Sick Gum and first garden bed

After much googling it seems my sick tree is a Marri tree (red gum /corymbia calophylla ) and is likely suffering from canker. There is no cure. It will eventually kill the tree. If this is the case it also effects flowering red gum trees. Mum recently told me she has a flowering red gum tree tube for me. Not much point in me planting it as they are the only other gum susceptible to this canker.








The tree that is the furthest from the house appears to be suffering. If it falls it will not hit the house but could damage trees closer to the house.

At this stage we will leave it there but it doesn't look too good. I've tried googling to see what I can find but all the things I've read seem to suggest that if it is weeping that much sap it must be dying.
black cockatoos being very aggressive here . they have completely stripped the bark off some other trees we had removed that were prob the same sort. But they've left the other trees we have standing, alone. don't think they are the same variety.


Today I made a start on a small experimental garden bed out the front of the house near the front door. After some excellent advice from" Fu" I've added organic soil conditioner and some pig poo to a section of the builders sand pad. After digging it in. ( Also added some kitchen scraps) I watered the area with a molasses -water mix in a watering can.

Still to get a couple of products when I go to Perth in a few weeks but I've made a start. I hope to plant something in the bed next weekend. Giving time for the soil additions to settle in.

On higher ground

Things I bet you didn't know.

It seems there is a downside to living on the highest block around here.

earlier in the week we received a note from the Water board to say they would be turning off the water between 8am and 4pm yesterday. Fine. We prepared. Filled the kettle. Put water in 2 buckets ( for loo flushing) made sure our several water bottles ( 2L ones) were all filled etc. I arrived home at 5pm to G not happy at all. Water had still not been turned back on. He'd rung the water board who told him water was on and they didn't understand why all our taps were blowing was air. They said they'd send someone out. Around quarter to 6 the man arrived. it seems because we are uphill from everywhere around us the pipes needed a good flushing after whatever work was done so that we could get water where as everyone around us would have already had water. :( hmmm

The emergency call man wasn't too happy that this hadn't been done. ( 35 kms + traveling time to get out here)

He was here for about 90 mins. Had to flush water from 2 outlet pipes one on the block next to us and one down the road a bit and then had water running from the fire hydrant point across the road from us for close on an hour. I hate to think of all the water that we saw running into the stormwater drains. He said there was a lot of black, dirty water coming through and that was why he'd run the water out for a while. Finally by 7pm we were allowed to turn our taps on. yippee.

The other downside I've mentioned before. The power earthing issue. Due to our rocky block, being the current, end of the line ( no pun intended) and supposedly because we are again on a high block. blahhh This problem seems to have been fixed now. Thank goodness.

same view.

Same view but now the sun is out.

Maybe 3 hours later.

Standing at the sliding door looking out past the alfresco. Lots of sand to cover up sometime down the track. A pity I couldn't capture it properly on the camera. The view is much clearer. Mist in the distance. The plum trees distinctive and the view to the paddock behind and the forest beyond. Oh well. A shame as it looks quite lovely in real life but dirty and dull in the photo.

Time to sit with a cup of tea and look out over it while everyone else is still asleep and all is quiet except for the magpies I can hear outside.

As you can see we still have stuff all over the place. The stack in front of the capping includes all the leftover carpet, and a few things that belong in the garage as well as my little old sewing machine and some painting gear that hasn't made it to the garage yet. Dh is working on sorting out the garage atm so these things will be disappearing soon.






Love the splashes of red in the kitchen.