Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have nesting
material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today, there are faint
stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the perennial veg.

Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

Farm1 wrote:

Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have nesting
material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today, there are faint
stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the perennial veg.

Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

the dog days of winter?


songbird

On 7/29/2013 12:22 PM, songbird wrote:
Farm1 wrote:

Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have nesting
material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today, there are faint
stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the perennial veg.

Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

the dog days of winter?


songbird


Guess you learn something everyday. I would assume that the dates are
attached to the seasons but apparently not so in places like Oz:

http://www.australia.com/about/austr...s-seasons.aspx

In article ,
songbird wrote:

Farm1 wrote:

Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have nesting
material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today, there are
faint
stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the perennial veg.

Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

the dog days of winter?


songbird

Ack! Bite your tongue woman! I want to see red tomatoes first. Great,
heaping piles of red tomatoes of all sizes, garnishing the plates of
innumerable al fresco dinners. Then you'll get your turn ;O)

If it makes you feel any better, The grape harvest will start next
month, and I'm stacking this winter's firewood, now, or should be.
Gotta go!
--
Palestinian Child Detained
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzSzH38jYcg

Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

Farm1 wrote:
Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have
nesting material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today,
there are faint stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the
perennial veg.
Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

Looks like being early here too, the birds are all getting frisky, the
butcherbirds are calling (beautiful) and the swallows fly in to inspect the
interior of the shed for nesting potential whenever the door is open.

A couple of asparagus spears have popped already. So far no fruit trees
have flowered which is good as there wouild be a big risk of a late frost.

D

Frank wrote:
On 7/29/2013 12:22 PM, songbird wrote:
Farm1 wrote:

Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have
nesting material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb
today, there are faint stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst
the perennial veg. Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

the dog days of winter?


songbird


Guess you learn something everyday. I would assume that the dates are
attached to the seasons but apparently not so in places like Oz:

http://www.australia.com/about/austr...s-seasons.aspx

The definition of season varies all around the world. In fact in some part
of Oz it is different to others. People tend to forget that we have
tropical, subtropical, warm and cool temperate climates in the one country.
In Darwin they have only wet and dry. In Sydney they have four seasons in a
year, in Melbourne in a day.

David

"songbird" wrote in message
...
Farm1 wrote:

Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have nesting
material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today, there are
faint
stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the perennial veg.

Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

the dog days of winter?

Yup. And I am 'over it'!

"Frank" wrote in message
...
On 7/29/2013 12:22 PM, songbird wrote:
Farm1 wrote:

Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have nesting
material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today, there are
faint
stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the perennial veg.

Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

the dog days of winter?


songbird


Guess you learn something everyday. I would assume that the dates are
attached to the seasons but apparently not so in places like Oz:

http://www.australia.com/about/austr...s-seasons.aspx

The official start date for the start of Sping is 1 September, but as any
gardener knows, dates have little to do with seasons.

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
songbird wrote:

Farm1 wrote:

Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have nesting
material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today, there are
faint
stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the perennial veg.

Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

the dog days of winter?


songbird

Ack! Bite your tongue woman! I want to see red tomatoes first.

:-)) Well if it's any consolation, I know that in the past, I've still been
waiting for red toms to arrive when all you northern hemispherians have been
bragging about the warmign weather and you've all had seedlings coming on.

Great,
heaping piles of red tomatoes of all sizes, garnishing the plates of
innumerable al fresco dinners. Then you'll get your turn ;O)

If it makes you feel any better, The grape harvest will start next
month, and I'm stacking this winter's firewood, now, or should be.
Gotta go!

:-)) We think we have enough wood to get us through the rest of the season.

We pruned my house grape last week and I've weeded my berry cage and dug up
and divided a venerable rhubarb clump, but basically that's all. The roses
still need to be pruned (all 110+ of the sods) and that's traditionally an
August job in this cold (for Aus) climate.

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Farm1 wrote:
Well the weather is still cold but I notice that birds now have
nesting material in their beaks and when separating a rhubarb today,
there are faint stirrings in the all sorts of things amongst the
perennial veg.
Not too long now till Spring (I hope).

Looks like being early here too,

I was listening to a weatherman reporting that this winter looks like it
might be a record breaker for higher temps and a snow shortage (in terms of
depth and period of coverage) for the Mountains. Poor snow bunnies ;-P

the birds are all getting frisky, the
butcherbirds are calling (beautiful) and the swallows fly in to inspect
the interior of the shed for nesting potential whenever the door is open.

:-)) I love the bird aqctivity in Spring (except for the ******g Currawongs
which I hate with a passion).

