Singing for the Rain

Glorious soaking rain has fallen steadily here for days and days. Our rain gauge and tanks are full to overflowing. The garden is lush and green and the grass is growing rather enthusiastically.  There's loads of catch-up washing strung up everywhere there's room for a rack or a line now the sun is peeking out again. Our gumboots and old shoes are splattered with mud from squelching about in the garden and our trusty umbrellas are still by the front door ready for the week's forecast showers. One little character, with no umbrella of its own, has found itself a spot of shelter up on our back verandah. From its perch upon the railing, it's been singing to its heart's content.

A cute little butcher bird. 

Offering up a tune.

With it's fluffed-up feathers, still the lighter brown of a juvenile, it is rather cute and not the least bit shy about its singing. It's visited many a day recently to offer up a serenade or two. Before its more melodious performances, I had seen and heard it squawking loudly for its parent birds to find and feed it tasty morsels. Perhaps it's now singing for us in the hope we'll take over feeding duties or maybe it too is just very happy with all the rain.

Meg

In My Garden After the Rain

There's a little bit of magic that falls with long-awaited rain. It's there in the way it turns what was so brown and dry into that which is lush and green. It's there in the way freshness and energy return to what was wilting and listless. And it's most definitely there in the way it draws us back out into the garden.

A sweet little bird ornament nestled in a leafy nest.

Out in the garden this morning, barefoot on green grass no longer crunchy beneath my feet, it was almost sloshy in some places! I eagerly pushed aside the sugar cane mulch and found that the rain has soaked in well, replenishing the Summer-sapped soil. The rain and storms we've had this past week have brought much needed water to our backyard landscape. What a joy!

Fragrant and lush Mother-of-Herbs border.

After such good rain, there's quite a bit of work that needs doing in the growing-again garden. My first job this morning was to trim back this thick Mother-of-Herbs border. I have grown this in my top garden from a single cutting given to me by a friend. It has spread along the front edge of this garden bed quickly and keeps the soil well contained. It can take over though if not pruned back so this morning I gave it a good haircut. This was a lovely and fragrant chore as cutting it back released it's pungent scent into the air. I breathed it in deeply!

Ceylon Spinach is growing well now.

The Ceylon Spinach (Malabar Spinach) has taken off with the rain and this morning I wove and twisted it around a spare triangular frame I usually use for cherry tomatoes. I am really pleased this plant is growing well as it is very nutritious and provides a good source of greens when other leafy veg might struggle in the heat. I haven't used it in my cooking before so will need to find out best ways to prepare it. 

 A tiny mandarin on our tree.

The mandarin tree, branches drooping with lots of raindrops, has many little green fruits forming now. The promise of our own juicy mandarins to come!

Lovely little load of worm castings from our worm farm.

We raked back the sugar cane mulch from the mandarin tree's drip line and sprinkled over a layer of worm castings from our worm farm before replacing and topping up the mulch. I did the same with the orange-flowering hibiscus that my once-three-year-old son chose for the garden.  It is covered in its vibrant flowers right now. 

Bright orange hibiscus flower.

There are quite a few more butterflies flitting around in our garden now that the rain has returned. This morning I caught a flash of powdery blue, from the wings of a Blue Triangle Butterfly as it fluttered past. 

Nibbled leaves and stems on pink pentas.

Where there are butterflies though, there are caterpillars and it seems where there are caterpillars, there are magpies!

 A hungry magpie seeking out a caterpillar for lunch from leaves of tiny Pentas.

Caterpillars are munching on the leaves of my pink Pentas and I am leaving it up to the magpies that visit our garden to deal with them. I watched this magpie seeking out a plump caterpillar from the leaves of a little Pentas plant that has sprung up in the front garden. There's no need for spraying in our garden because I find that creatures like birds and ladybugs take care of imbalances when they happen. I know too that a few caterpillars will probably escape the beady eyes of these magpies and that just means more butterflies!

First bromeliad.

Our last job in the garden this morning was to plant up this bromeliad. I have not grown a bromeliad before and so I will need to learn what conditions this particular one grows best in. As it's in a pot, I will be able to move it to different parts of the garden before I decide where I'll plant it permanently. I do like its red flower spike!

It was so lovely to spend the morning out in the garden again. While it was humid and hot in the sun, we didn't come back inside until nearly eleven o'clock. Not long after, another brief shower came through bringing more  longed-for rain to our garden. 

Meg

Rejoicing in the Rain

It's been pattering on our roof, trickling into our tanks and soaking into our soil. Oh, how happy I am for wonderful wet days after so many dry days. I suspect there are others rejoicing too in this much-longed-for RAIN!

A jewel-like raindrop on the tip of a leaf.

