Plant care, dust and some creativity stuff. (Bean)

So, still no duck. I have named the vanishing duck 'Duck Meister' just because I wanted to. Anyway it's still hiding. I've been advised that it's a 'Muscovy' duck by my Dad. I thought that was a wine but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt since he is usually right and I am quite often, not.

I don't think it flew anywhere because it doesn't look very aerodynamic. Also, it had several attempts just to get out of the pool. Maybe it climbed a tree or something.

Speaking of which it has been  dry and windy here over the last few days ... warm as well. I noticed leaves blowing off a couple of our citrus trees. The leaves looked dis-coloured and unhealthy. On investigation I found out that there are several thousand things that could be causing this. I've decided to pick one. Iron and zinc deficiency.


So on deciding that was the problem and ignoring all the other complicated possibilities, I got some stuff to put in the soil and dome zinc stuff you can spray on the leaves. The spray bottle had instructions on it. I decided to read it ( usually I don't bother, I mean it's spray. It's in a bottle. It's for the leaves. Can't be that difficult) Turns out you shouldn't spray it when it's windy, the plant is flowering and if the temperature is going to get above 20 degrees. A good laugh indeed. The trees seem to always be budding ( even with fruit on). Alice Springs climate is confusing for them. (And us coming to think of it). Above twenty degrees?  I'll pretend I didn't read that. Windy? Well, yes, obviously. It'll blow in your face otherwise ... as I found out.  Still we'll see what happens.

I found the culprit that was munching the other leaves.


It's a locust about the size of a small woodland creature. I finally killed it after a far too long vicious battle. Luckily there was only one otherwise I don't think I would have survived. If it's mates come looking for it we could be in trouble. Speaking of locusts...

I have filled out the form for cat adoption from the local rspca pet rescue place. If accepted (which I'm assuming we will be, because let's face it, how unbelievably  sad would that be if they turned us down). The metal mesh should be on its way to us for the cattery. Maybe two to three weeks. One has to add on the time for when the courier gets lost or gives up.

What else. Oh, some 'creative' stuff.

3D and Lego.

Here's the fiddling of 3D stuff ...


to create this.



Then there is the Lego. (Credit for the red light source goes to my head -torch who I have called 'Floppy' due to its always floppy head band.)

Scale, Ducks and Flaps.

So, wake up and there's a duck in the pool. Just doing duck things and acting as if it owned the place. Being the considerate neighbour that I am I asked around if anyone had lost a duck. They hadn't.


So this would mean having to catch it. I threw it some chook feed at it ( hoping it might be a friendly pet type duck) but it just looked at me and kind of sniffed. Then it crapped all over the side of the pool. So I went to get the bits and pieces to capture it. By the way, for those interested I believe it's a Red-faced Trespass Duck although I could be mistaken.

So we (Al was my handy sidekick) had one Duck to catch:


One box to put it in:

Annette would also be helpful. Good on 'er.


The thing is though by the time we got back to the pool, about 4 seconds later, it had gone. Vanished. Scidaddled. We looked behind trees etc but no sign of it.

Now it's just bloody scary having a ninja Duck on our property that is able to out- fox us or in this case out- duck us.

Speaking of which, Scale. Weird stuff. We have it on some of our Eremophelia plants. They are very nice normally despite the difficulty in spelling its name when you don't know how to. (The plant not the scale) Here's scale:


Al suggested (and some websites) to cut off the infected parts.

So I did:


Apparently the scale feeds off the plants sap. They produce a sweet goo type stuff that the ants love. The ants then help keep away natural predators. I'm not sure what predators those are. Probably bears.

Anyway I have various insecticides that I can try if needed.

Oh it all happens here.

Look! Catflap!


Put in today by the excellent Neata Glass business the in The Alice.

Now we just need a cat to put through it.

We've got a duck.


Just not sure where it's hiding.

