Tag: trees

Trees, terrorists and Puppy Food

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

SAMSUNGSome may remember this photograph I took some time ago. It was one of two eucalyptus trees outside. Part of this came down in the severe wind we had a week or so ago. This one came down over the road and part of the street was blocked off until the emergency services and the council were able to clear the area. In the background  you can see another tree and this has been examined and found wanting – it’s not in good shape and may have to be  cut down.

The medication seems to be working for the Man and he is eating a lot better now. I also find that he is a lot more active – when he is not sleeping that is. What I have been doing is feeding him  smaller meals but more of them. It means having to isolate him from Chienne from time to time. However, she doesn’t miss out too much and she gets her share of the treats. I have started the little man on Puppy Food and that seems to be working, and the interesting thing is that it is mainly chicken and rice. Don’t really mind as long as he keeps eating and starts to put on a little weight.

The NSW Bushfires are finally under control although they are still the subject of a watching brief.   It would be good to say that the fires were all caused  by nature – lightening strikes – but sadly that’s not the case. Some of them were deliberately lit, and even sadder is that some were lit by children who are under age to be charged. Well, that may well be the case, but their parents are not!!   If a dog attacks and seriously injures a person, we can charge the owner of the dog, so why don’t we charge the parents of the arsonists for failing in their parental duty of care. We talked a lot about charging people who  deliberately light fires in bushfire areas  with “Domestic Terrorism” but nothing much happened.

I started with a tree and I will finish with the same tree. This is what is left of the tree 20131029_185015today. Now, all we have to do is wait and in the fullness of time, the council truck will arrive, cut out the roots and clean up the area. The trouble with being on the periphery – everything takes so long to get here. Not a great photograph. The tree was much bigger than it would appear here.

Council, dogs and trees

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

20130207_120419When I head off to Adelaide on Friday I will not be alone. I contacted the SADR ( South Australian Dog Rescue) and I will be taking two little dogs down to their new homes in Adelaide – or surounds.  We stop about 30 minutes before we hit the city proper where we have a hand over point, in a well known location that everyone can get to.  The new family meet me out there and I  hand the dogs over. Generally I contact them about an hour or so out to give them time to get to the drop off point. I went in to see the SADR and told them I would be leaving on Friday. I didn’t take any dogs down with me last trip because I was going directly to the Flinders Medical Center – a very large teaching and research hospital on the far side of the city –  which takes me well away from the drop off point at Gepps Cross.

The argument continues and the planting of any tree has been halted whilst various council members  battle it out -native trees vs exotic trees. Personally I prefer the exotic trees particularly the Jacaranda . One particular councillor suggests that an avenue of native trees can be quite striking and I suppose that’s so, if you hire people to clean up the mess of limbs and bark and and are not too bothered that nothing will grow near them. So, all you get is a tree that will  break in a reasonable wind, shed bark and clutter up the drains and enhance the dry, dusty outlook of the town – great, go for it.. But they  (council) have admitted that the greening project has not lived up to expectations. Repairs to the system are in the process of being carried out whilst we continue to argue about what trees to plant.20130207_120734

After a week of fairly cool weather we went back into heatwave conditions again, but I don’t think we will make the  necessary conditions for a “heatwave”. Already the temperature is starting to drop back to manageable levels.  The dogs have been inside for most of that time. If the temperature starts to climb again then it will be unlikely that I will have companions on the way down to Adelaide because I, for one,  cannot drive for five an a half hours without some sort of break and I will need fuel and having them remain in the car whilst I fuel up is not a good idea. Without the A/C the inside of the car can become very hot very quickly- even with windows partly open , and little dogs don’t handle the heat too well. Generally when the temperature is above 35, we don’t transport dogs to Adelaide. I generally stop a number of times along the way when I have a dog with me – more than I do when I am on my own. However, tomorrow should be ok.

These are two photographs of parts of the town. The top one is taken from the  Lookout – actually they are both taken from the Lookout – the bottom photograph being the Foreshore.

