Winter here is progressing well and nowhere near as cold as it can get in the UK. Every now and then concerns are raised on the radio about the amount rain fall and then we get the occasional rainy day which is nearly always followed by beautiful sunshine rather than constant grey. I think we are on target with the water levels so far, previously dry creeks (streams to you and I) are now flowing well and sound wonderful. Water tanks are filling up nicely. It's also ideal growing conditions for all plants but mainly weeds and someone seems to have planted an abundance of them in our front garden!
The sour sobs (Oxalis) which I still think look very joyful are now competing with the native violets for any available space in the borders. Any plant which is on the small side and less than very robust is being overcome by these very pretty bullies of the border. At least the ground is softer so much easier to weed.
It is rose pruning time, a hard decision to have to make when most are still in bloom. We are now enjoying the 'off cuts' which have a wonderful scent and are perfuming the house. Every cloud.....
The veggie seeds I planted about a month ago have been thinned out and are doing really well. The only thing which to me is recognisable are the spinach leaves, fingers crossed the cabbage and broccoli do more than produce a nice looking leaf!
I've never seen so many colourful winter gardens, beautifully perfumed viburnums are in flower, as are clumps of bearded Iris and jonquil. Large bushes of camellias covered in blooms and standing alongside poinsettias which are taller than me! On one of my walks I noticed a gorgeous perfume and finally found it was coming from a mandarin tree which was covered in bloom and even some fruit (albeit very green). There are a lot more parrots around as well as well as larger groups of lorikeets and honey eaters. I've seen most of these birds in pairs or on their own rather than in groups before.
It has been a warmer winter than normal and the thinking is that most flora and fauna think it's spring, nests are being built and mates found.
In the kitchen Ken Wood (the mixer and not a relation to Roy) and I had a bit of a falling out. The flour, yeast, sugar, salt and water were all in the mixing bowl, dough hook in the mix, infact everything was ready to go except Ken. No amount of gentle encouragement not so gentle encouragement followed by swearing could persuade him that it was time to get going on the bread mix!
Of course he worked for Rick but needed to be held in position to work... the mixer that is not Rick. Eventually Ken gave up completely.... I went back to the old fashioned method of kneading the dough which I have to say is a great way of getting rid of frustration. Rick took Ken apart and with the help of the other equally old mixer gathered together parts which would work and hey presto I've now got a mixer which works again. Fantastic.....
More research has been done on the house and we've discovered there are so many more ways to deal with sewerage than we first thought of. We've now gone back to the idea of a septic tank rather than a tank which uses Ultra Violet light or less environmentally friendly chlorine to kill off the pathogens. The septic tanks need less maintenance and if 'everything' is processed properly we should still be able to use it on the land..... we'll see.
And most surprisingly there are a lot more double glazing companies around than we first thought. The choice of product is amazing, the windows are made to order and prices are very comparable to the UK. It is great to have the choices but then of course you have to decide what the best product is for you! At times it can be slightly mind boggling but also very exciting. And yet more research still needs to be done.
What fun!
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