It’s truly an impressive achievement when the average house price in this country just passed a million bucks. Yes, you did read that last sentence correctly. I can’t make this stuff up. A million dollars. That’s a lot of mad cash to pay for something which keeps the rain off your head. It’s nice to hear that inflation is meant to be under control.
Don’t believe me, here’s the article: First home buyers baulk as average home in Australia passes $1 million
I’d baulk at that price too, and it’s so nice to hear that the folks in charge of this stuff tell us with straight faces that inflation is apparently under control nowadays. Printing mad cash must be a wondrous temptation.
Long term readers will know that my paid work is as an accountant. Numbers. Systems. Processes. That kind of stuff. When I was a young bloke, those were the attractions of the profession. The story made perfect sense back then. To sit in a back office crunching away at ledgers was like a dream job. As a much older bloke nowadays, it’s hard to ignore the reality which is that people are as big a factor, if not biggerer, than the numbers.
The reality is I’m not allowed to ever speak of my clients, and I accept that. However, in the wider world outside of paid work, people and their stories interest me deeply. Stories are everywhere, right in front of our very noses, if we only but choose to look. A friend of mine temporarily moved back overseas recently, and before then we had a good discussion about living costs in this country. Makes me wonder if other people are likewise considering that option? Dunno, but an average house is over a million bucks now, someone will be thinking of cashing out for sure.
We went for a bush walk in a nearby nature reserve on Friday. The weather was glorious with sunny blue winter skies, and not a breath of wind. The yellow sun even felt unusually warm. Hard to explain such beautiful weather only a week out from the winter solstice. Before we headed out the door, we had to check online to see whether a business – which was hopefully going to provide the super tasty lunch – was even open. Despite the excellent offerings for purchasers, there’d been the occasional surprise closure of late. Stuff is going on there behind the scenes for sure. There’s a plan B in place which has been explored and tested. We can adapt to changing circumstance. Commercial property is not immune to the pressures of the million dollar price tag.
Long ago an older and far more experienced accountant made an astute observation about businesses which sell food to the general public. He said to me: Takes a lot of coffee sales to pay for that rent. He changed my world view with that simple sentence. At it’s core, what he was suggesting, was that businesses have to make sense in order to survive. And property prices nowadays make little sense to me.
Watching the housing bubble kick off down here in 1997 produced an unsettling feeling. Both Sandra and I raced to finish the house we’d built in the gentrifying and formerly heavy industrial suburb of Yarraville. That suburb even had a massive tank farm, as you do. By the turn of the century, weekends were spent roaming more upscale inner urban suburbs looking for a house with potential. That’s code word for the biggest dump in a nice street. If we hadn’t moved then, it’s likely we wouldn’t have been able to afford to leap the continual jump in house prices. We finally purchased a Victorian era terrace brick shell. It was in structurally good condition. The rest of the house probably scared people though. Bidding was fierce at the public auction, and some bloke cost us $30,000 in a few minutes, before then quitting. By 2008, we’d completely restored the house but had had enough of the city. That’s when we built the house here. We did most of the labour on this house too, as with all the rest of them.
Politics as a subject bores me. However, finding it disinteresting is no excuse for apathy. So I keep abreast of what is going on in the wider world. There’s always stories to be observed in the larger movements of society. This housing bubble thing has been going on for 28 years now. Makes a sensitive person wonder. Observing the outcome of many of the recent elections, I get the impression that the majority of the population are OK with the bubble. The problem with that silent acceptance is that historically all economic bubbles have popped. Every last one of them. All it takes is not having enough new suckers to buy into the bubble. That’s it folks, it really is that simple. And I can now imagine a few stories which will produce that outcome. But what do I know? It truly baffles me that the bubble has continually inflated for all these years.
It’s truly hard to know what you don’t know. Early last week I was watching a video put together by an old timer dude living in a similar climate to here, but in mountainous tall forest on the west coast of the US. He’s an interesting dude, and posts videos on YouTube a couple of times per week. It’s of considerable interest to me that many of the same issues he faces there with forests, are pretty much the same as here. Anyway, due to his long experience and wisdom, he often provides tricks and techniques for operating and maintaining chainsaws. Recently he got me onto using a new tool: Chainsaw Chain Guide Bar Groove Rail Closer Tool.
It was a real D’Oh moment. The tool squooshes together the two guide rails on the chainsaw bar. With the metal chain rubbing at high speed against the two bar guide rails, there’s nothing a person can do to stop the degradation. General wear and tear simply widens the gap where the chain travels, and that inevitably causes the chain to flop over whilst in use – and thus the saw begins to cut crooked. For chainsaws to work properly, the cuts have to be dead straight, otherwise the chain jams on the timber. As mentioned, both the bar and chain will eventually wear out, but regularly squooshing the two guide rails together again allows the bar to be used for a much longer lifespan. I hate waste, and you lovely readers may have noticed?
As we edge ever closer to the winter solstice, the mornings have been frosty. Despite global warming, there’s no fear of a shortage of chilling hours (winter temperatures at or under 7’C / 44’F) for the fruit trees, yet. Some fruit trees require up to 700 hours per year of chilling in order to properly set fruit.
Anyway, there was a lot of paid work to do this week, and that always takes priority. However, I managed to squeeze in two days of work down at the forest edge cleaning up the old loggers mess. For me it’s no hardship because I get to head down there and clear the mind through hard labour.
The rotten old downed tree in the above photo won’t even provide firewood. And the really dirty timber rapidly blunts the chainsaw. As a consequence, I get a lot of practice maintaining that machine. A heck of a lot. But the better it is maintained, the longer it lasts, and the more work it can do in between sharpening and clean ups.
After the first day of work down below, I noticed that an old loggers tree had been completely missed. How did that happen? Kind of hard to ignore, but there it was.
After sharpening and maintaining the chainsaw yet again, the next day I got stuck into that tree. Absolutely filthy timber, and I was eventually able to cut and break the tree apart into smaller sections. Those could then be rolled into the fire pit, and burnt off.
The large stump in the above image is massive, and still had to be reduced to four smaller pieces which could then be easily rolled into the fire pit.
Yet again that area has provided an enormous quantity of rocks. All rocks which can be moved (or split), have a use here and when the paddocks dry out a bit, we’ll begin the process of bringing them all back up the hill.
The effort in the surrounding forest is worth it, and maybe even possibly reduce the fire risk. It is worth noting that some of the tallest and oldest trees in that area near to the clean up work are pushing up around 90 years old. Their potential life span is somewhere between 300 and 400 years, and they can eventually reach 90m / 300ft in height. This next one is a relative baby tree.
Winter is also difficult for electricity generated from the solar photovoltaic panels, especially when the sun is low in the sky. If the plants aren’t growing strongly, there’s probably not much energy to be harvested from the big fusion reactor in the sky. And that’s what this week’s video was about:
The shadows are getting longer now too because the sun is so low in the sky. Even so, and with the frosty mornings, the young citrus trees are doing well.
Inside the greenhouse, the Alpine Strawberries continue to provide fresh berries only a week out from the winter solstice. What a great plant.
The many other varieties of edible plants are also doing well in this unheated greenhouse.
This winter I’ve seriously reduced the watering of the plants growing inside the greenhouse. My thinking is that the super cold water cools the soil, and thus slows the plant growth. The long raised bed in the above image gets a 10L / 2.5 gallon watering can every three to four days. The plants don’t show any signs of water stress, and are growing well. We harvest the plants in such a way that the spacing between each plant slowly increases, and this further speeds up their growth whilst maximising the use of the limited growing space.
The chilli plants are likewise on winter water rations, and they seem to be even hardier and more lush than in previous years.
Outdoors, the rhubarb plants which were moved late last spring, have all enjoyed the recent rains. Something is eating some of the rhubarb leaves, and I suspect that it may be the deer. Hope that makes them ill not that I wish them any harm, maybe.
There are still plenty of fresh leafy greens to harvest too, and one of the best performing winter tolerant plants is the Green Mustard. The leaves are very spicy too.
Bizarrely, a single yellow cherry tomato plant has survived the recent cold frosty winter weather, but for how long is an excellent question! One to keep an eye on.
And for those who remember the old ditty about ‘Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree’, here’s one of the local family sitting on a fence post keeping an eye out for snack opportunities:
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 10am is 5βC (41βF). So far for last year there has been 286.8mm (11.3 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 276.2mm (10.9 inches)
Comments
44 responses to “It’s what you don’t know”
Yo, Chris – You got us beat all to heck (not that that’s a good thing.). According to the Motley Fool web site, for the first quart of this year, median home price was $416,900. Average home price was $503,800. There’s been a slight decrease in prices. The beginning of the bubble deflating?
I’m sure noticing inflation. Less (if any at all) to put in savings. Less in the checking account toward the end of the month. I think I’m just noticing it now, as I’ve burned through my back stock of this and that, and it costs more to replenish supplies.
Wow! The CCGBGBCT sure is a nifty tool. Somehow, I was reminded of cast iron apple corers. Nifty, simple tools that do a specific job, and aren’t really all that complicated.
The big downed tree bites the dust. Your major task for the week. Besides all your other tasks, it seems like you have one major project, every week.
The video was very good. Of course, you could cut down some of the trees that block the sun, when it’s low in the sky. In your spare time. π .
I pulled up a few green mustard volunteers, that were getting a bit out of hand. Into the rice and veg meal, they went. Added a little zing.
The flowers, as always, are lovely. Real troopers, even with your light frost.
I saw an interesting article on an international survey of … swearing.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/15/health/swear-words-conversation-partner
Australia is mentioned, quit a few times. Lew
Hi Lewis,
OK, so you’re seeing the same thing going on in your country with rising house prices. Hmm. Looks like there seems to be regular seasonal adjustments in your country in relation to average house prices which would be worth considering the why of it all, but overall, they appear to be on the up. It is a heck of a question as to what is going on, but basic economics suggests that there are artificial supply and demand issues in play. And the main issue with news, is that once an item is in the news, it’s in the news. Clever means getting ahead of the news or observing unpalatable trends, if that is at all possible.
Man, we produce a lot of stuff here, and also go on the scrounge for a bargain, but the grocery bill usually cracks the $100 a week mark nowadays – and from what I’m hearing, that’s living cheap down here. But yah, when savings disappear or a household slips into the dark land of negative cash flows, that’s a problem. Always wise to stay in a positive cash flow mode, so I get where you are at with the end of the month experience. All options are on the table here.
The tool is exactly like the apple corer in that it is simply made and will have a long lifespan. It’s so basic it’s repairable, and should extend the life of chainsaw bars by two to three times. And those are not cheap items. A lot of the timber cut here is dirty and hard wood, so it wears the steel (bar and chain) out faster, all other considerations to the side.
π Maybe we do have one main project per week! Actually, time moves fast and I like to have a couple of projects on the go at all times so that we can alternate the work. The weather is a large factor as to what gets done, but then the variable approach reduces the risk of repetitive strain injuries from doing the same task over and over again.
I like where you’re going with the solar / tree issue, but sadly some of those trees are on the neighbours and/or council land. π A bit of a bummer really, but then say if there were zombies and no repercussions on that front, it’d be the work of but a few hours to fix. π It’s always interesting to know what videos will be of interest to people on utub, and the folks there are dirty for solar power info. Unfortunately I’d run out of things to talk about if that was the only allowable topic.
Brain pain dead ahead, full leafy green mustard at dinner o’clock! They are a bit zingy aren’t the leaves? Red mustard leaves are good too, but slightly less hardy. Yes, they do get out of hand at certain times of the year and overshadow garden beds. Spotted any cabbage moths yet?
Good to read that it is confirmed that people in your country are unmatched in terms of their interesting language skills. And I’d suggest that the survey is statistically valid. Man, we’ve got a bad rap down here for that reputation. F#$ked if I know why? π I can see why Bangladesh is near the bottom of the survey results. That reminded of the time many years ago when the nice telco company had me bouncing from one department to another with overseas call centre folks for what I believe was about six hours trying to fix a basic billing problem. Anyway, end of tether stuff, and I vented a frustrated err, naughty word. And the latest person hung up on me. The Editor said I turned very red in the face, which may have been a blood pressure reaction. Hmm. Oh well, the nice telco eventually brought the call centres back to this country I believe. Certainly it is easier dealing with them nowadays when things go wrong. Do you remember the bad old days of taking hours to fix a basic problem with a big corp?
Interestingly, given that swearing is heard in the public sphere, we do seem to be slightly easier going in the online space. The mention of the driver advertisement is real too. I don’t even consider the word ‘bloody’ as a swear word, but I guess it is.
Lewis, I’m so torn there. Yes, it is a musical. Are they profiting from crime? Maybe? It is of interest to me that your leaders are calling for the death penalty for the guy, but that might possibly make him a martyr and a much larger character. But then your president has some personal experience on the other end of that story. It’s complicated.
π Not a bad idea, and I mark the territory around here, as do the dogs. Don’t let the ladies catch you doing that! Oh, the outrage, you’ll never hear the end of it. However, if the deer get hungry enough, risk evaluation tends to get thrown out the window.
Oh my, I’m gobsmacked as well by the prices for second hand high end furniture. The stuff is crazy cheap. Funnily enough, most of the high end stuff we’ve purchased was locally made too. I don’t know what to say, but it seems irresponsible not to take advantage of the opportunity. Maybe it’s just a moment in time when people have too much stuff that nothing is valued according to quality? I dunno. It’s weird, but during the recession of the early 90’s things were not like they are now.
