Ahhhh home is bliss!

Thankyou for your support, comments and prayers in respect to the last post they are very appreciated by us both.Oh it is so great to be home, just a little up date we have been travelling to Hobart for radiation treatment and now have no more appointments in Hobart YIPEEEE!   This will be our first weekend and week with no visitors, no appointments just my DH and me, well Toby, the cat and four chooks as well..lol
So the garden has really suffered this summer so far.The hope chest seedlings well most have fallen along the hard season due to weather and absences.   Being away so much and dealing with such emotional situation has seen not much action in the vegie garden, nor the garden in general.  Daisies giving up, salvia's so much and the rabbits have been breeding so lots of things nibbled.
I have discovered we have a couple of wallabies living in the bush that is part of our land just out the front door(well it is really back of the house) Every morning I hear them hop away when I go out side and often when no one has been out that way for a few hours you hear them.  It is a great place as they have the dam and protection. Toby does not chase them. 

It has been unconditionally hot here.  We have had 8 days in the last two weeks over 30d Celcius which is very weird.  So many of the plants I had put in have not survived as I have not been home to water them often enough.  Fortunately the chooks survived, the heat two days were over 38  clost on 100 degrees farenheit. 
We had no rain for the whole month of January.   Nights have been very warm for us too.  22d C at 7am yesterday!   YUK!      

Toby watching the formation of the storm, he was so hot that we put wet towels over him and I had to spray the chooks with water to keep them going yesterday.  Such a distressing thing to see your girls panting I kept checking on them to make sure they were drinking and almost bought them to the house to put them in the bathroom to cool off.
 The storm clouds get darker and darker, day becomes night...


 The storm broke and the sound of heavy rain filled not only the rain water tanks, but my heart.  I had watered the garden in the morning and knew that the ground would absorb the moisture and not just let it run off.

 The raspberry canes just may survive to give me some Autumn raspberries. 
 The grass was so long and so very dry that it made the place look such a mess, when combined with the two wattle (acacia) trees we had to have removed and all the debri that was lying around, it was just too much for me to tackle.  We have some lovely kids as neighbours and the 3 boys worked solidly for a couple of hours moving all the heavy timber and branches.  What a difference.  I paid them as I would have a man.  One of the boys was hoping to have enough money to buy an ice cream, his delight on his face when he realised that he could now buy a new game for his Wii?  was reward enough..lol. 
We came home on Wednesday to find one of our lovely neighbours had been over and mown this extra long grass, where the felled trees had been lying, and around the berry bed and near the house.  Such a genorous and unexpected gift. 

Basil I just do not seem to have any luck growing it. The planter I had started actually looks smaller than when it was first put in.  I can not work out what I do wrong!
In the picture on the right there is a pink label and just under it is a tomato plant that is not growing.
Anyone have any ideas what it is I am doing wrong?














Fortunately my French tarragon is growing really well this season.  I transplanted the dormant plant during winter out of the garden into a polystyrene box and it sits on the deck in full sun(as does the basil).My little watering gnomes help to keep the roots moist.

     

Look past the sweet pea flowers and you will see the freshly mown straw, it sure is not grass..lol.

  Many of my flowers also have suffered and our beautiful Happy Wander which climbs over the front fence of the deck is dying.  Wether this is due to too much winter spring rain or what.  There is one part of it that is greenish so I hope some of it will survive as it looks so lovely in flower in winter.  It will be interesting to see what grows back after this summer rain.  It has revived my need to get into the garden and sow some winter seeds.