Garden of Earthly Delights Revisited

The Garden and my backyard is teeming with life. A whole community seemed to be thriving on its own. Weird, alien-looking weeds were spreading like wildfire over our backyard, but I'll just show the acceptable ones.

weird moss

daisy rings_where fairies sing

These daisies are considered to be pesty weeds. However, they make a nice, decent golden carpet if you let them grow wild. Which you are probably not allowed to, because by then, they are a potential bushfire hazard.

We introduced hardy, drought-tolerant "eye candy" to jazz up the place a little. They are still adolescent at this stage, but growing nevertheless.

succulent 1_crucifixes

Apologies for not finding out what these succulents are named. These little 'crucifixes' are in actual fact babies still in an 'incubator'. Currently they don't have roots, but eventually they will grow thin, red tendrils on the parts of their bodies which are closest to the ground and slowly establish themselves.

black tree aeonium

I don't know the name of the thingy on the left, it was a gift from the neighbour, and does not look too healthy at this stage.

The thingy on the right is another succulent known as the 'Black Rose' / 'Black Tree' or an 'Aeonium'. I do not know how to multiply these ones either. I suppose you could chop off the head and hope it grows?

succulent rose

Pigface

This is one hell of a creeper, that you could just snip off any part of it, leave it out for weeks & it will not die off. However, as soon as released on the ground, it will somehow revitalizes itself, and if it's happy, it will grow pretty pink flowers.

Cycad / Sago fern

Another hardy, yet good-looking plant - the Cycad. This is planted in front of the house, outside the Master Bedroom. I don't know where the sago is supposed to be produced though I am certain this is just a 'decorative' version.

By the way, notice how we have a 'dragon' surrounding it? looks like a guardian lizard of the house...it would be awesome if it has wings...

Lavender

Last year's Lavender has blossomed pretty well.

purple kerchiefs

bell flower

The crimson-white drooping bells are a house-warming gift. Supposedly drought tolerant. Hopefully they last through summer, if the chooks don't kill them first.

more seeds

Time to reap, and time to sow.

And now, for some edible stuff ...

snow peas

harvest

spring onions

We never knew that spring onions could grow these cottonbud flowers on their heads, like odango atamas. The spring onions sprang forth from old, discarded roots of spring onions bought from the supermarket and their regenerative abilities are quite impressive.

sawi / bak choy


These tastes like...organic veges. Tough and almost tasteless. I don't think I will plant these again. They eentually grew into flowers, and by then, became too hard to chew.

Anyway, spring calls for BBQ with the usual fare. note: goodies are not from garden ... just for the atmosphere ... bon appetit

strawberries & kumquats

antipasto platter

jenny's pavlova

Spring Doujinshi

Spring is here. My favourite season. Persephone returns to Earth after a harrowing winter! Days are getting longer. Sunlight lingers! Yahoo ~

Crab apple trees_google

The first signs of spring - crab apple tree blossoms, heralding her return! The entire trees are drenched in sugary pink buds ...

Rosalind in bloom

The ground is carpetted in red and gold, stretched to the horizon .... (as much as the local council can spare, hehe..) Persephone shall come back in style.

turkish delights_Conservatory

Ditzy yellow tulips dancing in the wind; waving frilly laces; fragrance of the spring

yellow frilly tulips

After the quiet, solemn cold season, colours shall adorn the earth again. Dazzle dazzle. Celebrations.

magenta wild daisy_size of thumbelina @ Lake Eppalock

"No more pomegranate seeds for you again", says Demeter. "You can have these little golden jewels instead for the time being."

mini powder brushes

And so, the Earth fluorished in striking, festive colours. The grass is green, the skies are blue, crocuses and dandelions in various hues.

glittering moss_mt. franklin


What a feast for the eyes & senses.

yellow mimosa_kangaroo flat

Persephone has a curfew after all, so Mother and Daughter set to work immediately. Plants awoke and send their seeds swirling. Pollen grains akin to stars in the blue galaxy. hay fever chaos ...

spring onion @ my garden_repopulation

Infant flower asks, "Where did I come from?"

