Vale Tim Hancock

This weekend I lost a great mate and close family friend when Tim died ,taken by a heart attack at the hospital where he worked as a theatre attendant .This man was first and foremost an entertainer , a blues guitarist of exceptional talent ,an emotive singer , and a funny funny man ! Like many ,he died far too young without ever reaching the heights that far-less talented people have achieved .
His career reached back to the 70's in various bands and solo efforts ,with many players in many venues .But the St Andrews pub in outer Melbourne was a favourite as well as pubs in Clifton Hill , and inumerable music festivals .He was still organising jams and performers at the Bethnga pub near Albury when he died .And a musical tribute to Tim will take place there this Sunday
One of my best memories is of Tim's band ,Reg Ansett and the Hangars ,a Monkees cover band ,done for a joke ,but very successful .Some years ago when the Monkees reformed and toured Australia ,Tim played as their support band but blew them offstage and ended up playing with them !!
He recorded a very influential album a few years ago as the Tim Hancock Band and many of us have had the pleasure of Tim playing a full acoustic version in our lounge rooms .He did for my wife's birthday last year ,a night we will treasure forever .
Tim was the guy who always was in party mode and brought that much fun to every occassion .Even as a young kid ,we laughed with Tim ....when he fell off his bike or fell in a creek or out of a tree ..it was always Tim in some scrape ...you could bet on that !
I spent last Sunday with Tim's mum who is well into her 80's and she is shell shocked .She has lost her husband and son to heart problems ....there must be a connection .This was at my Dad's 80th so there was a bit of a dampener on Dad's celebrations.
Tim flew high and burnt out early ---much higher than most of us will but his crash was harder too .And not many will leave a musical legacy like Tim --he will be listened to for years to come !!!
I'll miss you Timmy !!!

Believe it or not ,this spindly , pruned apple is the start of a new food orchard of heirloom types like Staymans Winesap ,Court Pendu Plat and Pomme de Neige apples

After years of battling bugs ,birds ,drought ,leaf curl and other diseases ,I've built a trellis system to espalier fruit trees onto , and this is the start .With the trees on trellis I can net them ,water them with drippers from the polypipe in the picture ,spray them easily with Bordeaux ,prune to increased fruiting spurs and feed and fertlise easily .So far some apple trees and a few table grape varieties are on the trellis wit more planned for next year --too late this season now ,with most fruit trees in full growth mode .My nectarines ,cherries and plums which aren't on the trellis but in raised beds ,are all putting on the growth spurt .Plenty of fruit in the future !

The old tractor in the picture is my old Fordson , a bit cannibalised for parts now to keep the neighbours' machine running --which I get to borrow as needed -so we all benefit .I'll have to borrow it to tow the old girl away to the shed ,she's in the way now ,next to the raised part of the garden where the trellis best fitted .

Back again

I remembered starting this in a flurry of creative thoughts but never did anymore ---sort of the story of my life in a way So I'm BACK !!!! ---and lots of my dreams and aspirations are being fullfilled .

I've drunk more red but better stuff , the vege garden has expanded is quite productive and my library has expanded and I'm reading a lot of those books I thought i'd never get around too .Joined a lot of online forums which are incredibly helpful at times esp.for gardening and lifestyle tips .And met some great souls online ,some of whom blog away ,everyday .

Here's some of the new friut tree area ,replacing some of the older ,diseased ,and not suitable types .New nectarines ,plums ,apricots and in another area I'm espaliering rare and heirloom apples bought from Yalca Fruit Trees Put in Japanese Raisin trees and American Mountain paw paw ,a temperate species able to produce good fruit in temperate zones .Very happy with all the new growth as I'm recycling a lot of stuff through compost heaps and feeding that into the garden .I feel as though we're creating a new and productive area out of old sticky grey clay that was only ever used for a few sheep and a bit of wheat We now have masses of earthworms working through our soils ,never seen before here !

And weed tea ! ---since seeing that made on Gardening Australia ,I've been making it here .Using all those pesky weeds like couch and kikuyu that spread out of the compost and create havoc .Now straight into the big drum to drown and rot down in to the most evil-smelliing but powerful plant tonic .I dole that out at 1 lt per watering can of water and the veges loveit ---onto the fruit trees too and all the muck from the bottom can go in to the compost without regrowing .

Ah ,, breakfast and the garden call ---beautiful spring morning here today