Scaling New Heights

Comment has been made that our blog shows endless photos of Tam busy and active whilst very few show me doing much at all - which of course is FAR from the truth. In an attempt to redress the photographic imbalance, Tam has been taking a few shots recently. And I hope the photo above reassures you that Tam has not forgotten how to relax.

Jenny somewhat nervously crossing an old logging bridge spanning the gushing mountain creek below on a recent walk up in the mountains.

Vertigo?

What vertigo!









Up on the Roof, scrubbing away nearly 30 years of accumulated black mould and dust to reveal the pale green colour-bond roof. It took us about 3 days - having said that Tam gave up after the first day! It was a horrible job and yet immensely satisfying to finish. I discovered muscles I didn't know I had as I balanced at the top of the ladder, bucket in one hand whilst scrubbing away obsessively with the other....



The contrast half way through the job (photo taken from the paddock).

Hopefully the house will be a bit cooler in the summer as a result.




Its been cold and the nights have been long, so its taken a while for the veggies in our no-dig beds to get going. Spring is just around the corner and everything is finally beginning to grow. We've started harvesting salad leaves while the snow-peas, ruby chard and french beans are beginning to take off.

The aubergines and peppers are very slowly progressing and we've had to improve the fencing since a few plants have been nibbled by mystery mid-night visitors - perhaps possums, perhaps wallabies, perhaps bandicoots... We're yet to plant tomatos, lettuce, coriander, potatoes, sweet potatoes.....

Get off my land! This photo was taken at the beginning of a recent walk along an little known local right of way. The landowners would prefer people to 'KEEP OUT', although they have no right to demand this as it is a public right of way. There is a danger that the route will be lost if this pathway is not used and hence this group of local walkers and horseriders actively seek to keep these paths open and I have joined their cause. Ultimately we are campaigning for a network of 'unmotorised' and sustainable routes between communities to be created (or rather recreated) along these old tracks. A bit of afternoon radical strolling - right up my street. In fact we have one of these old routes passing by our garden.

A Bush-Rat in the cooker and no trap - so we created our own. The one design fault, I was required to sit on Mouse-Watch waiting - and yes it was cold. Thankfully, it didn't take long - the chubby little fellow couldn't resist the toasted sunflower seeds and with a quick flick of the foot we had him. The next day he was redistributed to an even more rural location!


And here's Tam relaxing in the garden - again - and enjoying a fresh cup of coffee, the view to Nimbin Rocks, the palm trees and the deep blue of the late winter sky.

I'm just taking the photo....

Bromeliad Delight

We have thousands of bromeliads in our garden and a lot of the time, I have to admit, I simply do not like them. They gather copious fallen leaves and can be painful and bloody to weed as their skin-tearing serrated leaves often cause injury. Many have pools of water at their centre which will no doubt provide mosquitoes with perfect breeding sites come summer. And finally, given that all our bromeliads are entirely unproductive - beyond their aesthetics - I resent the time required to weed them and am planning a Dig Your Own Bromeliad sale to lessen their numbers and bring in some $$$.

However, when bromeliads come into flower, it is a different story - they can be absolutely delightful. And there is huge variation amongst the flowers. Here's a sequence of one particular Billbergia coming into flower. These photos don't do it justice of course, but you get the idea.

There are thousands of different species of bromeliads; they evolved in South America and have recently been enthusiastically incorporated into Aussie gardens. They produce 'pups' regularly and are therefore relatively easy to propagate, hence we have thousands - the previous owner must have loved them. Many species are epiphytes (can grow on trees) which allows for quite creative gardening.

My favourite bromeliad flower so far is the one on the left below which measures a mere 2 inches with tiny blue flowers. I have no idea which particular species this is, it is no doubt related to the pineapple, another bromeliad flower! We've got 3 of these flowering at the moment.

So whilst we will reduce the numbers of bromeliads in our garden dramatically, we'll keep a small selection to provide different delightful flowers throughout the year. And then there's the pineapple plantation....