Wow! Or Hmmm. (Bean)

So, a lot of people would not think that this following picture would be exciting ...


... and they would be right. A sprouting potatato is not very exciting. ( The mug is pretty cool, admittedly). But, what would happen if I was to tell you that this is a very rare and special sweet potato? Well I hope you would tell me that I was talking rubbish, because I am.  Just a normal sweet spud that has sat in the mug for about seven years doing nothing. Well, maybe three weeks. Anyway - it'll soon be planted and then it will probably take over the whole back yard.

For real excitement look at this!


Yes, I know. Sturt Desert Peas. The seeds were made to believe they had just experienced a fire ( putting into almost boiling water) - looks like they've germinated or whatever that growing/gardening word is. (They do get bigger. The Desert Peas, not the words.)

Which brings me cleverly onto plastic bricks.

Here's what's happening in Lego Life:

Another Lego Thing. (Bean)

Just another one. (Hey, it keeps me out of trouble).

Latest 'Legowits' and broken teef . (Bean)

So, saw a dentist today. She said the reason I had problems eating on my right side is that all three upper back teeth were cracked. So I have temporarily fillings for a couple of weeks and then we'll see what happens. No, it's not going to be a competition between Al and me to who keeps their teeth the longest. (She was in last week getting some caps sorted out).  Still, I have stocked up on soup. See what I did there? Stock? Soup? Soup stock? Stocky soup? Soupy stock?

Never mind. Must be the pain meds kicking in. Which is odd since it's only ibuprofen (Neurofen).

Anyhoo - I have been deciding how to sort out my Lego figures. I have over 300 of them and interestingly over 340 heads. Something scary is happening in the Lego world.  Anyway these (the pictures not the heads) have been added to the many other glimpses of madness at https://www.redbubble.com/people/beanoutback/portfolio?asc=u
I would like to mention though that: LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this web site/blog.

They are pretty good with the whole disclaimer thing actually. Warner Bros on the other hand - no no they are all over me if anything Like Lego Batman is posted.  Fair enough I suppose.

(If Lego ever gave me a cease and desist order I would frame it.)

Oh and I only ever had Lego ground tiles that were green or grey. The other day I found a yellow one, Sand! (Yes, 'Beans life of excitement'.)

A Short Story (Bean)

Well , just because I had the time here goes. Turns out I couldn't post it in the layout that it's intended so here is a basic version. As has been mentioned before, Al once suggested that I just type 'anything that comes into your head rather than nothing at all'. This was quite a few years ago when I was attempting to write a book and complained of "writers block". Apparently some say there is no such thing. Anyway it ended with a collection of made up on the spot short stories. I never knew what was going to happen myself as I typed.

The pictures are a recent addition that I dabbled with using a mix of 3d software and stuff ... since I cant draw in real life.

I think I must have had thoughts of the various crap various jobs I have had as I did this particular one.

Anyway, if you would like a power nap then read on.

BY BEAN STRANGEWAYS

'Excuse me? I don't think you're allowed in there,' said the young man.
'What do you mean?' replied the other man.
'I think you'll find it's for staff only: there's a notice on the door.'
'Yes, I can see the notice thank you.'
'Okay then. I just thought I'd tell you.'
'That's very considerate of you, but actually I work here,' said the second man, his hand grasping the door handle.
'Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise,' replied the young man embarrassedly, and then added, 'What do you do here?'
'I boss.'
'Excuse me?'
'I'm The Boss.'
'Really?' laughed the first man, 'Are you having me on?'
'No,' replied the second man, 'I can assure you that I am The Boss and that I am certainly not having you, nor anyone else, “on”. It's Brian isn't it?'
'Uh, yeah. How did you know my name?' asked Brian.

'It's my duty. Well, I must be getting on.'
'Hey! Hang on.' Brian called out.

