Ada Ryan Gardens – Edgar's Page

Sunrise, Spiders and Flowers.

October 28, 2021 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

It’s been a good few days – no medical emergencies, no hospital visits, peaceful and quiet. Wet and windy at times but that’s fairly normal here. However, I have still managed to get Benji out and about. This morning, for example, Benji and I were out at 6am. Quiet and peaceful with hardly a breath of wind. An absolutely brilliant sunrise. Seven am and we were back home and by 8am we were in the middle of a thunderstorm – the first of three that came and went throughout the day. More are forecast for the next few days I had a look at my plants outside and found a

creature with a web. I had no idea what it was since it was like no spider I had ever seen. Turns out it was a Golden Orb Spider. To be honest I had never even heard of it before. I did check up on it and they are common in rural areas and I realised that this was one of the plants I bought at the Arid Lands Botanic Garden. However, it is fairly harmless and a bite can cause temporary localised pain but it is not toxic.

Also on my walk this morning I had an unusual sight – a mother feeding her young. I carry a plain Oat Bar in my pocket. Sometimes when I am out a magpie will land beside me and I will crush part of the bar and let the magpie have it for breakfast. This does not happen every day. It did happen this morning and after the magpie

started feeding what looked like a second magpie landed close to it yelping its head off. The first Magpie lifted some food walked over to the second one and fed it. It kept doing that all the time I was watching. Magpies mate for life and I believe this was either a mother still feeding its young, or a male feeding its partner. I told Annabell and she thinks it was the former, a mother feeding its young. It really was interesting to watch and it’s something I will look out for.

During the week I spent some time with Benji at the Ada Ryan Gardens. I

remembered seeing a plant on a post recently and I think we established it was a South African plant. Anyway, as I was wandering through the gardens I came across what I think is the same plant. There was no identification but I’m sure it is the same plant- if not then it is something very similar.

I really must commend the council and the gardeners at the Ada Ryan Gardens for the great job they are doing. The gardens are well looked after and cared for and really are a credit to the work that the people do there.

Annabell has been good this last week and long may that continue. We have no hospital appointments until December. We were given a choice of two dates for day surgery – 10th December or 20th December. Since we didn’t want to take the risk of being “out of action” – so to speak – so close to Christmas, we opted for the 10th. Depending on what they want to do at the clinic, we could be another four days away, which was another reason for not going with the 20th. Any reasonable luck we should drive down on the 9th, day surgery on the 10th and drive home on the 11th or 12th. Well, that’s Plan A :o) Haven’t got a Plan B yet…..

Benji, walks, weather and Glasgow

April 22, 2021 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Two weeks since Benji was injured in an attack. He is recovered fairly well and we are out walking again, but on a different route. Actually we are back on the original route which is in the opposite direction from the area where we were injured. He still has antibiotics to take twice daily and I will take him back to the Vet on Tuesday as a follow up when the antibiotics finish. Apart from the surface wounds there seems to be no internal damage, for which I am most thankful. After three days in the stroller, he was ready for walking. He was glad to get out again and enjoying the walks and the fresh air. We stick mainly to the Ada Ryan Gardens and the Wetlands during the day when there are very few people with dogs around. Since we are surrounded by National Parks and Conservation parks, there is not many places we can go to. There are a number of places further down the coast that are pet friendly and the nearest of them is 70 miles away (think Glasgow to St. Andrews) so just going there and then coming back again seems to me very wasteful. In order to justify travelling that distance it is necessary to make a day of it. At the moment I am not happy going off and leaving Annabell. Yes the boys are here and that’s fine when I have to go to Adelaide for

It’s real!! Lobey Dosser’s Horse, really exists !!

