Wet Weather

There's been serious rain here, Oh how we needed it. Luckily I spent 3 hours yesterday afternoon mowing when I got home. I even had the torch lighting the way for the last hour or so.

I don't know why it took so long, normally I can get it done in one hour on the ride on. Perhaps Itty Bitty wasted a bit of his mowing time.

Then Mr MDK came home and spread 4 bags of CK 88 fertiliser. He seems to just know when the rain is going to come.

Check it out.

I needn't have worried about any August winds blowing the blossoms away, the rain has washed them off. Look at those puddles from only 29 mm of rain. I guess it is on top of some heavy duty watering the week before last. The kids spent about 2 hours running and skidding in them.
I now have a pile of wet grassy clothes to wash.

It kind of put an end to this business.

They wanted to trial these 2 new tents Mr MDK picked up in Tamworth when he was there yesterday with miss MDK for an Athletics event.

He keeps on asking me if I want to have a go in it!

NOT my cup of tea. Only if I have nowhere else to sleep!!

Happy wet, cosy Weekend everyone.

Up early

I was awake so early today, 3am. I went back to sleep but then woke up again at 6am .

I started thinking about those cockies again. I decided I would release the Cairn terrorists terriers ASAP.

This old girl, Sally(12.5yrs old), didn't even hear me coming out the door.

She won't be chasing any cockies in a hurry.

She noticed me eventually after I let the little ones out of their crates and had gone out to scare away the white screeching lunatics, otherwise known as cockatoos.

The sun was just starting to poke through into the garden.

I planted heaps more silverbeet( I like to treat the hens with it too) and some chillies yesterday. I noticed tonight that silverbeet is $3.98 a small bunch at Woolworths.

Itty Bitty's eyes lit up and shone dollar signs. I could literally hear the cash register going cha ching in his mind.

No!
We are not starting a market garden or silverbeet farm!
When we got home he ran over and started watering them.



one hit wonder



This flowering plum is magnificent, but it is usually all over in one week. A big gust of wind on the weekend will probably finish it off.



Destruction

On Sunday, we had some visitors over. After a cuppa and cake we went outside and did a bit of cracking while their wee ones jumped on the trampoline. One of my cairns is terrified of the cracking sounds and came inside. She usually runs up and hides under a bed.

We stayed outside after they had left for a little while gardening, when I returned inside this is what I found.

I should have put a dome over it.

Cheeky little begger. It was a really nice pear and yogurt cake.

Her tummy was soooooooo full she could barely move.

Jaller you are to stay off the tables!

Here's what it looked like going into the oven.

with its mate the cherry cake

Which I enjoyed immensely with my favorite cup of coffee for breakfast.

That is my absolute favorite cup to drink from in the morning, it has just the right volume and has the right shape at the spot you drink from.

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This morning I awoke to the sound of screeching.

The screeches were coming from cockatoos who had done this.

My lovely new growth on my lemon trees had been chomped off and spat out.

I will be releasing the hounds on them earlier tomorrow. AND finding that big fake hawk that is laying about and hanging it from a tree to scare them away. It kept the peacock we used to have from roosting on the Volvo.

Another one, on another bed, mandarin this time.
They must have sat looking at each other munching and chopping.

I woudn't mind so much if they actually ate the stuff they bite off but they are just soooooooo destructive.

 Lucky for them they didn't touch these new trees, I went and checked to be sure. When we first moved in we planted Ficus helii trees all along the front near the road and we woke up one morning to find just the trunks left, they looked like sticks poking up from ground.

As I was out there surveying the damage, it screamed at me like a lunatic from up high.

 Another one of these has appeared, so I must be doing something right.

God help those cockies if they come back, I'll be calling in the local clay target shooting club.

Has Spring Sprung??

Things are coming alive here lately, a few days of rain, sprinklers and warm weather have it all going on.
It’s not spectacular, but it is welcome.

 Miss MDK took these photos in the rain the other day.

She wanted to get the raindrops dripping off the tree but got soaked herself.

 

And today I shot them looking like this.

The flowering plum really is a one hit wonder, blink and its all over!

These guys have flowered all through winter.

 I should strike a billion cuttings and then plant them all around.

The Aloe vera is about to flower.

This is a lovely ground cover that I have put in a hanging basket, It's called Aptenia. I have a few more in punnets that should have been planted last spring, they have survived on an old BBQ on the veranda, still in their punnets so they must be really tough!!

They'll probably die as soon as I finally plant them!!

I'm loooving all the new growth and flowers coming through on the Geraniums too.

Only a couple of snowdrops that have loyally flowered for 15 years.

My new silverbeet has taken OFF.

The roses are leafing up too.

The Celtis Sinensis is in flower.

Mulberry tree is leafing up AND........

Yum

Yum!! Fruiting up too.

New growth on my Eureka lemon trees which have kind of struggled.

So is this a sign they are going OK? I hope so as I love lemons.

My girls are happy and in super laying mode. EXCEPT..... 

Someone laid one on the floor. Either all the boxes were occupied,

 or she got lazy! And then tried to cover up the mistake!

On another note, these niceties arrived this week from absolutelybeautifulthings, check out the beautiful wrapping!

And Inside......

Some more lovely boxes to hold .....

these nice necklaces from redphoenixemporium 

Do you think I might be excited about spring??

I'm off to make a cherry yoghurt cake, and maybe plant some seeds and seedlings.

 Maybe?

Saturday and Sunday Pony Lovin'

This last weekend was full of horsey goings on.

On Saturday, we travelled to another Pony club event.

This one did not involve fancy dress up, just normal jeans and shirts.

 A chilly morning start. 

Tight turns in the keyhole.

 LITTLE  jumps.

 A bit of ducking and weaving 

 And some yahooing

 And plenty of ribbons. There were 10 activities and he got 3 nice blue ones.

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Then on Sunday we rolled up again at our showground for another go at it!!!

Danny's got some nice black eyeliner and painted hooves! Itty Bitty's mate who owns Danny is on the big black horse, he's called Spongebob- the horse, not the kid!!

Off to the toot the two little mates went, this was the only time during the day that they dismounted. Funny, there's been no complaints of a sore bum like I would have had sitting in a saddle all day!!

Ready, set, go.

 Lots of round and round the poles.

A bit of speed or direction needed here.

he actually baulked at this one and had to go around again.

He's pretty happy when his butt is planted in a saddle!!

A Big ThankYou to K for lending Itty Bitty MDK the pony and for all the tuition and organisation.

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and I made more of these for the canteen.

I think we're addicted!!