Brrr! I'm waiting for the Solstice so we can warm up again!

Cold temperatures outdoors, and now the Winter Solstice is here. Actually, it's the solstice at precisely 9:09am this morning!

We may be 'turning the corner' and heading toward warmth, but we still have our coldest month, July, to enjoy first.  We experience a seasonal 'lag' because it takes time for the Earth's land and oceans to absorb and then release the Sun's energy.  

Our house front faces south and the shadows have grown over 1/3 of our front yard, as they usually do during the approach of Winter.  We don't have a sundial to check how the sun 'stands still', which is where the name Solstice comes from (Latin: "sol" = sun, "sistere" = to cause to stand still).  These shadows do, however, clearly give us a good indication.

picture courtesy of Wikipedia

I've found myself already pulling more gardening books from the library shelves, getting some inspiration to get more of the planning done for our Spring plantings.  We definitely need more strawberry plants to get started.  Those put in by Mariposa last year were nowhere near enough for what the children like to consume.  Actually, my Dad had a great setup with his strawberries last year: all in pots and a netted frame around them to keep the birds away.  It was a very simple setup, so we're going to have a go at doing that this year.

Meanwhile, my garden is quite dormant.  We have kale growing, self-sown silverbeet, some potatoes still in, and a little parsley. Lemons are in good supply on the trees, also. I'm very grateful for the supply of fresh produce I'm now receiving from the local Organic Co-op.  A huge box of selected fruit and vegetables come in every week.  My first order arrived last week, and I'll pick up my second later today!

I'm in the process of making a list of some local winter activities we can be involved in.  Staying home on bleak days is not anyone's idea of fun.  Usually we have dance competitions for most of the winter break, but this year they are spread over several weekends (the first was last Sunday).  

Here are a few ideas we've already listed:

- learning to play inline hockey at the nearest roller rink. Going to the rink is already a regular activity, but the owner is willing to show us how to play properly! 

- Maestro's learnt of a teen gathering at IMAX, as well as the Short Film Festival he's recently entered.

- if we visit my Mother-in-law, we may also organise a trip to visit the State Coal Mine whilst over that side of Victoria.
- a visit to a cheesemaking factory which isn't too far from us.  We hope to go there with some friends on a tour, but if we're short on numbers we'll just go for a tasting treat!  (I'm told they sell organic milk, too!)

...but mostly, I want to put to prune some trees and clean out a few garden beds to get ready for Spring.  Yes, it's three months away, but I know how quickly they can go!

Interesting sites to check out regarding the solstices and equinoxes:

Museum Victoria

Bereau of Meterology

Sydney Observatory

National Geographic

Enchanted Learning

Keep warm everyone.

Thank you for dropping by!

When the cold comes to the front door

It's a little predictable here, that as soon as Mother's Day has arrived we begin to really feel the cold. All of the sudden, it seems, we need to get the heaters going, warmer sheets and the thicker bedspreads onto the beds, and porridge to warm our bellies in the morning.

A visit to the vet confirmed our suspicions about Midgy's cough. He's not well and is now on medication to avoid pneumonia. Then the children became ill with tonsilidis soon after his diagnosis .. hopefully not just out of sympathy. So, that makes three ill bodies in the house, needing warm food, cuddles and quiet.

The cold has also finalised our hens' laying season. No eggs so far this week. Unless the youngest hens start laying, we may not see any more eggs until Spring.

We do have mushrooms growing, though! I've been picking them as they come up in the front garden. They're your typical 'supermarket' white button mushrooms, coming up from the compost we lay out on the garden a month ago. At first I was missing them, as more mulch had been placed over the top of the compost. So, these mushrooms emerge under the mulch, giving them dirty looking tops. However, they've been quite edible once the outer layer is peeled off.

Here are a few that I picked tonight. The gills are still lovely and soft, and almost pink. These darken as the mushroom ages. I'll keep one of these mushroom tops to place on a sheet of paper, making a 'map' of the spores once they develop and fall from the mushroom. (Yes, a future post will reveal all!)

