
Looks like water is a winner.

Hi everyone. Dull and overcast here. Feels like rain. Chrissy is that a Budleah? I have a huge one right outside my bedroom window. I have a flower coming on the yellow Clivia. It's nearly out. I noticed that I have 2 pups in the tub as well. Jean I don't know what a Guara is so will have to google it. Good luck with your hippies. The Papilio is soooo expensive to buy. I will get your bulb ready for posting on Monday. I have 2 flowering ones in the pot and a lot of little ones, so will send one of the big ones so that you get flowers straight away. I'm going to experiment with the Aztec Gold and Sanguinea this morning. You never know what might happen. Keep your fingers crossed for me to get a pod. I have to go down the street to get a few things so will be back later. can you spot the cat?. Justin.] Colleen

Colleen beautiful!
Yes that looks like the one.
About the sang ...sorry but that won't work.
You need Arborea to cross that. Sang will only cross with cooler climate brugs. It only crosses with Arborea and that other type Alistair has posted on the brug thread.
I did send you some Arborea seeds, Brian too, so try crossing with them when they bloom. Arborea are self pollinating so it's a bit hard.
If I were you I would start with easy common Brug crosses first.
try your Riverland one with the Aztec Gold.
Next year you will have a big range to play with. ^_^

well,my entries are in-i'm stuffed.,.,6hrs ofdaffodil bottling and benching and ive still got some growing [quicker than normal] on the dining room table,..,the things we do!,..give me a lily show anyday!

Good morning all! Hope you are back in shipshape, Marleneann! Sounds like a big job.I had to move our goldfish back to a large indoors aquarium a few years ago .. easier to clean, the birds don't get at them and we can see them!
It's a bit dull and rain is predicted over the next few days. I think we now have the La Nina effect so it's going to be a wetter than average spring and summer...they are predicting more frequent and violent thunderstorms so I hope the trees hold out around here! There are big gum trees, native pines, relics of the original rianforests..we had one down the back but when the man next door did his watertanks etc, his spillover washes into our bottom bit and washed all the soil away from the pine and it crashed about two years ago. Shame, as it was a very grand tree, even though he didn't like it and was happy to see it go. The neighbouring suburbs have quite a few and they are often used as street and landscaping plantings as they fit in. I think most are bunyas, but the nuts on some are the size of coconuts!!
Haven't yet seen many buds on the epies though there has been a lot of snail damage so they have eaten a lot of the aerioles! A bit of neglect through lack of access and time. I will be marking statewide exam papers in the holidays (whooppeee) so won't be home..all done in very secure circumstances. I guess the fact that I didn't return the confirmation to mark form was taken as a yes!! Lol! Will still have the second week to go away. Fenceman will be agitated as we only said we'd remove the bit of bamboo, nothing else..but for chook and plant security, we'll have to put up maybe panels of strong mesh covered in shadecloth or my epies and heliconias will burn in the afternoon sun and the turkeys will trample them. We replied about his jurisdiction stopping at the property line and that we had noted he'd been cutting and interfering with things on our side etc etc..so far, no reaction but he did get the all snippers and electric stuff out a few times during the week...and the remaining shrubbery does seem less dense. Man needs a job and a life and a new system of values to get things in perspective.
I have almost given up on some parts of the garden as the turkeys do so much damage as soon as anything is disturbed. They are mounding..At the end of the street (two houses down it becomes gully with a wooden walkway etc) they are dragging stuff out and every afternoon I come home to a mound built across the walkpath, and someone must scrape it back every night. There is a bit heap of mulched pine bark and shredded tree branches etc in the unfenced yard of the last house and the turkeys are besotted with it!
Happy gardening all!

