The Weekly Grind

Still Kickin

2011-02-23T00:18:00.000-08:00

With Summer here I've gotten busy with everything..Gardens flourishing - especially the weeds - And we are harvesting and scrumping and foraging and McD is making sauces and chutneys and jams...

And work is - well - work -

Our south island city of Christchurch suffered a catastrophic earthquake yesterday...So many lives lost and people missing still....The nation is in shock....and those of us watching from the warm comfort of our homes, with our families safe, are humbled by the Bravery, resilience and selfless acts Of the People down there...The city will never be the same. The Cathedral - at the city's heart is lost - the spire that I've climbed before - gone.... But the People will re-build.

Meanwhile - life goes on....

It's been a while .....

2011-01-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

Well - been back at work .. .and Totally lacking in any kind of motivation.. It's not that I have nothing to do either ... I've probably over committed myself again in fact with the work I've taken on ..... But there you go - seems to be my lot at the moment. Hopefully the jobs I'm waiting on some movement in them being progressed and my getting an interview will all start next week ....

Wellington Harbour

Even then i'm out of practice now in dong the interviews and realistically it's going to take an interview or two to get back to speed on what they are looking for now .....

Wellington Harbourfront

Plus I'd rather be fishing :O)

Put on a little bit of weight over the xmas period ... Not happy about that. So time to stop mucking about and procrastinating and get back into it... Need to get myself another Quack too and go and get tested and get the meds as I've run out .... After some many years I've gotten fed up with the doctor I've had ... So have to change to somewhere closer to town perhaps ..... the Blood/sugar count isn't as good as it should be ...Though within the bounds generally ....

We are keeping the walking going ...but need to make it a daily thing again ... This weeks been hard all round .....

Other than that it's been pretty ho-hum ... Thinking holidays....Thinking hobbies,,,, Thinking anything but work really .......

Pictures are from the garden ... Summer flowers abound ... Pitty the summer isn't ...Pretty cool at the moment and now have the remnants of a cyclone heading for NZ next week .... Won't be bad like Austrailia's Queensland or Victoria though - but had better tie up the tomato vines etc ....



Like this :O)

Yeh - Bring It ON !! :O)

Pumpkin Harvest

2010-04-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

Pumpkins by Us :O) Not as big this year - biggest reached 20kg......

The Holiday write-up (6) Still at Tekapo

2010-04-03T03:18:00.000-07:00

That evening having eaten fish and chips from the local township (very nice but a very unhealthy food day) We set off for a walk along the lake side. ....It has become a common thing for people to leave 'rock sculptures' beside roads and anywhere really where there are pebbles ... At least they are easily knocked down I guess .... I believe these sort of things originate from places like Nepal etc .....

McD leaves me to join the bus load of Japanese tourists ... All very friendly all said hello

The Holiday write-up(5) ChristChurch - Lake tekapo

2010-04-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

By the time we have gotten through Christchurch proper and found the state highway 1 the rain was coming down in sheets ...But we were in good time despite a fairly long car ride ahead of us to our intended stop over at lake Tekapo... After a while of driving we reached Rakia ... Still raining, but there is a nice cafe there and a giant trout statue ... I've posted the trout picture before ...The Ice cold rain ensure we did a quick sprint to the cafe only this time....

We're losing a lot of the Kiwi style cafe's ... Food is often now pre-packaged and the same plastic crap where-ever you go ... I'm pleased to say this is less of a problem in the South island and we treated ourself to some wonderful pies and sausages stuffed with Potato mash ... Not diet food but man it tasted damned good ....

Then another drive to Ashburton ... A town ship with a good tourist advice centre... A lovely woman rang around for us as we had no accommodation for the night in Tekapo ... But she found a place for us on the side of the Lake. The unit having a complete view across the lake and to the mountains north of it ....

Another drive south and then we turned inland meandering to the lake through another township called Geraldine....A pretty place ...We could live here I mentioned to McD as we drove through missing the turnoff ......

The weather was improving as we drove along ... We stopped at a vantage point to look across a valley ..

And then as McD drove I took some shots from the car as we gained height .....

The first 'dustings' of snow had fallen on the mountain tops the night before ....

And then we arrived - Our first glimpse of Lake Tekapo - The amazing colour is from the glacial flour (Ground rock) thats brought down from the mountains ......

Two Most distinctive mad made features of the lake 1st

Lake Tekapo, Church of the Good Shepard

The Hitchhikers guide to the Universe tells us this was built in 1935 to the glory of God as a memorial to the pioneers of the Mackenzie Country. Congregations of the three main faiths worship regularly in the Church, which offers awe inspiring views of the lake and mountains through the altar window.

We are not sure what the woman in the picture was doing ...She suddenly appeared from the bottom of the picture adjusting her garments ....!! I'll say no more ......

But is there a church with a better view anywhere ?? Let me know :O)

The Holiday write-up (4) Last of Ellerslie Flower Show

2010-03-29T01:05:00.000-07:00

As we neared the end of our stay at the show the clouds came over and it started to rain. by we had reached the car it was raining quite heavily .. We set off for the rest of our holiday heading south to Ashburton. Stopping there to arrange accommodation later that night...

Last pictures from the show

There was an indoor section which held the far mor "Arty" displays :O)

This was a layout to represent the New Zealand forest floor... A light display accompanied the display showing of parts at a time ...See the mushrooms ....

This sadly blurry picture is of the famous NZ King Fern ... I think these would look great in the right gardens .....

a Fun kids garden ..or for those young at heart types :O)

The Holiday write-up (3) Still At Ellerslie

2010-03-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

Plenty of art work around the show... found this a little freaky...

Skips as garden ponds .... Not my think but liked the effect ,,,

The big display of the show - an award winning garden designer came over to do this .... He even persuaded them to allow him this site as it have the view of the lake ....

There's always on who won't get out of teh picture :O) I was stood on a platform to get some pictures....another woman grumbled about mcd being there ..."Tell her to move" I said .... "oh no - we can't do that" she said ... "Well I will" says me ..... 'Oi!!!' :O)

This was about using recycled wood and making it blend with the landscape ....

Well they seemed to have fun doing it :O)

Playground garden

The Holiday Writeup - Ellerslie Garden Show ..

2010-03-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

This was the Kiwi/Japanese garden at the Ellerslie Flower Show ...I didn't like it when I was there but have warmed to it now ...

This garden was greated by the "incredible edibles" fruit plant company in NZ ... Strawberries on top of the pergola, fejoa trees, blue berry bushes grape vine , and so on ........

Not sure who did this one ... But of interest was the fir trees ontop of the wall

They were planted in buckets that help a (car) wheel mechansim that allowed them to turn in the wind ...>Effectively making them weather vanes ...... Not sure then why they were in different directions :O)

I liked this one ...Think I could have this in our garden ... especially the lielows :O)

The tidiest veggie gardens :O) Onions were a bit on the small side !! :O}

Holiday Write-up (1) The Ellerslie flower show

2010-03-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

My nephew has been visiting NZ with his mate ... Their OE experience ... So we took the chance to be tourists ourselves in our home town and took a drive around town to show him the sights .... We made a point at stopping off at the Weta shop .. .Weta of course famous for it's special effects in peter Jackson films such as LOTR and much much more ...... They also have a screening of the work they are doing and the actual workshops ... Nephew loved it ....

And then it was off to Christchurch on the south Island to start our tour across the island to the west coast . This is the last part of NZ I'd yet to see...The only things left now are Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands ... Only taken me 20 years to do it :O)

Christchurch is a nice city dominated in the centre by large stone buildings and Cathedral square ... We took a walk around in the afternoon. Having lunch and dinner in restaurants ... It was noticable that the standard of food and service was very good ... Me thinks Wellington has some catching up to do ....

The activity that prompted us to make the trip was to see the Ellerslie flower show ...NZs premier flower show. As such we duely got up early and drove to Hagley park where it was being held .... We had VIP Tickets which allowed us to get in early before the show opened and be part of a guided walk around the place ....

But not early enough as it happened as we discovered we should have been there 1/2 an hour before ...But no matter we caught up with them all in the VIP tent just getting ready to start the walk......

This appears to be the punting along the river Avon that flows through Christchurch

This was inspired by the Wellington "Cake Tin" our sports arena for Rugby and the like

The perimeter of the show was lined with stalls ...McD bought a pair of secateurs with flowers on them!!

Hagely park has a lot of artwork dotted about.. So not sure if this is a permanent fixture of part of the show ....

Sharks Fin Melon Soup

2010-03-23T02:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a while ... But we've just returned from holidaying on the South Island of NZ .... so Pictures maybe to follow .... Now no yawning people !!!

McD - My girl has just received the results of her first IT exam .... The ITIL Certification .... And got a good solid Pass :O) I am so proud of her :O) Not only is she now a qualified Nerdy like me she now officially knows as much as I do on IT Service Management ! :O)

Ich bein ein Nerdy person :O) The IT Crowd are sooo Funny .....

Meanwhile We hit Autumn bang on calendar schedule..March 1 came and immediately we got cold nights , warm days and rain ...... Oh - and that of course means fungal attacks on the tomatoes, cucurbits and Dahlias... We have given up really and will plant out out the autumn winter stuff like broccoli ....

A small win all considering, was the harvest of one of the Spaghetti Melons or Sharks Fin Melons as it is also known.

As you can see when opened up the flesh is soft and stringy...Apparently, as I've never had it nor want to, Sharks fin when cooked goes the same way ....

When raw it tastes pretty much like unripe melon ......

We found a recipe for Sharks fin melon soup in an old book of mine ...So we made it based on that... But we then decided to add chicken, extra chinese mushrooms and sweetcorn straight from the garden .......

All up it was very very nice ... But highly dependent on a good stock base for the flavour ....... Next time I'm going to try a variation of Tom Yum soups

An Autumn Garden Design project

2010-02-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

More woes in the Vegetable garden - More changeable weather .. .Stinking hot for a few days then wet and humid for a few days .. .then it'll probably be cold and wet ........ Tomatoes now under attack from moulds and mildews ..... Not much more I can do to protect them ....

This is the next large project..... Turning this into a garden of interest ... It only gets some morning sun ... So thinking of an interesting green garden with the only flowers being whites or subdued reds ....and lots of NZ natives .

As you can see it's in a bit of a mess - the last part of the garden we haven't touched ...Previous owners had dog kennels here as well as the front of the garden ...

I think it could look quite good with little effort... There is quite a slope to it though ... I would like to get a level area at the back for a small table and chairs ...It's a nice cool spot in the summer ......

Just need the time, Money and inclination :O)

First Week Of February...Mid Summer

2010-02-06T03:08:00.000-08:00

Another fine sunset happening...We don't get a lot of twighlight here but we do get some great sunsets.........I'm enjoying the cool of the evening sat here on the decking....

We picked another 2kg of Blackberries today - anyone got a good Blackberry Nip recipe? Especially a Whiskey one ??

Just watered the tomatoes and the rest of tubs on the front yard....And then dealt to the mildew thats started to show on the cucumber plants. ..We ate the first of the sweetcorn tonight..despite the fact they could have gone another week to ripen more they were pretty damned edible....First time we've ever grown them so - success!

The Pumpkin plants are bolting across neighbours lawn!...Neighbour hasn't hacked it back but I will. All that work I'm doing and they reward me with doing that!! ..

The Toms are flowering wildly and much tickling going on to ensure as many set as possible ...Some healthy looking trusses already there.......Summers still with us...The thought of lunch on the balcony with a glass of wine very tempting .......

Bits and Bobs and the Garden

2010-01-30T10:08:00.000-08:00

----Pepsi Dog Fast asleep with tounge hanging out

Pepsi and George Cat sharing the Bean bag....Not I had to sacrifice my winter Poo bear Blankie !!

I'm sat out side watching the last of the sunset...A wind change is bringing in a much welcome cool breeze.... Up to now we've had a cloudless hot sunny day. Much work has been done weeding and tending to tomatoes.. The large green fruit holding much promise for a couple of weeks time.... The lights are switching on across the valleys below us ....Jill has poured a cold wine ...Life is relaxed today ....

Dinner straight from the garden

Did you get to watch the film Grow Your Own?? It's an English film set on an Garden allotment..Anyway one dude was growing a Sharks Fin Melon or Spagetti Melon ...We'e now got one fruiting !! :O) It's all very exciting as it's visibly growing day by day...it's now the size of a small football...I'd better find a good recipe for it now :O)

That said we’ve also had some ‘composted’ seeds grow in various places …. Can’t say for sure what they are but may well let them grow on …Be they pumpkin or marrow etc …. Tomato seeds have also sprouted and from great depths for a tomato seed. We have had clumps of tomato seedlings dotted about the borders….Whilst preferring some sense of order in my borders, I’ve still left one from each clump to grow on. It’s a sad indictment on our gardening skills that these rogue plants are like weeds, growing healthier and stronger than the seedlings we’ve cared for and mollycoddled these past few months protecting them from cold and wind and rain…. Next year I will throw half the seeds direct into the outside soil and let them get on with it.

We are also growing a bed of onions and leeks. Last year was a pretty poor effort with the onions not growing to any size. Well maybe pickling onion sort of size … We still ate them thrown into stews etc …. Same for the leeks that really didn’t grow much bigger than when I had dropped them into their holes ….. This year they are looking much better… and I’m hoping for a good crop from both …. If the weather improves.

