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Arguments
Can't we all just say 'infinity' and let it go?
Continually feeding these pointless conversations is drowning the ng in fresh, steaming, *unrotted* manure. Y'know, you don't *have* to respond when someone posts something that disagrees with you. Just let it go and we'll all feel better. My garden is drooping at the moment. Well, we're watering, but the lawn is overgrown and the beds need a bit of weeding and extra mulch. It's been so hot and humid, no one feels like getting out and doing the usual maintenance. We keep telling each other 'Tomorrow, when it's cooler...', but it never seems to be cool enough! The beans and peas have got mildew because I (mistakenly) planted too many plants too close together. The watermelon has covered everything and we have a glut of melons which is getting more and more worrying. The family and neighbours are heartily sick of me asking 'Would you like another melon?' Not only that, but the butternut pumpkin has met up with and conjoined itself to the melon vine. There are umpteen little yellow pear-shaped pumpkins growing among the many melons and I'm visualising pots and pots of pumpkin soup and a plethora of pumpkin pies - oh dear! LOL! And to think I nearly planted several watermelon and pumpkin seedlings! One of each is quite enough, thank you. Inside, I've put a Venus Fly Trap and a Pitcher Plant on my kitchen windowsill (only for decoration, you understand). In the first week, the Pitcher Plant entrapped a European Wasp that managed to make its way inside, so I'm chuffed about that. Venus Fly Trap is a bit languid at the moment, but I feel she'll come good when her traps have enlarged a bit. It never occurred to me that my carnivorous plants might actually carnivorate, but they did! Lucky me! ;- For the first time in memory, all our African Violets have carked it! My DS is in charge of those, as he has quite a way with Afro Violets. Nevertheless, the Great Heat this year has dried them out phenomenally and despite DS' best efforts, they've all turned up their sepals and gone to meet the Great Gardener. Shame, that. One extremely nice thing about our garden is that, since we removed all the feelthy steenking palm trees, we no longer get liberally sprinkled with ripe, steaming bat-shit. This is a blessing and I do smile to myself as I listen to the bubble of bats in the tree four doors down. They're lovely to watch from a distance, but you really don't want bats flying over your clothesline. Or, indeed, your white dog! Finally, a Blue-Tongue has had babies somewhere in our yard and there's all these little baby Blueys pottering about. I think I mentioned a while back that one turned up underneath my bed! This means I have to be vigilant about the foul and disgusting Indian Mynas, who seem to enjoy crown-roast of baby Bluey very much. If anyone's got any clever ideas about scaring them away (the mynas, not the blueys) - aside from rushing outdoors, waving a fly swatter or wooden spoon and screeching like a madwoman... !!! .... I'd love to hear of it. And that's my little garden at the moment. How about everyone else? -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
Arguments
Trish Brown wrote:
Can't we all just say 'infinity' and let it go? Continually feeding these pointless conversations is drowning the ng in fresh, steaming, *unrotted* manure. Y'know, you don't *have* to respond when someone posts something that disagrees with you. Just let it go and we'll all feel better. Hear hear How about everyone else? My tomatoes are finally ripening - but this year, for the first time, the possums are having a go at them so I am having to pick them half-ripe and let them ripen indoors. There are lots of apples the possums could have with my blessing but they seem to have changed their eating habits :( At least I've finally got them out of the roof and all the entrances blocked off - but did they like the brand new house I put up in a tree for them (as required by the Dept.of Environment who rented me the possum trap; one can no longer remove them from the property even if said property is only a one & a half acre block)? - of course not, they have now burrowed into the woodpile. -- Anne Chambers SE South Australia anne dot chambers at bigpond dot com |
Arguments
