The first flower is opening on my Limelight protea:
In my sewing room I now have five blocks of the Greenhouse quilt made:
A sunny day with a top temperature of 17.6 C. Spring is in the air!
This is a Turkestan tulip, Tulipa turkestanica:
We have a pot of these beside the front door. There were no flowers this morning, but a few have popped open this afternoon.
Plum blossom, with a small native bee:
Almond blossom:
Daffodils are opening up everywhere:
Grape hyacinths with a European honey bee:
And lastly, my Coral Charm peony is exploding out of the ground:
Spring is definitely on the way!
Yesterday things were a bit different. We could go to shops, and travel around. I went to Bunnings to buy Vermiculite, and came across the last of their mushroom growing kits:
I'll let you know if it works.
Then we heard the inevitable, and not unexpected, news that regional Victoria was going back into lockdown from 1pm today. Is this lockdown 7, or is it part of lockdown 6 because 6 is still running in Melbourne? Perhaps it is 6a, or 6.1, or...? With only 2 hours notice, there wasn't time to rush out buying toilet paper (this is a joke), so we went for a walk.
I've decided to devote this lockdown to a new project. Something where if I work on it every day I could finish it before the lockdown ends. Some time in the last couple of years I bought Elizabeth Hartman's Greenhouse pattern:
Spring is on the horizon.
Spring stars:
Hyacinth:
Cyclamen not quite in focus but it is too late to go out and re-take the photo:
Cymbidium orchid:
Euphorbias:
Camellia:
The picture above is Viburnum tinus, but blogger won't let me type between it and the camellia.
Sweet little daffodils:
Just a few of the full-sized daffodils are open so far:
Rosemary:
Jonquils:
Red hot pokers:
Pigface:
Hellebores:
Bergenia - and a bee!
Thryptomene:
And for some reason the rest of these photos are in the opposite order from what I tried to load them in.
This wattle:
Leucadendron:
My "Limelight" protea has 7 or 8 flowers forming this year! This one is the closest to opening:
This not-quite-in-focus purple-not-blue anemone is last, but was meant to be further up near the bergenia, because that is where it is actually growing.
The last few days have been consumed in gathering up the remnants of my parents' lives, emptying out the unit they have lived in since 2007.
Early in this whole process my sister had told me which pieces of furniture she wanted, so those have remained until now. They consisted of two large armchairs, and a kitchen dresser. She had also put aside a couple of boxes of books and other stuff which she might want. On Wednesday, after prompting from me that very few days were left to us to empty the unit, she and her husband came and took away one of the chairs. Her husband decided that they didn't want the dresser because it was a "piece of junk".
Yesterday I met up with the manager of a local op-shop who had helped me clear out all the kitchen cupboards back in June. She took away a large car-load of saleable items, such as clothing, blankets, and unwanted ornaments.
We loaded all the remaining larger bits and pieces into the ute and brought them to our place:
Including the unwanted kitchen dresser:
I haven't decided yet what I will put in the top section behind the glass doors, but some of my houseplants can call it home, and the cupboards and drawers are useful storage spaces.
This afternoon I took (what I would like to be) my last trip to the unit. I packed my car up with the very last of the kipple, and threw into the rubbish bin various things which could not be disposed of otherwise.
I would like to say that the unit is now empty, but there is an armchair and a couple of boxes of books and other stuff that my sister "might want" still inside!
I left her a note which said, "If there are things here that you don't want, could you please dispose of them yourself? I feel like I have done enough."
Daily walks are important during lockdowns. Each day I look for something to add to iNaturalist while out and about.
On Friday I saw this small-leafed clematis:
On Saturday I found that scented sundews had started flowering on our block:
On Sunday I discovered a patch of nodding greenhood orchids:
Today we took a drive to the edge of our 5km limit, to see if the Lal Lal Falls were flowing well after our recent rainy days:
They were!
The dogs enjoyed some off-lead running around:
And I found some pretty coloured fungi of unknown species:
Today regional Victoria were told our lockdown is ending early at midnight tonight! I'm very thankful, as it gives me some extra time to finish emptying my parents' place. That is a great relief as I really didn't know how I was going to manage it.
I'm sorry for my friends in Melbourne still in lockdown, and particularly sorry for people in Sydney who have already done over a month of lockdown without any sign that their outbreak is being controlled.
The 27th July was the last day of our 5th lockdown. Hooray!
Once we could move around again I was able to get back to emptying my father's house. On Thursday morning this week, with the help of our next-door neighbours and their large trailer, a lot of the remaining furniture was taken to an op-shop, the fridge and washing machine were moved, and a lot of rubbish was removed. That left some pieces of furniture my sister wants, a dressing table to go to another person, and various small bits and pieces to be sorted out, re-homed, or disposed of.
On Thursday afternoon, another 7-day lockdown was called. I just couldn't believe it! It is hard not to get annoyed with the state to the north of us that has been the source of the three outbreaks and subsequent lockdowns that have happened in the last three months. Or with the federal government's vaccine stroll-out.
If it isn't extended, I will have 3 days between this lockdown and the day the keys have to be handed over.
I just need to do some productive things to help the lockdown pass, and not spend too much time each day watching the press conferences.
Photos are of my hellebores. Nothing to do with the lockdown, just happy flowers.