Presbytery, but leaving her on her own while I go off on an unnecessary road trip with my dog is a different matter altogether In fact it almost ranks as being self-indulgent. When we have to go Adelaide and the Clinic, John usually looks after Benji, makes sure he is ok and feeds him. With the dog door, Benji can get in and out as he needs. When we come back from our afternoon walk to the Wetlands we go in the back gate and I take his harness off. Annabell’s comment is “What kept you? The dog was in ages before you!” Me: “Ah yes, but he has a private entrance”

The weather over the last week has been great and the boy and I have got out and about. However, with the cyclone in Western Australia and the effects reaching to us, this will change over the next few days with forecast rain and high winds. Well yes, it was a bit on the windy to very windy when we were out walking this morning but we didn’t get blown away and made it back to the house safe and sound. Sitting hear I can hear the wind rushing through the carport. It’s not constant and comes in waves. Anyway, a very warm welcome to Bogie. He is lovely and I did reply to the post but it seems to have vanished into some void. I am finding this with a lot of

things recently. Fortunately not the photograph I found and thought about Anabel Marsh – because I thought only a Glasgow person would really understand what it is all about. The photograph is real but it was part of an article I read about photographic mishaps and when I saw that one, Lobey Dosser was the first thing that entered my head. Weird, I know, but there you are.

As we move further into April the weather is starting to cool down in the mornings. This morning was positively fresh with a fine – but slightly damp – mist for a little while. Good for a 50 minute morning walk. I still have my Glasgow Street Director ( yes it is out of date,) and Queen Margaret Drive to the Broomielaw is about two and one half miles, so there and back is as much as I do in a day. :o)

Had Benji back at the Vet. He is very pleased with him and now that his fur is starting to grow back no more treatment will be required, but we did discuss how lucky we were that the teeth of the big dog did not damage anything internal or we would have been in strife. However, that has never happened to me in this area in all the years I have been here and I find that it has made me wary of other dogs and has made me change where I walk and and be in a position where I can see what is well ahead of me. No, we do not go out in the early morning dark any more. Sunrise is now our time.

Benji, Walks and Photographs

April 16, 2021 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

One week today since Benji was injured in an attack. He is recovered fairly well and we are out walking again, but on a different route. Actually we are back on the original route which is in the opposite direction from the area where we were injured. He still has antibiotics to take twice daily and I will take him back to the Vet on Tuesday as a follow up when the antibiotics finish. Apart from the surface wounds there seems to be no internal damage, for which I am most thankful. After three days in the stroller, he was ready for walking. He was glad to get out again and enjoying the walks and the fresh air. We stick mainly to the Ada Ryan Gardens, the Wetlands, the lighthouse and Stoney Point during the day when there are very few people with dogs around. Since we are surrounded by National Parks and Conservation parks, there is not many places we can go to. There are a number of places further down the coast that are pet friendly and the nearest of them is 70 miles away so just going there and then coming back again seems to me very wasteful. In order to justify travelling that distance it is necessary to make a day of it. At the moment I am not happy going off and leaving Annabell. Yes the boys are here and that’s fine when I have to go to Adelaide for Presbytery, but leaving her on her own while I go off on an unnecessary road trip with my dog is a different matter altogether, I think the term self Indulgent kind of fits the bill. When we have to go Adelaide and the Clinic, John usually looks after Benji, makes sure he is ok and feeds him. With the dog door, Benji can get in and out as he needs.

There is a photograph exhibition in May and I have been thinking of submitting photographs to it. I like my photographs but I’m not so sure others will. I was at the photograph club

last night and photographs that I thought were good were criticized by the judge who found many faults with them. I guess the idea is that the criticizing and pointing out the faults – as the judge sees them – is supposed to assist you in doing better, grow and mature, so to speak, in all the aspects of photography. I shall never succeed in this because I found many of the comments, pointless and excessively picky. Just as well I had no photographs there or he would have had a field-day, What I have is an excellent camera but I don’t know how to use it to get the best out of it. This group is “Competition Based” with only some minor practical nights. They are really very nice people but this is not what I want and really not helping me much. Many years ago the TAFE (Technical and Further Education) ran a number of Community Courses. A course on Photography – a Basic Computer course, the wife of one of the local doctors, ran a course on Indian Cooking, another lady ran a course on Italian Cooking. The fees were reasonable, cooking people brought the ingredients as required each week, and so forth. There were no Diplomas nor Certificates at the end, but they were well attended. But the Government of the day spent money on other things and when it needed money, it started closing down TAFE Campuses. It tore the heart out of the TAFE system and it never really recovered – it still has not.

