Too hot for long walks. I am going out to sit under the trees after carrying all the stuff up to here. Frozen grapes and a cuppa will do nicely. Thought I'd put up the view from the Tea Room patio again instead of food. So nice to relax and admire.
Jean.
oh..it's so nice to find such a tranquil, sylvan place to rest! I'm sure Jean must be sitting under one of the trees over there and I can hear the others tinkling bottles and glasses.
The rain has stopped so it's back to hot and humid but the sun has moved and there's that end of summer feel to the air. More marking to do and my daughter came to collect more 'stuff' so we have been filling the bins again. Strange looking at all the past treasures that have been ditched!..but Elmo is still loved!
It would be nice to get stuck into some gardening but I only get time to do little bits here and there. Chrissy, I hope you get good news for your hubby (sorry..hit the 'n' instead of the 'b' this morning.) Anyway, take care all. Cheers, Kat
This message was edited Feb 4, 2009 1:17 AM
G'Day
I thought you might be interested in these photos. The first is I think 2 Brugmansia growing in the lawn on the North side of this house near the Berri Winery, they have no shelter and the heat we have had for the last couple of weeks has knocked all the flowers off (it has also cooked thousands of tons of grapes) but they are there waiting for a break in the weather and away they'll go. The reason I think Brugmansia is that until joining DG I had not heard of them and would have said they must be a Datura of some sort with apricotty flowers. However the point is they have come through some temps that were in the high forties, celsius.
The plants referred to are back from the roses.
Regards Brian
This message was edited Feb 4, 2009 1:29 AM
This is how hot it was here, the butternut pumpkins explode because of the heat expanded gasses inside and the pressure becomes to great for the fruit to withstand.
This message was edited Feb 4, 2009 11:44 PM
Another, there are hundreds of fruit like this in this commercial patch, as you are probably aware on a very hot day the leaves on the vine wilt to conserve moisture and this exposes the fruit to the direct sunlight and then bang.
I've replenished the grape supply and the next time I'll see if I can get some "Midnight Beauties" for us because I like them as well.
Brian
hello everyone,
my internet connection blew up on thursday with the heat. we got to 46 here. i have never experienced heat like it. i have just got my internet back up and running and ended up having to buy a new modem as it was fried as well as the lines and cables. amazing heat.
just caught up on all the tearoom ... chrissy i am libran as well. helen - my poor little parrots have all got brown leaves but the stems still feel nice and hard and i am hoping and praying that they will come back from getting so burnt. they were only in morning sun but that was enough. we had over 43 for four days in a row and even the morning sun was terribly hot.
my angels though couldn't be more greener and i can't believe how fast they grow! the hibiscus cuttings are all going good as well. my cacti and succulents seem to be all surviving - and some of my seeds have been popping up today and yesterday. can't blame them for not rising their little heads in the heat of last week.
the garden is very sad.... i think i am going to lose some but i would say most are surviving ok. i normally love love love summer but i will give this one back any day. horrible weather.
kids all went back to school on monday. very weird not having kids around all day and i am sure it will take a lot of getting used to.
must go and organise some things.....its nice to be back.
shelly xx
Ahh. Nice place to sit. For a tree man this is it!
Stake - ever thought about sitting the Butternut in a pot of water?
I know it's a little warm for soup but you could freeze it?
Would it be gas or water that expands given that they are a high percentage of water?
We are supposed to be getting the high temps on Sunday. They are saying 44!!!
Last time we had 40 degree temps the Birds Nest fern took 12 months to recover.
It was a metre across when we moved in 25 years ago. The fronds are approx 2 metres each
now and we have moved it three times. Could only guess the age!
The fushcia already looks as though it could not stand another hot day.
How about some of your rain please Northies!
Cheers
Steve
Evening all, I had to work today & will again tomorrow, so just a quick read & hello before I go make dinner. I've had a quick walk around the garden which is so nice after working in an office all day. I was even hot in the aircon - some frozen grapes would have been good! The rain seems to have gone here - hope to somewhere that needs it.
