RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL PERSON.

No grovelling apologies! No feeble excuses! And, quite possibly, no readers left…

You are all friends and I should not have been so neglectful. So…onward!

About one year ago we felt the wrath of a cyclone and I was not thrilled at the prospect of another, last week. But somewhere up in the clouds the good fairies were working their magic and the beast whirled out to sea.

Getting back to the topic of blogging…I have been pondering the state of this platform for a while now. Some of the “old guard” are still active, but so many changed horses and went to those “other places.” Yes, those. And many seem to communicate only via Facebook and Twitter, while others use Instagram for photos.

But in recent weeks I’ve heard a whisper of , what shall we call it? Dissatisfaction? Discontent? Some wonder whether blogging really did die out and some speak of a Great Revival.

I still read good blogs and I’m in touch with several of you via email and even the Ancient Snail reaches me sometimes!

But I have other things that call on my time. And, perhaps the major factor, I find I have nothing much to say on the blog that is not a dusted-off repeat of “what is flowering in my garden.”

To this end, I’ve been wondering about a complete overhaul of Idle Thoughts.But you know me – I’m great at shucking stuff onto someone else’s plate!

I did wonder if a once-weekly post, like our friend in NYC writes so well, was the way to go. Or perhaps a pictures-only post, also on a weekly basis. And, of course, the comic strip never did get off the ground! maybe a Musical Moments, which works well for one of us…

But, getting back to this business of making you make my decisions…let me know your thoughts on this.

And while you’re thinking, here’s a little colour…

Brugmansia. I cannot exaggerate how happy I am to see this flowering! Another blogging friend sent me some cuttings AGES ago and I had so many disasters with them I thought I’d never get this far. The evening perfume is worth all the travails!

Carissa macrocarpa  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carissa_macrocarpa.

I think I rescued this shrub from what we call the “Death Trolley” in a hardware store (that ubiquitous Big Green Box-yes, that one!) ages ago. It’s growing right beside the driveway and I keep it clipped or it would be squashed by tyres whenever we get the car out! It’s had a few white, starry flowers, but other than being tough I couldn’t sing its praises. But last week – I saw this smaller-than-golfball size fruit and thought birds had dropped a wild fig.  Nope. This fruit was growing on the Carissa (identified by my South African friend in New York -see how wonderful the cyber world can be!) and I left it for a few days then weakened and picked it and ate it! I daresay it would be good in jam or chutney, but a single plum does not a chutney make! It’s flowers are pretty and sweetly scented. But if you do plant it, beware its vicious thorns!

Our wonderful recent rain has done its magic thing and the Clerodendrum nutans, which has sulked and generally behaved like a teen-ager is flowering! When the camera battery has recharged I’ll take a picture….

Well, I was a bit out in my expectation of “flowers” It’s still not open! But here’s a snap anyway