The Dragon Is Alive And Kicking !!!! - CONCLUSION (At Last)

Well ---- at long last!!!! There is light at the end of the tunnel with this "Norse Saga" epic of mine.
The fruit is beginning to come along with a "Ruddy Blush" (for those who know what a "Spoonerism" is, you will understand. For those who don't, remember the tongue twister about the "Pheasant Plucker"? Same principal.).

5 May 2012

 Just starting to really "pink up". The Ruby Dragon Fruit in the background are looking quite healthy too.

10 May 2012

Now it is really looking like a Dragon Fruit and just about ready to pick. It is amazing what a couple of days of sunshine will do to boost the fruit along.

12 May 2012

In all its glory!! I couldn't wait any longer. I saw a couple of fruit bats flying around last night, so I thought it best to pick it instead of leaving it for the bats.

12 May 2012 - Cut and ready to eat.

And I'm pleased I did pick it!!! Just look at that luscious fruit. This is a Pearl Dragon Fruit and is absolutely delicious, although to my liking, not quite as good as the Ruby.
While I was in the garden I thought that a couple of shots of our other fruit wouldn't go astray, so please enjoy and "eat your hearts out"!!!!

Lemons

Mandarins - Not quite ripe yet

Tangello - also not quite ripe

Tommy Toe tomatoes - still very green

As you can see our fruit is doing quite well. Although there are only a few on each plant, we expect that next year we will have a much better crop.

POSTSCRIPT ---- I wrote some time ago about the Mayan calendar and the expectation that the world would end on 22 December 2012 ------ Well ---- I read in the paper today that scientists and archaeologists have found a cave in South America with Mayan writing on the walls. "Like a blackboard" they described it. They have translated it to something like "Instead of the original 1200 years, these writings give us 6000 years".
So, on that bit of good news, I think that I can honestly say that the end of the world in another 6000 years will not worry any of us at all!!!!

The Dragon Is Alive And Kicking !!!! - CONCLUSION (Not Quite)

The fruit is now getting "fat". It still doesn't really look like the final product, but I can see there is potential there!!! The spent flower is still hanging on. It is still attached by a pretty strong and solid stalk, so instead of trying to remove it, I will just let it run its course. It will drop off when it is ready.

10 April 2012

I can only hope that it will ripen before I go to Tasmania to see my family and mates and attend ANZAC Day services. If it isn't ripe by the time I leave. I am sure that Kay will do the honours and keep taking the pics every 5 days until it is ripe.

15 April 2012

 At this stage it doesn't look much nigger really. But I suppose it is doing its bit to develop properly. It is taking a long time to develop and my patience is getting thin. I suppose that while I'm in Tassie it will explode with nutrients and finish the job to produce its fruit. Just my luck.

Still nothing has happened of note!!! Kay took a photo while I was away and I was really disappointed that the fruit hasn't developed as I had hoped. Maybe its the cooler weather impeding its development.

20 April 2012

 The fruit is starting to "stretch out" a bit. Note the growth behind. That is the red Dragon Fruit on the other side of the C.A.T.B. Maybe we will get some fruit from there next year.

25 April 2012

Definitely beginning to look like the real thing. The "dragon scales" are shrinking a bit and I assume they are feeding the fruit towards the final tasty item. The growth at the back is getting bigger so that plant must also be quite healthy.

30 April 2012

The dead flower spoils this shot, but it is securely anchored to the fruit and I didn't want to force it off. I suppose it will drop off when the time is right. Missed the back growth in this photo. I must remember to make sure its in the next one.

This whole thing is becoming an epic!! Its almost as huge as a Norse Saga!!! I honestly didn't think that it would take this long to mature, but anyhow, I will keep going to the very end when I can pick the fruit.

Keep watching for the (hopefully) final episode in this saga.

The Dragon Is Alive And Kicking !!!!! (Cont'd)

21 March 2012

This was the flower early yesterday morning in its full glory. It only lasts one day and it had its day of fame and, by late afternoon, had done the job that it has been designed for.
As the flower slowly wilts away, the fruit behind it is gradually forming. I am an impatient type as well as curious and each day I see it, it just doesn't seem to grow fast enough for me.

21 March 2012 Late PM

As you can see, by late afternoon the flower has seen better days (or a better day!!!), has done its job and is wilting. The nourishment from the flower will now travel to the fruit to allow it to develop.