"Trish Brown" wrote in message ... Can't we all just say 'infinity' and let it go? Continually feeding these pointless conversations is drowning the ng in fresh, steaming, *unrotted* manure. Y'know, you don't *have* to respond when someone posts something that disagrees with you. Just let it go and we'll all feel better. My garden is drooping at the moment. Well, we're watering, but the lawn is overgrown and the beds need a bit of weeding and extra mulch. It's been so hot and humid, no one feels like getting out and doing the usual maintenance. We keep telling each other 'Tomorrow, when it's cooler...', but it never seems to be cool enough! The beans and peas have got mildew because I (mistakenly) planted too many plants too close together. The watermelon has covered everything and we have a glut of melons which is getting more and more worrying. The family and neighbours are heartily sick of me asking 'Would you like another melon?' Not only that, but the butternut pumpkin has met up with and conjoined itself to the melon vine. There are umpteen little yellow pear-shaped pumpkins growing among the many melons and I'm visualising pots and pots of pumpkin soup and a plethora of pumpkin pies - oh dear! LOL! And to think I nearly planted several watermelon and pumpkin seedlings! One of each is quite enough, thank you. Inside, I've put a Venus Fly Trap and a Pitcher Plant on my kitchen windowsill (only for decoration, you understand). In the first week, the Pitcher Plant entrapped a European Wasp that managed to make its way inside, so I'm chuffed about that. Venus Fly Trap is a bit languid at the moment, but I feel she'll come good when her traps have enlarged a bit. It never occurred to me that my carnivorous plants might actually carnivorate, but they did! Lucky me! ;- For the first time in memory, all our African Violets have carked it! My DS is in charge of those, as he has quite a way with Afro Violets. Nevertheless, the Great Heat this year has dried them out phenomenally and despite DS' best efforts, they've all turned up their sepals and gone to meet the Great Gardener. Shame, that. One extremely nice thing about our garden is that, since we removed all the feelthy steenking palm trees, we no longer get liberally sprinkled with ripe, steaming bat-shit. This is a blessing and I do smile to myself as I listen to the bubble of bats in the tree four doors down. They're lovely to watch from a distance, but you really don't want bats flying over your clothesline. Or, indeed, your white dog! Finally, a Blue-Tongue has had babies somewhere in our yard and there's all these little baby Blueys pottering about. I think I mentioned a while back that one turned up underneath my bed! This means I have to be vigilant about the foul and disgusting Indian Mynas, who seem to enjoy crown-roast of baby Bluey very much. If anyone's got any clever ideas about scaring them away (the mynas, not the blueys) - aside from rushing outdoors, waving a fly swatter or wooden spoon and screeching like a madwoman... !!! ... I'd love to hear of it. And that's my little garden at the moment. How about everyone else? -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia The other day I left the tank water tap on when giving the dogs a drink. The rain atm is helping to make up for my booboo. The pumpkins are going beserk. |
Arguments
/lurk
On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:55:36 +1100, Trish Brown wrote: [...] If anyone's got any clever ideas about scaring them away (the mynas, not the blueys) - aside from rushing outdoors, waving a fly swatter or wooden spoon and screeching like a madwoman... Well, that worked quite well when SWMBO did it. They were beating up on a magpie, and when she dived outdoors with a broom in hand and whacked a couple over the head, the noisy miners joined in and drove them away. Since then, and since we've been giving the last scraps of rice to the noisy miners, they and the magpies are proving quite efficient at keeping the Indian mynas away. [...] How about everyone else? Chili explosion here at Blackalls Park. We have two cayenne chili bushes that won't stop producing, and we've given away a large number, and minced and fermented a quart jar's worth of chili and garlic paste, and we eat about 6-10 fresh chilis each week, and they keep on coming. Now the jalapeño bush is producing well too (hmmm... ranch beans!) and our tabasco chili bush has ~50 little fiery buggers on it and they've started ripening. Ginger, turmeric, and galangal have erupted during the wet rainy summer. Well, the galangal popped up in spring, but has stuck up another spike or two each over summer. One of my taro corms is raging away with plenty of leaves, while the other is still presenting short green spikes that don't go anywhere. Still stuffing about with other bits, not much other than chilis and herbs making their way into the kitchen lately. The mozzies are back in abundance. #$%^. ZzzzzzZZZZ!...zzzzZZZ! :/ -- Ross McKay, Toronto, NSW Australia "Tuesday is Soylent Green day" |
Arguments
Anne Chambers wrote:
Trish Brown wrote: Can't we all just say 'infinity' and let it go? Continually feeding these pointless conversations is drowning the ng in fresh, steaming, *unrotted* manure. Y'know, you don't *have* to respond when someone posts something that disagrees with you. Just let it go and we'll all feel better. Hear hear How about everyone else? My tomatoes are finally ripening - but this year, for the first time, the possums are having a go at them so I am having to pick them half-ripe and let them ripen indoors. There are lots of apples the possums could have with my blessing but they seem to have changed their eating habits :( At least I've finally got them out of the roof and all the entrances blocked off - but did they like the brand new house I put up in a tree for them (as required by the Dept.of Environment who rented me the possum trap; one can no longer remove them from the property even if said property is only a one & a half acre block)? - of course not, they have now burrowed into the woodpile. For some reason I cannot see posts from Trish (no you are not sinbinned) so I will have to tag on here. The season has been kind to us with good rain and despite continued high humidity not much in the way of fungus and mould. The pasture is looking great, we could run twice as many horses at the moment as they are all fat and cannot keep up with it. All except one old dear who is wasting away from a mystery illness. She has been on supplementary feeding for three months and eats grass with the rest all day. She ought to be spherical with what she is eating but instead just skin and bones. I am checking out sites for a big hole. She has taken a liking to mulberry leaves so I replaced the net to keep her out. Running late to go out the other day I glanced at the orchard to find her inside the net. It was like one of those weird performance artists who wrap up common objects or paint large animals in living rooms. Just standing there patiently, no fuss, waiting for me to get her out. I have no idea how she got in there. The mulberrys will recover. Mootilda the cow is settling in well. She and the horses have reached a negotiated settlement. I can now get up to her and touch her without any problem, I know it is just cupboard love because as soon as it is clear that I have no food for her she wanders off but it is s good sign that she is not totally afaid of getting near people. I now have to build some yards and bails so that she can have a visit from the lady with the syringe. The vege garden is looking like a picture book. Herbs and cutting greens have self-seeded all over the place and the cucurbits are plotting world domination. The asparagus is way over my head and next spring looks like being a good cut. The stone fruit did very well and the pear trees are loaded to breaking point , now if I can just remember when to pull them .... I have found a new cultivar of beans which is very impressive in my environment. Not from any of the recognised sources nor from a crazy old aunt. So many of those, including Diggers so-called lazy houswife (stringless my foot) have drawbacks. This one is a bush bean that is robust and produces loads of genuinely stringless pods. Found everywhere and disparaged by some - Mrs Fothergills. Also I grew yellow pear tomatoes for the first time. They are very good; a small sweet salad tom that looks like a yellow pear about 4cm long. We took kilos of tomatoes and cucmbers to the new Gloucester farmers market last Saturday, I am still waiting to see how much sold but it was looking good. If anybody is interested as either buyer or seller I will post details. There have been a few disappointments. The second round of corn didn't get fertilised correcly and the ears are very underweight. I cannot get in front of the snails. I slay them in their hundreds, clean up all their hiding places etc etc but still they come. But sun is shining and all is right with world. David |
Arguments
David Hare-Scott wrote:
For some reason I cannot see posts from Trish (no you are not sinbinned) so I will have to tag on here. Ooo, I hope not! I do try to be good, y'know. The season has been kind to us with good rain and despite continued high humidity not much in the way of fungus and mould. The pasture is looking great, we could run twice as many horses at the moment as they are all fat and cannot keep up with it. All except one old dear who is wasting away from a mystery illness. She has been on supplementary feeding for three months and eats grass with the rest all day. She ought to be spherical with what she is eating but instead just skin and bones. I am checking out sites for a big hole. She has taken a liking to mulberry leaves so I replaced the net to keep her out. Running late to go out the other day I glanced at the orchard to find her inside the net. It was like one of those weird performance artists who wrap up common objects or paint large animals in living rooms. Just standing there patiently, no fuss, waiting for me to get