The Boss dropped his hand from the door handle and sighed, 'Yes? What is it?'
'Er, could I have a word with you, especially since you're the boss and all.'
'Very well. What is it?' The Boss asked, turning to Brian.
'Well, I was wondering if you could maybe loosen my shackles a bit.'
'I don't think that's an option,' replied The Boss matter-of-factly.
'What do you mean?' whined Brian. 'My wrists and ankles are really sore. The metal digs in.'

'Well in that case let me rephrase myself,' said The Boss. 'No.'
'But why must they be so tight? Coming to think of it, why am I shackled to the wall in the first place?'

The Boss stepped in front of Brian and peered down closely at his face. 'You are joking aren't you?' he said.
'Er, no,' replied Brian, averting his eyes from The Boss' piercing stare.
'You mean you really don't understand?'
'Well, no, not really.'
'Not even an inkling?'

Brian was silent for a moment. 'Well, maybe a small inkling.'
'And what is that small inkling?' asked The Boss, straightening up in front of Brian.
Well,' replied Brian, 'It's the heat and flames that suggest something.'
'And what exactly do the heat and flames suggest, Brian?'
'That I'm being punished?' asked Brian looking up at The Boss.
'Well done!' exclaimed The Boss, 'You are being punished. Which brings us back to the loosening of the shackles. It can't be done or it wouldn't be the correct punishment you see.'

Brian looked around and then looked at the red hot floor. 'I'm in Hell aren't I?' he said softly.
'Yes.'
'So if you're the boss then you must be…er…'
'Yes?' prompted The Boss.

'You must be that Beezlyblub bloke.'
'Beelzebub, the Devil and many other names. Yes that's correct but you may address me as Sir'

Despite the heat Brian's face turned pale. 'Well, Mr Beezlyblub … Sir, why am I here?'
'You don't know that either?' asked The Boss.
'No. No one told me.'
'If you don't know why you're here then maybe your punishment isn't severe enough,' suggested The Boss neatly expressing his unique ideology.

Brian thought hard. 'I remember bits of my past.'
'Good, and what can you remember?' urged The Boss.
'Er, I lived with my mum even though I was thirty-two, but that was because she had arthritis and needed help around the house.'
'Well, you're not here because of that are you?'
'Um...' pondered Brian, 'I helped out at the homeless shelter on weekends?'
'No, it wasn't that,' sighed The Boss who was now looking at his fingernail, 'What else?'
'I wrote a book called The Art Of Being Nice and gave the royalties to charity?'
'No! No!' snapped The Boss, You're in Hell! What action do you think earned your passage here?'
'I don't know!' wailed Brian, 'I even went to church every Sunday, I'm a religious man!'

The Boss brought his face close to Brian's and said quietly, 'Don't mention The War. If you do that again I'll quite happily remove your head in one fair swoop.'

Brian quickly turned away, eyes shut, bracing himself for some kind of physical attack. A few moments later he looked up at The Boss who had stepped backed. With a concerned expression Brian decided to ask, 'Isn't the term ‘one fell swoop'?'
'Yes,' admitted The Boss, 'But I can say what I like…believe me.'
'Look,' whimpered Brian resignedly, 'I really can't remember why I was sent here, honest.'
'Well, think harder, you worthless fool,' sighed The Boss.
'I can't!' cried Brian, 'I really can't remember! I shouldn't be here! My name is Brian. Surely nobody called Brian goes to hell?'

The Boss thought for a moment and scratched his chin. 'A rather weak, but nonetheless plausible supposition,' he said.

The Boss waved his hand briefly and a small disgusting creature ran to his side. It looked up at him with red runny eyes. The sores that covered its face were weeping over its ghoulish skin. The Boss looked down at it. 'Frank, I want you to get the file on Brian Winters for me.'

Frank looked behind him and then back at The Boss with a blank expression.
'Yes I'm talking to you Frank,' said The Boss. 'The file. Go and get it.'

As the information reached Frank's brain, his eyes widened. He then excitedly scuttled off into the flames.