Play, trees and council trucks

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
The covered in pergola
The covered in pergola

Council trucks and workers are out and about closing off traffic, imposing traffic restrictions as they work to  clear he problems with the  greening project. It’s heartwarming to see my  rates (local taxes) at work. Why do I dislike native trees so much? Partly because they are ugly and not really trees – more big overgrown bushes with a propensity to shed bark, drop branches, make a mess and kill anything that comes close to them. If you drive around this place you will see  the council native trees and  that’s all you will see, nothing else grows beside them. Around them  are the branches and bark they shed, but no grass just dusty empty land.  And it’s the same around the place – where there are native trees there is dry, dead and empty land around them, which is really good for blowing into houses when there is a bit of a wind. It’s not that I dislike them but I believe they are probably great for the correct setting and an urban environment is not a correct setting. But then, what would we know – council has ‘Experts”.   A little poem for you to enjoy.No idea who wrote it.

When the Maker was resting from labour

And He gazed on the world from above

He saw many poor lonely humans

With no one to care for and love.

And the Lord in His infinite mercy

With compassion both tender and wise

Made a furry and four legged creature

With a tail and a pair of brown eyes—

And a heart filled with loyal devotion

From the moment his short life began

And the Maker smiled down from His Heaven

On the Dog He created for man.

When I was down in Adelaide I dropped in to the garden center and bought new plants. I also bought a Gooseberry Bush. I have decided that I will no longer put things in the ground because my soils is not good, but rather put things into pots with a good quality potting mix. I will sit them out in the places where I would have planted  them but with the added bonus that I can bring them into the shade if the  temperature gets too hot. I have a conference this weekend so I will be heading off to Adelaide again and being a glutton for punishment I will probably drop into the garden centre on the way through.

The dogs have been well and I still he to carry the little man for a bit when we go out for walks. I was outside playing with them and he still has lots of energy left, but after we play he sleeps for a bit until next time.

Lakes, Parks and Forest Fires.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
fires
Glenmaggie Area

I finally spoke to the people at the garden centre to try and identify the tree outside the house and  it would appear to be a “Paperbark”, so called because  the bark peels off like sheets of paper.  I decided to consult the  Garden Shop people after someone suggested that rather than a tree it could be one leg of a giant ogre with severe dermatitis. I considered this and became concerned that it could be something that’s escaped from the Forest of Fangorn and just on the remote possibility that this might be so, I thought I had better be nice to it. I have problems enough without a  bunch of irritated ents  throwing socking great boulders everywhere. This  could upset the neighbours, not to mention frighten the horses.

I did hope by this time I would know what I was doing for the remainder of the week – going to Adelaide or not – but things are not going according to plan. Ok,  they may be going to some plan – just not mine.  I had a virus in my  office PC and I lost a lot of my files. I decided that it was probably time I-upgraded the PC anyway. This computer I am currently using is a MacBook – so no virus here. However, there are just some things I cannot view on here even with a parallels system. ( running Windows on a Mac) The temperature is heating up again and I have no intentions of wandering around the streets of Adelaide in a 43c day when I don’t have to.  Herself has suggested that I delay it until next Monday and go down then. I was thinking about Friday but I have a dental appointment – and since it is the last one so I feel I should be there rather than re-schedule.

The weather climbed to 44c here yesterday after building up for several days. The dogs were  inside for most of that time. We just make sure that hey are cool and have plenty of water. Apart from beds, I have water containers all over the place. At the moment there are two major fires burning out of control – one in the  Bundaleer Forest, some 160 klms from here and the other in South-eastern Victoria. This is the more serious one and the residents of the town of Glenmaggie have been told that it is now too late to leave since the fire front is moving too quickly. Glenmaggie is a small town (pop. 450) on the shore of Lake Gelnmaggie . The Bundaleer Forest  here in South Australia,  is one of the oldest National Parks in Australia and it is believed to be one of the most beautiful.  There are over 250 firefighters, 50 water tankers and three water bombers fighting that one.

It’s an ugly tree, but it’s my ugly tree.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

SAMSUNGNow that the temperature has continued to drop (at least over here) I will try and get down to Adelaide during the course of this coming week. I have things I need to get done and my brother-in-law is back in hospital again so I would like to get out and see him. There is  quite a difference between between driving in 28c and driving in 43c temperatures even although the car has very good air-conditioning. However, there is major construction work on the roads leading to the Medical Centre and traffic crawls along there.  I don’t make a habit of using the phone in the car but I had to phone Herself and tell her  that I was barrelling along the South Road at a whole 2 klms per hour.  I don’t think I would minded half so much if it were not for the fact that snails were overtaking us.

