Tag: Rain

Fire, Floods – it’s a weird place!

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
From the Sublime to the Ridiculous in 36 hours.
From the Sublime to the Ridiculous in 36 hours.

The temperature shot up to 44c again and is expected to stay high until the weekend. The dogs are  curled up asleep  under the air-conditioner. I said that I had gone into a stationery shop called Kikki.k to get some things for a friend but what I didn’t say is that I left my Scanda Filofax on the counter. They telephoned herself who contacted me on my mobile (cell) phone. I was  way too far away to be able to turn around so I asked her to contact them and ask if they would post it to me and I would pay the postage. They said they would and told her not to bother with the postage. I was very thankful that they were really good people and sent my Filofax back to me.

Even a mere five days without it was a trial since I use it for just about everything, and all the medical appointment dates for herself were in there. I always keep it close to me but I believe I know what happened. I had written what I needed to get  in my FF and I laid it down on the counter. When I got what I had asked for the assistant put it in a bag — and – I think she put it down on top of my Filofax and I lifted the bag but not the Filofax underneath it. Still, all good and I have it back again. I will not forget this when I go back to Adelaide in a few weeks. Kikki.K is a Swedish design stationery Shop. TeeHee – when herself took the call she thought the girl was saying “This is KKK” which sort of scared her a little  :o)

The heatwave broke last night and since about 1am we have had heavy and constant rain. Fortunately no thunder – just rain. I just hope all this is being repeated

Trying to save the Festival
Trying to save the Festival

across the gulf and if it persists it should bring relief to the firefighters at the Bangor blaze. It was still hot and sticky when I took the dogs out last night and even with the rain it will take a while for the place to cool down.  Well, that was nice, but it’s still hot and sticky and everything has dried up very quickly. The Bangor Fire is still not out but the rain did help to give the firefighters a slight break and gave them the opportunity to  strengthen containment lines.

Things, however, are different in Adelaide, which has just gone from record heat to record rain in 30 hours – and the rain is still falling. Sections of the city are impassable due to flooding. Yes it has hardly stopped here since it began two days ago. but it is much heavier in the lower areas of the  State – Adelaide and the metropolitan district. It has put the Adelaide Festival, this weekend, on alert and already some of the parklands, where the show is held, in under water, as the underground car park of St. Andrew’s Hospital.. Still, our floods are small scale in relation to the floods in London and other parts of England. But, it is still raining. It should be interesting when I take Chienne to the vet. this afternoon.

Chienne relaxing
Chienne relaxing

I have always meant to say, but forgot,  that our Vet.  is Mustafa Bozkurt who was born in Adapazari, Turkey. He was invited to be part of a movie being partly short here because of his Turkish background. The film, starring Russell Crowe, is called “The Water Diviner”and is being filmed in the far north of the State before it moves to complete filming in Turkey – the area close to Gallipoli.  It’s only a little to do with the battle, more of a father trying to find his sons after the battle.

OK – Just got back  from the vet and there is flooding on the roads – large puddles – but the rain was pounding down and at one point I really couldn’t see ahead of me and I simply put on my orange hazard lights – it was a bit scarey. Even herself said that she can’t remember ever seeing rain like this here. Neither can I. Made it back but Chienne was a scared little dog.

Lost in Cyberspace – again!

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

By look looks of things we might have sorted out the email system this time. The emails that arrived two days ago are still there and nothing has vanished into cyberspace. So that’s good because I am expecting some emails from Adelaide in the next few days and they are important and I cannot afford to lose them. I have a gmail account, which I rarely use, mainly because of the problems in changing my email address on so many different official forms.

I did say that the immediate danger has passed for the moment but there are still two fires burning out of control in inaccessible bushland. Large areas of New South Wales and parts of the Grampians are still a concern. We still have the one on the other side of the Gulf and that is almost contained.