The heat was causing Brian to sweat as he looked at The Boss with a pathetic expression. 'I'm sure I would have remembered if I'd done anything wrong.'
'Well, we'll soon see,' replied The Boss.
'But shouldn't you know?' asked Brian.
'No, not really. I can't be expected to know everything. That's why we have paperwork.'

Frank scuttled back with a file clutched in one of his claws. He was panting hard and made a bubbly sound. The Boss took the file. 'Thank you Frank, you can go now.'
Frank stood there looking vacant.

'I said you could go now,' repeated The Boss.
Frank stood there and started to dribble.
The Boss sighed. Frank exploded.
'I really hate having to say things more than twice,' said The Boss
'That wasn't very nice of you,' said Brian.
'Don't you tell me what's nice and what's not. I'm highly qualified in that area. I also expect the best from my staff so don't start telling me how to do my job either,' sneered The Boss.

The Boss flicked through the file. Brian strained his neck to try and see.

'Hmm,' said The Boss, 'Frank, are you sure that…?' he stopped mid-sentence as he remembered that Frank was no longer.
'What's the matter?' asked Brian.
'Well,' replied The Boss sheepishly, 'There seems to have been a slight clerical error.'
'What?' asked Brian.
'Yes,' said The Boss. 'Sorry about that. A slight mix up. You can go.'
'What, just like that?'
'Yes.'
'You're not going to keep me here for eternity?'
'Good grief no,' retorted The Boss. 'You haven't done anything wrong enough to earn the right to be here at all.'
The shackles fell from Brian's limbs.

'Well, that's very kind of you,' said Brian, rubbing his wrists and carefully stretching his back.

'Yes it is isn't it,' agreed The Boss 'But “hell hath no fury...” as they say.'
'Do they?' asked Brian who was beginning to fade.
'Apparently,' said The Boss
'Where do I go now?' asked Brian, his voice becoming fainter.
'Beats me,' replied The Boss, turning to walk away. 'That's not my area.'

And then Brian was gone.

Huh? Cloud? Oh, and Killer Plants. (Bean)

So the sun went in today.  Yes, I know people will sigh and tut at that remark but it's something we notice here when it happens. We are so lucky to have all the sun that we do that cloud becomes a conversation opener. A bit of a dull one admittedly but still ...  the day has turned cloudy, look:

Ah ha! Al has just got back and the first thing she said? 'It's a bit cloudy isn't it?'

(She made it sound very interesting though, do not dull at all).

Man, it's exciting out this way!

Anyhoo, I decided to attack (prune) the killer (possibly) plant (cactus). I did wonder if it fell on me if it would a) kill me, b) pin me to the ground and make me leak c) turn out to be an extreme but effective form of acupuncture  and therefore curing me of any ailments. None of those happened but if they had ... well, I would have already thought about the predicament.


I continued to dig the cattery run thing. We are thinking of getting a cat ( might help) and it needs to be kept under strict control. (The cat not the cattery run thing). Mr Bluebird and crew would not look as pretty inside a cat. (Although the way he shows off I do possibly wonder).

It will have an aerial run to its aviary from the house. (The cattery run thing, not the cat or Mr Bluebird).



There seems to be a small stump in the way. (We need underground mesh to stop it from tunnelling its way out). I've decided to ignore the stump. If I close my eyes it's not there anyway.

Long service leave is very handy. ( I now have a list on an app for my phone. I try not to spend more time sorting the list than anything on it). I even decided to tackle the leaking toilet cistern (cistern or cystern?). It has too much calcium (?) from our extremely hard water out here. Luckily I have my Uber cleaner that I have decided to weaken a bit since it tends to burn the skin quite easily. Here is a very exciting picture of some toilet parts and a dirty watering can:


Speaking of wheelbarrows, I have to say 'Bravo' to the makers of the new wheelbarrow wheel I bought. No more flats. At last. It's like a dream come true. All our tyres ( bicycles, ride-on, sack trolley, trailer, wheelbarrows) constantly get flats from the vicious spikes that like to grow here. Goo, the stuff that is put into the tyres to stop flats, works quite well, but it's only a matter of time.

