What cheeses me off

30000 visitors (allegedly) to Melbourne probably makes it a good spend.

Probably should attempt some cost recovery from hotels 🤣 I checked Melbourne Marriott hotels a week for booking last night, and the only hotels available were the Le Meridien @ $1200/night, the W @ $1400/night, the Ritz Carlton @$2500 and the bargain of the night,Marriott Docklands for $580.
 
Probably should attempt some cost recovery from hotels 🤣 I checked Melbourne Marriott hotels a week for booking last night, and the only hotels available were the Le Meridien @ $1200/night, the W @ $1400/night, the Ritz Carlton @$2500 and the bargain of the night,Marriott Docklands for $580.
Accor RHR were going for sub $200 all week @dajop
Recent publicity has not been kind to Pullman East Melbourne
 
Receiving reminder (marketing) emails from Accor prompting me to turn on automatic renewal.

Lock In Your Membership Fee Before 30 September.

I wonder what incentives might be derived from doing nothing. What is everyone choosing to do?
 
Went for a blood test this morning. It's a fasting one, but after getting the paperwork from the doctor, luckily I hadn't had anything yet so was good to go.

Got to blood lab. Prick right arm. Nothing comes out.

Prick left arm. Nothing comes out.

Attendant says they get two tries, then it's game over, try another day.

Yes, I drank water.
 
Went for a blood test this morning. It's a fasting one, but after getting the paperwork from the doctor, luckily I hadn't had anything yet so was good to go.

Got to blood lab. Prick right arm. Nothing comes out.

Prick left arm. Nothing comes out.

Attendant says they get two tries, then it's game over, try another day.

Yes, I drank water.
Both husband and I have had to have the blood collector who does in home geriatric return to the pathology to do our tests on occasions. She has always been successful lol
 
A few posts back, tradies next door parking in my driveway were CMO.
Today, 7 minutes after we departed for the big smoke, next door neighbour, who is renovating, has spent the last 3 hours cleaning his carp in our driveway, am really CO.
Think I have a right to be VCO!
Would say something but he has a foul temper and we still have to live there, as if he hasn't worked out we have a camera 🤦‍♀️ Rant over
Screenshot_20260912_152903_Arlo Secure.jpg
 
I live in a semirural area so there are possums about. Historically they haven’t worried me or the Garden but last year they got under the netting into the passionfruit and gorged themselves. I didn’t worry too much as the passionfruit produced hundreds and hundreds during the year and there was enough to go around.

BIG MISTAKE!

After they got used to the good life on the passionfruit they were looking for what’s next. The passionfruit vine itself was the first and it looks completely ravaged now. Then they started coming along the courtyard wall and got into the top of the lemons. So the lemon tree has been top pruned but still produce as well in the under underneath part. I started spraying possum repellent on it just to keep them in check.

I have seven miniature peaches and nectarine trees in large pots next to my courtyard deck. I have to net them against birds when the fruit are ripening ( Dec-Jan) but the possums have never worried them. I’ve also got a single apricot 2 m high which last year shot up mightily so this year I took a lot of trouble to repot it and reposition it and yesterday I erected a bit of a structure so I could put a wind break in so the blossoms wouldn’t get all blown off in the spring winds.

WCMO no, totally PMO is that last night the possums continued along the courtyard wall and got into my precious apricot tree. Chewed off every single leaf and every single blossom and beginning of fruit. No apricots this year then. 😡😩

But the peaches are nectarines as flowering amazingly so this is the situation as of today. I’ll have to lift the netting every morning to allow the bees to get in and keep pollinating. Denuded apricot on the left.

IMG_1897.jpeg

I think one of my neighbours has a possum trap.
 
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I live in a semirural area so there are possums about. Historically they haven’t worried me or the Garden but last year they got under the netting into the passionfruit and gorged themselves. I didn’t worry too much as the passionfruit produced hundreds and hundreds during the year and there was enough to go around.

BIG MISTAKE!

After they got used to the good life on the passionfruit they were looking for what’s next. The passionfruit vine itself was the first and it looks completely ravaged now. Then they started coming along the courtyard wall and got into the top of the lemons. So the lemon tree has been top pruned but still produce as well in the under underneath part. I started spraying possum repellent on it just to keep them in check.

I have seven miniature peaches and nectarine trees in large pots next to my courtyard deck. I have to net them against birds when the fruit are ripening ( Dec-Jan) but the possums have never worried them. I’ve also got a single apricot 2 m high which last year shot up mightily so this year I took a lot of trouble to repot it and reposition it and yesterday I erected a bit of a structure so I could put a wind break in so the blossoms wouldn’t get all blown off in the spring winds.

