Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year.....

....to all the people, friends and relatives who read my blog. I haven't been posting for a while but my New Years resolution is to *pull my socks up* and armed with my camera go forth and take a few interesting shots. (LOL) They probably wont be pictures of my garden because I haven't been able to keep up with it for the last year or so and it sadly has fallen to neglect. Around the hills towns I have noticed some interesting old buildings so maybe they will feature in my first post for 2010.

2009 has not been a good year for me both health-wise or personally but hopefully that will all change this coming year.

Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

All over for another year.

The shearers have been and gone. All alpacas shorn
(except one that took off and defied all attempts to catch her)
so she (Aniseed) will have to wear her overcoat for another year.

Gosh, am I glad its finished, except for cleaning the garage.

Does anyone want to buy some Alpacas?
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Shearing day.....

Last summer, after the long scorching drought, I made a vow that I'd NEVER, EVER complain about the rain again......but when the alpacas are due to be shorn, we don't need it to rain. This is such a traumatic day for the animals AND us. First they have to be DRY then they need to be herded into our garage, under cover so they wont get any more wet than they are. Then, after we have them in for the shearer to arrive at 9am. I find out they are not coming until the afternoon. GRRH, GRRRRH !

These pictures are they "boys" in the holding pen. They will be a bit scatty by the afternoon but I cant help that. they all took off up the driveway and we had to chase them around to get them back down. The "ladies" are in their feeding pen, they will be more tetchier than the boys, its a smaller enclosure and there are more of them, but they must be kept dry. Why couldn't the rain wait until tomorrow...or tonight?

The second picture is Ezekial, poor little fellow, he didn't grow very big. It seems as if he put all his growing into fleece production. He is a strange looking alpaca, reminds me of Santa with his beard. He has a short snout and thick wool around his eyes and when I saw him coming in I thought, I cant see his eyes, his fleece is so thick............but then I realised that my husband had put his halter on incorrectly and covered his eyes. LOL

All I can say now is........."Thank goodness we have Wiltipoll sheep !" (Self shedders, no shearing)
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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Its a GIRL !!

Born this morning. Looks like inspection time at the zoo. An earlier calf born on the 4th. of September, also a girl thinks she has a playmate at last. Strange, this is the first pictures I have ever taken of the cattle babies and we have had cows for 22 years.

I was feeling sad because its father went to the saleyards last wednesday, he was a beautiful example of a Limousin bull. Much happier however when I heard that the butchers were outbid and he went to live for a few years longer, somewhere in the Murraylands. Loxton, I think.

Baby amimals are beautiful.
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Friday, November 20, 2009

One puff of wind............

........and it will come tumbling down. This is the shed I wrote about in a blog last week. We have watched it slowly deteriorate over the last 20 or so years. I have wanted to take some pictures of this shed but always (until today) have forgotten to take the camera
The first shot is the front view and the second from the side.
Dont you think she's a little beauty?
Any good Aussie bloke would be proud to own it L.O.V.L.
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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Easy-peasy............

The first crop of peas from Popeye's veggie garden. Enough for two meals for two people. Mashed spuds, peas and gravy tonight, along with a piece of steak of course. I LOVE mashed spuds ans peas, they seem to belong together. More like salad weather today though, 43C and its not summer yet !! PHEW !!!
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Friday, November 13, 2009

What does one do.......

.....when the temperature is nudging 39c on a lovely spring day ? Hop into the car and take some photos of old buildings in and around near where we live. These buildings always get me pondering...who built them, who lived there, how many children did they have, what did they do to amuse them selves etc. The first two houses are in Lobethal, the first one uninhabited, notice the high pitched roof and if you click on the picture you'll notice there is a small door into the roof area. Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills settled by Germans in the 1800's, hence the german style to these old homes. This second one has been well maintained over the years and it is in the Main street. Such a lovely cottage.
Next I show a tobacco oast, which hasn't been used for the purpose of drying tobacco for many, many years, not a bad thing, to my way of thinking, but its such a pity that most of these buildings will be either demolished or fall down from being neglected. I know of a shed that has been slowly falling down for over 20 years but it was too far to travel in the heat to get a shot at that one. Next time! (if a big puff of wind hasn't blown it down completely)
Lastly this quaint cottage, nearer home, sits in a vineyard. I wonder how long it will be before it is knocked down so that the small piece of land it sits on can be used for planting more grapes.
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Friday, November 6, 2009

Another beautiful Iris

This is another of the new Irises in my garden. I purchased this one at the Meadows Easter market also. Stunning !!
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A very pleasant luncheon with lovely people.

Yesterday I was treated to a very nice lunch at Muggleton's in the tourist town of Hahndorf.
Present was my beautiful Grand -daughter Melissa, her Dad Robert, and his wife, Sue.

I was extremely pleased to be given a photo of one of my other gorgeous Grand-daughters, Stacey,(Melissa's older sister) who has recently graduated from University of Adelaide. Two degrees, Arts and Economics.













I am so pleased for her. Sadly I couldn't attend the ceremony because of the restrictions on numbers. Each graduate is only permitted to invite 3 people. So, here is a PROUD Grandma posting her picture so that everyone who reads my Blog can share. (hope she doesn't mind)

Friday, October 30, 2009

Oops I have made a mistake.