"A bee brought you"

A bee brought you indeed

flight of the bumblebee

Spring is also a season of weddings - more coincidence? Spring a blatant reminder for procreation? Discuss.

hallucinogenic orange mushrooms

how do I know they are hallucinogenic? Maybe Persephone takes them when she goes back to see Hades (because he is such a bore).

fairies living in cascading apartments

Regardless, Spring will come and go, as ageless & timeless as Persephone herself.

~ Finito ~

This doujinshi is published, plaigiarising a Greek myth of Persephone. Please take it with a tablespoon of Palladio. This is my first half-hearted attempt at a doujinshi using actual photo images. Especially the bumblebee images - I think they feel like a bit of manga. Actually this was more to protray the Spring.

Invasion of the Furry Kind

They arrive in great bundles, possibly early March this year. Until now, nobody truly knows why that the visitors came... Some say it was the 'recent' freak storm that drove them here, others suggests the past heat waves. Maybe they are attracted to the abundant Eucalyptus trees in our central park, their main food source. Whatever it is, one night, as if by magic, these furry creatures came & settled into what would be their first-grade accomodation for 6 months, Bendigo's central park - the peaceful Rosalind Park.

Introducing the Grey-Headed Flying Foxes

Rosalind Park is right in the centre of our township, connecting the business & shopping district with the arts & cafe precinct of Bendigo. As a resident here, I must say I am pretty proud of that park. It has a cascading fountain, a secluded pergola, a sweet little rotunda, a fernery, a glass conservatory, a children's playground & marble statues plus many other attractions. It is accesible by neatly paved roads, winding amongst the sentient oak & elm trees towering over the ever-green fields. The park benches beneath dimly-lit lamposts and the clean grounds encourages loiteres & picknickers alike.

Glass Conservatory in front of the law courts

Rosalind on a good day

However, with the arrival of the flying foxes, or bats as we like to call them, they have turned away most of the park users with their constant chattering and most of all with their faeces - the lethal, green, jelly-like guano. It was littered all over the grass and outdoor seatings. A slight, damp stench hung over the park like a bad dream that wouldn't go away for a while.

megabat colony

The colony of bats have turned away many visitors / joggers/ school kids alike. Apart from the most loyal park-users, people tend to avoid hanging around the gardens. Ironically, although the bats have made it near impossible to have a leisurely walk, they became some sort of an icon and a bizarre tourist attraction.

in flight

We became fascinated with these migrant creature, as you can't avoid noticing them in the vicinity. In the mornings, they would surround the city, flying around the park in hordes after endless hordes, almost threatening to block out the sun. In the evenings, they were still doing the 'flying-around' en masse, and this time round, the flights were much, much more eerie ... Imagine thousands of bats circling a gothic, medieval cathedral during twilight ... A vampire wouldn't look out of place if it emerges from the cathedral.

hanging around

And I thought bats were blind during the day, but obviously I didn't do enough research. These little flying creatures generated a lot of mixed emotions amongst Bendigonians. Some people hate them & you can't blame them as there was a period when fear-mongers spread the rumours that humans may catch bat-transmitted diseases (Australian bat lyssavirus) whatever that is ... However, there were plenty of understanding residents who went all out to defend the creatures. Soon, the Council posted up a sign saying the bats are an endangered species.

That seemed to shut up most of us up.

furry silhouttes

As migrant creatures ourselves, I guess I am quite happy with the noble way most Bendigonians accept foreign matter, be it fruit bats or Chinese. They take it with a pinch of salt. Figure of speech of course. Hehehe...

furry 'fruits'

On a closer look, they aren't all that bad (i meant the bats, not chinese). The bats may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they definately look cute, cuddly and adorably furry. I find them rather silly - looking & aloof hanging upside down wrapped in their mafia-like golden neck-muff. Also, they feel like mischevious exhibitionist wrapped in their leather-black wings as if they are going to flash you anytime.

With the changing seasons, these flying foxes looks like they are to be on the move again. Although they are a spectacle, I certainly won't miss them & their BO. But you never know, they may be back next year.

this is how u do it, mr. bale

They do remind me of evil kangaroo-like rats with wings ... But who am I to complain? I came from a town named specifically after a fruit bat Keluang. Coincidence?