Having the extra borders has meant we can grow more of a particular vegetable at the same time …. And so carrots have been planted in succession in 3 different borders …The first panting was well used and mostly eaten raw as first McD, then McDs daughter S, then my Son B all enjoyed pulling them out of the ground and with a quick wash munching away at them raw…… I might have had a few as well I suppose :O) I particularly like the purple variety ..We grow a whole mix from whites to reds to oranges to purples ….. We grate them for a multi-cloured addition to salads. With our purple lettuce and spring onions and feta and a honey mustard dressing...yum....Yesterday we pan fried scallops with diced elephant garlic (home grown), a little butter and some ginger...Yum...Lunch was good yesterday

What we laughingly call a (Veggie) garden (4)

2010-01-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

We’ve planted a few Fruit Trees around the garden … I’m ashamed to say two are still in their pots but will plant out this weekend. So we now have Cherry, Apple (Monty’s surprise – said to be the most health beneficial in the world…a kiwi ‘roadside’ discovery), Quince, and Plum… No fruit this year obviously but it’s good to have them. Of course we also have a few other things such as two Fejoa trees in wine barrels. They actually have 2 or 3 flowers on them after 2 years of nothing…. A Pomegranate bush – that flowers occasionally but doesn’t fruit …but is an attractive, viscously thorny bush all the same … A Fig tree also in a wine barrel .. .but doesn’t fruit or grow much really and whose days are indeed numbered…I want fresh figs…

We also have fruit bushes that won’t provide a harvest till next year ….Goose Berry and Black Current bushes line the wall under the kitchen window. Unfortunately the winds knocked them about a bit and a lot of new growth was damaged … but they seem happy enough ….Cape Gooseberry bushes continue to sulk where planted …. And Chilean Guava have just flowered …

But the most vigorous growing and most fruit laden is the BlackBerry bushes that line the fence of the yard all self sown and twice my height … It will be a bumper crop this year if the sun come out and the birds and wasps leave them alone …………. The bees were happy as working the flowers for weeks … What would we do without them ……..

However the blackberry really has to go …. Just not until we’ve picked enough for the pies and jams and booze we want to make from them ……

I picked two large, deep red strawberries this morning … They’ve suffered in general this season and while we get a handful now and then, they’ve not been the bounty we enjoyed last year ….. I might look out for another variety to replace some of them with in later months ……Something more suited to our climates maybe if there is such a thing ……

Last years picture .......

I bought some wild ‘woodland’ strawberries and planted them in the tub under the fig tree that never fruits … in contrast they have never stopped producing . As kids we raided the wild strawberries where Dad worked. I would be told off from time to time by Dad as the owner liked them as well. I’ve always remembered the flavour of them. Now I have my own strawberry patch and visit it regularly, munching a handful at a time. This time legally ……

What we laughingly call a (Veggie) garden (3))

2010-01-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

And the Bragging Rights on naming the Red Campion flower in my previous post goes to OULIN ....:O) Thanks for that :O)

A number of our potatoes suffered a lot in this humid weather and despite efforts to save them, the leaves developed tell-tale brown spots then started to die back …. The affected tubs with affected potatoes in them were harvested. A moderate number of new potatoes were bagged and the plants disposed of to stop any spread. Some potato types were more susceptible to the disease than others. The mixed varieties of jersey benne and Nadine potatoes in the raised border showed this well with the JBs ravaged with the blight but the nadines still green and healthy. The Maori purple potatoes we also have in tubs etc have been ok. The JB plants have been cut back to just above ground level and the tuber will be left in the ground for a while hopefully without any fungus attack into the tubers themselves.

Maori potatoes in a babies crib we got from a recycle shop at the tip ..... my babies are growing well and I'm looking forward to seeing a good harvest of round purple spuds soon .....

Potatoes in a half barrel... we since moved them to another spot away from a bed of tomatoes to the right ...... these are still growing well are are just flowering

Our Broad Beans have been exceptional. This is both the transplanted ones and the direct sow plants … the heirloom red seeded broad beans are a favourite. I love them cooked with the Egyptian onions we grow, a clove of garlic and a little butter …. We cook them up into curries and stews etc – just the best …. They are still growing strong and we are picking a big basketful of pods each week ..But have stopped flowering of course and have been knocked about by the winds we’ve experienced. So by the end of January they will be pulled out and the bed prepared for the next crops. ..Something for winter …. Though come Feb/March I could plant some more Broad beans again …

broad beans Growing tall to the top right of the picture.. these have since been pulled up due to them getting plagued with orange rust .... The border is now being prepared with home made compost in readiness for the next crops to be planted ...

What we laughingly call our Garden (2)

2010-01-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

I do have the Square Foot Gardening book. While there are some things I do differently In the main it's a great way of growing vegetables in a smaller sized area ....Some things we grow up trellises , however the problem in our garden is wind ... We are on the side of a hill and anything that gets above a certain height is then subject to (cold this year) winds of varying speeds ....So cucumbers - yes will probably give them a go on the trellising ...Pumkins - no.. they would just get twisted and suffer stem split ....

Onions to the front....Leeks to the back

Despite my efforts to grow a range of different Chinese cabbage types through the spring, they all went to flower at the same time and instead of ending up on my dinner plate are now at the bottom of the compost bin … I was so hacked off with it I threatened to give up on the whole thing and let the gorse take over ….. We didn’t of course and the beds are now full again with various plants but mainly tomatoes ……I tried another crop of pak choi a few weeks back but they did the same thing …..Will try again maybe now we are past the longest day. They seem to grow better as the days are shortening …

I've been so busy I barely noticed the Foxgloves flower ... Now they are near the end and are throwing seeds to the winds .... I had though I would stop them this year and buy some other colours rather than just the pinks ...

The ‘Bright Lights’ Chard and silver beet kept us going all through the winter and spring until finally, smothered by the broad beans it went ‘triffid’ on us and bolted for the heavens …. It just goes well with everything … on it’s own or with Mash potato, chopped into curries and stews, or as part of a salad…. We’ve planted more …It’s just so nutritious too….. We will plant kale as well this year

I cannot think of the name of this plant .. We have white and these pinky reds come up each year ...They seed as freely as the fox gloves .... bragging rights to whoever tells me what they are :O)

Having the extra borders has meant we can grow more of a particular vegetable at the same time …. And so carrots have been planted in succession in 3 different borders …The first panting was well used and mostly eaten raw as first McD, then McDs daughter S, then my Son B all enjoyed pulling them out of the ground and with a quick wash munching away at them raw…… I might have had a few as well I suppose :O) I particularly like the purple variety ..We grow a whole mix from whites to reds to oranges to purples …..

Carrots, Beetroot, and elephant garlic

What we laughingly call a (Veggie) garden (1)

2010-01-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

This is a shot from a walk we did over the weekend .. .Along the south coast of the North island ... Would have been great if it wasn't for the gale force wind carrying grit off the beach ... Like being shot with a machine gun .... Painful .... Hair full of stones after it

It’s been a busy time recently. I’m Now back into the work routine, and I’m certainly missing the freedom and outdoor life of the 4 months I was not working.

The vegetable garden and garden as a whole has not had a good time of it through spring and now into summer weatherwise. This past two weeks we’ve had maybe 3 days of good weather. The rest of the time we’ve had fluctuations from just cloudy to cold southerly winds and rain to warm northerlies (Gale force at times) and high humidity and cloud so low we were almost touching it…..

The new beds have been fully utilised. We are now growing a small patch of sweetcorn which seem to be growing very well, along with what was sposed to be dwarf ‘bush beans’ but have decided otherwise and are now growing skywards over tree branches I put there not realigning how high they would get… It’s one of the hazards of buying heirloom seeds from collectors. You can never be 100% you receive what you order… but that’s part of the fun of it ……I guess…Courgette plants, after a slow pained start are now having to have their leaves trimmed back as they have established them selves and rooted in…and taking over… They are now flowering daily but with few male flowers which is annoying…. I’m growing one golden courgette.. There is a recipe doing the rounds where you can make sweet ‘lemon Curd’ with them. So I thought we’d try it ……. As usual we’ve planted too many courgette plants so will be giving away or composting the harvest in another months time …. By rights we could sow more seed and have them fruiting well into the autumn ….I’m convinced we will have a late summer and warmer, settled autumn ….But I think we will have had our fill by then so wont bother…..

That said we’ve had some ‘composted’ seeds grow in various places …. Can’t say for sure what they are but may well let them grow on …Be they pumpkin or marrow etc …. Tomato seeds have also sprouted and from great depths for a tomato seed. We have clumps of tomato seedling dotted about the borders ……….Whilst preferring some sense of order in my borders, I’ve still left one from each clump to grow on. It’s a sad indictment on our gardening skills that these rogue plants are like weeds growing healthier and stronger than the seedlings we’ve cared for and mollycoddled these past few months protecting them from cold and wind and rain…. Next year I will throw half the seeds direct into the outside soil and let them get on with it.

Pictures - You Tell Us

2009-11-18T22:10:00.001-08:00

Picture(s) a day - Rush Hour East Cape New Zealand

2009-11-09T01:28:00.000-08:00

Rush Hour on the East Cape .... 9am ish

This was for sale .... If I just thought I could make a living from it .......

You Can't Beat a nice SeaSide Shot

2009-11-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

Not when the sun comes out anyway

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Picture(s) a day - around Gisborne

2009-11-05T02:31:00.000-08:00

Just cause I like it ......

It was very green in the hills and farmland

A lot of rain all the way to Gisborne

The forestry industry should me made to clean this up .... Interesting to fossick around in though ....The locals were to the left of the picture collecting firewood by the car loads

Picture(s) a day - The long drive to Gisborne

2009-11-04T02:15:00.000-08:00

The bridge in the last entry was for a train line between Napier and Gisborne ....

Picture(s) a day - More Napier - Gisborne

2009-11-03T02:30:00.000-08:00

McD told me I should mention that the previous pictures and these below were taken from the car as we travelled around .... hence the quality isn't as good ........

Picture(s) a day - More Napier NZ buildings

2009-11-02T02:37:00.000-08:00

Picture(s) a day - More buildings

2009-11-01T02:05:00.000-08:00

It's been a good weekend. Today especially was a warm sunny day ... We spent the morning driving around ...We visited the Wellington tip where they have a shop of 'recyclables' and bought a wicker basket, a plastic bin and a window frame ...All for the garden ...Either planting more potatoes or yams and the window frame to put over areas where we've sown seeds ...Maybe later in the year I'll convert it to a cold frame for winter vegies ...

Some notes on the slow loss of the houses on the Napier waterfront ...This is the usual decline due to property developers moving in .... They replace these types of structures with the concrete squares they call modern housing ...

Napier still has some of it's art deco type buildings ...

Picture(s) a day - 1st November Already

2009-11-01T02:00:00.000-08:00

We ate the first lot of baby beetroot fron the garden this evening ....Boootiful :O) going against the moon gardening we planted more beetroot, carrot, green beans, silverbeet, okra ........ potatoes have finally started to grow well....too late for xmas though i reckon....

Market Gardens at Napier NZ..

Disappearing Housing on Napiers waterfront.

More on the Ozz Holiday - Leaving Queensland

2009-10-07T01:27:00.000-07:00

The day after visiting the tablelands was our last day at the Silky Oaks resort and also our last day in Queensland.

The plan was to head towards Cairns and spend the day around there before going to the airport and catching our flight to Sydney.

We had our breakfast as usual at the resort in the open air restaurant and in typical fashion the sun emerged for us

The Silky Oaks restaurant

The swimming hole where fish and turtle reside

The swimming pool at the lodge

Well fed and bags packed we loaded up the car and set off... Just outside of the lodge along the road through the rainforest we saw a kookaburra on a telegraph post... We stopped (of course) to try and get a last chance shot. We pulled over to the side of the road and McD jumped out camera in hand ....I stayed in the car. . Having taken a few shots McD decided she needed a bigger lens and walked back to the open car door ... AS she went past the back of the car I saw in the rear view mirror a sudden look of horror on her face and then she was gone momentarily as she shot into the air ..... Then down she came landing shouting "Snake !!!! " ....

McD had managed to literally step over a large brown snake to get the pictures she wanted ... then returning saw the snake as it moved amongst the grass and bushes.....

"Well get a picture !" I said

And She Did !!! - can you see it beating a hasty retreat .... Nothing takes McD on :O)

Curtesy of McDinzie

Of course we joked and laughed about it ...But it was a real reminder that we are closer to nature than we often think ....... A reminder that this could have been a serious event ....I was glad we were not too far from assistance ....Also glad that the snake looks to be a python (We don't know for sure)..And probably sunning itself first thing in the morning ...... Who knows .... Pythons in Ozz can get up to around 6 metres by the way ......

And on we went ... Next stop was to drive towards cairns and turn off into the Great Divide to a small township called kuranda...Here was a crafts market and a Butterfly sanctuary. We spent quite a while at the butterfly place ...Eventually giving up on getting the 'perfect shot' and heading off to grab a pie and a drink at the market...It was getting hot .......

McDs new hat accessory

We tired easily ...The heat of the day hit us hard (mid 30s) and so we drove back down into Cairns itself to have a look around ....

Looking down on the plains around Cairns

Well not really a lot to look at .. .We asked at the tourist information but they had no real suggestions for a few hours sightseeing... We hit the mall for some supplies and coffee... Then we drove along the beach esplanade...Well the beach was a river estuary !! Hundreds of sun seekers lay side to side on a grass strip between the road and the sands .... I was quite surprised by this as advertising always seemed to show the white sand beaches and palms ... Nope ..... We continued our drive around ... The espanade was ok ... not special .. .the rest of the town was just that - a sprawling town....

So having drove through their botanical gardens stopping for a drink, we gave up and headed for the airport .... Next stop Sydney - our last in Ozz

Odd Sods and Degrees of Separation

2009-10-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today's Photo's: Too cold for taking pictures .. .shots from the Botanic Gardens in Wellington NZ ... We visited them a few weeks back but I never posted anything .... I don't think anyway ....

Weather: The weather is pretty horrible and has been since yesterday. Effin cold southerly winds, rain, hail, and snow again in the high country ... Not looking to good for the rest of the week either which is tragic for me as this was the last week I can work on the garden before starting my new job at the bank ... Damned frustrating ....

Degrees of Separation: Fellow ODer and blogger GypsySpirit started an interesting discussion on degrees of separation between people around the world. KiwiChatter also gave a great example of the connects we have with each other through other friends. The idea that it is only 6 degrees of separation between someone in one part of the work to someone else in another is well known ....Within NZ (and I think with some pride) we believe that there are only two degrees of separation .... It's a cool idea as it does make all kiwis part of a relative close 'extended family' ....

I have a general example of the degrees of separation in the world. I'm on a site called 'Linkedin'. It's a professional network. "LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals."