Helen is back home and when my wife spoke to her this afternoon she says she is planning to be at church tomorrow – in a wheelchair. She still cannot walk but she will be there none-the-less. I have sent the paperwork off to Adelaide re. the Commissions, and should hear by the time I get back from the city.

To the left is an Australian Native Tree. Personally I think they are a) ugly b) messy c) not suitable for this environment (urban)  d) they are a recognisable fire hazzard and e) they  can drop branches and injure people. In some parks people are warned not to  camp near or under gum trees. They are ugly in my eyes because, well they just are and for the life of me I cannot see any redeeming qualities about them. They are messy because they constantly shed bark which is very messy and a pest in an urban setting and downright dangerous in a country setting they create massive amount of litter – that is helping to fuel the bush fires. I may not like it, but I don’t really want to see anything to happen to it. After all, it didn’t ask to be planted where it is, so it should not suffer from Council mistakes.

Our weather is grey and it rained for a little while this afternoon. Nothing much but the temperature is well down. Still having problems in NSW and I heard from family that the bushfires are being reported on the news in the UK.  The cyclone is now heading back out to sea and it seems unlikely that  there will be any  problems from that. However, there is another low pressure building up which might lead to a new cyclone.

The dogs are certainly enjoying the cooler conditions and I have  not had to carry the little man during our morning walks. Behind the town there is a Levy Bank, about nine feet high.  Many, many years ago it was built to protect the settlement from floods. The weather patterns were also different then. I used to take the dogs for a walk alond the length of the levy bank and it was a good quiet walk. No so  these days, – it has become the haunt of trail bikes.  I took the dogs out for their walk at 6:30 this morning and (true!!) I had a pullover on. It was positively chilly.  I might take advantage of the cooler weather to get some things planted in the garden and hope that they get established before we have any more really hot weather. I might even get the garden shop to identify the above tree. —– PS I think I write too much…..

It’s a tad warm (Part 2)

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

fire threatWent out a short while ago and checked the thermometer  under the  shade area and found that the temperature is over 50c. Well, the  unit only goes up to 50c and  the mercury is over that. After that I decided that I would sit down and have a read in the coolest part of the house – the laundry, where the dogs are. I went in there with the dogs, took a cushion  and plonked myself down beside them.  The Air Conditioner is not coping too well, despite the place being closed up and the awnings down. It is cooler inside than out, certainly,  but no where as cool as it should be.  The official State Government website says 47.9c. I have half a mind to move the desk into the laundry with the dogs because the ceramic tiles are cool and they are more comfortable than I am.

According to the news we have broken a long standing record. Up until today our highest ever temperature was 45.8 now the new high record is the same as the State Government Web Site – 47.9 – so the 50c on my outdoor thermometer is fairly conservative.  We move 80 Klms South East of here and we have a temperature of 48c  – another new record.

Ok, so that was yesterday, which topped off several days of searing heat ending in new records across the state. Today, after a record 47.9 the temperature has crashed to  a forecasted 26c – currently it is 21.6. This morning at 7:15 I took the dogs out and were they glad to be “free” for a while – well “free” as in they are on  15 foot extendable leads. They were – like me – just so glad to get out again. It was just too hot to take them out these last few days. I think they missed ” checking the mailboxes”  I know animals have a greater sense of smell then we do, but how a dog can stand sniffing a blade of grass, or part of a bush for ten minutes, is a puzzle. Still, 21.6 – seriously thought about a pullover to keep me warm  :o)

Over  85 properties destroyed and one life lost as fires rage out of control in Tasmania – out of control fires in Victoria and one major fire burning out of control some 80 klms south-east of Adelaide. Nothing up here, which is something to be thankful for.

As expected, many of my plants have died. I did water them  every night after the sun went down, but the heat of the day still  burned them up, which adds to my comment about ” Full Sun” – that may well be, but not for this little corner of the world.  – and before I water the plants at night I have to let it run for a bit before I do  because the water is hot for the first few minutes. The long range forecast is for very high temperatures starting again in the next day or so, but in the meantime, I will enjoy being outside, but again, because of the North Wind, I  need to redo all my work and sweep up again.  Still, if it were not for the trees I am certain that the places would be a lot hotter.