Edgar's Page

Spys, Thunderstorms and Chienne

12/09/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

It's warmer outside. — It’s warmer outside.

For quite a few years I have been “associated” with a group because of a mutual interest but I found that it was very much an “in-group” and if you were not accepted by the in group, well you were just not accepted. So I decided that I would give up talking in the group but still be a kind of a part of it because a lot of the content really did interest me. A few days ago I decided to “talk” I thought I would be like John le Carre “The Spy who came in from the cold”. However, here’s the thing, I discovered that it was colder in the inside than it was on the outside, which I found quite disappointing.

I am heading off to Adelaide on Sunday afternoon for a clinical appointment on Monday morning. Again it means an overnight stay but at least we will be home late Monday afternoon. I say late because depending on how long we are at the clinic, I would like to get some shopping done. I need some supplies for my Filofax – which I cannot get in this part of the world.

According to the weather forecasters this little burst of spring weather will soon be over as we head towards a winter throwback and rain. Actually, they said rain and thunderstorms and that’s a worry, particularly if they creep up on us unannounced. There are supposed to be storms today yet as I look out of the window, the sky is clear and it looks like a nice day – although it is only 6:40am and the day is yet young. Chienne is very – and I mean very – afraid in thunder. Her sensitive hearing stresses her out something fierce and if we know ahead of time that there is a thunderstorm on the way ( her hearing usually tells us long before it gets here) we can medicate her and keep her reasonably calm. 11am and it’s raining and heavy clouds. Will have to keep an eye on it – but I had words with her and she’s ok at the moment. However (now 7pm) it is raining heavily, there is a lot of lightening about, but not too much thunder as yet. I have given her some medication – half a tablet – and she is reasonably calm but I think it’s going to be a long night.

Samsung the noo 036 — Like the song, “Me and my Teddy Bear, got no worries, got no care”

This month is a very busy month for the FRDS Support and I will be involved in a number of the fundraising activities – thankfully not all. But then I will miss one of the Big Events at the start of the month because I have to be in Adelaide again – four trips in five weeks – 3124 klm. just to Adelaide. No wonder my poor Ford is feeling the strain.

Flowers, dogs and fundraising

10/09/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I Believe that the Native Hibiscus comes in a number of different colours and I would like to have a good look at that., something I will do when next I visit the Botanic Gardens. I would like a red and a yellow to go with the blue/purple I already have. I think these would make a nice addition. I know, but I am going with the things that I believe will survive rather than be adventurous

This is a snapshot of our electorate:

Grey is a vast electorate, covering 904,881 sq.km, or 91.8% of South Australia, an area larger than New South Wales. It includes the agricultural districts of the Eyre Peninsula and the fishing and port centre of Port Lincoln, the iron triangle cities of Whyalla, Port Augusta and Port Pirie, and since the 2003 redistribution, the whole of the Yorke Peninsula. The greater part of the electorate covers the arid semi-desert north of South Australia

So there it is – a crushing defeat for the incumbent government, so many seats lost, others reduced to marginal seats. A new government, a new direction, so let’s see where that leads. At least this government won’t have the added burden of stabbing each other in the back with the defeated leader and his supporters, undermining the the winning leader and her government. But the saddest thing of all was that even her own supporters turned on her in the end and we had the ” Et tu Brute?” as her so called friends delivered the final cutting strike. Yes it was a lacklustre campaign, populist on one side, controlled and disciplined on the other and in the end, the controlled and disciplined won handsomely. So, as some Americans would say ” Upwards and onwards – Confidence is High” Well, ok, I really don’t know if that’s what real Americans do say, but they do in the Movies :o)

The weather has started to warm up a bit so the dogs have been spending much of their time indoors. Once the weather really heats up and we start to get into the high 30 and 40 then they will spend most of their time inside where it’s cooler. Also, I would like to be able to get back out on my bike again and at least with the warm to hot weather, there is not the annoying wind. I had a look at the Pound and there are ten dogs in there – one Maltese, One Jack Russell and eight Pit Bulls. A worry..

Spent all day yesterday (Saturday) at a fundraising event for the RFDS. I think we

did pretty well for the day but I left before the end to pick up herself and go off to vote.

