Catching up with with autumn -- in July. Ahem.

Is anyone else finding this winter way colder than usual? It's ... interesting. Trying to keep busy, I'm -- at last! -- unpacking the photos I took a couple of months ago (with the Lumix; this predates the Canon by months), and this little photo essay, I'll call "Wine Country Autumn." Poem and images are dated March 9, and this is July 3. Where did time go?!

Wine Country Autumn

Gold lies strewn to the horizon and beyond

As if some careless godling

Turned out the divine pockets and

Let the doubloons tumble where they may.

Fields of gold burn, lustrous in the westering sun

As evening settles ― but not for long.

In just a week or three, the next rapacious wind

Will gambol among these vines and loot the hoard

Till bare wood alone remains,

Enduring winter’s ire with never a hint

Of the transient splendour that was

These fields of gold.

 

...Dave and I were at Myponga the other day, and I field tested the 18-45mm lens on the new Canon. Nice. I have the images in Photoshop at this time. Its *not* that the photos look much (if any) better, just as they come out of the camera, than the shots I was getting from the Lumix, BUT -- when you come to enhance them, you find there is a zillion times more information in the Canon image than there would have been in the same picture off the FZ-80 Superzoom bridge. This means the image can be "driven" far, far further, and at the end of the process, the picture will have the characteristics you expect from a professional camera. Mmmm. It's all about a synergy between the camera and the software, and both elements have to be in place, to get the results. I Have a lot still to learn, but I'm getting there!

Open Garden at Carinya

"Nestled in the Mt Lofty Ranges between Willunga and Clarendon, and following a water course at the base of McLeods Hill is the property we named "Carinya." This means "Happy Home." The 20 acres of gully with magnificent river red gum trees and a winter-running creek is our place of paradise ... when we stop working on it and really enjoy it!"

So begins the brochure for Carinya, a garden jewel set among vineyards and paddocks at McLaren Flat, adjacent to Mclaren Vale, South Australia. This visit to an "open garden" event marks a first for Dave and myself -- we never did this before, and really enjoyed it.

Something like five or seven acres of the property's 20 aces have been intensively landscaped around a dam and winter creek, and of course any visit to a major garden -- especially in spring! -- will be a celebration of flowers, shrubs and trees; to which Carinya adds the occasional quirky, charming sculpture or metal art, and some colonial antiques, such as the wagon which welcomes visitors to the property, on the lower lawn:

The stroll around the gardens is so quiet and pleasant, one could spend a whole afternoon there. It's little wonder the early settlers fell in love with this spot: "In the early-mid 1900s this area was used as a resting and water stop for stock. There are remnants of an old shepherd's hut up the gully. Locals have informed us that seasonal fruit pickers used to camp here. A family with five children lived in a very small hut on the other side of the dam." (From the brochure text.)

Today, the property is surrounded by vineyards which, alas, tend to pump the winter creek dry, causing the dam's water levels to fall dramatically in summer. Carinya falls back on the capacious tanks one sees on the other side of the creek -- and this will be a thirsty property, if the lawns are to remain green in summer and the more delicate shrubs and flowers to survive:

For Dave and myself -- both rather avid gardeners only awaiting the day we have a suitable garden to work on, and in -- the stroll around the property was nothing short of a joy; and you always wonder where one would start on a project such as this. The brochure tells the story of owners Sue and Dave Wagner, who bought the 20 acres in 1987 for a sum which, today, we would consider the proverbial "song." But Carinya didn't evolve from the paddock with the winter creek into the lavish, park-like garden overnight. It took many years of extremely hard work...

One of the greatest pleasures of the garden is its variety, and the charm with which the design has evolved across the decades. The local soil is very clay-rich, according to the brochure; gypsum was used to break down the clay, and lawn clippings were mulched in with a mix of horse, cow and chicken manure. The result is very rich, very fertile soil which will literally grow anything.

