long-toothed hinterland dweller

For the pain and the joy

One of the eclectic selection of blogs I am in the habit of reading regularly is that of the sassy and irreverent 'Dooce', alias Heather B. Armstrong.   Her post yesterday describes her feelings on the death this week of an aunt; it is uncharacteristically touching and sincere.  It was a post that make me pause for a long time after reading it.

In the time since I began reading weblogs, I've realized that when it comes to writing about death, bloggers tend to do it very well .  I am grateful to many for sharing their very personal and emotional experiences in recent months.  While knowing it is therapeutic for them to do so, I am aware that for those of us reading there is an opportunity to gain a little more in understanding, insight and compassion from each one.

It will be a long time before I forget the evening, very late, in June this year, when I came across Klondike Kate's just posted, distraught account of the sudden loss of her husband a few days before: The Longest Day of the Year.   There were as yet no comments; and there I was sitting alone in front of my screen on the other side of the world, listening to this stranger as she keened and mourned the loss of her man.  It was real ...  and I was feeling with her and for her.

Blogs are full of farewells to the dying, and mourning for the dead. (with apologies to Longfellow)

So it's for the pain as well as the joy.  That's what keeps me coming back to roam the blogosphere.

Kitty capsule or calaboose?

After watching THE NEW INVENTORS programme as I often do on Wednesdays, I am always left feeling quite chuffed about those clever and creative people who come up with such glaringly obvious ideas to make life simpler or safer.  Following up tonight's programme with a bit of prowling on the web, I found a whole website where such people can publicise their inventions and seek out interested sponsors and/or manufacturers.

Having a bit of a thing about cats - and more specifically, any measure that keeps them in their place - naturally this one took my eye. 

But if you read carefully you will find this is not just the carry-box it appears to be; its main function is to temporarily confine the creature in order to administer medication or other other bodily treatments.  Such a simple but clever concept!

It's probably not necessary to purchase a manufactured box; I like the idea of being able to recycle some of those tough cardboard containers that are so difficult to break down for disposal.  Depending on the individual cat's size and shape, they could be boxed up into a shoe box ... or a pizza carton ... or the container the new toaster came in.  Ollie, of course, would require something bigger again.  I have a printer box in my garage that might do the trick.

And just think, these boxes could have other uses too ... 'Scratch the furniture once more and it's into the Kitty Box you go!'   

Not having any experience of cat handling, I'm not sure how easy a task it would be to persuade Kitty to voluntarily hop in.  But fortunately it's never going to be my problem.

A Toothy Smile

  This Hinterlander has had little to smile about these past two weeks.  Suffering an excruciating ache in one of those long teeth, she took packets of painkillers, had two emergency trips to the dentist, two agonizing sessions of root canal work and finally started on a course of antibiotics before finding any relief.

It felt more than a little embarrassing to have to cancel two appointments because of a paltry 'toothache' and it was downright annoying to have to miss a long-awaited movie - not to mention the breathtaking excitement of the annual pelargonium show.

But at least she was feeling well enough by the weekend to join in the celebrations for Miss Muffet's second birthday.  (M.M. is now a past master of candle blowing-out, having staged the performance on three separate occasions with three different cakes to please the various groups of doting family members who couldn't be there on the day).

But Long Tooth's newly-kindled relationship with the dentist is far from over.  She only wishes she'd been more conscientious about caring for her teeth before they reached the long - and the painful - stage.  But like everything to do with our health, we usually only think about doing the right thing when it's already too late.  And we are not ready yet to become the Toothless Hinterlander.

Fancy living in a water-tank?

This striking house, currently for sale on the NSW South Coast, was inspired by the style of award-winning architect Glenn Murcutt - perhaps Australia's answer to Frank Lloyd Wright?

Described by the agent as a 'hangar on stilts' and sitting on 19 hectares with spectacular ocean views, it is self-sufficient in power and water.

I have always found Glenn Murcutt style houses appealing because of their reliance on cheap, readily available materials and their eco-friendly design with minimal impact upon the natural landscape.  Am not so sure that I would want to actually live in one though.  The interiors are generally open plan and rather sparse, with few nooks and crannies and little storage space.  It's also unlikely that you would pick one up for the sort of money you would expect to be paying for what generally looks like a rather up-market tin shed.