And today I was thrilled to see a flock of about 40 yellow tailed Black
Cockatoos!!!!! Such majestic birds wheeling round and screeching.

A couple of asparagus spears have popped already. So far no fruit trees
have flowered which is good as there wouild be a big risk of a late frost.

Indeedy! I must check my asparagus tomorrow.

"Derald" wrote in message
...
songbird wrote:

the dog days of winter?
Do they even have dog days in Oz?

Well, if you are asking if we have them and name them as such to coincide
with the rising of the Dog Star as did the ancient Romans and Greeks, then
no, we don't have them because the Dog Star can be seen for much of the year
here (or so I've been told).

If, however, you mean do we have those stinking hot days of mid summer that
are called 'dog days', then yes, we certainly do have them. A week of temps
over the old ton are enough to drive both humans and dogs quite bonkers.

Derald wrote:
"Farm1" wrote:

Well, if you are asking if we have them and name them as such to
coincide with the rising of the Dog Star as did the ancient Romans
and Greeks, then no, we don't have them because the Dog Star can be
seen for much of the year here (or so I've been told).
Yes, that was the question. Although, I "thought" that it must be,
I was unsure whether Sirius is even visible at Australia's latitudes.

Where Fran lives I would say not at all. Up north maybe. Oz is a big
place.

I'm in the SE USA, where Canis Major, Orion, etc. are pretty high in
the sky. Of course, a fire would be required in order to get me up
early enough to see it this time of year. "Dog days" are when Sirius
and Sol are in conjunction and rise at (about) the same time of day.
Glad to read that you're seeing a few optimistic harbingers of
Spring; reassuring, isn't it? Is winter over or do you still have more
cold weather coming on? I'm far enough south in US that, for practical
purposes, "spring" arrives in mid-late February and outdoor gardening
can begin, although, a slight possibility of a nasty "March Surprise"
still exists.

We are concerned with that too especially with stone fruits. If they flower
early and you get a late frost the flowers or fruit will fall and your
harvest can be almost nothing.

This time of year, here, all but the most heat tolerant plants are
gone from the garden and it's still a bit early for a "late" planting
of beans, curcurbits and tomatoes; far too early to put in cool
weather crops. Just as well, for the time may be used for chainsaw
tuneup/repair (firewood on hand but not yet bucked to length or
split), manure-hauling, etc.
Making plans and putting together a final seed order for the
fall-winter garden, though. At your suggestion, "Fordhook" Swiss chard
will be included in this year's mix, with a series of succession
plantings starting once the weather cools a bit. Never had any "luck"
with chard and don't recall having tried any other kind of beet. Of
course, it's all on you, if my dismal record continues: It's the new
"American Way", LOL!

The five-colour sort looks nice but fordhook is reliable. You don't need to
succession plant it, if you keep pulling the outside leaves it will keep
growing new ones from the centre. I have some here that has been going for
8 months. It will probably bolt to seed in the spring. You can save the
seeds.



...over the old ton....
Of course, I have no idea what that means unless it's a sailing
reference and is hot, indeed. Rarely gets out of high 20's, maybe very
low 30's, here.

A ton is a hundred, a car going over a ton is over 100mph, temperature is
over 100F. This is all in antiquated pre-metric measure, the septics ought
to feel right at home.

David

"Derald" wrote in message
"Farm1" wrote:

Well, if you are asking if we have them and name them as such to coincide
with the rising of the Dog Star as did the ancient Romans and Greeks, then
no, we don't have them because the Dog Star can be seen for much of the
year
here (or so I've been told).
Yes, that was the question. Although, I "thought" that it must be,
I was unsure whether Sirius is even visible at Australia's latitudes.
I'm in the SE USA, where Canis Major, Orion, etc. are pretty high in the
sky.

I love usenet because of the things I can learn as a reuslt of the
interaction. I know sod all about stars but I've just done a google and
according to the results of that, Canus major is a 'constellation of the
southern hemisphere'. I would have thought that would mean it's more
visible in my hemisphere than yours?????? In any event, the whole
constellation is apparently visible in my latitude but to you it would look
upside down.

Of course, a fire would be required in order to get me up early
enough to see it this time of year. "Dog days" are when Sirius and Sol
are in conjunction and rise at (about) the same time of day.
Glad to read that you're seeing a few optimistic harbingers of
Spring; reassuring, isn't it? Is winter over

No way Jose! We still have lots of cold and frosty mornings to come still
but that doesn't stop either the flora or fauna in my garden and surrounds
knowing that spring is coming.

or do you still have more
cold weather coming on? I'm far enough south in US that, for practical
purposes, "spring" arrives in mid-late February and outdoor gardening
can begin, although, a slight possibility of a nasty "March Surprise"
still exists.