Castlemaine

Just 30 minutes' drive away from the city of Bendigo is a tiny, artistic town called Castlemaine. I do not know much about the history of the town, but we deduced that like many regional Victorian cities it has someting to do with gold.

The reason we love Castlemaine is because of its proximity, and the people that calls Castlemaine home. They are a rather distinct community, in our humble opinions. I do not speak for all of them but they are more likely than not to sport hand-made linen, knitted shawls and colourful woolen caps or socks. They have a general preference for organic stuff. Most of them are vegetarians, if not vegans. This does not mean that they have an aversion to smoking weird & wonderful things.

They are well-versed in arts and crafts, many of them painters or scultptures themselves. Another distinctive feature is that they are quite the environmentalists. Not the Prius-driving type but the bike-riding, jog-to-work kind. But of course, this is all just a generalization on my part.

Recently, the Mount Alexander Sustainability Group organized an 'Open House Day' for visitors & enthusiasts alike to explore houses that features sustainable designs. It was a 1-day event that took place in Castlemaine. A total of 6 houses opened their doors and personal lives for us to scrutinize over their homes. Every house is unique and every stop we make, my wish list expands. Below are a couple of features which I think is worth spending money on / really interesting to have (in Victoria): -

Double Glazing

Have you been in a double glazed / triple glazed home? You would notice the difference immediately! Double glazing, to put it simply, is basically having two panes of glazing with an air space in between. It provides insulation for thermal and acoustic purposes. The winters here are quite chilly, and sometimes, unbearable (for a malaysian). Double glazing is definately a sound investment as at the end of the day, good insulation will help save your electricity + gas bill.

small horizontal double glazed windows in attic bedroom

North-facing glazing

One golden rule with designing homes around this region is maximizing North-facing windows / glazing. This is mainly to fully utilize the winter sun & daylight during the cold months.

Minimizing West-side windows

That was the external elevation of the house that caught our eyes. They have minimal openings on the side that I presume, is facing the West. But the main reason for this image was that D loved this facade, with the simple timber strips outlining the very basic form of a farm barnhouse. Which also brings us to the next point, Deep Overhangs.

rear of house - openings in the overhangs

We missed the deep overhangs / verandahs that tended to appear in tropical houses. Here in Victoria, they seemed to do away with the eaves. However, deep eaves / overhangs are really essential as an effective sun-shading devise, keeping the sun away from the house's internal spaces. Also a deep overhang may create a sort of in-between space, neither inside nor outside, like a verandah, or a shaded corridor.

their spartan kitchen

I think this Kitchen is really cute, small and unpretentious for a family home, although I may disagree with the colour scheme. However, I believe it is very functional and uncompromising despite its size.

rear elevation

I believe this is the North Elevation where they set out their courtyard. This image shows another must-have item (which are already enforced in the local regulations anyway) which is the solar panels. In addition to that, I really like their timber sleepers planter boxes. They look so rustic and I imagine they could be repositioned to suit the weather too. Pretty Nifty.

bathroom overlooking external area

Bathrooms / toilets with transparent walls used to be a trendy addition, and probably still is. Don't really fancy that.

Bedroom overlooking bushland

One of the timber columns looked like it came straight from the bushland itself. And private quarters (except for toilets!) facing a public realm has its own romantic notions, I think.

Laundry in the air

Lastly, this convenient, yet unconventional method of drying your clothes. Some of the houses have the luxury of a high, pitched ceiling. They usually install a laundry horse on a pulley system that utilizes the attic space to dry the clothes. The hot air that gathers round the high ceilings dry the clothes in no time at all. Space saving & convenient, yes, but rather unsightly?

Other features that I didn't have much time to dwell on are thick strawbale walls, mudbrick houses, compost bins, pot-belly heaters, rainwater tanks, etc., etc. are worth having a look. But the shock of the day was discovering one well-meaning greenie who went so far as to install a compost toilet inside his lovely home. Looks good, sounds great, smells like a million dollars ... worth of garbage. (No, I did not take a photo of that.)