Yeah, the mineral was added in to so many everyday compounds. Had decent heat resistant properties if I recall correctly. It was only 40 something years ago that it was removed from sale. Hmm.
Rumour has it, that those jackboot folks are often referenced on the interweb for some bizarre reason unknown to me. π Sounds like an interesting book, and what a courageous soul dedicated to the arts. And keeping the detailed notes saved a whole lot of hassle after the war. Reading: ‘The Big Short’ at the moment, and it’s nice to have the hardback version. The story is a useful reminder as to how far human stupidity and greed can take us. Quite far into dark spaces too. Next up will be the ‘Seed Detective’ book which arrived in the mail late last week.
Hope you get some rain, and soon. A cold winters day of indoors paid work today. Half an inch fell here this evening, and the dogs and I were out walking in it. Ended up quite damp. This morning the place was just starting to dry out again, but nope, wet again now. The wind had picked up too today.
No! Far from it with the Vance collection. There’s still about ten books to read before the ‘complete’ word can even be seriously considered. π Of course, I’d already read them all previously, but these are the restored to the original words editions, so there are often minor plot differences. The stories display an uncanny knowledge of the workings of the human condition, and are worthy reading for that aspect alone.
No spoilers please! π Glad to hear that the new series is good. The actor has a nice way of producing a self satisfied and overly confident expression, as befits the character.
Oh no! Your poor strawberries, man you have my sympathies, but everything here eats the large hybrid strawberries – it got too hard. Well, the effort with the netting is probably worth it. Fingers crossed.
Tomatoes don’t seem to care all that much about pruning, but I see what you mean there. Do they look good afterwards?
We’ve got a King down here, big deal. I don’t get what all the fuss is about. π Your country has aristocracy and families that are political power brokers over generations. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, waddles like a duck, it might be a duck! It seems disproportionately overly excitable to make such claims about your current president. The same could have been said about plenty before him. I don’t get why people in your country keep feeding the guy energy, he laps it up. It’s what he wants. Not a complicated story there. The current oppositional approach is wrong headed, there are better ways.
Cheers
Chris
@ Pam – One of the Master Gardeners was saying this morning that he has deer fencing, and even lower fencing to keep the rabbits out. But he still had problems with chipmunks, getting in. So he saw a U-Tub video and gave it a try. It worked!
Take a 5 gallon bucket and half fill it with water. Place a piece of wood, to make a ramp to the lip of the bucket. Put some sunflower seeds on the ramp. Scatter sunflower seeds on top of the water. Lew
Yo, Chris – A lot of people have been shut out of the housing market. And they are not happy.
Sometimes, when I’m standing in the grocery store line, I’m gobsmacked by how much people spend on food. I keep a straight face, and try not to gasp. π It’s interesting to note the difference, in shopping carts, between obvious immigrants and … natives? Although quit a few immigrant stories have second generation kids, clamoring for American food. Or, sneaking it on the sly.
When you’re video ends, there are 9 thumbnails of other videos … some are yours, some are other peoples. This one pops up fairly regularly. I watched a bit of it. You might find it interesting.
https://youtu.be/dySSgfd8FgQ?si=FhrWQm1IOpcOoEvp
I remember the good old days when companies were responsive to their customers. π
I think “bloody” is a generational thing. It really depends, I think, on what pops up in movies and TV.
I think they’re asking for the death penalty as he dared to attack the entrenched establishment. If he’d shot some rando guy on the street, he’d be out in five years.
I think furniture is also affected by desired style and status. I recently saw a scathing comment by one Lord, about another Lord. That he didn’t inherit his furniture, he had to buy it. π And, some people have the weird idea that buying used means you’re poor.
I think you’ll like “The Seed Detective.” I had to set it aside, for awhile, as I have some other books, and the library wants them back, eventually. π
Our high yesterday was 73F (22.77C). The overnight low was 45F (7.22C). The forecast high for today is 73F. We now have a bit of rain in our local forecast. Maybe, tomorrow night.
I watched some more of Dexter. Very suspenseful. I see there’s to be a season two.
I think the strawberries will recover. Might even get some more, this year. They are ever bearing. I fertilized the blueberries and took a good look at the 35 plants that were butchered. I’d say, we’ll get less than 1/3 of the crop we got last year. π The tomatoes? Time will tell.
Oh, I agree. Best just laugh at him. That really gets under his skin. π Lew
Hi, Chris!
I wonder what the average cost of a house is here in the States? I don’t think it can be as high as yours. Okay – I had to do some maths. Today I spent $3.15 per gallon for gas (petrol). I tried to convert your liters into our gallons to get your price per gallon. Is it this?
Us Them
$3.15 per gal $7.94 per gal
I am prepared to be wrong.
Buying a house at public auction – sheesh, you and the Editor were much braver than my late husband and I, though I noticed that extra $30,000. We were also dumber, as we bought a fixer-upper in 1982, when interest rates were sky high in our recession, at 18% interest. “All it takes is not having enough new suckers to buy into the bubble.” That means a lot of folks with a lot of money, or people with a mighty good credit rating. Do we have that?
I have passed the Chainsaw Chain Guide Bar Groove Rail Closer Tool on to my son.
You must have some of the tallest trees on the planet. I don’t know how you missed the burned tree either.
I much enjoyed the sun video. And – you, like me – are on the shady side of the mountain AND also have a towering forest (especially you) in the way of the sun as well. I saw the citrus trees in the video. Amazing how they can stand the cold. And I noticed today that a plate of oranges I have had sitting on my dresser for three and a half weeks is still as fresh as ever. I loved the inside of the greenhouse shot. I guess you could try to figure out how to water in there with warm water, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be necessary. It would probably encourage some nasty bugs.
From last week: I watched “Stung by a Bulldog Ant!” – sort of. It made me kind of queasy. That guy’s a nut.
The high today was 69F (26C). Next week it is supposed to be 99F (37C).
I love those Kooks! And I love the flowers. What brave flowers, with no greenhouse, especially the rose. Thanks!
Pam
Hello Chris,
Housing prices are presented as a consequence of natural forces, like something inevitable, based on the laws of physics.
I think that it is an example of consequence of political decisions. The core of politics is: Who gets what and why?
(Or as my friend, the philosopher Sebastian Z puts it: “There is no good and bad, only good for *whom*.”)
In most of the Western world, academic urban people of our age bracket (50-70) have come to dominate the political scene. It should come as no surprise that most changes the last 50 years have been advantageous, at least on the short term, to this segment of the population.
I suspect that the rise of billionaires is an unintended consequence of the middle class focus to increase capital gains.
Over here in Europe, those who are losing out are rural people, non-academics, immigrants, disabled and young. This is a disparate collective, currently not at all organized, thus weak.
I am quite interested in politics, to see how it plays out, and what can be done to improve the conditions for the coming decades of contractions. Living in a small town makes it possible with a small effort to push some small changes.
Back to housing prices. Bricks have been seen as a cash machine, as a way of freeing up resources for consumption today, paying back later “when the house has increased in value”.
In China, there were no mortgages at all until 1986, and very, very little until 1997. Then, the Party decided to convert their already immense housing stock into cash, to fuel a consumption increase for the populace. “Property developers” promptly built new houses that could also be used as cash dispensers, even though nobody lived there. Now the property bubble is cracking in the seams.
Peace,
GΓΆran
Hi Pam,
It’s an interesting question isn’t it? How much are these things which keep the rain off our heads worth. The average in your country is apparently US$518,400 from a few months ago. Here’s a link if you’re interested: United States New Home Average Sales Price. Just to blow your mind, and apologies for doing so, but converted into Aussie dollars that’s about AU$793,000 so your country is fast catching up to us. Not far behind really.
If I had to posit an opinion on the subject, it would be that a million bucks ain’t worth what it used to be. π And how anyone comes up with an ‘average’ number is beyond me. The larger question here which never gets discussed in polite company is: How much is a dollar worth?
Your maths is good, and I drive small cars. The dirt mouse Suzuki Swift has a 73 cubic inch motor and achieves astounding mileage. Easily goes 435 miles and then some on a slightly less than 10 gallon tank. The ever so slightly bigger, but still small Suzuki dirt rat Jimny has a 91cubic inch motor. Fuel ain’t cheap down here. To fill the dirt mouse is $77.70 and to fill the slightly larger dirt rat is $84.00
I guess what I was trying to say about this week’s blog is that immigrants will move here, then discover first hand that getting a job is easy. Paying for bills to live here is the hard bit. Then they’ll return home again. If the constant artificial demand pressure on the housing market eases up, then prices will fall – and possibly many strange financial things in the background will go pop.
Like you, I too am prepared to be wrong. It’s wise to keep an open mind with unfolding events and developments. There are three little words which aren’t generally respected, but display a person’s inherent wisdom, and those are: I don’t know.
Melbourne has a masochistic fetish for public auctions of houses, and Pam you have to reach in deep to gather all of whatever chunk of courage can be found, then place a bid in front of a large crowd. It’s not an enjoyable process, or even a social one like haggling – which is itself also frowned upon, but who hasn’t gone head to head with a car dealer? And probably lost, or got cheated at the very least. Reminded me of that scene from National Lampoon’s American Vacation film with the new car at the dealership… Ook!
Hope your son gets some use from the knowledge. The tool works.
Almost the tallest, and yeah, maybe they are taller. π Back in the day, respectable and learned folks made all sorts of claims and measurements about the biggest trees being in this corner of the planet. The problem is, they then went and cut all of those trees down, so who can now prove the claims? In some parts of the mountain range, the stumps are immense, but they’re not the full tree are they? Eucalyptus regnans. Regnans may be Latin for the English word Reigning, just sayin’ π The tree Hyperion in your country is ever so slightly taller than the last surviving big one down here, but in the past they were biggerer.
How that tree was missed was a mystery, but it’s all cleaned up now. The dry year has freaked me out a bit, despite it being very damp outside right now. How’s the rain going in your part of the world?
Yeah, don’t you reckon one benefit of being on the cooler side of a mountain is reduced hot weather during the summer months? Just between you and I, the trick with the citrus is to keep them out of the winter winds and your occasional heavy snow. I like where you’re going with the suggestion, but you answered the question: The bugs would love the conditions, sadly.
The guy is brave that’s for sure. But why do so? Pam, when they get me because my attention was elsewhere, it’s a pain that extends for days. Potent little critters, and Mr Baby would not be amused!
Ah, the good and the bad, it’s a weather routine we all must dance. Hope the over night temperatures cool for you at least. Here they’re hovering around the 39’F mark.
π The flowers are lovely, thanks.
Cheers
Chris
Hi GΓΆran,
That’s how the situation looks to me as well. Artificial pressure upon demand, and further constriction of supply through onerous regulations on many different fronts. None of it is probably done for our benefit, but this is the world we live in. Very nice to know a philosopher, although my friends are likewise rarely short of opinions on various topics! π Respect to Sebastian Z – the name itself suggests a person of considerable accumulated wisdom. Philosophers are rarely named ‘Kevin’ are they?
All very true, but I’d also suggest that the rise of the billionaire class, is mostly because a million bucks ain’t worth what it used to be. Having been born in the 1970’s, I’ve experienced slow collapse all my life. The last boots on the moon were whilst I was wearing nappies – and in those days, that baby clothing item was at least made from cloth, washed and then reused. Hmm. Things are different now.
Did you know that it is a natural consequence for urban populations to disappear into abstract concepts? Look at all the wishful thinking surrounding renewable energy systems – which obviously would be installed elsewhere than the cities. Roof spaces in urban areas were never designed with harvesting solar power as a priority.
And I read an article on converting canola oil into jet biofuel. The scale is off the charts from my understanding (I initially believed that the article was a joke, but sadly no): Plan to manufacture aviation fuel from Australian canola well underway. Hmm. Soil fertility anyone?
Dude, the rural areas down here are getting squeezed too. In the middle of an epic drought, the state government decides that it would be a great idea to introduce a new tax levied on rural property owners, as you do. Another one is that annual water bill I have to pay, with no service at all. Like, how does that even work?
I’m curious to see how the story plays out as well, but don’t hold my breath waiting for equitable solutions from our leaders. I’m quietly getting on with the work here, and most importantly, learning how to create a productive and fertile local environment. Sadly I lack the time, motivation and energy to get involved in local politics, sorry. A friend of mine often runs for his local council on a degrowth platform and interestingly regularly gets about 7% of the vote. That’s one in every fourteen adults in his area – and voting is compulsory down under.
Yes, the land of stuff has a deflating housing bubble. Every single economic bubble in history – and there have been quite a lot of them – has popped sooner or later. When and why is a tough question to answer.
And I absolutely agree with you, houses are not ATM (Automatic Teller Machines) for people to withdraw cash from, but our views on this topic are rather unfashionable.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
One day in the future, serious economic historians will look back at this time, and ask the hard question: How did we ever let all this stuff happen? And housing is an escalating problem, yup. We live in a culture of escalation and it’s not pretty.
Hehe! You’ve got a keen mind, and I also covertly inspect the contents of other people’s supermarket trolleys. How’s your poker face working at such moments? π I try to employ ‘innocuous face number four’ at those times, except it can be occasionally misinterpreted as vague and moony. Heaven forbid that people thought I was leering! They might..
That happens, and people try to break away from their roots without understanding that some of the original stuff is better. An old friend of Italian heritage was pretty annoyed his folks stopped doing the family tomato sauce big cook up thing. Apparently the thinking was that the stuff was cheaper to buy at the shops – but is it the same quality I often wondered?
