LOOK! A NEW POST!

And I note that my previous post, back sometime in the Iron Age * is called Flowers In The House. So I can’t really use that title.

But it is why I’m here. If Jane, with all the hassles she’s had, can manage FITH, well, the least I can do is poke a few chrysanths and carnations in a jam jar and head over to her place….

Well, not the only reason. My friend, Mig, who also has not posted for a while, reappeared today and I thought “Blimey! Someone else with an over-filled plate.”

Really, though I say I’ve been busy, my life is not quite as hectic as some lives. So here I am!

I continue to be distracted by the local wildlife.Nothing new in that! The other night we heard a possum thump-scritching across the roof and swishing down through the palms. First for quite a while. Still haven’t seen him/her, but there has been evidence.

And on Saturday I saw a “new bird.” Well, it was new to me.Turns out these are common , but I’d never noticed! Yellow Fig  Birds are or were a sub-species of the green ones. They look like this  

And the spider! I mustn’t forget Ms.Blue Eyes! I must have seen dozens of them, but only the other day did I see her in the right light to notice her eyes (well, some of them!) – like tiny blue diamonds! She has made her bronze-gold web in the carport and, so far, is safe from any birds that might fancy a snack. Here she is, in  the best image I could get without triggering a trap line. If you google you can find images of beautiful textiles made with her web.Well, not this one, of course, but some of her kin.

And, since I seem to be blathering about birds, bugs and suchlike, here is a short video of some Spangled Drongoes. We often hear them, calling, a harsh chit-chit-chee. Their song is much more melodious and on this occasion, we had three, in a palm outside our bedroom.

And now, for Jane, some Flowers In The House. 

 

I’m off to Arlington to see who else has flowers…

The Iron Age…the ridiculously long time it takes me to get through a brimming basket of laundry.Probably because I so dislike the chore I put it off for as long as possible. I could do with a Laundry Lucy !

 

WHAT THE DESPERATE GARDENER RESORTS TO …

…when the thermometer climbs above 30.

The cats have already hi-jacked  helped me out with Jane’s “flowers in the house.” And I had a coffee break and looked at some of the other floral delights on her blog. Well, I felt  a bit deflated, didn’t  I? So I admit I stole  borrowed Deb’s clever idea and snipped some sprigs of rosemary. But what to put with them? Hmm…something I have never tried before so have no idea how long before the Cape Primrose drops its petals, but here it is, with some white Penstemon.

 

And one of the ginger-y  Tapeinochilos which hangs over the pathway was snapped so I trimmed it back and added a stem of shell ginger (that’s a current menace at the back gate as it’s crawling with green ants-ouch!)

 

A very paltry contribution, Jane, but things are grim just now. Also, I’m cutting back a lot so that the tree chaps can get in to remove the trees.

And yesterday, I had a little surprise in my mail box – another book in the BookArtObject exchange. I think this completes my group swaps, but, to be honest, we’ve been going for so long on this round I’m really not sure! But here’s a peek …

 

And that’s all for now, folks.* I still have some palm trash to drag away from the back pergola and I think making pastry before my hands get bloody and grubby is a good idea, don’t you!

 

 

*was it Bugs Bunny who said that?

STILL PLAYING CATCH-UP…

Not only have  I been hampered by the weather I have been side-lined by back injury. As it turns out, not as dramatic as first thought, but it’s certainly slowed my progress.

So I’m a tad late with posting these pictures. What are you going to do? Sue me? Don’t bother – I’ve spent all my money!* hahaha!

Pi has been in the news lately. That film “Life of Pi” scooped some well-earned plaudits in Hollywood. And Pi is also a mathematical constant.

A few years ago someone decreed March 14th International Pi Day and mathematicians, cooks, book artists and  well, anyone, really, celebrate the day. I always say I’ll make a pie for Pi. And I always forget!

But not this year! To celebrate the day and to perpetuate a silly running joke Chez Dinahmow, I made this…

A square pie, with the TT symbol on the lid.Filled with apple and apricot and very tasty, according to The Man. And the joke? Little boy comes home from school and says his teacher don’ know nuffink. “She told us pie are square an’ we all know CAKE are square an’ PIE are round!”

Moving on…I think I’ll just make it for Jane’s  Monday Flowers In The House.

The beautiful old rose, “Apricot Nectar.” Plagued by grasshoppers and, recently, battered by storms, I was delighted to see one new bud swelling. And then the birds zoomed in, chasing bugs and snapped the stem. I waded in with secateurs and performed a mid-season pruning.The wind eased, the rain worked its wonders and the rose put out three more buds. The grasshoppers, meanwhile, had had their own reproduction orgy. So I picked the remaining bud and here it is. Want to see what else people have in their vases? Pop over to Jane’s blog

Those of you with sharp eyes  and good memories will see that the vase is on top of my mini-piano. Only for the photo shoot!

Good grief! I didn’t realise the time had flown. It’s Wine O’Clock. Time for fizzyotherapy.   Salut!   🙂

*Most of it on medical bills!