Chrissy I hope your hubby is ok.
Kat I live in Carseldine on a normal suburban block - no turkeys or even possums - just flying foxes, which love the palm flowers!
In case anyone is hot tomorrow here's something to dip your hand into & wipe across the back of your neck to keep cool!
Chrissy - just read back on last tea room to see if I missed anything.
My best wishes to you and hubby. I'm sure it's just a wear and tear thing. My father in law had it repaired a few years ago and you still can't stop him. Consider it as a 100,000 klm service.
I have a facebook page so as soon as I work out how to send you the link you can have a look!
Stake the NZ wines feature once a week on Grays. Might see if I can find the recommendation that Dalfyre mentioned. Great place to try new wines. Have not been disappointed yet!
Cheers all
Steve
OMG Steve ,you're the one outbidding my husband on Grays...he is so annoyed that so many are discovering Grays now,that he doesn't bother bidding anymore. Unbelievable weather everywhere,we are saturated and all of you are hanging out for the rains...........
Today on Magnetic Island, we had sunshine all day,not one drop of rain.....tonight it has already started to drizzle.My plants are thriving and I ran out and fertilized again,just to give them some goodies.
Leisa lucky you not having possums,mine have devastated my Angel collection.
Pleased you're back Shelly...what Angels do you have?
Brian that's incredible about your pumpkins,such a waste,I love pumpkin, a negative calorie food and so delicious.
This message was edited Feb 4, 2009 6:11 AM
G'Day, Budgieman You are probably right on the expanding water and I thought it would have to be water vapour (gas) to do any damage as we have bigger problems with water expanding as ice and bursting things. I'd need lots of pots of water to fit all them in and I don't mind a pumpkin soup occasionally in the winter but not now thanks.
Regards Brian
This message was edited Feb 4, 2009 11:50 PM
Hi everyone well now I think I have seen everything exploding pumpkins is a new one for me ...I have seen railway tracks buckled, down south in the early 70's and the roads bubbled (tar) ...then the raging fires. I have been caught in a flood down south and at Woronora ...and shared my home with snakes and other critters as they tried to escape the rising lake/river (outside loo went under at Burrill...now that was nasty) ...I guess never a better description of our wild and wilful country than ...our favourite poem ...our favourite line ...
*************************************************
I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror- the wide brown land for me!
**************************************************
We know it all don't we? ...right now out the front looking out towards the Blue Mountains all you can see is the scorched brown grass ...this is when it looks like a scene from africa ...when the rain comes and it all turns so green you have to rub your eyes from the smack in your face colour ...then it could be England.
So from coast to coast we are experiencing it all ...hopefully we will all get through it ok,we usually do.
Brian you can make pumpkin scones with those cooked pumpkins.
I bet those angels in that picture (brugmansias) are the old sydney apricots ...surely the great survivers (beautiful things come Autumn).
Mya are you going to try that pepper spray?
Shelly4kids yeh another libran ...they seem a bit thin on the ground ...I know many people but very few librans ^_^
Steve ...awe what a shame about your fern ...I guess in these temps a lot of things go crispy ...don't be tempted to cut any ugly bits off until the hot temps have truly gone ...those crispy bits protect stuff underneath (if we are lucky), um the facebook thingy is a bit confusing but I am getting there ...not much time to muck around with it at the moment, but later ...good luck tomorrow and the following 2 days because that big heat will be here ...we get it much hotter out in the west, sammut stay cool.
Did you see all that snow falling in London? Lee I thought of you while looking at those scenes, and what about the poor crocodile hit on the road in Townsville ...imagine driving down the road and running over a croc ...the driver must have had quite a shock.
I hope you are all ready for whatever the weather will throw at us and we all come through it with as little damage as possible.