her out. I have no idea how she got in there. The mulberrys will recover. I'm assuming you've wormed everyone in your paddock? If this mare's carrying a heavy worm-load, it would explain her doing so poorly on good feed. A vet would find out for sure (although you'll pay for it... try offering him some tomatoes instead!) Three quarters fill a bucket with rolled oats (NOT seed oats, mind, but rolled ones: you can get 'em from most feed merchants). Top up with boiling water, stir and let it stand until it's mostly cooled. You can add a number of taste-tempters, from a handful of salt to a dipper of bran (only if the horse is used to it, though) to a splodge of treacle or molasses. Most horses will knock you down for treacle/molasses, so I'd recommend it for this poor old mare. The reasoning behind the rolled oats is that the husks can irritate an inflamed gut, as can bran or pollard. Nice, mushy rolled oats seems to work quite well. It's good for skinny dogs too. Mootilda the cow is settling in well. She and the horses have reached a negotiated settlement. I can now get up to her and touch her without any problem, I know it is just cupboard love because as soon as it is clear that I have no food for her she wanders off but it is s good sign that she is not totally afaid of getting near people. I now have to build some yards and bails so that she can have a visit from the lady with the syringe. Killjoy! Poor Mootilda! The vege garden is looking like a picture book. Herbs and cutting greens have self-seeded all over the place and the cucurbits are plotting world domination. The asparagus is way over my head and next spring looks like being a good cut. The stone fruit did very well and the pear trees are loaded to breaking point , now if I can just remember when to pull them .... I have found a new cultivar of beans which is very impressive in my environment. Not from any of the recognised sources nor from a crazy old aunt. So many of those, including Diggers so-called lazy houswife (stringless my foot) have drawbacks. This one is a bush bean that is robust and produces loads of genuinely stringless pods. Found everywhere and disparaged by some - Mrs Fothergills. Also I grew yellow pear tomatoes for the first time. They are very good; a small sweet salad tom that looks like a yellow pear about 4cm long. We took kilos of tomatoes and cucmbers to the new Gloucester farmers market last Saturday, I am still waiting to see how much sold but it was looking good. If anybody is interested as either buyer or seller I will post details. Ever made tomato jam? It's *delicious*! There have been a few disappointments. The second round of corn didn't get fertilised correcly and the ears are very underweight. I cannot get in front of the snails. I slay them in their hundreds, clean up all their hiding places etc etc but still they come. But sun is shining and all is right with world. David Yeah, my corn was a disappointment too: little shrivelly ears with gaps in the cobs. My Great Hope for the future is a wall-full of sweet peas. Wish me luck!!! -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
Arguments
Anne Chambers wrote:
My tomatoes are finally ripening - but this year, for the first time, the possums are having a go at them so I am having to pick them half-ripe and let them ripen indoors. There are lots of apples the possums could have with my blessing but they seem to have changed their eating habits :( At least I've finally got them out of the roof and all the entrances blocked off - but did they like the brand new house I put up in a tree for them (as required by the Dept.of Environment who rented me the possum trap; one can no longer remove them from the property even if said property is only a one & a half acre block)? - of course not, they have now burrowed into the woodpile. I saw a ringtail possum scooting along the power lines just recently. I had no idea they could do that, but this little bloke was as surefooted as if he were waddling along his home-tree. They're noisy and smelly and annoying if they get too tame... but *so* cute to look at! ;- -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
Arguments
SG1 wrote:
The other day I left the tank water tap on when giving the dogs a drink. Bugger! The rain atm is helping to make up for my booboo. The pumpkins are going beserk. I reckon you could probably see them growing if you were willing to stand there for an hour or so and watch. DH is about to go out and build a trellisy arrangment to keep the vines out of the rose garden. Talk about peripatetic! (The vines, not the husband...) -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
Arguments
Ross McKay wrote:
