TEA ROOM # 77

Hello everyone. Here we are moved again. I have set the tables out under the trees on the patio now that Spring seems to have arrived.
I am off out in the sun to do a bit of repotting. I want to get my orchids all done before the weather gets too hot. I have a lot of small zygos to do too.
I hope you all had a great weekend.
Teresa, I do hope those "shaky isles"stop shaking soon. You will be able to relax a bit more then.
Dianne, your irises must be looking very pretty too.
Chrissy, if you pop in , I hope all is well on the home front now that your brother has moved in.
Hello to anyone else looking in.
I am off to get all the rest of the things form the kitchen.
Have a great day and happy gardening. Enjoy the pic of our garden visitor.
Jean.

We came from here
.http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1137331/

Good morning everyone. A lovely sunny morning and I have heaps to do still. I'm gradually getting in touch with people who want pieces of Brian's cactus. You should have seen my friend and I the other day. It looked like a full blown nursery here with all the potting going on. The paved area still hasn't been cleaned completely. There's cactus everywhere. I have a few flowers out now and lots and lots of buds on the cactus. The epis are coming along nicely too and I've had 8 different ones flower now. I hope everyone is well and Leisa I hope you're on the mend and are home from hospital now. Lots of hugs for you. Well must go and get the boys ready. Be back later. This is a pic of the latest epi. Colleen

another pink one. Colleen

Hello and good morning all. Hmmmm, love the decor here in the new thread. Koalas and Epis. Good mix. I like plants and wild life. Here is one from Barry's place. I sat still for an hour in the middle of the night, waiting for it to emerge.

Karen


This message was edited Nov 7, 2010 3:32 PM

Aren't they just so cute and they always smile. We see them in the bush when walking. I have been known to lay down on the ground to photograph their smile.
Lovely epis, Colleen. I'm still waiting, but it will be an explosion when they all open. Sun has been playing hide and seek with me this morning. I just have time before lunch to photograph the latest iris open.
Better throw something out for the "children" too .
Jean.

Porkupine!!! Is that what it is????

Charleen, sometimes it does get called a porcupine but it is an echidna, our spiny anteater.
Cute little things and very hard to move if they dig in .
Jean.

Hello everyone.

Visitors have left and all is back to normal.

Will do a few things in the garden this afternoon.

Colleen...your making me jealous with those Epi pics

Jean and Charleen, this echidna is man shy, and had dug in. I waited, sitting still, until he decided it was safe to emerged. I got the pic, then he took off, sounding like a mini herd of elephants as he pounded off into the bush. Sadly, they have destroyed his habitat, and the animals have nowhere to go now. They will quickly disappear and be no more. I've seen 2 types of goanna, koala, wallaby, echidna, possum several varieties, the largest python in the world, and many smaller animals. The bird life is wonderful, but the council believes only people and their destructive ways bring in the money, and in the end it is only the $$$ that count. The lives of our beautful animals and birds mean nothing to them.

Karen

Saw a wonderful program last night concerning the Kakapo and the Kiwi.......It was Stephen Fry's " Last chance to see" on ch2...
What funny, lovable, sad, little birds they are......what a wonderful job the conservationists are doing..I had a look on the Kakapo website and they are having great success...so much that they are moving some of the birds to another island with the intent of one day returning them to the mainland.....It's great to see someone DOING something about all these creatures....Well done NZ.

Beautiful Epis Colleen.......Glad that you had a friend to give you a hand with the repotting on the weekend.....
Jean, how many in the "family" now?
Great pic, Karen...I love their little eyes, they seem very knowing.
Nice to have time to yourself sometimes, Marlene.
Anthony, don't forget to post your masterpiece...

Dianne

dawnsong-i agree,Dianne- i cant rush things[ask any great artist]ha ha,..,-hello everyone else,.,.a warmish day today-very busy on 'the steel delivery' front,.,.early night tonight i think-anthony

Karen, got to google it to check it out. Thanks for information.