Thanks for your kind words re my frank ...he can see some light in his eye this afternoon ^_^
sorry no pictures ...just a big wave to everyone
chrissy
Hello All, I'm deliquent in reading and responding to e/d mails today and have read so many threads I don't even know if I'm on the correct one so please pardon me if I'm not.
Jean, I'm very fond of the groundhogs but some of the farmers around here hate them as they tunnel down and destroy some crops. Owen's brother before he died, and I had a heated discussion about groundhogs. He had couple which were ruining his garden or so he said and he was going to trap/destroy them. I, of course, was adamently opposed to his doing this, told him so and to maintain peace between him and me, just had to leave the room. I could understand his wanting to be rid of them but he was opposed to trapping and relocating them. Don't know what he did as we agreed to not mention it again for the sake of our friendship.
Sorry, but someone mentioned the cold we are having(please forgive my absent-mindedness) but it hasn't gotten above freezing today and it's already 12:54pm. In the morning, they are predicting temps around 16F(-9C). BRRRR!
My concern is for you that are experiencing the high temps and flooding. Al do take care.
Lee
mya - brical sent me some angel cuttings. i have four growing with lots of leaves. they seem to get bigger overnight.
chrissy - hope your hubby is ok. my thoughts are with you.
going to be about 33 today so not too bad at all. saturday is a different story though when they expect we will hit over 45 again. cannot believe how hot this summer is.
more seeds are coming up - i have some blue lupins (3 out of 4 planted) and one i think they called pink flamingo. also have a red flowering gum coming up. very exciting to see them emerging from the soil. hopefully i can keep them going well in this hot weather. how often do you think i should be misting them? i have them on the front porch and they get the morning sun. i go out after they go into shade and mist them and the other cuttings that brical sent me... should i only do that once a day or more? i also have been putting seasol on them weekly. do you think that is a good timeframe for seasol.
must go and jump in the shower and get these kids ready for school. going to try and attack this house today so that its nice before the hot weather hits again.
jean - will send your parcel soon. haven't forgotten.
chat soon,
shelly xx
Good morning everyone. If only it would stay as it is now. Lovely cool morning , no wind, a little cloud around.
Oh well, what would we have to complain about if the weather was perfect ? Shopping day today, so maybe a plant or two ????
Hello Lee, I hope your little plants are keeping warm. The northern hemisphere is experiencing an extreme opposite of our heat. I don't know that I could ever live in any place that cold.
Did you see the fools on the news. Cars sliding off roads and snow falling, but still they are driving way too fast. Will people never learn ?
Chrissy, I hope hubby has slowed down so you were able to catch him. I like Steve's idea of it just being a 100.000 service. You know all the good ones keep going. Made of good solid stuff in his day.
I am escaping without my hubby today as he has to be on standby in case of any fires.
Steve and Brian, I see you both out there under the trees sipping a light wine. Just the weather for it.
Kat, I hope you are keeping up with your marking. How are the turkeys ? Haven't heard about any fencemen being eaten by them yet ? Maybe you could give one of those wandering crocs a home. They might enjoy a fenceman appetisier. Ha ha.
I hope all the far north people are safe in those floods. I would like some of the water, not that I wish for that much though. Even the ground here crunches when you walk on it.
I saw a line of ants with suitcases going down the road. Heading north too. Steve, your birds nest looks green compared to my poor thing even though mine is in the shadehouse, it has gone crispy They do recover though. I love mine. I am surprised at how well my other ferns are doing in the fern house. I know I put water on them but the hot air usually still burns them, maybe it was just the right place to build it .
I may have to make room for the birds nest down there. I have a little one coming on as well.
Hubby has just come in to say fog has rolled in . Talk about weird weather.
Hello Leisa, thanks for the ice, it was great.
Shelly , you will have lots of time to play in the garden now that the kids are back at school.
Hello to everyone else. I had better move or nothing will get done.
Enjoy the day and some Cherry Clafoutis.
