Good Morning
I hope this finds you all smiling.
Chrissy, big hugs to you. Hope all goes well today and your Hubby makes a quick recovery.. Good thoughts for you both.
Is Chookie away at her DD's? Haven't seen her post in a while.
Today is supposed to be a much cooler day. It is 14C outside right now, and is only going to get up to about 24C...yesterday it was 31C. But, the weather people say that is only for a couple days and then the temps will go up again. Riding the Fall seesaw weather.
Have a lovely Monday.
TEA ROOM #113
Yeah - Here, too. Temps are all over the place. Beautiful warm days, very cool nights, dry weather has brought out the most gorgeous of tree foliage I've seen in years. Taking lots of pictures but they really don't show the true beauty of the valley we live in. We have not yet gotten our first fall frost here it is in mid October already. That's the sign to pull in the last of the garden stash before the long winter. We're still eating tomatoes and seeing the still flowering marigolds, asters, dahlias, and a few cosmos left. Unfortunately, it will soon be all over for our season. You folks can enjoy your welcome spring, don't we all?
Have a great weekend!
Al
Good morning everyone.
Its cold & cloudy again but I can see bits of blue sky. Maybe no rain today.
Moon, always lovely to see your smiling face. Sounds like you are having the same weather we are .
Very confusing when one gets dressed in the mornings, trying to decide what to wear.
I usually add layers that can be taken off or put on as required.
I was wondering where Sue has gone too. Hope all is well with her family.
Al, nice to see you are still enjoying the fruits of your labor.
I will be planting my pumpkins today. I am hoping they do well.
My dwarf green beans and snow peas are looking good as are the broad beans..
I may try some corn later when the soil warms up.
Have to get out there and redress my scarecrow 'Michael '
His old jeans are worm away.
Have to get hubby to help as Michaels clothes are full of wolf spiders. They love him as a home.
I find the wolfies are quite polite . I often grub around and have one come out and look at me as if to ask what the heck am I doing , disturbing him.
I had one sit on my hand a week ago when I was leaning over to pull some weeds. He simply walked on , looked me up and down , then walked off in a huff .
Chrissy, best wishes for hubby. keep your spirits up. He needs you .
Hello Anthony. Teresa, Karen, Dianne and Colleen . Hope you are all keeping well.
Charleen. you keep an eye on the little darling, T Bo . I am sure he is following Charley , looking for cookies.
If I see him, I'll have to keep him, hes so cute.
I am off to do a bit of relocating this morning.
Moving pots around and chopping out a couple of dead hebes.
Heres your morning tea nibbles....Banana Muffins
Enjoy the day and stay safe
Jean.
Hi Everyone, I am new here, having joined the site a couple of days ago. I live in Sea Lake, north west Victoria, closest large town is Swan Hill, and about half way between Bendigo and Mildura.
Had a beautiful lot of rain on saturday and the garden is happy happy with it, and I wont have to water outside plants for a few days.
I have lots of succulents growing, also tend to collect pelargoniums, geraniums, ivy geraniums, irises and anything else that is different or interesting.
I am happy to swap cuttings with other people, but not sure how to go about listing what I have available and what I would like to collect.
Cheers C.
Hello confusticated.
Always nice to see a new face here. we all love our plants and between us grow lots of different ones.
The link below will take you to the trade thread. Add what you have and want.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/842701/
Jean.
Hi Confusticated we usualy just dmail each other here but to place your wants and what you have ...
here is the formal place,it appears right at the top of Aussie Gardening, so tell us there what you have and what you want, people will dmail you ^_^ Welcome !
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/842701/
I think you and Jean should have a lot in common.
Lots of lovely Southern gardeners down your way.
Hi to everyone else, hubby has had a second surgery this morning and is feeling so much better ...whew !
Catch up a bit later, hope everyone is happy ...it's cold and damp here !
chrissy
Hello Conficsticated,glad to see you here..Good news, Im a diet controlled diabetes person,,.results were very good, no tablets , no injections.,eyes were good too,.but eventually, I will succumb to it-hopefully, its when im 103 and in the grave[still got too many lilies to breed],.There are lily shafts here, the size of 'chiko rolls', my god, what have I created,.-Anthony
Welcome C.......this is a great place to talk plants and have a whinge if you feel like it....
Hope you get some good cuttings.
Hi Al and moon, sounds as though you are having an indian summer this year, Al....always a very gentle season...lovely with your Autumn foliage.
Anthony, nice to hear that you have been given a good report......that Lilium show in January sounds like a doozie...you will have to be in good condition for Rods party.....
It's a great time for the liliums at the moment, they seem to be really strong in growth......