Fitbit, Stroller and Benji

April 8, 2021 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Every time I went to the door, Benji was there already. It was clear to me that he wanted to go out but I wasn’t quite sure that he was ready for a harness and walking. So, I went to the garage and got the dog stroller out and made it ready for him. I got everything ready to go out and then lifted him into the stroller, clipped him and half closed the overhead cover. Off we went. Since it was a public holiday (Monday) the place was fairly quiet. I also decided to go back to our old route. Yes there is a number of barking dogs but I now figure that they can bark as much as they like – they are behind fences and gates and therefore no problem. Except to Dougal who goes ballistic when a dog barks. I don’t mind

looking after Dougal. He is a lovely dog in the house, but a real pain to walk out with. A short tale for Fitbit users. When I took Benji out on the stroller, I was upset that my Fitbit

did not record any steps. Pushing the stroller means that my arms were not moving and the Fitbit needs movement to record. I mentioned this to my son and he suggested “why don’t you strap the thing round your ankle?” Yes, I dismissed the idea with a quiet chuckle. However, later on I thought about it and decided to give it a try – nothing to lose anyway. So, I did that – strapped it round my ankle ( the strap was long enough) and off we went. Well, was I surprised! I have used that route for a number of years and know how many steps it should be – at least I thought I did. When we came back home and I removed the Fitbit from my ankle I was shocked that it had recorded nearly 500 more steps than I had expected. It was a double shock because I really (honestly) didn’t think it would work, but it did. However, it is back on my wrist where it should be, but worth remembering if I have to use the stroller again. However, I think Benji is ready for walking.

I have no idea why WordPress decided to change a system that was popular and working well. I don’t like the block system at all and I have already outlined the process I go through to get back to Classic. It’s long drawn and convoluted but it works for me – as the saying goes.

Benji is coming along well. His wounds are healing up nicely and he gets his antibiotic medication twice daily. Since his wounds have now closed, I will start taking him out to the Ada Ryan Gardens when the weather is not too warm.

I took Benji out to the Ada Ryan Gardens this afternoon. We had a wander around the gardens and then drove to the foreshore where I bought us Ice Cream. Wont do that again! Since the Foreshore Café was closed down and awaiting repairs and renovations, food vans have popped up. It was to the food van that I went for the ice cream. Turns out they

Benji in the Stroller — Same time same area.

use a machine similar to that used by McDonalds and it is not REAL ice cream – sort of soft serve stuff. Anyway, it started melting almost as soon as I walked away from the van and to add to that Benji just wouldn’t look at his. Well, he had a couple of licks but that was it. I finished mine (not great) and was left with this other stuff melting and running over my hand. Never thought I would drop ice cream in a bin, but I did, then looked for a water tap to clean my hands. Should have gone to the Wetlands where they serve real Ice Cream. The reason we didn’t go to the Wetlands is that it was a warm to hot(ish) day and I felt the Concrete Path would be too warm on his paws

Car Problems A

February 20, 2021 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

There were a number of things that I wanted to do while I was in Adelaide. First and foremost was to get down to Central Station and confirm that there was a lift from the ground to the concourse I have never used it and I didn’t know. People said they thought there was, so I had to go and confirm that there is. Secondly I wanted to see for myself how long the train took to travel from Central to Flinders and lastly I wanted to know the distance from the train station at Flinders to the entrance to Flinders Medical. The train was going to sit at Flinders for ten minutes – without really rushing and walking at a normal pace I walked from the train to the Entrance to the Hospital and back to the train in eight minutes. Yes, it will take me a tad longer pushing a wheelchair, but it’s flat ground and doable. That was the first thing and finding all that out saves me the stress of driving to the Flinders Medical or the expense of taxi fare there and back ( $80). The other thing was to go to a camera shop and buy a new lens. I wanted an 18-55mm lens as the one I have is not

Benji at rest — Sometimes it’s all just too much!

so good. I wanted the new version. I arrived at the shop and asked for the lens. The salesperson asked if the lens would fit my camera. I said it would since I already

have that lens. He wanted to know why I wanted a second lens – seemed odd. Fair comment so I explained that I wanted to replace the lens I had with a new up to date version. He then suggested I should ungraded to a better lens – larger and more expensive, and yet another lens, even more expensive. I thanked him for his time and trouble and left – no lens. I have since found the lens on line in a shop I have bought from before – and it was cheaper – despite the postage from the USA, so that’s on its way here.