Jean.
Morning to all ,
Chrissy good news about hubby's sight improving , I am prepared ready for the big hot there is a smell of burning in the air here this morning .
I have one very sad plant I know it will be alright but I hate to see to see poor little thing .
have go to out and finish putting up sun shades over the garden . every one take care ------Sammut.
Any one fancy a nice plum fresh off my tree?
Copper has scoffed all the low hanging ones - he nicks them before they are even ripe.
I have a video clip of him balancing on the edge of the deck then launching himself up & at 'em.
One plum crazy dal!
I don't know what variety these plums are but they are tasty & quite tart.
The flesh eventually turns yellowish when it is just about over ripe.
Not quite at that stage yet...
G'Day Everyone, I have added a bit to my favourite poem and perhaps we can make some soup and scones for Lee to keep him warm.
I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea,
I love the busted pumpkins, I'll have one for my tea
Her beauty and her terror- the wide brown land for me!
Regards Brian
This message was edited Feb 4, 2009 11:43 PM
Hello everyone. I haven't many flowers worth while photographing at the moment, but this white Oleander is lovely, so I thought that I would show you and tell you a bit about it. This plant is one of many different plants that I have in the garden which my sons and friends and I planted in my youngest son's memory four years ago. It has been a hard road but it has been lightened by the fact that I am also rearing his two sons now. They have been with me since the littlest one was 10 months old and the older one 21months old. They are both at school now, which makes things a lot easier. They are lovely little boys, mischievious like all other kids, but kind hearted and loving. They have been absolutely spoilt rotten by my eldest boy, but they love him and are always looking forward to seeing him. That is where we went for Christmas last year, and then during the school holidays he came up here and built them a fort with a slippery dip on it. The sand pit still has to be moved to under the fort and then I'll have more garden space. Maybe a shade house????Anyway I thought that I would open up a bit and let you all into my life of a nearly 58 year old mother second time round. The boys, Branden and Cameren call me Granny. Cheerio for now. Colleen
Colleen how wonderful those 2 boys have such a great Granny........I love oleander,a beautiful shrub..........thanks for telling us a bit of personal history.....I guess everyone is so guarded on the internet about disclosing anything remotely personal, so thankyou.
Lovely reading about your boys.....
Firstly thank you Chrissy and MyaC . It was great to beable to share a little of me with you. Colleen
Very touching story Colleen.Admiration is not a strong enough word for what I think of your strength... losing a child is the greatest loss of all and then to start over again raising a family when the grief is still so raw,yes I could see how your little boys would bring you so much comfort.Hard work it would be though...eased by the love you all have for each other!You are one of our unsung heroes...our government needs to recognize and give more support to people like you!
Colleen those 2 boys are very lucky to have you and you them, i hope that you get everything out of this world to keep you all happy and safe.
Brian i like your additions to the poem.
The crock that got run over up here is doing fine and will be released in a couple of weeks and few cuts and bruises but nothing much to concern him, but he has been in a foul mood ever since.
It is overcast here today but no rain, so it is a much better day, my cats even ventured out side this morning, the ground is still mush, but hopefully will dry out a little before the next lot arrives, tomorrow according to the weather man.
Steve if i could, i would send you down as much water as you would ever need as we do have plenty to spare, but unfortunately not within my power i have tried to send it south but i think it has only gone as far as mackay.
have to go and make my self a cup of tea to go with Jeans cherry cake, it will help me get through the next 3 hours here at work.
have a wonderful evening one and all.
shelly :)
colleen, my heart and admiration goes out to you. those two little boys are so lucky to have such a lovely nanna to look after them. my heart goes out to you on your loss.
shelly
Hi All,
Sorry, I am way behind & have just read all the latest threads trying to catch up.
Firstly, Colleen, how lovely of you to be raising your Grandsons! I'm sure they will bring you much joy & in time will realise how lucky they are to have you!