Earthquake in Christchurch.......that's where Teresa is....
Hope you didn't get too much damage, though the news is telling us that there has been a fair bit of structural damage in the city itself.
They haven't mentioned injuries so we are hoping that there are no serious ones.
Our thoughts are with you Teresa.
Dianne

Good morning all. Just been watching the news about the NZ earthquake.
Teresa, I hope you are safe and suffered no damage to anything.
Earthquakes are very sneaky things. Even if you see no damage , the shaking can cause unseen cracks etc. Our thoughts are with you all over there.
Anthony, I hope you did well at the show.
Chrissy, my brugs are stating to look a bit better, some tiny shoots peeping out. The warmer weather will make a big difference.
Colleen, Gaura can be a bit of a pest with its self seeding, but I like the flowers waving around like lots of butterflies. I think the white is the worst for that as my pinks have never self seeded.
I was very lucky to get a Hippie Papilio on eBay for only $8. I know, an extravagance, but I wanted one. I see others going for three times that. and they do sell fast.
Hello Kat. I hope you don't wash away from your hilltop. Between fenceman and the turkeys you are lucky to have any trees and garden to hold you there. If we don't hear from you one day, I'll tell people to look down in the gully for you.
It has rained heavily since about 4am here. The rain gauge isn't working so I have no clue as to how much , but a lot. There is little wind and no sign of thunder and lightning thank goodness. Hubby has a fit every time we get lightning because of all his radio antennas. Better go out and see how the garden is coping with the rain. I spread a lot of fertiliser around yesterday when they forecast lots of rain.
Heres something nice to nibble. Chocolate Coconut Slice.
Happy gardening
Jean.

Thinking of our friends in NZ I hope you are ok and will be able to get on with things as soon as possible ...our thoughts and prayers go out to you.

Kat have fun marking those papers, yes the bunya cones could do some serious damage to any head they might land upon, we have quite a few in this area too.

Good luck with your entries Anthony I hope the weather stays kind for you.

Jean the pink Gaura are sterile that is why they are not classified as a weed while the white one is. A shame really.
Rained most of the night here too and looks set in for a while.

I hope everyone enjoys the weekend.

Dalfyre hope you and your family are okay. We had a wild night here with thunderstorms and rain from about 3pm yesterday. It was clear when I got up this morning but is now coming in to rain again. Looks like it's going to be a wild and woolly Saturday. Won't be much gardening going on. Good luck Anthony with your entries in the show. I found out what Guara was I thought that I'd heard or seen the name before. I had a white one out the back but it succumbed to whatever. Will have to get another one. Chrissy why are the pink ones sterile? Is that because they are hybrid? I know with the hybrid Pelagoniums they are very hard to strike. The lady next door had a beautiful one and I tried for 4 years to get cuttings to root. I finally won last year and now I have 2 planted out in my garden. Hope no damage will be caused by all this rain. We're not used to so much at once. Be back later. Colleen

Hope all are coping well with the earthquake! Something like this shows how insignificant we and our "problems" are in the big scheme of things..things we can't control..and we are amazing how we can repair our lives and get on with it. I've been in a big earthquake in a village in Bali but, with only mud huts, little startling damage was done but the complex infrastructure of big cities is another thing! Thinking of you all over there!

Thanks for the link, Jean! I sure hope that Teresa and others are okay with the earthquake there. So frightening! The salsa turned out great, but I can't recreate it if I try...just kept doing my own thing and adding stuff until I liked how it tasted. lol I used Hank as my guinea pig tonight. My menu for the guests tomorrow after their golf outing with Hank includes the salsa/chips & cheeses & crackers....then my nicest tomatoes cut like a flower and stuffed with chicken salad with red grapes and walnuts, fresh cukes, watermelon chunks, fresh pineapple slices, hot biscuits with homemade raspberry jam. For dessert...Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Do you all have Ben & Jerry's ice cream there? It's made in Vermont and it has now made it down south, but I'm not sure how wide-spread its distribution is. Very creamy and good! (None for me though)

Didn't one of you take this photo at our front door as you were leaving us??? :)