If you fancy the look of this one and have $2.5 million to spare, while it is still on the market you can find more details here.

But if you are handy with your hands and have a good basic tool set you might be able to pick up a brand new tank and come up with a DIY version for a whole lot less.

Garden commoners

Where I grew up, in the semi-desert country of South Australia, it didn't rain often.  Water from the garden hose was expensive, so most peoples' gardens consisted of a range of hardy old stand-bys - chief of which was the geranium.  They were popular because you could always depend on them to provide 'a bit of colour' and cuttings were free and quick to strike; but the leaves and flowers had an overpowering smell and you would never think of bringing them inside.

It's taken me 50-odd years to appreciate these humble flowers - now known by their more correct name, pelargonium.  Little did I think that I would one day be admiring them and cultivating them - even paying money for them!   My favourites have become the sweet-smelling, 'scented' varieties that I was never aware of in my geranium despising youth. 

With the scents of rose and lemon, nutmeg and cinnamon - and ginger, peppermint, chocolate, apple and apricot - each also has its own distinctive bloom and leaf shape.  As well, there are all the dozens of evocatively named hybrids and crossed varieties.  Once you start collecting, there is always just one more you have to have.  For me it's the coconut (Pelargoinium grossularioides) that I now desire - and a replacement for my lime-scented one that died.

The dainty bush in the pot is the wonderfully aromatic 'Tutti Frutti', a cross between the 'apple' and 'nutmeg' varieties.  Just a light brush against the foliage will release a waft of its perfume - which is why it sits in a handy spot beside the door.

This weekend I am eagerly looking forward to joining all the other old gardening biddies at the Brisbane Pelargonium and Geranium Society's annual show.  Last year I came home with some real treasures, so who knows what I'll find this time.

Out and about

Back again after a break from blogging, having enjoyed a four day weekend on the road checking out another hinterland - the one behind the Queensland Sunshine Coast.  First we paid a visit to my sister-in-law and husband camping on their bush block inland from Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay.  We saw their house-site, their water-bore and the wallabies and the dozens of birds that visit them for seed each day.  Then we travelled further inland to Nanango where a cousin lives on a semi-rural 5 acres, with cows for neighbours.  At their place there were more visiting kangaroos, wallabies, hares and various species of bird-life that drop in for a feed.  Finally we called on some friends near Caloundra and they too were hand-feeding a family of resident magpies.

Back in our own backyard - this week a pair of pink and grey galahs (Cacatua roseicapilla) have been checking out our appealing tree hole as a possible nest site.  But after two days, they also discarded the idea and moved on.

Meanwhile our resident pair of plover look as though they too, are in nesting mode.  Unfortunately their habit of laying their eggs on the ground in an unprotected location has brought them nothing but grief in recent years.  To date they have been unsuccessful in raising a chick to maturity.  Last year our neighbour on his ride-on mower unknowingly ran over their eggs on the very same day that we, in great excitement, had just discovered them. 

Watching and feeding birds is one of the pleasant indulgences that we retirees can make time for and enjoy.

No buff gardening here

I found the link on Suzette's blog too late to solemnly observe WORLD NAKED GARDENING DAY last Saturday.  What a blow!  In the current pleasantly warm spring weather and the seclusion of our Hinterland Acre, my other half and I could have happily caste off our clothing and given our support.

But for goodness sake, what a foolhardy idea that would have to be!  For a start, for any serious outdoor activity I NEVER venture out without a hat - plus, for real hands-on gardening - gloves and sturdy shoes.  So even if I took all the rest off, it could hardly be called naked.

I have no objection to nudity - and in fact at home I mostly swim in the raw because of the detrimental effects pool chemicals have on swimwear - but I never inflict the ghastly sight upon others. 

The thought of working nude though – exposed to the ravages of sunburn, plus prickles, scratches and mozzie bites ...  splinters in the bottom, rashes on the knees, insects crawling into crevices...  and perhaps even the odd dangly bit getting caught up in machinery ...!

