Gumleaf Tea

Green stuff growing in the garden.

A feral rock melon and tomato from the compost bin.

More stuff including a grevillea, a tufty thing that is indiginous to the area, a piece of timber for decoration and . . .

Sunflowers courtesy of the bird seed, and ...

An obligitory closeup of the grevillea flower

And while we're at it you can look at the flowers on the feral tomatoes as well

Bit more growth, and was going to show you a closeup of the little native bees in the sunflower,however

they all buzzed off!

Yeah! it is funny!

There are however 2 shadows on the petals of the little elusives.

The rain tank that was our only source for water until the new one, is back where it came from thanks to a sterling job by ever faithful and mostly starts first time - Bobby.

Waiting patiently for the delivery of our second obligatory tank is the new tank pad.

You all still awake? really exciting stuff next.

Jim chipping the surface for the next patch
.

3 patches in a row

Patch 4 done this morning. Use the shade cloth to keep the seed moist. Germination in 5 days.

Not quite enough to finish the lounge room

Going to Bundy next week so will get enough to finish this area.(My knees need a recovery time before we tackle the kitchen dining area)

THIS is the culprit from last night's to-do

Jim dropped one of his pills, and quick as a flash, Jarrah was on it and it was gone. The medication was an horrendous overdose for a dog, and the consequences were dire.

After hours 150k round trip to the emergency 24 hour Vet clinic?

Nope - Google.

Luckily I had some hydrogen peroxide (thanks jewelry making) and 3 teaspoon later we got it back in three installments. One out side and the new floor has been christened.

This morning no ill effects apart from being starving.

Got a new secondhand camera don't-ya-know and my eyes still glaze over when I read the manual.

So will end with some boring test shots.

I can hear you calling me through the ether wondering what is happening. So in order to appease you all this is going to be a rambling marathon post. So now is the time to make a tea and have a wee before you settle in for this jaw-dropping saga.

R is for red car

Here is the little Holden Cruz we bought. Cheap to run - $40 of fuel goes a looooooong way. Automatic all-wheel drive so the dirt road is not a problem Some sections of road and starting to corrugate and these tend to bounce it around. Answer - drive slower.

G is for Green Stuff
We have been threatening to grow a row of vines along the back of the solar panels, because, lets face it, awesome as they are, aesthetically they leave a bit to be desired visually.
Well we have posts n wire from our treasure trove of useful stuff from behind the shed.
Put in some fairly small passionfruit and built the Great Wall of Gardens to keep the Brush Turkeys, Wallabies and the dog out which proved unnecessary.

The I decided that a few vegies could go in until the passionfruit got going. A couple of thunderstorms and got going they did! So the race is on to see what we get first, lettuces, tomatoes, beans or passionfruit.

S is for Shady Characters.

Last November, yes that's right, last November I bought some external shade blinds for two of our windows to stop the blazing sun from toasting all residents who walked past. A couple of weeks ago, yes that's right 12 months later, I finally put them up. They do seem to keep the lounge and kitchen a little cooler.

W is for Water.
Now was the time to plumb the guttering into the new water tank.
Two questions, how hard can it possibly be? and why do plumbers charge so much?
The plan was to drop the 90mm down pipes into 100mm pipes suspended under the floor, join them at a point and run them up the house wall and into the tank. Simple right?
Not knowing exactly how to get the pipes to where I wanted them, bought 2 of every available angle joiner for both size pipes. Also got extra lengths of 90 and 100mm pipe.
Then the answer to the plumber question began.
Day 1. Drill a circle of holes in the front guttering to make hole to take the down pipe fitting and install 90mm downpipe.(we only fitted one downpipe each end of guttering when we initially did it. Hindsight is wonderful)
Day 2. Joined up various uncemented joiners to take the pipe under the house. Trip to hardware store for more angled joiners to complete 2 downpipe.
Day 3. Put long pipe runs in position under house propped up on boxes and other stuff to get to the tank. Trip to hardware store for more joiners.
Day 4. Happy with layout of piping to the the side of the tank. Began cementing all joins and installing the pipe hangers.
Day 5. Trip to hardware store for more angled joiners to take piping up the wall and across to the tank, and another piece to add to system for a cleaning port. Assembled joiners and pipes and fixed all to the wall and across to the top of the tank. Cut section in existing pipe to take new cleaning port.
Day 6 & 7. Drill circle of holes in back gutter to move a downpipe opening that was too close to the corner flashing. Drilled another opening for the second downpipe fitting. Fitted pipes. (All done at the end of a 3.4m ladder.)
Day 8. Work out what additional fitting we needed to duplicate the piping run for back half of house. Trip to the hardware store for fittings.
Day 9. Dry run of all joints and pipes to side of tank. Cement all joints and fit pipes up walls to go to tank.
Done!