And that’s the big issue with the inflation numbers, if they rely on a basket of goods, then both the basket and goods can potentially be gamed to get a certain result – we spoke of shrinkflation recently, but if a person now gets less of the same stuff, which is only marginally cheaper – then the fatuous claim can be made that inflation is decreasing. Whilst I’m at it, I’d deduct both debt and inflation from the Gross Domestic Product figures. Hehe! Can you imagine the sheer outrage?
Thanks for the video, and the young lady had a very engaging screen persona, and excellent comprehension of the subject, although I wondered about her eyes drifting away from the camera. I don’t try to overdo eye contact with people when talking to them. For some reason which is unknown to me, people seem and act uncomfortable when I do that. Dunno, a mystery. And, err, the previous electricity bills were pretty huge. Far out man! I’d not want to have to field any of those. Really enjoyed the video though, and the lady projected a sense of fun.
Yeah, what happened? I recall those days too when your continued custom was of a concern to biggerer biz. Nowadays, loyalty is not rewarded, which seems just so weird to me. I’m sure the same culture is in place in your country?
As a word down here, ‘bloody’ isn’t considered a proper swear word. Working out when it is acceptable to swear is always a fraught and difficult proposition. People can get really offended and you never know beforehand. Hmm. An apology often soothes the rough social waters, maybe.
It’s weird isn’t it that George Orwell was correct there. Who knew he wrote ‘how to’ manuals! π Not all pigs are the same are they? You’re probably right.
Can you imagine the one-upmanship that goes on in the upper social atmosphere. Man, I have to laugh, some of the interweb comments I’ve read over the years pretend that lot are some sort of crack unit all operating beautifully in sync towards common goals, but absolutely no way whatsoever. That furniture comment you mentioned is indicative possibly of very petty social games.
I’d rather have second furniture which is of very high quality and in amazing condition, than some mass produced rubbish made of poor materials. Quality is important to me, but not everyone feels the same way that’s for sure.
The demands upon reading time are a difficult balancing act don’t you reckon? π Half way through The Big Short. Such a great read.
Cloudy, wet and cold kind of sums up the weather down here. It’s hard to keep coming up with new superlatives to describe your weather. π
Go Dexter! What’s interesting about the character is that unlike super heroes, he has only his training, wits and skills to keep him out of trouble. I think that is the disappointing part of super hero films, they’re not human characters, but closer to Gods really. Are they relatable? Maybe not. It’s one of the reasons that actor you wont watch has such enduring screen presence, he does his own stunts and puts himself in harms way. Gives the stories an edge. I believe that there is something in that explanation.
Ouch! That’s a huge loss of production with the blueberries. Fingers crossed with tomatoes, and they’ll be fine.
Exactly, if everyone could stop feeding the guy things would deflate. But can they do that? I have a gut feeling that they can’t man. Oh well! All part of the fun.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Before I forget … I sat down with the “Biochar Handbook,” (Wilson, 2024), for about an hour, last night. It’s due back to the library, tomorrow, and there are people waiting. I think it’s right up your alley. Especially, since you’re a hip and with it tech kind of a guy. π . There are instructions on making biochar burners, from small units out of gallon food tins, to mobile units, 6 feet across. You know how on the back of some books, there are recommendations from other people? Well, there was one from our very own John Michael Greer. “A balanced, intelligent, and practical guide to… I would not be at all surprised to see “The Biochar Handbook” turn into the classic text in this burgeoning field.”
Here’s a review. There’s also quit a section on turning forest clean up into biochar.
https://biochartoday.com/2024/05/07/the-biochar-handbook-by-kelpie-wilson-a-review/
Yes, future raccoon or possum historians will wonder at our stupidity. I wonder if they’ll figure out it was all due to obscene amounts of profit?
“Innocuous face number four.” I laughed out loud (only in the privacy of my own home) and almost spit tea across the keyboard. π
Yes, old ways are often better, on a lot of levels. I went and got gas this morning ($4.50 a US gallon / regular … going up, according to reports, because of the Mideast war. Any excuse to raise prices.) Then out to a fruit stand, the other end of Centralia. Horrendous traffic.
I want to make 6 half pints of strawberry jam. I bought half a flat. $22. If I bought 6 half pints of good strawberry jam, it would cost far more than that. I’ll probably make it on Thursday. Blueberries will be in, in early August. They still aren’t set up to take the farmer’s market cards, which are worth $80.
I hadn’t thought of how inflation could be gamed, into the cost of living statistics. You got’a watch them, every minute.
To find the young lady’s video, I did a U-Tub search for “The truth about solar.” There are several.
Modern corporations are all about brand recognition, and loyalty to the brand. Not so much about loyalty to the customer.
Next book up: King’s “Never Flinch.”
Our high yesterday was 73F (22.77C). The overnight low was 45F (7.22C). Forecast high for today is 76F. We may see some rain, early tomorrow morning. Maybe.
Oh, yes. Early on, Dexter screws up. And that’s all I’ll say about that!
π .
There’s been some ads popping up for quonset hut kits. Funny, that. Lew
Hello Chris,
Indeed unfashionable to see your own house as a cost-driver, not an income source. You are so right in measuring inflation in what you get with a dollar. Less.
There are quite interesting historic figures regarding purchasing power of a silver coin (typically 5g) in Europe. It was the standard day wage of a skilled worker or a soldier, for about 2000 years, from 400 BC to 1600 AD. You would get a cooking hen for that coin.
There was essentially no inflation for thousands of years. (Then debt, colonization, fossil fuels and other shenanigans were deployed.)
My bet is that we will go back there one day. But indeed – when? Will we experience that?
To more recent events. We got four layer hens this week and I am all excited. They seem just as excited, or confounded by their new environment, and I hope they calm down a bit. Funnily enough, the seller asked 50 SEK (approx 8 AUD) for each hen, which is the equivalent today’s price of five grams of silver.
Maybe there is no inflation?! π
(But it would be hard to find a skilled worker who even picks up the phone for that amount of money, much less work a day…)
Peace,
GΓΆran
Chris:
I guess the U.S. is catching up with you guys. I am wondering, like you, where they got the average. And it varies so tremendously from one area to another. I guess they just like to have a number to throw about to either scare people or to show off.
I’m not sure how much it costs to fill up the tank of my old Honda, because I never let it get below half a tank of gas. I learned that during the oil crisis in the mid 70s and for some reason it has stuck with me all these years. I also had the startling experience after a hurricane in having a lot of our local gas stations closed due to a loss of power. And recently, I couldn’t buy gas without going back into town, when the last gas station I pass on my way home was not functioning because of a computer issue. Driving these cars is fraught with peril!
I am wondering if we have a different immigrant situation.
I love “I don’t know.” It keeps me out of a lot of trouble. Besides so often being true.
I like to haggle, though I wouldn’t want to do so on such a large purchase. Never mind a friendly haggle with a fellow rural inhabitant; I will sometimes try to get a better deal with the manager of a shop, with their set prices, if I think an item is flawed. It works fairly often, too.
Wow! Look at the size of those Eucalyptus next to the cars. I feel small enough just under the forest trees on our property.
I have always heard tales of the California Redwoods (Hyperion), but have never gotten to see one in person.
We are still getting at least some rain every day. It certainly has made up for a dry winter and spring. Yes, our nights have been nicely cool. Such a relief, but the humidity stays way high.
Pam
Hi Pam,
Just thought that it was worth mentioning that it is 34’F outside right now. Seems cold. Probably is cold. Sorry for the digression. π
Well, yeah, that’s it. What even is an average number? It’s at best a guide, which suggests to me that all other considerations to the side, things be ‘spensive in your country too. The median number would be a better statistic because it suggests the exact mid point where there are half above, and half below. I’d not considered looking that number up, but it’s probably available. It could be anything really, but isn’t potentially too far from the average, maybe.
Hmm, there is a lot of bragging about these sorts of economic indicators. Yup. Rest assured, that’s not me, they scare me silly for I comprehend what they mean at street level to people.
Always wise to keep a store of gas on hand, and not run the car to empty. Of course, once long ago I actually ran out of petrol and it was what may be best described as an instructive experience. It was only once, but sure was enough. Clearly you are wiser than I! Did you know that after the big fires down this way-ish (but not close to here) in 2009 I heard plenty of accounts of people in the affected areas having no fuel for their generators, but those areas were locked down – mostly because they were a crime scene. For very good reason too.
Pam, I amazed that everything works as well as it does. You have to admit, it’s pretty astounding all the stuff which supports our day to day lives?
You do have a different situation. We take in more immigrants per capita than pretty much anywhere else on the planet. I heard the other morning that a chunk of freeway had an issue with the road and a truck rolled over. Anywhoo, the traffic backed up for something like 8km / 5 miles and the commute took three hours (wasn’t involved and not near here). One of the issues down here is that the infrastructure has not kept up with the pace of the population growth, and to be candid, there are not enough people in the work force.
π It’s so true. Oh yeah! The amount of things I don’t know, is far greater than the piddling knowledge squooshed into the ol’ brain over the years. Experts probably know even less…
Haggling is part of culture, although as you note, it depends upon the social circumstances and state of the product. We used to have a large chain biz which promoted the concept: ‘pay less, pay cash’, and I did wonder about the wisdom of poking the authoritas over such practices? Dunno.
I’ll never get to see those west coast trees either, but, some cheeky scamp of a forester long ago planted a grove of redwood trees a couple of hours drive from here: The Redwoods Otways. It’s really pretty and was included in the blog years and years ago. Seriously out in the middle of nowhere that forest.
Ah, the regular rainfall makes up for the humidity, and it sure beats 34’F Brr! π
Cheers
Chris
Hi GΓΆran,
Absolutely, what people spend their cash on interests me far more, than what they earn. As a general observation on our species, reducing household expenditure is usually the easiest and simplest approach to an economic downturn, at whatever level. However, and again as a general observation upon humanity, the vast majority of people I’ve encountered over the years, even with awareness of that advice / option, will seek to earn more income. It’s so consistent that I believe this is a hard wired approach to existence for the our species. Of course there are outliers… π
Less is what inflation looks like to me as well. I believe that the future will be managed on a ‘rationing by price’ response. It’s already happening, and has been for a very long while. Politics of course has a lot to say about that process and methodology.
It’s a tough question you’ve asked there, and I simply don’t know how things will work out in the short term. Slow decline has been in place since I was born – and in the 1970’s as a single mother with a full time job, my mum could buy a house, car, and get a free University degree. Nowadays that familial situation would not be feasible. In the long term though, we are 100% guaranteed to return to the historical norm, but possibly with access to a world of useful plants and animals if we but consider the benefits of that approach – which I believe we will. After all, there’s no end of sheep, wild horses, feral camels on this continent, just for a few examples. Feral domestic cats will eventually grow big – then we’ll have Pumas eating the deer population too. The future will be exciting, that’s for sure. I’m looking forward to a less intrusive goobermint.
Go the chickens! π May your household enjoy delightful fresh eggs for months to come. Just between you and I, the first egg we harvested way back in 2010 made me feel a touch uncomfortable, and then I noticed how much better they are. You can tell if the protein levels are higher in your eggs by whether the albumen holds together more firmly. You wait and see, and remember to feed the chickens well, for you’re ultimately feeding your family.
AU$8 for a chicken is so cheap. Man, I’m paying up to AU$40 a chicken nowadays for heritage breeds. I believe the more commercial birds (which only last about two years maximum from my experiences with them) cost around AU$25-ish.
Very funny! Maybe fossil fuels have allowed us to all live like royalty nowadays, and we no longer notice that – only the decline in purchasing power? π
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
It’s a cold night here at only 34’F outside. Just took Ollie and Dame Plum out into the cold to do their business, and whoa – chilly! Brr!
You’re absolutely correct about biochar, the thing is, I’m wondering what would happen to all that biochar in the soil if a big bushfire swept through this property? Hard to know really. Even top soil will burn if the fire is hot enough, but my gut feeling suggests that biochar would increase the temperature of the burn. Also would the stuff ignite and burn for days / weeks / months in the orchards and paddocks? I can’t say for sure, and that is part of my hesitancy with the knowledge. Ignoring that possibility, would it be of benefit here – absolutely. Tried looking up to see if anyone had any experiences with the aftermath of a bushfire and heavy application of biochar in their soils, but couldn’t find any useful local accounts and experience. Might have to put the stuff to the test to see what happens?
It may surprise you, but the top soil is building rapidly here.
On that note, we did heaps of paid work this morning, and also into the evening. But during the middle of the day was quiet whilst we waited for people to send / do stuff. So we finished off digging the site for the new water tanks. Might roll them down the hill tomorrow, and make this week’s video on the subject! The area adjacent to the house is where we’re dumping the soil, and it’s really coming along nicely.
Once the tanks are in place, all the pipes will then have to be connected and placed into trenches. Plus we’ll create another one of those rock lined pits with ferns to manage the overflows. Should look nice. But first, roll the tanks down the hill and get them into position. Hopefully by tomorrow night, that job is done.
Sure, raccoons and possums might be better at double entry accounting ledgers than humans! Externalising costs – I don’t think so for those critters, they’re too smart for that. π Thanks for the laughs.
π Glad to amuse you, writing here has that effect on me as well.
The increasing oil prices per barrel will be good for your shale producers and export earnings, that’s for sure. Will we lesser folks like the results at the pump? I don’t think so. That’s a lot per gallon for your part of the world. Far out. Such energy price hikes have a way of getting their fingers into everything.
Fruit stand adventures sounds intriguing, and I like where you’re going with the strawberry jam idea. We make all of our own jams, and have done so for years. An excellent way to produce good quality produce on the cheap. The Editor is a big fan of a website which explained the entire process and it may have been called: The science of jam making. Different fruits have differing levels of acidity and pectin and so recipes are naturally variable, but overall the concept is much the same. If you’re interested I can track down the details of the cooking process?
