A new month, a new season and a cyclone

We are now halfway through March already and the new season of Autumn means that there is plenty to be done in the garden now that the heat has gone. We did have Cyclone Alfred to contend with though as it made its way down to SE Queensland and we were buffeted by winds in the early hours of Sunday morning on the 9th March after it crossed the coast. I thought our almost 100 year old house would blow away but somehow it survived and the only damage on our property was a large broken branch on the macadamia nut tree which fortunately landed on the pathway instead of the laundry. The cyclone certainly did cause a lot of damage to the beaches in SE Queensland and Northern NSW and several properties were flooded.  So now that the weather has returned to normal gardening duties can go ahead once more. 

Red Spider Lily

Damage to the macadamia nut tree

Of course, there was panic buying here in town just like during COVID so the shelves in the supermarket were almost empty plus the roads became flooded so the trucks which supply the supermarkets couldn't get through for a few days. 

I wondered why the misting machine was still turned on when veggie shelves were almost empty. 

In an attempt to get back into the swing of gardening I ordered some new seeds from The Seed Collection. I will be a bit late getting my sweet peas in but I wanted to wait until we got our new fence out front as I wanted to grow them along the fence. 

I have mentioned before that I have a lot of very clever friends and that includes Suzie Peace Pybus who has had two of her books published recently and they just get better and better. I could hardly put The Truth about Irene down it was so captivating. Our local library bought both books after I requested them so yours might too if you would like to read them. 

A couple of friends and I like to visit different coffee shops to support local businesses and recently we found one that was new to us at The Salvos and right next to it is an Op Shop. 

The Lighthouse Cafe makes really good cafe and you can also pay for a coffee for someone in need that the Salvos help. 

I have joined up all the pieces of the rag quilt I am making and now the tedious task of snipping all the seams can begin. Thankfully I bought some special scissors years ago which make this job easier. 

I thought the hydrangeas had stopped flowering for this year but noticed that the new one I bought which is growing in a pot had flowered once again. This one goes from white to green to pink but I am not sure in which order. It hasn't flowered very often but, I daresay, it enjoyed the 170mm or so of rain we had recently as these plants like a lot of water. 

I hope everyone is doing well and that the weather is being kind to you wherever you live.

Nearly the end of a wild summer in Queensland

 Well, what a summer it has been here in Queensland with heavy rain, floods and a cyclone. Thankfully we have been spared any damage unlike many other regions where houses have been demolished by wild storms. Late one afternoon I could see something strange through the windows and when I went outside the sunset was just beautiful. 

In the aftermath

Most of my readers are from the Northern Hemisphere so I thought I would update you about the ongoing flood crisis that has arisen as a result of Tropical Cyclone Debbie making landfall last Tuesday. As she turned into a rain depression and dropped almost 900mm (nearly 36 inches) of rain in some areas there has been widespread flooding down the Eastern coastline of Australia which involves two states, Queensland and New South Wales. That is a massive amount of rain which has to go somewhere and the city of Rockhampton is now on high alert for a record breaking flood which is expected to arrive on Wednesday. All this is happening while those up north who were hit by the cyclone are still trying to clean up and I am not sure if power is back on in some of these areas.

 

'Bye 'Bye TC Debbie

I am sure most Queenslanders would like to see the end of ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie. She made her presence felt in North Queensland at the beginning of the week and since turning into a rain depression has headed south leaving behind flooding and general mayhem.

Thoughts and prayers for those in North Queensland

I was going to do a soap post today to show you my latest experiment which actually turned out to be a bit underwhelming but I will amuse you with that next week as I just wanted to send my thoughts and prayers to those in the path of the approaching Cyclone Debbie.It is thought she might turn into a category 4 or above so that is one powerful cyclone.  

Help needed for Fijian villagers.

I am sure that most people living in Australia heard about Cyclone Winston last month when it devastated certain areas of Fiji and news of the monster storm may have even been viewed on TV screens in the Northern Hemisphere. You can see how badly damaged some areas were in these before and after satellite photos. A friend of mine who lives in Sydney is part of an organisation that is sending a container to Fiji in the next couple of weeks and you might like to help fill the container with some items that are needed.