The first day of Autumn...

In Australia the seasons change on the first day of the first month in each season, so March 1 is the start of Autumn or Fall. In most parts of the country, we've had some very hot summer days.

This is one way that Eduardo copes with the heat...

Lying on his back, catching the afternoon breezes!

And here in Brisbane there are not a lot of trees that start to lose their leaves as Summer turns into Autumn...but those crepe myrtles sure do! These trees at the side of our property have been shedding leaves for a few weeks now...

It's a daily job to sweep up the leaves from the veranda. 

But just because Autumn has arrived, the hot temps won't ease...the weather won't start to cool for a few months yet. But that's life in the sub tropics. 

Regular readers would know of my 'battles' with the bush turkeys, to grow veggies and herbs...these birds dig up anything I plant in Spring and early to mid summer. So Autumn is the time I plant up a crop, hoping to grow and harvest before the turkeys come back on their 'seek and destroy' missions.

The quarry tile in the foreground isn't for throwing at any errant turkeys, it helps hold down the big umbrella that I sometimes put over the young plants in the middle of the day to stop them 'frying' in the hot sun. These plants are well established now and are fine with the sun. So I'm hopeful of being able to pick some homegrown tomatoes, eggplants and herbs, just like I used to before the bush turkeys took a liking to our backyard. :-)

 

If only he could talk...

If you have dropped by for the Grow Your Own Blog Party, you'll find that post here...

But this post is about the recent misadventures of Master Eduardo, our cat. Last week this little fellow went missing for 36 hours or so. He was originally my DD2's cat but circumstances have seen him living with DH and I for the last 12 years. And of course, we have become very fond of him and consider him our cat!

Monday of last week, my neighbour noticed Eduardo walking through the yard of a house in the next street back from us...quite out of character for this little homebody. But I was at work (just a temporary job in the run up to the state election) so he might have thought that it was just the right time to go exploring...except he didn't come home that night...and he wasn't meowing at the door, the next morning. We had walked around that evening looking for him and calling out his name
:-/ , but with no success.

On the Tuesday morning I headed off to the office with a 'heavy heart' thinking the worst had happened...I was the first home from work that afternoon...and still no Eduardo. But just as I started dinner preparations, I heard him meowing...he was home...very dirty and dishevelled...and very, very jumpy! He didn't appear to have any wounds thank goodness. So he wolfed down some food, and then jumped up on his favourite chair and proceeded to clean his fur. I was so relieved that he was home safe and sound. 

His first meal in 36 hours....

Whatever had happened to him , he had become very nervous and timid, jumping at the slightest sounds. We had a rainy day last week and I put an old towel down on the floor in the doorway to protect the floor...this scared him...he wanted to come inside but this green 'monster' had him bluffed.

Those 'lumps' and creases in the towel had him flummoxed! 

But as the week went on he has relaxed a bit, but he sure doesn't want to go outside...

Neck scratches and ear tickles are good...

He's even not really happy about going out on to the veranda, which has been a favourite spot for years. I've been taking him out into the garden, but staying close to him. So our thoughtful neighbour, Judy, brought across an 'indoor loo' for him to use while we're at work.

A few years ago a friendly tabby cat called Lewis moved into a townhouse a few doors from our back gate. But Lewis is a bully boy in spite of his cuteness...and he steals Eddie's food if we are not vigilant and he also fights with Eddie, as my boy tries to defend his territory... Lewis comes, not only into our yard, but up on to our veranda, and even into the house! 

Lewis, Eduardo's nemesis...waiting at our side door, hoping to be let in so he can steal food...

So we don't know if Lewis is involved in this latest misadventure or whether it's something else completely different. Ed may have got locked in somewhere...and that would have been a scary experience for sure.

So, if only he could talk...? But then again if he could talk, it would be non stop, 'When's dinner, I'm hungry?', lol

So glad we have him back with us! 

A bit more of this and that...

Firstly a photo of Eduardo the cat who is fully recovered from his nasty abscess and is once again 'living for mealtimes' and reminding me vociferously, if he thinks I'm a bit slow at getting his dinner in his bowl...here though, he is just reclining on the printer...

We have had a few late afternoon/evening thunderstorms here in recent weeks, and the rain has really benefited the garden.
Queenslanders who have mango trees in their backyards know that the trees don't always bear fruit in consistent quantities...some years there is abundance...other years we get poor crops. It looks like this year is a 'good year'. Here's a closeup photo of part of our 2013 crop.

Our humble variety has fruited well. The flying foxes/fruit bats will take a large share of the fruit but there will still be some for us!

 My latest geranium acquisition has lovely big flowers...I bought this plant at the recent Christmas markets I went to...

My eggplants (aubergines) are just about ready to pick.
I grew this plant in a large pot and placed it in the netted compound to try to prevent Ms Turkey from digging it up.

 Ms Turkey hasn't been seen in our garden recently...she must be trashing visiting someone else's garden :-) Because she hasn't  been scratching up my veggie garden beds, some potatoes that I had planted months ago have actually started growing...I'd given up on them!

Here's another of my geraniums which is flowering...over the last few years, I've really got to love geraniums/pelargoniums which featured a lot in my mother's garden. 

Those gaillardias haven't stopped flowering...

And I noticed the other day that my brunfelsia has  started flowering for the second time this year...must be the extra water from the storms...it has the most beautiful fragrance.

 The next photo is a bit blurry but it's my pentas shrub which is now covered in mauve flowers. It's a plant that is easy to grow but gets very stressed in hot, dry weather, so that extra rain has meant a happy plant covered in blossoms.

And lastly, the young family across the road have decorated the front of their house with some lovely Christmas lights. They look beautiful at night...

Coathangers...

This is Eduardo our cat...

The photo below was 'doing the rounds' on Facebook.
This is not Eduardo but instead it's another cat who looks a bit like him...so cheeky and naughty! Even though Eduardo has some unusual sleeping spots, he hasn't tried this! :-)

Now while I'm on the subject of coathangers, this is an idea that I saw a little while back on the internet and decided to try for myself.

It's an idea for storing scarves. Take one plastic coathanger and slip some shower curtain hooks on it. Then thread through some scarves. This now hangs in my wardrobe and has worked really well at keeping scarves neat and not crumpled or creased.
And here's one more photo of Eduardo. As you can see from my new blog banner, I've been 'playing around' with Instagram Frames and this photo of Eduardo was the first effect I created using the App.

Lots of fun and possibilities I can see!