Success in the Veggie garden

With all of this hot weather, Jim has been working hard in the Veggie Garden. - we planted some seeds, mulch with pea straw, and water every day. The results have been spectacular and this year the kangaroos haven't been in to munch on our veggies or seedlings. The rhubarb is doing well. This is the re-growth from the dry shrivelled up crown. There is truth in the notion that if you water the dry crown it will grow back!

The chillis look excellent, the silverbeet is happy and there are pumpkins everywhere. There are a couple of different types of pumpkin - a soft skinned, fast growing orange one (probably has a more technical name) , and the butternut pumkins are looking like they are the right shape. It's been a good year in the veggie garden.

Poor Reggie broke his leg

We've had a big week. Last week we lost Rosie and this week Reggie broke his leg. We think he was trying to jump over the fence because he was bored and lonely. He has a clean fracture of his leg, so he spent a few days at the Vet hospital and now has 4 pins and two clamps to hold the bone together. We brought him home today and he is looking very sad and miserable. Amazingly, he wants to hop around on his three legs and the Vet has told us to make sure that he rests. For those of you who know Reggie - that will be hard for him to do.

Anyway, for today at least, he has some nice sleeping pills to keep him snoozing in his bed - here is a photo of him today. He will have the pins and clamps in for 8 weeks, then he should be back to normal and bounding around like he was before. I hope so.

Helen

Remembering Rosie.

This week has been a sad week, because we lost our beloved pet Rosie. Rosie was a Shetland Sheepdog, a miniature Collie and she died this week aged 15. I remember when we first brought her home - she was a ball of fluff with tiny sharp teeth and long, sharp claws. She always hated to have her toe nails cut and I think it was worse for us as we tried to hold her down and she tried to wriggle away.

She was a smart dog, wickedly mischievous and would perform any trick that involved a food reward. As a puppy, Rosie loved the rain and the cold weather and her thick, woolly fur kept her snug and warm. As she got older, the cold winters bothered her as arthritis stiffened her bones - I am relieved that she won't have to endure any more of those bitterly cold winter days.


Over the past year, Rosie wasn't well, with a nasty ear infection that robbed her of her hearing and sometimes her balance. She was sensitive, loyal and friendly and will be sadly missed.

Rainbow Bridge -
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.


When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.


They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Bushfires in Bendigo

Last weekend we experienced the worst bushfires we have ever seen in Bendigo. The bush was tinder dry and there was a huge fire storm that raced across the bush and into the residential fringe of town.

The speed of the fire was amazing and the wind was ferocious, leaving a deadly trail of destruction. Here are a few photos of the weekend. There is a smell in the area, of ash and soot, and devastation - it's an unusual smell and once it gets up your nose it's hard to clear it away.

Jim was a hero and travelled to Redesdale to help protect the town, then came back to help out in Bendigo - what an amazing effort. Helen was helping out with Firefighter welfare and making sure everyone had enough food and drink. Here is a photo of Jim on Sunday - he took the media on a bus tour of the fire damage and one of them took his photo at this burnt out property.

There were ferocious fires all around the state and it was hard to imagine what it would be like to face up to a fire front like this. Would you have the courage to stay and fight?

The heat of the fire is so intense that it melts the metal in the cars and it runs along the ground like water over oil. It's hard to believe the intensity of the heat.

This photo below is of Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and Victorian Premier John Brumby. A picture tells a thousand words and I wonder what John Brumby was saying. You can see the pressure and concern on the PMs face - there is much bad news to come.


Please give generously to the Bushfire appeals and if you meet a CFA firefighter, give him or her a pat on the back and let them know how proud you are of what they do.

Helen