Sammut~ It's great to have reminders at the back door for your family & friends. Life is so short, I'm trying to cram in as much as I can, while I can, with having MS.
Brical1~My Dad always said, Never let the sunshine go down on an argument. I try to live by that, especially with daredevil, Twin, 16 year old boys!!
I hope all in the north are safe & not affected by the cyclone warnings?
I'm very disjointed today as I have taken notes from the last few days postings, that I have missed! Sorry!! &LOL!!! with me???
I have a note "Kat, me too!!!" Can't remember what that was about???Hahahahaha!!!
Yes, we have possums here, I must find the pics of the cheeky things sitting on the fence helping themselves to Plums!!
Shellyto4kids~ Sorry your parrots aren't chirping? When the weather cools a bit, I will send some more.
Jean~I'm glad yours are going well. If they get too tall & leggy, snap them in half & re-plant them, they will take off, for sure!!
Chrissy~My daughters got me onto Facebook. It's great for catching up with friends & family photos, but can be a time waster, I find. Takes a while for us to load it.
Finally, Budgieman~ I am a family tree addict!! I had to give it up for a while as I was getting nothing else done!!LOL!! I've put it away for my "Winter Job"!!
The pic I am posting is of the Succulent cuttings from Jean & Chrissy. In the large oval shallow dish, are the ones from Jean. The bits in the other big black pots are from Chrissy. Thankyou both so much. I have a great variety to play with now!!
You will also see a pot of Parrot cuttings to the right. Doing Ok.
Must go, hungary mouths to feed AGAIN!!
I'm going away tomorrow, so will be absent for 12 days. Flying north to Shellharbour to look after a friends shop, while she goes OS.
Take Care all & will catch up when I get back.
The Parrot Lady...
Hi all.
Home now and for the first time in 15 years we don't have 1 job for the machines.
I guess this MUST be a recession! Thankfully we have Kev at the helm. We may be paying the debt off for the next twenty years! I really don't care about a few dollars in my pocket because I will only save it! How about infrastructure like water transport from FNQ to southern states? I make no apologies in saying a sarcastic thanks to all the Kev voters! Not normally one for politicaI comment as it bores me silly but I may be available soon to tend gardens due to a lack of instilled confidence and fiscal policy. What about just one Obamalike 'We can do it' speech?
Sorry had to get that rant out of the way! Promise not to do it again.
Firstly Mya - please apologise to your husband. If I see a Townsville address
I will be a little less aggressive in my bidding.
Dalfyre - what is it with Dalmatians and eating? My brother has one (as you put
it recently, a DAMNATION) and whilst I won't let you in on the pet bird incident
I will say that it eats everything! At the moment though it is eating the seed from his palm and depositing it in a neat pile (or several neat piles).
As for Crocs in FNQ my Grandmother told us once about tripping over one that was asleep
on the footpath as she made her way home from a dance! Could you imagine that?
Helens5162 - Family history is something I pick up and run with until I hit a wall. At the moment I have all my lines back to arrival in Aust. Been onto it for about twenty years. Right now I have the earliest arrival at 1820, German, Irish, Italian, English, Scottish and French lines to follow!!!
So it it another thing that keeps me busy.
Finally CT - I will always admire someone who steps in! My only advice though would be to stick with feathered Galahs not the human variety (which I'm sure they would be!!!) but I suppose you can't legally keep them in an aviary!!
Cheers
Steve
Bravo, Colleen...
Evening to all ,
Colleen Your boy's are so lucky to have a beautiful Granny and so much love and suport in their lifes .
Steve I second your political comment. Your family beat mine 1883 and 1839 proud to say free persons no convicts.Irish and English .
I must go time to go walkeys with the dog he is sitting at the waiting at the door .---------Sammut.
Hey Sammut
No convicts yet but I'm sure there must be somewhere.
The 1820 line were Red Coats but as you know there are a lot of beings in the family tree!