I maintain contact with people I've work with since joining and have 107 immediate contacts ...People who know me directly ....

2 degrees away from me are 6,300 people ... I know someone who knows one or more of them.

3 degrees away from me and there are 595,700 people. I know someone who knows someone who knows one or more of these people ....

And that's with just 107 contacts .... There must be a huge number more I would have worked with over the years .... And that is only work contacts. Add friends, family, aquaintancies, fellow bloggers and its easy to understand the 6 degrees of separation .....

New Job: While concerned about the new role I have taken on, We can only be thankful that I will soon be back in gainful employment again. While the role isn't as senior as I'm used to, There has been little else opened up on the job market ...Had this not come by there would have been every likelihood of my not getting a role for some many month ahead. That would have sapped our resources far too much. It was also becoming apparent in interviews that being out of work too long was a negative against you .... So really it all worked out well and with good timing... I will have had a 3 months 3 weeks break. and much needed it was too .... I'm generally feeling better, healthier, have a bit of a suntan rather than that 'PC monitor radiation grey' IT workers are prone to have. And while I've a number of concerns about the new role I'm quite keen and full of ideas as to what can be done.......

Of course winning lotto and becoming a bread baking hippy would be better :O) But I still fully expect that to happen over the course of time :O)

Oh - did I say ? - the role is with an Australasian bank as an "ITIL Delivery Manager' ... What the Sam is that I hear you ask ...... well to quote from the job description - the role is "Responsible for establishing the ITIL Service Management capability within (bank) New Zealand and providing governance over the services that fall within the scope of IT Service Management."

But what that really means I'll let you know in the coming months ....

The gardening: Damn this weather ...Anyway, we are now filling up one of the new raised borders ...Pea straw and well rotted home made compost with plenty of horse manure, and a rich 'veggie garden' soil sold by living earth. All of it 'walked' up the hill and steps by bag and bucket....

Another two borders are close to finishing as I've pick axed out the rock/clay and laid flat sections into the hillside. I've another small border to put in and discussion as to adding yet another in the corner that will be a rhubarb patch .... love rhubarb :O)

3-months of working on this and other parts of the garden .... To look at the place you would not believe I'd been working so hard on the section ..... .

We've now got various seedling in pots and trays. some are getting too leggy and need to be potted on very soon ... its a lot of work and a little worrying as McD and I are going away next week for another break .....

I HATE BLACKBIRDS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Little sods have raked over my seedlings of lettuce, carrots, and the like ... ruined them ......... I will have to plant again now. And then !!! I spent a while mounding up potatoes (its a pain in raised borders ) anyway - no sooner had I left to get more soil that the blackbirds there scratching feverishly levelling the soil again in search of worms....... They are far too tame of course ...

So now I have netting MWHAHAHAHAH ....MWHAHAHAHAHA :O) Though an air rifle was first in my mind - hell bent on a bloody revenge ........

Another Holiday: Does it sound that bad !! We decided we should have another short holiday before I start work ... It will probably be the last break for a while as I will have to build up my annual leave again ....

So we are going to pack the car and head north and east and visit Gisborne and the east cape - which is on the east cost of the north island. Hopefully the weather will improve. Snowing along the way there at present with people in cars having to be rescued...... Hopefully we will get to see the sunrise in Gisborne... The first city in the world to welcome the sunrise of a new day. Hopefully we will see lots of kiwi-ana and take lots of pictures to bore you all with over the next month or so :O)

The big event!! Of course this break also lets me go away and sulk... I have less than one week to go and then it is the end of my 40s ....Where did that decade go !!! Man, I thought the end of my 30s was bad !! So come Sunday and I will have actually made it to 50 years .... Been very touch and go along the way ... Still have yet to grow up and learn how to look after myself (McD Will vouch for that ....:O) But there you go ..... perhaps I should do a short write-up on this ....from zero to half-century in 10 minutes :O)

Australia Holiday - Atherton Tablelands Part 3

2009-10-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome swallow, swallowducks, whip bird, whipbird

Curtain (Strangler?) Fig in the Queensland rainforest ...

Click here and here to hear the Whip-bird described in the last entry ...What we didn't know was the other sound - the Choo Choo Choo Choo - that accompanied the feewww-whip was a female whipbird responding to the male song !! If you are a bird nut like us then there is a whole page of soundbites highlighting the regional differences in song of these birds ..... here

After the Stop off for the fig tree we headed to Lake Barrine for lunch. The lake is set in the forest. The tea house is an old 1920s style house. Very nice and with a beautiful and tranquil setting .. The small cafe was proudly displaying their Multi-award winnings for Scones ..>

Taken from that great site - http://www.lakebarrine.com.au/ A must see for great information and better pictures :O)

Well you have to try them don't you :O) We had a very nice salad and barramundi fish and then their award winning Devonshire Teas. they lived up to their accolades :O) We ate on the balcony of the charming 80+ year old teahouse while taking in the scenic & serene lake views.

In fact I was so taken with the scenery I forgot to take a snap of the house itself !! Doh ...

Taken from that great site - http://rainforest-australia.com/ - A must see for great information and better pictures :O)

Taken from that great site http://rainforest-australia.com/A must see for great information and better pictures :O)

AS we sat and looked out we watched the Welcome Swallows around the only boat on the water.

I didn't realise what bulging eyes they have !! All the better to see flies with I suppose :O)

We even got to see a cormorant - Pretty comkon throughout Ozz and New Zealand ... Initially though it might be a Grebe ...Then put my specs on :O\

The boat took people at a slow pace around the 4.5km lake edge... They took you to see a python snake as well as a resident turtle... We had settled down with our devenshire teas so took a pass on sailing ....

However as the boat set off we watched as a number of ducks, all in line, flew one by one out of the water to grab a piece of bread from the boat owners hand .... Each duck awaiting it's turn to fly and feed ....Now are Mallard Ducks everywhere in the world !!!!

As one duck descends the next is already in the air and approaching ... And no Air traffic Control !!! :O)

Just like the planes landing at Wellington Airport !! :O)

We took a walk to see the two giant Karri trees in the forest nearby and then walked through the gardens for the car... And then we heard it !! "feeeeewwwwwww-Whip" !!! The bird was right beside us in the garden undergrowth ... Incredibly busy and seemingly in a bad mood he never stopped moving and shouting and all the time right on the ground beside us ...... Well I tried and tried and tried to get a decent shot of him .... he even came so close to me he touched by boot as I stood rock still !!! but these were as good as it got .. Of course McD has a better shot ...I'm sure she has or will share it on her blog ..

dammit - close....

I suspect this is a juvenile

The problem also was that in looking down like that It doesn't show it has a white throat !!! nor its crest !!! :o\

Visit here for a proper picture .......Whip Bird

And that was that ...A day almost gone already and a long trip back home

Australia Holiday - Atherton Tablelands Part 2

2009-10-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

Atherton was interesting ... We had been given a long list of attractions to see by the tourist information office there, but decided it would be too long a trip for us ...Tiredness setting in I think after many days of travelling.

I could have spent hours just photgraphing Fungi

Well at least I know I'm not in New Zealand with place names like that :O)

We stopped of at the Yungaburra township .. A pretty little old world village really ...

The small local church provided some interest ...especially the large flowered hibiscus beside it ....

Make sure you catchup on McDinzie's new entry and far better pictures :O) Also 'boob coolers' and the Hotel we would have loved to have bought !! And if we win lotto this weekend just might :O) Would you come and stay ??? :O)

Ozzie Holiday - The Atherton Tablelands

2009-09-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a day trip to Queensland's Tablelands. Inland Queensland that took us into a very rural setting . But not all rural farmland as it boasts its own 'lake district' and a wealth of rainforest and wildlife.

To take a quote from another website
"You can enjoy barramundi and fresh water fishing, cruise and swim the lakes, historic steam train rides and birdwatching.
World heritage rainforests... mountains... rivers... lakes in extinct volcanos and magnificent waterfalls. All this is around an hour from the coast and about as far from where the outback starts.
That's just part of this benign and fertile plateau reaching up to 1000 metres above sea level. Primitive ferns hang from and around giant Kauri pines as they've done for hundreds of years. There's strangler figs with roots hanging more than 15 metres to the ground."

Taken from that great site

www.holidaynq.com.au/atherton.html

You could spend a whole holiday in this area which extends as far south as Innisfail and as far north as Port Douglas. We had a single day. Apart from the lakes there are walks and treks around lakes and to waterfalls and into the rainforest. Arts and crafts shops and galleries abound. Small farm type industries with wonderful names such as the "Humpy Nut World", Mt Uncle Distillery, and the "Mungalli Creek Bio-dynamic dairy (cheese tastings and tea house). Too much to cover in a day,. Especially when the bird and animal life was so different again . We decided not to do a mad drive through the area and try and see everything ... So we headed for the main township of the area, Atherton, check out the Tourist Information there (the Queensland Tourist Information shops are the best we've ever encountered... Friendly, informative, and very keen to help you get the most out of your journey).

And so up with the larks (or kookaburras :o) we headed south and over the mountain range known as the great dividing range. As we zig-zagged along with the winding road we were able to see out and across the plains of both sides to the range ... Again the weather wasn't good for the scenic shots ....

On the Tablelands the rainforest left us and a rural farming and more scrub bush land emerged. The land around Atherton is used to grow a variety of crops, including Sugar cane, Peanuts, mangoes, maize, potatoes, avocados and macadamia nuts. All this with dairy and beef cattle being farmed in the area.

Along the way we also saw a large number of termite mounds. I'd not seen them in so many numbers or so large. I might add that we were well abused by a passing truck driver when taking these pictures ....Mile after mile of roads straight as an arrow and he's upset at us parked on the roadside.... But I got the pictures :O)

Of course you always encounter roadworks somewhere along the roads travelled

The construction going on revealing how red the soil is in parts of Australia

Here still were some sugar cane fields as well as the Banana plantations ... Each bunch of fruits wrapped inside a plastic bag .... I suspect to keep insects and Bird life off them .... Must be highly labour intensive to do

Various roadside stalls provided interest along the way ..

While the drive was long there was plenty to look at and if we'd had the time we could have stopped numerous times ...However the schedule was tight in that we wanted to be back at the Retreat by dark and so Atherton was to be the 1st real stop ... Atherton is a growing township likely to loose (or have lost ) a lot of its charm as it does so ... However there is still a good deal of the older Ozzie buildings of various styles in place ...

This wonderful building turned out to be the courthouse.

I had read about the "crystal Caves" shop in Atherton ... We stopped off to have a look. Crystals from around the world as well as locally were on display and/or for sale... What did catch our eye was a pile of unopened Geodes from South America ...geodes are basically round rocks that have various crystals inside of their hollow centres. You can read more on them here ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geode

We decided to buy one and have it cracked open. We would be the first people ever to see the formation inside.

The shop has a large geode "stone cracker" in full view inside the shop. Having decided on a suitable sized piece of rock we were invited to do the 'cracking' of the rock ourselves ... As soon as we started to prepare a number of spectators formed around us

Safety specs were put onto McD who was to hold the two halves. what effectively was a large chain was wrapped around the rock and I was given the task of pulling on the lever until the rock broke .... With the warning to stop as soon as it does break .....

I pulled slowly downwards .. a couple of small cracks as the chain bit..I stopped immediately.... A louder 'crack' as I pulled harder down. I stopped immediately ....And then a real "CRACK" as the rock split neatly into two and into McDs waiting hands .....

We were given a talk on what was inside the two halves and then they were wrapped and given to us to bring home ....

Something to keep forever... A fond reminder of one of our travels together.

"When one of us dies we should bury one half with us " I suggested. "A connection between us even through death"....

Well - I'll leave McD to tell you about what that started !!! .......

Stay tuned for part 2 (and maybe 3) for tales of giant strangler fig trees, formation flying ducks and whip birds .... :O)

A year in My garden September (3)A year in My garden September (3)

2009-09-27T01:02:00.000-07:00

I just realised the clocks go forward tonight... So now it's after 2am and I've started this ......Better not ramble on too much then :O)

I've had Job interviews last week !!!! ....

So here's the rub ...Within the same 1/2 hr I was offered a job and turned down for another job ....Turned down for being too senior and too experienced for the role..they Thought I wouldn't enjoy the operational focus of the role (??)

So I've a certain company who have offered me something - The role isn't as 'chunky' or as senior as I'm used too... but looks an interesting role and probably has good potential (seeing the state they are currently in)....Not only same company but same department as where McD works !! (expected that to go against my being hired...) The money really isn't great which bothers me ........The job market here even in IT isn't boyant..I have another possible opportunity coming up but no guarentees of getting it...Then the possibility of nothing else Or something else more suitable ...who knows when though ...... what to do - what to do ...

Work on the raised borders continues albeit slowly. Spring is a time when every day you witness the miracle of life....Seeds little more than dust are bursting out with new life. And sprouting at an incredibly rapid rate....I've Planted far too many seeds of some …whoops … Interesting how other seeds take that much longer to sprout…. But one thing you have to have in this gardening game is patience …

I’ve also potatoes and Maori purple potatoes and yams to plant out – maybe … I’m starting to run out of space – even for dustbins etc … we’ll see… Meanwhile we have harvested some of the broccolini we planted over winter which was very nice. We also have a couple of squares of bright-lights beet and some squares of kale that provide a regular and abundant supply of green vegetables …

Don't mention the fence - it's on the list "o)

We never plant things at the right time – always something that gets in the way …Broad beans that we bought from the garden centre have grown, but not grown particularly tall and judging by the seed sown ones next to them are probably quite spindly as well …. But they are flowering profusely …. We bought some lavender bushes in pots and flowering. We’ve put those around the broad beans in the hope to bring in the bees … The early flowers haven’t set …. True to form the bumble bees are working the lavender but I’ve not seen them on the broad bean flowers yet ….

I’ve also had to start on the flower borders …Too overgrown and full of weed and grass (above picture)… I’ve pruned the silver ferns as well that are at the end of the border …as well as the small almost bracken like ferns that are in front of them… they are already shooting up new fronds and looking good …..