So, we're really moving through Autumn now and feeling the first real chills toward Winter. I think it may be time to make a list of some cool weather activities we hope to do. Are there any plans at your house?

Flood affected areas

I know the floods in Queensland and Northern New South Wales are affecting many people. We've made contact with friends and family in the areas worst hit, and they are all safe.

Speaking to my brother-in-law this afternoon, he informed us that the excess water isn't just affecting the actual river. The ground water has built up on the hillier areas so that springs are coming up. They have one under their house at the moment and are making do with a make-shift pump to move the water out. Thankfully the house has been re-stumped recently, but we hope that all will stay safe and we don't have another incident similar to Thredbo disaster in 1997.

Here are some pictures sent by email from my brother-in-law. The first shows the street where he works.

Bring your 'brolly to Melbourne

You'd better bring your 'brolly,

'Cause it's wet, wet, wet.

The weather bureau declared it's

One of the wettest winters yet.

Now, in recent years you'd be out a'walking;

The clouds, above they'd loom.

A quick downpour, you'd duck for cover,

Then your activities resume.

But not this year, my friends. Oh no!

The rain, it came to play!

And reminds us how winters used to be

When the rain would stay and stay.

Ballarat has Wendouree returned,

And a century's record broke.

Free swimming pools in the backyards

Makes gardening almost a joke.

What is growing, though, are all those weeds,

And mold on the window panes.

Quick! Wipe them down and pull them up,

When the rain begins to wane.

I'm sure the 'brolly makers

Are rubbing their hands with glee.

Everywhere we walk now'a'days

Coloured 'brollies there always be.

© alecat 01/09/2010

This morning's priority: art in gumboots

Now, who wouldn't have a chuckle to themselves when they find their daughter already up, having made herself breakfast to eat out on the decking and then launched straight into artwork?

The sun is warmer today.  Even though we really appreciate the rain we've had, having some warmth in the morning and sunlight streaming into the house certainly lifts the mood.  Who can resist enjoying it,  beginning first thing in the morning?

And we have apricot blossoms! Yay!  Spring must definitely be very close.

Winter gales

Brrrr ~ it was a cold and restless night here, last night.

Strong winds tried to creep its fingers into any opening, whistling through our skylight and trying to keep us all awake with its cries.  It even brought hail which was thrust toward our front door, which faces the southern Antarctic winds.

In the morning, everything looked grey.  The neighbourhood trees were tired of their fight with the wind and look limp, a few with missing limbs.  One of my favourite trees, over the fence in my neighbour's property, has been reduced by a third.

The view out of my kitchen window this morning.  Usually the house is hidden.

I've been keeping a watch on that tree, as it's had a new visitor in recent months.  There's a 'mystery bird' coming to feast there.  I'm pretty sure it's a type of honeyeater, about the size of a thrush.  We have plenty of Wattlebirds in the area, so I definitely know it's not that.  It's markings are similar with grey and black stripes, but it also has an orange/brown chest, reddish beak, and a black 'mask' across the eye.  It's song is either a short 'tock', or musical type of 'croak' ... a little like a tuneful frog song; not a harsh sound.  My attempts to photograph it haven't produced any results, but I did manage to capture it on video (but I can't show you, as I have no idea how to load it to my blog!)

Wandering out to feed my hens this morning, I saw the garden in disarray.  Papers have obviously managed to get carried around in the wind and the chook run was full of debris and any vegies scraps left over from yesterday evening's feed.

Poor girls.  They look miserable out in those conditions.  We quickly cleaned up their yard, put in some more straw and gave them a good serving of feed.  I also got lunch going: a pot of pumpkin soup, putting all the scraps into a separate pot so the hens could have a bowl of warm mash to enjoy.

Pumpkin and carrot trimmings (no onions!) for the chooks to enjoy as a warm mash on a cold morning.

I hope everyone's keeping warm and well out of reach from that menacing wind.  We're doing lessons with the heating on and smothered in quilts.

Crisp mornings and blue skies

It was such a lovely sunny day yesterday, with cloudless skies, that it could only mean one thing last night ... very cold and frost! I think we'll definitely be having a repeat of that again today.