26 March 2012

Now, five days later, the poor flower is looking decidedly sickly. But the fruit is looking healthy and is very, very slowly developing. (I think). I didn't see any bugs or insects flitting around the flower when it was in full bloom, so I hope that some well-intentioned flying or crawling insect has done the necessary to pollinate the flower, which, in turn, will give us one lovely pink and flavoursome Dragon Fruit.

31 March 2012

I think that the flower has really run its course. It is now really looking sick, but the fruit is surely developing behind it, so I think that it has done its job.
Its only a matter of waiting now for the fruit to fully develop, then we will be rewarded with a juicy and vitamin filled Pearl Dragon Fruit.

Now I know why these are called Dragon Fruit. The way the fruit develops definitely reminds me of  those tales I read when I was young about the daring knights and the slaying of dragons. The covering of the fruit looks very much like the head of a dragon with those spikes like the bony protuberances depicted in drawings of these mythical creatures.

5 April 2012

 Being the impatient being that I am, this fruit just can't ripen quickly enough for me!! But, as the old adage goes ...... "Patience is a virtue"!!! Maybe I am just not virtuous enough.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of this slow but (I hope) interesting development.

'The Dragon Is Alive And Kicking !!! - CONCLUSION"

The Dragon Is Alive And Kicking!!!

When we were still living in Launceston, we bought two dragon fruit cacti. One Ruby and the other Pearl. They were started off in pots in the hot house I built and they thrived.
But ..... we of course decided to move to Queensland and we didn't want to leave the cacti behind. So I bare rooted them and cut them up and put them in polystyrene boxes to bring them up here. They survived the trip very well and about a month or so after arriving here, I planted them out.
First of all I had to build something for them to climb on and after a couple of failed attempts at design, we agreed on a multi-purpose frame covered with shade cloth. I jokingly called it my C.A.T.B. ( Camouflaged Anti-Terrorist Bunker). I tell everyone about it and explain that, in case of a terrorist attack, we would be safe as the bunker is manned by regiments of miniature shock troops!!! The punch line is "when you see how small the troops are, you GET A SHOCK????!!!! Sometimes it works!!!

C.A.T.B with young Dragon Fruit on the outside

But back to the Dragon Fruit. They have grown very well here with their air roots clinging to the shade cloth. But up till now, they haven't produced any semblance of fruit!!!!
That has now changed. I was outside having a smoke the other day and just happened to dreamily glance down the back and saw this protuberance on top of the Dragon Fruit. On closer inspection it turned out to be a bud. So, with much haste and a lot of joy, I snapped a picture.
 

10 March 2012

 Not having ever seen Dragon Fruit growing, I wasn't really sure if I was right about it being a bud or not, so I decided to keep an eye on it and take pictures every five days or so just to record its development. The first one was on 10th March 2012 and the next was on 15th March 2012. You can see there is a lot of difference in the growth.

15 March 2012

I check it every day and there is always substantial growth, so we may be lucky to get our first Pearl Dragon Fruit.

It is now 20th March with a very overcast sky and troublesome rain. I always love the rain but at the moment with the nuisance rains we have been having, I am a bit jaded. I want to do so much in the garden but I just can't get a long enough dry spell to do it.
I took another photo of the Dragon Fruit this morning. It is now 30 cm tall and still growing. You can almost see it growing day by day. It also looks like it is starting to open up, so I am looking forward to seeing the actual flower. As I said before, I have never seen this fruit flower or produce fruit, so it is an amazing sight for me.
During the day I kept looking at the Dragon Fruit when I went for a smoke and I am still amazed at Nature. This morning it was squally rain and very overcast. This afternoon the sun came out and the Dragon Fruit also started to change for the better.
I could almost see the flower opening as I was watching it. I expect that it will be fully open tomorrow.

20 Mar 2012 at 0900

20 Mar 2012 at 1500

This is absolutely amazing!!! Just compare the two photos. This happened in a period of just six hours!!! I know that some of the most beautiful flowers on Earth come from cacti, but the speed of which this is developing is astounding. I only hope that the wind doesn't destroy it before the fruit ripens.

It has finally happened. Overnight the bud opened and this morning, 21 March 2012, I was met with a splendid display of Nature in her beauty.

