[Shaved Monkey]

Just went for a trip to the closest big town to visit their landcare nursery
Picked a car load of plants all Australian natives indigenous to our area,I will fill in the holes and try and increase the diversity .

Noticed the flame trees are all flowering now
just stunning with a red carpet underneath too
Makes the cherry blossom look tame in comparison

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachychiton_acerifolius
Those flame trees will blind a weary driver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAtzoo3dEwk

[Shaved Monkey]

Just ordered a soursop/graviola a Rollinia deliciosa a Achacha and a blood orange that goes red in a sub tropical climate (they usually need a cold winter to go red)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soursop
With an aroma similar to pineapple, the flavour of the fruit has been described as a combination of strawberries and apple with sour citrus flavour notes, contrasting with an underlying thick creamy texture reminiscent of banana.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garcinia_humilis
The taste is described as both bitter and sweet and is somewhat reminiscent of lemonade.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollinia_deliciosa
The fruit pulp is very soft and sweet, tasting somewhat like a lemon meringue pie.

https://www.daleysfruit.com.au/buy/oran ... d-tree.htm
Blood oranges have their own distinctive flavour reminiscent of strawberries. This is the best colouring variety in the sub tropics.

None are needed for survival they are just for fun.
I now have multiple varieties of citrus 3x orange ,3 x mandarin,2 x lemon ,5x lime,1 kumquat and 1 pomello

Thats my gin and tonics and margaritas sorted

[Newfie]

In Dominica the mangos are still ripening. I will be gone before they come in.

In New Jersey I started some persimmons, I had high hopes. But something got to them over the summer and are the saplings clean gone. Trying again this year with chicken wire enclosure to keep critters put.

I made 2 dive this week. Those are my first dives in God only knows how long. Maybe 15 - 20 years? Long time. I was a bit apprehensive but all went OK. AND I got to see sone interesting stuff.

[careinke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'I')n Dominica the mangos are still ripening. I will be gone before they come in.

In New Jersey I started some persimmons, I had high hopes. But something got to them over the summer and are the saplings clean gone. Trying again this year with chicken wire enclosure to keep critters put.

I made 2 dive this week. Those are my first dives in God only knows how long. Maybe 15 - 20 years? Long time. I was a bit apprehensive but all went OK. AND I got to see sone interesting stuff.

[theluckycountry]

I have never dived with scuba, that would be the ultimate, but when younger used to snorkel a lot off the reefs in Western Australia. They were often like cracked clay, you swam along the top with your speargun looking down into little ravines filled with exotic fish. I rarely shot a fish, the gun was for sharks, which I rarely saw. When it was low tide you might have only a meter of water under you, all the way out, but the gaps got deeper and deeper though they might only be a dozen meters across. When you got to the end, perhaps a half a mile off the beach, the shelf would drop suddenly away under you in a steep curve and you could see far off into the open water. It was majestic, and a little unnerving. The gloomy deep. I quickly turned back then, all the primordial fears at work. The ocean is a wonder-world, you are a lucky man Newfie.

[Newfie]

Lucky indeed. Didn't feel so lucky those 40 years of working to get here. The trick is now to last long enough to get my monies worth.

I was truly lucky to have employment and a spouse that supported me going part time in my late 50's. But even that took work. Still I am greatful.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', '
')
I was truly lucky to have employment and a spouse that supported me going part time in my late 50's. But even that took work. Still I am greatful.

[Newfie]

That is th3 thing we all struggle with, why are we here, what is the purpose.

[theluckycountry]

Winter is approaching and winter here is cold by our standards, down to zero Celsius some mornings, freezing point. But I love it, the wood fire gets stoked and the feather doodahs come out. In a brick home you're pretty well covered for about 10 degrees or more. I like to cycle Winter mornings, even in the dark, in the low single digits. I have all the hi-tech clothing and illumination and there is something special about peddling along at 20 km/h in the dark and the cold. You actually get quite warm with the internal heat you generate and the only issue I ever had was the tips of my toes but some special windproof shoe covers seemed to work last year.

I have never understood people who complain about the weather, sure rain can be inconvenient some times if it goes on for days but that's just the cycle of the world and you roll with the punches. It seems our rainy season is over now though, the ants have all gone back down into the ground and I'm looking forward to cool bright sunny days as we move through the last of Autumn. There is even a special on the large tins of Milo at the supermarket here this week. 1kg a tin, I'll buy three, nothing like a hot Milo on a cold night after a bowl of pea and ham soup.

[Newfie]

Pea soup,

The British Empire exists.

A summertime staple.

[Newfie]

A wee short film some may appreciate.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/e1fzJD ... tid=xfxF2i

[Shaved Monkey]

Getting ready to go to Istanbul and Italy brushing up on my Italian with duolingo and I still remember a fair bit of Turkish from 30 years ago.

[Newfie]

Cool, good for you.

Where are you now?

Pleasure or business?

[Shaved Monkey]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'C')ool, good for you.

Where are you now?

Pleasure or business?

[Newfie]

Very cool.

I am retired also and loving it.

We also travel but our scope is limited. It is more like we live in a few regions.

[Shaved Monkey]

Im trying to travel while the legs and brain and the world still works
Ive just turned 60

[Newfie]

73, still hobbling along pretty good. The Wife can almost keep up. LOL

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shaved Monkey', 'I')m trying to travel while the legs and brain and the world still works
Ive just turned 60

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', ' ')Didn't feel so lucky those 40 years of working to get here. The trick is now to last long enough to get my monies worth.

[theluckycountry]

Adam, on the happy talk thread? No, I'm not buying it, he couldn't possibly have anything happy to talk about

I'm heading up into the mountains this week with some friends, Yowie hunters! I'm not a believer myself but they are a great troop who really know how to have a campfire and the food is amazing. I'll ride up on the adventure bike and sleep in one of the camper trailers and help put the remote cams out in the forest. They pack thermal imagers, motion sensor lights and some of the most powerful flashlights I have ever seen. Real techno heads, one keeps a laptop with him at all times during the night to watch for activity.

Interestingly they claim the Yowie's come in close at night to investigate the camp, which is why they don't bother going out on walks, very convenient lol. Either way it's a fun adventure and there is a crystal clear river there for a lunchtime swim. Nothing like a fresh water swimming I recon. This is the perfect time of year for it too, warm but not hot and not many insects.