Bummer about the cards, but they’ll want the sale proceeds presumably sooner or later?
Yes, all true, and I’d never considered the whole gaming of basket of goods thing until you pointed out the shrinkflation article. Got the ol’ brain working, so technically it is a tag team effort in this instance, and credit where credit is due. Hard to know where ideas come from, or venture to.
I just don’t understand how sales growth can be pursued as an option, and yet existing regular sales aren’t looked after? That strategy makes no sense to me, but then I’ve been working in small business for seventeen years now. There’s a strong element of personal relationships with clients, and the hierarchy is fairly flat.
You’re in for a treat. Go Holly! A truly lovely character. Please do not hold back from a review. The Editor has been reading Mr King for longer than I, and has quite the collection.
Dexter is far from a perfect character, and good to hear of a major stuff up early on in the series. π Over confidence rarely ends well.
Far out, the interweb ads have taken over. Oh well, the unintelligent bot comments still keep on rolling on in. The comments use the wrong person. Here’s a grade for them: Fail. Could do better. Ooo, I feel much better now!
Didn’t you say that the Professor suggested that rain was in the forecast? Beats 34’F huh? Brr! At least the plumber fixed the solar hot water panel issue with the stupid leaking frost valves the other week. Not even sure why they were there. Just one more thing to go wrong, so we elected to remove them. It was not fun watching hot water dribble onto the roof on freezing nights. Oh well.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Haven’t got enough Dexter? Coming in July, “Dexter: Resurrection.” Peter Dinklage is in it.
The figures for the house prices come from huge, on-line real estate listing. Zillow, realestate . com, etc. etc.. Millions of listings.
Hmmm. Yes, that is a question. What happens to biochar in a wildfire? All the info seems to pivot on reducing wildfire risk in the first place. But what if …
Oh, I know you’re a paragon of top soil building. π Besides all the stuff you bring in to build the soil (coffee grounds, etc.), there’s the increased plant growth, that, eventually, dies or is burned off and returned to the soil. And, all that plant growth also attracts birds and animals (no matter how irritating), who leave their poo behind.
I think the overflow pits with ferns will be quit lovely. Functional, and eye pleasing at the same time.
Oh, I’ve got the jam info down. Not my first rodeo. π And, I’ve got plenty of books to brush up on the details. Also, my canning (tinning?) machine came with a very complete instruction manual. But thanks for the offer.
I went to Winco, again, last night. Second trip. I’m finding a few interesting things. Walnuts, either from the bulk bins, or the yuppie discount store, are about the same … $6 a pound. Dark chocolate bars are a dollar more at the Winco, then the yup store … when the yup store has them. But, overall, still better than Dizzy Land. You just have to keep your wits about you and do a bit of research.
Here’s an interesting article about inflation and price resistance.
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/americans-sharing-even-more-everyday-111603022.html
“existing regular sales not looked after…” It’s kind of like the infrastructure problem. Build fabulous stuff and then don’t keep it up.
I’m wallowing in Dexter and King. The horror, the horror π . Although the Kind book is more of a … crime novel. Nothing paranormal to see, here. π Still a good read.
Oh, 34F isn’t cold. It’s just brisk π . our high yesterday was 75F (23.88C). Our overnight low was 57F (13.88C.) Our forecast high for today is 68F. It might have rained a bit overnight, but not enough to really notice. Over the weekend the forecast is for “chance of showers,” “showers likely,” etc.. Lew
Chris:
Yeah, 34F is cold. I could use that right now.
“I’m amazed that everything works as well as it does. You have to admit, itβs pretty astounding all the stuff which supports our day to day lives?” That is a profound statement, and every day I am thankful for it. We are so much more fortunate than a lot of the world.
Your population growth has scared me since you first mentioned it. Let’s hope “they” get a grip on it. Maybe harder to do on an island? Or is it the opposite?
And when the ol’ brain is cooked, like mine today, some of the stuff squooshed in melts and leaks out . . .
The whole Redwoods Otways place is so neat. Worth a visit.
This morning I went out to the garden. Something had climbed up my vertical zucchini, which happens often, but this time it broke a lot of the “branches” (large leaves) on it, besides eating the little squashes. I saw red and got out the big weapon: The Cayenne Hot Red Pepper Powder. I poured it in a circle around the plant (it needed a magic spell to be chanted). In the process I got cayenne on my arms and sweaty face. It hurt a lot, so I went to the hose to wash it off. There was no water coming out. I found my son and he fixed a pipe problem. I did go up to the house to wash off, but it didn’t help; my skin still hurt.
Now I feel guilty, because if it hurts me it’s going to hurt the varmints in the garden, though maybe not as much because they have fur coats and leather feet. Besides, since I was already suffering (and still seeing red), I spread cayenne around the other mass damage (have I mentioned that they have started on the green tomatoes, too?). For some reason I am balking at using the humane traps, partly because it is hard to find a place to let these creatures go where I don’t think they’ll bother anyone else’s properties, and partly because this is “culling”, I guess, and we just talked about how that doesn’t work. I don’t like to use traps that kill (still culling) because years ago I did so and sometimes the animals (rats) would be lying in the traps suffering and not dead when I went to check on them.
Pam
Chris,
“Kookaburra sits on the old fence post”. Brilliant. But…did the kookaburra laugh?
The birds have been interesting here. Saw a bald eagle the other day. I may have mentioned it. Or not. A Coopers Hawk landed on the lawn in the back on Sunday. When Dame Avalanche slowly went over to investigate, the hawk flew away, leaving behind an edible morsel. Dame Avalanche cheerfully ate it.
Then there are the crows. I’ve been watching one for a few weeks. It has something longish and orange and hard each day. It has a difficult time eating these, usually in the next yard over. Well, the crow used its brain. Now it takes whatever this food is to the birdbath. It soaks it, then pecks at it until a piece falls off, then eats the fallen off bit. Repeat until finished. The soaking process saves the brightly brained bird a lot of time and makes it easier to eat.
Fast forward to today. There was a bleating whistle noise outdoors this morning. I thought I recognized it. When Dame Avalanche was trying to vault over the fence, I investigated. There was a tiny fawn, maybe 10 days old, on the other side of the fence bleating for its mum, confirming what I’d thought I heard. I got Avalanche in the house, went to the front. The young thing totally calmed and bedded down near the roses, then eventually wandered across the street and found a nicer spot. A crow decided to investigate, slowly hopping closer and closer to the fawn. When the fawn stood up, the crow quickly lost interest. Neighbors said that this same fawn a larger one and the mother were in the area over the weekend. Hopefully the mother finds this one soon. First fawn I’ve seen here.
Young neighbor and I were chatting briefly today. We agreed that we were happier since that week of hot weather has cooled down. We had high winds today. The clouds and alleged rain might hit Saturday. It will be cooler over the weekend, so I might take advantage and dehydrate some of the collards indoors. The collards and the chard are going like gangbusters.
Things have been intensely hectic here the past week. For Killian’s human, also. I’ve been needed to let him out midday all week, as her job has gotten intense and busy. Looks like Friday, Killian’s human and I will be able to slow the pace and do something fun together.
Good on your new chainsaw tool that squooshes things together. I simply adore that technical word. It has so many uses.
New neighbors in their early 20s bought the house across the street. They’ve been moving in. They seem very nice. They were moving in their sofa this evening. I suggested that they ask me for help if it gets stuck. Their sofa didn’t get stuck. I’ve had vast experience with getting sofas stuck, then unsticking them. It’s simply applied sofamathics. Thanks to Douglas Adams for inventing that one, too.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Another cold day here, and the wind picked up late this afternoon. But has since calmed back down again. All’s quiet outside, if you ignore grunting wombat sounds, angry koalas off in the distance and the hooting of the boobook owls. Honestly, I’d package up some of this cold air and send it to you. Technically very difficult to do, sorry to say. π
Finally got those two large plastic water tanks in place today. Rolling them down the hill was fun, but was achieved safely. Now I’ve got to fill them up with some water.
Exactly, even after 50 years of decline, things are pretty good historically speaking. When I hear old timer sayings like: ‘the land of milk and honey’, maybe it is just me, but the ol’ brain starts wondering: What were you eating beforehand to get so all fired up about milk and honey? Which you and I of course can easily obtain, maybe. Actually in plenty of corners of the world, fresh milk is unavailable. A condensed milk coffee is a very strange, and overly sweet drink with a weird consistency.
The rapid population growth down here is officially condoned and encouraged. People forget that in the 2019-2020 drought, the grain export terminals had to be reconfigured into import terminals. And going back even further to the dreaded: 2000s Australian drought, water supply levels in Melbourne got down into the low teen percentages. It wasn’t far off the point where the water is so stagnant and unusable, and that it is not good. Anyway, they’ve added a million more souls to the big smoke, and maybe even more since those days. The concept of ‘carrying capacity’ does not even cross our leaders minds. Plus we’re 90% dependent on oil imports nowadays, thus why we have little choice but to export the gas, coal and iron ore (plus other metals) to pay for the oil and other imports. Crazy stuff. Ain’t how I’d organise things.
Oh no! Out of curiosity did you try the rehydration solution / soft drink brain uncooking ideas? It’s always the in-between weather that gets me – where I’d not yet become accustomed to operating on a super hot weather basis. Oh well. Hope you’re feeling better today? Zombies are on the hunt for brains, so make sure that you carefully clean up the oozed out bits, perhaps with vinegar to hide the aroma! π
Such a good idea, but woe is you – you pepper sprayed yourself. Youchie! It happens, and we’ve all done that to ourselves in the kitchen when cooking with fresh chilli plants. Did the skin recover? I accidentally splashed a tiny drop of strong acetone from carby cleaner into my eye the other week – and ran to the tap and washed the eyeball thoroughly. Things can go wrong at short notice and without warning don’t you reckon?
I don’t use traps either, and prefer to simply make a speedy end to the matter. Relocating critters is sorry to say, something of a problem for them, because there’ll already be other critters in that location and it’s probably a death sentence. Tell you a funny story. A friend of mine is rather cheeky. He has a sunny disposition and often pulls the old duffer card to his advantage. He’s clever that one. Anyway, one day just to stir me, up he made some sly comment about how me being here was bad for the forest critters. I turned to him and said, your place used to be on open woodland. And that was that! No matter what we do, there’ll be consequences in the environment. I’m not sure, but I believe that the best outcome is to try and maximise the life in any particular area, but not allowing any one critter (or plant) to dominate to the detriment of all else. And what actions does that suggest?
PS: Sadly, the oldest chicken, a sixteen year old Silkie named ‘mummy silk’ passed away overnight. It was near freezing last night. Not a bad innings for a chicken though.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
π You’ve heard that ditty? The Kookaburra’s are always laughing. Actually in next week’s video (already filmed but not released), you can hear the song of the magpies early on in the background.
It’s amazing that a bald eagle is flying around your part of the world. The wedge tail eagles down here avoid urban areas. All that hunting for nothing for the Coopers Hawk. Oh well. Birds have to be highly situationally aware at all times. The things I’ve seen birds do. It’s some brutal competition out there. Makes for a somewhat nervous existence don’t you reckon? If the Kelpies are running around, I generally give a warning call to the magpies, who are usually onto the dogs mischief anyway. Still, it’s a friendly gesture, and those birds will tease the canines – who act like idiots. Jumping up and down at the bottom of a tall tree is an undignified act. Dame Avalanche would never stoop to such silly displays – although possibly she may not have thought about doing them?
Whoa! That is very clever of the crows. Nice one.
Dame Avalanche probably slipped into full-on hunting mode on that occasion, and who expects to have a fawn in an urban area? Urban areas and deer are a volatile mixture at the best of times, and I’d imagine the average person driving a car would not be on the look out for deer. Occasionally there will be young joeys (a juvenile kangaroo) off on their own in this area, and the words ‘road kill’ for the location of the mum springs to mind. This afternoon I came across a lot of kangaroos, in several locations. The long twilight and cloudy days means they’re out and about in the area. Usually they’re nocturnal.
I forget what collards are having not previously grown them – ah, a large leafed Brassica variety. A very clever idea to dehydrate the leaves – I’ve not done that process (as we may have discussed a while back), but the dried leaves would be awesome in a soup at a wild guess. What meals do you usually add them too? For a hot and dry climate I thoroughly recommend growing: Diplotaxis tenuifolia, for rocket tasting heat hardy leafy greens. A summer favourite here.
Killian would love the visit, presumably accompanied by Dame Avalanche? Two dogs is a lot though. For a while I’d occasionally walk all three dogs if the Editor was elsewhere, but had to really concentrate so as not to give the cheeky scamps an opportunity to pull me over. It never happened, but if they acted in concert, it’d possibly not end well.
Hope you have an enjoyable lunch. Your enchilada suggestion a couple of weeks ago has worked a treat here. Thanks! They’re now being made with less cheese, and a better quality tomato passata. Yum!
It’s a good fun word, and as you’ve noted, rather versatile. π
Finally rolled both of the large plastic water tanks down the hill, then back up the hill, before tipping them into position on the newly excavated site. All went quite smoothly and without incident, which I’m grateful for. Have to pump some water into them now.
Sofamatics! π Yes, Dirk Gently, of course. The old dreaded stuck sofa on staircase problem. As a young bloke I’ve lived in two buildings which were multi-story (three levels at most) with no lift. For some reason, they’re described as ‘flats’ rather than the more flash ‘apartments’ with lifts. Yes, the sofa on the stairs would have been a major drama. Candidly, in those early days I had less furniture. Thus the sofamatics problem gets resolved via an entirely different methodology.
