Sunday Selections # 194
Welcome back to Sunday
Selections!
This once-a- week-meme
was originally begun by Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, as a way to showcase some of
the many photos we all take, but don't get around to showing on our blogs.
The rules are very
simple:-
1. post photos of your
choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to me,
River, somewhere in your post
3. leave me a comment so
that I know you've joined in and can come over and see what you've posted.
4. hop on over to TheElephant’s Child to see more of her wonderful photos.
I usually go with a
theme for my Sunday Selections but this week I didn't spend time preparing, so I have a random selection.
Halloween isn't an Australian tradition, not many people go trick-or-treating and most of us don't gather candy to hand out, but that doesn't stop the shops from filling their shelves with themed goods.
Halloween parties are reasonably popular, with kids dressing in costumes and parents decorating a room or a back verandah, baking 'spooky' goodies etc.
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Into my garden last year I had planted three (of six) apricot seeds which I'd kept, years ago, from the juiciest, best tasting apricots ever! Two of them germinated and grew to be almost eight inches high. When the grasses were removed, I moved the apricot babies as well, into a pot. Probably way too soon as I think they have now died. Spring is well advanced and they should have leaves by now, but there is nothing green there, just two brown sticks.
So I found the envelope which I knew held at least two more seeds, and only found one in there, the others may have fallen out and be hiding in amongst other seed packets. I placed that one precious seed in a cup of water and air bubbles immediately formed on its dry surface.
Two days later, he has absorbed enough water to become heavy and sink. This is a good thing. If he absorbs enough to get the inner kernel germinating, I still have a chance at growing a tree.
A tree which will provide me with the best apricots I ever tasted.
still in the garden; well on my front porch actually, the first lizard of the season has been seen.
Our lovely garden filled complex has a very good colony of blue-tongue lizards living in the grounds.
A notice was placed in each letterbox by another resident asking people to please be careful when driving and not run over any of them please.
Blue-tongue lizards are not poisonous and do not pose any threat to people or pets. They are handy to have in the garden as they eat snails, caterpillars and other insects.
Blue-tongue lizards are slow moving, (not this one!) and not aggressive. If threatened or cornered they will open their mouth wide and stick out their blue tongue to frighten off predators.
They live under rocks or in crevices and come out during the day to sunbake and look for food.
This is one reason I put the birdbath down low.
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Ha ha! Your seed is so cute!
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Australia, our teacher was annoyed that there were trick-or-treaters around. Overly American (that made me feel great). She said what she does is ask the children to name three Australian holidays before they get their candies.
I think that's a nice compromise. :)
i don't think I could be friends with a lizard lol.
ReplyDeleteI love your happy seed!!
ReplyDeleteLove your blue tongue. Beautiful things.
ReplyDeleteYour happy apricot is gorgeous too. And I really, really hope it grows.
Don't let the blue tongue lizard bite Angel, River. Their bite is supposed to be a recurring sore after that.
ReplyDeleteYears ago we threw a couple of Halloween Parties as did friends and if we didn't throw one, we attended theirs. The parties were lots of harmless fun. I can see nothing wrong with having Halloween fun...and if some business make money from it, good on them...that's the reason you go into business, to succeed and make a profit.
Halloween isn't an American invention, even though they "ran with it" and have more fun with it than we do here.
"All Hallows' Eve or "All Saints' Eve" is a Christian feast originating with the Celts and their harvest festivals.
I love your 'appy apricot seed, River...I hope it sprouts and eventually gives you lots of juicy fruit.
Have a great week...and cuddles to Angel. :)
I had delicious squash soup last night. I bet pumpkin soup would be as good.
ReplyDeleteWow, your pumpkins are beautiful . I hate the ugly reptile. Is it dangerous?
ReplyDeleteI love your blue tongue, I once had one but haven't seen him for years.
ReplyDeleteI went shopping yesterday, the shops are full of witches and willies, well some are and once I had some kids knocking at my door after sweets but I had eaten them all
Merle.................
Terrific photos. I'd never noticed what short legs they have.
ReplyDeleteHappy Christine; we had trick-or-treaters come around only once and I don't remember where we were living at the time, but we weren't expecting it so had to tell the kids "sorry, we don't do Halloween."