Herself is unwell – anemic and very tired –  and she is still loosing blood and we don’t know how or why. I really hope it’s not something that is in any way, shape or form, related to the MRSA. It’s been five years this year since that  horror ordeal.  I don’t want her to go through anything like that again. It may be something as simple as the blood transfusions, which we did three years ago. I hope that’s it and not something more sinister.  If it is transfusions, the doctor makes arrangements for her to go to Day Surgery at the Hospital where she will spend most of the day. I have made the appointment for Friday so we’ll see what happens

This on-going mail problem is really bugging me.
This on-going mail problem is really bugging me.

***Insert yelling and fearful curses*** – The mail has vanished again – everything over the last three days has just gone – not deleted – just gone – as if it never was. It’s not in the recycle bin and it’s not in the deleted files folder, it’s just *poof!!!*  gone. I have directed mail to the AppleMac  deleted Outlook from this PC. Everything should now go to the Apple. I am sooooo frustrated – I thought we had solved the problem. I have told Herself “do not NOT upgrade to Windows 8 – stay with Win. 7.” I just couldn’t believe it!  Where is Sherlock Holmes when you need him?

It’s raining – actually it’s been pouring for most of the night. All we can hope for is that the rain is not just localised and that it is raining on the other side of the Gulf, which will help to contain the fire and perhaps allow our own fire crews to come home. Fire Crews from all over the region are there, including several of ours. It was reported yesterday that the fire had broken through the containment lines, but was being brought under control again. This rain should help- this fire has now been burning for a week or more.

I took the dogs out last night and I thought the sky looked a bit suspicious but I felt we could have our walk and be home before anything happened.
We didn’t make it and down it came when we were on the homeward section. Tell you what, I had carried the Man going out, but he was leading the charge and tugging on the way home, particularly the last 200 yards or so. He dislikes being wet.

Fire, Dogs, Vets and Clothing

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

In a recent post I made mention of the major fluctuation of temperatures in this area. This week is a perfect example of what I was talking about. At the start of this week the temperature started to climb up and by Thursday it had reached 39+c. I had some friends that were about to go North and delayed their departure because of the  “Catestrophic” fire risk for the area. By lunch time yesterday, the temperature started to drop as a cool change came in from the  Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean. By late Thursday the temperature dropped to 26 and the rain started. Today is Friday, the temperaure outside is 22c and it’s still raining. I put the heavy quilt back on my bed.  Fires still continue in NSW and Queensland.

This afternoon I take The Man back to the Vet. He still concerns me – he seems healthy enough, sleeps a lot but is not eating as much nor as often as I would like. He is still active and although we have not been out since Wednesday evening but he walks well, if a bit slow at times. Chienne gets impatient. However,  if the rain stops I will have them both out tonight. We have had a lot of rain over the last 24 hours so what we don’t need is any high winds until the soil dries out otherwise we will have trees down again.

So after scaring the living daylights out of me and keeping me worried for a fortnight, I was told that there was a scale malfunction and that the Man’s weight was quite normal – he hadn’t lost weight – well not a lot – at all. However, we keep with the medication and  remain with the puppy food – I still think twice a day because I would like to see him gain some extra weight. Still no real reason for the weakness in his back legs other than age and  damage years ago when he was dumped out in the bush. However, I did have them out tonight when the rain stopped and he walked without any problem at all. Difference — Chienne, being the lady she is, delicately jumps over puddles,  The Man just walks right through them. I have ordered a Thunder Shirt for Chienne, which should arrive sometime this coming week. I have heard and read a lot of information regarding these items of clothing, so I  really  want this to live up to what I have heard.

Spys, Thunderstorms and Chienne

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.

Thunderstorms and frantic dogs

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
20130611_120030
My cup (water tank) runeth over.

I paid my $5 to the ladies group for the Biggest Morning Tea this coming Saturday. I have not received an Agenda yet and if there is not a lot of business it may well be that things could be laid over until the August Meeting. If that’s the case I win because I have already paid my fee  :o)  On the other hand, I would like to be able to go out to Hackham West and  visit Alan. He sounds well enough on the telephone so it will be interesting to see how he actually is. The problem is that I need to know fairly quickly in order to book the hotel. I mean I have already had a few unkind words from the management because I forgot to cancel the booking for the last meeting – the one that I didn’t attend.  It used to be that we set the meetings at the AGM in February and  you could be certain that they would go ahead, now this is no longer the case and  that last performance was an example of the problem associated with  booking ahead in this current climate.

