Before The Storm

On Sunday, the sun was shining.

Mr HP, Miss Seven, her Mum and Dad and I, went for a bush walk.

A leech became attached to my shin.

I now have a nasty reaction to the leech bite.

Today I drove myself to the GP to have it seen to.  Luckily it's not infected.  It's inflamed and at times gets extremely itchy.

I drove in extreme weather for thirty minutes to get to my appointment. Since Sunday night it's hardly stopped raining.

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night. I realised that I had woken because the rain had stopped.  The silence had woken me up.  But it wasn't long before it was raining again.

Before Sunday we'd already had more than our fair share of rain so everything was damp and squishy, hence the leeches (well there were two leeches all up...and five humans)  We came across an interesting variety of fungi on our walk. 

Since Sunday night, Springwood has had around 150mm of rain.  We have been fortunate though, as we've had very little wind and so have been spared the devastation that has struck the coastal regions of the south east of Australia.

Today, Sydney airport was disrupted, railway tracks were flooded, a cruise ship locked out of port, flood rescues carried out, towns devastated as residents watched houses floating down the street, schools closed, and sadly, confirmation of lives lost was announced.

Flash floods are not uncommon in Australia, but it's not often do we experience such immediate devastation from flooding.  In this instance, the accompanying wind would have classed this as a category two tropical cyclone.  But technically, this storm is not a cyclone, because it did not occur over tropical waters, but it is an intense low-pressure system packing winds gusts of up to 135km per hour.

This Month In The Garden

July - 
National Tree Day 28th July 2013

No, I'm not going to share anything about my veggie patch...it's too embarrassing.  I need help in that area.

Instead I will take you on a little tour of our small suburban block which in reality is called a bush-block in our part of the world.  I'd swear that there are some areas that have never experienced the fall of a human foot because of how densely the vegetation grows.

Miss Five had a sleepover last night and this morning asked if she could go 'bush-bashing'.
I'm not sure where she's heard this term before but she knows exactly what it means. 

Miss Five donned her boots.

We'd had a late breakfast and by the time Mr Honey Pie and I had finished our coffees, the cold morning had given way to a comfortably warm day.

Here is a daisy picked from our neighbour's garden. 

Our garden is just over one thousand metres squared. And yes, bushing-bashing is something easily achieved in our 'garden'.

Our rock orchid hasn't flowered in years so it's exciting to see some buds on it this year.

Boronia rosmarinifolia grows prolifically on the south side of the garden.

I visit the solo Casurina (She Oak)once or twice a year, just to make sure it's still thriving.  It has been a very slow grower and grows at the bottom of the slope making it difficult to access.

This year's Wattle Flowers are spectacular.  And their season has only just began.

Native Violet, above, make a pretty cut flower which last well.
I use my crystal violet vase to put them in.

The cone flower is in bud.

There are many names for the above native plant, one is Snottygobble, another is Geebung, the botanical name is Persoonia.  I think this one might be the Broad Leaved Persoonia. 

Yes, this tree is growing on a lean, unfortunately it will probably have to be removed as it has drooped over the road just a little more over the last week or so.

Isn't the colour of these "Happy Wanderer" (Hardenbergia)flowers intense?  This plant likes to trail down slopes or climb up small bushes.

Here is our little cottage, perched high on a hill, surrounded by virgin bush-land.

A delicate flowering bush grows on our nature strip. (Above)

The naturally pitted and gnarled trunk of an Angophora tree growing in the bush across the road from our house.

These fern trees have shot up in the last year or two.  They grow in a gully, also across the street.

A young New South Wales Christmas Bush.

Little Miss Five was intrigued by the gum tree sap we found beneath a tree.

These puff balls are supposedly edible but I don't think they look at all appetizing. 

Here's a little surprise we found whilst scrounging around in the leaf litter...I think it's called a House centipede.  I'm glad we didn't have our first encounter in the house...

Native cockroaches are slightly more pleasant than their European counterparts...and they live outdoors.
The Giant Burrowing Cockroach makes an unusual pet.  But I don't think this one is as large as the Giant Burrowing Cockroach.

And these are fungi...which I at first thought were Turkey Tail mushrooms...but they look more like moths!

Well...here is something from the veggie patch that I couldn't resist sharing with you.  It's actually a fruit...not a veg.
This is a cutting I took in autumn from our mulberry tree...can you see the mulberries? I'm not sure if this normal.  But there you go.