These things are ... well just wonderful. 

I wondered if I should by a spare. Then thought, 'Why?'

I have also almost finished my attempt at 'illustrating' a short story I did. ( Watch this space). Al is my editor which is rather kind of her. Also very necessary. It's come back more times than a boomerang. It's only 1250 words. Maybe if I improve that doesn't happen. I have to say that she's very patient. How professional of her.

We are about to have a fire outside since it is still quite cool at night. I can here the poor potatoes in the cupboard shaking with fear.

Actually why do I say those things? Really?
Now I'll go through that potato murderous phase that, well lets face it, probably isn't that endearing to the plant world. Plus it's a bit of an appetite killer looking at a murdered object on my plate.

Maybe next week I'll get some and set them free just to equal the ... er ... equalibrium.

Right. Time to grate some cheese. ( Grating is something that cheese looks forward to, or so I've decided.)

Oranges & morning baths. (Bean)

So this morning there was a heap of activity outside with birdies doing their thing. They might have been doing other things that weren't theirs but I couldn't tell.

The battery on my camera was low so I then spent bloody ages trying to find the charger. You know, the one I definitely had out recently and was plugged into the kitchen wall. Yes that one.

The camera still had some charge left and I could have started taking piccies then but the distraction of a vanished charger was too great. Yes, I live life pretty much on the edge. Right on the edge. So much so that even my fear of heights kicks in.

Well the charger wasn't where it should have been and after an hour of searching the same three places over and over again it still surprising remained lost - or stolen - or dissolved. Getting frustrated because it really wasn't anywhere to be found whatsoever and it still hadn't reappeared in the socket on the kitchen wall. I was about to give up and take up drawing. Then I remembered I cant draw.

Anyway. Found it in Oscar in the end. I have no idea how it got there. Must be poltergeists or something.

The birdies had, during this time, been doing interesting things like singing, swooping, formation flying, cartwheeling and line dancing. Now I had my camera - with limited charge left - they started planning their hiding technique. (Not that bluebird job - he just shows off now).

Here is the first one:



Wait, that's a wabbit. Otherwise known as 'Feral Wabbit'.

Now, I'm not one to digress but they are becoming a lot more common and I really need to get in touch with Land for Wildlife. (Probably something to do with mating and all that.) (The bunnies - not the getting in touch with Land for Wildlife).

For those that love animals, read this bit, not the next paragraph, you should skip that... I think they come and take them to a new home. Like a big wabbit ranch or something.

For those that realise that unfortunately they are a lovely cute looking pest - they get gassed. Well that's what I've heard. Find the warrens and wipe them out. I hope it doesn't damage the Bearded Dragons that we have around here. Anyhoo, we'll find out soon I expect.

(Shame they cant be hunted like they were in the past and some coinage exchanged for tails. Rabbit pie and fur clothing etc.)

So as I was saying. Oranges.

I had put some of the old ones out and it looks like the Lesser Ringed Port Talbot Parrots (something like that) like them:



Then the little yellow birds, Common Leg-Hoppers (?), were flittering around and enjoying the bird bath and the pond waterfall.

[gallery ids="2651,2652,2654,2653" type="rectangular"]

Yes, I know. I've suddenly gone 'picture mosaic style'. As I said ... living on the edge etc.

Also the bottle brush flowers have suddenly popped open. Amazing to be able to stand there and watch them pop from green nodules to a bright red brush in under one second. It's like a weird fire-work display. I suppose that's why they are famous.



Or at least they would be if any of that was true. It would be cool though. I like the idea of 'fast flowers'.

Or singing flowers, now that would be excellent.

Finally, one more thing...



...actually no, that was it.