The meeting on Saturday was interesting in that we still have not come to terms with Covid-19 so we did not have a full physical meeting but rather two meetings linked by a Zoom system and from what was said this is going to happen for some time to come. Back to the future indeed when we used to have two separate units. Now we call them “Hubs”

Sadly the present weather conditions mean that I cannot take Benji to the wetlands. I did go down – briefly – to check out the pavers and the bitumen and both were too hot to the touch for me so

At the Ada Ryan Gardens where all the trouble began.

too hot for wee paws. Apart from which, there is not really much shelter at the wetlands, except at the barbecue area just beyond the carpark and of course, at the kiosk. The beach being much the same, we went back to the gardens for a little while. Getting to the gardens was a problem in that the car started playing up. I only just made it into the carpark when it died. Pretty rotten parking, but not much I could do about that. I called out the RAA ( Royal Automobile Association) and they arrived about an hour later. The mechanic tested everything, the car started, he logged into the car’s computer and everything there said all was well. The car started again and ran fairly smoothly so I drove home with the RAA vehicle following me. It cut out once, but then started up again and we drove home. I just put the car in the drive with the intention of getting it under the carport later. That didn’t work too well and it’s still out there.

Hospitals, Gardens and WordPress

November 7, 2020 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Monday Nov. 2nd. The ultrasound took place last Friday morning and we should have the results – or at least the consultant will have the results tomorrow. When we get them is another matter, Although having said that, he has been pretty good in keeping us informed when he has been here. He is not resident here. But this scan should tell us where the ‘infection ‘is and how widespread it is. At this stage the results seem to indicate that it is in one area and not widespread, but one never can tell with this. I attended the RFDS Meeting last night and drew back from any further

major involvement for the time being. Some things I will continue to do because they are done by telephone and do not require me to be somewhere. I have put my name down for the Men’s Christmas Dinner as has Annabell for the Women’s Christmas Dinner not knowing if either of us will be there at this stage. Everything is very uncertain until we know what is to happen.

Annabell is still very unwell and will require major surgery but the ultrasounds and the blood tests have been quite encouraging, so now we just wait for a bit. Yes we do have the results but we need time to discuss them with the boys. At this stage we don’t know if it will be at the Royal Adelaide or the Flinders Medical Center – this will determine where I will stay when I am down there with her. I understand that the Flinders have a couple of houses that can be rented for a short period so if it is the Flinders I will organise that. If it if the Royal Adelaide I will probably stay at the Princes Lodge, which is where I will be staying this weekend – maybe!!

I will need to get back on to WordPress again and see if they can fix my problem. I can read all your posts – no problem there – if you comment on my post, I can reply – no problem there either. Howeffer, if I try and make a comment on your posts – ah, that does present a problem in that, I can’t. So it’s not that I have not been reading your posts it’s just that I can’t comment on them. When I try to do so, it tells me that my login to WordPress.com has expired and the comment is terminated. I haven’t been ignoring people, I just can’t get in touch with you. On the other hand –

perhaps there is nothing wrong with WordPress.com and you are all trying to tell me something :o)

As an aside, I liked the Spinach and Cheese Ravioli recipe and have downloaded and printed it ( see, I do read them) . Depending what happens and where I go, I will take this with me and perhaps I will be able to use it as a quick meal when I am on my own. Since Annabell cannot have tomato products, I can make it here but it would last me for a few days – and – I suppose that’s good. I love pasta but hate lasagna – strange…

I have booked the hotel in Adelaide for the Conference but I also indicated that I could cancel at a moments notice and that seemed to be fine after I explained why this might be happen. I made a comment on a post this morning – Tippy Tales, – which was good. Perhaps the problem is rectifying itself.