Much to McDs horror I cut down some 'scrub' bush at the back edge of the border. It’s changed the look completely as you can now see down into the forest that surrounds the garden.

The 'after' picture but see how there is now a pleasing depth to what is a very narrow border - comments please :O) do you agree or is the 1st picture preferable??

I think she is happy with the result though.

From the edge of the garden there is a 6-12 foot drop down onto the lower hillside. Our patch of the forest continues then down to a small trickle of a stream. The whole area is a mix of the giant and very prehistoric looking Black Tree Fern and our native beech trees … It’s nice to be able to see into the forest and indeed further across to the next hill that starts up from the stream ……..

These fronds are huge ...So impressive

One year that will be my project – to renew the paths through there and extend them properly down to the stream …If we stay here … Some debate on that

The Ozz Holiday - Daintree & Cape tribulation Pt 3

2009-09-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

We continued to drive and stop along the road at cape tribulation ...

It was annoying that our days were so cloudy when we were by the beaches. The pictures do not show how special they are ...Here the rain forest came right down to the sandy shore. It was windy but a warm wind and fairly light this time ....

We had walked a long path through the forest to get to the beach. As we walked back over a strangely coloured stream we noticed there were fish swimming around in it ...

And around every corner a new plant to wonder at ...

We drove as far as we could ...A store and turning area marked the end ... Though we did drive a little further the road ended and a gravel track started ....

It was time to meander back home ... Our last stop before the car ferry back was to take in the views from a scenic spot

We noticed some movement in a tree beside us as we took these pictures ... It was a small parrot ...In fact it turned out to be the smallest parrot in Australia - the Double eyed Fig-Parrot..... And true to form she was munchinmg away on the fig fruits as we watched and tried very hard to photograph her

A bit of a messy eater isn't she :O)

None of the pictures came out too well ....Typical ... This one caught the ghost of a noisy myhna ..

Oh well - It was fun trying :O) I wonder if McD did any better ??

The Ozz Holiday - Daintree & Cape tribulation Pt 2

2009-09-19T02:37:00.000-07:00

After the river ride we were ready for lunch and so headed back to a restaurant we had seen towards the Daintree township.... As we went in the Owner was giving a 'show and tell' of the local plants and foods of the area to a party of coach tourists ... they didn't seem to interested ....Either full or hungry they looked like they had already had enough for the day ...

We were thankfully lead out of the restaurant and into the garden . Our table overlooking a small pond obscured by the native trees in and around it ...Then the garden plants around us .... It was a long wait for the food .... But we amused ourselves listening to an overly opinionated woman a table or two away from us .... He child was nearly university age but still breast feeding .... Just seemed a little strange to us .....

Anyway there we sat with backs thankfully towards them ... A native Ulysees Butterfly Fluttered quickly about in the distance ... A dot in the camera eye piece even with a 500mm lens attached ....

"You would need to buy a separate seat for that thing on the plane" Quipped the restaurant owner... Could have almost happened a few days back I thought ....

But then a faster blue shot past us ... a King fisher ..Perched on a branch over the water keeping a watchful eye on any possible food surfacing ... Still too far away really - but while still waiting for our barramundi fish lunches to arrive I happily passed the time trying to get an in focus shot .... no tripod of course - they were in the car .. So with elbow on the table this was the best I could get ........

While the garden wasn't overly attractive in terms of layout (the surrounding forest made up for it) there were a few plants of interest as well

Lunch done we headed off to the car ferry to take us across the river to cape tribulation.... No way I was allowed out of the car due to the crocodile stories we heard ...Jill very firm

on that one .....

Once off the ferry we drove at a relaxed pace (speed restrictions ) meandering through the rain forrest. It's very dense but very exotic made up of unknown numbers of species of tree, bush , vine etc .... I was already wishing we had more time to explore ...Never enough time ....

We stopped off about half way before the road ended at a marked walking track ...A wooden raised pathway took us through the forest and over mud flats and the mangroves ....almost every other step there was something to look at ...

This I think, is a strangler fig ...Its host long dead leaving a lattice of the figs branches that would have been wrapped around its host's trunk ......There is some conjecture as to whether the fig does indeed strangle the tree to death this way or simply outlasts its host ....

These mud crabs were everywhere ..But bolted to the safety of a hole at the first sign of danger ...

No Crocs to be seen ..We were happy to be on the raised pathway just in case ...

A huge fern around the trunk of a tree... Very impressive to see it ... This picture really hasn't done it justice

I would need tomes of information books on the area to be able to name all of the plants and insects and so on that we saw .....

Yet another 'wish it had come out right' pictures ... Mcd beside a huge palm frond ... Some of these had the most vicious thorns ....and a few vicious ants between the thorns as well .......

The Ozz Holiday - Daintree & Cape tribulation Pt 1

2009-09-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

This day turned out to be one of our busiest days ... We were to take a drive further north to the daintier township, take a boat ride along the crocodile inhabited river there and then take the car ferry across the river to drive through the forests of Cape Tribulation and then back home .... It was to be a photographic feast of sights and subjects .....

We're still at the Silky Oaks lodge ... It's all been very pleasant but too little wildlife around the area. A shame really. We've been to other places where we saw a heap more ....

The bush turkey was always around and always on the hunt for food ... Nice colours but not a particularly pretty bird ... They are notable for their vertical tails .....

I've yet to find out what this bird is ... But he does look like a butcher bird - Just the wrong colouring ....

Along the way we stopped off to get a shot of the egrets with the horses ..A fairly common bird on farm and wetlands ....

In the distance Sulphur crested cockatoos searched through the forest trees ...

And a Kookaburra watched from a telegraph pole..

This plant I know well ... My Dad used to grow it for us as kids ....It's a type of Mimosa. We knew it as the sensitive plant...

When you touch the leaves they fold up and droop very quickly ....

So that was the first stop !! :O) I wish we had had double the time so we could spend more time like this ...just seeing what came up ...

It was an easy drive to Daintree. We stopped just before the township to catch the river boat .... We were made very welcome and offered a cup of the local 'Daintree' tea while we waited

The boat was reasonable large holding around 30 people ..but did seem low in the water to be viewing Crocs in ....Having seen how high they can lift them selves out of the water at Darwin ....

The water was a murky brown being close to the estuary and tidal ...We again were cursed with a nice but overcast day for our travels ...Good as the temperatures were just warm and not stifling but not so good for taking photos .... But we did of course :O)

The river was quite picturesque and the mangroves of various varieties overhung the banks they themselves had created .......

A few white herons had found their hiding spots. Only partially alert to our presence ....

This croc was a monster ... The river guide told us there were bigger in the river ...This one was getting too old . His teeth were falling out and he was unable to compete with the other males ...

Best though to leave sleeping crocodiles lie... No matter how old they are :O)

The mangroves were fascinating ..The flowers large on some plants starting off yellow and as they age becoming a red/pink colour ... The roots also form as breathing tubes due to the oxygenless mud/silt they grow in. They also exude the salt which enables them to live in such brackish water... An amazing plant and so important to the fish etc of the river

The guide had been on the lookout for a snake to show ... When he did there was a small frenzy of photographers trying to get a shot .... Me with my eyesight had picked the wrong end of the snake for the head !!! I figured his head would be upwards ...Hence the snake leaving pictures ....

Crocs are and look so prehistoric ... They truly are an awesome creature..

There were a few other river cruises on the water ..The guide was in radio contact with some .. and actively competing with others :O)

This is the car ferry we were to take later in the day

Do Not try This on a Croc infested river - would you be doing this ?? A fish dinner might not be worth it if you fall in .....

On the way back (having dropped all but ourselves and another couple off near the ferry..They were part of a tour bus) the guide, who was a remarkable, knowledgeable and open chap gave us some more talk on the river and the wildlife ...It was so much more interesting that the trip up in many ways ....One chap from the other couple asked about the death of a young boy in the river to crocodiles ... The guide explained that the father was in fact a guide on the river ...There had been a huge rainfall and the river was swollen to the point of flooding .... Thinking nothing of it he left the house with his kids playing with their dog in the flood water at the back of the house ..... He said that Crocs were opportunist and would explore new areas where the water had reached ...The kids playing in the water with the dog (noise, vibrations etc) would have brought the croc right to them ... Imagine losing your child that way ....... "o\

True to the fathers passion for the nature in the area he asked that the Crocodiles weren't hunted and killed....

However, also, at the ferry guides had seen crocodiles starting to gather as tourists would walk down the ramp to the waters edge to get pictures of sunsets and the river etc... They were worried that it would only be a matter of time before a tourist was attacked there .... So the authorities culled 5 Crocs in the area .......

A Year in My Garden - September (2)

2009-09-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

Pictures today are from our garden. Spring has definitely arrived in New Zealand..

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
On the 15th of every month a group of bloggers, headed by Carol from Indiana, celebrate Bloom Day.
http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2009/09/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-september.html
Today is the day that they all display photos of what is currently in bloom in their gardens. I Have opportunistically add this entry to the list as it contains a large number of Spring flowers (being in the Southern hemisphere....

Me and McD

Woke up yesterday morning to hear Paul Henry our breakfast TV presenter announce the time and date - 14th September ... Blearily I started to wonder why it seemed a significant date....Family birthdays - nope.... A song - Nope ... And then I remembered. My head shot up and I looked at an even blearier eyed Jill !!

"Happy Anniversary Sweetie !!!! "

It was indeed our 9th anniversary!! 9 year ago We moved in together.... And nothing has been the same since ..:O)

Anyway, By the look of Jill's eyes I could tell that it was an 'Oh Fudge" moment and that she hadn't remembered either :O)

Have to say it's not the first time this has happened over the 9 years .... But at least it's just not me :O)

Later on I got a prezzie - A vegetable peeler and a measuring device for the kitchen....I've warned her I'll get too used to this domestication lark...I'll not be able to get back into work mode soon!!!

And the Name of That Moth Is

The black and white moth, mentioned a few entries back with picture, is a Lichen Moth !!!! A native to NZ ...First I'd seen ..Common to the north Island I read .. .Maybe Welly is a bit too south of the north ....

The Garden

And so it all starts here at this point, this week..... I've planted the giant pumpkin seeds ....Plans are to have them outside around the 3rd week in October after the frosts have gone for sure ..... So more stress now to get the pumpkin patches built and filled ......

work work work work work.......

I spent a few hours planting seeds ... I won't list them but in the main they are the standard vegetable fare .... I'll write up about the 'non standard ones a little later but even there, those in other countries will see them as fairly common as well ...

I've planted a number of heirloom varieties of tomatoes again ... Hoping for another good crop and for us to make some good sauces & chutney's later on ... And of course to find what are the tastiest for us when eating them fresh ....

Finally, the TV Living Channel over here have started showing a decent gardening programme !!! Finished are the Ozzie shows (OK really) and gone, thankfully, are the awful American shows ( Sorry guys, I'm sure we just get the cheapest ones and not the good ones ... ) And what we are now able to watch is the BBC Gardening world !! Yeah !!!! :O) Based around a huge project is turning a large field into a show garden including vegetables ... A must watch from now on every Sunday teatime -ish ...

But the biggest BIGGEST annoyance is that they won't allow the video clips from their site to be viewed outside of the UK ....Bad Form BBC ...Shame on you ,............

Actually before that was a repeat on a show competition for Britain's best allotment site... Bit of a surprise as to the winner but again great viewing ...Especially for me who wanted an allotment way back when I lived in the UK .... They just don't do them over here .......

The vegetable garden is coming along .... As per the picture steps have been completed and weed matting and bark has been laid ....Well at least for the borders built last year ... Time now to get soil and more planks of wood and build and fill the borders in readiness for all these new plants in all too few weeks time ......

Funnily enough it's getting harder to get bark chip!! The garden supplies chap tells us that they now have new machines that uproot and take the bark and branches off the trees in the forest ... then it's left there to rot ..... The start of a new business maybe collecting the stuff ....

But it's starting to look good I think :O) Jill and I put 4 hours into doing the steps and bark last Sunday ..

Still a heap to do ... Want to paint the wood on the borders sometime as well ...Maybe :O) ..... As you can see we've brought up some lavender bushes. Also started to grow the herbs in pots ... Hoping the lavender will attract more bees. they are strategically placed around the Broad beans some of which are in flower now (The seedlings I bought by the way) ....

At present the weather is warm .... The air a little cool, still but this is open doors of the house weather and drink mugs of hard earned tea out on the balcony ... Maybe even a cold evening beer as a reward :O) For the equivalent of march in the northern hemisphere this aint bad really ....

If the cats would let me that is ...... George cat is in 7th heaven since the seat suddenly appeared yesterday .... This is now George's daytime sleeping spot .... I wish it was mine .....

More on the Ozz Trip - A day in Port Douglas

2009-09-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

The next morning was a little cloudy, a little drizzly ... We breakfasted at the Silky Oaks restaurant ... Food was fine ... The view from the table of the open air restaurant was fantastic .. Looking across a deep hole in the local stream and seeing fish in the water and some small birds flitting about in the trees beside us was a great way to start the day ... After breakfast (no cameras - Typical) We walked down to the stream for a close up of the fish that came up through crystal clear water to great us ... "look a turtle !!" notes Jill and sure enough a medium sized turtle came out of the depths and had a quick look at us before returning back into the depths of the pool ......

Back at the unit we settled down with a cuppa. The local tea (Daintree tea) and discussed what we should do for the day ... Sunday, and potentially a busy day if all the locals are out as well ....

Jill being ever alert, spotted an unusual bird right at the top of the trees we could see.......It turned out to be a Southern Pacific Baza!! A medium sized bird of prey .....We spent some time faffing around trying to get shots ...

A pretty bird I thought .....

Right, Port Douglas it is ....And off we set ... Jill driving, I played at taking shots from a moving car .............

Working on the Sugar Cane fields

Sugar cane trains all over the place and often crossing main roads

We arrived at the outskirts of Port Douglas and drove past endless resorts and hotels ... All very classy looking establishments .... Then the township - very bright and modern the streets lined with already well patronaged restaurants.. >And then we came across the small yachting marina ...Beside the marina more restaurants.. This was the view we took in while sipping orange juice and coffee...