The Tin Man and Native Plants

05/09/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Halfway between here and Adelaide is “The Tin Man” an institution in this part of the world. The Tin Man is a BP Service Station, Motel, Rest Stop, but it’s more than just that, it’s a crossroad for travellers in this region. Almost everyone stops there for fuel, comfort, food. It’s one of these things where no explanation is necessary – everyone knows what you are referring to. I remember one time when the older son and I were coming back from Adelaide and we stopped at the Tin Man only to meet the younger son and friends travelling to Adelaide for a concert. People wanted to know if this was a family reunion :o) What’s this got to do with anything, you ask?? Well simply this – I have been travelling back and forth to Adelaide so often recently that some friends have suggested that the only way they can get in touch with me is to leave a message at the “Tin Man”

About six or seven months ago I planted a Native Hibiscus that I bought at the Arid Lands Botanic Garden. Since then it, like the Desert Pea, has taken root and grown like wildfire. I have had to trim it back somewhat since it was spreading branches over the pathway and Herself was having to push through it to hang out a washing. The Seedling is very tiny but it certainly grows high enough. I am particularly happy with that and the other Arid Lands plants. Some of them are still on the small side but they are supposed to grow to a reasonable height. I am impressed with the Hibiscus but even less so with the Sturt’s Desert Rose, which does not seem to have taken at all. When I get the opportunity to go through to the Arid Lands BG I will buy two more of the Hibiscus plants and replace the desert roses, which have done nothing. I don’t mind waiting for results if I feel that I am going to get results but the desert roses have not progressed in any way, shape or form since they were planted and they were planted before the Desert Pea.

This morning I had to step in quickly and break up a nasty fight between my

This is my Main Man - the MalteseTerrorist! — This is my Main Man – the MalteseTerrorist!

Associates. Actually, the little man is very lucky he still has his head on after what he did . Just picture a dog sleeping peacefully on her bed, not a care in the world, stretched out and completely relaxed. Suddenly there is this white blur as the little man goes charging past my legs, takes a flying leap, lands right on top of Chienna and bounces off on the other side of the bed. Struth did she go ballistic!! I mean, I can’t blame her, poor thing, and there’s me trying to keep them apart while laughing. I know, it probably hurt her a bit as well as scaring the living daylights out of her, but it was so funny. Talk about living dangerously!!

Elections, Clowns and back to Adelaide.

01/09/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Just under two weeks left in campaigning for the Federal General Election. We have compulsory voting in Australia and I have to say that I have found the campaigning to be very underwheleming. All the parties have been very luck-luster and I think most people are fed up and just want the election to be over. Already we are $300 Billion in debt and one side are concerned whilst the other side are claiming that it’s nothing and a debt we can handle, so they keep adding to it. It’s like drug addicts ” It’s ok man, I can handle it” I dare say all the countries of Europe that are begging for a bail out said pretty much the same thing, – Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus and the British Economy is not in such great shape either – although it is starting to recover slowly. It was not so very long ago that Ireland was referred to as “The Celtic Tiger” because of the strength of its economy and did like they all did, borrow and spend. I think the barrel they rolled out is missing quite a few staves. The best definiton of a politician that I like is “A politician is a person who sees the light at the end of the tunnel and goes out and buys more tunnel”

We have a nice new addition to our hospital – two new wings – and very impressive they are. This was all paid for by federal money, but here’s the thing – our State Government (Socialist) is also up to its eyes in debt and they haven’t got the money to staff the place. No idea what’s going to happen but I expect, now that it’s finished, they will have people come and open the place with great fanfare. It’s like something from ” Yes Minister” In fact, now that I think of it, a British person reading this will probably think I have stolen it from “Yes Minister” but be assured I most certainly have not.

Tomorrow I head off to Adelaide again. We have to be at a clinic in North Adelaide. However my younger son will drive back home and the main reason for driving down and back is that we have a funeral to attend on Friday. Edwin was 100 years of age when he passed away last week – and he received his letter from the Queen.

We all have a special friend – someone we love dearly but can be a bit of a clown. You know the one – he/she is the friend who, when you take what you think is the perfect shot with a camera – stick his/her tongue out. I have a friend like that – she’s called Chienne.

Less than a week to go and already there are predictions of a landslide against the present (caretaker) government, so, by this time next week we could well have a new government and a new Prime Minister.

Work, Chocolate and little twisters

22/08/201324/08/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I have been called into work three days this week and decided that I am not available for the last two days. I said that my garden is starting to get messy because I have not had the time to look after it, I should have added that my room is also like a tip. I have brought back paperwork from Adelaide and have not had the time to put it away before I was off again. I really need some time to get things organised before starting again – i.e. heading south in the general direction of Adelaide. When we were in Adelaide last week, Herself just wanted to go back to the hotel and rest after the journey and the tests. I took her to the hotel, got her settled and made sure she was ok. I then took off into town for an hour or so to do some shopping – mainly stationery that I can’t get at home. I wandered into David Jones and saw this display of Chocolate. Talk about “Death by Chocolate”. There was also a display of Marilyn Monroe, in Chocolate, but it was just too crowded and I couldn’t get near to get a good look and not the time to wait around. Probably just as well!!