Our new rain gauge (a rather hopeful Xmas gift from my son to his Dad) finally has some water in it. Some drought-affected areas had precious rain fall too. It was just wonderful to see footage of rural folk and farmers celebrating in the downpours of rain in their towns and on their parched paddocks. Like these happy station workers in this video, I'd be jumping for joy and splashing in muddy puddles too if I hadn't seen rain for as long as they haven't. (I fully intend to jump in a puddle or two when I take Sir Steve dog for his morning stroll a little later on. I expect he'll find a puddle to loll about in too!)

Precious water in our rain gauge.

This beautiful rain will bring relief too for our native wildlife who are impacted by lack of water in the landscapes they call home. They've been thirsty too! At our place, these two rather wet Pied Butcher Birds perched up on the railing of our back verandah yesterday to fluff up their feathers and sing. They broke out in bursts of rather enthusiastic trills and whistles which I imagined was in celebration of the "wet stuff" falling from the sky. 

Happy and wet Butcher Birds on our back railing.

More rain is forecast for today. I hope the mist of this morning, which shrouded the view from my back deck in a cloak of grey, doesn't clear to a blue-sky day but to a cloudy, rainy one instead. Follow-up rain would be wonderful! 

 Misty view from my back deck this morning.

For many people in drought-impacted areas, this rain brings with it, more than anything else, hope. Hope that more will fall to revive their landscapes, properties and farms, to replenish creeks and rivers and dams and to boost their spirits. That's certainly what I'm wishing for too. Xx

Prayer flags along my wet front verandah.

Have you had rain at your place? 

Meg

Almost Christmas Day

It must be that time of year! There are splashes and shades of red, the blossoms of the Poincianas, Illawarra Flames and native flowering gums decorate the view as I look out the windows of our home to the trees that surround us here. Their blooming signals that our summery Christmas is near.

A handmade clay kookaburra.

Another tree stands tall in our living area. It's shiny in all its red tinsel-y finery; decorated with much a-do by our beautiful boy on the very first of these December days. As it's now the 24th day of the advent countdown, Christmas Day must be only a tomorrow away.

 A once-toddler boy's starry bauble.

Though I have not actually heard the ringing of sleigh bells as yet, I must be ready as the lunch menu is all planned and shopped for, the table napkins are all neatly pressed, the little old fridge downstairs that keeps the Christmas drinks cold has been switched on from its almost year-long slumber and the gifts have all been wrapped with bows of love. Christmas must be almost upon us!

A little wooden bell.

During today, there's a family feast to prepare. I will be roasting chickens with lemon and garlic and thyme, making colourful salads and whipping the creamy filling for the cheesecake that is our dessert tradition. There'll be fruity slices of plum pudding too but that recipe belongs to my mother-in-law who makes it for us all. (She makes the rum balls too and they are oh so good!) Later this evening, we will take a leisurely stroll around our neighbourhood to look at all the twinkly, coloured lights. It is Christmas Eve!

A sweet hand-painted angel.

Family will gather at our place tomorrow. There will be much chatter, laughter, rememberings and togetherness. We may be sharing our Christmas lunch indoors though as the forecast is for rain here, up to 60mm. Rain is at the very top of my wish list and there are many, many others who are hoping some will fall on their Christmas Days too. Perhaps the collective hopes, wishes and prayers of so many have filled some clouds. If you need rain at your place, I hope you get some under your tree and on your land tomorrow. We'll have our fingers crossed. 

A folk art heart for love.

In whichever way you spend your day tomorrow, be it Christmas-y or otherwise, may it be a lovely day shared with your dear and cherished ones. 

A most Merry Christmas to you all.
Meg Xx

Here & Now 25

In these last weeks of November, we are counting down days here. Days that will take my son to the end of his primary schooling journey, that will see us make the last of the long drives up and down the highway to the little school, with the alternative educational philosophy, that we love. Days that will see us packing for our much-anticipated family holiday on our beloved Straddie island. November will merge with December soon, and those days will see us looking forward to the Christmas the come. Now though, in this November, it is a time to remember and to celebrate the journey a once-small boy has made through his primary years before we look forward to a new beginning ... 

White Yarrow and little orange Zinnias.

Spring onion seeds collected from our garden.

A tea towel tote bag of vibrant wildflowers.

Healthy & delicious quinoa salad.

A pale yellow nasturtium blooms in my own garden now.

Loving //         Warm November days that are not too hot!

Eating //         Healthy quinoa salads with roasted carrots, asparagus and cranberries. So good!

Drinking //    Two glasses a day of a green drink to support my body's healing and to help bring it

                             back into balance.

                           

Feeling //        Proud of my beautiful boy and nostalgic too as I remember the small fellow he once 
                             was.

Making //       Lots of little handmade things to gift for Christmas.      

Thinking //    I would like to make a knitted star, like the ones in Sarah's garland.

