In Our Own Back Yard – The Begonia House

A few days ago there was a small article in the local paper telling that the Begonia House was open.  A similar article appears each year, and each year I tell myself “I must go and have a look”, and each year that is as far as it gets.

Not this time!  Yesterday in my lunch break I finally went.  Please join me.

Here is the reason for my visit.  I can’t remember when I last visited, I’m guessing it is probably about twenty years ago.

The Begonia House, situated in Machattie Park, right in the middle of Bathurst, was opened in 1936.  The collection came from England and the house is only open during the flowering season for March and April, so I think I am seeing them at their best.

Let’s go inside.  There was no one else there, so I could take my time to soak it all in.

The colours are so vibrant, however there is no scent.

Here are just  small few.

Notice the buds on the next two.  See how they open like a clam shell.  I almost expected to find a pearl in the one on the right.

There were also a few other varieties of begonias where the flowers weren’t so flashy, but the plants were lovely just the same.

When you see the flowers at their peak, you start to realise why this collection is so famous.  It really is a credit to the council staff who maintain them in such wonderful condition.

I’ll have to make a return visit a bit sooner than 20 years into the future.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some more of our lovely park.

Another Weekend

You will probably think I am obsessed with mushrooms.  I’m not, but due to this unseasonably warm, wet weather, I keep seeing interesting ones.  These were beside the driveway.  Much bigger than the previous ones, being about the size of a small saucer in diameter.  No, we won’t be eating these.  I loved the way they went to a peak in the centre.  Very cute.

Yesterday morning, it was not raining, but everything was very damp and there wasn’t a  breath of wind.  Perfect conditions for burning the pile of rubbish that has been accumulating down the paddock.  We had planned to have a bonfire at some stage, but it just hasn’t happened, so it was being burnt anyway.

Mick wasn’t sure if it would light, but once he got it going it burnt beautifully and left very little ash.  I love the way the heat shimmer showed up in this photo.

We had to go into town today and were greeted by this glorious rainbow as we drove home.

The kangaroos were all sitting around down the driveway.  We don’t normally see this many in a mob.  They were quite happy to sit and have their photo taken.

Off they go.

What a Surprise

Remember a couple of weeks ago I went along to the Farmers Markets.

Well, the Council had a competition going in conjunction with the Sustainability Expo that they held…….and…….I was one of the lucky winners.

I didn’t win the pretty pink push bike (probably just as well too) but I did win four gift vouchers to the local Whole Food Co-Op for a weekly family sized fruit and vege box.  How good is that!

Today I picked up my first, rather large, white box. 

It was quite exciting to open it and see what was inside.

Here are all the goodies.  They are all so lovely and fresh. 

Basil, grapes, lettuce, two types of beans, onions, potatoes, apples, spinach, spring onions, carrots, egg plants, beetroot, tomatoes, broccoli and bananas.  What a bounty!

I was going to make spinach crepes yesterday, but ended up not picking any spinach in case some came in the box.  We will have spinach crepes tomorrow.  Tonight we will have a stir fry with lots of veges.

I already have some nice cabbage and cauli in the fridge and we are finally picking some beans in our garden.  Our egg plants are also ready to pick, so we will be having loads of vege meals for a while.  It will be so good.

It is the perfect time of the year to receive this prize.  I’ll probably try to arrange for my next box in a fortnight’s time.  We should be through all this lot by then.

PS. I don’t know why the photos in my last post displayed blurry, as the originals are nice and clear.  I hope these display better.

Less is More

We’ve been gradually decluttering our house in readiness to put it on the market.  Our collection of kitchenalia has grown over time and taken over a corner of our kitchen.

We just squeezed each new item in among the others. What a mess.

Much, much less is so very much more.

 

That’s better.

Now you can actually see what is there…..Grandma’s cake tin with a hunting scene, my first little patchwork wall hanging, a few interesting green handled bits and bobs to rummage through, a souvenir tea strainer with a “Municipality of Bathurst” on it that I found in the southern highlands, “Ashelford” soft drink bottles from the time that Bathurst had its own brand.  The round blue and red Arnotts tin has Australian prime ministers shown around the top and is a great resource for trivia questions.  The Milo tin celebrates 60 years of the company, we also have one for 70 years and I’ll have to keep an eye out for one this year as it is 80 years this year.

