Underhill in July

Underhill in July can be very cold. This month Geoff, Elaine and Ev and Greg joined me at the block ready to face the cold.

We arrived in time for morning tea and quickly got fires started and water boiling to warm us up before starting work.

As it was so windy we decided against burning off fires so just concentrated our first efforts at raking up the fire break areas and keeping the 'house' fire and stove stoked up.

After lunch we began fixing the fence of the small 'dog yard' that had been damaged during the felling of the dead trees earlier this year. We now have a fence that might also be wombat proof if we are lucky. There was lots of rock carrying and fence tightening to do and Geoff even put in a rock under the gate.

We found a small frozen frog. Possibly Litoria peronii (Peron's Tree Frog) or maybe even L. tyleri. What a pity I did not take a photo of its underside as well.

There was an interesting looking pupa hanging in the desert lime tree.

In the evening we all sat up as long as we could staying warm by the 'house' fire but climbed into our snug warm beds by about 8:30.

This morning we decided that as there was a Severe Weather Alert for the area and it was already cold, windy and lightly raining we would pack up earlier than intended and head home. However, we had had a great time together. Thank you all for the work and our achievements.

NAIDOC Week Bushwalk

Last Thursday Elaine, Evelyn and I accompanied some others on a NAIDOC Week walk run by Sutherland Council starting at Prince Edward Park at Woronora.

It was actually a leisurely stroll but we were well informed by Uncle Max who told us some of his stories about the plants and animals we saw.

It was great to see so many small treasures and to be able to put some names to plants I saw.

 Grevillea

 Acacia

From Prince Edward Park we crossed the creek then walked south along it for maybe a kilometre or two.

 A cycad.

 Hakea

 Correa ?

Uncle Max and his dingo

Thanks Elaine for organising us to join you on this walk.

Doll's Point Walk

Today Elaine and I did a few hours of patchwork followed by a walk at Doll's Point. It was a beautiful clear warm afternoon. The water of Botany Bay was clear and calm.

We started at the eastern end of Russell Ave at Peter Depena Park then walked south along the bay. The 'walk' shown on the map from the St George Sailing Club actually does not exist but we found our way back to the Stan Moses Reserve and walked back through the parks to Russell Ave. In all it took about 1.5 hours.

 Dozens of Corellas and a few Sulphur Crested Cockatoos were enjoying something in the grass.

 The water was so clear and calm.

 Spoonbills among the samphires seen from the bird hide in the Stan Moses Reserve.

My Garden in July

I am so pleased with the flowers I am enjoying from my garden I thought I'd put up a few pics.

Pernilla came to stay

Pernilla is visiting OZ again. We had a great evening when Ellen and the boys came for dinner.

Car fits in the garage

For those who have not seen Surrey's garage in its original state it was always just a dumping ground and a comfy home for rats, cockroaches and spiders. There was a track through some of it but then progress was completely blocked by stuff.

(Thanks Rod for this photo)

I recently had some clear tiles put in the roof which made the back section much lighter and we could see enough to start clearing so Kim and I have spent a few months doing just that. Now the car fits in and we had an inaugural drive in on Tuesday.

Unfortunately I could not get out of the car because the spare timber was in the way so we did that last bit of clearing. Here is the final result. I still can't believe it! Thank you Kim.

It is really slow and tedious driving the car in and out down the very narrow drive way. Here it looks OK but the mirrors are folded back and the gate and downpipe get in the way. With the steering on full lock in the backyard it takes a 5-7-point turn to reverse into the garage.

Now that everything is roughly sorted and cleaned and rubbish items and things I do not want to keep have been removed my job is to sort the drawers and shelves that we have put everything in. This will be quite slow though.

If anyone wants to look though the stash of 'cool stuff' that needs another home please contact me and come and have a look through. Things like an old Vaccola bottling set, odd sheets of ply and other timbers, an old screen door, an old aquarium and much more.

Chorus Oz 2011

This weekend was the annual Chorus Oz weekend at the Opera House. This year we did Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Wow! What a difficult work it is and we had to stand for the whole performance. Nola, Jennie and I booked together so we could sit together and had a great time.

Saturday afternoon was spent practising with altos and sopranos, Sunday was all day in the Opera House.

Last year Nola completed her coat using the Tshirts we are given each year to perform in and this year I finished my coat in time to wear for the weekend.

There is even a more public photo here.

Bushwalking

While away in the Top End my gammy leg/hip/back improved remarkably and apart from the warm weather it could also have been all the bushwalking and rockhopping I did.

I've decided to keep it up if I can, at least on a weekly basis. So Elaine and I went for our first walk together last week. Only a short one from Gray's Point to the Royal National Park Visitor's Centre and back. Beautiful views over the Port Hacking River and magnificent angophora's.

 

The walk is along the track called Service Trail on the map here.