Mayor4Unley

It was wet and cold in the city yesterday. I was walking in the rain. A woman in heels click clacked past me and then slipped and went down on her knees. I helped her up. It was more her dignity that was damaged. Most women run (or move quickly) in the rain. Maybe they don’t want their hair to go all frizzy. Then again, many blokes also move quickly through the rain. It’s an instinctive thing; run or move quicker in the rain. But it’s pointless! Why? Years ago when I was studying mathematics, physics and hydrology, we modelled rain with the intent of discovering how much drier people are if they run through the rain. The model’s assumptions were: The rain was vertical The rain had distinct drops (and not a bucket downpour like in the tropics) There was no wind The person was walking at a comfortable pace (and not dawdling) The finding was: If you run or move quickly through the rain you will get the same amount of wetness as if you were walking at a no...

Over the weekend I was out delivering WatchSA (Neighbourhood Watch) newsletters in my area. I found an elderly woman sitting in her car reading the newspaper. She had backed the car out of the garage, wound the windows up and enjoyed the warmth of the afternoon winter sun. I remember it was something my parents did. Actually you should try it. It is a pleasant way to read the paper and escape the outside world. It's comfortable and the steering wheel provides support for the newspaper. It's your own private glasshouse.

It's autumn, but due to warm weather it feels like late spring. Fantastic for the garden, but some plants are confused. My blueberry bushes are flowering months ahead of schedule! You need to start thinking about planting garlic. It was common to plant on the shortest day of the year and harvest on the longest day of the year ie. plant in late June and harvest in December/January. In Adelaide, it's more suited to plant in late May and harvest in time for Christmas. Always select healthy looking and large garlic corns to plant. If you plant small corns, then it's likely that you will end up with a crop of small garlic corns. Don't plant too deep - just lightly cover with soil - dig the soil over first. Try to keep good looking (and tasting) specimens from last year's crop. Some notes on what type of garlic you are growing: If the garlic flowers then it is either a Russian or Argentinian type. In our climate, the French and pungent types do ...

I love a good date. During my time spent in Alice Springs I discovered the joy of fresh Aussie dates (of the eating variety). I recently discovered a date farm at Loxton in the Riverland. I bought 2.5kg online via PayPal ... See the contact details below. The date variety is Barhee Khalaal. Yellow and crunchy like an apple. Not exactly what I was expecting, but they will slowing develop to the next stage - a light brown, more creamy taste with a more traditional date flavour. The farm is certified organic. They have been hit hard recently by heavy rain during harvest resulting in a big loss. Give them a try and enjoy a fresh date. Support our Australian farmers. The contact details are: Gurra Downs Dave and Anita Reilly Gordon Road, Gurra Gurra Lakes Postal: PO Box 1029, Loxton - South Australia 5333 Phone: +61 8 8583 8314 Email:  reilly@gurradowns.com.au Website:  www.gurradowns.com.au

I recall a past work colleague, a confirmed bachelor in his 40s who had no luck with the ladies. In fact, he showed little inclination that way. One day, totally out of character, he hit it off with a woman in the office. Their love was intense and he hurriedly made up for lost times. It was quite the talk in the office. Such is my love for Fennel. No, not a shiela, but of the garden vegetable variety. For years I was oblivious to such pleasure – that pungent aniseed flavour of crisp salad slices of the fennel bulb with a light dressing of fine olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Now I get into a bit of a frenzy during the fennel season in late winter onwards. It is so easy to grow from seeds at home, especially during the winter season. Buy 2 packs of fennel seeds. I recommend the Florence Finale variety. At the start of March, plant seeds in a seedling tray or small pots. In early April, plant in the garden 30cm apart. Enjoy the love of Fennel.

Recently I visited Adamooka (600km north of Adelaide) to escape city life and to try my hand at noodling for opals. It's an interesting town - full of colourful characters. Adamooka's water supply comes from Roxby Downs which desalinates water from a bore field in the Great Artesian Basin, 150km away. I stayed in a local motel which was basic, but comfortable. Trust me, anywhere out of the heat and flies is comfortable. I noticed a local innovative manner of attending to a leaking 'garden' hose. See the photo attached. Why make the effort to fix it. Nearby, I noticed a local who appeared in the early evening - a lizard, in fact a Bearded Dragon. What he likes is for a human to catch a grasshopper and feed him via tongs. Tongs are optional, but the lizard can easily confuse fingers for grasshoppers. See the photo attached. The Bearded Dragon did get his grasshopper that night. He also enjoyed a drink from a bowl in the shade.

This hot weather is hard on the birds and bees and other creatures that call our backyards home. We sit inside comforted by an air conditioner while those outside search for shade and water. Put low bowls of water in the yard and ideally have an elevated bird bath. You will be amazed by the life that these water sources attract. Top up the bird bath daily - in fact, during the days of intense heat I need to top up it up twice a day. There must be a strong hive of bees in a tree nearby - I've noticed that bees are 'flocking' to the bird bath to get a drink. There are endless flights to and from the water. Don't be worried about by the bees - just don't stand in their flight path. Here is a photo of bees drinking from the bird bath at home. The bird bath is set amongst chilli bushes and an overgrown Italian parsley, (and yes I know that the bird bath does need a clean).