Lockdown Walks

 Have been enjoying getting out and walking during our one hour and now 2 hours of outdoor exercise. Have been working out where all the trails go on Tuggeranong Hill, checking out the views from Urambi Hills. We are lucky to have such nice places to walk and if you head for the hills it is easy to avoid the crowds.

Lockdown Project House and Garden

 

Just before lockdown Amy and I went looking for a new bird proof table and chairs for the kitchen and family room. We had been looking for a while, found one lovely table but with it being too heavy for 7 people to lift is was not going to be and option. We found something we liked at a Furniture Clearance House so that meant is was stock that was available. We paid for it on the Friday, it was delivered on the Monday and we went into lockdown on the Thursday so that was lucky. It also gave me time to move, sort, rearrange and set up the new furniture. We are really happy with the outcome and enjoying more macaw free time in the main house.

Now that spring is here and the weather has warmed up I have been spending lots of time in the garden. We were able to do contactless click and collect so first off I ordered some natives from Cool Country Natives. I have some grevilleas  planted here.

These are some of the tulips from the crate of Floriade tulips I won on an ABC Radio competition last year, I have planted them around the garden and are enjoying seeing them come up. The metal is to stop Luna deciding to have a nap on them!

I have planted some acacia cognata Limelights along the dry river bed, waiting for some grass plants to arrive to go in there as well.

Here is a table and chairs we got off Gumtree, we have got some metal paint to repaint them. The bonsai is one of Amy's that should start getting some leaves soon.

I have planted some Snow belle correas and some croweas along the back of the GF along with some King's Park callistemon.

The garden bed in front of the main house was extended, the landscaper used the new part to store some good soil for when I was planting out my natives. I have a couple more raised garden beds to go in there now, which I plant some veggies and flowers, have just planted out some cos lettuce seedlings.

I planted some dwarf broccoli which we have been enjoying and still getting little stalks growing up.

This is our old veggie patch, I had an apple tree and pomegranate tree growing, the pomegranate never fruited after 8 years so pulled that out, and the apple tree always had coddling moth so that went as well. It is going to become my berry patch. I have transplanted the strawberries, will transplant the  raspberries and am going to have one more try at growing blueberries, this time in pots.

Lockdown Projects - Amy and Her Plants

 Amy has discovered indoor plants, succulents and bonsai. Taking after her father when she takes something up it is all or nothing and in this case ALL. We have various plants and succulents taking over our house. The good thing is it gets her up and moving and out and about and being outside so that is good.

Amy has set up a greenhouse outside where she keeps some of her plants she is either trying to propergate or protect.

This is a gargoyle she got a few months back, I said I didnt' like it as it was ugly, apparently that is the point!

One of our projects has been assembling plants stands and tables to put all the plants Amy has been accumulating. She managed to buy someone's plant collection for marketplace for $15 which was the catalyst for this process. We have now rearranged the rumpus room into a plant room and it has become a nice living area.

A selection of her plants!

Some succulent leaves she has put in pots to propogate, not sure where they will all go if they turn into viable succulents!

Update on the Humans

 Bill has set up office out in the GF and the macaws are keeping him company. With lockdown Bill has been working from home, not only have we the extra room but the silver lining is that the birds have spent more time out there and are now used to it and have transitioned to it being their main residence. I am enjoying the peace and quiet ( most of the time) in the main house. It was worth every cent! Bill retires in November so lockdown has been a practice run for Bill for retirement.

Back in July we had a lovely Christmas in July Dinner with Bindi and the kids, Francine and Kelly and the missionaries from church it was a lovely meal and a nice chance to catch up.

I catch up with my friends Deb and Kerrie most weeks and we head out and about for a walk around Canberra somewhere. We all worked together at Southside Physio and Kerrie and I had kids at the same preschool and we leave around the corner from each other. Before lockdown we meet out at the Jerrabomberra Wetlands and had a look around the complex at Dairy Flat. They have built this water feature/industrial sculpture.

We discovered the Jasper and Myrtle Chocolate Shop and were able to sample a few things which lead to us purchasing a few things!

It was a bit showery so we explored the indoor areas before heading out and walking up to the wetlands.

Animal Update

 Have neglected my blog in the last few months so time for some updates! 

Jack and Luna are doing well, Jack still hobbles around but we have changed  his  painkiller medication and he seems to be moving a little better, eating better and is always barking at us to come and fetch him if he feels like he is missing out and wants to join us.

Lyra and Beau enjoy hanging out with Amy.

The swans on our little pond that Bill and I walk past on our morning dog walk have  produced 5 cygnets. The female swan had repartnered after the male swan was killed earlier in the year by some swans that came in and tried to take over, it was pretty harrowing watching this happen and not really being able to intervene with nature. We hadn't seen much of the new male swan, we could see the female swan sitting on her nest but were never quite sure if the eggs were fertile or not, so were pleasantly suprised to discover 5 cygnets appear one morning. We check on them each morning as we walk by and hope there are still 5 there and so far, so good and father swan is being very good at protecting them.

We discovered we had a kitten living in our garage a few weeks ago, it took about a fortnight of feeling and coaxing it out before Amy was able to catch it. We took it to the vet to check if it was microchipped, it wasn't but they were happy to keep it there as they work with a number of cat rescue places. It was a bit timid and skittish and seemed a lovely little kitten. Amy and I would have loved to have kept it but with Bill's asthma, dogs and birds it wouldn't be a good combination!

The macaws are enjoying the alfresco area and love hanging out there, they have moved into the GF and are sleeping out there at night. The spend the day out there with Bill who is using the GF as his home office as he is working from home due to the COVID lockdown. It is so much more peaceful in the main house and the eclectus don't miss the macaws at all. They do come in for visits with Bill during the day.