Cheers
Chris
Dang, here it is Thursday and I’m finally stopping by. Always nice to visit a quiet, tidy place in the woods (can’t hear your chainsaw from here).
The garden is quite lush, as well as the surrounding woods and yard, mowing, weeding, brush cutting, all take time. Two of our best apple trees are loaded this year. Lots of cider to make this fall!
Today, I’ll be doing stream sampling, was part of a volunteer water monitoring network. We check on turbidity, oxygen content, and what invertebrate critters are in evidence. A thought occurred to me this morning, as one of our team is our off gridder friend. How do you do laundry? They take laundry to town to a laundromat, but their solar setup is much smaller than yours. Washers take good bit of power, so just wondered. We have washer and dryer, but the dryer is seldom used. We hang laundry outside most of the year, and have a folding rack to set up next to the stove in the winter.
chainsaws- mine is due for a sharpening, but this time I’ll pay more attention to the groove. This blade is still pretty new, and I’m not like some folks who stab their chainsaw into nasty old stumps, but your tip is duly noted.
We went for a bike ride on a pleasant riverside paved bike trail this past week, and the little town we stayed at was chock full of tourist amenities. Ice cream shops, bakeries, bike shops, all manner of ways to spend money. These days, however, I just can’t stop myself from thinking……that’s all discretionary spending that will be drying up when the party ends soon. I didn’t mention my take to our fellow travelers, no point being the Eeyore and souring the mood, but I hope the nice folks there have plan B.
You mentioned a plan B having been explored and tested, but I am not sure what you were referring to.
Heat wave coming up this weekend, lots to do before then……..
Hi Lewis,
What? No way. Cool. Peter Dinklage is awesome, and he projected super evil in the trailer for the series. Looks completely unhinged, with a touch of humour too, if the trailer is anything to go by. Next month you say… We’ll see.
Millions of rool estate listings suggests statistical validity, unless there is a section of the market not included on those sites. It’s possible, and I could imagine that really cheap options like say, trailers, might not want to pay for such online services, and they might have their own way to market? Dunno. I’ve read stories about how those online sites are allegedly demanding more of a slice of the action over time. Always a risk I guess. And it’s not like they didn’t disrupt the local print media, and everyone seemed good with that at the time.
Well, you got the ol’ brain working about that subject when you mentioned the peat fires in Canada a few weeks ago. The photos were weird, because there were lakes and tarns, and water everywhere, yet the fires were intense. Building deeper top soil might be less of a risky proposition here than getting heaps of biochar – which will possibly burn super hot – into the ground. I’ve got no way of knowing, but the risk seems more probable than otherwise. And exactly, what if… It’s the stuff you don’t consider which causes a person to become unstuck.
Building top soil is a slow starter, but once the cycle of life gets going, it’s good. Most of the time when animals or plants over do things here, it’s more tweaking the environment to balance out the distribution of goodies better. Culling is probably a last option for me, and only the deer are on that list, and that’s only because there are no predators other than humans and their cars. Even the rats have troubles, checks and balances, and they are a nuisance mostly because they’re so clever.
Thanks, and I’m hoping the overflow pit looks nice. We’ll definitely plant a tree fern at the bottom of it, but a more hardy and faster growing variety given it will get more summer sun. Might have to take a trip to the fern nursery.
Hey, we moved the two water tanks from in front of the house today. Rolled them both down the hill and installed them on the excavated site. They’re looking good. Rolling the large tanks down the steeper parts of the hill was an interesting process, but at no point did things get out of control.
I barely had ten minutes to myself earlier today there was just so much going on. I’d been up for three hours this morning running around doing this and that, before it occurred to me that there’d been no breakfast eaten (I’d prepared at that time, just not consumed it). The blood sugar levels were feeling a bit low, so I stopped doing stuff and ate breakfast and read Mr Greer’s latest essay on social status games.
Must be something wrong with me because status doesn’t rate on my things to be concerned with list. There’s a list you know. π
No worries at all, and I look forward to hearing of your jamming adventures. We be jammin’! π Just took a look at the Bob Marley lyrics, and I believe he was talking about something else, the cheeky rascal. Anywhoo, such a tasty product on a cold winters day spread on hot freshly baked bread. Yum! We make jam old school style in a saucepan.
Man, I reckon food prices are such that we’re no longer in a time where a person can afford to be asleep at the wheel. Had to laugh when you wrote ‘keeping your wits about you’, but it is so true now.
There’s a lot of pain behind those observations regarding all of the price hikes. Hmm. What did everyone expect would happen when the money supply got so inflated year after year after year? That policy has always ended this way. And the prices being asked for the sports and theatre tickets blew me away. Anyway, the ability of your country to off shore inflation is rapidly diminishing. No wonder your biggest boss is arguing to lower official inflation rates, cheap debt is one way to make people of limited financial means feel happier. I was surprised when your former lot decided to increase interest rates, and may have commented at the time that the process to blow things up had begun in earnest.
Hehe! So good to hear about your enjoyable wallowing. I’m envious and might soon nab a copy of Mr King’s book. Go Holly!
Far out dude, it sure felt cold to me. π But yes, relatively speaking it may be comparable to shorts and t-shirt winter weather for some parts of your state.
Fingers crossed you get some rain. We’ve got a dry run of days, then the rain will pick up again.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Steve,
π A nice neat place out in the woods is a place of serenity and calm (usually). And at this stage I feel the need for full disclosure – there are one or two spots that a mean spirited person might describe as messy. Hehe!
Two stroke chainsaws do make quite a lot of noise. Have to laugh, I’ve used that machine so much, that tuning the carburettor by ear is no great difficulty. Fortunately the helmet has sturdy ear muffs.
Well done, and what a different season you’re having this year compared to the hot and dry last one.
Hey, we finally cracked the secret to making good cider, and I tell ya what, mixed apples produce a better tasting cider than say, using purely sweet dessert apple varieties. A local lady that Sandra knows who also lives on land, got us on the right process. Out of curiosity, how do you bottle your cider? We use that glass bottles with the err, dunno what to call them, but maybe Grolsch style flip top bottles. Those things are an amazing basic technology that just works.
Nice question, and top work there. Hope the water quality is good. Laundry is done with a front loading washing machine. It’s a German made Bosch machine with a display that’s like a jet fighter heads up display. Stupidly complicated for my brain. During winter clothes are dried on washing horses which get plonked in front of the wood heater. In summer we put them on the same washing horses but chuck them outside in the sunshine. A cold wash takes very little power, but the stupid machines take only cold water in and have heating circuits, so running a 40’C wash uses a bit of power, especially when the water is entering the device at only a few degrees above freezing.
Good stuff, and with the groove, if the chain flops side to side too much, it probably needs closing. In a pinch a person could use all sorts of tools like a bench vise for example. Hey, the other trick I learned was laying a flat file over the chain (when it is in place) and you can see straight away if the rakers need filing down. The older timber here is filthy, and it’s hard on the chainsaw.
Youch. Yes, I do wonder about relying on tourists in general. Could be fickle. Interestingly, way back in the Great Depression, the state government made country train travel free on weekends so as to get people out of the cities and walking around the bush. Bush walking was very popular in those days. But yeah, I avoid those sorts of conversations too, and for those same reasons.
Oh yeah, plan B (and C). Seems like that bakery may close, and so we tested somewhere else out which has similar pricing and quality – not always guaranteed. But we’re always considering our options and could live much cheaper than today if it became necessary. Not my preferred option, but sometimes a person doesn’t get what they want.
Fingers crossed the heatwave isn’t too severe. It was 1’C this morning, and felt a touch chilly. Got those two water tanks in place today. Onto the next stage of the project.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Chris,
Happy winter solstice!
It’s closer to 34C (for a high) than 34F here. We finally achieved the first high of 90F or above on Tuesday (91F). By the weekend we will see highs in the mid to upper 90sF. With it being the first time for such high temperatures this summer, we are under an Extreme Heat Watch starting Saturday at noon and extending until at least Tuesday evening. I harvested the remaining lettuces of decent quality, the others being too far bolting to be edible even for us, this morning. I also harvested the remaining cabbages and will soon harvest the garlic.
The mention of drying collards reminded me to start drying the leaves of my collards during the upcoming stretch of hot, sunny weather. Powdering them after drying would be a great way to preserve them for winter use; I’ll try it.
I can tell how dry it is at your place by the lack of green in the ground cover in the photo at the top of your post. Usually when you complain about the cold weather you also have vibrantly green ground covers, and I feel a degree of envy. Not this year – though I see some of your trees still have green leaves. Now I am concerned about how difficult your dry season will be, as I know you are. I’m glad you have set the new water tanks into place.
It should be noted that the prices for new houses, at least in the US, can be much higher than the price of an existing house of comparable size in the “wrong” neighborhood, like the one I live in. You could buy my nearly 100 year old, 3 bedroom, 1 bath house on 1 acre for under $150,000 US.
I have an apple peeler-corer-slicer that is a truly elegant, hand-powered tool, which I expect to use if the critters leave us any apples. We have been able to eat some apricots, though the critters got many more than we did because the tree is too tall for the fruit picker tool to extend up too.
Claire
Yo, Chris – Before milk and honey, people ate dirt. Not soil, dirt. π Milk and honey looked pretty good. And don’t forget, manna from heaven.
I saw an interesting article about your Bogong moths. Stargazers. Who knew?
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/18/nx-s1-5434328/how-migrating-australian-moths-find-caves-hundreds-of-miles-away
Mr. Dinklage is da bomb! He has what they call “range.”
However … biochar might be good in your greenhouse.
I’m relieved you didn’t have to deal with a runaway water tank. Why did Willie E. Coyote (and Roadrunner) come to mind?
Always wise to pay attention to blood sugar levels. The body lets you know, when they’re in the biffy. π I find mine can take a plunge, when under emotional stress. Particularly, anger. Speaking of anger, or, actually irritation, I went to get yoghurt, this morning. It’s Thursday, here. The delivery is supposed to be every other Wednesday. I mark it on my calendar. No yoghurt. The young lady behind the counter was clueless. I’ll give it another whirl, on Saturday. Nothing kills a small business faster, than irregular hours or deliveries.
Oh, I still have to make the jam, on the stove in a kettle. The machine heats and sterilizes the bottles, I fill them with the jam and put on the lids, return it to the machine, and it hot process them for the correct amount of time. Less energy and water, used.
I doubt “everyone” gives the money supply a second thought. When things fall apart, they’ll look for easier, closer targets to place blame.
Ohhh, I finished the Dexter series, last night. There’s a twist at the end that made me yell out loud. I’m deep into the King book.
Our high yesterday was 66F (18.88C.) Our overnight low was 43F (6.11C.) The forecast high for today is 70F. Rain looks more possible, for the next two days. My zucchini is getting secondary leaves. The green and Scarlet runner beans are beginning to twine up the trellises. The lime seems to have helped the pumpkins, even though it’s not exactly the right kind. Yellow veins are receding. Now why are the edges of my horseradish leaves, turning brown? I might be overwatering it.
Another Australian story. Next time you think you’re chilly think of these poor sods (can I say that?) in their high altitude rock shelter.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/17/dargan-cave-shelter-ice-age-site
Also, the wreck of Capt. Cook’s ship has been discovered. In our state of Rhode Island. You never know what might be found, where. π After Cook’s voyage, the British navy renamed the ship. It then fought in our Revolutionary War. It was intentionally scuttled to block a harbor. Seems like a waste of a perfectly good (or, maybe not) ship. Lew
Chris,
Yes, I’ve heard that ditty. Many times. It was taught in our elementary school class when I was 7. The catchy tune and wonderful words have stuck with me all these years.
Oh, we’re a mere 4 km or so from the Spokane River. Some bald eagles have nested in Riverside State Park since I was a wee bairn, if not before. Used to see them regularly at dad’s house, which was just uphill from the river. I don’t see them often here, but being relatively close to their nesting area, I’m not surprised when I do see them here.
And yes, for birds it is a brutal competition. I’ve seen birds do things that, for humans, would be considered to be mean, underhanded and cruel. Just a fact of life for birds. It’s wild and violent out there.
Thought you’d appreciate that about the crows. I was impressed.
Avalanche doesn’t jump up and down at trees trying to get to the birds. Birds roost in some of our shrubs. Some are nesting in our small evergreen trees. Dame Avalanche will stand on hind legs and dance about trying to spy and then lunge at the birds. But jump up and down? Nope, that’s beneath her regal husky dignity. π
“Road kill” came to my mind rather quickly also about the fawn’s mother. When the fawn was still in the area this morning, I thought for sure mother had been a car victim. Then this evening, a neighbor coaxed it into their fenced yard. Chain link. An hour later, I was sure I heard mother calling. The little one got very excited. I think they let it go. I haven’t heard the fawn nor mother for two hours, and that yard is empty.
Dinner tonight was mostly a large salad. Collards and chard, with some grapes and cherry tomatoes added. A small tin of tuna, some ground hot red peppers and some dressing and it was ready. And tasty. Watermelon for dessert.
Any greens that I dry get added variously to bread, stew, omelets, spaghetti sauce. On the rare occasions I make gravy, dried greens can be an additional thickener. Really, I’ve found that imagination is the limiting factor in how to use them.
The weather has been hot enough that having the two dogs chase one another in the heat isn’t the best idea. I’ve been leaving Dame Avalanche at home. Plus, I’ve had errands to run, and a hot car in the sun is NOT a good place for a husky to be for any length of time.