21 Mar 2012 - Side View

21 Mar 2012

The flower is quite large and spectacular. I only hope the fruit is of a comparable size.
I am naturally inquisitive and I am forever searching for information on things I don't know or understand. That's why I love crosswords and puzzles. Not only the challenge, but the processes of getting an answer intrigue me. As I don;t know much about Dragon Fruit, I decided last night to do a search and see if I could find out about harvesting the fruit. That eventuated in a very simple explanation from a film clip on You Tube.
But, I did find out two other interesting bits.
1. The Dragon Fruit flower usually blooms in the evening and night and they are pollinated by bats and moths and other night creatures.
2. The flower only lasts for one day, just like the passionfruit. It then gradually wilts and the fruit is produced to picking stage over a period of about two weeks.
So I have decided to publish this post as it is and when the fruit is starting to form and through to the ripe stage, I will write another.
So ........................... keep watching for .............................

The Dragon Is Alive And Kicking!!!(Cont'd)

An Improvement ????

I think that Kay was definitely right when she said that I should remove the Bar-B-Q pit thingy. It was sort of large and the top was beginning to get a bit heavy to remove as I get on in years. So now it has given us more space to grow herbs.
And it has also given me a heap of timber that can be used for a lot of other small jobs!!

As you can now see, there is a lot of space.
So far we have basil and long chillies on the left with penny wort and kang kong near the fence. Closer to the front are Vietnamese mint and pandan.
I dropped a couple of cement slabs down to use as stepping stones. They were just left and buried by the builders I suppose as I dug them up when I did the initial digging of the plot. Lazy bastards!!!
With the timber I salvaged from the Bar-B-Q, I built the pot plant stand against the wall and there are a couple of turmeric plants (in flower now), couple of pandan and some indoor plants we are cultivating to eventually be put into hanging baskets.
All the plants seem to like the area, especially the pandan and mint as they don't like too much sun. Here they get the early morning sun, which is clear of the area by mid morning, and are protected from the wind. An ideal situation for them.
Time will tell if I am right as they grow (or die) and everything is easily accessible for Kay's delicious cooking.

The Peanut Vendor - After the Rain

The peanuts have been hanging around on the trellis for 3 or 4 days now, and always I intended to bring them in and strip them today.
BUT ...... unfortunately there was quite a heavy downpour of rain last night (29 ml) and they sort of got a little wet. They are still OK and now that I have stripped them, they should dry out beautifully and the dirt on them should come off easily.
This was a very good crop as you can see below.

There should be enough there to keep us going until the next crop.
Which, of course, I've already earmarked some peanuts for sowing in the next couple of weeks.

I was really quite surprised that there were so many from a plot about 9 ft X 2 ft. I just pushed them into the dirt and left them.
Very resilient and industrial little buggers aren't they??

The Peanut Vendor

When I was in the Navy as a Musician, I performed in a lot of combinations from Parade Band to Fanfare to small dance band to big band like Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey.
It was with the big band that we played "The Peanut Vendor". It was a great piece of music and it came to mind when I was digging our peanut crop.
I don't know where the title came from, and I'm not really concerned. but it was a great piece of music.
But .... now that I have dug the peanuts I thought maybe you would like to see what I have grown .... so ....

I made this frame to dry the peanuts as I read that they need to be left in the sun for a few days so that the toxins in them will disperse. The toxin won't do too much harm to you but maybe make you a little sick.
Last year I just left them on the ground and when the rain came, I moved them to the shed and the mice had a real feast. So that's why they are on a frame.

As you can see, there is a fair crop here and I am sure that Kay will have the time of her life boiling some of them. The rest I will roast and maybe even put a little salt on and have with my beer each night.
I did find a couple of "rogue" plants a couple of weeks ago that were growing from last year's crop, so I pulled them and saved the nuts and I will use them as seed for next year.
Talk about sustainable gardening!!!!

Fearless Freddo

We had a visit over 2 nights by a fearless, but maybe a bit adventurous and simple minded, green tree frog. I first noticed him (or her) clinging precariously to the wall by the garage door. Freddo, or Frederica, looked a bit unsure of his fate. He seemed a bit loathe to move very much as I assumed that his grip on the rough finish on the wall was causing him a bit of consternation, to say the least. But just have a look at him barely hanging on the wall with his toes stretched to max to get the best grip.

I had my smoke then went back inside. When I came out again he was gone, But then I noticed him clinging a bit more securely on my plaque wall. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera with me, so I missed that photo op. He sort of looked around as if to say "Well, what a pickle I'm in now. How do I get down from here?" Then he just fell onto the top of the fridge and from there straight down to the floor and I lost sight of him then, so I suppose he may have sat for a while gathering himself after his misadventure before heading home.