/lurk On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:55:36 +1100, Trish Brown wrote: [...] If anyone's got any clever ideas about scaring them away (the mynas, not the blueys) - aside from rushing outdoors, waving a fly swatter or wooden spoon and screeching like a madwoman... Well, that worked quite well when SWMBO did it. They were beating up on a magpie, and when she dived outdoors with a broom in hand and whacked a couple over the head, the noisy miners joined in and drove them away. Since then, and since we've been giving the last scraps of rice to the noisy miners, they and the magpies are proving quite efficient at keeping the Indian mynas away. Will try the broomystick method and report back. I hate Indian Mynas!!! [...] How about everyone else? Chili explosion here at Blackalls Park. Oooahhh! I'm at Wallsend! G'day, neighbour. ;-D We have two cayenne chili bushes that won't stop producing, and we've given away a large number, and minced and fermented a quart jar's worth of chili and garlic paste, and we eat about 6-10 fresh chilis each week, and they keep on coming. Now the jalapeño bush is producing well too (hmmm... ranch beans!) and our tabasco chili bush has ~50 little fiery buggers on it and they've started ripening. My chilis and capsicums have done pretty well, only the #($^#@%@ European Wasps have continually gotten at them all season. I've put up traps for the rotten creatures, and had some success at first. Now, I can't find anything they'll go into the traps for (not even chilis or capsicums). Ginger, turmeric, and galangal have erupted during the wet rainy summer. Well, the galangal popped up in spring, but has stuck up another spike or two each over summer. One of my taro corms is raging away with plenty of leaves, while the other is still presenting short green spikes that don't go anywhere. Still stuffing about with other bits, not much other than chilis and herbs making their way into the kitchen lately. The mozzies are back in abundance. #$%^. ZzzzzzZZZZ!...zzzzZZZ! :/ You're not wrong the we've got tiny little black ones that always seem to bite where you can't reach 'em. I don't s'pose you'd get Hexham Greys out where you are? We live about a block away from the edge of Hexham Swamp and so we get a few from there. They seem to have made a comeback in recent years and I can't say I think that's a good thing. -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
Arguments
Trish Brown wrote:
SG1 wrote: The other day I left the tank water tap on when giving the dogs a drink. Bugger! The rain atm is helping to make up for my booboo. The pumpkins are going beserk. I reckon you could probably see them growing if you were willing to stand there for an hour or so and watch. DH is about to go out and build a trellisy arrangment to keep the vines out of the rose garden. Talk about peripatetic! (The vines, not the husband...) DH? Dear Hubby? You have to watch those initialisms. I once was at a meeting which included social policy types who were talking about DSEs when another bloke whispered to me "why are they talking about sheep?" I had to explain that they meant Designated Spouse Equivalents not Drenched Sheep Equivalents. Then there was the time I got into terrible trouble talking about Predetermined Motion Time Standards (I am not making this up it actaully happened). David |
Arguments
"Trish Brown" wrote in message ... Ross McKay wrote: /lurk On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:55:36 +1100, Trish Brown wrote: [...] If anyone's got any clever ideas about scaring them away (the mynas, not the blueys) - aside from rushing outdoors, waving a fly swatter or wooden spoon and screeching like a madwoman... Well, that worked quite well when SWMBO did it. They were beating up on a magpie, and when she dived outdoors with a broom in hand and whacked a couple over the head, the noisy miners joined in and drove them away. Since then, and since we've been giving the last scraps of rice to the noisy miners, they and the magpies are proving quite efficient at keeping the Indian mynas away. Will try the broomystick method and report back. I hate Indian Mynas!!! [...] How about everyone else? Chili explosion here at Blackalls Park. Oooahhh! I'm at Wallsend! G'day, neighbour. ;-D We have two cayenne chili bushes that won't stop producing, and we've given away a large number, and minced and fermented a quart jar's worth of chili and garlic paste, and we eat about 6-10 fresh chilis each week, and they keep on coming. Now the jalapeño bush is producing well too (hmmm... ranch beans!) and our tabasco chili bush has ~50 little fiery buggers on it and they've started ripening. My chilis and capsicums have done pretty well, only the #($^#@%@ European Wasps have continually gotten at them all season. I've put up traps for the rotten creatures, and had some success at first. Now, I can't find anything they'll go into the traps