fungal inspiration

Sunday 18 March

My olives are looking plumper.  A couple of weeks ago they all looked shrunken and wrinkled but twice a day heavy watering has made a difference.  Some days the sun shines and it is hot and dry and on other days it is cloudy and muggy and dry but there has been no rain for weeks.  A strong wind blew through for a short time this morning and clouds of dust rose up and blasted everything.  Most of our soil has set like a clay pot and is not going anywhere.

My watering routine has extended the harvest from the tomatoes, eggplants and zucchini.   The yellow beans yielded well but are now over and replaced with a new crop of lettuce and rocket.  The runner beans struggle in the heat so that the plants in the shade produce most.  The fig tree has drowned us all in fruit so that the restaurant staff now groan at me when I bring in more.  The quince trees have fruit but are susceptible to bird attack even before they are ripe so we will not be overloaded with quinces.

Tomorrow the first school camp for the year arrives.  We have worked hard getting everything organised clean and ready.  Edd laid the last of the dairy floor tiles yesterday and I grouted them today ready for the stove to be put back in place and the room sorted.  I am worried about the pool.  Edd has kept it clean and clear all summer and it chose today to go bright green.  Not a good look at all.   It tends to go green when there is thunder and we got one big blast this morning.  It might be the cause of several bush fires that ignited in the Kinglake area.  They are mostly under control now and there is no wind at present so we are not really worried.

I have put away all my craftwork because I will be busy with the school kids for the next few weeks.  I have completed the set of baby clothes I have made for Al’s awaited child.  Al ordered rainbow stripes of not necessarily traditional colours.  I had a lovely picture of many striped turkey tail fungus, which is used in Chinese medicine so I used this for inspiration. I thought it would be appropriate because Pip is a herbalist in the Chinese tradition.