Love is Blind

After gardening I notice some annoying bumps on the back of my hand. My first instinct is to worry in case they are warts.

Next day, at breakfast, I observe the rash appears less inflamed; it must be the result of something I’ve touched in the garden.

I say to Joe, ‘Feel this, what do you think it is?’

‘Braille, it says, “I Love You”, but it’s missing the comma.’

‘But ‘I Love You,’ doesn’t need a comma.’

‘Then it says, ‘immensely and deeply!’

How can I worry about a few bumps after such an interpretation?

Computer troubles overcome:

Having been off the air for some time, I forgot to mention that my beloved contacted a firm to help me resolve my computer problems.

MacKeepers are a firm who assist Apple owners resolve their problems remotely. I had lost use of my iPhotos and not being resourceful and wanting to go out of my way, instead found other things to keep me occupied, rather than fix the problem. The first man to help lived in the Ukraine. By paying rather a lot, I now have oversight of my computer without having to worry about new bugs invading. The first help took 13 hours to rectify the 2052 problems and freed up some GBs. It is now in the regular helpful hands of MacKeepers who are also at the end of the telephone if I have questions or problems. This is a wonderful service and I really am grateful to have the computer back. Of course there are lessons for me to learn to help keep my computer healthy. I have utilised this telephone service once and the man was very patient and talked me through, seeing what was on my screen he could see what the problem was.

The relief is enormous. I hadn’t realised just how much it was bothering me subconsciously.

Here are a few more photos, left over from my last post of our visit to Arthurs Seat, Mornington Peninsula.

Tree surfing

One of the Mazes at Enchanted Adventure Garden

The Fairy Garden

Cherio from M & J

Easter holidays over:

safety instructions

These holidays coincided with our grandson’s 8th birthday. Jack and Mackenzie really enjoyed the water park, and on Jack’s birthday we went to Arthurs Seat on the Mornington Peninsula. Here they have lots of child friendly activities. It was the first time we’d been. Tree surfing for nippers included being suspended in the trees with a harness with many challenging obstacle courses ending with a wonderful zip, or flying fox after each course. There were three courses for the young nippers and it took about an hour. The adult course looks very hairy and that takes two hours, though that wasn’t for us.

After a picnic lunch we then discovered the many mazes and some slides that were in constant use. Carrying the blowup tubes to the top of the hill was part of the experience. Exhausting grandparents who just gazed and children who climbed again and again.

The gardens were beautifully maintained and my favourite part was the Japanese garden. My photos don’t do it justice. Having our grandchildren over to stay makes us realize why people have children when they are young.

Autumnal pursuits:

Christopher Pyett : ideas for paintings

Autumn is a time for hunkering down. My daughter rang to say her gutters have been replaced and a dangerous chimney taken care of.
We’ve decided to remove two large palm trees that drop thousands of seeds and sprout everywhere. I love their height, but the other trees will soon fill the space left behind.

General garden maintenance is a fulfilling task. Removing spent tomato plants, culling the raspberries and tying the new canes makes the garden feel ready for winter. Pruning everything is something that needs to be rationed according to the recycling bins. We now have two brown bins, for garden waste that I don’t want to compost. Our six compost bins are fully utilized. So the garden is in need of constant attention, which fits in with writing.

I’d like to work half days at each, writing and gardening, so that I’m not sitting in front of the computer all day. This healthy option seldom works out, but I shall continue to aim for this ideal.

My computer is fine apart from the iphotos, which won’t allow me access. I shall really have to learn to use my new laptop, which is another thing I’ve been resisting. So for the moment, no photos of the garden.

End of September

Frankston Beach, Victoria, Australia

Out the study window with bird’s nest ferns in the foreground.

Tomorrow October starts and day light saving begins on Sunday. Our weather has been beautifully cool, but a hot weekend is forecast. It is perfect weather for writing, but everything else seems to be getting in the way. We received a marvellous short story this morning, written by a friend from art school, all of those years ago. He writes with such humour, I’m hoping he’ll let me share it with you. I’d love to be able to write like him. Chris Fooks, the author of this piece, now lives in Scotland. What a small world we live in.

The delights of gardening:

Lily of the valley shooting makes me realise that it is almost October, and 88 days till Christmas!

Photos from last day of winter

Showing a variety of wattles flowering at this time of the year. We have many colours, some quite dull and others bright yellow. The flowers themselves vary too. Thanks for coming on an Australian stroll.

Just passing

Silver Princess Eucalyptus

 

Winter Blooms:

Cineraria really brighten dark areas and have survived the frosts as they’re under trees.

Camellias are so dependable.

Orange flowers attracts the birds.

Cineraria

Kindness and colour:

Acacia, or wattle, as we know it.

Winter is gladdened by flowers. The yellow of the wattle lifts the spirits. It is said that there is a wattle flowering every day of the year, as there are so many varieties. This one reminds me of my childhood, wandering around the farm in the winter holidays.

Hardenbergia

The Hardenbergia violacae is often found near wattles and the opposite colours really zing on a winter’s day, especially the purple one, which is more common than the other colours.

A quote I read today will suit every season:

“Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realise you’re already in heaven now,’ Jack Kerouac wrote in a beautiful 1957 letter.”