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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Saturday, September 7, 2019

this week

Hello friends,

Weather wise this week has been very good, nice and warm with plenty of sunshine. Spring is here!

This was a spectacular sunset we saw a few days ago. I only had my phone to capture this moment, very happy it turned out so well...


Wednesday we went for a trip to nearby Whyalla for an appointment at the optometrist and then enjoyed lunch at the Beach Cafe on the foreshore. It was such a beautiful day!







The wind turbines are increasing in numbers on the hills near Port Augusta.


Our son needed some work done around his yard, so hubby went out to help for a few days.  They have removed some trees to make room to build a shed and cleaned up the front which was overgrown with weeds and in need of some TLC.  It is looking better. 


Tuesday was bonfire day. This will probably be the last one lit on our block as apparently we are not allowed to light them anymore because they can be a nuisance to others.  What is this world coming to?


While hubby was keeping an eye on the fire he decided to mulch some of the branches instead of burning them.


And then this mulch was wheel-barrowed and laid around the fruit trees by my grandson. This is one of the trees dug up from our sons yard, we are hoping it will come back to life, but somehow I don't think so.  It is a guava.



The lizards are everywhere, and one would presume that the snakes are around too, we just don't see them. It is good to see the lizards in such good health after the drought conditions we have had.  They were in poor condition before we received rain back in June, and there has not been much since then.

This one was huge and had a plump tail. This suggests that they are getting food, if the tail is thin, this usually means they are not getting enough.


I have had three baby sleepy's out in the veggie patch. They are just wandering around nibbling on plants and things. I discovered this particular one loves dandelion flowers!


The bees are busily buzzing about doing their thing. They are loving my lavender flowers. I have placed the native bee hotel in the shade near the mandarin tree.  Now to wait and see if any bees find their way there...



The girls are laying well again with between 6- 10 eggs being collected each day.


Random pics from the week...







And then...


there were two!


















  



Hubby has been doing some gardening haha! He brought these home from our sons place.


Today was bread making day. Two lovely fresh sourdough loaves...


That was our week. How about you? What did you get up to? Are you having lovely weather at your place?

See you soon,

xTania


16 comments:

  1. What a week! I love the bee motel! Lovely photos Tania. I hope the Guava might take! xxx

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    Replies
    1. Hi Annabel,

      I am really hoping the Guava tree gets growing again. I had one big picking from this tree (the first year our son bought his house) and they were delicious!

      Wishing you a lovely Sunday xxx

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  2. Hello Tania,

    I enjoyed hearing about your week and seeing your lovely photos.
    What gorgeous blue skies at the beach.
    You have Spring we have the start of Autumn.
    This week has been quite sunny but with a real nip in the air
    especially at night time.

    Hope you are having a good weekend🍁x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello and welcome Fiona, it is lovely to hear from you.

      Where I live blue skies are really common. We gets lots of sunshine and not much rain. We also get very hot in Summer, with mild winters in comparison to yours.

      Wishing you a wonderful week ahead xxx

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  3. Please keep us posted on the bee hotel!

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  4. Wow, look at those oranges! (or tangerines.) Your baking looks incredible. The weather here is hot. It's cooler up at the cabin in the mountains. I am looking forward to the end of the month when I can escape and drive up there. I'm thankful for air conditioning and ceiling fans. Your garden looks wonderful.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Stephenie,

      Is it late for you to be having heat? Our weather changed really quickly. One week it was cold and the next quite warm, then cold again for a few days, now warming up again.

      Those are oranges. They didn't do well this year because of the dry conditions, most of them are quite small. They are being squeezed for our breakfast juice and are delicious!

      Delete
  5. earthmotherwithin

    I love the wildlife pictures, Tania. Don't see any bobtails or kangaroos here much. Those loaves look fabulous.

    (sorry I accidentally deleted your comment, so copy and pasted from email. xTania)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The kangaroos were a nice surprise. I was outside pottering around and then realised I was being watched. They were happy to stay around for a while, and I think they may be ones that used to come in for food and water, so they have learned to trust us.

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  6. It's been hot here. The winds have been fierce and the skies are hazy with dust. To the south and north of us there are bushfires raging. I am not looking forward to summer. We head off in a week to Toowoomba for the Carnival of flowers and then down to the Hunter Valley for our sons Wedding. Then we hit the magical mystery tour. We think we might head out to Lake Eyre. Not really sure of what direction we are taking just yet. It's all part of the fun. I have a shift at the Annual Teddy Bears Picnic shortly and after that my time will be spent getting everything ready for our trip. Love your photos and seeing what you have been up to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jane,

      We decided not to go right up to Lake Eyre because on our way up, we were told by other tourists that you couldn't see any water unless you fly over the lake. We found plenty of other things to look at and do so it was not missed :)

      We often dont plan where we are going, just wing it as we go along lol!

      Wishing you a fantastic trip and most of all enjoy!

      Give us a yell if you are in our area, would love to meet up with you xx

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  7. How lovely to have lizards making their home and finding food in your garden, Tania. We have recently spotted "our" resident blue-tongue and were very glad to see it again. It was looking rather healthy too despite our lack of rain. We had two very hot days for this time of year in the past week. That just dried things out even more! I think it's going to be a tough Summer for gardeners. Meg:)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Meg,

      I agree with you about Summer. It has been very warm early this year, might be a long, hot and dry one this year. Rain is scarce around here too, hope we get some soon to freshen everything up a bit.

      xTania

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  8. So much growing at your place Tania. Lovely lizards too. You get the big guys. We either get the goannas (not regularly) or the bearded dragons. Although I haven't seen them for a while either. Gecko's come out in summer, and catch the moths on our bathroom window at night. My goodness, but it's been incredibly windy here today though. Knocked over a heavy pot plant, on the verandah. I can still hear it outside. Forecast to die down, by tomorrow. Which will be good. :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Chris,

      Your area sounds similar to ours. We have goanna's (occasionally), bearded dragons and geckos. I don't always get photos of the other lizards because they tend to be elusive whereas shingle-backs are so docile and easy to photograph. It is really good to see so much wildlife returning after the drought, I had thought they may have died back.

      Hope the wind has passed for you now. We have had a bit, but nothing compared to what others have had. We haven't had rain in nearly three months so things are looking dry once again.

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Your comments really make my day. Thank you for taking the time and for being so kind.