We saw signs for 3 things. One was this train that did a circular route around some of the resorts and back to the marina.

The 2nd sign was for the Sunday market!! Well you just have to do the markets don't you :O)

Beautiful looking fruit and vegetables ... mostly what we can buy at home these days but there were a few unusual ones as well

When I get bored waiting for Jill as she buys stuff - this time a very good local balm for hands feet etc ...I take pictures ...Something I just raise the camera up and shoot without looking through the lens to see what I get... Just for the fun of it

Some pictures you just have to take !! :O) Would that flasher look great in my veggie garden !! :O)

I bought a kangaroo leather ozzy hat ... You can fold it and pop it into a back (supplied) when not in use .... I like the ozzy hats as they keep the sun off well ...Though they can get a little hot in the summer when I switch to a straw one ....

The only way I want to get this close to a Croc .... He must have been a giant and quite old ....We were soon to get close to live ones in a river ...Another future story

Aren't people fascinating at these places .... This chap had a bit of a go at me because I was photographing him .... Nothing major but I was dehydrated, hot and not in the mood for it ....

However - he was reciting some stories ...But not too legibly unfortunately ... We were told he lives rough in the park the market was on ....

There were a few more pleasant surprises ... This chap was amazingly good ... He was also selling CDs of his music .... Some of which were old Australian ballads ...Stopped a small crowd in their tracks to listen to him ....

Fresh Coconut anyone ??

And then it was back to the marina. Now very hot and bothered. However we followed up on the 3rd sign we had seen ..."Fresh Cooked Tiger Prawns"!! Sold cooked straight off the boat. Jill did the honours buys a good sized bag of them ... We then went to the car (you have to have wet wipes after eating these) and sat on the back of the RAV and ate and ate ... YUM!!!!

Lunch was good that day people !! very good :O)

The sea was rough so no boat trips ... I saw the hired flat bottomed boats with fishing gear to fish the estuary ...The boats even had a BBQ attached to the back so you could eat the catch as it happened :O)
Next time ............:O)

We finally finished walking about and decided to find the beach for a quick look and them meander back home ....

Another of my blurry insect pictures ... This time a monster of a wasp ...>HUGE !! ! He just wouldn't keep still ....

Nice Port Douglas beach Shot. Very pleasant The wind keeping the temperature's down

More Moving Car Photography - Sugar Cane Trains

Sugar Cane ..Not sure why the black band across them all - Fire perhaps ??

And finally an interesting palm tree .....

Odds And Sods

2009-09-12T00:59:00.000-07:00

Anyone know the name of this moth??? Came into the house last week.....

I've been thinking that my diary entries fall pretty much into three categories ...

Odds and Sods - general stuff about me and mine and what wer're doing or having done to us .....

Holiday write-up and photography ) Could be two separate ones but we've not yet been on holiday and not blogged our pictures to the boredom of everyone but ourselves :O)

The Garden ... especially the vegetable garden ,,, There are many blogs out there in the matrix that are soley for documenting their gardening experiences ....

It would be good perhaps to have the three as separate blogs ....maybe....

Anyway

I have a 2nd interview !!! However it's not as senior or as challenging a position as i'm used to ..... But a jobs a job I guess ... So the process is still to take a few weeks but there you go ....

As per my previous entry I've spent a lot of time on extending the veggie garden...It's a lot of work as I'm digging into clay. But i'm definately getting much fitter...And putting on muscle ...Arms, shoulders, and legs ....The muscle in my legs is rock hard...Not had that for a few years.....

I knew I needed to do a course or somthing to keep the old brain sharp.....I didn't of course but i'm now very aware of not being able to 'think on my feet' as easily nor recall facts as well as i could do.....My focus has gone on everything but the garden....Time to pick up some of my other interests such as the genealogy as well which I've not done for a while ....

The pictures are of our native Silvereyes who discovered the dog had dropped some naan bread on the balcony....It had rained but soggy naan bread is any Silvereyes fave food :O) They are a tiny bird but they have a huge heart and are very fiesty..It's great to see them in the garden.

This was taken at the entrance to Wellintons Botanic Gardens ...I like it :O) Might even get it printed off one day to hang up....All these photo's and we've not done that yet ......

A Year In My Garden - Spring

2009-09-10T04:08:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've written about the garden..I have actually been working hard. With pickaxe and shovel I'm digging into the side of the hill that is my plot of land and extending the vegetable garden. I'm putting in new raised borders. About 5 of them in toal adding up to about 50 square feet. Doesn't sound much when you say it like that ..But it's taking A large effort to carve my way though either dense wet clay or near rock shale like clay depending what part I'm working on......This then will take me up to some 230 square feet of raised borders dedicated to growing food ..., I must look up what is the minimum area for say 2 people to supply their vegetable needs .....We have way more ...But then we can afford the luxury of growing way more tomatoes And I've aready planted 20 or so potatoes into a border ...That plus the 'dustbin' potatoes and purple Maori potatoes and Yams And we'll not need to buy any of them until the next winter....If they grow of course ....

Do you all 'chit' or sprout your potatoes before planting them?? I do it ....Because my dad dit it and the "elders say you must. But I don;t see the point in it ...After all, where we grew potatoes last year and missed some they have sprouted abd are already a foot high !!! no Chitting needed for them!! Even deep down in the depths of the compost bin they still manage to strike and sprout healthfully forth skywards....

Anyway, not only am I building borders but I've sorted out the pathways between them. This past year we put up with roughly hewn pathays that had bumps and holes in them and soil and weeds and grass galore....So I've cut them out properly, dug in and built steps and retaining walls and started to lay weed matting and bark on top.....It will look a lot better :O).. Even Sis-in-law K on her recent visit was drawn into helping and laying weed matting for us :O) We'll send down some chutney later on in thanks..:O) Whether she likes chutney or not !!! :O)

But overall the veggie garden will always look "Wonky" as it slopes in far too many ways and directions....But I can handle Wonky :O) we'll get a pile of junk ornaments and decorate the place as well to add some je ne sais pas. I'm also planting up pots with various herbs ....I'm shoced at the prices they charge in the shops for a small sprig of say sage or mint !!!!!!   They Grows Like Weeds !!!! I cannot kill the stuff off in the veggie plot ....mint of 2-3 varieties has been growing up there since before I moved in.....It just grows ..Loves being mis-treated ...The ideal plant really I guess....

I've plans to do more over the next 12 months around the outskirts and look at utilising the clay bank in someway. Also want to clear fallen clay/soil from the base of the band which I think will be enough space for gooseberry and black/red current bushes....On the other side are 'Scrub" bushes and ferns. I will cut them down and remove them. Room then for dwarf fruit trees ...probably in 1/2 wine barrels ....Apples, plum, damson and the like ....

I've also planted Fejoa bushes in barrels in the front yard ...Oh and a pomegranite bush, dwarf nectarine, and a fruiting cherry tree in a corner beside the front gate. Where Cola's ashes are but we wont dwell on that ....She would be happy though as we burried her favourite "Bad" food , sheep pellets with her and promised all deads cicadas will be placed there for her ...She loved them...Ate them alive or dead with a bottomless hunger.......





And now it's seed sowing time. Some direct into the borders others in cardboard or peat pots or seed trays and the warm yellow room of the house will become a nursery for a few weeks ..............Spring has sprung and it won't wait for me ....dammit......Work work work work work..........What would I have have done if I had a paid job as well !!!!

And thats just the vegie garden!!!!!

I've also cleaned up the stone paths in the front as well as the front yard and dug the round border and planted some standard roses that were not happy in other places around the garden, and fed all the roses with rotted manures and started weeding the borders and cleaned up the paths at the back and planted 1/2 a dozen gooseberry and black current bushes in tubs and planted other tubs and not to mention the housework and the cooking and when will it all be done !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:O) busy busy busy ...

From Mission Beach to Innisfail to Silky Oaks

2009-09-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Sanctuary Retreat turned out to be another highlight of the holiday. Set in peaceful surroundings our unit was set right into the rainforest. The shower had a clear window overlooking the trees. That was an experience !! :O) The centre point of the sanctuary is a large hall that serves as bar / restaurant/ relaxing area (with soft armchairs and books) the view from the ajoining balcony was across over the forest to the pacific ocean. The weather spoilt the view but it was marvelous anyway ... Under the hall way were 'back packer' style accomodation. Following a windy pathway down hill a swimming pool was hidden in amongst the trees ..We were told that nude bathing was allowed there .... And we did indeed threaten to go down there and scare off the yung-uns :O) But decided we had more enjoyable things to do :O)

We ate in the main hall, the room well set out and spacious between tables ... We opted to sit outside under the stars (and clouds) on the large balcony... Across from us but inside a young couple spent the entire evening meal ignoring each other..We had tried to book a time slot that would miss us seeing them having come across them earlier on ...She was over dressed for the retreat and not enjoying herself ....

The meal was nothing short of excellent ... Most unexpected, but it was delicious and so well cooked and presented.. .We both had opted for the Barramundi fish. A local fish with a white, firm flaky flesh... Yum :O) Above us a bird or small animal (possum??) was moving around in the darkness of a large tree...We were glad we hadn't chosen to sit at the table directly below it... As we were finishing the meal a cooling and welcome breeze had picked up slightly and the dark clouds now covered the moon and stars ...

We slept with the door to the decking open bar the insect screen and fell asleep to the sounds of the forest .....

Regrettably the next morning we had to leave, heading for our final stay at the Silky oaks lodge on the southern outskirts of the Daintree Rain Forest Reserve ... Having had to wait for the owner to get himself up, we paid and packed our bags into the 4-wheel landrover to be taken to the carpark .... neither of us had any desire to tempt fate again with the forest walk .... The couple who ignored each other the night before were also leaving. With a number of suitcases in tow .... "have you ridden this before?" the young bloke asked ... "No ! - well you are in for a ride"

It was bumpy...It was hellishly steep in parts but we made it. Packed our bags in the boot and set off leaving the youngsters to decide how to pack their luggage again in such a small car .....

I like early morning drives ...You do see a lot more due to the light traffic .... And true to form this time - in the far distance - we saw one of the infamous Cassowary !!

Not knowing how 'skittish' the bird may be we stopped and took some pictures from a distance and then edged closer

We were pretty much ignored by the large flightless bird ... From this distance we could see that while in full plumage it was still a juvenile and didn't have the famed helment on top of its head

As it crossed the road ( why did the cassowry cross the road ?...I for sure wasn't going to argue about it ...) we edged ever closer...The other couple had now caught us up and I wound the window down and signelled to them to stop ....

We had so much opportunity to get some great photographs as I parked the car directly opposite the bird .... But we didn't .... Poor/low light didn't help.... Me leaving the car running caused a lot of vibration when shooting at low camera speeds... We had no intention of getting out of the car of course ..No way ........

But in the end the pictures while showing the bird and its colours proved that we are such bad photographers .............

It was time to leave and off we set for the hard drive to Port Douglas and the daintree forest...... The rain was falling quite hard now ... It made for a dreary ride. About 1/2 way the rain was getting heavier and we stopped off at a township called Innisfail. We stopped at the tourist information as we had time to spare and were looking for something to see in the area... It turned out that there was some Art Deco buildings and a nice esplanade alongside the river there.. .We also opted to then drive to a local waterfall north of the town and a few K's off the main road ....

This statue on the riverside and dedicated to the sugar cane workers was striking against the grey cloud

We took a pass through the township - pretty much a 1 street town..Car parking in the middle of the street. Jill took pictures of the Art Deco so will have to get her to post them ...It was a nice place and we could have done a lot more there .....

The rain had been consistant thoughout the morning. The air cooled down significantly ...Still t-shirt comfortable but cool non the less.

I was totally unprepared for this and on arriving at the walk through the forest to the waterfall had to concede to getting wet . So with camera under polo shirt we set off into the forest along a well defined and tarmac'd pathway....

On arrival at the stream and the water fall we encountered a couple of idiot German blokes taking video shots of each other climbing the rocks. Well old enough not to be doing such things (i.e. older than me :O) they spent a lot of time getting in our and another couples way as we tried to take pictures

So look at these and then imagine two old fools beside me trying hard to get a bone or two broken as they slipped off large boulders onto smaller rocks equally if not more slippery and unstable...

I vowed if they did come to damage there was no way we were going to help them

It wasn't as though we hadnt been warned of the dangers at the entrance to the walk...We left them to it ...The rain now heavy it was time to leave ...

The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful ...Jill and I took turns ... We drove past Cairns but turned off for a comfort break at a beach further north ... A long beach with many classy looking small hotels and restaurants ... Shame about the weather - it would have looked stunning in the sun. But rain, cloud and a now fierce wind proved challenging...And yet people were milling around everywhere ... The rough seas still had body-boarders and the likes in it. The waves though too choppy for true surfers .. The surf rescue however were kept busy. Even as I stood looking on as I waited for Jill to appear, they pulled a young girl out of the waters edge right in front of me ....I hadn't noticed her plight as she had struggled with an over sized surf board in the choppy water ..Just as well they had ... "Dad" appeared out of the water a look of surprise to see his daughter being tended to by the surf rescue girl.......

Then finally we arrived at the Silky Oaks Sanctuary.. Car duely parked a long way from the reception we were picked up by a young lad in an over-sized golf cart .... Having checked in and suitcases and bags stashed away in our unit we settled down to relax .. .The unit was great. A dark wood interior, a large bathroom / spa bath/ shower and a mainroom with a large comfortable bed. A small balcony looking across the forest and with a hammock for the brave .... No TV, No Internet Connection, No Cell Phone access...

We did however have our trusty Laptops and bought some old and not so old movies to watch while in bed ... Films such as "Bridge over the river Kwai" a real classic :O)

When in the bathroom I came across a large moth ....wingspan about the width of my fist !! Having taken a photo or two I beat him up with the heel of my boot .....!!!! No - just kidding - are you still reading this !! Well done :O) Moth was very gently helped out of the unit and to freedom :O)

Along the journey we had stopped off to get fruit to eat ...This was a Cherimoya or Custard Apple...Very sweet and tastes as its name describes ... We do get these in New Zealand ...Though I think the Qeensland Climate is better suited for it ....