In the morning I will make a start on the garden and hopefully get rid of the bulk of these weeds. I also need to sort out the Sturt’s Desert Pea which has been sort of running wild and has overflowed into the driveway. The Arid Land plants are doing well, at least I think they are. I will know better when I can get to see them better through all these weeds. We have just had so much rain recently that the weeds have just taken off. The weather has been really odd and a tornado – not the big scary ones like America gets, but big enough to cause a lot of damage on the outskirts of Adelaide – touched down not far from Bolivar.

I’ve cleared the bulk of the weeds away and refreshed my Arid Lands Plants – which are doing well. I am also in the process of creating two new raised flower beds alongside the garage. I had some thoughts about placing the flower beds on concrete but then I came up with the idea of using the wood chips as a draining agent rather than a mulching agent – covered the bottom in a good layer of wood chips then the potting mixture on the top of that. Anyway, that’s

my theory and what I have done. I just have to see if it works :o) And the Sturt’s Desert Pea is taking over everything at the front — Joyfull with its bright green and bright red flowers. I had to cut it back a little because it had spread out over the driveway and people, including me, were driving over it.

Hospital, flowers and space invaders

21/08/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

First of all, the good news is that the tests Annabell (herself) underwent were clear and the doctors are pleased with her. We still have to live with other things but she is doing well and we don’t have to go back again until March of 2015 – which is great. The weather in Adelaide was cold and added to the fact that she does not travel well, it was a difficult two days for her. It was a difficult day to be down in Adelaide and there being no parking available at the hospital I had to drop her off and then go find a parking place – which I did – about a kilometer away. I parked then walked back to the hospital, then reversed the process when she was finished. The time was not all that crash hot for me either – five trips in four week at 760 klm per trip is 3800 klms, and it’s about time I had a break from travelling. Apart from the Sturt’s Desert Pea, my garden is suffering because the weeds have started to take over and I have not had a weekend nor time during the week to get it sorted out. I’ve done some but I need to spend some serious time in there over the next week or so. We stopped into the Arid Lands Botanic Garden on the way through, but there was nothing ready yet and the Desert Pea they had was smaller than a seedling so it needs some more time. I’ll be heading back to town on the 26th, so the travelling is not quite over yet for a little while.

The drive home was fun and we joked, when passing Bolivar (the Extreme end of Adelaide), that we were leaving civilisation behind us and heading into the ” Badlands” – “Bandit Country”. Too many people have the idea in their heads that they just about need a helicopter gunship as an escort if they leave the security of the Metropolitan District and head north . It was also interesting for in that when we were at the start of the journey she realised, for the first time, that all the pastureland she could see on either side of the road to the horizon on either side, was now military property. That aside, she slept most of the journey down and back, which was good.

I was up to my wee eyeballs over the weekend with RFDS Fundraising and other things and on Monday I was asked to

Some people call them 'Top-Notch" pigeons. — You invading my space, Bird.

work – which I did. I have this weekend free ( at the moment) and I should be able to get into the garden and attend to these weeds. I miss my little associates when I am away. I even miss him standing, staring off into space and barking. He’s silly! I have even watched him barking at birds that have the cheek to invade his air space. I didn’t have a photograph of a bird on the fence, but I thought this would sort of give you the idea. It’s a Crested Pigeon – cute – but still a pigeon.

Hospitals,clinics and Sturt’s Desert Pea.

15/08/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I do not have Wallabies and Kangaroos in my garden. I do have two dogs and the occasional wandering cat, which sits high on a fence and teases the dogs. I’m not a cat person, but she/he is a lovely creature.

This week I head back down to Adelaide again. This will be – at least – one overnight stay, however, there is a possibility that it could be two, depending on how the meeting goes on Saturday. At this time of the year I will not make the long drive back home in the dark. The further north you go the more chance there is of wildlife on the road. If you hit a Kangaroo the damage to an ordinary vehicle would be extensive – perhaps not quite so bad in a Jeep, but still cost a dollar or three to get the repairs done. I was told that there is a device you can fit on the front of the vehicle that will deter a kangaroo from coming near you – emits a high frequency noise – or something. Must look into that.