The timber top of the dresser was made by me at woodwork classes in the early 90s, when TAFE still did lifestyle courses.  Mick and I learnt lots in those classes. I also crocheted the scalloped shelf edging.

We still have all the other bits and bobs packed away and once we have moved we will work out a better way to showcase small sections of the collection on a rotational basis.  The dresser will probably go into my new sewing room.

And now, a before and after.

On the Weekend

I had a quick catch up with Chooky yesterday.  I met her down at Anni’s and there was a surprise get together.  Deb just happened to pop in and Roz was taking a class.  Anni was even in residence.  Bonus. I’ve borrowed this photo from Chooky.

Mum asked me if we had found any more mushrooms  since the extra rain.  The answer was “No”.

Then, I found quite a variety in the garden, while weeding.  These are definitely not edible, then again, maybe they are – I’m certainly not risking it.

This first little one was only about the size of a 5c piece.

The next one was about the same size, but with a couple even smaller.  They were tucked down the side of a sleeper in a raised bed.

These were the biggest, being about the size of a 20c piece.

Autumn is the perfect season for mushrooms.  The pine forests around Oberon (about half an hour from us) are famous for their mushrooms.  Many people come up from Sydney to go foraging.  There is a wide variety, but you need to know what you are doing.  Some are rather weird looking.  There is even a website to assist here.

The only ones I’ve ever seen are big red toadstools with white spots.  Yes, just like all the cute pictures we see.  Definitely not for eating.

Back at our place, we had a magpie pretending to be a finial on our garden shed.  He sat there for ages.

And, Mother Nature put on another wonderful show on Saturday night.  Quite stunning.  Yes, it was a case of “Red at night shepherd’s delight”.  The weather was glorious today, quite hot and rather steamy.  We are really enjoying this Indian summer.

The Weekend That Was

Yesterday morning I ventured into town for the local Farmers Market at the showground.  I don’t often get to attend, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Being the main harvest time of the year meant there was a great variety of produce.

There was plenty for the garden, once again being the perfect time for planting, especially after the rain we have received.

Inside the pavilions there were more stalls, mainly the providores.  Oh, so much yummy stuff.

Of course, all this shopping works up a thirst and appetite, so the local service clubs kept everyone fed and local coffee was ready to go.

We are very lucky in our area to have such wonderful fresh produce. 

An added attraction this month was the Sustainable Living Expo hosted by the council.  There were several interesting stalls.

Part of the Expo was the Zoo to You, where an incredibly interesting talk was given.  We met “Tonka”, the baby wombat.  He followed his adopted Dad around all the time.  So cute to see.  I didn’t know wombats had an armour plated butt, till yesterday.

We also learnt a little about possums.

I had never thought of bearded dragons as being solar powered before.  Apparently, they are the the perfect pet - you can just cool them down and they will go into a little hibernation while you head off on holidays.  No needing someone to come and feed them while you are away.  Likewise, I had never thought about the fact there are farms commercially growing cockroaches and other bugs to feed reptiles.  I’m sure this isn’t vitally important knowledge to have acquired, but interesting and entertaining, just the same.

There were storms all around our area over the weekend.  Bathurst received a couple of downpours, but we didn’t get a drop.  It did, however, create a stunning sunset yesterday.

We have noticed that some of our plants are a little confused with the weather.  They seem to think it is spring.

I always thought a Nashi should flower in October, not March.  Maybe it thinks it is in the northern hemisphere.

Our neighbour has a row of Manchurian pears in full bloom.

Our may bush is also confused.

Mind you, it got so hot, so quickly in spring that they didn’t flower properly then.  I just hope they get back into whack after winter.

We have a few other plants giving a final display before we start to get frosts.

 

The bees were very industrious on the butterfly bush.  There were even a couple of black and cream butterflies, but they wouldn’t sit still long enough for me to take a photo.

Finally, one more little rose bud.