Category: Tweed Valley

Australia · gardening · summer · Tweed Valley

It’s Red-Hot in the Garden Today!

Joanne4 Comments
Red-Hot Chilies

Mother Nature has been extremely kind to my garden this summer.

By February, the red chilies, in their red container, are usually withered and dried out by the extreme heat, but not this year. Milder temperatures have kept them looking good enough to eat (almost!)

Red Foliage

As I wandered mindlessly around the garden today (my favourite way to wander!) with camera in hand, red foliage jumped out at me from everywhere. I hadn’t realised before just how many red plants I have.

Red Strawberry Flowers

I even found a tiny red strawberry flower, hiding in among the foliage.

Red Flowers

Our recent deluge of rain has been a blessing to the plants, bringing out flowers by the dozens. It has been worth being almost flood-bound for two weeks, just to see the beauty the rain has helped to create.

With the humidity at only sixty-six percent today (according to Google Weather) the heat of the thirty-degree temperature of the day wasn’t too bad at all. I don’t mind hot days, minus the humidity.

Red Dianthus

Dianthus are an incredibly easy plant to grow. Even during times of neglect and extreme heat, they stay strong and constantly reward me with beautiful little flowers for most of the year.

Well, it WAS red!

Today I ventured right down the back of our property, almost as far as the back fence, looking out for Eastern Brown Snakes, which are one of the deadliest snakes in the world, and yes, we have had them in our yard! I even walked close to the old shed, as the colour red yet again caught my eye…well, this old ride-on mower used to be red. Now though, it’s seen better days.

Mower fuel, kept in a red container

Even the red container holding the mower fuel jumped out at me today. As I general rule, I don’t even notice it in the shed!

Red Centred Hibiscus

Inside the pool area we have a row of hibiscus, each plant with a different coloured flower. Last year, I was rather later than I should have been with pruning the hibiscus, although Mother Nature has also been late with providing summer heat. I really don’t think the hibiscus have been too perturbed by mine and Mother Nature’s bad timing. They are now out in flower and this beauty has two different shades of red at her centre.

Red-dy for a Cool Drink

Beads of sweat ran down the centre of my back during my mindless-garden-wander, but I enjoyed my time outside, in the heat of the middle of the day. What is the saying?…“Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”. Well, my background is English!

Black Beauty

And my wise and perfectly sane dog stayed indoors. 🙂

Footnote, added 10.10 pm ~ The “red-heat” of the day was even more intense than I had realised. The temperature today reached thirty-seven degrees celsius (or 98.6 degrees fahrenheit). And it’s still hot, hot, hot!

 

Australia · Changes · gratitude · happiness · summer · Tweed Valley · vision

Sunrise Through the Misty Morning

Joanne4 Comments
6.30 am

 “In the morning, everything is new.
The day’s blank slate lies before me,
ready for my writing.
May it be words of beauty I write.
May it be deeds of grace I do.
May it be thoughts of joy I think….
As I go through the day,
keep my eyes open wide.
May I not miss beauty.
May I not miss joy.
May I not miss wonder.
Keep me awake and aware of the world.
It is my privilege to perform my morning prayers.
It is my honor to do what should be done.
As I rise with the morning, fog lifting slowly for my mind,
I pray not to forget these truths”.  ~  Ceisiwr Serith

Usually at this time of year the heat of the day is so intense that working, or any chore carried out, even one as simple as walking to the kitchen for a glass of water can be a major task. Beads of sweat drip down the centre of our backs, forming into tiny streams of water which feel for all the world as if a spider is running along our skin.

Night time brings hardly any relief to the heat of the day. Temperatures may drop by a few degrees, but the humidity remains. Sleeping becomes a problem. Our diet usually consists of meat cooked outdoors on the bar-b-que and dishes of tossed salad. And water. Glass after glass of precious, hydrating liquid.

Psychological relief from the rising temperatures can usually be found by imagining time spent in the snow of the northern hemisphere as I lap up image after image of snow-covered roads, trees and buildings. It helps, temporarily.

This summer has been a different story though. Snow photos from friends and family in the northern reaches of the world are few. Feelings of spiders running down my back are even fewer.