As expected the meeting went on until late in the afternoon and it was almost 5pm before I got back to the hotel. Fortunately they did have a room for me. There were some very contentious issues that were not entirely resolved and will have to be dealt with again at the next regular meeting in October. The space between will give people time to reflect on these issuses and, hopefully, come up with solutions. I arrived home Sunday afternoon and on Monday I was called into work – something I could really have done without. On Thursday I head off again to Royal Adelaide Hospital and take herself for tests. Not looking forward to this because she is not a good traveller and the tests will tire her, so even although the hotel is nice, she will be glad to get back home.

Once back home I have to organise a fundraising event for the RFDS this Saturday. I think I have rostered myself on for that one and provided everything is ok, it should not be a problem. If it were summer I would be back home tomorrow night, since it would have been light until about 9:30pm.

20130809_122208 — Always something new at David Jones

Anyway I kind of feel like John Denver ” All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go” and we take off shortly for the RAH. Her first appointment is not until 12:45 so that gives us enough time to get down there and get parked and make our way to the clinic. Depending on how she feels at the end of the day, we might have time to go into town for a little while. My son is staying here for a few days to look after the dogs.

Now the Wallaby!! Sorry.

02/08/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The previous post was incorrect in that I forgot to remove the Wallabies part from the title. The Hospital part ran on (ok, so I’m long winded!!) more than I meant it to and I took the part about the Wallabies out. In essence it was that a friend who lives in Tasmania has Wallabies who are frequent visitor to her garden. Recently she noticed that one the regulars ( she named him Rufus) had been injured – probably an altercation with a car. She called the Wildlife Park who sent out two wardens. She assumed that they would tranquillise the animal and attend to his injuries. No so – under Tasmanian Law it is illegal to discharge a firearm (tranquilliser gun is a firearm) within 200 meters of any dwelling. Instead they tried to hand capture the the already stressed animal. I can think of many things I would like to do, but trying to capture a Wallaby (fully grown) by hand is most definitely not one of them :o) She sent me a number of photographs and I’m sure she wont mind if I pinch one of them.

I see Kangaroos from time to time and I keep a tight lead on the dogs. These silly things would take off after it or them And I would be unlikely to see them again. About 20 feet away from the end of the road a fence has been erected so we don’t see them as often as we used to – which is sad in one way, but in another it keeps them safe and away from any traffic since it can get busy at times when strange people think this is a through road out to the main highway some seven kilometres away. They stop at the end of the road and come back. I have redirected traffic several times when out with the dogs and pointed them in the direction where the road does go out to join up with the highway.

Desert Flowers and Wallabies

01/08/201301/08/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The Sturt’s Desert Pea has really taken off and I am very pleased about that. For a long time I was somewhat disappointed with it in that it was just green with no promise of flowers. Then yesterday morning there were flowers and little buds everywhere on the plant, so I was really happy about that. Perhaps the Arid Lands plants that I have put in the back will take and grow. That would be nice. Although having said that the Sturt Desert Rose I planted have not really done anything, but considering how quickly the Pea started to flower, I’m still hopeful. I’m a little bit concerned about the tree out front. Workmen repairing the storm water drains have dug into the area and exposed part of the root system – never a good thing to do with eucalyptus. Fortunately the weather has been fairly reasonable This morning I was called into work so I head off there later today. Herself had not so great a day yesterday. We’ll see how she is this morning. I wont be going in to work until about 11am. In ten days I will take her back down to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for her four year check-up and to make sure everything is still fine. Four years ago she had a golden staph infection that made her life – interesting!. Oh yes they killed the infection, but in doing so they got to the stage where they were pumping so many drugs into her that they started to compromise the liver and kidney functions. All in she was over four months in three different hospitals, our local hospital and then two in Adelaide – the Royal Adelaide and then a rehab .hospital for a further four weeks. I spent much of that time travelling back and forth and since I was staying there for days at a time, I left the car at home for John to use and I went down by coach and stayed at a hotel close to the hospital – or at least within walking distance. Couple of times when one or other of the boys was not available, I had to put the dogs into the local RSPCA Kennels. Ok – but they were really glad when we came to take them home I have to go down to Adelaide for a conference next week and the following week I go back down to the Hospital with herself. John is available to stay for a few days. We believe everything will be clear and we can return home and wait for the next appointments – four years hence – perhaps even longer :o) I expect so because if everything is ok, then we don’t foresee any concerns and should not have to go back again. What we are going down for is the follow up on the original operation – nothing to do with the Staph infection. That’s gone (says he with hope in his heart!)

Mute Monday.

29/07/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Not quite mute but I jut had to share these photographs. Sturt’s Desert Pea is not the easiest flower to grow. It is an Arid Lands / Desert plant and I just put two small ones at the side of the front garden. Look what happened!! I am quietly happy…

And— there are little buds all over…

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