Good morning everyone. I'm in for an early cuppa this morning as have many things to do today. Have put the heater on for awhile this morning just to take the nip out of the air. It's supposed to get to 36 on Thursday. Not looking forward to that. I don't like the heat at all. The Geraniums are putting on a wonderful show this year. They are so bright and pretty and don't take any looking after except for the occassional haircut. Love the pics of the wildlife and it must have been especially wonderful to see a real Echidna. I haven't seen one for years. Dianne, I just caught the end of that show. Cute little bird isn't it? I quite often watch Stephen Fry. I find his shows very interesting if I don't go to sleep half way though. I think that my recliner has sleeping gas in it. Needless to say I don't watch a lot of TV. Hope everyone has a wonderful day and I'll be back later. Colleen

Good morning everyone. A beautiful morning here. A light fog but the sun is shining through. The iris beds look very pretty with the morning light on the water droplets .
We are off to Hamilton this morning for hubbys hearing aid adjustments. Its going to be a lovely day so we'll stay over there for lunch.
I hope the storms yesterday did not do too much damage to anyone. We had nothing down here at all, even though it did come over very dark for a while. I had better rush .
Leaving the door open so you can help yourselves to the kitchen.
Just watch out as I think I saw that python of Kats out there again. Hopefully cleaning up any mice that may dare to venture around.
Have great day. Enjoy the plates of Mixed Cakes.
Jean.

Uh oh, python about? I'll be in the closet (cleaning it out, of course) until I hear the "all clear".

Wet morning here. Good, the plants will be happy, as it was a dry day yesterday. Hope everyone has a good day ahead.

Karen
Barry's back yard again. This is a wild cockatoo. They can come in singly, or in flocks, looking for treats. There is one that pulls all the passionfruit off the vines.

What a beautiful picture Karen. You should enter it in the photo competition on DG. Colleen

Thanks Colleen. I believe the competition has just finished and the voting starts soon. Is it today? Not sure.

Karen

Good morning everyone!

Colleen ...is that a double Hippy?...very nice

Did anyone enter a pic in the DG comp?

Jean...please make sure there are some diet biscuits in the tea room. I am ten kg overweight.

Hi Marlene. Yes, I entered a few photos. I don't have the quality photography or experience so mine are just point and shoot type pics. Looking forward to seeing all the entries, but there are a lot, so will put a day aside for it.

Did you enter any?

Karen

Yes, it's beautiful. Please enter it.

Thank you again :). Too late, the competition has ended. Never mind, there is next year.

This little fellow has taken up permanent residence in my herb wheel barrow.

Karen

The above was taken this morning. This was taken in 2008, so he's still around. Or his offspring?

Karen

I have seed pods on a zygocactus and don't know anything about growing them. Does anyone grow plants from seed and know when to take the seed pods off the plant? I don't want them, so if anyone would like them, just say. I might try one pod only. I just don't know when to remove them. The flowers would be self crossed as it was the only flowering plant I had at the time. This is the flower - its Party Girl, from the Fantasy range.

Karen

Beautiful warm sunny day.
Lovely pics Karen....too bad about the comp...as you said ..next year.

Anthony, I would never rush an artiste, such as yourself....I just sit back and wait for the masterpiece.
What did you do with last year's creation?...I liked that.

I had to drag out all the shadecloth and cover the Rhodos.....the Tree Ferns can manage up to about 30c.....they just need to harden off and they are ok for the rest of the summer.
I am getting a solar skylight in between my kitchen and family room....they are the small round ones....with the verandah just outside, it gets very dark on a dull day.....

It's so warm that Quincey, my mother's Siamese can't move....... legs everywhere.
Dianne.