Usually, as the days begin to cool by late March or early April, pockets of mist can settle into the valley below us, forming oceans of mist. These “oceans” can appear at any time throughout the cooler weather, depending on how far the temperatures rise during the day.

This year, here it is, early February, and the misty mornings have already begun. What a delight to behold! The misty mornings are eerie, quiet and magical. And good for the soul.

7.30 am

 “When in the fresh mornings I go into my garden before anyone is awake, I go for the time being into perfect happiness.”~ Cecilia Thaxter

Australia · gratitude · Mount Warning · summer · Tweed Valley

Summer’s Stunning Sunset

Joanne2 Comments
Brilliant Summer Sunset

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore.

Summer has made a very late appearance in my part of the world this season. It is only over the last few days the temperatures have risen to the expected thirty degree mark. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Just noting.

This is the summer in which I have declared that I will appreciate the summer season for what it is and summer has cooperated brilliantly. Firstly with lower temperatures than the usual. Secondly, with this magnificent sunset over Mount Warning last night.

How can I possibly not appreciate such a glorious sky-show?

 

 

gratitude · happiness · inspiration · son · Tweed Valley

As the Day Winds Down…

Joanne8 Comments
The day is ending

I’ve been parousing my photos this afternoon, looking for a particular series taken in May of this year, to add to Facebook.

Feathers or leaves?

However…I’m easily distracted!

Instead, I have come across another series of photos, taken not so long ago, which I think are really good. Not that I’m any kind of photographic expert, but I do believe that if you see something special in a photo, chances are, someone else out there may also appreciate it.

Norfolk Pine

So, why not share?

Down the lane

My husband and son were still hard at it, killing weeds and mowing the lawn; my contribution to their efforts was to take their photo!

Silhouettes

Don’t the leaves of the trees looks beautiful against the sky? One of my favourite photos to take is at the time of day when the sun decides to peer through the branches and leaves of the trees foliage, so sparkly and pretty.

Back now to the original task…Facebook awaits. 🙂

 

Australia · summer · Tweed Valley

Summer…Wherefore Art Thou…?

Joanne4 Comments
Rain on the windows.

Indeed, summer, wherefore art thou?

This is the question I have asked, since the official first day of summer here in Australia, and the first day of December, when the summer season took on a very realistic impersonation of winter!

As odd as it sounds to me, with the summer months actually being my least favoured time of the year, I have to admit to a feeling of being conned.

I’ve literally spent hours, yes, hours, preparing myself for the heat. Light, cottony clothing hangs centre front in my wardrobe, jumpers and jeans now taking their rightful place in the less convenient and harder to reach areas. Quilts are neatly folded and packed away, along with heavier blankets, in the linen cupboard. Ceiling fans have been installed. The pool is clean and all ship-shape for the hottest of hot days.

Whilst I can readily admit to not feeling as poetic as Shakespeare, when asking summer as to its whereabouts, surely there must be some people who feel downright cheated out of their “fun in the sun”?

The patter of rain...

Here I live, right on the doorstep of the fabulously sunny and world-famous Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia, playground of the rich and famous. Even the not so rich and famous have been known to choose the Gold Coast as their preferred holiday destination at this time of the year.

And where, pray tell, is the warm weather? I’m sure the knowledgeable folk at the Bureau of Meteorology have all the answers. Being not so scientifically minded myself, I haven’t bothered to check. Please check out the website, if you feel so inclined yourself.

Pressure systems come and go; we can’t control them. Looking out of the window each morning is my preferred predictor of the upcoming weather.

And look out the window I have been. The above photos show what-I-have-been-seeing.

Even our usually shiny and dry, black and white magpie friends have had a problem with the cold and rain. I found three rather bedraggled magpies, wet feathers fluffed up, sitting on our back veranda.

A family of wet magpies.

And no, our veranda isn’t usually as messy as the photo shows, with paint cans, buckets, electric saws and pieces of wood everywhere. We have been renovating a room in the house, the veranda being our work area. The magpies are forgiven for thinking this area a free-for-all!

This summer I have plans. I intend teaching myself how to cope with the heat. Summer is to become my friend!

And when summer finally arrives in this part of the world, I’ll let you know how I’m doing! 🙂