Collage of the last few days and a blue bee

click twice to enlarge the collage. Sea walks as you can see and around the garden. The blue bee I got from the net, we saw two yesterday on the dianella, blue flower in the collage, tried to take their photo but they were much too quick. We had never seen them before and I am surprised as john knows most things that are around here. On looking them up they are a solitary bee (so why did we see two?) and they live in burrows. Very fast but they came and looked at us. So nice at our age to see something we havent seen before. I am trying to sew up dolls, have bodies hanging around and now to dress them, Every so often I like to make some Country angels, and I think there is a Santa there too, feel its time the children had some again and it keeps me sane when I dont know what is happening in my life. Still no rain, warming up again, Not sure how long we can keep watering the garden, one rainwater tank is put of water already although we do have a couple of reasonable sized back up ones. Sorry this is a bit brief but I have jobs to do, one peahen has gone broody and I think so has one of my hens, hooray, just hope she knows what she is doing as I have put a mix of eggs under her. Hope every one has a great week end, we go to a 75th birthday tomorrow. Our best man, he was younger than both of us!

Very low tide this morning

We had a lovely walk this morning along the beach, John was looking for shells, sometimes there are quite a few live ones that he tosses back. the weather is still dry, hot and humid but no sign of rain. One rainwater tank has just run dry. It is too soon in the season. I am sewing up cloth dolls, little country angels I dont know what I am going to do with them but I need to be doing something and not worrying about future prospects. Life on the land is always a lottery and we are running out of options. I have seen the black snake twice now, he/she is in the back garden shiny so lost its skin but very active and I am being very careful where I put my feet. A good 6 feet long too.

Various

I have been making a cat, saw one I loved and tried to make my own, with variations of course, here is my more or less finished one. It was fun to do but took me ages to work it all out.The rose by the garage is flowering like mad, bit of a jarring colour but I love it. A wattle bird, or two have been outside the bedroom window on the red calistemon making a terrible noise early in the morning but fun to see, I took this one through the rather dirty window I m afraid. A walk yesterday by Hayborough, we havent been there for ages and the beach wasnt easy to walk on as there was a steep slope and the sand wasnt terribly firm but there was this lovely pelican standing in the outlet of the river. The last photo is of the view back towards Victor. This beach is on the other side of the town from where we usually walk. Very changeable weather, hot yesterday, very windy and cooler today. still terribly dry though and the wind is not helping anything.

Busy few days

We have been here and there for the last few days, so once more I have made up a collage. A walk on the beach on Monday, a finished or is it? little stitchery, I think it needs one more thing. A walk along this cliffs this morning, and very friendly magpies. I am having heaps of problems with my back so nothing done in the garden but my simply delicious rhododendron that P gave me quite a few years ago, which sat in a pot and I didnt think would grow for me, finally I got it into the ground and this year it is looking wonderful, I love it dearly. In between we have been to Adelaide for haircuts, and I had a lovely lunch over at Goolwa at Hectors on the wharf with friend R, a late birthday present. It was a bit wet and wild and for some reason I didnt take any photos but it was lovely to catch up.

Went to an open garden this morning

John had gone fishing, Sarah to a show and I decided to go over to the Goolwa market and get some plants, still filling the hole in the garden, and called into an open garden at Middleton on the way home. It was a lovely large garden, just at its peak this morning, so many flowers were out, beautifully laid out and I am glad I dont look after it! I had my 2 acre garden open about 20 years ago and I know how much work goes into the making and maintaining of a garden. Not that I had any help but even so, this garden was quite magnificent and I would like to thank the owners of Taringa Park, for having such a beautiful garden set in a rather difficult setting. I came home and filled in a couple more holes in my garden with a daisy and a pelagonium, I just hope they grow fast, I also pulled a few weeds and now my back is aching and saw a snake up behind the washing line when I went to hang the clothes out. Sarah had a good day for a show just down the road with a last minute decision to go, came home with Champion male Welsh Pony, Champion female welsh pony and then Supreme with the mare. Nice when that happens.

