Tuesday weather 19th July - Willow Vale

Westerly winds have returned today cooling the clear sunshine outside. I don't mind the cooler sunny days, but it would be a lot nicer without the gusting winds.

I'm behind in my pruning now with the mulberry tree taking on a distinct green flush of fresh new leaves. The timing of these garden jobs are really determined by the plants and weather I imagine....prune the peach trees before the new blossom, prune the mulberry before new leaf burst..oh well.

We had some rain on the weekend a good downpour to soak the garden again and top up the water tanks. There have been a lot of birds in the garden this winter, today I had two first time sightings, a Forest Kingfisher in spectacular shades of turquoise and electric blue, and a White headed Pigeon.

Strong winds are forecast for the next couple of days, hopefully all the trees will cope with another blast.

Weather Tuesday 12th July - Willow Vale

For the last week winds have dominated outdoor conditions with consistently strong gusts from the west. Thankfully today has been pleasantly calm and windless. With clear skies and cold winds, night temperatures have been in the low single figures. Heaters have been on along with fleecies and scarves.

In the garden winds have dried moisture from the ground rapidly, with small cracks forming in some bare patches amongst the lawn. The mulberry tree holds a handful of old leaves still, but has fresh leaf burst this week too. It's a short winter transition here in the subtropics for some plants. The weather has been good for gardening (as long as I rug up) with sheltered areas even feeling warm in the sunlight.

Weather Tuesday 5th July 2011, Willow Vale

Brilliant blue clear skies today looked good from inside, but squally gusting winds took the edge off warmth and comfort outdoors. For much of the afternoon gale force winds buffeted the house and garden, sending cascades of leaves to the east and vibrating flyscreens. It's difficult to capture the look of wind in a still photo, perhaps the shredded banana leaves give an indication of the effects of the winds. We had some overnight rain during the week, the days have remained dry and with the wind, watering of the vegie garden is now on the days agenda. A comfortable 20 degrees today with cooler temps overnight predicted for the remainder of this week.

Weather Tuesday 21st June, Willow vale

The mulberry tree hangs on to the last of it's leaves at the top. A cold dry wind from the west has been blowing for a few days now. Robbing warmth from the sunlit bright blue skies. More than a week without any rain, it seems like a long time since that last happened. Clear skies have brought cold nights and mornings of around 5 degrees, so a few more jumpers on and chilled fingers.

It has been good weather for working in the garden, quickly warmed by activity, the 18 - 20 degrees day temps are very comfortable. The image above from left to right shows the before, during and after weeding activity. Winter, in my mind May-August, is a four month opportunity to get the garden back under some control. Growth is very slow with the colder temperatures and major clear out work is feasible without the summer humidity. But there is definately a time limit before warmer weather brings on rampant growth again, such is the cycle of growth and weather here.

Happy winter solstice, longer days on the way.