This is the picture of the Ceanothus I thought I was adding to the previous blog. No excuses ..... just a dithery old woman !!
The picture in the other blog is Jacob's Ladder.

One day I'll get the hang of it !!
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More pretty plants.

Please click on the first picture at least, it will show much more detail. A section of my garden at the front showing Echium and a few natives, names long forgotten and Ceanothus (Blue Pacific) sadly past its prime.
Secondly a succulant called Pigface, why such a terrible name for a beautiful flower? This one grows alongside the driveway down to the house.
Another type of Ceanothus, a little later than the taller variety. They cant be seen but this bush is buzzing with hundreds of native bees. It grows just outside the window in the room where I have my computer and if I look to the right, there it is in all its glory. Judging by the number of blue fairy wrens I see coming and going it must have several nests in among the branches.
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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Irises

One of the irises that I purchased at the Meadows Easter market earlier this year. Not the colour I expected, but still very pretty
A lovely soft blue iris, one of my favourites
This is not an iris, but it grows in a clump, similar growth to an iris, very low, almost like a ground cover with hundreds of bright blue flowers. One of the favourite plants in my garden.
Another iris, pink and burgandy.
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Apples

Sorry folks, this picture is out of focus I like to think its the wind blowing the branches so I cant get a clear shot, but if the truth be known its because I have the wobbles !
This little apple tree is a seedling I found growing a couple of years ago and moved it to near where the crab apples are growing. Well after threatening it with the axe if it didn't flower this year, it has decided to respond. Don't know what type of apple it is, may be from a bird drop or a discarded apple core thrown by us. If the latter is the case it more than likely will be a golden delicious. The holes in the leaves was caused by the harsh weather (hail) which has also damaged many of the stone fruit trees. Looks like a sparse fruiting season as the hail has managed to strip most of the new growth from the apricots, plums and peaches.
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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Daydreaming

A lovely spring day here today.
When i ventured out to inspect my veggie patch I noticed the clear blue sky, no clouds (for a change) just this aircraft vapour trail, west to east. I began to daydream about who was on it, did they look down on our patch of hills, did they notice how lush and green the countryside is? Perth to Sydney non-stop. Where had they been, where are they going ? Are they going on vacation or business people going to a conference ? Maybe returning from a holiday overseas, many international flights return via Perth. ...... anyway, here I am, looking up and dreaming when I should be cleaning the house !!! I CANT put it off any longer.

Have a happy holiday,or business trip to all the people on the plane. I'll keep on dreaming.
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Saturday, October 10, 2009

Golden Elm.

Waking from her winter sleep, this Golden Elm tree.
Planted about 6 years ago, it is still relatively small. This year it has decided to do something different, put out something that looks like flowers. In the centre of each "petal" there is dark spot which seems to be a seed. I wonder if they will be viable?
Please click on the picture for a clearer view.
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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

More blues

Continuation of the last Blog, here are the pictures that wouldn't fit on the last page. (Maybe some one could tell me how to post more than 4 pics at a time through Picasa) Cheery little bluebells, I love these little flowers, went to a heap of work some years ago to plant them under the silver birches in my "forest" but Popeye continues to ride over them with the mower, so the only ones to flower are those growing in the garden around the house.
The prettiest coloured freezia.
Glorious colour of a ground cover plant, name long forgotten.... I have a habit of purchasing a plant, planting it then discarding the label because of course, I should remember that !! (but dont)
Last, but not least, just a touch of blue on these Dutch irises. I do try to NOT have yellow flowers because, to me yellow is a weed colour, and I have enough weeds without adding more. I ordered these bulbs from an interstate bulb nursery, they were advertised as WHITE....but when something grows so well....who am I to decide that it cant. I dont dig them when they are dormant, they simply keep on coming back.
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Monday, October 5, 2009

Blue on blue

Blue is my favourite colour in the garden. The first picture shows Blue Pacific which grows over the side of the cut out that our house sits on. Disregard the weeds please. I have been unable to do much bending for the last couple of months. We have 7 of these shrubs growing in the garden surrounding our home. They are just about at their best now, after a good winter rainfall this year.
Next is this pretty lavender, which looks much better in real life than in a picture.
Pride of Madiera, an Echium that I planted 2 years ago is about to come into full bloom. I hope it is not monocarpic as is the Crown of Jewels echium. I have saved some of the seeds from crown of jewels...mental note to myself.....time to plant them.
Lastly, only because its not posssible to post more than 4 pictures through Picasa...gnash-gnash...is a picture of this very pretty iris. I'll have to post the other pictures some other time. Off to the Gnomes for afternoon tea soon. Looking forward to that.
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Saturday, September 26, 2009

Nearly snow.

The weather forecast on the 9 news was for likely snow in the hills. It did not eventuate but we got the next best thing, hail.....pease click to enlarge the pictures. Here we have a shot of it along the southern side of our house.
Next, caught in the Agave. This poor plant will suffer. It is always marked where the hail hits and the leaves will be spotted.
Just another pot plant with hailstones. Wouldn't you know it...the batteries in the camera are ALWAYS flat when you need it in a hurry. There has been some "wild and wooly" weather here for the last few days, rain and wind. Extreme dust storms in the Eastern states. This is SPRING folks !!!
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