Benji is well. Like the rest of us he is getting older although his enthusiasm for early morning walks has not diminished, he is not so great on mid-

afternoon walks and a couple of times an night I have gone out on my own. We stopped going round the back on the Wetlands to feed the geese and ducks mainly because the path has been upgraded with gravel and he has soft paws and the gravel hurts, so we stick to the main paved paths. Some may say I spoil him – not so – I just look after him a lot.

Sanity returns – for a while.

October 23, 2020 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Ah, thank you WordPress. I have now returned to Classic Editor – at least for the time being. I hope I can stay in this program and be able to return after a close down. I was not impressed with the block editor and I have to admit that I found (find) it confusing and awkward to use. Apart from which, I’m all in favour of change – unless, of course, if affects me, in which case I am totally against it LOL….. Went out with Benji last night and used the stroller. He is starting to get used to it and is a lot more relaxed. Before he kept standing up much of the time, now he is starting to sit down and still watch what’s going on around him. I still have him clipped in – just in case..

After several days of 30 – 32c warmth, which was very nice, it has been raining for much of the morning. Not the heavy rain of the other week, more like light showers, which, in Scotland we would call a drizzle. It’s still warm – but wet :o) Over this week Benji and I have spent a fair bit of time at the Ada Ryan Gardens. Not so much the wetlands at the moment mainly because there seems to be a lot of dogs around the area. I think I already said that this is why I don’t join the 6:30 am Friday Wetland Walkers, because a few of them bring their dogs. The Wetlands Kiosk has become the ‘in ‘place at the moment. It is closed Monday and Tuesday but open the rest of the week and open late night Friday and Saturday. I asked about the closures and I was told that it is to give the staff a break from working flat out when they are open, daytime and late nights. I think credit is due to the council workers for the time and effort they put in to keeping the gardens clean, tidy and really looking well kept. There is no Pageant nor are there any activities in the gardens at all this year, which is giving parts of the gardens time to recover from stalls, marquees and people. Given the current “state of play” it’s unlikely that there will be any activities in the gardens until Australia Day in mid January 2021.

Seems the hospital is unwilling to let me off the hook. Not had to take Annabell there for a bit, but got a call this morning to say that Jim had fallen and was waiting for an ambulance to take him to hospital because he seems to have broken something. He wanted to know if I could come and collect Yogi. Well I was dressed for church, and I drove down and picked up the dog. A short while ago – 3;30 this afternoon – he called me and asked if I could come and collect him from the hospital. I did, of course and he asked me if I could hold on to Yogi for a couple of days. Not a problem, Benji and Yogi get on well together – except when Yogi tries to encroach on Benji’s sleeping spot at night. Yes, Jim has broken his wrist. He was telling me that he will not be going to Perth at Christmas. It is unlikely that the Western Australia borders will be open before next year and he is not going to go into a hotel for two weeks hotel quarantine in Perth and another two

when he comes back to South Australia – all of which he would have to pay for.

We did not go out walking yesterday nor this morning. Yogi has a number of medical problems – which I aware of – and requires medication. I really don’t know how fit he is and although we three have gone out walking in the past – it has been a while and I don’t want to take any chances. It is only for a couple of days and Benji can manage that.

OK, Jim took a bit of a turn and telephoned me and asked me if I would take him up to hospital. I went down, picked him up and drove him back to the hospital. It was decided that he should be admitted so I stayed with him until they were ready for him. I made a couple of telephone calls to let others know he was in hospital. This means that we will have Yogi longer than was intended. Oh well, he’s really not too much of a problem at the moment.

Tomorrow I take Annabell into hospital for the Exploratory Examination or whatever it is. I will let you know how things progress. Hopefully it will be nothing serious.

Warning – photograph heavy.

July 24, 2020 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Today Benji and I went wandering to the Wetlands, the Foreshore and the Ada Ryan Gardens. I have not been to the gardens in the evening to see the pathways with the new lighting, but it’s on my list. I have visited the gardens a few times in the last week and it has been quiet, despite it being school holidays. I did take a few photographs especially of the birds, but trying to get a good photograph through small one inch square holes is not the best. Still I did try. I also look at one of the plants – not really sure what it is but I did like the butterfly. The other yellow bush

is an Australian Wattle Bush at the Wetlands. The birds were difficult but not impossible, so I was able to put the camera hard against the cage and photograph through the bars. Not all were successful.

