TODAY AT GARDENING

Last week we shifted 3 cubic metres of S.A.Composters' compost all around the several acres of garden at Glenys'. It is a great job as I love something really aerobic to do and it is wonderful to be able to take off your jumper when the air is pretty cold and enjoy the shovelling and wheeling and dumping, here, there and everywhere, in short sleeves. Only problem was that both of Glenys' wheelbarrows were in serious need of having their tyres pumped up and there was no pump! When a full wheel-barrow will not roll down-hill of its own accord, you know that going up the other side is going to be bloody awful! Still, we earned our morning tea and got a lot of extra exercise! But please, Glenys, pump those tyres up before next time!

As usual it was off to gardening this morning - this time to Kathy's. As luck would have it, Kathy had had 6 cubic metres of the same stuff delivered and the tyres on her two wheelbarrows were OK and her block is neither so big nor steep as Glenys'. However,tonight my legs feel like I did the whole job by myself! I did do an awful lot of the shovelling and the technique of using one's legs instead of back is a good one...until later. It is quite amazing that Kathy has 2 wheelbarrows and 6 cubic metres of compost at all because less than 2 years ago she didn't even have a spade and had never done 'real' gardening at all. Now she is going to move to a bigger block of land so she will have more garden! Addiction - tell me about it!!

Today we had 6 of us at gardening, instead of the usual 5, because my dear friend Erica, from

Tasmania, is staying with us and she came along to help - the things gardeners do when on holidays! Erica and I became friends a million years ago at uni . Having an old friend like Erica to stay is like putting on my favourite gardening boots - comfortable and warm.

Erica and I took the scenic route to Kathy's and we stopped to take a couple of photos of this gorgeous gum tree that I first saw in full flower on my way to Glenys' last week. It is still as magnificent.

In case you are wondering, its Lou's turn next week and she is so impressed with all this compost shifting she announced as we were all leaving today that she thinks she might get some delivered so we can do it all again next week, at her house! OK Lou, anything would be better than pulling out that darn grass from around your fruit trees...again! Luckily I have 2 piles of my own home-made compost for us to shift when its my turn next.

Now, I know a lot of people think all this buying of compost and so on is not such a good idea but this particular compost I do agree with. It is made entirely from all the tree prunings and other green matter that the local Marion Council collect from their area. It is thoroughly composted and sold back to the residents of Adelaide for a reasonable fee, by the trailer-load or delivered by truck. An excellent service, I think, and not pasteurised or anything else-erized. Just composted. Our gardens are all so stressed by the long dry of over 8 months that a dose of compost seems the least we can do. They also make a super-fine version that I use for seed-raising. Sure, there are some compost-miles involved and making all your own is better but life is full of compromises and this is a reasonable one.

This photo is of produce from Kathy's and Glenys' gardens and my garden today and it never ceases to amaze me what abundance and variety we have between us and how lucky we are to know each other and have the pleasure of spending every Wednesday together, gardening.

I have half written several things for the blog - not the way I usually write at all - but just felt like putting this light and breezy anecdote on now. Tiredness is rapidly making its way up from the legs to the head!