In the early hours of this morning we had a thunderstorm. This was not predicted so Chienna was not given any medication. As a result she went slightly gaga. Somehow or other she managed to get behind the ironing board and just about brought that down on top of the little man. That’s when I  got there – just in time to arrest its fall. Normally the little man doesn’t bother, but Chienna was so stressed that it started to worry him. I decided that the only course of action was to bring them both into my room. I put him on the bed (it’s too high for him to jump up) and Chienna decided that being under the bed was a good place to hide, so that’s where she finally went.

At times it seemed as if the thunder was directly overhead – it was loud and the house shook a bit and we seem to have lost the servers. You will read this, but as I write it I do so on MS Word because we have no WiFi and no servers. It’s a real shocker of a day.    We had two more thunderstorms and decided not to wash the dog beds after all. I took the covers off them and decided that they really were grotty with no chance of cleaning the inside stuffing, so we decided to keep the outside covers – which we can possibly use – and buy new beds. During a break in the  rain we went down to the store and bought three new beds. I have put the small bed (which The Man  has claimed already) in the laundry and when this rain stops I’ll get out and tidy up and put the new beds into their houses. – The covers of the old beds will fit so I’ll keep them and dump the stuffing. Thus far – according to the local news – we have had 36mm of rain. That was on Tuesday – on Wednesday we had a further 20mm of rain. This is getting beyond a joke. We are not used to this weather – cold yes, rain, yes ( in small doses) but not this. My water tanks are full so you can turn it off now!!!   My gravel has weeds I never knew we had. Meanwhile certain (Unnamed ) parts of the world swelter in 43c.

Rain, Farmers and discredited theories

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The rain it falleth on the just and on the unjust fella

But more upon the just, because the unjust stole the just’s umbrella

A touchy subject, I know, but it has been raining for the last few days here. I mention this, not because I wish irritate people, but because this is most unusual for us to have so much rain in such a short space of time. Yes, in the bottom area of the State – Adelaide and the South East, where the farming and the vineyards are located, it rains a fair bit. The soil down there is green,  lush and fertile. Up here it’s reddish, dry (not today though) and not all that productive.  The further north you go the less productive the land becomes and the topsoil is presently somewhere out at the bottom of the Great Australian Bight  ( dust storms) as a result of  a discredited theory that was common in the 19th Century – “Rain Follows the Plough”. By the early years of the 20th Century what had been the Golden North, became a dustbowl – just like States in the USA where the same theory was applied. The area, stripped of all native vegetation, never recovered. It is a vast area dotted by ruins and  broken dreams. In one area we are still living with the effects of that period when one Goat farmer(?) could no longer keep his goats nor could he sell them, so he simply broke down the 2011-10-25-08-48-45.jpgfences and let them go. Can you imagine what damage they have done to the soil of the ranges and the native wildlife since?

The babies have been cuddled up inside all of today. It’s been cold and wet outside and only an idiot – like daddy – would be working in the garden in this weather , even if he is under cover. I have just watched the news and some of the small communities further north have had more rain in the last three days than they have had in the last 25 years – interesting. Perhaps there is hope for us yet..

I was working in the   rock garden area under the porch and decided that I would freshen it all up by digging part of the centre out and put in a large(ish) ceramic pot, fill it with blood and bone, soil improver and  potting soil. It’s a smallish area and it could do with something to brighten it up. Particularly now that I am about to order the  alsynite for the pergola roofing. In that area I am going to plant a rose bush. The surrounding area I will cover in  blonde coloured pine with the inner section in red coloured pine chips. It might work and it might not – wont know until I do it I suppose.

Wheelchairs, native plants and a virus

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
Samsung the noo 036
Me and my Teddy Bear!