I am pleased to say that the Kiosk at the Wetlands is going well and most days it is very busy. It still has only limited seating due to the social distancing, but there ample seats and benches close at hand and there are seats at the barbecue area which is fairly close.. The council have made an extra entrance into the area so it’s much easy to access now. I have not been round the back of the Wetlands for a little while which means that I have not been feeding the geese and ducks. The reason for this is Benji. The back area is all gravel paths and Benji does not do too well in gravel. Some of the area is a “softer”gravel but where where we have to go is down through the hard stuff, I generally have to carry him. On bitumen, concrete, dirt and grass he’s fine, but not gravel. I did notice that the Black Swans are gone and I have not seen the Pelican for a while so perhaps he/she has also gone home – wherever that is. After our walk around the Wetlands we drove down to the Foreshore, but it’s still school holidays and I felt

Some more birds. Not great quality, but ok through steel bars.

there were too many dogs there so I took him into the Ada Ryan Gardens instead. Same flowers but no butterfly this time. It’s interesting that we are in the middle of winter but the temperature is starting to warm up just a little. For example, yesterday was a nice 22c – still a bit on the cool side but not bad. Cold once the sun goes down.

In South Australia we have only had 1 case of COVID 19 in the last month. However our borders are closed as the State of Victoria has recorded some 300 new cases, a figure that has been increasing over the last week. New South Wales is not quite as bad but our border there still remains closed. It is now fairly certain that the second wave of cases in Victoria are linked to the two protests and the rally that followed.. I mean Victorians could not go fishing or play golf as individuals, but the government allowed two major BLM protests and a rally to take place. In New South Wales, the police want the BLM protest banned and are going to the Supreme Court to get the authority to stop the protest but they expect that the Greens and other left radicals will turn up anyway. There will be fines of $2000 for those who do and the police chief has said they could set back the New South Wales economy by 10 years. Our borders remain closed with a two year prison term for anyone breaking the border restrictions. The reason for the prison is that the fines ($2000) just don’t seem to deter them.

I did go up to the Gardens later when the lights had come on. I was pleased with the time, but I don’t think I had the settings on the camera quite right and was not very happy with the final outcome. Out of the photographs I took I was only really happy with one – possibly two. Still, I suppose it’s better than not being happy with any. The last few mornings have been cold and foggy, so not walking weather.

Gives “up the Garden Path’ a whole new meaning.

Toward the Final Curtain S

March 10, 2020March 10, 2020 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I have tried to join the Photography Club and although I have been on two outings with them, things seemed to have conspired against me and I have not – as yet – managed to

attend a meeting and make everything official. I enjoy photography although I will be the first to admit that I am not all that good at it – but I would like to be. The two outings I have been were at the Ada Ryan Gardens and Foreshore – looking at contrasts and shapes, and the Cyclist Time Trials for which I had to get a new SD Card- a 64GB Extreme Pro for action photographs. I was shown on the day how to adjust the camera settings for movement. I’m getting there.. Probably not be a John Marsh or a Samantha Grant, but getting better – slowly. Hopefully, provided nothing goes awry, I should be able to make the next meeting, pay the fee and be a member.

As I said the other day Autumn arrived with a 35c day but the weather has gone downhill since then and today it’s raining and quite cool. Not a day for going out and about although it did stay dry when I was out with the dogs this morning. I have been organising a Fundraising event for the RFDS on this coming Saturday (7th) I have one team whilst another team is at a Football Match at Bennett Oval . Generally I would be at the football but this was a last minute request from one of our Hardware Stores and we need to look after them. A big, main stream Football Match between two main stream football teams only comes once in a blue moon, but the hardware stores are here all the time.. We have a good reputation with them and I don’t believe

that we should risk that.

Have been back to hospital these last few days – not for Annabell. Thank you for your concerns, Annabell is well. No, one of our “older” congregation members had a serious fall. Generally when one mentions a fall in relation to age the next words refer to hips, or spine, but not this time. This time it seems she has broken her collar bone and her arm. We are waiting for a bed to be available at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the RFDS will be called in to transport her to Adelaide. The only surgeon we have here is not able to do anything so she needs specialist care and surgery in Adelaide.

