Outside the House
Hard to believe we've been here over 10 years now.
Our old 2-burner gas BBQ, purchased in late 2008, has now been retired as I refused to allow it to be lit on safety grounds. A lot of the components inside were disintegrating with rust.
It was a cheap K-mart one, so it's done pretty well.
Yesterday we set out to purchase a new one. This is a slightly more expensive 4-burner model from an actual BBQ store. Noticeably larger and more solid than the old one, with a cupboard for the gas bottle and a side-burner so I can stir-fry veggies at the same time.
We even got a box to put the BBQ cover into while we're using it, so hopefully it will avoid the fate of the previous two covers. (They got grotty, so didn't get put back on, got more grotty, will clean it soon..., started to disintegrate from exposure to the elements and garden attack).
As the weather warms up, I am once more thinking that maybe I should have done something about putting a roof of some description over the patio. Guess we'll see how we go with the umbrella for a bit longer.
Only a short period of dry weather has seen the yard dry up and the lawn start browning off. Most of my plants seem to have established well during the wet weather and look good so far. Can only wait and see how long and hot the summer turns out to be.
Springwatch in our yard has finished with the magpie larks leaving their nest sometime between the hot day on Thursday and Saturday afternoon. Eventually confirmed they had 3 chicks in there when one of them hopped up onto the side and 2 beaks were left poking up from the nest. No sign of any of them now.
Edit: Dec 2 4 Magpie Larks are hanging around in the backyard again, some still a little fluffy around the edges. Every now and then one will visit the nest, as if keeping an eye on the old place, or reminiscing about their youth.
Our old 2-burner gas BBQ, purchased in late 2008, has now been retired as I refused to allow it to be lit on safety grounds. A lot of the components inside were disintegrating with rust.
It was a cheap K-mart one, so it's done pretty well.
Yesterday we set out to purchase a new one. This is a slightly more expensive 4-burner model from an actual BBQ store. Noticeably larger and more solid than the old one, with a cupboard for the gas bottle and a side-burner so I can stir-fry veggies at the same time.
We even got a box to put the BBQ cover into while we're using it, so hopefully it will avoid the fate of the previous two covers. (They got grotty, so didn't get put back on, got more grotty, will clean it soon..., started to disintegrate from exposure to the elements and garden attack).
As the weather warms up, I am once more thinking that maybe I should have done something about putting a roof of some description over the patio. Guess we'll see how we go with the umbrella for a bit longer.
Only a short period of dry weather has seen the yard dry up and the lawn start browning off. Most of my plants seem to have established well during the wet weather and look good so far. Can only wait and see how long and hot the summer turns out to be.
Springwatch in our yard has finished with the magpie larks leaving their nest sometime between the hot day on Thursday and Saturday afternoon. Eventually confirmed they had 3 chicks in there when one of them hopped up onto the side and 2 beaks were left poking up from the nest. No sign of any of them now.
Edit: Dec 2 4 Magpie Larks are hanging around in the backyard again, some still a little fluffy around the edges. Every now and then one will visit the nest, as if keeping an eye on the old place, or reminiscing about their youth.