for (not even chilis or capsicums). Ginger, turmeric, and galangal have erupted during the wet rainy summer. Well, the galangal popped up in spring, but has stuck up another spike or two each over summer. One of my taro corms is raging away with plenty of leaves, while the other is still presenting short green spikes that don't go anywhere. Still stuffing about with other bits, not much other than chilis and herbs making their way into the kitchen lately. The mozzies are back in abundance. #$%^. ZzzzzzZZZZ!...zzzzZZZ! :/ You're not wrong the we've got tiny little black ones that always seem to bite where you can't reach 'em. I don't s'pose you'd get Hexham Greys out where you are? We live about a block away from the edge of Hexham Swamp and so we get a few from there. They seem to have made a comeback in recent years and I can't say I think that's a good thing. -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia I remember the days when based at Williamtown (not a RAAF type though) when SWMBO and myself used to visit folk at West Wallsend. |
Arguments
On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:12:15 +1100, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Trish Brown wrote: SG1 wrote: The other day I left the tank water tap on when giving the dogs a drink. Bugger! The rain atm is helping to make up for my booboo. The pumpkins are going beserk. I reckon you could probably see them growing if you were willing to stand there for an hour or so and watch. DH is about to go out and build a trellisy arrangment to keep the vines out of the rose garden. Talk about peripatetic! (The vines, not the husband...) DH? Dear Hubby? You have to watch those initialisms. I once was at a meeting which included social policy types who were talking about DSEs when another bloke whispered to me "why are they talking about sheep?" I had to explain that they meant Designated Spouse Equivalents not Drenched Sheep Equivalents. Then there was the time I got into terrible trouble talking about Predetermined Motion Time Standards (I am not making this up it actaully happened). David Sorry David, but normal usage for DSE is not as quoted; it is DRY SHEEP EQUIVALENT/S. See below: "The stocking rate of pastures is the number of animals per unit area of land, irrespective of the amount of forage available. Dry sheep equivalents (DSE) The dry sheep equivalent is widely accepted in Australia as the livestock unit to which the feed requirements of other types of livestock can be related most satisfactorily. DSE’s are also used when comparing the profitability of different farming enterprises. A DSE is the estimated energy required to maintain the body weight of a two year old wether" Merino sheep (a non-breeding animal) weighing 45 kg." For one reference (and there are many other sites): http://www.australianboergoat.com.au/index2.php? option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=32&Itemid=27 Keep smiling anm |
Arguments
"Trish Brown" wrote in message
This means I have to be vigilant about the foul and disgusting Indian Mynas, who seem to enjoy crown-roast of baby Bluey very much. If anyone's got any clever ideas about scaring them away (the mynas, not the blueys) - Put "Indian Myna trap" into google and you'll get hundreds of hits. |
Mootilda was Arguments
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
Mootilda the cow is settling in well. She and the horses have reached a negotiated settlement. I can now get up to her and touch her without any problem, I know it is just cupboard love because as soon as it is clear that I have no food for her she wanders off but it is s good sign that she is not totally afaid of getting near people. I now have to build some yards and bails so that she can have a visit from the lady with the syringe. You asked some time ago about keeping Mootilda healthy and at the time although I answered, I wasn't really focussed. I've thought about it since and I'd advise 5 in 1 for a few years (unless you know her status, in which case, if she's had a few years of shots don't bother overly - all her calves religiously), lice control and if you get liver fluke in your area, once a year application of flukacide. |
Arguments
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
... I once was at a meeting which included social policy types who were talking about DSEs when another bloke whispered to me "why are they talking about sheep?" I had to explain that they meant Designated Spouse Equivalents not Drenched Sheep Equivalents. LOL. I bet he laughed at that given that it's Dry Sheep Equivalents. Then there was the time I got into terrible trouble talking about Predetermined Motion Time Standards (I am not making this up it actaully happened). Even better! |
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