You can keep your wolfies, Jean...I wouldn't hurt one, but I'd have a fit if one walked on me....
Have to check on my 7 yr beans, the snails sometimes beat me to them..
Chookie was going to be at her daughter's for a while and the neighbours were looking after her chickens.....
Hope all is well.
I thought that a storm was coming but it went straight past after I took this pic...
Dianne
what a beautiful picture, Love the little dog. so beautifully groomed. Testing the air...
Welcome C, Hope you love it here, I know I do. Love all the folks.
How can you tell it's Fall in the states. Goldenrod is blooming in all it's glory and the bees just love it.
My dahlias are blooming, this one is actually darker than they look but still they are beautiful.
T Bo is "staring" at Radar, just daring him to move. He doesn't back down from my little Alfa Chihuahua. But Radar still thinks he is top dog.
You all have a Great Whatever time it is.
Love , hugs and mule/puppy nuzzles to all...
Good morning everyone.
My fingers are so cold its hard to type. I went out to feed the children ( magpies ) and its very nippy out there. Nearly a frost with fog hanging around the hills.
Looking above the fog one can see clouds, so what the day is going to be is anyones guess.
Hubby is s till in bed with his crook back so I will be around the house most of the day in case he needs anything.
Hello Charleen. That T Bo is going to be top dog before long ..lol
Cookies for Charley ion the kitchen.
Love your dahlias too.
Anthony . hubby here has diabetes too, but doesnt need injections.
He does take pills though. Too many he says.
You keep going as you are . Sounds like you are doing all the right things .
Dianne, Tilly looks so pretty there. A real show dog.
Great pic with the sky like that.
Hello also to Teresa, Al, Moon, Chrissy and all popping in for a cuppa.
I am off to the heater again to warm my fingers & toes.
Heres a nice treat for morning tea....Chocolate and Cream Cake.
Keep warm where ever you are .
Jean.
the weather is not so great this week, lots of rain & cool temperatures.
Cooked steak for dinner & picked fresh lettuce from the garden to go with it.
Hopefully there will be plenty more to come.
there is one huge advantage to daylight saving beginning here...
my dogs can't tell time & are letting me sleep in.
It won't last, they will get used to the new routine & then when daylight saving ends I will have the fun of dogs waking me an hour early.
Swings & round abouts.
Hi Everyone, thank you for the warm welcome.
Another day nearly finished, starting to cloud over, rain forecast but don't know if it will get this far north. Most rain bands slide south or follow the river to the north and we miss out.
A friend of my daughter gave her 2 Tree Dahlia cuttings to pass on to me, no idea what colour, she didn't think to ask, but doesn't matter, what I would like to find out is do they have any special requirements? I do know they can grow quite tall quite quickly, but do they spread diameter wise, send up off shoots, need lots of water, fertiliser, full sun, part shade? I haven't had anything to do with these stunning plants, something else to collect different colours, oh well, just as well I have a big block.
Cheers C.
Teresa,Im suffering somewhat the same here with the birds, now with d/saving,.,I mixed curry powder in with potting soil, and added to the pots that the blackbirds continuously obliterate,lets see how it goes?Off to lake pedder tomorrow with a delivery,Ive never been past Maydena,so this will be something new,6 hr round trip....I'll be off to bed soon, for an early start-Anthony
Good Morning
Jean, good thoughts to your hubby. A wonky back can be so miserable. I love that you feed the magpies...they are one of my favorite birds. I love their call.
Bravo on you Anthony. That is a great report from your Doctor.....guess you can have that extra sausage now and then....grin. have a safe trip, hope you see something lovely along the way.
Teresa, it is hard to beat the sweet crisp taste of fresh baby lettuce. Sounds like you are all having a lazy start to Spring...old man Winter needs to turn loose and sleep.
Confusticated, aren't we all at one time or another? GRIN here is a bit of care info for your tree dahlias.
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Trees-and-Palms/Tree-Dahlia:-The-French-Alternative/1641
Good thoughts your way Chrissy....I hope you get enough rain to make fires a NoGo this year....hope all is well with your Hubby.
Hope you all have a grand day and get some true Spring weather soon.
Sorry - the long awaited fall foliage pictures, mostly taken at son Rich & Kristens wedding at Watkins Glen Park here in NY. They were married under a beautiful red maple turning in bright color for the season.
Al
Oops, here's the other two. Take so darn long to load these pixs..
Al
Good morning everyone.
Another very nippy morning here. (3C ) I have just been out to give the magpies their breakfast. Talk about children arguing over a bag of lollies. These lot always want what the other one has. Silly things..