The poppies Mariposa planted a few months ago looked like they were covered in jewels this morning.

The birdbath was encrusted with ice, which the children enjoyed picking off to see the patterns. Cold fingers for them, but I just kept clutch of the camera and a hot cuppa. :)

Winter is a very quiet time in my garden. Almost everything is dormant, but there are a few signs of life with the rhubarb.

The only flowering bush at the moment is the rosemary

and our first daffodil is almost ready to burst open.

Early morning train ride

It was a very early start today to our NoBraces dental appointment. As winter creeps closer, it's harder to make these early starts, but watching the sun come up is always lovely.

Maestro was quite content to read his book. He's currently working his way through the Hardy Boys series, proudly finishing off one book on the way into the city and beginning another.

Mariposa was happy just drinking in the view.

As we approached the city, we were being engulfed in fog, and what turned from a pleasant sky became cold and dreary.

From the NoBraces centre, we could see the fog keeping most of what was quite scenic very hidden. This is Flinders Street station, near Elizabeth Street. We usually have a view of the Yarra River and Southbank here, but not today.

Needless to say, upon returning home we've got clear blue skies and mild weather again. It's amazing the difference an hour travelling south can make.

Sweet rain!!

There is NOTHING like a good drop of rain, especially when it's long overdue!


Hubby and I had spent last weekend (which was a long public holiday weekend) working to dig over our exhausted front yard. It was a job we kept putting off, but we have (HAD!) couch and kikuyu grass invading the garden beds under the rock edging. I also divided perenials, moved a few bulbs and smaller bushes, and pruned away those 'burnt' parts from the heat wave now that there's lovely regrowth happening.


When we were finished, our front garden was a huge dust bowl. We just hoped that we wouldn't get a gusty day to blow all our topsoil around the neighbourhood, and thankfully we didn't. Then today (Saturday) the clouds rolled in from the west bringing thunder/lightening, a touch of hail and LOTS of rain!! Now our front yard is a muddy swamp!

The plan was to put in new garden edging and a pebble path tomorrow. I still want to keep our cottage garden theme. More herbs will be planted in the centre around the native frangipani. Mariposa's shirely poppies will also be dispersed in drifts near the lavender and some divided valerians. I'm also considering taking more rose cuttings to put along the front border, and we need more hollyhocks ... a truely delightful cottage flower.

Image from here

PLEASE TAKE NOTE! - Weather Warning Systems

I am posting this with permission, after receiving this via email from my brother.
I think it's very important information, which will hopefully help others in the future.

Hi Everyone,

Due to the current crisis within Australia at the moment (QLD floods and Vic/NSW fires) I think it is important to pass on the following information. Everyone needs to know that there is an Australian weather warning system that is already operating and could possibly have saved lives!PLEASE GO TO http://www.ewn.com.au/about-us.aspx and REGISTER...REGISTRATION IS FREE!!!

You join and whenever there are weather emergencies in your area... like BUSHFIRES... you get text messages and emails so you can be better prepared.

I have heard on the news today the government saying that no such system exists and talking if spending $10 - $12 million to get one operating with telstra... What a waste of TAX PAYERS money when this is being offered for FREE to EVERYBODY... I have been a member for months and it’s a great service!PLEASE BE SURE TO TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW... Forward to everyone... TO ALL YOUR CONTACTS...My heart goes out to all the people who have lost loved ones and their homes... Let’s try and make a difference! JOIN EWN TODAY and stop this sort of tragedy happening in the future!

Hottest day on record - 46.4C

News articles everywhere are reporting amazing conditions in our weather. Dry heat in southern states, hot winds and fires. Floods in the north. Wherever you are, I hope you have shelter and are safe. I'm still amazed at how hot it got here, breaking records.

I saw an advertisement on tv from Safeway/Woolworths, telling us how the drought and heat damage have caused significant losses in local crops, especially greens. Those supplies we receive from Queensland, on the other hand, haven't had enough sunlight. So food prices in the next few months will soar as availabilty drops.

