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| One of the roses I am trying to keep alive in the heat |
Apparently the wind brought down a tree or a branch which landed on powerlines causing a fire which was not far from our water treatment plant. It doesn't take much to start a fire at the moment as everything is tinder dry. Some fires will keep burning until we get good rain.
Currently there is a huge fire near Sydney which looks quite frightening and in that state six people have died and over 680 homes have been lost. 100 fires are still burning there. Tomorrow is making firefighters nervous due to the predicted heat and here it will be 38C but other areas will be over 40C. I think I will take myself off to the movies and sit in the aircon.
We now have tighter water restrictions and no longer have the "Permanent Conservation Measures" which were brought in after the 2011 floods when we could water before 10am and after 4pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Now we still can't water on a Monday but can use a hose from 5.30pm to 6.30pm three days a week depending on whether you have odd or even house numbers and on the other days can use a bucket or watering can before 8am. Unfortunately some towns have already run out of water and have to have it trucked in each day. I do hope it rains soon but we seem to have been saying that for some time now.
I am just trying to keep my roses and a few plants alive and have let the others go. Even the succulents are suffering. It is too hot to be out in the garden so I have given up until it rains and cools down somewhat.
Christmas isn't that far away and when I am in a shopping centre and see everyone pushing trolleys full of food and gifts I feel quite detached from it all as it will just be a quiet lunch for us and my sister as usual so I have no need to busy myself with cooking and making gifts but I know that isn't the case for others who have family visiting. If you are into crochet you might be interested in the 12 Weeks of Gifting on Fiber Flux which is a great place to visit to get ideas for gifts.
I hope everyone keeps cool in the coming week if you are in the areas where the heatwave is going to hit. I guess those in the Northern Hemisphere are trying to get warm. Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are in this great world of ours.
It is so hard to see our country and our gardens suffering. Roses are pretty tough -yours may look terrible, but will probably be OK. We are saving water as the hot water takes a while to come through -3 litres a time in the kitchen, more in the shower. Then we use it outside or bucket it in the loos as a water saving measure
ReplyDeleteI believe roses can cope with the heat so hopefully they will be okay. They are in pots so I have moved some of them. Yes we are back to the water routine we had before the 2011 floods.
DeleteIt’s heart breaking to see the devastation caused by the fires. I hope you get rain very soon, Chel.
ReplyDeleteYes Nil, rain would be very welcome here as the land is parched. The farmers can't plant crops so our food bill will go up too.
DeleteChel, I am working off my very new phone here and you are my first interaction:) so hope the message delivers on. I feel for you with such severe water restrictions. We can only water on certain days but otherwise not too bad. Won't be long though. Biggest fear is indeed the fires. You stay hydrated though.Cheers, Pauline
ReplyDeleteChel did my comment come to you as anonymous or Happy Retirees Kitchen,or not at all. As I said I am doing this on my new phone. Thanks Pauline x
ReplyDeletePauline, it came through with the link to your blog. I find it so hard commenting on a blog with my phone.
ReplyDeleteWell just look at that beautiful hollyhock! The drought continues here & we’ve been breathing in smoke from bushfires for 4 months now. A number of people that I personally know lost their homes in the bushfire that tore through their village 4 weeks ago. It’s just so sad. We are surrounded by a ring of either burnt out or burning land 20 - 40 km from our place. We’re on tank water so have our own water saving measures in place. Some plants/trees have died, some just surviving, nothing flourishing. Lyn xo
ReplyDeleteLyn, it is just sad to hear about all those homes lost. I am waiting to see what the third colour is from the hollyhock seeds you gave me. I am trying to keep them alive as I need the seeds to plant them elsewhere as they will be wrecked when/if my hubby decides to get another fence which is sorely needed as the old wooden one was broken when a huge cactus fell on it years ago. You have such a lovely garden so I hope you don't lose everything in this dreadful weather.
DeleteChel, it is so dry down here in NSW and we have been getting horrendous dust storms for at least 3months. Today was all smoke from the many bush fires even they are huge distances from us.
ReplyDeleteI was reading on our local fb page that many people in town are having their jade plants flowering and one plant is over 50 years old, so they obviously need very dry weather to flower, or is it end of life and they are sending out their seeds for new plants.
cheers
Yes we have had lots of dust here too. Those fires in NSW are horrendous and I do hope it rains soon to bring some relief. So many have lost their homes and at this time of the year so many businesses shut down that rebuilding would have to wait until they open again. This time last year our builder and the sub contractors were working hard to finish their work for the year before everything shut down. I really feel for those who have lost everything especially those who aren't young any more.
ReplyDelete