Your enchiladas sounded and looked good. My neighbor was impressed when I told her about them. I like the idea of improving the tomato passata and decreasing the cheese. Melting cheese on top of the enchiladas has always been enough for my taste buds.
Roll the tanks down the hill. Give chase when they break out of control. Avoid getting rolled over by them. Roll them back uphill. Avoid getting squooshed by them. Set them upright. Add water. Okay, I understand the process. π As Lew noted, no Wile E. Coyote, no Road Runner, no cartoonish violations of physics. Oh well, I guess you can’t have everything.
Exactly. Dirk Gently. That has got to be one of the best names ever in a novel. Makes one wonder several things. Like, is it meant to be the directions for how to be polite when plying one’s dagger? Is there even a polite way to jab someone with a dagger? And Dirk himself, well, that was an alias that HE chose. It shows another bit of how not normal he would have been in real life. Oh my, can you imagine knowing someone like Dirk? Entertaining and exceedingly frustrating at the same time.
DJSpo
Hi Claire,
And a happy summer solstice to you! π
Sadly 90’F (to upper 90’s) has the equal sound of discomfiture and strong growing days for the summer season. Your plants will be jumping out of the ground with so much excess solar energy (as long as they have access to the ground water). On the other hand, such weather is ooky hot and uncomfortable for mid to late afternoon garden work, and let’s not forget an easy nights sleep. I sleep better and deeper in colder weather. The cool mountains are for me.
Lettuce during high summer is the stuff of legend, even the ones planted in deep shade (which I trialled years ago). Thick leathery leaves are unpalatable, I so hear you about that. And once they’ve bolted to seed, well, the leaf goodies have flown the coup don’t you reckon? π Hmm. For hot summer leafy greens nothing I’ve trialled down here beats Diplotaxis tenuifolia, but silverbeet / rainbow chard does sort of come close-ish.
Cabbage moth are a nightmare here in season, but they also signal the end of the Brassica variety growing season, so perform their annual cycle of dance. You’d be amazed by the clouds of white moths which retreat into the air at only the most minor disturbance. One summer when the tall forest trees decided to flower, the moths were even way up in the canopy – that was a feral year. Easier to avoid growing Brassica species in the summer months. Russian Kale is growing quite well right now, and the leaves become sweeter with each successive frost.
Hey, the old timers used to say that about down here with garlic too: Plant the bulbs on the shortest day, and harvest it on the longest day. So your harvest experience at least matches that. In digging the water tank site earlier in the week, I unearthed a daffodil bulb which already had small leaves. It was replanted elsewhere.
One of the benefits of a warmer winter climate is that some fresh herbs and leafy greens are available right now. It had never occurred to me to dry out leafy greens, then powder those – but it is an awesome idea for super cold winters. They’re almost calling out to be used in winter warming soups. Have you ever made a minestrone soup or a dahl? So good. Warms your insides when the environment outside is doing its best to chill them.
Hmm. It’s a problem which I’m not entirely convinced that most people are considering. Right now, we’re about a 100mm below the more or less expected rainfall. Claire, I’ve been absolutely busting my chops for most of the year preparing for the worst, but hoping for the average and a lucky summer break. Tomorrow, I’ll send a few thousand litres of water up to each of those two new water tanks. This year not a drop will be wasted.
Oh, it’s not all work here. Today we enjoyed a BΓ‘nh mΓ¬ in the nearby biggest township, and visited some very ancient: Sunbury earth rings. The land here is very old indeed, and they were super hard to find. Possibly the intention there was simple, only the dedicated earn the right. Hmm. Hard to ignore the spirits there.
Lucky you! That sort of mad cash would struggle to purchase anything, anywhere down under. The strategies being pursued all seem so silly to me, mostly because they are self defeating. But people want this outcome, I can see that.
Yeah, those are amazing machines, and I’m a big fan of locally grown apples. Every apple has a use, and we turned most of the harvest this year (which was shared 50/50 with the wildlife) into a very decent cider. The apple press is also a beautifully made machine, although the timber slats have to be re-oiled with a linseed / turps oil mix soon. Always stuff to do.
I’ll bet your busy in the garden right now? How’s the critter issues going, and I do hope that the deer have not made a local return journey?
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
The small family of Kookaburra’s which share this property send you cordial tail feather shakes. Reminds me of a song from the Blues Brothers sound track. Yes, it was a musical. And exceptions must occasionally be made. π
Ah, 4km would be just up the road for large predator birds. Man, they have to have a huge hunting range, and it’s good to see that they can survive in an urban / mixed area. The land along the river would be rich pickings for the birds I’d imagine? When we were in the inner urban big smoke, Powerful Owls used to move through the various old Victorian era parks hunting out the possums. It’s nice to see that such environments supporting a wider diversity of life than most people even realise.
Birds are kept quite sharp with all that competition. It’d be a complicated matter to be able to fly, although there are surviving ground large birds – the Emu for one. They run fast, like that roadrunner in the cartoon. Meep Meep!
Man, I know, Husky’s have an innate sense of dignity that Kelpie’s, even those who are titled, lack. There are times I’m embarrassed for the dog’s antics, and the magpies would hold some strong opinions in the matter for sure given they tease the canines.
Ain’t just you, that was my first thought as well – Bambi had been hit by a car and the fawn remained. Glad to read that maybe this wasn’t the case.
Thought you might be very interested in today’s activities. We ventured south about twenty minutes drive to the nearest large township of Sunbury. Had a close look around at some of the sights, and visited the: Sunbury earth rings. There was a small nearby sign-ish, but I had the distinct impression that venturing there was only for the determined. Paid my respects to the site – it being near the winter solstice and all, and had the impression that two centuries ago things would have looked rather different. The circles vary between 20m – 35m in diameter and would have been a major undertaking, which since colonisation was probably seriously trampled down by sheep and cattle. As far as I can guess, the many circles provided seating for ceremony and yarns, and in the centre of each may have been a fire pit, but also in another what looked like the remains of a cairn. Presumably the rocks had been removed or scattered. Dunno. I believe that the local tribe controls the site. It was super weird because housing developments are bordering along the site, which at least has legal protection. Not a place I’d venture to at night due to the restless spirits. The collection of plants growing near to the circles was interesting.
One of the circles I’d passed by for almost two decades without realising what it was. Now I wonder how the ol’ brain missed it.
Yum! Yum! Your dinner sounds superb. You might be able to grow small melons in your part of the world? The cooler summer nights here make those tasty treats a once in every five year proposition when the summer is crazy hot.
Thanks for the info on dried greens as they’re outside my experience. A versatile preserving option.
Two large dogs, is, dare I say it, too (!) much like hard work at the best of times. π Glad to hear that Killian is getting some daytime attention. And yup, dogs and all sorts of things die in hot cars. It amazes me that anyone would leave a living being in a hot car nowadays – people think nothing of smashing the car windows to stop the worst effects, which is probably a good deterrent strategy.
Third go around with the enchiladas was pretty good, and the ultimate test was done tonight: Can the win be replicated? As you’d know there is meant to be something of a replicability crisis, so being able to do such an act confirms that the third go wasn’t a complete fluke. That’s my story anyway, and I’m sticking to it. Thanks for originally mentioning the meal, and they’re super easy to make, and yup, less cheese is best. The other ingredients can sing for themselves then.
Warner Brothers cartoons did tend flout the laws of physics, and was Willie the same each time, or a relative? Or was it some weird form of reanimation? Like that film: Groundhog Day. I always pondered that question. Meep Meep! Ooo, where did that come from? π
It’s a pretty good name for a detective, and I’d forgotten that aspect to the story. Hey, we’re probably all a little bit like that from time to time. π
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Oh yeah, it was called dirt back in the day. The word ‘dirt’ having negative connotations probably for spurious marketing purposes. After all, compost or soil sounds far more expensive. Incidentally, there’s a trailer load of that stuff sitting out front of the house this evening. Picked it up late this afternoon. Do you ever sometimes stop and wonder about how amazing it is that you can simply drive down to a local business, and they’ll load onto the trailer just under a cubic yard of compost, then drive back home again? It’s pretty awesome, and completely historically unparalleled for all but the very wealthy.
The compost? The plan for tomorrow is to get the two round raised garden beds in place, and slightly move another two existing round raised beds. One of the beds to be moved is an asparagus bed – and that will be the most difficult.
Plus it’s meant to be really sunny tomorrow, so I’ll pump some water into the two new water tanks. Had to buy this afternoon a massive 0.72inch (18mm) 100ft long hose for the job. Sometimes you find a hole in systems when you try to do something.
They do say that Bogong moths are endangered (and thanks for the article as I’d missed that), but they’re quite common here, possibly due to all of the regular flowers. Farmers have an issue with Capeweed, and oh well, that’s food for the moths. What did everyone expect would happen?
A few months ago you mentioned an article from Live science (maybe?) on the nearby New excavation of βrings of mysteryβ in Victoria reveals rich Aboriginal history. They were difficult to find and although the area is protected, housing estates are lined along the boundaries. Thanks for mentioning them because otherwise I’d have had no idea that they were there. We respected the fencing and did not venture onto the sites, seemed unwise to do so if uninitiated. Fascinating, and I was left with the strong impression that many others now sit under houses. Presumably sheep and cattle over the past two centuries had trampled the area, but the rings could still be clearly seen. Interestingly, one of them can be seen from a major road, and previously I’d not realised what it was. Funny how what you see in land can change over time. You’d have experienced that same feeling in the garden. That’s kind of what your neighbouring plots are telling your eyes, but I reckon people have to come to that story in their own time.
You betcha the actor has range. π I still find myself sometimes thinking of ‘The Station Agent’ film.
Ah, I like how your brain works. Yes, the greenhouse for biochar. Hmm. A good idea. To be honest, if the zombie apocalypse were to happen, I’d use biochar and not think anything more of the fire risk. It’s just that sometimes people can do stupid things in high summer which puts everyone else at risk. In a society you’re only really as good as the lowest common denominator.
Meep! Meep! Thanks for the Willie memories. I loved that cartoon.
Emotional stress can do strange things to a persons perception and health I reckon. Yup. Man, having grown up in a household with an unpredictably very angry mother, I now address any personal anger I may be feeling – and try to avoid other folks in that state. Despite the super chill persona, do things annoy me from time – you betcha. Sometimes, outrages occur. Make a good t-shirt slogan? And I agree, a lack of reliable hours and/or supply can be a serious issue for small business. Although, there is middle ground in that story too and we try to be available for our customers, but not too available if that policy is abused. Good luck for the Saturday hunt, and hope you don’t have to start making your own, although I’ve done that for many years. Easy enough to do.
Very good, and heat pressure sealing the bottles is the trick for longevity. I can’t recall exactly (the Editor makes the jam), but the hot jam in the sterilised bottles is enough to seal the lids. But your method takes out the room for error in that process.
A bit of a shame isn’t it? It’s not like the core cause of inflation is some great secret, although you’ll never hear the media telling it like it is.
The Editor was talking about starting watching that prelude series. Hmm. Sounds intriguing. Ah, to have more hours in the day. Alas, woe is me, something, something, done bad in a past life. π Now Mr King’s book is a different story. Always some time to get a bit of quick reading done here and there. I like reading and eating. Oh, by the way, when in the nearby town today the Editor introduced me to a very tasty Bahn Mi. The place looked authentically Asian with bright lights, tiles and lots of hard surfaces. Lunch was pretty good too, and I’ll definitely be back. It’s not far from the big box hardware store, so I need to work out some excuses to go… π
I’m not mucking around, on Monday the forecast is suggesting 19’C / 66’F which I believe you enjoyed yesterday (or was that the day before?) Go the Zucchini, and they are related to Triffids. I’ll say no more on the subject, but maybe watch your back with those plants. They’re after blood you know? Oops, I broke my own rule and kept talking about the flesh eating plants. Yeah, the other lime will work fine too as it will allow the minerals in the soil to be taken up more easily by the plant – and that could fix the imbalance anyway.
Whoa! What the heck can kill horseradish leaves? Scary stuff. I don’t water those much, with the large tap roots, they don’t need it.
I saw that about the cave elsewhere. It’s awe inspiring. There would have been food there too, even the coldest environments I’ve travelled to on this continent (and the island state to the south) have life. Hard to say for sure how that time would have looked like down under.
Dumb question, and the ship is a good find, if the ship was scuttled near to Rhode Island, why is it in deep water? Was it towed further out from the harbour or something like that?
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – There’s compost, and then there’s compost π . That was a bad lot, that the Master Gardeners brought in year before last. And I think we’re still seeing the results in the beds that are doing poorly. They brought in another load, this year, that seems better. But when they asked if I wanted some in my plots, and the strawberry bed, I said no. I’ll stick with bagged soil, and composted chicken poo and mushroom compost. My other additives and every bit of kitchen scrap I can bury.
The Sunbury site sure is interesting. Just at a wild guess, I figure some of the rings were for women’s business and other rings for men’s business. You might find “medicine wheels,” interesting.
https://w.wiki/EXdc
Yes, looking at the land takes a bit of a knack. That can be developed. To take time to stop and look. Let the mind float and free associate. I’ve always found it interesting that when out and looking for specific things (rocks, mushrooms, seashells, whatever), it takes awhile for the eye and mind to hone in on the target.
When I first saw Mr. Dinklage in “The Station Agent,” I just knew he was an actor to watch, and would go far.