George

He is growing fast. Here he is on the back of John's chair. He is fascinated by the peacocks outside. Still roaring around after a quiet time during the day. I think he would love to go outside, but there are snakes around, and small birds so an inside cat he will be. Warming up again, hoses on and the garden looking good. Would just love some rain.

wendy's rustic birdhouses from Kangaroo Island

Pat from weaver of Grass blog asked for closer photos of my birdhouse collection. Here they are. Photos not as good as I would have liked. I have had a busy few days, in particular in the garden, planted out a heap of cuttings that I had been growing and some seedlings. Now to wait and see if I have planted them too close together. tiring but fun. I would just love a good bit of rain though to really settle them in. We have been walking, I have been doing mostly house hold chores and trying to catch up on some sleep. I ache all over, I think from moving bricks and digging, still its nice to look at a small bit of tidied garden. It will get hot again too soon and I wont be able to do much more. Oh for a lovely gentle spring, but it doesnt look as if it will happen.

This morning

A few photos I took a little while ago, some early roses I picked this morning, this early burst of heat has brought them out, all old ones. A Yacca moth that came in on Max's food bowl, there have been lots of these on the windows at night. I am not sure of their proper name but that is what we have always called them. The moth orchids are still flowering, I just think they have finished and new buds appear, They really are a great I door flower if you can find the right spot. Part of my collection of bird houses made by the wonderful Wendy on Kangaroo Island, every year buy one, we will be late this year so I hope there are still some when we go. I love the way she makes each one different with little metal blue wrens on many of them. Then there is George, in his favorite place on top of the back of my chair. The vet thinks he may be 4 months, not 3, perhaps like all my cats he will just be big. He certainly has settled in and likes nothing better than sitting on your lap, not conducive to knitting or hand sewing!!

From removing a triffid to a large branch down over the road

We came back from shopping this morning (and George's first inoculations) to this. A very large branch down across the road right over the bridge so no way around except through the paddocks. No wind although there was a bit yesterday, and quite warm. This is the trouble with gum tree branches they can fall at any time and this was in an awkward place. Council were short staffed so John and one of the work men had to cut it up and pull it away while John also had to warn drivers that it was there as not easy to see around the corner going the other way. Back to triffids, as Jo said in her comment this probably is showing my age as it comes from John Wyndhams book The day of the Triffids published about the 1950s. Worth reading if you can find it. My triffid was actually a type of native grass (I think) planted long ago in the right place, that grew into being too big and invasive and now in the wrong place. If it wasnt so hot I would be out there filling in the space that is left with some plants I have waiting but if we can get some rain and cooler weather, that will be the time. It might be early spring but it feels more like mid summer. More and more I dont like summer heat.

removal of a triffid and other things

Today a large plant that I didnt like was removed from the garden opposite the bedroom. tractor and 2 men were required. They actually managed to do it without making too much mess. I am pleased as it has annoyed me for years and has got larger and larger. Yesterday I went to Adelaide and had lunch at a friends place, lovely to catch up with people I havent seen for ages but the drive up and back which once I did regularly I now find rather tiring. We also walked along the cliff top and as usual you get a photo of the sea, it was a lovely morning. George is finding he can get into trouble, pitiful mews came from the kitchen where he had somehow managed to get a front leg stuck under the frig, as he had shot John's glasses under there yesterday and we didnt find them for ages, it has become a favorite place. He might think twice after I rescued him. tomorrow he goes for his first innoculations that might be interesting.

Out and about on my birthday

I dont like to think how old I am but I have had a lovely day, a walk on the cliffs, lunch and bubbles out, a visit to an art show and a wander around my garden. It was very summer like, warm and a bit muggy, no rain but the garden seems to like it. Most of the children contacted me one way or another so that was lovely. Now for a salad and I think an early night. We have gone onto daylight saving time and that is always a bit confusing for the first few days.

Yankalilla Agricultural show

You see strange sights at some of our agricultural shows. This is the first of the local ones. We were there early as They can become very crowded as the day goes on. We saw both our daughters, one selling her heritage poultry and one showing ponies. I bought some wool and olives, went through all the pavilions and then came home. It was getting rather warm. Have friend P staying for the week end, its my birthday tomorrow so nice to have some one to celebrate it with, all children are busy, The sudden burst of heat and a long week end dont make it easy for the family. I really wasnt expecting to see camels, but there they were and I only managed to photograph their back sides! Not much in the flowers or vegetables, it is a bit early in the season but there were a few around. Lovely drive over and back but the dreaded hay fever has got to me.Off to watch the football finals.