Spring is here!

Yeah! finally the days are lengthening, bulbs are flowering and sadly the grass has risen enough to be mowed again. Though to call it grass is somewhat a misnomer as the weeds outnumber the real grass. The lack of watering over the last few summers, due to water restrictions has seen to that.
The Magnolia tree has bloomed and now is covered in new green leaves. The hyacinths are just about to finish, as are the daffodils. My lovely Camellia's are also nearly finished their flowering as are some of the Azalea's.

My Plum tree is flowering, though rather lopsidedly as the "other half" got carried away when pruning it in July. However, neither the Persimmon Tree or the Ginko tree are showing any signs of bud burst or leaf.
One of the joys of Spring in Melbourne is the antics of the swooping bird population. I haven't been attacked by a Magpie yet, though my son on bicycle has. The Masked Plover's have raised a chick and annoy us with frequent warning cries and constant dive bombing when anyone approaches.

And to top it off the water tanks are completely full. Summer here we come!

Winter and warming

After almost a week of foggy, crisp mornings and brilliant sunny days we know in Melbourne that winter has arrived. Aeroplane flights were delayed several mornings this week but we are extremely lucky to be living in an area where such great weather is normal in winter.
The wood stove (with triple burn technology) has been used to great effect this week and there is nothing like sitting in front of a warm fire and reading a good book.
This weekend I'm starting "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian" by Marina Lewycka as part of the book club I belong to. Its only a short book so I'll expect to complete it by the end of the long weekend.
What are you doing these wintry nights?
While watching ABC TV last week I was intrigued by the story on power generation in Woking, UK. It just shows you that one person can make a difference. The change from one polluting technology (greenhouse gases) to a far less polluting technology is possible when someone is committed and passionate about the problem. For those interested here is the website http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2244790.htm.
And it seemed to use previously known technology and cost less.