Where are the rain gods?

Our little frog pond here is an indicator of how much of that precious stuff we've received recently......or not.

It finally gave up the ghost this week.

It's way too late now for the grain farmers and some of the crops don't want rain right now. For example, the cherry and berry growers. 

I have such admiration for those hard working souls whose income is reliant on the weather gods producing the right conditions at the right time. How do they do it ?

Apparently our normal average rainfall here is around 740 mms.

We are currently sitting on 323mm.

No other explanation required.

All over Victoria there are many others with such low figures.

Bless the farmers.

Speaking of cherries, here's our cherry harvest this year......not a bumper crop but cherries nonetheless!

Keeping it simple in the Farmshop this week.

Buckets of foliage.

Mother Nature's Christmas baubles....( someone bought them!)

Simple flower bunches in jars....

I picked some liliums. The flowers are being scorched on these hot days so I told myself they'd be happy in some water and shade ( the Farmshop!)

Little cherubs.

.

Rain is predicted this week.

 Hope some falls at your place. 

Gotta love a Xmas bauble

I love Xmas baubles.

And Nature has created the best bauble of all.

A foliage forage around the garden was in order.

The best bit was having a play.

And now I have these to hang in the Farmshop for Christmas.

Just a wire coat hanger fashioned into a circle.

So jumping head first into the Christmas theme I covered some tins with paper ready to use for........ well, whatever takes my fancy really.

Bill joined some old fence palings together to make a blackboard for me.

I was still pondering what to write when I took this photo.

Ended up writing prices across the bottom.

It's huge.....!!!!

Some flowers out there this week included..

I keep trying out new possibilities as they arise. It won't be long now and the roses will have finished their first blooming. Anything new needs to survive the over night in water test to be considered.

This salvia still looks a treat.

Haven't had the heart to cut these for my Farmshop yet.

Little boys.....

Around the garden path....

Sadly, one of the trees didn't survive the wind last week.

I'll be beside myself when the sunflowers bloom.

I have never ever had then in my garden before. Can't wait.

Will and Jacq celebrated their engagement with a party in the backyard backyard at Jo's. It was a perfect day. Congratulations you two gorgeous things.

A rainbow of hollyhocks

Around the garden path......

It's just like being in a box of smarties up in this corner of the rose garden.

It's a rainbow of hollyhocks. 

From the richest of reds to the palest of pinks and lemons ( turns out there are lemons there Viv! )

I think I may have contributed to the mass invasion of earwigs this year.

Last year when cutting off diseased and ugly bits I would just leave them lying on the ground  thinking that I'd get around to picking up the scraps later, but of course I never did. Apparently they take a fancy to this sort of mulchy matter and make it their home for the next twelve months until the time is right to go on the attack again( with increased numbers).

Lesson learned.

Bill's cherries are under attack!

Only one of seven but it has forced him to take action.

Try getting in there birds......!!!!!

Our first lilium bloom.....Eyeliner. 

In the Farmshop this week.

All flowers inside today. It's hot and blowing a gale out there. 

Pippi Rose and Sunday Rose 

Gorgeous sunset photo in our backyard( thanks Max)

Herbs in their new containers on the kitchen bench.

The one with the yellow flowers is from the curry plant.

Desperate for a bit of play/ sewing time.

I'll just leave it lying around to look at for now!

It's from a collection by Riley Blake called La Vie Boheme.

Our boys.....

.......bless their little cotton socks.