Took the Feral Fossils 9 days to complete and that, dear readers is why plumbers charge so much.
And we have to do it all again at the other end of the house for the other tank.
Oh and for all the Doubting Thomas's out there, it works.

M is for Medication.
The medication that Jim is currently on has made a great difference. This time last year there was no way he could have worked as hard as was required for the tank plumbing. He still gets tired and slow, but as long as he doesn't overexert himself, can basically just quietly work most of the day.

G is for Green Stuff #2

Here is part of our future lawn, well grassed area will do. A bowling green lawn is our area ain't gonna happen.
As the instruction on the grass seed said sew in spring or autumn and made no mention of sewing in the baking heat of summer we put up a shade structure to stop the new seeds from drying out. Worked a treat.
Look widdle bwades of gween gwass!

G is for Garden Beds.
In order to avoid having to put in safety rails across the front of the house, we are going to put in raised garden beds to bring the ground level to less than 600mm. Used left over sheets of custom orb to fill in the front and side of the offending high area. This is to support the soil as some areas need to be half a metre deep.

Jim is pleased with the result as he had issues with the exposed top hat and C sections on the face of the verandah. In the process of collecting old fence posts and logs for retaining walls.

M is for Mouse, Meece, Mice
Have had the odd mouse in the house and the only thing they chewed was the packet of oats in the store room. Out with the live trap. Tried oats as bait - no go. Then tried Arnotts cheese shape biscuits - best mouse bait ever!
To date have relocated some 25+ mice to near our dam. The thought being that the snakes would go for the mice and leave our frogs.

M is also for Mud Wasps
I have no idea how these creatures managed to reproduce before human habitation. They love the house and have made little groups of mud cocoons everywhere. The best way to deal with them is to let them do their thing and remove them later.

W is for Water #2
Have run a pipe up from one of the man shed tanks so we can use the water, as it is just sitting there. Yep took 3 trips to the hardware store for all the fittings.
We can now water the new vines without having to lug buckets.

Ah I see that some of your eyes have glazed over and some of you are starting to squirm. So a little break for more tea & wee before we continue is in order.

Moving Back
Last November, yes again! in a moment of weakness I agreed to do a joint exhibition at the Gin Gin Gallery. Paintings & Jewelry my co-exhibitor commanded.
Piece of cake I thought have plenty of time a whole 12 months.
I'll start in ~~July~~, ~~August~~, ~~September~~. Suddenly here it is October and the Exhibition opens mid December. PANIC
Did a couple of paintings but my studio does not have enough bench space for canvas, paint and all the stuff that goes with painting. So moved onto the verandah.
Was in danger of a nervous breakdown worry over spilling paint on the timber deck and the paint drying too quickly on account of the sun.
As I was hauling out tables and the other paraphernalia onto the deck I had a blinding flash of inspiration. Our old Gunyah. I wonder if that could be turned into a painting studio. Of course it could!
Made some prop-out awnings to get some ventilation through the joint. Moved some tables, old chest of drawers, and other useful stuff in. Moved all the paint, canvas and everything else and began working.
Meet Studio 2

Here I can sharpen my pencils on the floor, splash paint and toss around all mater of detritus and just walk out the door.

Now I just know you are all a-quiver with anticipation and cannot wait to see what was produced in this lovely creative space.