Again that night we were able to sleep wit hthe balcony doors open save the insect screen and listen to the forest sounds ...Frogs abounded here and their distinctive chirping gave that feel of the tropics ......

From Townsville to Tully To Mission Beach

2009-09-02T04:47:00.000-07:00

Having made the call to now leave Townsville a day early and head north we had to pick a stop off point for the night ….Another search though the tourist papers and the like and we spotted a place called sanctuary retreat….at mission beach. It looked great. The only caveat when Jill booked it was that we should try and arrive before dark.

So off we went ..It wouldn’t be a hard drive but we couldn’t stop too many times on the way…The traffic wasn’t too heavy but these other cars tend to ride your rear bumper a lot, bullying you into driving faster….We read of a lot of deaths in Queensland due to bad driving…

{the thing with these birds was the red eyes..I;ve cropped the picture in the hope you can see the eyes....no flash...}

We took turns to drive the long stretch. Finally arriving at a sugar cane township called Tully…Tully was famous for it’s flooding a few years back, and claims to have the highest rainfall in Australia (around 4000mm or 13 feet a year)..They erected a giant gumboot to mark the fact and celebrate it’s environment. You can climb to the top of the gumboot. We did …Inside serves as a small gallery of pictures of the flooding there.

The other thing Tully is known for are UFO sightings…We didn’t see any :O)

Tully marked the start of the cassowary region and on leaving Tully for our stop over we turned off immediately to drive though the rainforest towards the coast again and Mission beach. We were continually reminded of the cassowary in the area by the road signs and speed limits…The road cut through the rain forest and it was easy to understand how the infamous cassowary would cross the road on their travels….We had no wish to run one over that’s for sure and were well on the alert for any sightings..

The surrounding area was very pleasant. When we reached the coast the beaches and coves looked awesome…Had the weather been better it would have been the type of scenery you see in the travel books. Having stopped at the tourist information we headed onwards for the last mile to the retreat. Then just as we approached the final turn off we got to see a juvenile Cassowary cross the road…So young it was still brown and fluffy looking…No chance of a picture we carried on to the carpark of the retreat..

Turns out the carpark is some way away from the retreat itself. We had two options …We could ring through to the retreat and get a 4-wheeler to pick us up, or there was a pathway through the rain forest that was stated as being a 20 minute walk. As we were only there a night we packed a rucksack including a couple of bottles of wine, loaded ourselves up with the camera gear and set off…..We just hadn’t known or worked this one out properly…The pathway after a downwards dip climbed incredibly steeply. The afternoon temperature and the humid forest air was difficult to breath . The bags etc were heavy as hell….

After a few stops and a good half hour trudge we still couldn’t see the retreat or anything but trees….While still light, the sun had definitely started its fast sink to sunset….In the near distant the tribal drums beat faster and faster. A fanfare announcement of our arrival…….Errrrrrrr scratch that ….After this climb upwards my heart was pounding in my ears….The sweat pouring freely…..

As we trudged on…and what else now could we do? …We noticed a lot of large bird droppings notable for its blue colour from the berries it had been eating. We both spent a little time looking upwards expecting to see a pigeon or parrot or something…….Later we were to find out that the path was smack in the middle of a pair of cassowary’s territory. The poop was cassowary poop…A pair so often seen around the sanctuary they had named them…..However they were also aggressive and the warnings just the same ….Walk away if you come across one,,,hide behind a tree if you can …get out of the way………

Then just as we were upon it the buildings of the retreat could be seen and we had arrived…….

Townsvill Queensland Australia

2009-08-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

Having arrived at Townsville we took a while to find the motel. The Townsville Icon is a large rock that juts out in the middle of the town.. An imposing hill that is now a reserve.. But one or two houses had managed to be built on it's slopes so far up .....

The hitch hikers guide to the universe says this of Townsville

As the unofficial capital of North Queensland, Townsville combines the lure of the tropics with the attractions of a city. It is a renowned centre for research into marine life and is home to the headquarters for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Townsville also supports a significant defence presence along with the main campus of James Cook University, so visitors are well catered for with a complete range of accommodation, nightlife, cultural and leisure pursuits.

"Beautiful Magnetic Island is just a 20-minute ferry ride offshore, and a huge drawcard for visitors. Also within reach are Orpheus, Hinchinbrook, Dunk and Bedarra Islands. Inland, the historic goldmining towns of Charters Towers and Ravenswood make a fascinating day trip or overnight stay.

The Strand is the favourite beachfront leisure spot for locals and visitors with four man-made headlands, rockpools, eating places and a play area with waterslides, fountains and a water cannon. The city’s modern buildings have been successfully integrated with 18th century heritage architecture to house the galleries, museums and restaurants that make a visit to Townsville especially memorable.

This is the beach off the strand ..And by shear good fortune the motel was just across the road from where this picture was taken ...

Note the water temperature of 24C :O) Not that Jill would agree having taken feet out of 40C+ tramping boots and paddling for a few seconds .... We were so over dressed on the beach...we're trampers not beach bunnies ..

The motel was not the best.. Dark and well in need of re-decorating..But Clean and the bed was comfortable ... We did a little drive around that evening. The good cafe's were packed and being tired from the travelling we opted for a takeaway..Red Rooster ...I'll say no more :O\

Up early the next morning we made the call to stay another night to allow us the change to take a 20 minute boat trip over to the now famous (to us having heard so much about it ) Magnetic Island...But first we wanted to drive up the hill in the middle of the township and have a look around .....

This was an interesting looking church we came across ...Note the rather 'Dan Brown' sinister URL of 'Spiritus.org'...I was going to go on and make fun of them over it here ..but I googled the site and they seem a rather nice family/charity focussed bunch ...So I won't ....

Blurred Picture of a flowering tree - but it was an awesome plant - must look up the name ..

Similarly - wonder what this tree was ...The fruit wasn't large

As we got closer to the rock we noticed something painted on the left bump in the picture

Turned out to be the icon from the 'Saint' TV series with Roger Moore decades ago...But who the sam decided to put that there off a sheer cliff !!!!

The day was almost cloudless and clear...The views were pretty damned good

The island is Magnetic Island in the distance

Plane crash on side of cliff face !!!

Blurred picture again - But this was unofficially the biggest Bumble Bee on the planet !! Huge !!! HUGE!!! how he could take off with those tiny wings he had would be a major physics lesson in itself !!

Shame about the power lines ... By now the temperature had risen dramatically ...It must get really hot up there as at the carpark there was a drinking fountain with chilled water !!! and very welcome it was too :O)

We then headed off through the township (Dramatic, large, turn of the century, affluent type buildings ) and back over to the port to grab a ferry... What we didn't know was that between about 11am and 2pm there are no ferries over to the island !! Whoops ... What to do ?? We came across the marine building and the fish displays but as we were about to enter we talked it over (as we do) and decided to pack up and head north a way to shorten the next leg of our travels to cairns and the daintree forest ....

It was sometime around now that Jill asked where the passports were ......Don't know why ... But at that point my heart stopped beating and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead !! THE PASSPORTS !!! They're in my Jacket !!!! Which is still in the hotel wardrobe back in Mackay !!!!!!!!!

As Jill rang the motel I looked up numbers of Embassy's...HOW LONG to get a replacement !!! How long to get my permenant residency Visa re-issued !!!!! It could be weeks !!

The very nice lady back at the 'Ocean International Motel' was very helpful. But she would have to speak to the cleaning staff and find out if they had them ...Jill and her worked out contacting arrangements and then it was a waiting game ... Then - Yes they have jacket and passports !! OH JOY !!!!!!!!!!!... Arrangements for couriering the package to the lodge we were staying at in a day or twos time were made ... ticket numbers would be sent so we could track our parcel ... we had done all we could ....

De-stress - De-stress - De-stress .........

I've never felt so sick ...Stupid thing as normally they would not be in my jacket... We usually check the room about 3 times before leaving etc ..... But holiday back on track we packed and looked for accommodation for the night ahead somewhere north of where we were ...

And we found it - Sanctuary retreat Mission Beach ...and the heart of cassowarie territory !!!

The trip to Mackay and Townsville NSW

2009-08-25T14:33:00.001-07:00

The Trip to Mackay north of Brisbane and approximately half way to Cairns was unpleasant but relatively short ... Having arrived at Brisbane airport and checked our bags in we went through security and got some food and drink and one of the cafe’s there ... after a long wait we moved ourselves to the gate. There we were greeted by announcements of only one bag per customer ... We had many small bags such as cameras and camera equipment and Jill’s rather large carry bag ... There was no way I was going to have my hard earned camera gear subjected to being stowed away with the luggage .. No Way! .. So I was preparing myself for a trip to mackay by road ... We could do it through the night .....

As it turned out we were let onboard without even a glance at us ... The plane was unbearably hot and cramped (thanks Qantas) but the flight was only about an hour and a half......It was dark when we arrived and I think both of us were pretty shattered at that point ... Thankfully a friendly & pleasant taxi driver took us to our hotel and on arriving a very pleasant lady behind reception greeted us. Though on seeing me first had panicked as the booking was under Jills name and the Motel was full...Thinking she had to turn me away this late into the evening... Turns out that Mackay is pretty busy in the week til Thursday as people fly in to there to then go on to the mines in the area.

The woman at reception was very nice and chatted with us for a while . Turned out she had lived for some years just a couple of hours north of where we live. Go figure. Further down the track we were to be very grateful for her help .... We even sent her flowers, but that’s a future story ...

The room was very nice, clean and comfortable ... It had a good sized balcony and the grounds had palm trees and garden lighting making it an awesome place to sit and chug a couple of cold beers after the hot flight. The wind was blowing quite strongly. Something that would stay with us for the rest of the holiday .... We ordered in and the food was much better that we had expected. Jills Prawns in garlic were fantastic as was my steak. The prawns though were huge and in the shell looking like min-lobsters :O)

Being on the east coast and the room facing east we got to see the sun rise up from the sea through the palms. Is there a better way to welcome a new morning :O) We then went out and walked along the beach a while enjoying the sights and sounds and fossicking around on the sand below the tide line. It was very relaxing after the stresses of the day before...

Having said our good byes and checked out we headed for the airport again with a very pleasant taxi driver (I think Mackay may be a pretty laid back lifestyle for the residents). Our rental car for the rest of the holiday was to be a 5-door RAV4 ... IT was great to have it after the old convertible sports car in Brisbane :O)

We took a quick drive into Mackay township. I thought we would see some of the ‘old’ town. The older settler/colonial buildings .. But we found none .... Disappointed we drove north on the Mount Bruce Highway, destination Townsville. While not overly scenic it was an interesting drive ...

On the way as we had no booking for a hotel/motel in Townsville Jill had a look through some tourist rags we had grabbed and made a call..... Sounded nive and right beside the beach...

We had our first sightings of Sugar Cane fields and the small trains that lug the cut cane to the processing factories....We stopped and took some shots ....

And of couse when you see a giant mango (Or anything else like that) you have to stop and grab a picture .....Even if it’s only to freshen up after the long driving...Sadly Mango was out of season so we didn't get to sample any:O( Now, was I stretching in the picture or trying to hold the thing up ??

Some additional Photos Wildlife Park pt3

2009-08-23T16:27:00.001-07:00

Additional Wildlife Park Photos pt2

2009-08-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

Some additional Pictures - Birds Pt1

2009-08-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Some additional Pictures ....

Holiday Blog - A day at a Brisbane wildlife park,,,,

2009-08-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

After the wonderful Fruit bats and a good breakfast outside on the balcony of the hotel room, 10 floors up , enjoying the morning sun …and saying good morning to the window cleaner who appeared from nowhere. “what the bloody hell ! Oh, yes …good morning to you too”………………… We had to decide what we wanted to do for the day before going back to the airport and take an internal flight to Mackay township along the coast about half way between Brisbane and Cairns.

We’d seen enough of the gold coast. Our initial decision was to head north again (now we had change for any sudden motorway toll charges ( :O/ Sheesh ) and visit the Moreton Bay area (where the tasty bugs come from ) And that’s where we headed for. We confidently joined the motorway and dodged the traffic. Partly not being used to long drives anymore and partly due to not sleeping enough at night these days we had to pull off at a service station point. Jill would drive for a while. We also tried to get a decent map of the area….They don’t exist……

Meanwhile, over coffee and an impulse buy of a long doughnut, a new destination was agreed. Moreton Bay was dropped in favour of a Koala Sanctuary the other side of Brisbane.

We would stay on the motorway to it’s end and then into Brisbane cutting through a bit of suburbia to the sanctuary… Sounded easy enough . And indeed up to the motorway end it was. Then we hit trouble as road names changed or roads abruptly disappeared to be replaced by new names. Within a short time we were confused and pretty much lost…. We pulled into a service station and Jill got directions..>We were only a little off and within 20 Minutes were in the car park of the sanctuary.,

The sanctuary is in a nice place beside the river there. Effectively the place is a small ‘Open” zoo. They specialize in the Koala, but also had kangaroos, emus, wombats, and some reptiles. They also had the Infamous Cassowary bird….

The park is SPCA and Vet association approved and in the main the place was very well looked after . However we were very disappointed to witness the release of 20 or so teenager school kids into the park area reserved for the Kangaroos and emus… This caused some panic with the Kangaroos (you could walk amongst them . But – there were a number of “Joey” carrying Mothers. Jill and I were very close to sorting out a young Asian thug who tried to ride the Emu…He was an inch away from the pair of us taking him down ………..

The Park and the Koalas in particular was a great place to while away a few hours.

Having done our stint at the park, finishing off watching the wild lorikeets feeding session (hundreds of Lorikeets about us) and the display of various birds of prey flying around us and across parkland…It was time to hit the road again and head for the airport…. This turned out to be NOT for the faint Hearted. The heavy traffic, amazingly aggressive drivers, poor road signs and completely unknown roads made for a stressful hour and a half as we battled across town. Jill had a good Idea of where we were heading but the road system seem to work against us for some time…. However we made it in plenty of time, dropped off the sporty convertible rental car (I’d quite got to enjoy the car “O) and went through the airport security to the lounge. Destination MacKay.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-08-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yellow Hammer in our Garden

Well its like this …..