A t-shirt that says, Outrage Occurs would be neat. Of course, some people might read it as Outage Occurs. π Mr. Greers post this week is quit interesting. I’ll have to get back and read the comments.
It’s the summer solstice. All downhill from here π . Our high yesterday was 66F (18.88C). The overnight low was 48F (8.88C). The forecast high for today is 60F. When I took H out for her walk, this morning, dark clouds were rolling in. And, as forecast, it started raining about an hour ago. I might have heard a few boomers. I won’t have to water, tonight. More of the same, tomorrow. Then a run of nice weather.
Last night was a popcorn night. I watched Jason Statham’s “Working Man.” It was good. All kinds of very bad people die in very inventive ways. π
I read some more of King’s “Never Flinch.” I have to be disciplined, when I read King. You may have noticed how he skips around from viewpoint to viewpoint of different characters? Well, some characters are more interesting than others, and I have a hard time not skipping a few chapters and just picking up the thread of their story. But then I miss details.
Re: Capt. Cook’s ship. Don’t know. Wasn’t there. :-). Lew
Hi Chris,
A quick pop in so you know I’m still alive and kicking.
Your greenhouse has sure paid off.
We’re expecting the same heat as Steve but just for a few days. We got 2.2inches of much needed rain on Wednesday and looks like many more chances during the week ahead.
Doug has been busy trapping chipmunks and disposing of them. I’m growing all my greens and herbs in pots and the little buggers have been digging in them.
Batch one of the meat chickens has been processed and the 2nd batch is in the chicken tractor. Pigs are doing well too.
Two old friends and a member of my bookclub died during the last month as well as our next door neighbor. None were terribly unexpected.
Marty if finally done with his dental work – at least until the next time. I’ve been sticking to my month off and leaving it to two of my sisters to cover Marty. Gwen is now in a nursing home permanently and he’s lobbying for one of us to take him to visit her which will be a fair amount of driving. I’m not holding my breath that one of my sisters will do it this month but they could surprise me. He’s also lost his cell phone.
Margaret
Chris:
At least the water tanks were going down the hill.
That is exactly what I have always pondered about “the land of milk and honey”. Everyday stuff to us, but I can see how it would seem really special if you rarely got any.
I remember hearing about that Millennium Drought. And a million more souls + to one city is really scary. So is importing 90% of your oil. It is good that the people making the decisions are willing to take some of those souls into their own homes and feed and house them. What’s that you say? They don’t?
As far as I can tell, we don’t have zombies out where I live. Town is another matter.
Ouch. Acetone in the eye could be a very bad thing. I’m fine. I think the chilli is working, so I’d better sprinkle some more around.
That old duffer was not being observant. Every type of wild animal in the state seemed to move in here once we got started “modifying” the forest landscape. They love that people are here and have added such interesting stuff to their lives or there wouldn’t be so many of them and of so much variety. The question is of balance. They don’t seem to know that.
I’m sorry Mummy is gone, but that is the best inning for a chicken that I have ever heard of.
I was thinking about your title this week. I remember what someone told me once: “What matters is learning to live with not knowing.”
Pam
Chris,
Cool. That’s what the first day of summer was. Cool. Cloudy. Windy. 2 drops of rain, no more.
Also cool because Killian’s human took me to a tiny Vietnamese restaurant for a late lunch. We shared spring rolls. She had some kind of sandwich, I had stir fried chow mein with lots of goodies in it. It was very good food. Although neither of us had their soups, the bowls are gigantic. Maybe next trip there.
When I lived near Las Cruces, New Mexico, I saw a roadrunner most days of the week when I was driving to campus. The Princess and I stood about 7 meters from one once at a stop just south of Las Cruces. They are beautiful birds. There were many signs warning about rattlesnakes. I said as long as the roadrunner was happy, we should be happy. Oh, and look for anything that slinks. Roadrunners go Meep Meep. I see something nearby that slinks and I think I’m in deep doo doo. I’m too old to Meep Meep.
Well, appears I was wrong. The baby deer is still in the neighbor’s yard, behind the fence. Oh well.
The Sunbury earth rings are cool. See? It is a cool day! π Thanks for the article about them. If I were a rich man (name that musical for bonus points), I’d like to travel around, see the earth rings and stone circles and other such things. The ancients knew a lot more than modern man wants to give them credit for. And in wholehearted agreement – such sites are best avoided at night, lest one find oneself in deep doo doo. Never mess with the Old Ones.
Sometimes we see what we’re conditioned to see, don’t see what is there. Once we see what is there, we wonder how we didn’t see it for all those years.
Well, each Roadrunner episode was similar. Wile E. Coyote always had the same type of things happen to him. Sort of like recurring deja vu all over again. Or the Groundhog Day movie. Or worse, it could be like Mugwump 4. https://www.prosperosisle.org/spip.php?article211
Ah, you do remember that I’ve been around for millenia and been involved with things like losing my Raybans when Stonehenge was being constructed? Things like that. I seem to remember something about why Captain Cook’s ship was scuttled where it was, but I don’t remember all the details. Or I might be confusing that episode with another sunken ship. π
The forecast for rain has changed. Now perhaps, maybe, they think it might rain off and on perhaps Saturday night. But they’re uncertain. Heisenberg rules the weather forecasts!
DJSpo
@ Pam,
Thanks for posting the quote βWhat matters is learning to live with not knowing.β That is a good summation of life in general, I guess. I wish somebody had said something like that to me a few decades ago. As it is, I’m finally learning to embrace living with doubt and uncertainty without going into periods of Existential Dread.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Well, it wasn’t all rolling downhill with the water tanks. They first went downhill, and then because of clearances to surrounding objects, they then had to be rolled back uphill. Fortunately that was not a difficult proposition.
The thing is, I pumped some water into those tanks today, and moved maybe a thousand gallons before the batteries in the shed packed it in. There was an awkward conversation afterwards that replacing the batteries was going to be expensive. Anywhoo, I’ll take the old lead acid batteries in to the scrap metal recycler because they pay good cash for such things, and there’s almost a tonne of lead. Might help reduce the replacement battery cost. Oh well…
That’s it isn’t it? Honey used to be a treat for the wealthy folks, supplied by monks living in monasteries. There’s an honesty shop attached to a serious honey supplier that we purchase from, and the stuff has always been excellent. I’d read that some cheeky scamps dilute their honey with sugar syrup, and that would be hard to detect.
The offshore oil fields in Bass Strait – which is the shallow but long and wide stretch of water between the mainland and the big island state of Tasmania – are apparently in serious decline. Fun fact: They get big waves there. That’s a good point, people are OK with growing the population at whatever cost, as long as someone else is picking up the tab.
Pam, I ain’t no townie! π Hehe! Far out, it’s been one heck of a strange journey I sure can tell you. It’s difficult sometimes looking back upon the person I was when living in the swanky inner urban big smoke. Don’t know at all what to make of it. I’m sure you’ve also travelled a strange journey, given what you’ve mentioned of your upbringing? Whatever, always wise to keep an eye out for zombies. And don’t forget Triffids – those are bad news too.
Water washed out the acetone, and I’ve not noticed any issues from the incident – thankfully. Given it was carby cleaner, the concentration of acetone was right up there. Nice one, and so glad to hear that the chilli is working against the voracious critters (he says noting down the idea). Always worth trialling all sorts of methods, and then mixing them up.
Hehe! The forest critters rarely care for our preferences, do they? And yes, that’s been my experience as well. Grow, and they will come.
It’s not a bad innings, so I didn’t feel too bad about the passing of the aged chicken. Sixteen years is an impressive achievement, and Pam, the little minx was a proper battle-axe right to the last day. Larger chickens beware, the Silkie was about to crack the sads! I’ve heard of a seventeen year old chicken from another person who used to write for the same ‘hippy press’ I was involved with way back in the day. There was some vague hope that our chicken would take the honours, but no. Still an enviable achievement all the same, and she was fighting fit right up to the last day.
Ooo, you’re good. Yup, ’tis indeed. π
Me tired tonight. We moved four of the steel round raised garden beds, and one of them had asparagus. Oh my, I’d no idea that those plants would have such feral root systems. In the end the jackhammer had to be hauled out. It was not gentle, but I’m sure they’ll survive. It all got done by the time the sun was setting on this shortest day of the year.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Margaret,
Always lovely to hear from you, and wishing you and Doug a fruitful (and relaxed) growing season.
The greenhouse is worth its weight, and there are plans for another one sooner or later. There’s just a bit too many other projects on the go right now to start it, but they’re all slowly getting there. I’m not in any hurry, except on maybe one or two projects – like the forest clean up.
Hopefully the heatwave combined with decent earlier rainfall causes your place to grow like a jungle. Plant needs are fairly simple, but depending on the climate, even meeting those basics can be difficult. Hope you had plans to stay out of the heat and take it easy? It’s near freezing here. π
It’s awful behaviour from the chipmunks, the cheeky rascals. You’d think that they’d be more respectful of your growing efforts? Sorry to hear of the dramas, and the wildlife down this way can sometimes seriously test my patience. And they never stop trying.
Yummo! You’re so lucky to have that abattoir to process the chickens and pigs, and I’m thinking of ham hock soup for a hearty meal over the depths of winter. From what I hear, down this way, there are butchers who’ll travel from farm to farm doing the processing, and that’s not bad given I doubt there are many, if any, businesses that will do the service you get for small holders. It’s pretty impressive.
Sorry for the loss of your friends and neighbour. Always hard, even when expected. On the other hand, good to hear that the bookclub is still meeting up. Reading is such a pleasure and one of life’s joys.
That was quick with Marty’s dental work, and hopefully he was stoic throughout? If you’re helping others, it’s always wise to take some time out as well – and Margaret I would have done no less. The recent move for Marty was an epic task. Hmm.
Guess it doesn’t hurt to ask? There’s always more, isn’t there? Had to laugh, sorry. Has Marty settled in to his new digs? You did say that he was making connections with the other folks there.
All good here for the shortest day of the year, and it was sunny, blue skies and quite pleasant – except you could see your breath in the air it was that cold. Did a lot of work today. The rains are coming this week, or that’s what the forecast suggests.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Ah, interesting! The seasons down here begin on the 1st rather than the solstice. But as we’ve discussed before, I’m not entirely certain that the cultural traditional western four seasons matches the lived experience. But that’s great news your start to summer is like that, and hopefully the run of weather continues and you avoid the hottest of heats over the next few months.
‘Twas a max of 11’C and a minimum of 3’C, but with lovely blue skies and not a breath of wind. Went to use some of the solar electricity on one of the smaller power systems to move some water to the new tanks. That’s when I discovered that the old batteries had given up the ghost. They did work for maybe one or two hours before then under-voltaging. You know they’re done when I removed the load, and the voltage shot straight back up again. What does very low internal resistance mean again? π Being lead, they’ll get some good mad cash from the scrap metal recyclers, but getting the 900kg or so of batteries to them will be a drama. Oh well, electricity might as well be magic, and maybe it’ll take a couple of trips.
No way! Ah, it was that day for your lunch, right. And a fine choice you both made there (as did the Editor and I also on Friday). Yum! Your meals sounds pretty tasty, and it’d be a true achievement of the seasoned trencherman to consume both a dish of noodles and a Phα». I’m not man enough for such a challenge. π
Man, I thought roadrunners would be tall birds like an Emu or and Ostrich – that sort of size, but no, they’re small. And the trickster coyote is faster, but meep meep, where did that doo doo sound come from? Where were we again? Oh that’s right, Roadrunner is clearly the smarter of the two. And respect too, nice one. π
Having deer around kind of freaks me out because they cause so much damage to the fruit trees, and not just the younger trees either. They ring barked a decade old olive tree and the top of which has since died, but there are new shoots below the damage so I’ll prune the top sooner or later. Bambi and I are not friends, but the fawns do look very sweet, just somewhere elsewhere.
Very funny, yes it was both cool, and a cool day. No musicals here thanks very much, and especially ear worms, like that one. Ta da da da. Argggh! Stop. It’d be nice to see them all, yes. The centre of this country has a heart in the shape of a very large rock – Uluru / Ayers Rock. A very interesting place, and big. Oh yeah, leave the Elder ones well alone, and act respectfully should they be encountered.
Was it you who pointed out the face in a tree in one of the photos many years ago?
All very unpleasant business that Friendly Finance. Thanks for chuckles.
They were found you know in a nearby dig. And did you know that the archaeologist thought that your raybans were so cool, they were secreted away as a personal memento of the dig? Plus it simplified the reality of being asked some awkward questions. Well made plastic having a half life of several million years is a good thing as everyone knows. A lot of people went down on that ship. A whole lot, such is karma.
Fingers crossed that you get that rain. Next week, they’re predicting some rain here too. Yay!
Moved a raised bed which was growing asparagus, and had been for years. The root systems were so feral that only the jackhammer could appropriately deal with them. Hmm.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
It’s a bit of a risk isn’t it with purchasing compost. What went into the stuff in the first place? People are rather free and easy with their use of poisons. Oh well, that’s what living on a poisoned planet looks like I guess. And I recall our many discussions on that compost, and it gives me pause I can tell you. The mixtures I’m buying now have a much lower percentage of fine mulch – which I believe is some, but not all of the potential source of the problem.
I reckon your strategy is the safer path, and you chuck so much stuff into the soil, that in many ways it would be better.
The circles were quite removed and isolated one from the other, so your suggestion makes a lot of sense. The medicine wheels are interesting indeed, and I’m guessing not far off what used to be there. Hmm. Honestly, I had the distinct impression that the rocks used in the rings had been pilfered long ago. Dunno about you, but I’ve heard stories over the years about such rocks, and hope not to be involved in that sort of business. The two stone circles here were restored and put back to order.
