Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

What am I doing this Australia Day holiday. Nothing!

I’m sitting in my big, old, cane armchair on my back veranda just being. It is wonderfully cool this morning after some really torrid days. It rained last night and low clouds still obscure the sun. Over the sounds of birds and running water from the pond I can hear the distant roar of a churning ocean. There is a strong breeze riffling the palm fronds and trees who are singing sibilant songs of joy at the coming of the monsoon. Lorikeets streak overhead and gather in the bouganvillea shouting, “Great day. Great. Great. Great.”

I probably should get out and do some work in the garden but…no, I won’t. I want to simply enjoy what I’ve been busy working on these last few years. The golden cane I planted a couple of years ago is now taller than the garage they stand along. In front of them sit six raised garden bed of silver corrugated iron, most of which still have some veggies in. I’ve pineapple plants in one. I love the contrast of their spiky architecture against the softer shapes of the other plants. The parsnip need further thinning. I’ll pull some later to put in my vegetable bake. There are a couple of eggplant that need picking and I’ll harvest a large punnet of burgandy and French basil to make pesto.(It’s delish.) Unfortunately most of the strawberry plants have succumbed to the heat but one, in a slightly more shaded part of that bed, struggles gamely on. My asparagus plant is now taller than me and I adore its fine, ferny leaves, to say nothing of the shoots I will soon pick to add to my salad for lunch. Speaking of which the Roma tomatoes, planted only three weeks ago are climbing the trellis and should soon yield me a summer crop.

In August last year I dug a 1 X 2 metre pond and built a small decorative bridge, still strong enough to walk on, from a flat pack, lol. Oh listen! Even the kookaburras found that funny. Come on guys give me a break. Anyhow, at the far side of that is the bird feeder where doves, pigeons, red-wing parrots, rosellas, lorikeets and others come to squabble about who gets the best pickings. The lories are dreadful bullies and when they come in the others scatter. Around the base of the feeder, millet and corn are springing up from the spilt seed. This side of the pond are three pineapple plants, from which I’ve recently had three delicious little pines. Yum!

On the far side of the pond I built a large, horseshoe shaped, raised garden. There is a lovely tree, which I think is called an acasia alata or some such. Four  months ago I transplanted it from the back of the garage where it and some of its brothers had unaccountably sprung up. There is no parent tree anywhere close. The birds must have dropped seeds. This delightful tree obviously loves its new position and is thriving. It has bright yellow candles for flowers and has been in blossom the entire time. It leans out over the pond giving the papyrus shade. Across in the right hand of the horseshoe is another tree I rescued, a frangipani. It too is enjoying its new status as counter balance to the yellow candle tree. Though it still has leaves, it is no longer flowering. I wonder what it will look like in winter when its elegant arms are bare and the plants I’ve just put in have grown?

There is another bridge to the right of the pond from under which flows a small, dry creek of pale river stones. It, the bridge,  is connected to the round, cement top of the septic tank, which stands about eight inches above the surrounding ground. I decided the bare cement looked ugly, so have covered it with a carpet of green mock grass. That sounds like it would be ugly, right? Well, it’s not. It looks like a large moss covered rock. On it sits Buddha, a pink lotus in a bowl of river stones and a large piece of petrified wood creating an oasis of uncluttered calm between the two bridges and the busily growing gardens.

Behind and slightly to the left of this is an enormous purple flowering bougnvillea, for which I cannot take the credit. It and the smaller salmon coloured one to its left were the only plants in the back yard when I arrived. Along the left fence there is now a cover of burgundy about 500cm tall interspersed with lillipilli, small bottlebrush and frangipani.

Oh dear the bloke next door has just started using some sort of power tool and is disturbing my peace. Well, it is time I got moving anyway. I have no idea why I thought any of this would be of interest but I’ve enjoyed writing it never-the-less.

Have a wonderful day. I intend doing so.                    Cheers for now, Rosa.