These plants and animals are just a fraction of what grows and lives in our garden.
I hope you enjoyed visiting today.

Fungi

The South East Coast of Australia has had its fair share of wet weather in the month of June.

After nine days of rain I discovered some interesting growth in the garden.

It was lovely to see the sun too!

Day 167/366

Decomposition

Day 138/366

Fungus growing in abundance on a fallen tree.

Coriolus versicolor (also known as Trametes versicolor); commonly known as the turkey tail mushroom. 

This fungus is being researched for the treatment of cancer.

Day 68/366

Three Wicked Weeds of the West.

Or 

International Women's Day,

or 

The Longest Blog Post.

On International Women's Day we remember the achievements made by women for women since the early part of the last century.

It seems appropriate that I should finish reading Fall of Giants just yesterday, a book that highlights womankind's struggles(and other struggles) before and during The First World War.  During that time, women in the United Kingdom won their right to vote, but how many of us know that only women who were over thirty years of age could actually vote, or, if they owned property; over twenty one years age.

Japanese Honeysuckle.

Lantana

Morning Glory.

Since my bout of illness over Christmas and the new year my energy levels have remained low.  

My daily walks have suffered as a result and I can count my walking ventures since Christmas on one hand.

I have been having new treatments on my upper thoracic spine for some months now.

A Bowen Therapist moved into our area last year and I was prompted to visit her after noticing her new sign as I walked past her premises on my daily walks; when I was still capable of enjoying them.

Bowen Therapy helped initially and then things came to a standstill.

Kris then suggested introducing TRE or Trauma Release Exercises.

My first session of TRE went to plan but by the time I'd turned up for my second session I'd begun displaying symptoms of the influenza that would strike me down over the holidays.

My next session was delayed for many weeks and I've now had about four sessions of TRE with Kris.

Once again, initially, the results relieved a lot of the discomfort I've been feeling and now the altered sensations I've suffered from for decades have been transformed into pain.

I see this as progress.  With the pain I've also experienced a lot of stiffness in the affected area and I know that walking helps relieve this pain and stiffness.

So after the over night deluge I took a risk and donned by hooded rain jacket, pulled on two pairs of socks and zipped up my leather boots to go for a walk.

There is an enjoyable walk along a fire trail directly opposite our driveway which I avoid doing solo.  

There is a steep incline at both ends of the trail with road ballast gravel used to stop erosion but on which I've had a tumble down before.

There are many waterways carousing across the track and after heavy rain may mean turning back the way one came.

So I took a walk along the streets, pocketed Mr Honey Pie's point and shoot camera to see what I could find.

I'm not very happy with the shots taken today; there's lots I need to learn about the camera before there's any improvement in the photographs I take with it.  So be warned.  Most of the shots in today's post have been heavily edited!

Those of you visiting from the north of the equator might be surprised to find that some of your most loved flowers are considered weeds in Australia.

On my walk I encountered Honeysuckle.  I must admit; this is my most favourite weed.

It triggers some of my happiest childhood memories and if I could find an non-invasive variety I would include it in my mostly-native garden.

I love its fragrance and as children we would draw the stamens out at the base of the flower and suck up the nectar that would collect on the anthers.

Honeysuckle and Morning Glory grow over native vegetation and block out light.

Lantana is the weed I dislike the most.  It forms an impenetrable thicket and deprives native flora of scantly available nutrients.

Here is a link on weeds in the Blue Mountains which you may find useful or just plain interesting depending from which part of the world you're visiting.

Many of the streets in our village are named after native trees.

All this moisture and lack of sunlight has encouraged the growth of a variety of fungi.

Waterfalls have been created where waterfalls did not exist before.

Seventy five percent of our state is awash.

The past summer would have to be the wettest and coldest in my memory.

The long wet has caused plagues of some most undesirable creatures.

Inner Sydney has seen a plague of cockroaches and blood sucking leeches.  In fact most of the east coast is experiencing the leech plague.

Wagga Wagga is going through a most unusual phenomena which you can see pictures of here.

Mosquitoes and midges (sandflies) are other pesky creatures to be thriving beautifully in this unseasonable weather. 

Sales of clove bud oil I'm guessing have hit record highs as householders attempt to control growths of mould and mildew on everything from furniture to clothing.   

Lucky for me, not a drop of rain fell while I was out walking.  The wind picked up a bit and drew back some of the cloud, just enough to reveal a smidgen of blue.

Probably nothing more than a short respite before the next onslaught.