Not on your nellie!

It's an interesting web-site though, with some good links.

Leaning tree

This enormous old eucalypt, with a girth of maybe 5 feet, is quite alive and growing on the stony creek bank just beyond our back boundary.  It has evidently been listing that way for a very long time as some of the large side branches are growing perpendicular to the ground, as though to keep it balanced.

I must say that every time we have heavy rain and the ground becomes sodden I rush out to see whether it has fallen yet.  There'll be an almighty crash when it eventually happens.

Holding hands

Meet another one of our many fruit trees - Citrus medica (var. sarcodactylis) known as the Fingered Citron or Buddha's Hand.

Today I held these two tiny Buddha's Hands in mine.   If the tree is watered and tended well we can expect each one to grow much larger than my hand and to ripen to a lemony yellow. 

This is a fascinating citrus variety that we have grown more for its novelty value than any particular usefulness.  There are photos of the bizarre-looking mature fruit here and here.

For more information and ideas on how they may be used I went to the Chinese food site Flavour and Fortune where I learned this:

• For over a millennium, the Chinese and Japanese have prized the bizarre Buddha's Hand Citron, which looks like a cross between a giant lemon and a squid, and can perfume a room for weeks with its mysterious fragrance. Normal citrons (Citrus medica L.) resemble big, rough lemons, their thick yellow rinds often used for candying. A hybrid, though some say a mutant form of this citrus, the Buddha's Hand (var. sarcodactylis), splits longitudinally at the end opposite the stem into segments that look remarkably like long thin gnarled human fingers. Some of the many more popular names for this oval-shaped fruit that can be as long at 200 millimeters include Five Finger Mandarin (wu zhi gan), Fragrant Citron (xian yuan), and Fingered Citron (zhi yuan).

Here you can find the full article including some exotic recipes.

Since our young tree is still barely 3 feet high and there are another two buds higher up, we may have to sacrifice some of the fruit this year to ensure that the tree continues to thrive.

Lady's fingers and Buddha's hand

It's time for a post on our bananas - the Ladyfinger variety.  Few people know that bananas are actually classified as a herb, so we can count them among the other herbs we have planted in the garden.  The photo in the top left hand corner of this blog shows our stand of 3 or 4 mature trunks.  They were one of the few food-bearing plants in place when we bought this property.  Surrounded by weeds and overgrown with lantana vine, they had apparently been there quite a while and, with no attention from us, continued to bear happily - a bunch or two each year.  But last year the fruit was so small it was not worth picking.  The bananas were clearly victims of the drought - as well as the depleted soil. 

Bananas, apart from being hungry feeders, also need ample water. So last year, having cleared aside the encroaching bush, we decided to give them the attention they required.  We removed half a dozen old fallen trunks, then several of the baby suckers - to be planted elsewhere in better soil - then we fertilized, mulched and watered the three remaining trunks.

This spring we have been rewarded with what the texts books call an 'inflorescence' - the beginning of what we hope will be a large healthy bunch. As the Qld DPI (Department of Primary Industry) describes it:

' The banana inflorescence shooting out from the heart of the tip of the stem, is at first a large long-oval, tapering purple-clad bud.  As it opens, the slim, nectar-rich, tubular, toothed, white flowers appear.  They are clustered in whorled double rows along the floral stalk, each cluster covered by a thick waxy hood-like bract, purple outside and deep red within.  The flowers occupying the first 5 - 15 rows are female...'  The bees are already humming about eager to fertilise them and eventually they will form the stem of bananas, made up of maybe a dozen hands and up to 60 or more individual bananas.

In the meantime another three suckers have appeared at the base of one trunk.  One will be left to replace its parent after it has borne fruit, while the others need to be removed.  I can see it wouldn't take long for us to develop our own mini banana plantation.  We will resist however, being very aware from our earlier production phase, of just how difficult it is to dispose of even one good-sized bunch of fruit.

But now, to add to the excitement of having a pregnant banana, we also have some tiny fruits forming on our Buddha's Hand (Citron) tree.  These unusual and grotesquely shaped fruits will I hope provide some interesting blog photos when they mature in a few months' time.