Tag: flowers

Desert Flowers and Wallabies

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
desert pea
Sturt’s Desert Pea

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!)

Gardens and dogs – too much heat.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

My HumanIn South Australia we are used to the heat of summer – that does not bother us too much – but the last couple of years we have experienced high levels of tropical humidity. This means that it is 35c during the day but only dropping down to 29/30c at night. Most people are getting tired through lack of sleep. Many, like me wake up in the morning as tired as when we went to bed. The overhead fans  drying things out. It’s all right for the dogs, they have an air conditioner and are fairly cool.  The humidity at this level and for so long is not what we are used to and it’s draining. We had the door open and the nets up (keep the flies out) so the dogs could wander in and out at will. It has been so humid and  draining that we have had to close the door just to keep the heat out and the cool air in. And the tiles of the laundry are  cool. We are used to arid and dry, not hot and humid. Today, for example, the temperature is 38c but that’s ok – it’s hot and we can deal with that – not sure about tomorrow though – 42c.

Needless to say, the dogs have been inside most of the time. We closed tot doors to keep the hot air out and they bark at the door when they need to go out.  They have been good and spend much of the time “resting” and having differences of opinion as to whose turn it is for the raised bed. We have two inside a large one and a small one and they argue over who gets the large one  :o)

According to what we have been told, this is the last  of the string of days over 32c and by Thursday we should  be down to mid to high 20s again.  As I said at the start, I don’t mind the heat, but the humidity is draining. The garden is suffering because although I water at night after the sun goes down, I have already lost  many of the vegetables I planted when I thought the very hot weather was over. Most of the flowers, with the exception of the Lavender, have survived. The Lavander might, but it looks decidedly  unwell at the moment.  Of course it being the hottest day of the week thus far, and I get a call to come into work. Oh well, I suppose my extended holidays had to end sooner or later.

Someone sent me this photograph so I thought I would share it. If I have breached copyright o something, I am sorry and I will remove it if asked.