WCMO no, totally PMO is that last night the possums continued along the courtyard wall and got into my precious apricot tree. Chewed off every single leaf and every single blossom and beginning of fruit. No apricots this year then. 😡😩

But the peaches are nectarines as flowering amazingly so this is the situation as of today. I’ll have to lift the netting every morning to allow the bees to get in and keep pollinating. Denuded apricot on the left.

View attachment 520987

I think one of my neighbours has a possum trap.

I hate possums. They caused so much damage to our two places. Chewed through electricals blacking us out. Horrible smells. Damage to timber work. Nasty things. Babies are cute. But they grow up.
 
A few posts back, tradies next door parking in my driveway were CMO.
Today, 7 minutes after we departed for the big smoke, next door neighbour, who is renovating, has spent the last 3 hours cleaning his carp in our driveway, am really CO.
Think I have a right to be VCO!
Would say something but he has a foul temper and we still have to live there, as if he hasn't worked out we have a camera 🤦‍♀️ Rant over
View attachment 520689
oh that is just appalling behaviour @Flyfrequently
 
Went for a blood test this morning. It's a fasting one, but after getting the paperwork from the doctor, luckily I hadn't had anything yet so was good to go.

Got to blood lab. Prick right arm. Nothing comes out.

Prick left arm. Nothing comes out.

Attendant says they get two tries, then it's game over, try another day.

Yes, I drank water.
Went for round 2 this morning.

Felt both arms, then attendant decided to try the hands. Eventually drew from the left hand with a butterfly needle.

I'd drank about 1.5 L of water that morning, but I'll take the extra pain if it means a near sure bet.
 
I live in a semirural area so there are possums about. Historically they haven’t worried me or the Garden but last year they got under the netting into the passionfruit and gorged themselves. I didn’t worry too much as the passionfruit produced hundreds and hundreds during the year and there was enough to go around.

BIG MISTAKE!

After they got used to the good life on the passionfruit they were looking for what’s next. The passionfruit vine itself was the first and it looks completely ravaged now. Then they started coming along the courtyard wall and got into the top of the lemons. So the lemon tree has been top pruned but still produce as well in the under underneath part. I started spraying possum repellent on it just to keep them in check.

I have seven miniature peaches and nectarine trees in large pots next to my courtyard deck. I have to net them against birds when the fruit are ripening ( Dec-Jan) but the possums have never worried them. I’ve also got a single apricot 2 m high which last year shot up mightily so this year I took a lot of trouble to repot it and reposition it and yesterday I erected a bit of a structure so I could put a wind break in so the blossoms wouldn’t get all blown off in the spring winds.

WCMO no, totally PMO is that last night the possums continued along the courtyard wall and got into my precious apricot tree. Chewed off every single leaf and every single blossom and beginning of fruit. No apricots this year then. 😡😩

But the peaches are nectarines as flowering amazingly so this is the situation as of today. I’ll have to lift the netting every morning to allow the bees to get in and keep pollinating. Denuded apricot on the left.

View attachment 520987

I think one of my neighbours has a possum trap.
Sorry to hear this @RooFlyer . Trapping and removing possums is a death sentence for them so you might as well kill them outright and dispatch quickly. Alternative could be a product called Pestrol. They advertise a bit on radio and Graeme Ross reckons it works.
https://www.pestrol.com.au/buy-online/pestrol-possum-away-possum-repeller/
 
Sorry to hear this @RooFlyer . Trapping and removing possums is a death sentence for them so you might as well kill them outright and dispatch quickly. Alternative could be a product called Pestrol. They advertise a bit on radio and Graeme Ross reckons it works.
https://www.pestrol.com.au/buy-online/pestrol-possum-away-possum-repeller/
We’re in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs which is absolutely riddled with brushies and ringtails. They’re totally beligerante creatures of habit and will return night after night after night if they find something tasty.

I’ve tried all the sprays, ultrasonic / flashing lights and other things to no avail.

They ate to death my 30yr old liquidamber (which I resorted to netting - that stopped the brushies but the ringtails moved in and finished it off).

They even killed a mature gum tree next door and another around the corner!

Edit:
Part of the problem is a lack of snakes. I’d be quite happy if a few diamond pythons patrol the trees during the day.

We do have an increasing population of powerful owls in Centennial Park that are a delight to hear during the night - their favourite food is possum.
 
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Sorry to hear of your possum problem @RooFlyer I know your trees produce amazing crops. It’s so disappointing for you

We had possums ring bark our prolific lime tree and nearly killed it. We had to put a metal frame around the base to stop them climbing up it
It seems to have survived.
They also started eating all the skin off our lemon tree. We also have a problem with the destructive coughatoos.
We net most off our fruit bushes and shrubs to keep the birds away also

I hope your netting tactics are successful
 
One thing I'm grateful for with living in a new estate, no possums. Because there isnt enough tree cover for them. We have fruit trees and the birds are a problem, but they arent nearly as destructive.
 

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