ReplyDeleteDelores; I won't get friendly enough to invite him in, but I'm happy to have him around.
fishducky; me too, I've never seen such a happy seed. Perhaps he'll reward me by growing.
Elephant's Child; he is a lovely lizard, very clear markings, I think he is a young one. I reall, really hope my happy seed grows too although it will be years before I get fruit. Something to look forward to.
Lee; I didn't know that about their bite, thanks for the warning. I don't plan on getting too close anyway, I'll leave him in peace to enjoy my garden.
Angel is in my bad books this morning, he has reverted to 3am breakfast demands. I made him wait until 5am, but neither of us was happy about it.
I know the story of Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, my biggest objection to it all is all year we teach our kids not to take candy from strangers, then on one night we send them out to do just that. Fair enough, these days most parents will go with their kids to keep them safe, but it still goes against the teaching.
Joanne; pumpkin and squash are from the same family I believe, since what you call butternut squash, we call butternut pumpkin. I could email you my pumpkin/sweet potato soup recipe if you like.
Gosia k; welcome to drifting. the reptile isn't dangerous although leaving them alone to live peacefully is recommended and that is what I will do. I like reptiles, I think they are very pretty, although most snakes are dangerous, especially our Australian Brown snake. They aren't often seen in the suburbs, but lately they have been coming closer to the city looking for food and water in our hot summers.
The pumpkins will be roasted for dinner.
Merle; he's a lovely lizard, pretty markings, I think he's a youngster and hope he survives to become an elder. That's another problem with Halloween candy, eating it all before the kids come around.
Andrew; the legs are quite short, if he was spotted in fairly dense undergrowth more than a few people would think he is a snake. Once you've seen both, it's easy enough to know the difference, but many new to this country get afraid when they see anything like this.
I don't have any thing in my garden to eat the bugs. I bet the lizard felt like a celebrity with everyone taking pictures of him.
ReplyDeleteI love blue-tongue lizards! When I was little, there was one in our backyard that seemed to adopt me as a "pet" of sorts - it used to come out of hiding and climb on my lap if I sat on the lawn!
ReplyDeleteHey, guess what? I am here on the right day for a change.
ReplyDeleteI love those mini pumpkins. Where did you get them? I am not at all a halloween person (not even sure how to spell it). I liked the idea on first comment about asking children to name 3 Aussie holidays before receiving a treat.
I do hope you happy little seed does germinate but can I throw a spanner in the works and ask will it actually produce fruit if it becomes a tree. I've listened to gardening programmes over the years and often heard talk about whether this or that will actually work. I do hope that it does work as it would be a real thrill to grow your own apricots from seed.
Am truly envious of your blue tongue. I think lizards are great and he/she is a beauty. We had one in our garden years ago but its long gone now unfortunately. I think one of our dogs may have frightened it away.
Manzanita; I think he was quite nervous, he flickered his tongue quite fast and backed away a couple of times, so we all backed away and let him go home.
ReplyDeleteCassandra Louise; we had sleepy lizards in our yard a few times when I was young, the bush around Port Pirie was full of them and those stumpy tail ones too. Are they the same? Sleepies and stumpies? You're very lucky to have a bluey sit in your lap.
Mimsie; I got the mini pumpkins in Coles, they're on special this week 2 for $4.
The seed should eventually produce fruit if it grows to a tree, after all, that's how trees survived long long ago. Probably it won't produce fruit as quickly as nursery grafted stock, but I'm prepared to wait. About five years I think, for a seed grown tree.
I'm hoping the many local cats don't get too many of the lizards, there are so many cats here that roam free although I think they are all inside at night.
Love that smiley apricot seed, hope it bursts forth with life and you end up with a tree sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteAlso loving that lizard, how precious to be blessed with them in the garden. We have them in the garden at work but now we have moved up onto the first floor, it is unlikely I will see them anymore. They used to walk outside my floor length window at least once a summer.
Kakka; your comment posted four times, so I'll go in and delete three of them a bit later.
ReplyDeleteI also hope the seed grows, I was out on the porch searching through the seeds shoebox for the other one and it just isn't there. Perhaps I planted it and forgot. it hasn't grown anywhere in the garden, so this one is my last chance.
Can you get downstairs at lunchtimes and see your lizard?
He is absolutely gorgeous! Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteI ADORE lizards.