The drive to Adelaide was fine until Port Wakefield then it rained all the way in for the last 150 klms. I had written about our trip and the problems we encountered but somehow or other it just didn’t save, and I don’t know why.  However, that aside, after some delays we brought Alan home and he has now been with us since late Saturday. He is quite frail and since he is on heavy doses of Warfarin ,this means that he has to go for blood tests every few days – something we were not told.  We were also not told that he can barely walk so I have managed to get a wheelchair for a while and that, at least, will allow me to take him out and about without worrying about his stability. However, he is family and he is here and we  will look after him and  try to keep him  as active as we can. I have to take him to the hospital tomorrow and then I am going to take him on a road trip over to the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens. I want some new plants for the new area I have prepared and  we can have lunch – if we get away from the hospital in time.

The eremophila are doing well (I think – well they are still alive) and I want to look at some native bushes. I do not know much about plant names but my Native Plant book calls them – ” Correa Reflexa” – Native Fuchsia / “Pomaderris  Obcordata” /  Wedge – leaved Pomaderris and I will take the book with me. They are Arid – low rainfall plants so they should be available in the Gardens. If they are not, I am certain they will have something similar. I did not get the opportunity to find out since  it has been raining for most of the day. If I had been on my own I would have gone through to the Arid Lands Botanic Garden, but the thought of pushing a wheelchair all the way from the car park to the shop and nursery in the rain did not really appeal to me. And the oddest thing is that the temperature climbed to 40c  in other areas and sparked off several bush fires, one in South Australia and one in Victoria.  After Easter, I will try and organise the trip to the Arid Lands Botanic Garden.

Quick update : I have influenza and  quite painful – but provided I don’t sneeze or cough, or talk too much I am fairly good. It’s sort of like the old comedian joke ” It only hurts when I laugh”. I feel like (and probably look like) an idiot wandering around with one of these medical face masks on and if you should go to my doctor’s surgery, he insists that you wear one – and no, he’s not Japanese. Modern trend I guess.

PS. It’s still raining.

Goodbye summer – hello autumn

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
DSC01423
Sunset -“My Back Yard”

I was not working in the garden because it was too hot – now it’s too wet. It has been raining for two days. Not the heavy rain that causes any kind of flooding but a light rain that still gets you very wet. However, if I can I will try and do some work in the sheds or the garage. I say try because I now have an additional dog. Some friends have to go for medical treatment (wife) in Adelaide so I said I would look after their dog for a few days. That’s fine but when you are outside it is very difficult to walk  with three small dogs  seeking attention and running around your feet. You get scared of standing on paws and hurting  one.  The “foster dog” wants attention and my dogs want reassurance, so it makes for a difficult time outside  :o)

What I am in the process of doing is going through a ton of boxes and shredding and dumping things I no longer want nor need. At the moment the garage floor  space look like a tip.  I brought the boxes in from the sheds and they are currently scattered over the place in various stages of being emptied.  Hmmm, I got the recycle bin in ok, not too sure if I can get it out as easily  :o)  – at least, not until I have moved some of these boxes.
Still, I have been threatening to do this for nearly a year now.

The cyclone ended up a sort of a fizzier in that it headed towards the coast packing winds of up to 250kph, then sort of died and in the event caused relatively little damage as a category 2 cyclone. This is good and I am glad that the Pilbara was spared serious damage. But then again, although it died out and caused little damage, it did halt the export of some $500 million worth of Iron Ore . I sometimes wonder about all the media hype. Rusty was built up as being  a monster storm, and at a category 4 and rising, this is fair comment. This went on for days and people were evacuated or went into shelters, but when it finally did hit the coast it dropped from a 4 to a 3 to a 2 to a tropical depression – all of which is good, – but it sort of creates a kind of anti-climax – if that’t not too bizarre of a comment. However, we are thankful that no one was killed, hurt or injured.

And they call the wind — Annoying!!

