Our First Frost

This morning we woke to the first frost of this season. I had the car booked in for service this morning, Judy dropped me home after I had left the car at the service centre. Driving home it was interesting to see where there are trees there is no frost.

Where the yard is unencumbered by trees overhead - the frost takes hold. The neighbour a few doors up (who by the way will shortly hitch up the caravan and leave for the long weekend) has no trees over their front yard and so, frost.
It was a chilly minus 1º overnight in Richmond, Judy was glad to hear that for she will be spending her morning on the oval at school (quite close to Richmond) as it is primary school sports carnival morning - it is at least sunny.
We did not fare much better when I arrived home from the dropping the car off it was 1.5º on our deck - a morning to find some good excuses to stay inside for a while!
The good news? We heard an expert on the radio who had been asked about caterpillars decimating cliveas (we have the same problem) saying that the first frost will see then end of them for the season - let's hope so.

Back on the ladder

The recent renovations meant there was some new exterior timber which needed a coat of paint - so back on the ladder.
I do not know what has happened to ladders but they seem a lot less stable than they were 20 years ago so I am under fairly strict instructions to avoid them in the absence of the bread winner. Instructions I am, needless to say; following to the letter.
We are going to paint all the windows again but the weather this week has precluded any such activity. We have had quite a bit of welcome rain. It could have been worse, we could have been camping on the south coast where they had 130 km winds and 150 mm of rain in 24 hours; sounds vaguely familiar. I am sure we were there once or twice for such meteorological events.

I was able to put a coat on the porch and the expanse of now beige timber was crying out for some adornment. We found something we thought appropriate at a kitchen shop in Seven Hills (the attendant did not understand Judy's "lizard" - when she pointed out what we wanted he said "oh - rizard" - true).

I was a bit uncertain about the 'jewels' which are a a part of the sculpture but it is growing on me. It is an entirely appropriate piece for the house, more lizards here than you can poke a stick at (more lizards here than at which one can poke a stick?). Rightly or wrongly I credit them with the fact that I have never seen a single snail in our garden - so they are top of my popularity pole.