Get back home from dropping Jill off at the train station and walking daft dog. I wanted the car today.

Pigeon taking advantage of my feeding the wild birds

Get ready to go out again …Can’t find the keys ….. Looking looking looking … Take the spare ones as I know the keys are in the house somewhere…

Head for lower hutt … That mongrel mob gang were out at that house in taita patches galore, smoking by the footpath.. Kids walking past going to school ……..Sheesh ... (there have been police raids and eviction attempts on them unsuccessfully as yet)…

Get to Pack and Save (Supermarket) and am just looking at the veggie seedlings they sell, when it suddenly dawns on me that the keys are probably still in the door …. Couldn’t leave it so drove straight back to the house …. Yep – Keys in the door still :O\

Never mind thinks me I’ll head up to Upper Hutt and drop in on Mitre 10 (Hardware store) to get some staples (tie up the honey suckle) and a stiff floor brush (to clean the decking and its sides) …… Lost in my own thoughts, end up at Oderings (Garden Centre)!! No joke - Car just took me there!!! ….

All good, thinks me – will get some more seed spuds …. Now can anyone remember what I bought last time ??? Cause I flipping can’t and have dumped the bag they were in … Anyway have bought jersey bennies I think …… which are fine for the dustbins etc :O)

Oh – they were also selling elderberry bushes – So we have two of them now to plant somewhere..(Hmmmm Elderberry/flower wine!!!)

Finally get to Mitre 10 and looking for staples (Got them) and String (got that as well ) Forgot all about the brush !!!!!!!!! :O(

Go to Stokes Valley(township where I live) for a couple of days food (forgot about going to the upper hutt Pack and Save…) Effin Q a mile long …

“Not usually this busy” the girl tells me…

”Just every time I’m here” I tell her ……

HAD some nasty old woman pushing me constantly when I’m queing up …. Most aghast she was when I turned to her and said “Stop It, NOW” to her …she stopped it though …..

I’m not shopping in the daytime anymore unless Jill is with me to hold my hand. :O(

Neighbours cat... Sunning herself on the neighbours roof... Also wishing she was having pigeon or yellow hammer for lunch :O)

Gold Coast - Day 2 - Keep Your Mouth Closed When You Look Up!

2009-08-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

David's Entry - 29th July Day 2 – Fruit Bats and Driving Through Brisbane.

As you may have read in Jill’s entry we discovered that the driving here in and around Brisbane to be noticeably more stressful in a number of ways … The drivers here are far more aggressive.. Using your indicators has an effect of heightening the other drivers aggression.. They will do anything to ensure you do not change lanes or directions as indicated … God help you if you find yourself in the wrong lane ….

And so it was as Jill described a long and tiring trip to the Gold Coast. And what a place the gold coast turned out to be …Very commercialized. There were endless tower blocks of hotel rooms or apartments. A 6 sometimes 8 lane highway through it, too close to the beach area. It is A beautiful golden sand beach. The township shows what happens when there are little controls or planning around its development.

Now we were very tired by we got there. And I openly admit that if you were younger or with young families that may well be a great place to holiday …It wasn’t for us though. However good possibly it would be for a place to stay and then travel to the many sites and entertainments in the area …. There are "movie worlds" and “sea worlds” and so on that would keep the kids and the second childhood Kids amongst us amused for some time …



Being so tired, as we often are on the start of our journeys, we do expect a lot from the hotels when we arrive .. These are not cheap hotels. We do often pay more at the start so we are looked after and everything is easy and relatively stress free. The hotel we stayed at. The “Conrad Jupiters” let us down …. Because we were tired everything was a major. We understand that. But with Jill having paid for a romance package, and to then have to ring and then ring again for the wine and strawberries for example was pretty poor… To be kept waiting for 40 minutes after the check in time for the room to be ready was again pretty poor…. ..

Having said all of that the room was fine. With a decent bed and large plasma screen TV on the wall. It was a corner room with a balcony which afforded us a good view south down the shoreline for miles. The next morning we were able to see the sunrise, albeit through the gaps in the tower blocks. And after a good near 2 hour wander along the river/lagoon there, we had a good breakfast on the balcony delivered by a very nice and caring young girl who saved the day for the Hotel.

The Hotel was part of the casino. Far from “las vegas” style, the atmosphere was a lot more serious than other casinos we have visited around Australia and New Zealand. It had more than it’s fair share of regular cliental, some very aggressive poker players and a large number of very bored looking players of the slot machines … I am not a gambler. Jill like to have a go at the 21 tables etc I usually just watch … This time we left earlier. It wasn’t a lucky night for us …

The highlight of the stay though was the morning walk. With few people around we were able to see quite a bit of wild life along the tree and bush lined river banks … and, having walked for some time discovered a sign with a write up on the areas fruit bats. It talked about how rare there are becoming as habitat is destroyed… We walked on expecting a small number that might be seen in the trees somewhere…. We could smell them first .. A strong urine/rotting fruit smell … and then there they were . Hundreds of squabbling bats all vying for a spot to fold their wings around themselves into a cocoon and sleep the day through. The pathway took us under the trees. As you hear the splat, splat on the ground around you you quickly realize it’s definitely not a good practice to be gawping skywards with your mouth open ….

As usual our lenses didn’t have the magnification required to get really good pictures. There were such impressive animals. Their wingspan huge they flew silently through the air above us. But their aggressive chatter was near defining. We could have spent hours there just trying to get “The Shot”. Having walked though them we then walked back along the outskirts of the trees, on the verge beside the multi-lane highway to get more pictures as well as spotting a spider of notable size and some interesting birdlife …..

It was a great start to a really, really long day :O)

The Ozzy Holday - 1st day - the Long Trip from Brisbane to Gold Coast

2009-07-30T04:22:00.000-07:00

Jills Entry - 28th July 1st Day of the Holiday - The Long trip to the Gold Coast

Its always an interesting time getting off a plane and wondering if this will be the day they decide that you look suspicious and you will hear the slap of a rubber glove on skin....but we flew through customs even the dog sniffing us was only thinking "1 x dog, 2 x cats, 0 x drugs" it should go without saying that we don't actually ever carry or do drugs...but always on your mind are the people who say that the drugs were planted in their bags

We rock on up to the car rental place to be told “your early – your car isn’t ready yet – I’ll have to give you a convertible but no extra cost”.................oh yeah thats a good one boy....laughing at the olds in a convertible....seeing us having to squeeze our oversized bodies into bucket seats. But none the less that is what happened.

On our way we go...absolutely no decent maps to guide us.....knowing it is only an hour drive from Brisbane to Surfers Paradise......you have to remember this small fact....only an hours drive we saw no issues in front of us.

Easy enough getting out of the airport....easy enough to be on the motorway heading to Surfers.....and then we encountered the mad drivers that exist on the Gold Coast.

Oh my....they drive with speed, they are impatient for people who don’t to the extent of doing a quick lane change to dive back in front of you........the up shot is they are aggressive over here. 4 lanes as well....not used to that at all.

And then on the road ahead - tolls!!!! Oh no!!!! We had no coins!!! Panic panic panic...what lane should we be in for paper...do they have a paper lane.....quick get off get off get off...and we did. We travelled a road for a while...stopped and looked at our ineffective map and decided that we would stay off the motorway and go down what looked like a very long suburban road....that worked fine for us...even stopped off and had some food at a very weary looking mall....jumped back in our convertible- which djd was desperate to get the top down on but we had two suitcases in the back boot which stopped that function beside which neither of us have flowing hair to blow about in the wind of an open top! – and off down the road we went. It was a very straight long road...suited us...only 60km limit...and only two lanes...one of which a bus would dive into to pick up people and immediately pull back to the far one....buses have right of way here.

And then it started to get a bit confusing....but the way back to the motorway appeared and we went back on to it and travelled the next few kilometre until the scenic turnoff to surfers paradise appeared...we had finally arrived....4 hours after the start of our journey....did you remember it was only meant to take 1 hour....hmmmm

So at that point after a quick stop at a park to snap a crow we decided to just head to the hotel Conrad Jupiters....we were booked to go whale watching but alas the day was catching up with us rapidly and we have been awake over 12 hours with only a few hours sleep the night before. ...so we opted not to go. Got a grumpy phone call from the operator...rightly so as I had booked us but of course we didn’t turn up....but after saying sorry...we wont be able to make it...we will have to cancel...the woman still went on about why.....so I said personal reasons...she wanted me to ring back later to talk about it...I think not...just charge us and go away.

To be fair the to Jupiter we had turned up 1 and half hours before the official sign in time....no our room was not ready....for our romance package stay...but we could have a room with two double beds instead...ah no....ok well I’ll put a rush on your room can you come back in ¾ of an hour...sure is there a cafe we can go to...oh year spinners just on the ground floor. Off we go...tired and ready for a snooze really but with hope the room would become available we rock on up to spinners the cafe!!! But spinners has a waiting queue to be seated!!!! Some cafe ...its a restaurant...no we cant stand in a queue...there is another option...so we go for that...pay far too much for a smorgasbord lunch we didn’t really want.

Now this place we are staying at is a Casino... a very sizeable Casino....and it must have been pension day.....as every pensioner in Surfers must have been eating at this restaurant, taking a break from their gambling.

We go back to reception actually an hour after we first visited...to be told the room was still not ready....give me your number and I will call you....I look over at djd who is sitting on a couch in reception to see his head starting to drop from falling asleep. So I sat there for 20 minutes watching djd fighting the desire to sleep and losing...and the queue of people growing longer and longer as 2pm check in time arrived and therefore a flood of new guests wanting to check in. The girl behind the counter would never have had a chance to ring us...there were only two of them on and the process of check in was not a fast process....pathetic for a place like this hotel with a reputation to uphold.

Finally I rejoin the queue...it is my time at with the staff and I was not waiting patiently to be called up in their sweet time...so I plonked myself in front of the boy and he had to serve me....finally the room was ready.

The room itself was pretty much ok. Nice bed, nice balcony, a view of sorts etc...the only thing missing was the sparkling wine and chocolate strawberries that were meant to be greeting us as we got to the room to start our romantic package....I had to ring twice for the delivery...finally arriving 4 hours after we had been there....sheesh.

Oh well we had wonderful meal of a seafood platter to die for and a couple of hours of walking around the casino to lose $50. Then bed another day awaits us.

The start of the Ozzie Trip 2009 - Take Off Day -1

2009-07-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Putting a few notes about the holiday and what's why's of what we are doing.

Tuesday morning will see us bleary eyed but happy to be heading for the Wellington Airport. We are flying direct from Wellington to Brisbane, Australia. After a night in Brisbane we fly again north to Mackay township with the intention fo then hiring a car to travel north again, first townsend and then Cairns. Final destination is the Silky Oaks lodge on the edge of the daintree rainforest inland from Port Douglas...Having spent a few days at the lodge exploring the surrounds we then head back to Cairns and the airport Flying back south to Sydney for a couple of nights stay ..Then from Sydney back to Welllington and home... Not a long holiday and a heap of travelling but we will get to see what its all like and have a better idea of future holiday plans there....

A Year in My Garden #3 + My New Routine

2009-07-23T05:40:00.000-07:00

I've fallen into a routine at home. Awaken to find McD has left early yet again. A warm-only cup of tea on the unit beside the bed (McD's working far to hard and starting to look very tired and run down).

Latest Attempts at Photographing the BellBird

Get up and having gulped the tea and made another, I settle in front of the PC and check out the job sites for anything hopeful.. nothing today ...

Breakfast next...I've been feeling guilty at having Bacon and eggs the past 3 days..But a man all knowlegeable on Oprah said you should and its a good protein source and stops the bad habits through the day...So if OK with Oprah........Bacon is also better than turkey bacon - less salt, same cals..

Then it's decision time...Weather ok and I'm out into the garden..I'm clearing up the yard still. Still have a mountqin of pebbles to move, Pots to either sort out or plant out, wood to build raised beds to be cut and stacked or dragged up to the top of the garden for use, and general cleanup of that part of the yard...

I'm running out of time...By we return from Holiday in 2 weeks or so it will be mass seed sowing and potato planting..and all that carry on....

a sleepy NZ native woodpigeon visited our garden ...

Still hacking away at near-stone clay to level it for the raised beds or create paths and steps in the vegetable garden....Thats really Hard work

Spring is real close now...We've survived another winter :O)

If the weather is crappy like today, then its housework...I'm 'De-cluttering'.. Which means it's taking 3 times longer to do each room..Just how much paperwork can 1 household accumulate!!!...and then the magazines and the books we never return to the bookcase...and so on....

I broke one of McD's Ornaments :o/....Thought I would tidy up the dresser (??) with shelves she has them all in ...It was a Xmas prezzie from me... Bugger!!!!....

Anyway - by 'De-clutter' I mean move everything I was too scared to chuck out, into the spare bedroom - My Room ....So that looks just great now with piles of this and piles of that on the floor around the walls....

Which is fine but we have Sis-in-Law (and B-in-L ??) and Mum-in-L visiting in August...So someone might want to bring rope to navigate around the bedroom when they do :O)

Oh and the cats think that room is their bedroom!!! :O)

But overall the place looks better for it where I have done..I also knocked over one of the orchid plants we have on the floor of theyellow room...No damage though...Whew..As McDs been waiting a long time now for them to flower..Still in bud you just know they will be out when we are away ....

2pm - 3pm I have a mug of soup (carrot and lentil today - can you get a less butch sounding soup!!) and watch the gameshow Crosswords...Damn I'm good at it :O)..

Then more of the same...At the end of the afternoon I've tried hard to make a cooked meal for when McD gets in...Not always successful.....

Shame on you obama.....

2009-07-21T03:44:00.000-07:00

Lets tell Brasil to stop the logging...But that won't then apply to the US, Australia, Japan......