Yeah, you do kind of have to switch off that part of your mind and take in new information and ways of seeing things. What I recall from music lessons was that the more I concentrated upon the actions, the worse the performance and the more errors were introduced. As someone who tries to live consciously and has an active mind, letting go and floating along is not as easy to do as it may be for other folks. Dunno. When we went to that gig a couple of years back, the mind had to be switched off and put into float mode and just be swept along by the experience.
Seriously, now I know the ring is there, it’ll draw my eye every time I pass it by.
All the houses nearby left me with that eerie feeling of the whole Poltergeist film with the housing estate built upon an old cemetery. The deceased of course make for uncomfortable, but hardly dangerous (as per your advice) house guests.
You got me onto that film, and I so enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing the new Dexter series.
Oh man, there was some big talk lately about moving a couple of the raised garden beds. Oh my, Lewis, asparagus plants grows roots which go down to the core of the Earth. They’re feral big, and no wonder the plants die back after twenty years, there’d be no soil, only a mat of thick roots. Far out. Anyway to move that bed with the asparagus, I had to get the jackhammer onto the plants. The spade is sharp, but it wasn’t cutting through. Nope. That job took all day, but it’s now all looking mostly neat and on its way to being finished.
There’s rain forecast for next week. Quite a good drenching apparently. Anyway, earlier today I went to pump some water uphill into the new water tanks and that small shed power system packed it in. The batteries were first used in 2009, and the years have not been kind to them. Oh well, at least they’re lead and mostly recyclable – and they’ll pay for the scrap metal too. Put an order in tonight for replacement batteries, which are one of the few things that appear to be getting cheaper over time. Oh well, that’s what savings are for I guess.
Had to watch a lot of utoob vids of people pulling the new batteries apart and then putting them to the test. They’re cheap, but seem OK, but we’ll see. Bizarrely, the tariffs in your country has expanded the range of stuff available down under lately, although presumably we’re considered a tiny market.
Yes, the literally minded can occasionally cause difficulties and misunderstandings like that. Could even end up in fisticuffs? Status outrage and decline of said (status, not the outrage bit! π ), is an interesting topic, and one which has always baffled me. I just don’t get the big deal about chasing status, I mean it all ends up the same way, so why not do something else interesting with the life you have? The comments however are always interesting on that forum.
Very good, and it’s all uphill from here. π Hardly even cold today, 52’F from 37’F this morning. Again the weather outside was lovely. Did you hear any more thunder? Love a good thunderstorm.
Ah, the beekeeper film bloke. Right. Oh yeah, sounds grisly and fun all at the same time.
Ha! Alas, your reading experience is different to my own. I like to read every single word so that the flavour of the story is revealed. Some fictional characters do grate, but then this is also true of the larger society. Have to out myself though, occasionally I will sneak a look at the last few pages just to make certain that the emotional investment yields dividends. π Is it really that bad an act?
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Re: Acetone, or anything else you might get in your eyes. I seem to remember you once managed to get a chunk of metal embedded. You might take a look at “industrial eye washers.” Although “eye wash stations” or “systems” seems to be a more accurate search. Might be a handy bit of kit, to have around. And, you been a handy kind of a guy, I bet you could easily build your own. I imagine there are videos, on-line, to construct them. It would be handy, even if you spent too much time downwind, from a burn off pile.
Ohhh. That’s a good one. “What matters is learning to live with not knowing.” I’m sure that will come in handy, in future. π I suppose it’s another riff on “Life on life’s terms.” Sort of. Speaking of not knowing, we were supposed to get a food box, yesterday. No show. Old ladies will starve! π No idea why, but I’m sure all will be revealed, eventually. It’s delivered by volunteers from a local social service agency.
I’d say the bad compost we got, had way too many wood chips in it. Once the rain had started doing a job on it, you could see the abundance of wood chips.
Here’s an uber ring, right in our own state. I’d visited a time or two, way back when.
https://w.wiki/EX$Z
There’s also this bit of geological weirdness, which I have driven by, several times. It’s on the way to Olympia, if you take the back roads.
https://w.wiki/EX$y
Yes, not good to build on an old burial ground. Or even near one. See: King, “Pet Sematary.” π
Nothing like your asparagus, but I’ve dealt with a few veg mats, the last couple of years. Vinca (aka Periwinkle), horseradish, iris and Jerusalem artichokes.
Our high temperature, yesterday, was 61F (16.11C). Our overnight low was 48F (8.88C). The forecast high for today is 62F. I didn’t hear any more boomers, yesterday. it was scattered showers, all day, and H and I got lucky. Our luck ran out, this morning. I even broke out her coat. We had errands to run, and she was miffed because I wouldn’t let her sit in my lap. Yeah, I need to look like I’ve peed my pants. π Starting tomorrow, it looks like it’s going to be quit nice, and we’ll stay dry.
Well, I’m done with Jeremy’s fruit stand. I swung by this morning, and still no yoghurt. I’m not making a third trip, back. I was half way across the parking lot, doubled back, and got the bottle deposit back. I never liked the way they began treating their employees, at the old stand, and then the move to a less convenient location. Done and dusted. I guess it’s the commercial stuff, for me, now. Yes, yes, I know. You make your own and are a paragon of virtue. π And I could make my own, too. Heck, I’m still trying to work up to pulling the trigger on sourdough.
Last night I made 6 1/2 pints of strawberry jam. There might be enough to make another batch. If not, I can always fill in with some cranberries. All six jars “pinged” so I guess I got a good seal. I’m thinking, as long as I’ve got all the paraphernalia out, I might take an inventory as to how many bags of blueberries, are left in the freezer, and might make some blueberry jam.
Smart move, recycling the old batteries, to offset the price of new ones. Now if you can just find an old Roman villa, you can probably strip out the lead piping, and really make a dent in the costs. π
I’m finding the comments at Mr. Greer’s, interesting. Especially the past and present government workers. And the odd software engineer, or two. I thought I might mention that book I read recently on status and class. But haven’t worked my way through all the comments, yet, to see if anyone else mentions it.
Oh, back to errands. We then swung by the library, and picked up “Penguin Lessons.” I’ll watch it in a few days. I’m sure it will be a popcorn movie. We then swung down to the Club for a quiet cuppa. No such luck. The general merchandise store was having a 40th anniversary sale. The parking lot was jammed. Looked like Christmas. I found a parking spot, by the old veg store. Still empty after six months.
I keep forgetting to mention, across the road from the Club, is a restaurant building, on a corner. It’s got a big box office supply, on one side, and a Micky D’s behind it, on another corner. It was a Chinese restaurant, for years. Then a Mexican restaurant for a year or two. Then for awhile, it turned over, every six months. Italian, good ol’ American, pizza parlor, etc.. It’s been empty for over a year.
“Sneak a look at the last few pages.” Oh, my gosh! I bet you’re one of those people who eat their desert before dinner! π Lew
Chris:
Oh, my goodness – those darn tanks just had to be contrary.
Well, there you go. The batteries had to join right in. Almost a tonne of lead? How do you move the things (I know they are not too large – I think).
I ain’t no townie, either! I have always wondered: What is the term for a country dweller?
I am babysitting the Baby tonight while my son and daughter-in-law go out to dinner for her birthday.
Pam
@DJSpo:
That quote struck me hard when I first heard it and has stuck with me ever since. I suspect that things are actually simpler than we think. Simpler, but not easy.
Pam
Hi Pam,
There’s always something to go wrong, I hear you about that. Anyway, the ol’ brain was cogitating upon the problem overnight. The results clicked into awareness this morning, and I connected up the electric pump to the little generator and ran that for most of the day. Moved about 10,000 litres / 2,600 gallons uphill to the new water tanks. Yay! The forecast is suggesting more rain this week.
The batteries are about 50kg / 110 pounds each, and I can lift them into a power wheelbarrow. The only real issue is overloading the Dirt Rat Suzuki, so the whole dump to the scrap metal recyclers will probably take a few runs. They’ll get some good mad cash too as the metals in the batteries are easily recyclable.
Hmm. Surely your country would have a name for rural folks? Funnily enough I can’t recall any with the local lingo. Hmm. Have to think about this.
Hope Mr Baby was on his very best behaviour? And hope those two have a lovely evening.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
I’d never heard of such a thing, although now you’ve mentioned the contraptions, they are sold down under. I use the hand basin or kitchen sink to wash my eyes if needed. It can happen, but seriously with angle grinders which flick tiny shards of hot metal around I wear both safety glasses and a mesh face mask these days (the chainsaw helmet). After that charming experience with the eye surgeon, I prefer to stay on the safer side of things.
How certain can anyone be of new and unusual situations? It’s only afterwards that – and here I can only speak for myself – I know the best path through a sticky scenario. And reflecting on ways to do things better is how my brain is hard wired.
Speaking of that stuff, we did another massive day of work on the forest edge cleaning up the loggers mess. You know, I’m beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel with that work because today we broke through to the underside of the mess. Gravity assistance is a wonderful thing, and makes rolling heavy stuff downhill into a fire easier. Had a big bonfire today too, but forgot to take the camera down this week. Getting stuck into the work early clouded out all other thoughts.
Hope the box turned up today, but that would be Sunday for you so the delivery may be unlikely. Your country is going through some serious economic redistributions, so fingers crossed that the food boxes continue.
Yeah, exactly. Wood chips don’t grow great vegetables, but try telling people that. Far out. But then again, a quarter of a century ago the thought popped into my head: How hard can it be? Turns out this stuff is plenty hard. π And lets not forget that wood chips are great feed for roly-poly’s. Need we invite them to a dinner of our seedlings?
Looking at the photos of that replica Stonehenge, I do wonder if originally there was a roof over the original structure? The centre supports suggest this to me, but what do I know. Such loose talk may upset folks…
The mima mounds are seriously weird looking. The wikipudding page suggested that a few of them are even growing in size. The land in your part of the world is not quiet. Although, it is worth mentioning that rocks float through the clay in this part of the world. Nature is pretty awesome, and gives us humans something to wonder about.
And that Pet Semetary book came to mind as well. π Not what I’d do, but sometimes you can find yourself in trouble, even when that wasn’t sought after.
The big smoke may well be warmer tomorrow than your chilly part of the world. The forecast is suggesting 19’C / 66’F. Yes, the clean up of the forest continues… Fortunately there is some heavy rain forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. Dogs have so little empathy about those sorts of lap situations, and memories are long. Wise to avoid the issue in the first place. And a bit of disappointment will do the cheeky minx no harm.
Dude, are you annoyed by the yoghurt situation? Kind of sounds like it to me. Did you know… Nah, you know. π Honestly, how many things can a person be across? Sourdough seems like a lot of work to me, there’s a good reason that bakers yeast is more commonly used. We don’t make sourdough bread.
Isn’t it great hearing the jar lids ping! That’s when you know the jam will go the distance. Opening the jars is like the gift of summer in the depths of winter. Hope you’ve got one of those easy opener devices? Sometimes the pressure seal sets far more strongly than the commercial stuff.
Did the Romans really use lead pipes? What a rabbit hole, and it mostly seems to have impacted upon the upper classes in Ancient Rome – although lead entered their diet through several other sources. Probably not the civilisation killer problem though, although as you noted, they had 99 of those to deal with, and badly! Anywhoo, the scrap metal dealer will defray some of the costs for the replacements.
Well goobermint workers would have an insight into the specific conditions faced there. Have worked for big biz, and now small biz, there’s no way I could work for goobermint ever again. The last job interview I had with that lot which was maybe thirty years ago, was a surreal experience because I scared them. Yup. It was the can-do attitude which produced that result, because I’d not realised they preferred to talk instead. A failure to read the room on my part, but I was so young and took their words at face value.
The Editor tells me that the film is very good. You’ll love it.
Ah, and here you struck on an issue I too am observing – there’s a lot of commercial empty real estate, just in some areas. Not a good sign, but what do I know?
Oooo, does having a late afternoon coffee and Anzac biscuit count as dessert before dinner?
Cheers and better get writing!
Chris
Yo, Chris – Whatever will you do with yourselves, once the logger’s mess is cleaned up? π Oh, yeah. Woodshed, another green house … root cellar / fire shelter, etc. etc..
I guess the rally-polly’s are knocked back a bit. Nematodes? All the zucchini sprouts made it up and are getting their secondary leaves, so they’re past the danger point.
Not far from the replica Stonehenge is the Maryhill Museum. I also visited there, a time or two. Although it wasn’t nearly as “pulled together” as it sounds like, these days. There was a nice picnic area. they kept the lawn short, so you could see the rattlesnakes coming. π
https://w.wiki/EYL9
Our high yesterday was 57F (13.88C.) our overnight low was 52F (11.11C.) The forecast high for today is 72F. I thought about leaving H home, when it was so wet out. But she gets pretty raspy, if I don’t take her along. It was dry for us, afternoon and late night. It’s clearing up, but we might get a bit more rain, mid week.
Bakers yeast costs money. π
My regular can (tin?) opener has a bit of a sharp hook business, originally intended to open bottle caps. It works fine for prying off the jam jar lids. As long as I’m careful not to chip the rim of the jar. Last night I cleaned the strawberries and picked out all the bad ones. There weren’t many. They’re in a bowl in the fridge. That’s about half the job, right there. I’ll get them “put up”, later this morning.
Late afternoon biscuit and coffee sound more like “tea.” And you’ve got the cultural roots for it. Having your tiramisu or key lime pie, before the main course would be … outre. Just not done, you know. π Lew