I really need to keep popping in to the tea room more often, I am so behind...
but let's see - lovely to see a wild echidna, years ago - 1984 - I did a trip from Brisbane to Perth via Birdsville, Innaminka, South Lake Eyre, Ayers Rock (Ularu)...
& lots of other places not on many maps!
Anyway back to the point, an echidna wandered into our camp at one point, it was quite a big one & amazing to see it saunter through without a second glance at the humans in it's territory.
Sad that habitat destruction is costing so many native animals their lives.
I did see 'Last Chance to See' - loved the randy Kakapo!
NZ has been working hard on preserving endangered species but it is our fault so many need rescue.
Dianne - Quincey is adorable, I had a Siamese when I lived in Brisbane, many years ago - Myshka was totally mad. He would chase dogs, catch huge rats & hang upside down on the fly screen door.
We had to clean out the 'spare' bedroom so hubby's some could move in, I had all my Halloween stuff in the wardrobe so out came Bones - and hubby put him into his brother's bed...
it got a laugh out of him - and Bones was promptly placed into our bed, I had the fun of watching both brothers play this trick on each other, I am very out numbered here - 1 boy dog & 3 Tod boys, hubby, his brother & hubby's son all under the same roof.
The cat & I are the only girls.

Karen ...no I didn't enter any pics in the competition.
Good luck with yours!

Oh forgot to post pic..
This is the Oncidium orchid. I have a few pots and baskets of it around the garden. This is the one they call the Dancing Ladies.

Does that look comfy??? Cats and dogs can lay in the most awkward positions.
My Chihuahua loves to lay on his back and have his tummy rubbed, he is so rotten.

Just look at that grin on his face! What a life.

Marlene, my dancing lady orchid is in bud, but no flowers yet. Soon though...

Bones looks very comfy there too.

Nice morning here so far. My Norfolk Island hibiscus is out, the tree is covered with flowers. Hard to photograph though as the flowers tend to get a bit lost. Close up shows the flower best.

Karen

Good morning everyone. A bit of a dull morning so far. I have the washing on so it will probably rain.
We had a lovely day in Hamilton yesterday. Very warm and a nice breeze. Our favorite cafe has new owners who are doing a great job. I had a large hamburger , one of my favorite eating out foods. A gourmet burger on a foccacia roll, so much nicer than the usual bread roll. I always have a muffin for dessert and yesterday was a blueberry one Yummmm.
I know it sounds piggish but we only go out once or twice a fortnight so I feel I can splurge on something nice.
Had to buy new undies too. It gets to the stage where all the ones in the drawer are getting old like me. Has anyone found that while we were not lookjng, the human body changed shape ?
To wear what shops sell as underwear , one needs to be about as tall as a duck and as skinny as a rake with odd shaped anatomy parts.
I have never seen such an odd array of lingerie. Where in the world does one buy proper underwear ? Looking along the shelves, it seems that the makers think everyone is about a size 6 or 26. Not a lot in the middle . Lots of flimsy things that I think were supposed to be worn as undies but I'm not sure about them actually covering any part of the anatomy. The important piece is either nonexistant or about 1/2 "wide. Even hubby had to laugh.
Getting something to hold the wobbly top bits is as hard. Where do these makers get their measurements from ?
If one can find anything marked as the size wanted, it will most likely be way too small.
Looking at the people in the streets, I wonder exactly what they are wearing underneath as the largest percentage seemt o be around my size 16-18 or larger. Even the young people are often large.
I may have to save up and patronise some exclusive boutique that may sell the right size in a proper set of comfortable unmentionables.
Men don't seem to have the same problems. Hubby walks up to a shelf , grabs a pack of anything and they fit.
Socks too are an endangered species. How in the world is one supposed to keep those funny half things on the feet ?
I have tried , but I like socks, proper socks. I did find some but mostly have to resort to mens socks.
Why are men so easily catered for ? It seems their bodies are still thought of as a normal size.
Oh well, enough of the running on.
Back to gardens. So much more interesting.
Hello to all looking in. I am still photographing the iris. About 20 or so still to open. The epi buds are swelling quickly so flowers will be imminent.
Better move and get some domestic stuff done before I disappear outside.
Shopping day tomorrow so I hope the weather is nice. I need a new plant so will be on the lookout for orphans.
Karen, I have seedlings from an epi and I think zygos are just as slow to grow and flower. It can take years . I never bother with any seeds at all now.
Teresa, love your skinny friend. He should get on well with Charleens ones. I think he needs a good feed though. ha ha
Charleen, your dog does look comfy there.
Hello Marlene, beautiful orchids.
Hello to everyone else. I will put out something yummy. Here we are, Chocolate Peanut Squares.
Have great day and keep dry and safe.
Jean.