I'd actually like to find a convict or two.
I'm hoping for at least one scandal other than my Great Grandfather trying to run over his wife with his sulky! My son just went walkies with our slipper so I am spared.
Cheers
Steve
G'Day All,
I've been without E-Mail since Sunday evening and inspite of messages saying i'll be fixed soon and now saying that all is fixed there are still problems. My ISP is Hotkey and I'm getting annoyed that I've been out now four full days and people with other ISPs have had no breaks at all. Have any of you folks been out no matter what ISP you have? My mob claim that the problem was caused by a power shortage at server where lots of ISPs kept their data.
Brian
I'm back ,
Steve I have the scandals you dont need convicts for them and bushrangers .
Great uncle shoots wife when cornered turns the gun on his selfe he lived and ended in Parramatta
in 1924.
I have convicts connected by marriage but not in my line .
English side back to 1600 the Irish back to the norse invasions of Ireland in the ninth and tenth centuries .
now working onfamily thate went U.S. to Charles town in the 1700 's
Sorry to every one I dont know when to stop when it comes to genealogy .---------Sammut
Well Sammut. My line appears to be a bit boring!
Most left Ireland in the Potato Famine and ended up in Finland (of all places)
Australia and US. Great fun finding the pieces isn't it!
Stake there have been power outages reported in the southern parts due to the heat.
May have something to do with it. No probs here.
Steve
This is the last family searching is never boring you never know whate the piece you will find next or where you end up or who you are related to this week I was surprized to learn a few new relo's , print my tree and enlarge the first 100 years in australia my fathers side the Irish
.-------Sammut
i went out thursday due to modem blowing up and the broadband cables underground buckling. that is in victoria.
Hi, Budgieman & sammut,
I was only having a quick read, before I pack, leaving early in the morning.
Just wanted to add to the family tree discussion. I have convicts in both sides of my tree. Everything from "Housebreaking" to stealing "shoelaces!!!"
I can also, with others help, trace back to the King of Finland "Svenland" 0160!!!
McDonells, Scotland to Orkney Islands to Vikings, etc, etc,. How amazing!!
Take care all, & I will try & catch up on the threeads when I get back?
The Parrot Lady, Helen
P.S. Sammut, I'm very impressed with your chart. It looks fantastic!!
Helen
Brical1, Shelly61, Budgieman, Sammut, Katciao, Helen5162, Shellyto4kids. Thank you for your kind words. I have included a pic of the boys for you all to see. Sammut you must have been extremely busy with your family tree. Boy what a lot of work. On my Mother's side we couldn't find anything past her Mother. It was just a dead end, but on my Father's side we went back to when the first Staker landed here, about 1837. The wife of that first one lived until she was 84,which was really good back then. Sammut, are those the big pots that you bought really cheap awhile ago? The plants are looking really good. Budgieman I saw that you had made up a thread with a cryptic crossword. I haven't had a look yet but if it's as hard as your puzzles then I won't be able to do it. Jean, how did your day of shopping go? Did you get anymore plants or did you just look? Chrissy, Hope your hubby's okay now. Hope everyone is keeping safe up north. I saw Ingham on the TV this morning. The main street was up to the top of the sign posts with water. I would hate to be in that. It would be very scary for me as i'm not good with water. I'm always scared that I'll drown. I don't like going on a boat either. My sister is always talking about getting a houseboat and going to the camping spot where we've always gone camping since we were kids but I keep telling her that I don't want to go on a houseboat. We can still get there by car, but it's owned by different people now and we have to get a key from them to get through the gates. I have some wonderful memories from the camping days with the family and the fish that we used to catch. It was great. Brian's got some great pics of the fish that he used to catch when he took his family camping and he could tell you all some great yarns too, But that's another story. Well I must say goodnight. Thank you all again and talk to you tomorrow.
Sorry Budgieman I saw the crossword and didn't realise that it was just a new thread. sorry
