Against a bright blue Ozzie sky

....the Tree Dahlias are beginning to bloom. Its a beautiful Autumn day, no rain, although the Bureau of Meteorology keeps telling us its on the way. Winter season will be with us in ten days. The bees are busy collecting pollen and in the second picture you will notice one in flight, off to her hive to deposit her "loot" before it gets too cold and (hopefully) wet.

Visitors

I LOVE visitors especially when they are Great Grandchildren. Here is Abby (Abigail) and Sam, two of my Great Grand children .

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Sam working on his Nintendo. He is a very bright child.

Abby always has a nap when visiting Grandma, who is sad to see them leave. They are both delightful. Love them.

Big ones, small ones.....

....some as big as your head !!.... or bigger!! Here is a head of broccoli picked tonight from my garden, still with some rain drops clinging to it and its as tight as a drum !!

I had a tub of seedy weeds that I covered with water to kill off germination, don't want to encourage unwanted weeds to the garden beds. I think it had been "brewing for almost 2 years, forgotten, hiding under an overgrown shrub that should have been pruned...but wasn't. So we dug a trench where we wanted to plant the broccoli, covered it with soil and planted the seedlings on top of it Just goes to show that expensive fertilisers are not needed.

.Dusk, on Anzac Day

Long shadows over the valley as the sunset is reflected on the trees that line the roadside.

Ten minutes later...please click to enlarge the pictures...the colour has changed to a fiery red. Days are becoming noticeably shorter. Having worked for the last 3 days cutting out a very large feral blackberry, I was able to take this shot below.

With the sun set now to my right looking over the valley. the end of another days hard work.

And at the going down of the sun.....we will remember them.

Zygo-cactus

This stunning Zygo grows in our sun room. It seems to get better every year. Click on the picture for a better view. Like the weeping cherry tree, I cant help but to wonder at its beauty and post a picture each time they're in bloom.

The Great Wall of Lenswood.....

.......is nearing completion !!! Hooray !!! Today we have put the first coat of paint on the wall. Its a new type of paint with some sort of grit added to give a rendered/bagged finish. Its been a long time coming, about six years. I think, maybe a bit longer. Please disregard all the mess...the building materials and junk still to be cleaned away and the last of the paving to be laid. This is the bottom of the driveway where the wall begins.

Then next is the continuation up the drive, the black wall in the middle is going to be a fish pond/water feature. (The boy thinks he is going to put trout in there but he has another think coming, lol) the inside will need re-painting because of the cement that was dribbled down the walls when the capping bricks were put on.

Now down the side of the house where the garden has been in a bit longer and has grown almost to maturity.

Further back, down the side, outside the dining area is the weeping cherry tree that I've blogged about when it has been flowering. Its now beginning to lose its leaves for the Autumn. When I get my act together and put away all the fiy repellant, ant-rid, secateurs, rose cuttings etc. etc. it will look great !!!!! What I would've liked to have seen is a bit more contrast in the colour between the wall and the capping. But beggars cant be choosers.

Ouch !!! Our ACHING BACKS !!!

FIGS !!!

At last !! I've been asking Popeye to look and see if the fig tree had any figs ripe enough to pick and this is what I got. Unbeknown to me he has been picking them and feeding them to the sick cow....yes..that's right the sick cow!!!!!!! Here I've been, hanging out for some figs only to come second to the animals. What the cow didn't get, the crows have had a banquet on, so think myself lucky. (he says)

The problem is, I can no longer get to the trees myself (I'm past climbing hills) so I have to rely on someone else to pick them for me.

The up-side of the story is, the cow has put on masses of weight and is looking much healthier. As those who know me know, I do not need to put on any more weight !! LOL But, I DO LOVE FIGS