They sit along the edge of the shadehouse at the back door and anxiously watch to see when I am coming out with FOOD.
There are 3 that will come and sit on the edge of the table to get a bite before the others.
Hubby leaves the container of dry cat cubes open on the table , so you will often see one during the day helping himself to more.
Of course they need all that food to keep their children quiet.
Soon it will be the children sitting along there getting their own food and so the generations continue on. We love to see the personalities develop as each baby grows. I name them all and enjoy their company around the garden. One will follow me around hoping for bugs, as I weed and dig.
She is very demanding . Insisting I turn over the old logs and rocks so she can look under them.
Makes life interesting around here.
I did get out yesterday between showers , to get rid of an old dead hebe.
I also weeded all around the day lilies.
I see this year, I am going to have more of the large opium poppies. Hardly saw any last year.
Anthony. enjoy your trip down the new route.
I love taking unknown roads just to see where they go.
Al, I am going to have to move over there. Such beautiful colors.
Must have been a very pretty wedding. Congrats to your son & his new wife.
Our Aussie bush is very drab mostly, because the plants had to evolve to live on the dryest continent . There are some beautiful flowers but very short lived compared to colder, wetter countries.
Moon, I love the magpies calls too, but my favorite of the bird calls is the currawong.
I loved hearing them in the mountains when I lived there . We sometimes hear a few travelling through here .
Teresa, its funny you saying the dogs cant tell time when daylight saving kicks in. Our magpies know exactly what time it is no matter what. They are there at the earlier hour now and will easily change when daylight saving ends. Smart little things..
Hello Charleen, Dianne, Colleen and Karen.
I had better get up from here and see if hubby wants another cuppa. He is improving slowly.
Takes longer as he ages. . ( 70 in 2 weeks )
Better see what I have in the kitchen for you all for morning tea too.
Here we are ....Ginger Sponge ( with lots of cream of course )
Enjoy the day.
Jean.
I had to go listen to the currawong song...grin Were the ones you loved the Black, Pied or Gray currawongs?
Moon, the currawong mostly seen in the mountains where I lived was the Pied Currawong. . A long echoing call which still makes me want the mo untains.
Here we see a few that are usually passing through. Could be either the Pied or the Grey. Hard to tell sometimes.
This last autumn/ winter we had 2 that stayed around for months. They have gone now. Most likely back to the mountains for spring ? summer.
You may have also heard the butcher bird warble when you were here. Very much like the magpie but more musical.
I also hear the tinkling bell call of the rosellas here a lot. Especially when they call in friends to help eat all the new shoots on my roses.
Love the bush for all the bird calls. Even when you cant see the birds.
Did you ever hear the Bellbirds ? A really familiar call to anyone who knows the hills around Melbourne that still have the bush there.
I suppose you all over there all have favorite bird calls too.
Jean.
Beautiful site Al. congrats for the son getting married.
A walk in the wood this morning for me and the furkids....Kaluha, T Bo and my Missy Mae.
here comes Charley for a handout. You can see he really needs something to eat.
T Bo would love to go visit but I won't let him.
Nice and cool this morning. got my long pants on and Shoes. No flip flops today...
I did love the shape of this tree and the view down by the pear tree. No pears this year. maybe next year. Most squirrels and deer got them.
Have a good day all of you.
Charleen, you go and feed that poor skinny , starving animal....lol
If he got any fatter you could roll him along the ground.
That must be all the cookies & cake I feed him when you are not looking.
I do like the view down your track. Looks like a lovely walk.
Jean.
Charleen, we bought some coffee our Charlie picked out for us in Halifax. Just couldn't resist this one..
Al
Dearest Al. Our Charley is a Critter with Good Taste....(I love it!!!) ♥
He is still looking good.
Hi all, just popping in for a minute, before taking our daughter to hospital for a breast reconstruction, the cancer left a mess so now they are starting to put her back together...thank goodness...I
I'll be away for a couple of days.....
Beautiful pics Al and Charleen....
Those Dahlias will be lovely whatever colour they are, C.
Enjoy Lake Pedder Anthony, I haven't seen it either...
Jean, I will take a bit of that sponge to do me over the next couple of days....
Ray and Tilly have to batch with the cats for a couple of days, they will all be a bit heavier when I come home..
Dianne.
Charleen, now Al has given Charley coffee to go with his cookies...lol
Love it..
Dianne, best wishes to your daughter for a good recovery and hope all goes well for her from now on.
Jean.
http://www.backpack-newzealand.com/articles/topic51.php
for me the sound of the Bellbird takes me back to my childhood & trips we made into native forests for bush walking & sometimes to swim at water holes...
the sound of magpies warbling in the morning reminds me of visiting cousins in the country.