Thats a very cute couple sitting on your step Louise.
Move over as I am coming for all that yummy food.
I have just put my slow cooker on with some chicken legs to make lovely Moroccan chicken and pumpkin soup for tomorrow. It hasn't stopped raining since around 4 am , so no going outside in the slush today.
I haven't seen that icecream you mentioned . Sounds nice though. Better go and get lunch ready now. Fish & chips today.
Enjoy the day
Jean

It's a miserable day today and the boys can't go outside so they decided to help me make a nice big pot of stew for tea. Here they are cutting up the vegies. Colleen

scary wake up call at 4.30am... I woke to the bed rocking & after a moment realised it was not stopping so slid out of bed onto the floor - safest place to be is beside a solid object so if it is crushed you have a void beside it to shelter in...
anyway we sustained minor damage, power was out half the day but we still have water.
After shocks still rocking the place now & then.
i went into work & some of the executive & a co-worker beat me to the clean up.
Lots of broken glasses & bottles, all the tv sets had come down, without power they couldn't test them.
There is a serious gouge in the bar floor where the corner of one tv hit...
glad i wan't under it!
They can't open the bar so I was sent home...
just watching the 5.30pm news, cannot believe how much damage to the city there is!

So glad you and yours are okay. Yes there has been a lot of damage done but thankfully no-one killed. Colleen

Good news to hear your family and pets are OK and only minor damage to your home .elaine

Dalfyre...thinking of you at this time and praying no more aftershocks.
What a mess.

Jean...you said I should be careful and not fall into the pond.
Too late. A few months ago I was adjusting a water plant and fell in...just hunging over the pond as I didn't want to touch the botton as the filter and fountain pump lay there and I didn't want to damage them. I was yelling for Fred to help and my calls were answered by a two yer old visiting her grandma next door. She got Margie and Margie helped me out.
When I went bleeding inside and asked Fred why he didn't come he said he was playing cards on the computer and wanted to finish the game first. MEN!

Today was another busy day with the grandchildren.

I wish all fathers a HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!

Thank goodness you are ok, a miracle no one was killed in all that damage.
The irony of the people who lost their lives in that plane crash and yet the earthquake took no lives despite the absolute havoc.

Yes a very Happy Father's Day to all the Dads and Father figures tomorrow.
Whatever would we do without you?

Shhhh now who giggled at that!

Whew, Teresa! So glad to hear you and your family are okay. It sounds like a pretty close call!

Thanks, Jean! Busy day today....hope all is well with everyone there!

Good morning all. It is a good morning because Teresa and everyone else are safe after the Quake. Damage can be fixed, lives cannot. A terrible shame about the plan e crash though. On the news, it was said to be lucky it happened at night when people were not out on the streets with all the falling masonry etc.
We had a wild and windy night here but not as frightening as a quake.
The sun is out so a fine day expected. The floods in the north of Vic are bad. I know from experience as I lived up there during the last bad one in 93.
One thing i learnt about earthquakes is they are scarier because you can see floods, fires , storms etc coming, but a quake, even though very noisy, cannot be seen until it hits.
Hello Louise, glad all is well with you and yours there. Love to see some of your autumn color as the trees change.
Chrissy, ssshhhhhh, don't give the fellas a swelled head now. Its true though, they can be a great help. ( except near gardens)
Marlene, I remember now when you told us that you fell in the pond. Looking back, you can laugh at the moment, but it could have been awful.
Hello Elaine and Colleen. Hope your weather is calming down now.
Hello Kat. Lots of epi buds here now. I keep checking daily. Can't wait for the flowers.
Love those buddleas. I have a white, pink and mauve. around the house plus a large yellow one out the back. It is nearly always with a flower. I like your mauve Colleen. It is different to the usual ones.
Better get out and do some tidying up of all the small bits and pieces from the trees after the wind . Its very slippery so I'll be very careful walking around . We had over an inch of rain yesterday so lots of water everywhere.
Have a safe and happy day. For all the workers, its MONDAY tomorrow.
Teresa, I hope all gets back to some sort of normal for you soon.
Heres a nice nibble for you. Chocolate Layer Cake.
Jean.