In particular, the roses were glorious ... and also carefully pruned two or three months ago, to bring them all into bloom at just the right time, and the same time. The garden is open over the weekend of November 5 and 6, so the detailed planning for this event goes back to at least to August. And the results...

Naturally, I took about 200 photographs (as one would...) and the job of culling them down to a couple of dozen for this photo essay was tough. Carinya is so photogenic, images are everywhere. Difficult to imagine a time when nothing was there save the gully and dam, and the first projects for the Wagner family were a dirt access road, and a 20' x 30' garage, which was the family home for some considerable time!

Part of me is saying, "Ooooh, I wish my had my time over again...!" But it also takes a lot of courage and vision to start absolutely from scratch ... plus close to 30 years before the vision can be said to have taken shape. For example, work on the creek area began only in 2015, so the Carinya "vision" is still taking shape. One can only imagine what another decade will bring...

After an hour rambling around the gardens (and in my case, taking the equivalent of eight rolls of film, as we used to know it in days long gone by!) we headed back up to the vast lawns at the front of the house, which step down from the family home to the dam in wide "terraces." There's a fairy door set into the roots of the big tree there -- and a child's swing, which visiting children were delighted to use. For Dave and myself, slightly more mature  amusements were in mind --

The tables were set for tea. Yes, please. Tea, coffee and cake. The whole event was in benefit of charity, and organized by "Open Gardens South Australia Inc, a not for profit organization opening private gardens to the general public. The purpose of Open Gardens SA is to educate and promote the enjoyment, knowledge and benefits of gardens and gardening in South Australia and the build strong public support for the development of gardens." (From the brochure.)

We'd have to say -- mission accomplished! Now -- what about that tea and cake...?

Should South Australia build an Ark? Not a bad idea...

The driest state on the driest continent -- that's us. South Australia. Dryer than anyplace in Africa. Dryer than Arizona or New Mexico ... or, we were. You want proof that climate change is real? Look out of any window in this state, June to September. This is the third time we've been under flood this year. These events used to happen once n a decade! Call these the 'spring floods,' I guess -- to differentiate between the winter floods and the autumn floods.

So Dave had the idea of grabbing the cameras, jumping in the van and going out just about at the height (or depth) of the weather, and getting some pretty dramatic photos. Of course, it was COLD and WET --

-- but it was well worth doing a roadtrip around MacLaren Vale, just ahead of flooding that would actually close many of these roads. According to the time/weather boards on the roadside here and there, the temperature was eight degrees Celcius at about noon. That's something like 47 F ... and with the wind howling so hard, you could lean on it ... it felt like about five below! So --

And there's more rain on the way: it's hardly started yet!

On Thomas Hill Road ... in the clouds...

Our favorite coffee stop -- at noon! The Vintage Bean...

This creek is about to inundate a vineyard ...

About an hour later, this road was closed -- flooded right out.

We went out again the next day and had a look at the coast by Moana and Noarlunga. Hills residents were busy cleaning up the mess, but in 24 hours the roads were open again, and wouldn't you know it? The sun shone, the temperature was about 72 degrees, with light airs.

I'll post some of the coastal images tomorrow. Meanwhile, we've started work on the Ark...

Wipeout +7, back on the wheels ... and Spring has Sprung

A week after Dave wiped out on the road and it was blood, busted shoes and bent bits on the bike, he's back on two wheels and out for a looong ride in the McLaren Vale area with the local group of Cyloholocs. He must have inherited some gene for indestructibility ... he's found a way to bounce. Maybe he has a trick of turning off 90% of gravity in the split second after the back wheel drifts away and before the kneecaps impact the asphalt ... hmph. He could at least have the common decency to be creaky for a few weeks! But noooo...

Dave's Garmin Tracker app, running in real-time. Yup. He's back on the bike

...there's livin' proof of this particular pudd'n: the Garmin tracker app, running in realtime on my phone. Phablet. Whatchamacallit. (Difficult to call it a 'phone,' because virtually the only thing it never does is make a telephone phone call. Ahhh. Anybody remember what a telephone was...?)