Two Weeks in the Life of Dr Len

My dad Len has had an interesting couple of weeks, starting with an unusually dramatic garden club visit a couple of Saturdays ago. There we all were relaxing and chatting on Ozzy's veranda, admiring the stunning view from his garden, looking forward to a talk on orchid propagation and a refreshing cup of afternoon tea. Suddenly there's an ear-splitting crack. I turn to see Len pivoting backwards through the now broken veranda rail and falling down onto the garden bed and rocks below. The drop from veranda floor to ground level is only about 3 feet, but he lands with full force onto his back and his head jerks back onto a rock.

He doesn't move. A number of us rush to his side. There's blood. He manages to raise himself a little, but is completely disorientated and shocked. A towel is brought to soak up blood, and a decision is made to take him immediately to the nearby Nimbin Hospital. Some hours later he is discharged, in typically goon-like good humour having been thoroughly examined by Dr Oscar, and his wound stitched and head bandaged. We're all immensely relieved, especially Kay.

Dad makes a remarkably rapid recovery, bandages off by Tuesday, busy with his usual round of community focussed work by Wednesday and precisely a week after his accident he's off on a 11km bush walk through the Mt Nardi National Park and larking about at the top of a huge waterfall - with a drop of some hundreds of feet. My mum Kay had to walk away not able to stomach his precarious and juvenile antics - afterall, he is 74 and a half! My parents took the walk happily in their stride, whilst Tam and I hobbled the last half kilometre complaining about our knees and spent the next couple of days aching and groaning!

And so another week of meetings, appointments and deadlines for Dad - afterall he is retired - AND preparations for his appearance in the 2008 Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup on Saturday. Its the first round of heats - each performer has eight minutes to wow the judges with their verbal vitality and virtuosity. Sixteen out of 32 will make it through to the semi-final on Sunday. Dad gives a fabulous performance and is through to the semis. He is delighted, we're all delighted.

So, to Sunday and the semi-finals. The draw has Dad performing first at mid-day - what crowd there is has hardly woken up, he's very nervous, he rushes, we all know its not as good as yesterday. Nervously we sit through the other 15 performers and await the judges decision on the final eight.

Its close, very close - so close that the determining factor is timing - anyone who has gone over 8 minutes is penalised and, given Dad is safely within time and much to our further delight, Dad is through - he's in the final that very night. So its home to get the glad rags on.

Most of the poets perform from memory, whilst Dad always reads, and he knows this is not looked favourably upon by the poetic judges. He is also performing next to some well established and top class performing poets. Typically modest about his poetry and glamorously attired in ugg boots and thermals under his shorts, he is relatively relaxed. Thankfully, he's on fifth out of eight, a good position in the running.

The evening is great fun, with Tug Dumbley, last year's winner and one of this year's judges, giving a rip-roaring and hilarious performance of 'The Dog with the Golden Arse!'. All the contestants give it their best and the standard is notably higher than the semi's. There's a break whilst the judges make their decision. There's only one World Cup Winner with the top prize of $2000, whilst all seven runners up come jointly second and leave with $300 a piece. Dad is relaxed and happy all the performing is over and looking forward to congratulating the winner.

The eight finalists are invited onto the stage.

Tub Dumbley takes the stage to announce the winner.

'And the winner is.......Len Martin'

What can I say - Nimbin's own had won, the audience roared, the Martin clan collectively leapt for sheer joy, cheering and whooping with absolute delight, Dad was completely and utterly flabberghasted - a Stunned Mullet as he said! It was one of the best moments of my life - and I'm so chuffed that Tam and I were there to share it with my lovely drama-queen of a father.

His face says it all - Len, in fetching thermals and uggs, with partner of 51 years Kay (aka Mum) in his arms and Poetry World Cup organiser Gail at his side, astonished, overwhelmed and this year's World Cup Winner!