change of season

 10.3.2024

 

The rainbows on the house floor cast by the louve windows are back signalling the change of season.  It is a very odd change because we have finally got some summer weather. We are having day after day with high 30C temperatures and in some places in Victoria it has got into the 40’s.  Edd and I have retreated indoors where it gets no higher than 25C. 

 

The grass has now burnt dry and I am doing a lot of watering to keep plants and trees alive. The fig tree was very distressed but has started to 10.3.2024

 

The rainbows on the house floor cast by the louve windows are back signalling the change of season.  It is a very odd change because we have finally got some summer weather. We are having day after day with high 30C temperatures and in some places in Victoria it has got into the 40’s.  Edd and I have retreated indoors where it gets no higher than 25C. 

 

The grass has now burnt dry and I am doing a lot of watering to keep plants and trees alive. The fig tree was very distressed but has started to ripen the fruit after daily watering. The grapefruit and oranges need using too. I plan to make marmalade but not until it cools a bit.  Today I have processed another batch of tomatoes for the freezer.  There is not much room left in there, even though the freezer is huge.

 

We were due to go out for lunch with friends yesterday but it was a day of extreme fire danger and they live on the far side of the forest so we cancelled and played safe. We are a bit worried about Al and family who have gone to a fringe festival in Adelaide where they camp for the weekend and it is even hotter than it is here, Baby B is almost a year old now but that is still too young to tell anyone if she gets too stressed so we just hope they all use common sense.

 

Bo has organised a family party for her mother-in-law tonight. It is her birthday so we will have one social function this week. Yesterday I took food to our tiny Steels Creek market and met all the locals. We are all busy harvesting food but different crops have failed for different people so I was even able to give away some zucchinis! Their leaves have started to develop mildew, which is the first sign that their season is ending.  The beans too are slowing down but the snow peas I planted are starting to climb up their trellis.

 

One of the ladies at the market has spent years living in America and really misses her life there. She is pro-Trump and sees Biden as being controlled by Obama. I did not quite get down to the reason why Obama is enemy one. None of this is reflected in our media here and we are all dreading the election in case Trump gets back in, so it was really interesting to talk to someone who thinks differently. She also says that everyone in America has to have perfect teeth so she had braces when she was 60 for 8 years to get her look right.

 

Most of us farm folk where a but astounded by this information. Our looks are not a big consideration on a day to day basis though the goats do sometimes get upset if I am dressed very differently to normal.