Meanwhile, Spring has sprung with a vengeance:

Yup. Spring is here ... kerchoo! Pear blossom and silver rain -- front garden yesterday.

Truth is, it's been spring for about three weeks now, which also means we can expect summer to come in early and fast. In the last couple of years we've seen our first hot weather in October and the first very hot weather in November -- hundred degrees in "the old money." Sigh. Means we can expect to see the really hot weather in December, and the catastrophically hot weather in January and February. Now ... will the autumn/fall come in early too? With summer starting early, we'll be very, very ready for autumn by February!

Spring! Enjoy it while it lasts --

Waterfall Creek on the Coastal Trail, at Hallett Cove

It was so lovely yesterday we couldn't stay inside while we had the chance to get out. Leaving Mike to hold down the fort (since he has bronchitis, Mom has bronchitis, and they're having coughing contests; Mom is winning, hands down), we went over to Hallett Cove and hiked the boardwalk from the Hallett Cove Conservation Park to Marino. It really was beautiful.

Above is Waterfall Creek at the bottom of its gully ... yellow soursobs in the foreground tell you exactly what time of year this is; and if you notice the stairs/guardrail at top-right of this shot, you'll see how you climb down into the gully and back out again. There's no disabled access, but if you still have your feet under you, it's great. (If you'd like to see more of Hallett Cove -- and the Conservation Park -- I posted a photo essay to Meander to the Max ... find it here.) It's also a photographer's paradise: ocean, clifftop views, windy skies, the works. Don't forget the cameras.

Right now I have my fingers crossed. I tried Chinese massage for the head-neck-shoulders on Thursday ... looking for a way to get out from under the headache that's been bugging me every single day since December 4. For a while the GP has been saying he thinks the pain is very likely coming from the neck, and ... last week I actually heard/felt something go twang!!! in the neck a few seconds before migraine broadsided me. So ... remedial massage? Got a local one? Any chance of getting acupressure massage? Turns out yes. There's a place at Colonnades which, in traditional Chinese fashion doesn't advertise. They live and thrive on word of mouth. Right.

Well, it's coming up to 48 hours since I had the neck/head/shoulder massage, and so far I've had either no pain at all, or only the most slender tendrils which don't develop into full-blown headaches. Have no idea how long the effects will last, but if they were to wear off over a couple of weeks ... it's actually rather a pleasant way to spend 30 minutes. I can do that again. Fingers crossed.

Happy Birthday, Dave! (Want a Band-Aid with that chocolate cake?)

Happy Birthday to my One and Only...

Relaxing at The Vintage Bean in McLaren Vale, contemplating a Very Large Cappuccino and a slice of the most amazing chocolate cake, into which our hosts put a birthday candle in honor of the occasion --

Chocolate on top of chocolate today. Before we headed out to the Bean, we'd swung by the local Cheesecake Shop (not to be confused with Cheesecake Factory. At the Shop, they bake and sell cheesecakes and gateaux; it's not a restaurant) and picked up Dave's actual birthday cake...

...which appears here still in the box. Yee-ouch. He'll be about a week eating this! This is their Enchanted Forest cake, the most outrageous cake in the store. Then it was over to the Vintage Bean for coffee --

-- portrait of the photographer, looking a trifle less gargoyle-like than usual. Gak. I hate pictures of myself, which is why you seldom see them. And then, back home...

...Zolie checked out Dave's birthday card. Tried to get a shot of her with her nose inside it, but she wouldn't stay put long enough for me to get a good one, so ... here, she's captivated by a bird outside the window. Good enough.

Full marks to Dave for making the best of a birthday that started under a bit of a cloud. He hit the deck yesterday during a bike ride in treacherous terrain, and will be healing up for the week while he works on all that chocolate. He swears up and down that the wounds aren't as bad as they look, and the backache is worse...

