First swim of the summer

We had the usual unseasonably hot week that happens sometime in October and surprises everyone every year ... it is usually a sitting week and was again this year but guess what? it doesn't matter! I can go to the beach for a few days anyway!!! Hahahahaha, the novelty has not yet worn off.

The sun was warm but the water was COLD. I wore a wetsuit and still did a lot of squealing. I was on my own so ate a lot of potatoes and made more library bags for the local school ... the quilt group has a mysterious stash of fabric that washes into the shed. Donations I guess but it's fun to dig through and make library bags from.

Yes Pam, 1830s is definitely considered deeply historic. Canberra heritage lists buildings from the 1930s for fun so anything European-built from the nineteenth century is like the middle ages round here. 

Bedervale

Another Arts Trail activity we did was go out to Bedervale, which is a historic homestead just out of town. It's interesting because it had seven generations of one family there from the 1830s - who never threw anything out - then passed to the current owners in the 1970s who sold the contents to the National Trust to raise some cash but kept everything in place. It's unusual in Australia to get something with original contents; often they buy them back in when they start opening it to the public. 

It has the most amazing setting just on the other side of the ridge line from town. It was a beautiful day with a very big sky ... they'd invited a plein air painting group out for the weekend so the gardens were dotted with happy people behind easels and wearing shady hats. We did a house tour too which was fun - the owners still live there but not in the older rooms, which were freezing. It must be impossible in winter. 

We continued to get ideas beyond our station in life ... and available gardening manpower. At one point is was 36 000 acres - mostly cattle - with 58 cottages on the property - mostly convicts - and self contained with everything from blacksmith to granary. Serious outbuildings and lovely old trees.

We'd met the current owner at gardening club, so were able to ask some more detailed questions about planting ... including a wonderful bunya pine. They take 100 years to grow but I think we're going to plant one anyway. 

the Arts Trail

This weekend the little town featured on the council's Art Trail - I think there are four towns that do it over successive weekends. It was also the long weekend - and lovely weather - so lots of Canberrans passing through on their way to the coast. We went to the antique / bric-a-brac / collectible fair, where we didn't buy anything, because nobody needs that stuff in their house. We had a look in at the quilts that they'd hung in the library, including one of mine, very exciting. All the shops were open for once so we wandered down the main street in the sunshine and popped into shops we haven't been into before. Normally you could shoot a cannon down the street with no risk of injury so it was fun to see everyone out and about. 

The garden continues to bloom and blossom. This tree (an apple? possibly?) is gloriously covered, along with the pom pom tree.

We think this is a Persian lilac. I pruned it not knowing anything about it in the winter, which turns out to be the right thing to do, and it's making very pretty flowers which smell lovely. 

The grass is sprouting slightly - it may die off in the late summer Dad, but it's got to be better to have something there than nothing? I will do more remediation in autumn and compare success rates. 

And here is another before and after; this one the bottom rose bed (we are calling it the 'agapanthus bed' even though there are agapanthus in every bed). It was impossible to weed in any normal sense so I had to mattock off the top layer of grass and soil with no respect for the agapanthus ... bulb chips flying everywhere. They will recover, and the roses seem happier to have some space even if their shallower roots did get a bit mattocked. The before shot isn't even proper before - I had pruned the roses - which were all well over ten feet tall. It was insane.

On Sunday I went to some more arts trail things while my husband went to pick up number one and girlfriend who came out to see us and stay the night. Which is very exciting, they are always super busy but it's so lovely to have them come and see us when everything is looking so pretty. Number one had been at an aerospace conference in Sydney so we heard all about that, sounds amazing (what we could understand, which wasn't much).

A new bike

After contemplating it for six months I finally took the plunge and bought myself a new ebike! We are about four kilometres from town, which is slightly too far to walk for a loaf of bread, but an easy 10-15 minute bike ride. And easy is definitely the word on an ebike - it just kicks in with a boost when you need it, especially on the hills. There is one hill in town that I still feel it going up (in the thighs, aaaargh) but generally it is a delight. I have a big saddle bag so have gone into the library, the shop, and into quilters .. not art class though because I have A3 sheets of pastel paper that might be a bit logistically difficult.

But my first ride to test it out was in the opposite direction out on our road. It is a narrow country road with traffic at 100 km/hr .. but not much traffic. I felt pretty safe, although I wouldn't ride it at dusk or dawn. I got a mountain bike so I can go on the side of the road if I need to, and a stylish high-vis vest to wear :)

Mostly though it was absolutely delightful. I've been down that road before in a car, but a bike is different. You can see the sights and hear the sounds and smell the smells ... I did get swooped of course but only once and it didn't connect, just startled the crap out of me! Bloody magpies.