A cool day

I have been in the garden pulling a few weeds and assessing the damage those very hot days made. But amazingly some things I didnt expect loved it.
My clematis has never flowered so well before and is almost smothering the flowering plum by the bedroom door.
The white epyphytic cactus has flowered madly as well. I moved it last year and after years and years of not flowering suddenly It has lots of flowers, these are only a few. I love it when something unexpected happens.
I have also been making hearts, lots and lots of little patchwork hearts, very raggedy shabby chic, easy to make and fun to be able to have on hand to give away. Not finished yet I am saving them to do while watching tv, not that there is much on tv but it is an excuse to be up.
So a few things done today and I feel a bit more relaxed, probably after tomorrow I will be back to being on edge!
John and I went over to Goolwa to have a quick look at the water around the town, at the expense of the lakes and others the area has been filled with water, ok I suppose as the tourist season is about to be on us, but at what cost to others? Sometimes I wonder about the decisions of our political leaders, no not sometimes, most of the time.

Walking this morning

We have had a lovely 20 mm of rain over the last day or so, wonderful after that terrible heat.
The girls have gone to a show and John has gone fishing so I had to do the rounds this morning checking on things, a much better day to do it although the flies have started.
First a bit of my garden I dont look at very often, this is from the paddock next to the side garden and the trees and things are doing well there, such a lot are self seeded and this silky oak or grevillia robusta came up in a tiny cactus pot I was given years ago and has turned into this wonderful tree. It is flowering at the moment and the lorikeets are having a field day in it.
Then the sky still with a hint of rain in it looking down the valley, those brown hills will be with us for months now.
No new foals in this paddock but the two who are came down to check me out. Arnt they gorgeous, the little filly who is closest to the camera has such big eyes.
Then as I headed around the race to the yard I thought I would take a couple of photos of the sheds, I always think farm sheds look so interesting, and I had a bit of a fossick around to see what I could find, a few treasures I didnt think any one would miss.
The shed in the last photo has had a long history, stables, milking shed, stables again and now a storage shed. The rose I planted many many years ago is still flowering.
Sarah has just rung to let me know that we did very well at Champion of Champions so that was good, this is a qualifier for the interstate Show in Sydney but I doubt they will go to that. We won the leading rein and the Show hunter and also runner up show hunter with the other pony. Nice to know that the ponies we bred are doing so well under saddle.

After the heat and the rain

You can see the orchard is still green but the hills behind have gone brown very quickly after the 42 degree C heat on Thursday.
One of the peacocks on the front terrace railing.
The sky that night was red, red and redder, the other two sky photos were before the sun set and then we had thunderstorms that rumbled and grumbled for half the night and set fires alight across parts of the State. Not here thank goodness.
I was so tired yesterday with the cooler weather I did hardly anything and today has not been much better although I had to shop as I hadnt yesterday and go and feed Tabby's dogs and chooks.
Perhaps tomorrow while John goes fishing I will feel like doing something and not feel so tired and washed out.

Hot and a beach walk

I am not capable of doing much today, it is so hot I have found some sewing to do.
We did get out early this morning and had a lovely walk along the beach, the first in months, but even there it was getting hot.
Yesterday I was in the op shop and found this lovely book for $2. I would never have bought it at the full money but it is a lovely book showing Laura Ashley designs, fabrics, a bit of historical stuff and lovely looking English country rooms, with others as well. Made me want to do a make over except I dont have the money to do it!
Then last week after months of waiting this lovely little quilt that I had in an exchange finally after touring the world for 3 months turned up. It is by Pippa Coombs and I am so glad we decided to wait and see if it did arrive before she had to make another. I really love it and the ammonites she has used are just what I wanted, I wandered all over the UK trying to find or buy some but although I saw some wonderful ones in the Natural History Museum in Paris not one could I get so these are the next best thing.
As you can see there was a lazy wave on the beach this morning, lovely for walking in.
The River is blocked again and not flowing into the sea, infact when it finally opened its mouth this winter we were all amazed and a bit miffed as we couldnt walk the beach.
Not a shell to be found, in fact hardly any sea weed either so a lovely clean beach to walk on.
Bushfires out there, 42 degree C temperatures, now hot north winds and the threat of thunderstorms, and that could mean fires started by lightening.
What a country we live in!
Off to feed the dogs and chooks and water pots, and finally us, calamari for dinner tonight as John caught some the other week.
We hope for cooler temperatures to morrow and there is some talk of rain, I hope so.

The Valley this morning

As I drove back from shopping this morning I stopped and took a few photos of the big bales still in the paddocks.
It has been so hot that a lot are still out there, and a lot were left a bit late, ours have been done for weeks but then we have to have high nutrition levels in ours and our neighbours who rear a few beef animals are not so worried about them.
We are being told we will have a very nasty day tomorrow but then we were told that today and it wasnt nearly as bad as I thought it might be.
So far no hot northerly winds thank heaven.
today I spent a lot of the time, when not moving hoses, painting little dolls and sewing strips of material together, you cant see what I am doing yet, its not really terribly exciting any way.
Sorry this is so brief but it is late, I meant to do this a lot earlier but then the phone rang and it was a friend and we chatted and then John came home from Adelaide where he had been to a meeting and so dinner was organised and we have only just finished.
The trouble with day light saving at this time of the year, animals to feed, pots to water, and then it is late and I am tired.

Allotments

On India Flint's blog here she has a competition about allotments, on my other blog here I have written about my ideal allotment but here are some photos I took of allotments at Berwick upon Tweed. Usually I see allotments from any train I am in and they flash past so fast there is no hope of a photo and even a sketch is only what is imprinted upon my brain, and usually that is not enough.
So when we were walking and I found these I had to take some photos. The quality isnt terribly good as the sun was in the wrong place.
These are going into winter and I have written about a summer garden, most of the vegetables have been gathered and I suppose a lot are left fallow until next year.
They have always interested me and I feel that they are so important and there are now many inner suburban gardens where people live in high rise flats. Here in Australia high rise is only really just beginning and we have always had 1/4 acre garden block with vegies and fruit trees, now alas the gardens are much smaller. Adelaide was begun on some of the most fertile and productive soil in the state, such a waste to put houses on it.
I believe very firmly that the young of today need to be educated in how to have a pretty and yet productive garden but alas it is too easy to go to the supermarket and buy instead of growing your own.

Whitby

I will be uploading odd photos of our trip when I am feeling tired or have not much to put up.
I loved Whitby and I hope I havent done these before.
I was most taken with this shop in the old town, then the Celtic cross at the top of Caedmon's stair, we walked up the stair and came down the plod.
These gorgeous beach huts were being dismantled while we were there, I think they must store them for winter but I loved the bright colours.
Then a distant view of the Abbey, it was getting a bit late and the sun was in the wrong direction but I love the way it was against the sky.
Tired and have been busy today as it is cool before another onslaught of heat so trying to get done things we cant do when it is hot.