On 19th March I head off to Adelaide for two days and part of the visit will be to the RFDS Central

Operations HQ. I have to meet with some people and collect some things and bring them up here. Nothing special, really, I just happened to be going to Adelaide anyway, so I said I would drop over to the Airport and pick the things up. I will be taking my camera with me so it will give me ample time to play with it over the two days. Someone put a photograph of the lighthouse on line, , only they went out late at night and took a terrific photograph of the lighthouse in the dark with the top of the lighthouse lit up. I took some photographs of the dogs, which I thought came out quite well. The reason for the closed gate is that Benji pays no attention to the dogs on the other side of the fence, but Dougal does and that starts a barking match, When Dougal comes I close the gate and restrict movement from the different areas.

I took the dogs to the wetlands today with the intention of feeding the geese. Took a fair amount of birdseed with me but to no avail, the geese were gone. I looked at different areas but no sign of them, which was a bit sad. I hope they come back next season. If the Council are so concerned with tourists visiting the town, they should spend some money to upgrade the wetlands – particularly the toilets, which are not very nice. Anyway, here we are in Autumn (Fall) but although it is ( as Monica suggested )” Dark o’Clock ” even now our clocks do not go back until 5th April so we are in morning darkness for the next few months.

Towards the Final Curtain O

January 30, 2020January 30, 2020 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Growing up in Scotland there were – and probably still are – a number of popular brands of paints. One of the most popular was Dulux. This, as far as we children were concerned, was a British Company using a very recognisable Old English Sheepdog as its company mascot. As children we stopped thinking of the dog as an Old English Sheepdog and it became – and I expect in the UK at any rate, still is – known as the Dulux Dog. I liked

Dulux, not really as much for the dog but more for the fact that this was the paint my dad used. That’s all there was to it, the Corporate Identity, the fact that the company traded in India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada – and other countries, was unknown to us and as children – what did we care anyway. For us it was just Paint. It has been almost 40 years since we left Scotland so we brought with us the memories of all these early days. I have no idea what has changed or how much has changed. For example, I can say this – I worked for a Government Department and the place where I was stationed, the Distillery and all the Bonded Warehouses, have been demolished; everything has been flattened. I mean some of these warehouses were built by Prisoners of War — From Napoleon’s Army ! So if I annoyed anyone by saying “It’s a British thing” then I apologise but that’s what I knew and understood and when I wrote it I was thinking of my childhood, nothing else.

The Australia Day celebration ( at least here) ended up being cold and very windy. In the afternoon it was a nice breeze, not too cold at all, but as the sun went down, the wind

Bouncy Castles deflated because of the wind.

increased and the South Wind off the Spencer Gulf was strong and cold. So much so that the Bouncy Castles were taken down and two of the major kite units broke their moorings and came down. The RFDS Site was fully exposed to the wind and the ladies were just about frozen, so they closed fairly early as did a number of other sites. The fireworks still went ahead. In previous years we have been at Ada Ryan Gardens for Australia Day but this time the City Council was making a great play about Australia Day returning to the Foreshore. I don’t think it was the success they had been counting on. The coolness of the day would have been fine, but the wind put a bit of as dampener on things. Personally I would liked to have had Benji with me – it was cool enough to have him, but the thought of fireworks close up was the decider to leave him at home – to look after mummy!

Next weekend is the first meeting of the year so I will be heading off to Adelaide for a few days. Mount Gambier wont happen until the May meeting. I have plants in pots and they are dying. Those that are not dying are severely wilted. They may come back but based on past results it is unlikely. Yes I pick heat tolerant plants but 46c is pushing it just a tad. At 06;40 this morning they were all watered and those that could be moved were moved into the shade, but the extreme heat was just too much and even the shaded ones suffered. Even now in the early evening it is still too humid to take Benji out for a walk. The present temperature at 7:45 pm is 32c and not expected to fall below 28 overnight with heavy rainstorms and possibly flooding

forecast for tomorrow and Saturday- what joy! From the sublime to the ridiculous.

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