The picture above was taken in June 2017 from our previous house. I remember the orange glow of the chilly mornings and the long run of amazing colours for weeks on end.
This year, on really crisp, chilly mornings when the air is really clear we still manage to get some glimpses of the Stirling Range from our new house. Only with the more coastal feel of the Norfolk Pines!
The outside of the red gum at this time of year is a profusion of blossoms. It vibrates with the sound of bees and flies and is cluttered with the squawks of Red Wattlebirds and the whistles of New Holland Honeyeaters. Now and then a Brown Honeyeater steals in to take of the spoils as well. Usually it is found out by a New Holland Honeyeater and briskly chased off, but at the moment there is much supply of nectar and all the birds that want a piece of the action are gleefully satisfied.
With the recent winds the tree has started to lose more branches which I why we ended up removing the three trees along the back fence line shortly after moving into the house. More fodder for the mulcher to add to the garden at Tillellen.
Our Professionally Engineered Leaf Trap has risen to higher levels of productivity with the recent winds. Days of high winds have started stripping the local park trees of their precious cover of leaves. These in turn have been deposited into our handy and convenient Leaf Trap at the base of our steps.
So we have managed to bag up several bags of leaves to have ready for the compost bins and worm farms as they break down and drop their levels. What a great resource to have.
We also had to remove tree branches from a fallen limb at the other house and in the process tidied up a couple of fallen branches from the local park. Mainly eucalypts and some Common Coral Tree Erythrina x sykesii. These we mulched up for use in the garden, once they had decomposed a little over the coming months.
So the house and park got a tidy up and we have a nice store of carbonaceous material ready for the raised garden beds once completed.
I have been dreaming of compost. I’m not sure why.
After the recent winds came the rain. Slowly. But it really hit this afternoon and then settled in. I heard the tank pump working this morning and I’m sure it would have pumped more water up to the header tanks by this afternoon. The neighbours confirmed about 6-7 mm yesterday (Sat 26th, 20019) so I’m sure this afternoon delivered a good deal more.
I know it’s only the coming of winter, but so far we’ve done ok. In as much as, so far the house has done exceptionally well at keeping us comfortable. Gran has not made comment yet on feeling the cold unless she has been out and about.
I’ve enjoyed our autumn this year, though I feel much of it has been spent as an observer of the beautiful sunny days as I’ve worked, rather than getting out into it. But anyway, there will be time for this later and the glimpses of beautiful weather has not gone by without appreciation and gratitude.
The Muse is happy also. There is a small stockpile of deciduous leaves, mulched tree branches, saw dust, cardboard and assorted other piles of waste paper and cardboard items ready for the raised garden beds. Plus there was a little bit of progress with moving sand recently (in amongst everything else) so the promise of the first bed being completed some time soon appears eventual. Happy Muse. These resources lay in waiting. Small pots and containers of edibles are greening up and thriving. The compost bins that we started early in spring are shut down now, simply sitting and maturing. Ready also for their addition to the alchemy of what will be the raised garden bed soil.
So I am eager to get some further progress on the beds happening so that we can move the rabbits and compost bins and tidy up more of the awaiting, bulk resources that lay piled up around the place. There is the sound of rain on the tin roof as I lay in bed. The whisper of a breeze, the restlessness of a rabbit in the winter dark. The frogs are starting to sing. The Muse is happy. Finally, the rain has come.
I’ve been updating our Changes to Lifestyle post and have been focusing on the laundry side of things which has many options available for making some wiser, greener changes. So much so I thought a post of its own would be worthwhile.
