oh..I guess the hair cut helps… 🙂
 
Buddha in the studio….
ok its just the balcony….
  
Re: Rocky fighting fit and ready to kick butt!
Well Rocky needed to go for his yearly check-up (June 24) with Tina and I was impressed with how well he did. He didn’t need that much shaping or wiring (bit set in his ways, after having to survive all those chance falling-out of his pot moments, traumatic tree-hood I call it)…but he did get a nice red rock added to his pot.
This raises him up a little bit, gives him some added stability and adds a little something extra to his pot. So with a nice re-pot and new rock, he’s fighting fit and ready to kick butt!
Re: Pear gets some TLC
Well Pear was looking a little worse for wear by the time that he made it from Kel and Rob’s to my house. He was badly in need of some TLC!
This came in the form of a re-pot with some fresh soil and a hair cut today (chopping off some branches that were dead and some leaves that had been chomped by an insect).
I have faith that he will come good over the spring and into 2008, once he’s had the chance to grow and be shaped. This will take time, so watch this space!
Re: Bushie gets a cut and style
Many months ago, on a trip down to see our good mates, Kel and Rob, we got to talking about bonsai and Rob showed us two bonsais that, although well loved, needed a bit of TLC (and some expert guidance from my bonsai teacher, Tina!).
So today Bushie went off to class and went from his big green pot to a stylish blue pot (inherited from my Poppie and much loved from Japan). Tina helped to give him an informal upright shape and he looks so much better.
He’s currently having a soak and I can’t wait to see how he grows and develops in the next couple of years!!
Re: Buddha gets a check-up
Well after the trauma of Rootie having grubs, I was a little worried that other bonsai might have the same issue. So when I noticed a little hole in Buddha’s soil, it was off to class!
But a clean bill of health was given to Buddha. Wiring came off (as it was just starting to cut in), a little bit of orange wire was added to a low-hanging branch and the OK was given to the salve that was applied in the initial re-pot (too much stretching created a little snap, but the branch is still alive and kicking!!
So all good with Buddha, just keep moist and out of the cold, harsh elements (cold snap currently hitting Sydney!)
Re: oh the trauma
When I took Rootie to bonsai class for a check-up (24th June), little did I know the trauma that was awaiting both of us. Wiring from his initial re-pot was OK to come off and it was only that Tina thought he needed to move a little bit in his pot, that we discovered not one- BUT A STACK of little grubs!
Oh the trauma! A full re-pot was in order to ensure that they didn’t get to eat any more of his roots (no wonder he was loosing leaves!). I will be keeping a vigilant eye out in future!! He does need some moss but I haven’t had the chance to find any yet…..
Pear – Inherited from Kel & Rob
Re: Still alive and kickin!
After a lengthy period of worrying about whether or not Balls was going to survive (due to his lack of leaves), Balls went to bonsai class to get confirmation of whether or not he was in good health or not. Under Tina’s watchful eye, his remaining three branches were trimmed, revealing greenness and therefore that he was still alive.
It was decided that the main part of Balls would be put more under the dirt to give him a chance to make a fighting come-back. It will be interesting to watch his progress over the next couple of months- through winter and into spring!
Fingers crossed for a full recovery!!
Density Altitude…
When it comes to good old-fashioned hangar flying sessions, one subject that almost never seems to be discussed is density altitude. The reason being, too many pilots do not know enough about the subject. Yet, because of the inescapable influence density altitude has on aircraft and engine performance, it is important that every pilot understand its effects. Hot, high, and humid weather conditions can change a routine takeoff or landing into an accident in less time than it takes to tell about it. There are three important factors that affect air density; ALTITUDE, TEMPERATURE, and HUMIDITY.
The history of balls….
just for completeness, I found this image…
‘Rocky’ is absolutely in his prime….
Rocky had some serious extra growth after recently having on of his main limbs removed, with all the warm weather and extra water it is no surprise!With such a great run we decided to remove the other prominent limb since there was a substantial amount of new growth from around the centre of tree, as one can see the results look very promising! This tree has had a hard road, from hardly ever being trimmed to multiple departures from the pot under adverse weather and tenant conditions it is amazing to see this little survive!
We are looking forward to seeing how ‘rocky’ will perform in the future!
Homebrew – temperature monitored
Beeer…..corona style
HP LaserJet 5m – Lasts forever (with a few repairs)
Probably the only part they skimped on…a single toothed gear in the fuser assy, this fuser appears to have been installed with a dodgy toothed gear – the gear seems to be a hard plastic or at the very best a too soft mild steel. As can be shown by the pictures, a few teeth fell off and hence caused some havoc!..The hot roller also has some strange marks on it – strange for one with such low time ~ 70 000 pages.
2nd hand HP Laserjet 5m off ebay with a good fuser unit and a bonus duplex unit and we are back in business….these units are great to pull apart and put back together!
Rocky brings on the new growth….
After copping the serious trim and having half (2 branches) his branches removed ‘Rocky’ has started to make a recovery, after a bit more growth and we will remove the remaining branches.
Hopefully with the warm summer weather and plenty of water this bonsai will hang on!
The off cuts have been potted into a separate pot with the hope of starting a fresh bonsai!