And my time in Australia of course :)
Evening Everyone, the weather is turning nasty, the wind is howling and its spitting rain, the temperature just dropped about 5 degrees, could be in for a rough night. I managed to tag a few more plants in readiness for the markets on Sunday, hopefully the weather will be kind to us. I should have about 80 or 90 plants to take with me, and hopefully not have to bring too many home.
Added a pic of some of my succulents in the shade house.
Cheers C.
Well.,!-Ive seen Lake Pedder.,.My god!!!!If youve never seen it, do so!!Its like 'walking on the moon'..From Maydena it became a sidewall of trees, a skinny, mossy ,steep and sharp, twisted road, which I thought would never end.After 75 km ,all of a sudden ,I spotted the sharp rising rock formations of 'The sentinels', going up about 100 metres,.absolutely awesome..Mind you, there had been many rock falls and tree falls, i could see had been cleaned up.,I thought ,If rocks were to fall on me, I would be history,.I saw the Protesters camp in the Florentine Valley, its only set back from the road about 6 metres.,Lake Pedder Itself is like a mirror, you can see the fish in it, and it has sandy beaches,.Believe me, when you get there, you feel like you are at the highest place in Tasmania.,.,I couldnt look, in fact, i backed the truck away from the lookout,as im scared of heights.,.man alive it sent me into panic stations[ there is just a sheer drop of hundreds of feet]3 hrs travelling up[from Hobart] with 3.7 ton on board and 2 1/2 hrs back,._Anthony
Good Morning.
Dianne, good thoughts to your daughter. Hopefully the worst is over and she will enjoy a speedy recovery and a long happy life.
Al....interesting coffee....are you a dark roast coffee man? Congratulations to your son and new daughter. Wish them many years of happiness together.
Teresa, I got lost in bird calls. The bell bird, currawongs, magpies, butcherbirds and even the Spinifex pigeon.....grin. The ones that really got us were up in Kuranda....the Blue, Green or spotted cat birds (not sure which it was)...it was a quiet weekday stroll through the rain forest when suddenly a small child started to cry......or so we thought....grin
Anthony, Lake Pedder sounds beautiful, but I would be the one standing all the way back away from the edge with a death grip on the railings....I don't do well with high places either....grin
Jean, the site I am sending the link for, is from Cornell University's college of ornithology. You can click on any name and it will give you a picture, info and recording of the bird's call/song.
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/audiosource
Charleen, we had a little cool spell here too...got down in the 40's one night....predictions for the weekend are back up near 90. T-bo is certainly growing up handsome....grin
Coffee, ah yes indeed.. I enjoy mostly the dark or french roasts when I go to the trouble of buying it myself at so-called gourmet shops. I also like the new International creamers now available in stores. We truely enjoyed our trip to Kauai island in Hawaii where they really know how to make the right stuff.
Okay folks, I like tea also. Especially with ice in the hot summer time when I drink lots of it. No sugar or sweeteners please, just real tea.
Al
Good morning everyone.
Another freezing morning at 3C. Its going to be wet all day like yesterday too.
I think old Mr Winter decided he likes it here and has pushed poor little Miss Spring into a corner somewhere.
Moon , thats a great site to see & hear all your birds.
Thanks for the link.
Anthony, I'm lucky, heights dont worry me. I would be the one leaning over to see whats below.
I remember leaning over a waterfall when I was travelling in NT, so I could get a good pic.
I have seen pics of Lake Pedder. It looks really beautiful.
Some of the mountain roads can be a bit hair raising but worth the trip.
Al, I am a confirmed tea drinker. I dont like coffee at all , not even the smell of it.
Its a pity because it does look great when served right
I love my green tea. Plain, weak, no sugar or milk to ruin a good cuppa.
Hello to everyone else. I had better get moving.
Shopping day today and its going to be a cold one.
So far there is no wind , which is a good thing.
I am leaving you all something tasty for morning tea.....German Chocolate Cake.
Enjoy the day and stay dry and warm.
Jean
lol Jean, I'd be right beside you leaning out over the edge to get the best view :)
I never liked to drink coffee but always loved the aroma of freshly ground beans & 'real' coffee being brewed.
Since starting at the Merino Outlet I have become quite a fan of good coffee, vanilla latte was my downfall...
now I find that a bit sweet & have switched to hazelnut.
I splurged at The Warehouse & bought a pop up vege planter, a spiral plant support & 3 tomato plants.
the tomatoes were 3 for $5.
At that price who could resist, I have Beefsteak, Roma & Sweet 100.
that should do the two of us.