Spring is uncertain here too and we often get a late frost. That is why I
prefer the long balmy days of Autumn.

This time of year, here, all but the most heat tolerant plants are
gone from the garden and it's still a bit early for a "late" planting
of beans, curcurbits and tomatoes; far too early to put in cool weather
crops. Just as well, for the time may be used for chainsaw tuneup/repair
(firewood on hand but not yet bucked to length or split),
manure-hauling, etc.

I drag in manure or clean out the chook pen when I get a round to it. I
never have any defined season or time for doing it.

Making plans and putting together a final seed order for the
fall-winter garden, though. At your suggestion, "Fordhook" Swiss chard
will be included in this year's mix, with a series of succession
plantings starting once the weather cools a bit. Never had any "luck"
with chard and don't recall having tried any other kind of beet.

I can't understand why you've not been successful. It's one of those 'tough
as old boots' plants. Mine self seeds and I find it in all sorts of add
spots and it lasts thorugh winter and gives a few greens at times when other
greens are in short supply. And the tiny leaves are great in a mixed salad
with tomato, crispy bacon, grated cheese and a tomatoey pasteish style salad
dressing.

Of
course, it's all on you, if my dismal record continues: It's the new
"American Way", LOL!

Yeah well I'll blame you Merkins for the loss of our language.

Every young Australian who keeps chooks now says they keep 'chickens' and
they don't know that a real chicken is quite different to what they think it
is. But what would I know, I'm just an old woman who was raised on a
poultry farm........................

...over the old ton....
Of course, I have no idea what that means unless it's a sailing
reference and is hot, indeed. Rarely gets out of high 20's, maybe very
low 30's, here.

We use Celcius for our temps and ahve done for decades but I grew up with it
and so know what American mean when they complain of high 90s etc. A ton is
a 100 (and yes IIRC, it is derived from a reference to speed). 100degrees F
was hot but that is now an old measure so anything that is over the old ton
is still darned hot. These days darned hot is about 39degrees C or somehing
close to that in the old ton measures.

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Derald wrote:
"Farm1" wrote:

Well, if you are asking if we have them and name them as such to
coincide with the rising of the Dog Star as did the ancient Romans
and Greeks, then no, we don't have them because the Dog Star can be
seen for much of the year here (or so I've been told).
Yes, that was the question. Although, I "thought" that it must be,
I was unsure whether Sirius is even visible at Australia's latitudes.

Where Fran lives I would say not at all.

I did a google David and foudnt hat at the nearest observatory I know of,
apparently the whole of Canus Major is visible in Canberra but upside down.
That should mean it'd be visible here.

(snip)
Making plans and putting together a final seed order for the
fall-winter garden, though. At your suggestion, "Fordhook" Swiss chard
will be included in this year's mix, with a series of succession
plantings starting once the weather cools a bit. Never had any "luck"
with chard and don't recall having tried any other kind of beet. Of
course, it's all on you, if my dismal record continues: It's the new
"American Way", LOL!

The five-colour sort looks nice but fordhook is reliable.

Yup. I've only bothered once with the coloured stuff and I still can't get
rid of it from my garden because of it's self seeding.

You don't need to
succession plant it, if you keep pulling the outside leaves it will keep
growing new ones from the centre. I have some here that has been going
for 8 months. It will probably bolt to seed in the spring. You can save
the seeds.

Yup. I just harvest them and drop them in my wanders. I don't do neat
straight lines most of the time.

(snip)
, the septics ought
to feel right at home.

Ooohhh you are naughty!

Derald wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:


The five-colour sort looks nice but fordhook is reliable. You don't
need to succession plant it, if you keep pulling the outside leaves
it will keep growing new ones from the centre.
I'm familiar with the practice of "cropping" potherbs for an
extended and continuous harvest. The successions would be to determine
practical planting dates.

I have some here that has been going for
8 months. It will probably bolt to seed in the spring. You can
save the seeds.
So, what is the temperature range during chard's best growing
season? ...at planting time? I normally plant "cool season" veggies
when temperatures moderate somewhat and begin trending toward cooler
days, not necessarily according to the calendar.


Here it goes well in winter (mostly 4C to 18C) and spring and autumn (10C to
28C). In summer it grows OK but wilts in the heat (17C to 38C). It is also
frost hardy down to about -5C.

D