Out In My October Garden

Just a little over a week ago, our garden was as parched and listless as so many other gardens where we live. There'd been next to no rain over Winter and early Spring. The drought, that's had a firm grip on landscapes along our country's East, felt like it was beginning to bite in our pocket of suburbia. The view from my front verandah was hazy and dry, the grass underfoot brown and crunchy, the little creek bed empty and silent and the leaf drop from the trees was just incredible. Thankfully, storms have rolled through over the ridge here this week and brought with them replenishing rain. 

Homegrown Lebanese Cucumber.

In our garden now,  plants are beginning to bloom and starting to ripen. I'm most excited about the cucumbers. I'm growing salad veg, like lettuce and cherry tomatoes, in pots over the coming Summer as I expect it's going to be very hot and, despite this past week's rain,  very dry too. On a bit of a whim, I did plant a few cucumbers in the veg patch. Although they took quite a while to get growing, they've taken off now and the first little Lebanese cucumbers are forming. There is nothing like fresh, crunchy cucumbers straight from the garden! 

 One ripe and juicy strawberry with more yet to ripen.

A cluster of blueberries

 Little yellow tomatoes are starting to ripen.

Besides the cucumbers, there are strawberries, blueberries and little yellow cherry-like tomatoes deepening their colour as they ripen in their pots. Pick again lettuces and chives are growing together in pots too but up on our back verandah where I can move them out of scorching sun easily. Happily, and with abandon, flat-leaf Italian parsley and sweet basil have self-seeded too. Fresh herbs for free!

A fragrant Gardenia bloom beginning to open.

 The pretty pink flowers of Grevillea 'Dorothy Gordon'.

The deep blue centre of an African Daisy.

A pink gerbera beginning to bloom.

The first Gardenia bloom has begun to unfurl its creamy petals. The scent of these flowers is simply sublime. I can't wait to bring a little bunch of them inside when more open up. A new plant in the garden, an African Daisy (Osteospermum) which I grew from a cutting, has its first flower. I love its bright white petals and deep blue centre. So pretty! Another pretty plant blooming in my garden is a gerbera gifted to me by a friend. I love its light pink petals. The native grevillea, Dorothy Gordon, has burst into bloom in the back bottom corner of the garden. The birds are enjoying it very much.

 Supervisor extraordinaire! 

Someone else enjoying the garden is Sir Steve dog. He came out with me yesterday to 'supervise' the digging over of the soil where our poor avocado tree used to be. Needless to say, he did very little digging and opted to warm the soil with his tummy instead!

We've been fortunate to have rain here. There are many in Australia living through unprecedented and heartbreaking drought. I hope rain clouds gather above them soon and that nature brings the water they so desperately need. It makes such a difference.

Meg

A Bee's Honeypot

My Sunday morning began with a slow stroll through the park and along the streets with Sir Steve dog. The quiet of the morning was all ours! Both of us contentedly ambled along; my elderly statesman taking his sweet Labrador time to smell every tree trunk and blade of just-the-right-type of grass (and munching on the occasional one too) while I soaked up the early rays of morning sun that cast such a gentle light.

Bees on a blossom.

I heard the industrious hum of these bees, and all their companions, well before I saw them. I too caught wafts of the sweet and slightly vinegary scent of the pale yellow blossoms they were plundering.  Such hard work on a Sunday for these little bees. 

I guess bees don't have weekends ... I'm very glad I do!

Meg

A Short Walk around our Streets

Each and every day, Sir Steve dog and I set off for a short walk around our streets.  Sir Steve is an elderly statesman now, a rescued Labrador about 9years old (that's 63 in dog years) who is happy trundling along, slower than many of the young "pups" we meet along the way but content all the same to amble along at his own pace. While we walk, he stops to sniffle and snuffle at anything and everything he finds of interest along the way. I don't hurry him and he, in turn, is very patient with me if I stop to take photos. Unless he spots a brush turkey that is ... then he forget his years and attempts to give chase! Here's what we found on one of our walks recently:

Trundling along a local path.

Lots of ducks in the park.

Bright red bottlebrush in bloom. 

Clusters of pretty pink flowers. 

 Tiny and delicate purple flowers.

Silvery grey foliage on dark grey concrete. 

Spiky leaves of hardy roadside plantings.

 Possum scratches on local trees.

 A white picket fence.

Citrus blossoms on an old lemon tree.

New red-tipped growth on shrubs. 

Back home again!

As we walk through the familiar gates of home,  Sir Steve gets a bit of an extra spring in his step. He trots into the back yard, does a few four-legged pirouettes then flops promptly down on the grass ... exhausted! He really is a most endearing fellow and the best walking companion there is!

What would you find if you went for a short walk around your streets?

Meg

A Saturday Stroll

Saturday often begins with a long, slow stroll along neighbourhood paths. I love setting out to explore with the warm sun on my shoulders, bright blue sky overhead and our Sir Steve dog by my side. Occasionally, I take the camera too and photograph some of the beauty we spy along the way...

 Vibrant Golden Penda 'pompom'.

 A jewel-coloured Hibiscus Beetle.

Seedpods decorate the leopard trees.

The scent from these blossoms perfumes the air.

Autumn yellow tree leaves.

Blossoms and blue sky.

 Zingy limes overhang a neighbour's fence.

 Gorgeous Gordonia or "Fried Egg" plant.

My beautiful walking companion.

Steve dog and I are just about to set out for another walk together. After waking to gentle rain early this morning, the sky is now its Autumn blue and outside beckons. Perhaps you'll have time for your own Saturday stroll sometime today.

Have a lovely weekend.

Meg

Down to the River

A tradition is emerging. Slow, Sunday Spring mornings down by the river. 

The view up river. 

 The view down river. 

These river mornings begin with a very short journey in our old ute. Sir Steve dog, his enthusiasm knowing no bounds, barks "happy woofs" the whole way there as if to announce to everyone in our neighbourhood (and beyond) that he's going somewhere.

A walk!

A swing!

A turtle!

That somewhere is a local river, wide and deep. A gravelly walking track to follow, birds and fish and turtles to spot as one walks along. Swings to dangle from and rocks to hop across. And, most important of all, sticks to fetch over and over again!

Sir Steve dog playing fetch.

This favourite game, repeated over and over again, fills both stick-thrower and retriever with delight. It ends only when Sir Steve dog, drenched and having drenched everyone else with his wagging "sprinkler tail" and whole body shake, carries his stick beyond the river bank and returns, not to the river but to the ute, for the drive home.

These warm Sunday mornings, spent by the river, bring our boy and his very best friend to explore and to play together. I'm sure we'll make the short trip to the river often this Spring...and in many of the Springtimes to come.


 Meg