MORE RAIN…

…though, mercifully, this stopped after only four hours! I did hobble* up to the back fence to look at the neighbour’s drain; it looks clear. I also picked a few flowering stems that had been snapped by the wind and rain.

So…a bit of lull in blogging.That’s because I still have books to finish and I am still somewhat at the mercy of unreliable deliveries. Supplies, from lavatory paper and dog food to wine and pasta all reach us here in the North, via fleets of trucks, along the great Bruce Highway (and at the very mention of the name I think of Monty Python. Don’t you?).

But that route was been closed due to flood damage far to the south.https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTi-0cCtodDvQb8c8ZibA6dkd8bDJMSHmvX9ARjWk1xQopgHU3X (image from Gympie Times web page) 

Some supplies are coming through. But not haberdashery supplies. Which means that I must either wait for the thread colour I need…or change my chosen thread. I know. Small potatoes.

But, while I waited for some glue to dry I thought I’d join the floral parade over at Jane’s blog. Not much in my garden is pickable, but today I have some Ixora, Duranta and a ground orchid and some rather battered Angelonia.

Duranta “Geisha Lady”, Angelonia and an almost-spent Spathiglottis.

 

 

 

 

Ixora

gratuitous cropped shot

 

* Hobbled because I have a sore foot. Not quite sure why and as the bills mount I think I’ll just mutter something about the passing years and try not to spend too much time on my feet.

YES, THE EARTH MOVED !

Yesterday saw what is being called the “greatest defeat “(or victory, if you favour that side!) in Queensland politics since…I don’t  know. A long time.

But I promise  this is NOT turning into a political blog! For one thing, I am easily bored by political debate. Besides, I don’t follow these particular gee-gees with much interest so can’t name them, their trainers, track records, betting odds…

But I did grab a pencil and make a very quick scrawl when I heard the new Member for the seat  previously held by the  Treasurer. One of the things she “absolutely wants to address” is public transport.

And this rang a silly bell  as her new boss, incoming Premier Campbell Newman, was once Mayor of Brisbane and one of the things he spent public money on was a free public bicycle scheme. Laudable? Perhaps. But no one rode his bikes!

I don’t think John Kudelka has anything to worry about!  If you click the image you should be able to read it.

Of more interest to me is some other earth-shaking news.* The other day, ‘way out  west of Oodnadatta, a ‘quake was recorded at almost magnitude 7.  That’s quite a shake! Of course, out there there are no high-rise apartments and crowded cities. And, fortunately, no nuclear reactors  or “waste facilities.” There are small settlements and these would feel after-shocks. You can read more here. I suppose my interest in  this stuff comes from having been knocked on my  butt  by ‘quakes as a little kid. Today? I could probably hold my balance in all but a big  shake!

I could make this a meteorological post. But I wont. I still have some mopping-up to do!

So I’ll leave you with these chaps. 

Pee Ess…it’s raining again.

*   Don’t be rude! You know this is not a naughty blog! 

I WONDER IF…

…I made a carrot cake with these beauties, would it be purple?

Yes, these are purple carrots. Aren’t they just gorgeous? If you’d been around a few hundred (or thousand!) years  ago they’d have been common. The orange colour was only introduced, from a natural mutation, by Dutch breeders/ growers relatively recently. A popular story has it that a zealous Dutchman, hoping to curry favour with the House of Orange, developed the orange carrot. The Carrot Museum (yes, there is a carrot museum!) has some interesting facts.

Purple or orange, I love carrots. *

Just when we thought we’d skipped our Big Wet…

Torrential rain made the drive to work “interesting.” Lots of drivers taking risks. Not a policeman in sight. ** And My Man couldn’t travel out West, as scheduled, because roads were closed. In some places, serious flooding. Yes, some of the places still reeling from the 2011 floods.

I have been clearing rain pits here and next door. I’ve given up on trying to clear water from the carport. The sun and the breeze can do it. I’m flat-out dealing with laundry!

Oh! As if floods were not bad enough, we have the State Election on Saturday. It rather looks as though the Labour Party will lose. In a landslide. In this weather, I’d say “mudslide” might be the word!

I have a printing day tomorrow so I’m off to sort some inks.

 

*If Afghanis make a powerful alcoholic brew from carrots, maybe that’s why the West is hell-bent on staying there? Carrot-based rocket fuel? Hmm…

**This afternoon, in brilliant sunshine, a few metres from the end of my street, with sod-all traffic, Mr. Plod had stopped someone.