Ccumbers After the Rain

Day 303   October 31st

New Bins

Day 302   October 30th Redlands now offers green bins for garden waste to save us going to the dump with all the palm fronds and weeds.  We also had the option of a larger recycling bin so we took that.  The idea is actually that with the larger recycling bin you can manage with a smaller regular rubbish bin, but we thought that just occasionally (Christmas day perhaps?) we might gernerate enough trash to need the regular size; so we didn't switch.
Just to make sure we don't get confused by the old green rubbish bin and the new green garden bin, the council have changed the original bin lid to red.
Life is full of excitement in the Redlands.

Strawberries

Day 301  October 29th It is official. I am unable to grow strawberries.  I ate one from this effort. I lost heart with the watering and feeding eventually. I guess I just have to buy the tasteless ones from Woolies.

Tomato Soup

Day 300 October 27th
Ingredients
1 chopped onion
1 chopped carrot
2 chopped garlic cloves
olive oil
750g tomatoes
1litre vegetable stock
1 cup of water.(the recipe actually calls for a tin of tomatoes in addition.  Seemed all wrong to me;  to find a recipe for fresh tomatoes and then add a can of them.  So I didn't,  and it tasted very tomato-y. It also used chicken stock instead of vegetable stock.  I often find that too sweet so I switched.)

1. Heat the oil and saute the onion, carrot and garlic for 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes
3. Add the stock and water and bring to the boil.
4. Simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Puree the mix. ( I strain it instead. I much prefer the texture and the remaining pulp can be used as a sauce with spaghetti at the next meal.

And Still They Come

Day 99  October 27th The current tomato crop is almost over. It has been most prolific. The must be a collective noun for an abundance of tomatoes. Maybe that is it; an Abundance.  It's almost a relief not to have to factor in the tomatoes for almost every meal.

Still Ballina

Day 298   October 26th

Day 2, Ballina

Day 297  October 25th Day 2 was much damper with a thunder storm in the night.  I was very glad not to be in a tent.

Ballina

Day 296  October 24th This is the view from our caravan at the lakeside Park in Ballina.  We were down there for a few days with Probus.  It's really not camping.  We acually had an onsuite site with our own private bathroom. We ate in the camp kitchen with room for about 30 people to eat and cook, as long asf you all don't try to cook at the same time. Ballina is unusual in that the town is not based around the ocean like most of the coastal settlements. So much so, that I didn't even register than there were ocean beaches when I visited almost 40 years ago.

Shrubbery

Day 295   October 23rd

To weed or not to weed.

Day 294  October 22nd A while ago I scattered some mixed flower seeds under the palm trees.  It's very shady and is also sheltered from the rain so I wasn't surprised that nothing happened. Well now, with the warmer, damper weather everything and its cousin from Missourri is sprouting, and I'm not sure just what I put there and what came in with the birds and the wind. I suppose if it looks good and it doesn't take over the garden, then it's not a weed.

Aubergines in abundance

Day 293  October 21st All four aubergine bushes are flourishing now. I can't keep up.  What to cook?

At least addictive

Day 292  October 20th

Poison

Day 291  October 19th Still more from next door.  I think they may be poisonous or more likely hallucinogenic.

Over the fence

Day 290  October 18th The climber from the neighbour's garden is blooming.

Jill's cuttings

Day 289   October 17th Went out to dinner taking a pot of basil and came home with three cuttings; lemon balm, aloe vera and some kind of exotic geranium.

Fruit Salad Tree

Day 288   October 16th Another case of the morning being the most convenient time to plant a tree. A day under the table should give the fruit salad tree time to settle in before it is exposed to the sun.

Fruit Salad

Day 287   October15th The Fruit Salad tree arrived via Australia Post.  I've been checking the po box everyday, looking for a blue marker to say we have extra mail inside.  I didn't want it sitting there for several days.  It has three fruit grafts: Navel and Valencia oranges and a Myer lemon.

Achachairu

Day 286  October 14th I have planted the Achachairu plant in the side garden.  I know the best time to plant is in the late afternoon but that is also the most convenient time for a lot of other activities, so I did in the morning. Then I remembered why it is a good idea to put susceptible plants into their new home after t6he heat of the day and quickly erected some temporary shade.

Bed #4

Day 285  October 13th

?

Day 284   October 12th
It's either lettuce or capsicum.  All the seeds start out being grouped together with a labelled stick to identify them.  These are the leftovers that didn't germinate with the others.  I hate to give up on anything so I kept them warm and damp and eventually this one sprang to life.  I'm hoping it's a capsicum as only one reached the re-potting stage so far.

More Lettuce

Day 283  October 11th
More bitter leaved lettuce

Gone to Seed

Day 282  October 10th The lettuce have gone to seed.  We couldn't eat them quickly enough.

Cucumbers

Day 281 October 9th
Cucumbers ready to go.

Raffle

Day 280   October 8th
The ROGI raffle plants came with plenty of extra vegetation.

More Puddle

Day 279   October 7th More rain, same puddle, different angle, different trees.

Puddle

Day 278  October 6th
We had a few heavy shadows today and when I came home there was a tree in my puddle.

Another Lucky Ticket

Day 277  October 5th
I actually won 2 raffles at ROGI.  I'm not sure of the etiquette.  Should I have protested "No, no" and insisted it be redrawn. I decided not.  The raffles are just a bit of fun and I don't often win; last night was obviously my turn. What is it?  Looks hardy.  Under the palm trees?

Raffle

Day 276  October 4th I won the raffle at the ROGI meeting.  It is an Achachairu or Garcia Humilus (G.Latofolia) Apparently it has good fruit and tolerates part shade, so i have the perfect spot waiting in the front yard. Must look up hoe to look after it.

Definately a Meadow

Day 275   October 3rd Where are the cows?

Front Lawn

Day 274  October 2nd
Is it a lawn or is it a meadow?

Front Fence

Day 273    October 1st 
Invasion over the top.

Mess

Day 272   September 30th The rain does nothing to improve this corner of the garden

Brunfelsia

Day 271   September 29th
Now it is becoming warmer, we can eat out on the patio in the evening with the scent of brunfelsia in the background.

French Lavender

Day 260   September 28th
I bought a new lavender plant at Hawkins Nursery.  The only variety they had was French Lavender.  I will see how it likes the semi shade under the palm trees in the red clay soil.

Tomatoes

Day 259   September 27th
The superfluous tomato plant left in a pot turns out to have been the most prolific.

Scraggly Shrub

Day 258   September 26th
For most of the year this straggly shrub forms a sort of low hedge along the drive.  From time to time it is chopped back to annihilation or ignored.  Then, when the rains come it starts to look pretty and so it is reprieved for another year.  

More Front Yard Flowers

Day 257   September 25th

Front Garden

Day 256  September 24th
The front yard is another neglected area. Every sprout or flower shooting out there is a  nameless surprise

Fuschia

Day 255   September 23rd
Totally neglected, in the shadow of the palms and almost dug up by the drain pipe layers. Beautiful

Aubergines

Day 254  September 22nd
I have four aubergine plants.  All four continue to produce flowers. One plant managed to grow one puny fruit; two have produced zero and this one is prolific. What is going on?

Beetroot and Lettuce.

Day 253  September 21st
This batch of beetroot seems much hardier.  It is a different variety, bullsblood, but it could also be down to warmer weather or  better fertilizer or just luck.  Anyway it is just the leaves that I am basing my judgement on; I haven't seen any roots yet.

Still Hazy

Day 252   September 20th

Another Beautiful Sunset

Day 251   Septmber 19th
The bushfires inland continue to send us beautiful sunsets.