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The temperature has started to rise and today was a nice 26c. However, not a lot of work was done outside because although the temp. is fair, it’s blowing a gale. Dry with high winds – this, if it keeps up, will mean dust storms over the next few days. As it is, trying to keep the place clear of dust is a full time job at the moment.  I have cemented the washing line holder into place  and although it is a tab too high for herself, I will take it back out over the week end and cut some off the bottom so that it will be easier for her to work with. However, until such time as I can get the area  completed I will probably hang out and take in her washing because the ground is too uneven for her to walk on. But this is South Australia – either wet, dry with high winds, or stinking hot (45c) with a hot wind coming off the desert.  Gets a bit tiring at times, but I prefer that to the cold and the wet – as do most Australians.

We came to a decision that we will not move the washing area after all. The difficulty in  rebuilding the area I had in mind for her was just too great so we decided to buy a new rotary hoist and redo the present area. We  also decided to buy a second clothes trolley so that she can use one  from the back door to the dog gate, then lift the wash basket onto the second trolley at the other side of the gate and take that to her washing line – repeat process with dry washing on way back.  Now that the better weather is starting – despite the winds and the frustration of  debris from trees, it is starting to get quite nice outside, so I will be able to get out and get on with some work.  One of the wettest winters on record, a few weeks into spring and the farmers are complainig about the lack of rain. You can’t win with some people since it is only a short time ago that they were complaining that the ground was too wet to plant.

Not with a whimper….

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
The Maltese Terrorist

Winter might be heading off for a holiday but it will not be going quietly. The forecast is for rain and a bit of wild weather.  The trouble with weather like this is that it tends to make a fellow feel homesick – (yes, I come from Scotland) I’ve only been here for 25 years so I’m a relative newcomer. The Refrigeration Engineers are supposed to be coming today to install the new split level air-conditioner system. The current system decided to give up the ghost – or whatever a/c systems do – and die on me.  It was going to cost XX to repair and XX+x to put in a new system. The Insurance Company were not too happy and paid out, but only if we got the new system because the old system is just on the ten years and they are reluctant to insure any system that is more than ten years old. At the moment we are using an electric heater and thus far it cast cost an arm and a leg in power bills.

In my previous post I made mention of  phILOFAXY and posted a photograph of my Scanda.  This will be retired at the end of this year and it you look at the photograph you will see to the left of the Scanda what looks like another Filofax- it is. This is my “Filofax in waiting”   This is the Filofax that will replace my Scanda – Cuban Zip Personal. Out of the picture, to the right, sits a Cuban Zip A5, which stays there and I work between the two.  I think, regardless of what I said the other day, if anyone uses an Organiser of any kind, you should look at phiLIOFAXY because there are some really interesting things, helps and tips on there. Filofax is just not popular  where I am and I am probably  about the only person who uses one, thus there are no supplies in this region and everything  I want has be to brought from the UK or the USA. Unlike the people on the blog, I can’t go down to the local Stationery Shop and I would kill for a WHS ( which I remember with fondness)  People use a diary but not an organiser, so it is possible to pick up any range of diary, from Academic to Household Shopping, but not get inserts for a Filofax. David Jones, in Adelaide used to stock supplies and a range of Filofaxes  but these days their range is very limited and inserts thin on the ground. The photograph above is the Cuban Filofaxes  – the front one being the Personal and the rear one the A5 and yes the Personal is sitting open and flat..

The engineers have arrived and are working on installing the new AC System. At least it’s not raining and even if it were, the AC Unit is under the carport anyway, so they would get some shelter.  I’ve just left them to it as they move in and out of the house. The only good thing about winter is that you can leave the door open and not be invaded by flies while you slowly freeze to death. Have to love  Australian country towns – 20,000 people, 50 million flies.

As you can gather I have not been doing a lot of work in the garden. Tomatoes are coming along nicely  as are my new venture in Purple Carrots. Don’t really know if I like the idea of Purple Carrots but I thought I would give it a try. Parsley seems to have taken over the herb garden, overpowering the Mint and other odds. Just as well I like parsley. Most of the roses are doing well. I think I have lost a few and it’s too late to replace them now. If I were heading off to Adelaide anytime soon, I would most likely still get some to replace the dead ones, but not here.  If you ever hear that the world is coming to an end – come to South Australia; everything takes fifty years to get here.