Normal life

[MelbourneValiant]

Winter and 14c in Melbs, brass monkeys here. Seen it was 24c in Perth t'other day Barry. Deffo need a move to Brissy or Cairns.

[Aussie Rules]

Winter and 14c in Melbs, brass monkeys here. Seen it was 24c in Perth t'other day Barry. Deffo need a move to Brissy or Cairns.

 

The mild autumn/winter days continue for us Bon'Ami Usually the temperature has dropped to around daytime 17c, night-time 4c, rain belting down, warm clothing being worn and the slow combustion burning during the evening and night hours. (Of course, and as you know, our Prime Minister tells us there is no such thing as climate change :rolleyes: )

 

When it gets too cold in this neck of the woods Ann and me head out to the warm desert country east of Perth :D

[MelbourneValiant]

I Spent a few nights in Alice Springs, one night was sweaty 28c and humid, a few days later, a chilly 10c.

 

The desert? It was colder out there in Mildura, North of Perth when we fruit picked all those years ago. It fell to minus 8 one night. The next day when it warmed I showed Kat a dead dragonfly, then it woke up and scared the life out of us.

 

I remember Kewdale when I lived there, 16c in the day at Parnham Reserve playing football until the sunset and ten minutes later 4celcius.

 

Ooh just seen the forecast for Melbourne, 17celcius here tomorrow!!! Yippeee!!

[Aussie Rules]

I Spent a few nights in Alice Springs, one night was sweaty 28c and humid, a few days later, a chilly 10c.

 

The desert? It was colder out there in Mildura, North of Perth when we fruit picked all those years ago. It fell to minus 8 one night. The next day when it warmed I showed Kat a dead dragonfly, then it woke up and scared the life out of us.

 

I remember Kewdale when I lived there, 16c in the day at Parnham Reserve playing football until the sunset and ten minutes later 4celcius.

 

Ooh just seen the forecast for Melbourne, 17celcius here tomorrow!!! Yippeee!!

 

Ah yes, but there is always Silks to warm the cockles of your hearts :)

[geosname]

Following on from a thread where someone was suggesting what I should do with my money.....

I transferred some items to the house I have agreed to rent in Chiang Mai and stayed over for a couple of weeks, within a couple of days some of the locals tried to sell me/us land they knew was available... one local even took us to see his piece of land in the mountains... 15 Rai [about 6 acres] of fruit trees in a secluded very picturesque spot... 1,500,000 Bht is a snip at the price... my wife asked to see the license, which he produced, in large letters [in Thai] across the back.... You can not sell or transfer this land... needless to say I declined the purchase but it didnt dissuade him from trying to convince my wife he could be trusted not to reclaim it as his legal property before, during or after I had built a house and lake on the land... bearing in mind, as a farang, I cant own land in Thailand.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Pity..it sounds idyllic

[geosname]

Not really ideal for what I have in mind, although it had a river channel on two sides one was low the other dry and the two very deep pools dug out at the front were very low, a little too high off the water table down at the base of the mountain.

Some of the land at the base have there own wells and water is fed from the adjoining rice fields through the gardens to keep pools and channels topped up... in turn the rice fields are government fed by channels from rivers and dams... but that increases the price... 15 Rai becomes 4 Rai with the same, if not higher, price tag.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Not so idyllic then? :)

[geosname]

Not so idyllic then? :)

 

Nothing is ever perfect JA we just have to do our best to make it the best we can, there is always a little bit of compromise.

The wife wants a house with a big garden full of fruit trees..... I want a big lake with a house and garden on an island in the middle... so she has to compromise

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Aye..our apple trees look like giving us a bumper crop this year but the plum trees are looking a bit shrivelled...still conna complain

[geosname]

Aye..our apple trees look like giving us a bumper crop this year but the plum trees are looking a bit shrivelled...still conna complain

 

Cant grow them here, lots of stuff wont grow because of the heat and strength of the sun... sadly some of the things I like best.. green beans, spring cabbage, peas etc... perhaps better luck in Chaing Mai where its a little cooler near the mountains.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Not wanting to turn this in Gardeners' World but the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peas and garlic are looking good this year

[geosname]

Not wanting to turn this in Gardeners' World but the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peas and garlic are looking good this year

 

Cucumbers [and the other one I cant remember the name of] arent worth growing, you can buy a sackful off the early markets for £2,,, Toms are usually plum tomatoes, great for cooking but not great in a salad... onions are very cheap, big uns, reds, small reds [great for pickling, which I do] Garlic and chillies and ginger in abundance, [garlic and ginger for pickling too along with red cabbage and beetroot].. its the hard veg I cant get and miss most... maybe because I cant get them I suppose... Im thinking of curing my own bacon when I get back, or at least trying, cant get decent bacon here for love nor money.... may even have a go at sausage making.... anyway... good luck with your crop, always enjoyed growing a bit for myself when I had the time, much better taste than bought... but then Im biased.

[geosname]

Talking about growing.... the wife has just cut a jackfruit off the tree in the garden... 15kilo

[JOHNNYAITCH]

I forgot about the potatoes!! They are in the front garden and are some sort of new potato variety..harvesting soon I reckon. Last crop we ended up giving loads to neighbours.

 

Must admit that last year's crop of potatoes, toms, peppers, onions and cucumbers tasted amazing. The hazelnuts from the..err...big hazelnut tree were pretty good and we had a decent crop of cherries and plums. It's the wife who has the green fingers..I'm just good at digging, fetching and carrying and so on.

 

It's become very much part of our "normal life".