Good morning everyone. Mild and cloudy here today. Are we going to get some rain? Jean a couple of years ago I got some Bond's type Knickers from our local store for $2 a pair. I'm still wearing them. They have been very good value and very comfortable. As with bras, I always have to buy a size bigger than I used to wear for them to fit comfortably. Do droopy ones get bigger? lol I think that we all tend to get funny shaped as we get older. I bought some different coloured Ageratum yesterday. I didn't know they came in different colours other than mauve. Will be interesting to see them flower. The hippies have gone mad now and the epis are getting ready for another lot of flowers. The brugs are budding up nicely and can't wait for some of Brian's seedlings to do their stuff. [no buds on any of his yet] I built myself a huge bench with a redundant sandpit surround and some reo. I'm going to put cactus on there. It's about 3 mts square so should be able to put quite a bit on there. Hope all are well. Leisa are you back home yet. Hope so. Will be back later. Colleen

Shape Shifters, that is what we are. As we age everything seems to have a mind of it's own and what we think does not matter. If it goes, it goes. I have told young women this and they look at me as if I were nuts. guess what??? They are going to get a real shock when it happens to them.☺

ha ha ha ...you are so funny Charleen perfect description!
Things tend to head south *giggle*

I wear boring old Bonds cotton tails ...bras are only worn when guests are coming or when I am going out ...can't stand them!
Oh heck whats wrong with a little bounce here and there anyway.
Sorry I don't get to chat but I try to look at everything ...trouble is I am pretty tired by the time I have a look and tend to forget what I have read a few posts back ...So I am just waving hello and wishing I had more time but for now it's a hi and a bye.
Enjoy your day everyone hopefully we might have a storm free day here.

I am delighted with this bloom...what a beauty!

beautiful Marleneann. so delicate. Colleen

Lovely Marlene....it is so pristine....

Relax ladies, the best knickers are in K Mart....they are a cotton blend, so comfy with a bit of stretch...they are called Underworks.
Get a size larger than you would normally get and you wont know you're wearing any.....Not expensive either.
Anthony, close your eyes.....this is girl talk.
Bras, I gave up years ago too....except for certain occasions...

Charleen, "shape shifters" are a brand of panty girdles, now they are back in fashion...but they don't call them panty girdles, too old fashioned.......exactly the same thing though......

Chrissy, hope that hail doesn't do too much damage....
Dianne

Sounds like us gardening ladies are all tarred with the same brush. I hate wearing bras too and as soon as I get home the bras come off before even the shoes. Colleen

Ladies, ladies, I have visions of wobbly bits everywhere.
I need bras or I have to hang on to myself if hurrying , much to hubbys amusement.
Thanks for the tip, Dianne. Next time I am in a Kmart, I will look.
I do know that we all change with age but not to the extent that all clothing has. Have you ever tried to get into what you know are exactly the same things you have always bought , only to find them about 2 sizes smaller ?
I complained once to a shop assistant ( pretty, young, size 10 ) and her reply was that I must have put on weight.
Funny thing that I still have clothing from years ago that I can easily fit into yet the identical clothes sizes now are way too small.
I have found that the best fitting are more expensive and dressy, but I would hate to wear such nice things around the garden.
Give me back the wonderful Coles variety stores that sold everything one wanted in clothing at good prices and proper sizing.
Better get out and do a bit now that the showers have stopped.
Not cold but just enough spots to make you wet.

Jean.

Dear Jean, they don't make things to last like they used too. Thaey make them cheap and charge high prices. So we will buy more. Surprize, I just hang onto what I got til I wear it out!!