I'd like to use the pop up planter for strawberries but didn't see any for sale.
Might need to look around, hope I haven't missed them.
The spiral support is for the sweet pea volunteers, bit of an experiment but hopefully it will suit the purpose.
Good morning everyone.
Its a bit warmer here this morning , 6C.
Lots of cloud still and showery all day yesterday.
At least it was warm in the shops.
I found no orphans and have given up looking at the plants over in Hamilton now.
The nursery is way too dear and Mitre10 dont have orphans any more.
Teresa it sounds like you are going to have a great garden of vegetables.. I must get my hanging tomato planters out ready for the warm weather .
I have a tray of tomato seedlings up in the greenhouse. I also may try a few different ones out in the garden if it ever warms up here.
I have to go and help hubby in a minute or so a she needs a large parcel wrapped up.
H is back is a lot better now but I still have to watch he doesnt start doing too much at once.
You know how men are. Once the pain is gone they think they can just go back to doing whatever as if nothing happened.
Hello Charleen , Moon and Al. I do envy you this time of year, with your mile weather and lovely Fall color.
Hello Anthony, Colleen , Karen, Chrissy and anyone else popping in.
Dianne, hope all is well with your daughter.
I am off to see what hubby is doing.
Heres something nice for morning tea. ...Cherry Scones..
Happy day..
Jean
Good morning everyone. I hope no-one has either frozen nor blown away. Goodness what weather. It's freezing and a cold south wind as well. Brrrrr. There's a lovely lot of flowers on the roses this year. I also have a few Irises out. nothing special though. Butter Bomb still has a couple of flowers. Such a lovely fellow. Lots of green shoots on all the cut back ones now. The broms have lots of flowers and lots of pups. I have finished one "Living Picture" of succulents. I have to wait for them to take root then I can hang it up. Will take a pic when it's on the wall. I still have 2 frames ready to fill. They're great fun as you fill it up with soil and then go around and find a few succulents and pop them in then you can go and do something else and get a few more when you're ready. A bit like doing a jigsaw, popping a piece in as you go past. Very relaxing. Dianne I do hope that everything's going well for your daughter. Give her my best wishes for a speedy recovery now. Chrissy give hubby my best wishes as well. Hope no more of his finger has to be taken off. Must go the boys are nearly ready for school, just a bit of tweaking. lol. Colleen
We're enjoying the very last of our fall flowers before the expected frosts. We still have potted mums, dahlanovas, sedum, and marigolds off from our front walkway.
Al
Afternoon Everyone, what is going on with this weather? It only got to 9 degrees maximum, and snowed in the Adelaide hills, unbelievable. We had rain, hail and wind here, luckily the hail didn't do any damage that I can see.
I had to go the nursery yesterday while I was in Swan Hill, and am totally annoyed with suppliers, 3 different Aloes, and I mean totally different, all marked as Aloe Species "Croc Jaws", why do growers do this? It makes it so hard to identify them. It isn't the nursery's fault, as he buys them in, already potted and tagged. End of rant.
Hope everyone has a great day.
Cheers C.
Hi everyone, thanks for the kind thoughts, Linda is home and very glad that it's all over...
C, your right about the weather, it's crazy...I saw the snow in Adelaide on the news...amazing...
It's a nuisance when they incorrectly label plants and they don't seem to care much either...
Rant away, that's what the tea room is for....lol
Colleen, can't wait to see your living picture...they are so attractive on a wall...
Your garden looks very pretty Al, who is the gardener at your place, sounds as though it's you...you know the names of your plants...lol
Teresa, I had to smile at your Tomato choices......from huge to medium/small to tiny.....you've got them covered....enjoy...
Anthony, the lake sounds wonderful, wish I had been there.....
Jean, I hope that Robert is behaving and taking things easy and don't forget your shoulder.....you can't overdo either......wait for a sunny day.....
Hi Moon and Charleen have a great weekend.
Chrissy, I hope that your husband's finger is ok....
Dianne.
Dianne - I recognise two of your plants & know I can grow wisteria & Chinese lanterns here... what is the third plant & is it frost hardy?
We traditionally plant out tomatoes Labour weekend here, normally that is when it is safe from frosts.
I might get mine in this weekend if I can grab a couple of big plastic bags to use as mini green houses.
I had a good look around for strawberry plants & not a sausage.
Looks like they are all gone & the tomatoes & other spring veg have taken over.
I was tempted to get a double planter bag & try growing a bigger range of veg.
Have to get hubby on board with that one since he would need to pick up some compost to fill them.
I'll have to measure up the terrace & see if it would work there.
Not sure it would be safe from weasel attack in the back yard.