This is certainly a good reason to keep growing your own. Most of my greens haven't done very well, but they haven't given up either. Whatever I've had in pots, I've grouped together to create a 'mini climate' under trees.

Thankfully, with it being a horrendous day with heat and hot winds, it was watering day. So, it was out with the hose and buckets. The pots got dunked to give them a good watering, ensuring the root ball was all wet, this morning and this evening. Should have had gardening gloves on, though. Look what crawled out from under one pot!!

At first I only saw a quick glimpse of red (sent Maestro to run and grab the camera!)

Then we saw it with it's beautiful red stripe; a Redback! Yes, the poisonous, female variety.

I also worry about our chooks on days like we had today. They've not been laying well, but with good reason. Friends have been losing theirs, but thankfully we still have ours. I soaked some wheat grain for them a few days ago, letting them begin to sprout, and the hens happily ate them tonight. We'll probably need to keep a few lots of grain sprouting for them so they have some supply of greens.

A walk outside

A wander around the garden on the coolest evening we've had in a while showed us the toll this hot weather has really had on our garden.

My main concern was for the chooks. We've been giving them regular fresh water refills and watering under the plum trees to provide cool shelter until all our tank water was used. They've also had offcuts of melons and greens.




Tonight I let the hens out for a graze on whatever green grass (or should I say 'weeds') they could manage to find whilst looking over the beds to see if there would be any edibles left for harvesting.

Isn't this the saddest looking silverbeet you've ever seen (and it's the best of the lot!)?

Sunburnt pears, but thankfully not all of the fruit was affected.

I can't show you the potatoes as there was nothing left to show. I'm hoping that with some watering and more mulch, they may perk up again.

A job to be done - pruning the climbing roses. This is so hardy, I know it will be back again very soon for us to enjoy.

Yet, there is still some beauty in what remains. My yellow climbing rose, which would have received a great deal of the midday heat, still produce a few wonderful blooms. There is usually some remnant which survives the toughest conditions.

And out in the front garden, this baby praying mantis was a cheerful site:

Seeing the week through

I feel sorry for those in SA as they have been suffering with this heatwave a lot longer than we have. Let's hope relief is soon on it's way.

In the meantime, I did take my own advice and put alfoil on the windows. It's made a difference already, but let's look at the long-term (end of the day) temperature. Last night it was 35degC in the house (after a high of 44degC outside) when we were putting ourselves to bed, with the children getting up intermittently to sit in a shallow bath we'd left for splashing ourselves down and wetting our hair.

I'm planning on some read-alouds again, view a dvd documentary (probably on Antarctica!), then we're doing art at a friend's this afternoon. Dinner has been very simple, and will probably be similar tonight, with salad, cold roast chicken, lentils and pita (pocket) bread. Lots of fresh melons, frozen bananas on a stick (need to make more, though, as Mariposa loves these!), oranges ... and the essential ice blocks!

So, yes we'll get through another hot day. :)

LOL! A friend has sent me this picture via email. PLEASE!!!! don't let this happen to you today!

Foil it!!

Okay, this is something like what my parents did to their house, so I know it works! With all these hot days ahead (41degC plus ALL WEEK!) all the help we can get to reduce temperatures in the house, that is also cost effective and environmentally safe, are most welcome.

On the radio, someone has called in with a suggestion to tape alfoil to the windows. Yes, it looks a bit sus' (hydroponics indoors), but it reflects the light and heat away from the house and can drop the inside temperatures around 15degC.

Now, why didn't I think of doing it earlier? There was a product you could buy from hardware stores to have something permanently on the windows, much like having the car windows tinted. Perhaps Bunnings has something, so next time I'm there I'll have a look-see.

Okay ... I found some links, c/- google:

http://www.powerhousetv.com/stellent2/groups/public/documents/pub/phtv_se_wi_bu_000524.hcsp

www.sungard.com.au/p_energy_conservation.html

In the meantime, I think alfoil would work just as well.

Promise of rain??

Hot north winds are bringing in clouds - big, beautiful rain clouds. Let's hope this will be a break in the hot weather and bring the water we need to refill our tank!