Hmm. That can happen, when you land on your lumbar, on the curb. In fact, he's starting to recover already, which is nothing short of astonishing. If it were me falling off the bike, I'd be in a full body cast for at least six months, and then in physio and chiropractic for a year. Dave ought to be up and at 'em by the end of the week, and then ... well, back on the bike. Fingers crossed. Fortunately, in all the many years he's been riding downunder, this is only the third time he's hit the deck, and if he stays on the average, he's not due to for the next chute sans gravity (that's one thing I learned from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin...) till around 2022.

Here's hoping. And praying.

Happy Birthday, Dave!

The earlybird catches the best pictures

Dawn on July 19, 2016, photographed over the Old Reynella skyline from
the backyard...with the phone. Ain't technology grand?

One good thing about having an alarm set for 6:30am or so: you get to see the sun rise, and some days it's spectacular. I have to be up early because Mom is so frail now, she needs help early. If there's going to be a crisis, I deal with it better if I'm wide awake and have had a cup of tea before it happens. Best way to make sure I'm firing on at least six out of eight cylinders is to wake earlier ... and then enjoy some of the perks of being an earlybird.

Sunrise in Old Reynella, over the neighbors' roof. We have a little altitude
here, and the building line is only single level, so our skies look large. 
Phone photo, by the new Sumi Rome "phablet."

Living in Old Reynella is almost like being in a village. After five and a half years down in Sturt -- one of Adelaide's southern suburbs -- it's a welcome change; and even after getting-on-for-four years here the novelty hasn't yet worn off.

As per the "camera" ... well, these are phone pictures. I'd forgotten I'd taken the smart card out of my Fuji HS50, so I just grabbed the handiest imaging gadget. We love our gadgets, and I'm very impressed with the pictures from the new Sumi Rome "phablet" (so called because it has a 5.5" screen and a very fast processor. Right now, the phone is behaving like a tablet -- far faster than any computer I possess. Meanwhile, the laptop upon which I'm writing this has become sloooower than the netbook; and we won't even talk about the tablets, which are so slow ... yawn. We all tend to get creaky in our old age. Tell me about it).

The only downside to phone pictures is getting an enormous cache of them OFF the phone's smartcard and into the computer. Turns out, you can't just plug this phone into the computer and have the PC read the card, because the "Camera" folder is utterly invisible, no matter how clever you get with your Windows "show hidden folders" settings. Means you have to physically take the card out of the phone and put it in a card reader ... whereupon, shazam! The computer reads it perfectly.

And as for grabbing  pictures in challenging lighting conditions --

Vines on Rifle Range Road, McLaren Vale

Above is a white-sky afternoon at McLaren Vale ... gnarly, ancient vines, looking like something from Fangorn Forest. They're really in a nice, civilized vineyard off one side of Rifle Range Road. Dave and I took two hours and went for a walk -- just to get out of the house, get some fresh air and exercise. 

Being a full-time, 24/7/365 care-giver can and will eventually take a heavy toll. You need to grab "me time" whenever you can get the chance. If it's safe to get out and walk, breathe, see something different for an hour or two, grab your opportunity and run for it. We're lucky in that we live in the wine country, literally cuddled up against the Accolade Vineyards, while in the other direction is the sea --

A storm breaks over the mouth of the Onkaparinga River

Very low light conditions on a cold, stormy afternoon, last Sunday. Mom was in the hospital and Dave, Mike and I needed to get OUT for a couple of hours. Dave took us on a spin down the coast to the outfall of the Onkaparinga River, which you see here under a rain-heavy sky; then we went over to the town of McLaren Vale for coffee at a favorite cafe, the Vintage Bean.

Again, I'm quite impressed by what the Sumi Rome phablet can do. Very nice pictures indeed.

And as for Mom ... well, ten days after the emergency she's just beginning to recover from the pneumonia, and the major problem at the moment is -- swallowing problems. She has to take something northwards of 20 pills a day (!) and is choking on one in three of them ... which means she's almost certain to inhale particles of [whatever] into her lungs and get pneumonia again. It's a miserable way to live, and there is zip, zero, nada, a care-giver can do, save offer sympathy and a warm drink. *sigh*