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Dear Rain God …

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Dear Rain God,

Thank you very much for responding to my request for 100mm of drought breaking rain.  I actually envisaged that you might send the rain as gentle drizzle over two days rather than in seven huge thunderstorms. Perhaps I should have been more specific? And was the extra 105 mm a mis-calculation or were you just being generous?

The addition of hail to Wednesday’s storm was a great idea.  It changed the day from hot and oppressive, to cold and dangerous in a matter of seconds.

Being a God, you are obviously aware that my motto is “neat is good”, so I’m not sure why you sent the strong winds to strip the leaves from the trees, shred them and scatter them ALL OVER my garden like confetti.

The pond is overflowing and the frogs are deliriously happy … so happy in fact that I am able to identify five different species from the comfort of my bed even with ear-plugs inserted.

The grass has turned from anaemic to a gorgeous technicolour green in a matter of days and I can almost hear it growing.  Unfortunately due to repetitive drenchings the ground is waterlogged and I am unable to use my ecologically-sound but underpowered electric lawn-mower. So when the lawn finally does dry out I will probably have to mow it TWICE.

Now I don’t mean to sound un-grateful… but would you please STOP !

Thank You …

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With thanks to the Rain God ….

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Yesterday’s departing storm clouds

The last few months have been tough.  No rain to speak of and unseasonably warm weather. The river level has been dropping and last week, Level 1 water restrictions were announced, something almost unheard of in Bellingen.  According to a local farmer who’s been keeping records (as farmers do!), it’s been the driest Spring in forty years.  It was nearly time to remove the inverted commas from the word “drought” and declare a real DROUGHT!

So when the Bureau of Meteorology forecast a week of thunderstorms starting on Saturday, the whole of Bellingen crossed its fingers and held its breath …

Then, right on schedule the first storm arrived bringing 13mm of rain, and on Sunday night another storm and another 12mm.  Last night brought a “severe thunderstorm” with rain, hail, high winds and some flash flooding.

And rain changes everything …

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One happy tree frog!

I feared that most of my frogs had “croaked” in the hot dry weather, and I had visions  of little mummified frog bodies lying in the undergrowth.  But no … the pond is now full of fresh rainwater, the frogs have miraculously appeared, and if noise is any indication, there’s a lot of excited “frog business” going on at the moment.

Drops on the Black Sapote
Drops on the Kaffir Lime

So, this morning instead of rising at 6:30 and rushing around the garden with hose in hand, I wandered around with camera in hand photographing water.  Droplets of water are everywhere, glistening in the sun and gently dripping from the leaves …

The rainfall total in my garden as of this morning is 85mm, slightly short of my request to the Rain God for 100mm. But then the week is not yet over!

A sustainable Sunday …

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Crowds at the Botanic Gardens

According to Steve Maginnity, stingless Australian native bees are more laid-back than their busy European counterparts.  They won’t work when the temperature is under 15C or over 35C.  They don’t swarm aimlessly, rather they send out scouts to locate and prepare a suitable new nest.  And instead of supplying the larvae continuously with food, they seal the egg in a cell with pollen and honey and the larvae just eats its way out. She’ll be right mate !!

All this and more I learnt at the Botanica Fair, part of the Coffs Coast Sustainable Living Festival which was opened on Sunday by the hugely enthusiastic and hirsute (or is that hugely hirsute and enthusiastic ?) Costa Georgiadis of ABC Gardening Australia fame.

The hirsute one himself
Costa Gorgeous the scarecrow

A Bush Tucker walk along Coffs Creek with Ranger (and comedian in disguise) Mark Flanders, a member of the local Gumbaynggir tribe, convinced me that no-one would ever get fat on an indigenous diet. And all that hunting and gathering certainly worked up an appetite for some carbohydrate-rich locally grown food … Thai chicken satay, raspberry sorbet and organic coffee.  Oh well, at least the food miles were low !!

Now back to the bees … it seems that I have everything I need to induce solitary bees to nest in my garden.  Bamboo prunings, left-over lumps of renovation timber and a drill with three or four different sized drill bits. Yet another project to add to the list.

One of the more popular stalls
Coffee is ready … local and organic
Ranger Mark gathering Dianella fruit
Solitary bee habitat
Thai Chicken Satay

Help !! … I need a new neighbour …

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View North from veranda

I know it’s a little unusual to list your neighbour’s house on your blog, but when you read on you will see why I’ve taken this course of action.

Here’s the story … My neighbours are in their mid-70’s and not in the best of health, they are reluctantly thinking of selling up and moving to Coffs Harbour where they will be closer to suitable facilities.  Several years ago they were offered $500,000 by a developer who wanted to sub-divide, cut down their mini-rainforest and build 5 more houses on the block!!  Understandably both they and I were horrified at the thought of their rainforest being destroyed.

In February 2014, they plan to list their house with a local agent.  Unfortunately this agent overprices properties in order to win the listing. He is talking of listing at $575,000 but they are more realistic and are hoping for around $550,000. The house is quite well maintained and easily rentable in its current condition. When sold, Brian & Averil would be interested in renting back whilst they look for a place they like in Coffs Harbour.

Living in this street is like living in the bush but with the facilities of a small town (3,000 people) nearby.  Every property in the street is between one and two acres and so far, no-one has sub-divided.  The street is home to frogs, birds, bandicoots, bats, possums and even a few wallabies.  We would all like to preserve our little piece of paradise.

Here are the good and bad points of the house :

Good …

  • extremely quiet, flood-free, cul-de-sac location
  • one of the best streets in Bellingen
  • underground street power and lighting
  • 1.3 acres of land
  • rainforest trees and a nice basic garden surrounding the house
  • views of the mountains – the house is North facing
  • a veranda runs the full North side of the house
  • walking distance to town
  • almost flat block
  • town water and sewer and rubbish collection
  • large workshop/garage under the house
  • brick construction – inoffensive cream/stone bricks
  • room to extend either up or out or to convert the workshop under the house
  • 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a separate toilet
  • walk-in wardrobe
  • raked ceiling in the lounge giving the illusion of more space
  • 9 foot/2.7 metre ceilings in the rest of the house
  • great rental proposition in its current state if you didn’t want to move in yet
  • fabulous neighbours – especially me !!

Not so good …

  • the house is small and could do with updating as it was built in the late 80’s
  • being an 80’s house it’s not architecturally attractive – but it’s not ugly either
  • the galley kitchen is quite small
  • the veranda needs some maintenance work – painting or oiling of timber
  • the under house garage/workshop is open on one side
  • some other general maintenance required – not major
  • ride-on mower would be required unless you are a fitness-fanatic!

Brian & Averil are not yet ready for inside photos, but if you want to be kept updated or would like further information, please use the Leave a Comment button to let me know. And feel free to forward this information to any of your friends whom you think might be inspired to buy a house in this particularly beautiful part of Australia.