A couple of days before this one, I was again going out for a smoke (I know!!! I should give them up!!!) and there was a much bigger specimen just sitting on the floor outside the door maybe looking at his own reflection in the glass. Could have a Narcissus complex?? Anyhow, as I said, he was a much bigger specimen. I reckoned he would have filled my whole hand if I picked him up, but I just left him there in peace and kept an eye on him. He slowly turned and then took one almighty big leap towards the air con unit. He must have got excited or something or just misjudged his leap, because the was a quite loud "BANG" as his head hit the unit. He just seemed to shake his head then flattened himself and crawled under the unit. He emerged a short time later and, to me, seemed a bit smug. Maybe he caught his dinner there?? But he just hopped away, although a bit unsteady at times, and disappeared into the night.

The night after our "Wall Freddo" did his bit he returned for another exploration of the walls. I didn't notice him at first as he was hanging above the door. He just caught my eye as he moved and only just made it to the thermometer hanging on the wall. (I did rush in and get the camera this time).

You can see he's at full stretch with only his hind legs fully secure on smooth surfaces. He hung there for a while, then maybe thought that he had better get a move on. There was a "splat" as he came down onto the tiled doorstep, then he slowly jumped towards the air con unit. (This seems to be a popular spot for frogs!!)

You may be able to just see him, but the tiled doorstep where he landed is visible. He just sat for a while, then ambled off to the lawn and eventually jumped off into the night through the herb garden. The last I saw of him was when he headed to the fence at the corner of the house, then he disappeared towards the neighbour's house.

So, there you have it. "Fearless Freddo" or "Adventurous Frederica", whichever it was, gave me a chance to forget the cares and woes of the world for a short time and added a bit of "photo op" to my usually mundane smokes time.
I hope he or she comes back again so I can get some more pics of this "Indiana Jones" type green tree frog.
p.s. I think that maybe Kay and my expertise with the "Mao Tse Tung" might be bringing the frog in for an easy meal of dead flies and there are also a lot of moths and other insects on the walls, so maybe that also would explain the presence of Freddo. Whatever it is that is bringing him back, I hope he keeps doing it.

IT'S DOWN !!!!

After well over12 months of little use, the bar-b-q pit has been removed. As it turned out, it was a very good move. The timber I bought in the first place to erect the pit was supposed to be rot and ant resistant. So, no ants but heaps of damp area fungus. With the rains we had just lately, I think the heat at the time gave the fungus a wonderful chance to get in and run amok!!!

The complete bar-b-q pit

The pit with the top opened for use of the gas ring.

I had a great helper when I was building it, my son Alex.  His help with the heavy stuff was invaluable and he also had some ideas that worked out far better than my original ideas. I am just glad that I took some photos just after we finished it. The top was an innovation that I had thought about for a while. It was not only to keep the rain out, but also hinged so that half of the top could be folded back to permit access to a gas ring for Kay to cook on. This happened after Alex moved to Portland in Victoria, so I can take credit for this idea. 

Its a shame that it had to come down,  but it turned out as a necessity.

I was talking to my wife Kay after it was demolished, and she told me that daughter Shasha had told her when she returned from Malaysia that Alex and I had done a great job building it and it looked good and was functional.  Kay had told Shasha that it wasn't really to her liking, but she would not say anything about it for the time being. I really appreciate the confidence Shasha had in Alex's and my ability as backyard builders and I know now that the ground it was on was not really the right place for it. But, stubborn old me!!!

I made a couple of errors (I don't usually admit my mistakes, but this is a first!!) while "de-constructing" the pit.
I did it over 2 days and should have had enough sense to take at least 5 days to do it, but. again, stubborn old me thought I was younger and could do it. Yesterday I stopped when my leg started to get sore and then did a bit more and then a bit more again, until I HAD to stop.
Today I just kept going until it was done. Now I am really paying for it. I started about 9:30 am this morning with the temperature touching 30 degrees and finished about 1:30 or 2:00 this afternoon in temperature of 35 degrees. Talk about sweat!!! I know, only horses sweat, but I certainly felt like old Dobbin by the time I finished. And the flies!!! I had them up my nose, in my mouth and ears and flying around every other part of my body, and I couldn't do anything about them, there were just so many. I suppose they were after the salt in my "sweat".