Dreaming //  Of my feet touching the familiar sands of Straddie again.

These are our Novembers days. Others have joined in with Sarah, over at her gorgeous blog Say, Little Hen, to share some of their Novembers too. It's well worth visiting such loveliness.

May your November days be happy ones.

Meg

Gardenias that Grace My Garden

At the bottom of our front stairs, planted in a little hedge around our timber retaining wall, are these gorgeous Gardenias. Their creamy white beauty and heady fragrance is sublime. I love to pause on our  bottom step and just breathe in their perfume!

I thought I'd share a little of their beauty with you on this ordinary, everyday Thursday. I'm not sure it can be an ordinary day though when one has flowers like Gardenias adding such grace to a garden. 

Perfection!

 The first petals unfold.

 Opening!

I hope you have some time today to stop and smell the roses  gardenias!

Meg xx

Divine Daylily

Coming into bloom in my garden now is a divine Daylily;  gently ruffled petals of the softest peachy-pink, and with a single white stripe, surround its yellow centre. I think it's exquisite!

Beautiful Daylily.

As its name alludes to, the Daylily's open blooms only last for one single day but their fleeting beauty reminds me to appreciate and enjoy them as they flower. 

The promise of a gorgeous flower. 

Tightly closed buds.

One beautiful bloom opens. 

I began with just one of these beautiful Daylilies; a gift from my mother-in-law from her garden to mine. I divided that clump when it was ready and now, through propogation, have even more of this particular Daylily, which I think might be Across the Galaxy, growing in my garden. All this beauty for free!

Daylilies are easy to grow and care for. They are hardy and drought tolerant too. You can even eat the flowers! Best of all though, they come in a huge variety of gorgeous colours. (The Mountain View Daylily Nursery website has some beautiful photos of different Daylilies in their online catalogue.)  I would love to grow a rainbow of them!

Hmm ... perhaps I will ask for a new Daylily variety in my Christmas stocking this year. 

Meg

p.s. I am not affiliated with The Mountain View Daylily Nursery in any way. It is a nursery not far from where I live, at Maleny in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. So, if I were to source a new Daylily, this is where I'd consider buying it from as it's the most local to me.

Hail Storm

Further north, there have been some destructive hailstorms of late. We rarely get hail here but yesterday, as the storm clouds gathered beyond the ridge, the air seemed more dense and the sky heavier and ominous.  

Storm clouds coming over the ridge.

 Gum tree branches silhouetted against the storm's clouds.

As it cleared the ridge, the wind whipped up and heavy rain lashed down. Spectacular lightning split the sky and the booming thunder claps that followed had our poor old Sir Steve dog trying desperately to get in under a bed!  Hail, small balls of ice the size of marbles (and not any bigger thankfully), began peppering our roof and covering our green lawn in a blanket of icy white. The racket as it hit our roof was deafening!

Hail and a mini-river in the backyard.

Marbles of hail.

While we stayed safely inside, this little fellow, a Pied Butcher Bird, sought shelter under our verandah. It sat on one of our deck chairs until the storm had passed by and it was safe to fly away again. 

A Butcher Bird sits out the storm.

Our boy had a great time scooping up handfuls of hail once it was safe to venture outside again. It reminded me of the storm we had here when he was much smaller. Hail had covered the trampoline that we had back then and he couldn't wait to get out there and bounce it off! 

Storms like this seem unusual at this time of year. To me, they are more synonymous with the sweltering heat and humidity of our subtropical Summer. I wonder what will be ahead, weather-wise, in the months to come.

What's the weather like where you live?

Meg

A Rainy Weekend at Our Place

While the rain intermittently poured down outside, and drizzled in between those downpours, we remained (mostly) inside, all dry and cosy. I think there's something quite indulgent about wet weekends like this. They are the perfect "excuse" to eat comfort foods and sip warm drinks, snuggle under covers with good books, watch your favourite shows (having dragged those same covers to the lounge) and finish off a project or two. Here's a snapshot of the our rainy weekend:

Our rain soaked front verandah.

Raindrops on the olive trees.

Freshly baked Zucchini Slice Muffins.

Blanket stitching around a little felt brooch.

Cooking homemade minestrone soup.

A bunch of flat leaf parsley for the soup.

Pots of zucchini in the garden.

Little chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.

(The delicious smell of them wafted through the house.)

 

A cucumber plant soaks up  the rain.

Washing drying inside.

A warm drink & a library book.

A saturated back yard.

Hmm... quite a bit of comfort food there. 😊 I'm sure the homemade lasagna and sticky toffee pudding we shared with friends who came for dinner on Saturday night would also be classed as comforting too. It seems I cook and bake (and eat?) a lot when it rains!

What's your favourite way to spend a rainy day?

Meg