>

Obama Administration Approves First Roadless Logging Contract In Alaska's Tongass National Forest

2009-07-20T01:51:00.000-07:00

Save the kimberley's - Pristine Western Australia to be used for mining...

Before it's lost forever

Whats The Fuss

My Gardening Year #2 - Birds and a Plan of Action

2009-07-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

So apart from the daily tidy-up and de-clutter I’ve been getting outside in between the showers and working on a number of parts of the garden, depending on how wet it is and my interest level …

The Front Yard is still a mess …In fact it’s more of a mess as I’ve finally gotten around to pulling out an Ausie Grevillia bush that succumbed to too much good feed from the run-off from the tomato borders I had through the summer a little uphill from it… They love clay soils that drain reasonably well, but feed them and they might as well have had roundup poured straight over them ……. I've also done a hard prune on the roses .. All yeat to be cleared up ....

The Grevillia plant was in a fence corner beside the gate … So I'm now thinking It would be nice to plant a fruit tree there. As it drains well (us being on the side of as hill helps) I’m keen to plant an apple tree. Probably the amazingly healthy Monty’s Surprise which was found growing along a roadside in the Waikato district of the north Island in New Zealand. Said to be a world winner being the healthiest of apples you can eat ….

Other options are a fruiting Cherry or a Plum or a Pear… just a siting thing really as I intend to cram trees of them all into spaces around the garden or in ½ wine barrels ….

I actually went out this morning with the intention of buying a couple of trees with the gift vouchers I have from work … I then thought about having a decent coffee at a neaby café and reading the paper… Having got there the temptation of a full cooked breakfast was too much. And so I had that as well …I know - shame on me ...). Then I thought about it being Friday and what we should have for dinner tonight and so off to the supermarket to get some supplies in.. Dog got treated to some mutton bones which apparently made her day :O)

BUT !! I was Almost home before realizing I’d forgotten about the trip to the garden centre !!!!! Like I’m that keen to get home …Not. Another day apparently ..Gives me some time to dig the hole and get some decent soil for it

Meanwhile I tackled some of the vegetable garden yesterday. It’s become an overwhelming chore at present as we’ve not done much up there for some time … The existing borders are looked after and are ok (apart from the damned cats whos’ nine lives will vanish very quickly if I catch the defecating little feline monsters on them at any time ) Ahem …. Even the broad beans look like broad beans should, despite the transplanting shock ….. But the paths and the rest of the garden area are now overgrown with grass and weed and the paths are as slippery as…Well a slippey thing :O) … The grass that’s self sown itself is that awful thick matting stuff that’s so hard to cut. However, having sat on the home made seat up there with a mug of tea I realized that most of it would be spaded up anyway to make the next set of raised borders …. So I then worked out a mental plan of action as to the borders and pathing and where I can place a proper rhubarb square for McD (I thought the tyre idea was a good one but probably the tyres are too small ..)

And before the tea was drunk I had a good idea of where to start and what order to start and ripped into it for a couple of hours ….. Must do the yard as well - It’s all much easier when you have a plan …..Not a cunning plan necessarily but a plan none the less and a good plan :O) I like plans :O)

I want to dig over Border 1 and get some of that rich compost into it..There are still a few vegetables in there that can be harvested. Perhaps we can make more vegetable stoch out of them. It was so successful last time ... Anyway there are still 3 or 4 red cabbages that have been there a while ... I did think the centres would be rotten by now .. But having removed a couple of outer layers and made a native slug and a couple of spiders homeless the rest of the cabbage was crisp and fine as ..... As a crisp and fine thing should be :O)

So thats on the menu tonight :O) Amongst some other things for a meat and 3 veggie type of meal :O)

This morning when I came back home the Bell bird was in fine singing fettle as he/she worked the bush that’s in flower beside the neighbours gate … I walked right up to the tree whistling back to him … no problems … Damned camera is never with me when I want it to be ….. So took the groceries inside, grabbed the sony and tried to get a picture … limited success as he’d made his was further into the tree … Will try again …..

Then just now, looked out of the window beside my computer desk to see a chaffinch and a yellow hammer perched in the tree beside the house !!.. another limited success .. but you get the idea .. .

When I was working the in the vegetable garden yesterday the bellbird landed on a tree beside me …Checked the tree out for insects (at a guess) and then flew off… Again no Effin Beflippin camera… However as he rose into the sky another Bell Bird joined him !!! A pair !! … Offspring hopefully this spring …. I’m thinking about setting up a bird feeder for them and the tuis and the silver eyes .. Just need to see how what I can use to put out sugar water for them ….

Another project ….. :O)

My Gardening Year # 1 - Too Much To Do..

2009-07-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Job Hunt: - Currently at 4 rejections to job applications …. 3 applications outstanding

July is never a good month in New Zealand .. It’s the middle of winter. This year winter is cold and wet. Not a good time for doing anything in the garden ….

However, There is a heap of work to get through ..I’ve a number of additional raised borders to build .. This means clearing the grass, leveling off the ground building the borders them selves and then filling them with soil …. It’s a highly manually intensive piece of work as the only way up to the vegetable garden is via a series of steps through a tree copse… So all soil has to be lifted up there in buckets …Good exercise though …As long as the old ticker holds out ….

However to do that I have to have somewhere to have the soild dropped … I’ve no intention of trying to do the Mel Bartholomew soil mix ..I need a heap more than that. So will order some ‘green’ soil in from a company called ‘living earth’ … We’ve had a mix of soils from them . Some good some not so good for the vegetable plots …This time we’ll pay them a visit first rather than just phone an order in …..

We also need to get some properly formed and barked paths around the veggie plot .. .I’m sick of sliding about up there ……

But – The yard then has to be cleared and tidy before I do that .. and it’s certainly isn’t at present … We have moved last years raised beds we had on the yard for Tomatoes and intend to build two more borders there as well …. We’ve spaced them alternatively with ½ wine barrels containing fejoa trees, a pomegranite bush and soon to be a lemon bush … I’ve even space in the corner of the fencing for an apple of plum or cherry tree….. But running out of time to do that now as well ….

And on it goes ….. Holiday in less than two weeks and on return it will be full on planting seeds

Meanwhile it keeps on raining ……

The existing veggie plots are still producing .. .Pak choi seems to thrive in winter and we use it a lot in stir fries and stews …. We’ve still a couple of cabbages left and I’ll make use of them over the next wek. That border has to be worked over and some of our well rotted compost added into it …then I’ll plant it up with potatoes. We don’t have a huge vegetable garden but I think it will be worth it to plant the whole border up ..>Some squares with our favourite early jersey benne and some squares with a later crop such as Ilam hardy… This year we have a new pest in New Zealand . Potato/tomato Psyllids. First reported in 2006 in Auckland they are speading quickly throughout the country … This is a major issue for both hobbyist and farmers ..I hope it never reaches Wellington ..But it will …

I’ve been buying heirloom seeds again … We had a very successful year last year with few flops … Tomatoes while turning out to be a lot of work in maintenance and worry about lack of flowers setting early on were delicious and with the variety of plants grown we had a different taste at each eating :O) And with 60+ kilos of fruit we managed to make more chutney and sauce than we would ever get through ourselves ….. . This year I am going to try some more varieties plus a few of the faves from last year … In front of my keyboard, waiting to be typed onto my seed list spreadsheet are Japanese Black trifele that actually comes from Estonia not Japan (go figure) but said to be delicious non the less, “Purple Russian” a cool tolerant variety from the Ukraine. Said to be the best purple/black variety on the work market …. And “Siberian tomatoes”. Also Cool tolerant ..With the long range weather forecast predicting a cold spring I’m hoping these plants will produce well despite the ‘el nino’ weather pattern ….We’ll see….

I’ve also another Pumpkin bed to build ..Hoping to beat my previous record set last year :O) I’ve also bought some other – more eatable – pumpkin seeds and need to find a place for them to grow as well …Well away from my Giant pumpkin efforts…I have some ideas on that ….

McD I need to talk to you about pumpkins and flower beds :O}

End of one gardening Year - Start of the Next

2009-07-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

For the Maori of New Zealand the Shortest day (same day as the longest day in the northern hemisphere) heralds the start of the new year ... For the gardener this is especially true . From that day on as the days start to legnthen, Camelas start to flower and buds of trees start to fatten and the sap starts rising. It's a short dormancy in New Zeland for plants.

It's been a strange winter in that despite the unusually cold weather it's been patchy and in between we've had some reasonably warm days ... Plants are confused with some Rhodos and camelias flowering earlier than usual .. We have at least one native Kowhai tree in flower in the area ..These normally flower in September. We have Daffodils on the roundabout that begins our township already starting to flower... Put this into perspective - It would be like daffodils in January in England ........

Being out of action with my back problems, I didn't get to plant any vegetables in the autumn for winter cropping .. .We do have a few cabbages and pak choi and celery and chard to pick at. It's all great for stir fries or even just adding to stews and casseroles ....

We've planted a heap of garlic this year after last years wonderful heritage crop. So different to the shop bought garlic ..Very pungent.. wonderful taste ... We also planted a small crop of Elephant garlic this time ...Just to try it ... The garlic did try and make a break for freedom pushing itself up and back out of the ground ...Soil a little light ?? Planted too shallow ?? One heck of a good root system produced already - We tucked them back into the soil a little deeper this time with a good pat of the soil on top...

Strawberries were not only a great success last season fruit wise they shot a load of runners out that snaked their way across the raised beds. We've made use of a few of them to extend the population ...Now having 8 squares (2 rows) at the end of each of the 3 main beds ... Already trying to flower I must get some decent compost for them with potash to get them fruiting .....

I was caught out at the weekend ...We saw some Broad Bean Seelings in punnets at the local garden centre ... Bought a few punnets as we planted nothing in the autumn ... Only to find out in reading that they do not grow well this way ..Not liking transplanting .... What can I say - I'd always planted seeds previously. I just never thought it would be an issue with seedlings ... Never trust a garden Centre ........ However they are in and we shall see ....But will be planting seeds as well very soon for my Christmas lunch harvest...

Another semi failure story ...I'm trying to build a polytunnel over one of the raised beds (maybe two) .. We bought the tubing at what turned out to be about 3 times the cost we could have gotten it for AND what we bought was too flimsy for want of a better word ... But we will see what we can do with it and some wood or cane supports ....

In one border wit hthe polytunnel I want to plant some potatoes ... The jury is out on this, As to whether the winter is mild enough to allow the spuds to grow .. One NZ gardening magazine editor tried to gow them a couple of months back only to have the frost turn them black ... Maybe in a poly tunnel we can do it ....

I Quite like the idea of this

Kitchen garden Design

Planting a raised border for a specific requirement...Not sure how practical that is ...Especially with the square foot gardening as you do tend to plant what you can and what wasn't there previously for rotation cropping......

More Bad news at the Dinzie household...Pepsi Dog (picture in last post) has ruptured both knees of her back legs ..Old age sucks eh .. She's on painkillers now but they want to operate ...$5,000 for the ops alone, never mind the pre/post op charges ... She's almost 12 years old and life expectancy of up to 14 ......

Well that is number 4 of the bad things that can happen to the dinzie household in 2009 .. And it's only July .....

Groundhog Day - Week One Gone

2009-07-05T15:17:00.001-07:00

Pictures still from my archives ...

So - 1st week gone already.. This week I must get into more a of a routine.. .exercise, housework, garden work (if it ever dries out at all) and the part time job of looking for work .... I have 3 maybe's out there and applied for. It's a waiting game...

Saturday - and McD and I got up reasonably early ..Idea was to get out and have my Cell-phone reactivated under my old (work) number and then go to Petone and look for some walking shoes for McD... Apparently it takes hours to re-activate a number !! Sheesh .. Having gone to Petone, we found out the make of shoes McD and I like to use for our walking trips have no been superceded.. McD tried the next generation but found issue with them ... You have to be right with your walking shoes and so having tried a few we decided to leave it (try another shop) ... as we were finishing up the assistant mentioned there were some sale stock over in the corner (large shed of a shop) ... And there they were - The very shoes McD was after And in her size !! And the mens equivalent in my size.... We bought them :O) sorts us out for another year ...

McD calls these trips where we have diversions as an outing for me ...I start getting stir crazy stuck around the house and then McD comes along and I get to go out for a ride in the car .... Much like the pet dog I guess :O) This time it was a visit to a local cat show... Lots of Moggies all the same breed being judged by overly quaffired ladies and gents (Yeh really) wit ha seemingly perverse fascination with the cats nether regions !!!

One cat too exception to this and tried to take a judges face off !!! it was grounded and forcibly restrained by a couple of judges until it's owner could be found ..... the owner gave the cat a flick across it's ears ...There was the cat version of "ohhh mummmm" "eorrrrroooeerrrr" ... and the cat sunk back into it's broken soul and the judges took it back to it's cage ... I Can't see that one winning this time .....

Our own George cat and Micky cat apart from having no pedigree blood whatsoever are also semi-feral .... I dare the fool to pick one of them up and show any perverse fascination in their nether regions !! I for one will certainly not be coming to their aid !! :O)

So that was fun for 1/2 hour ... We then went to the 'Dowse' Not sure what you call that ... It shows off the local (and not so local) art 'stuff' ..anyway hadn't been in a yaks age so we called in there and also had a coffee and smoothies ....

One main exhibition was of interest .. Photography - A woman and her partner had travelled the country for 3 months photographing Champion KiwiS ... Some querky thinks Kiwi are champions at. From Chicken rearing to taekwondo, from Cherry stone spitting to sheep shearing... all now immortalised in photos and within a book .......

Sunday it rained .. .And the rained some more ... We went out and checked out the fruit trees at the garden centres .... Then with a final motivated effort we bout the materials to make a small polytunnel to put over a veggie raised border ... Will put that together GroundHog day week two sometime ....

I have a sore back again today ...Not a killer but more than just a niggle .... Must stretch more ....

We have a gas fire like a log burner ...It's run off gas bottles ... It's run out .... Pets aren't amused ... Now huddled beside a radiator ..... Don't know why they are complaining ..they're warmer than I am .... 8C outside today