When I had taken the sides off, I started on the platform by removing the flooring. That's when I found the rot!!! There was some sign of it around the sides, but not more than what would be expected. I was astounded by the amount of fungus and the degree of rot in the bearers. Check out the photo above!! And they are just the bottom sides of the platform boards. Miserly old me only used fence palings (I always work on the cheap) and the amount of damage is negligible, unlike the so-called "treated" bearers. The fungus on the palings will easily come off with a bit of sun and a paint scraper with the minimum of damage.

Finally ...... The cleared plot. We will extend the herb garden and grow some more chillies, basil, chillies, garlic chives. chillies (Oh. Did I mention chillies!!!)

So, the deed is done and I should have listened to Kay earlier when she told me it wasn't the right thing. As it has turned out, if I had done it earlier I would have been able to salvage a lot more of the timber.
Thank you sweetheart. Next time I will listen!!!
I would urge anyone who reads this to please sign on as a "Follower". This will help me in deciding whether to continue or not as I am not getting much feedback from my posts. Thank You.

YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Local News Today!!!
"Poppy has broken all Mao Tse Tung records by swatting over 185 flies in the one day!!!"
That's right ..... I counted about 187 flies that fell to my mighty swooping Mao Tse Tung fly swatter.
Now that the rain has gone and the wind has dropped, flies are coming from everywhere. At one stage this morning I counted somewhere between 20 and 25 flies on the outdoor furniture at the one time. I managed to send a dozen or so to the big dung heap in the sky, or wherever they go. And that was quite early because I started mowing the lawns around 0815. At that time this morning the temperature was just over 29 degrees and no wind, so it was a little bit warm.
I perspire (only horses sweat!!!) very freely and the flies had a great time annoying me while I was mowing the lawns. I also gave Kay her first lesson in mowing and of course she perspired too but the flies didn't seem to bother her that much.
When I finished I decided then to wreak my vengeance upon the fly population here. That's how I got so many!! The Mao Tse Tung fly swat was running hot several times.
With the edict of Mao for everyone to kill 20 flies every day, I think that I am now in credit until around 0900 on 10th February!!!!

Ten Days

Recently over a period of 10 days, we had the absolute pleasure of the company of Kay's niece and family from Perth, WA. I can honestly say that it was the most pleasant 10 days I have spent here in Queensland since my two sons went home to Tasmania.
Lisa's husband, Pian and I got on very well and we spent a lot of time outside having a cigarette and talking about so many things, but nothing in particular. Such things as gardening, hobbies, religion, family life, projects for the next few years and so much more.
Of course the family did the tourist thing, this being their first time to Queensland, and they visited the Gold Coast (Theme Parks), Sunshine Coast (Australia Zoo) and of course areas of Brisbane (D.F.O.!!!!!).
I believe that I was totally spoilt for a choice of food. Kay and Lisa cooked up a storm!!! And it was great to have a meal with all the family eating together. A rare occasion in this day and age. Pian and I also chipped in with our bit of cooking skills and Pian cooks a mighty mean grilled salmon. I even put on a couple of kilos while they were here.

Pian, Lisa, Nina, Aman, Kay and Poppy

 Of course Kay and Lisa had a lot to talk about, being so close. They both found comfortable chairs and got down to the business of discussing family and everything else you can imagine. I reckon that they could have gone on talking together for another few weeks and still not covered the same subject twice.
The kids are so very well behaved (from what I saw), but I reckon they can be a bit of a handful at times. Nina is 15 and is becoming a startlingly beautiful young woman. I reckon she will have broken a few hearts by the time she has finished Uni. And  Aman is totally surprising for his age of 12!! His has a baritone voice and already sports a moustache!! He has the metabolism of a thoroughbred!! It seems that no matter how much he tucks away at meal times, he just doesn't seem to put on weight. How envious do you think I am!!!??????

Unfortunately the weather wasn't totally kind while they were here. Hot and humid then drenching rain. Poor Pian ended up with a bit of a Summer cold (or maybe a bit of an allergy) and felt quite miserable over the last few days of the visit.

 

 

Kay and Poppy

It was a real hard thing to say goodbye when they left. It seemed that they were closer then niece and nephew-in-law and they were more like very close family. Maybe they will come back for another visit soon, or maybe even move to Queensland, seeing that they enjoyed the place so much!!!