SIMPLE PLEASURES, SMALL TREASURES

UPDATE…I found the missing tiki! 

Long time, no blog. I have been doing other things…

One of the “other things” has involved gardens. Most of the gardens here just have to tough it out when rain is infrequent. I do water potted things, like orchids and herbs, but cannot see much sense in buying drinking water (via the annual water rate paid to Council) for plants that just let palms “steal” it anyway.

So, here are some of my simple pleasures…

 

A Yucca;I’m not sure which one as it’s in a garden down the street!

A pot of lilies that just begged to be added to my cart of groceries one day…They were indoors for a while, then I put them out on the deck where I could water them when I did the herbs’ water routine. Not the intense fragrance of some, but after the sun has been on them it’s a noticeable scent.

“Grand Duke of Tuscany” jasmine. Jasminum sambac  I’ve cut this wretch back to almost nothing and tried to dig it out since it seemed so unhappy.And then we have a good shower and off it goes again. There’s a story about it’s introduction to Western gardens (via the Duke) and I’ll do some research and tell you the tale another day…

Syzigium wilsonii  aka “powder puff”. Another that struggled for years and seems, finally, to have settled. We only ever saw one or two flowers, but last Spring there were several and this year it looked spectacular! Of course, I didn’t get in with a camera til the show was almost over! I daresay Mr Google has a better range.

The Sunbirds re-used their little nest attached to the  cord on the front verandah awning and two chicks fledged a few weeks ago. And then…

Sunbirds (not the same pair) began building a nest on a string of chimes over the back deck

WIP.

Mrs Sunbird is now incubating 1 or 2 eggs.

And now, some of my small treasures…

Chinese jade ear-rings

A brooch of NZ nephrite. It belonged to my maternal granny so probably 19th century.

Another piece of NZ nephrite, left to me by an aunt.

More NZ greenstone. I bought this when I was in my teens and I should probably give it to someone who could wear it as it certainly doesn’t go over my old knuckles!

And this, which I bought from a chap in NZ who does some beautiful carving. I’ll give you his Facebook address  His work is well worth looking at. https://www.facebook.com/jeromyvanriel/

A Maori Hei Tiki. Like all Maori artwork, rich in symbolism, in this instance, a fertility charm! And now, having found it, I must get a jump ring for it so i can put it back on a chain.

Alas, not NZ nephrite. Not Chinese jade, though I believe this is from China. I have several and wore them as hair clips before I had my hair cut.I wonder if anyone else has them?

And now it’s almost time for lunch! I’ll close with a picture of one of “my girls.”

Nephila pilipes  Yes, a big one, but does us no harm.She’s one of the spiders who spin a golden thread. If you are brave or curious, go here https://www.flickr.com/photos/18554857@N03/

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN…

I was all set to be ready, this month.Even if I had to resort to a “grocer’s bunch”…I was going to wow everyone with my Flowers In The House.

And then it rained. I mean, really rained.The sort of rain that whooshes down, drenching everything, then goes out to sea and we all dash about washing the curtains that got wet and rejoicing in the lovely, soft, damp earth that makes weed-pulling a picnic in the park.

And then it rains again.Look, not to bore you, but we have had quite a few rainy days.And some thunder storms.

So…back to the “grocer’s bunch.” Um, no. I think someone left the grocer’s would-have-been contribution out in the rain!And the cheeky blighter was still asking half my housekeeping budget for the wilties!

So what does Dinah do? Calls on an orchid to step into the breach…

Phalaenopsis. It may have a cultivar name, but its label is long gone. The Man brought it indoors last week, fearful that the rain would mash its petals.Mostly, it sits on the dining table, looking lovely. No, this is NOT the dining table! This is a scruffy old table where we do all sorts of grubby things. Like mixing shellac, painting things and potting seedlings. But the orchid is indoors in the top picture.

I’ve done a massive amount of weeding and some more pruning and hope to get some things out of their pots and into this rich, soft chocolate-y soil. Soon, very soon. And I re vamped the herb boxes and put in some rocket/arugula which is coming along very nicely.I always have trouble with that in summer heat, but it’s looking good. If I can find a space that gets enough sun I might plant some chard(silver beet).

The orb spider’s cocoon is still under its leaf and tied back to a pole for safety.Another female spider is looking quite plump on her web, but the other one was gone yesterday morning. Still very slender, I think she became a snack. 😦

Is it just me, or are other people struggling to keep up with blogging? I know some of you feel “empty” and I can understand that. But blogging , for me, was  a comfortable way to write. And I felt connected.But lately? I find it harder to write what I think people might like to read. Maybe I’m being pulled in other directions? Yes, I do venture into Facebook’s waters, but that’s hardly “writing.”

I suspect that I’m getting a taste for gallivanting! Good thing I renewed my passport!

I’d better get back to the kitchen and show my Kerala coconut curry some respect…

Here’s my spider and her beautiful golden egg sac…

If you click these pictures you will (should!) see that beautiful golden silk shining in sunlight.No wonder it was used on the raiments of the wealthy and clergy!

Time has passed…the curry was, indeed, delicious. As was the juice of the crushed grape. And, to top it off, we enjoyed a re-run of QI.

 

 

SPIDER POST ALERT ! ( in case you’re a spider-wimp!)

 

Not a scary, horrid-hairy, ginormous, swallow you in one gulp sort of spider.

Oh, no. Dinah wouldn’t be so cruel to her  readers.Would she? Read on to find out.If you dare!

We have been doing some long overdue work in part of the garden.

 

Our new-ish neighbour has cleared the boundary strip and we (that’s The Man, mainly) have cleared our side of the fence. This has allowed in a lot more light and created some open spaces that just cried out for plants. So I’ve been relocating some of the overgrown pots  and cuttings. Shade-lovers, mainly, because although on the north-eastern side, they still have quite dense shade from the palms.

 

 

Probably a Christella of some sort. It (and several others), like Topsy, “just growed.”

And this morning, while hosing yesterday’s newbies, I noticed droplets on a damaged web.A neat quarter has been broken away from  an orb web. The spider is still in residence and I managed a photo. Better still, I’m pretty sure I’ve identified it. Yay! It’s not often I can.

I thought it was in the Tetragnathidae so I Googled that and found this interesting (well, interesting to spider buffs, that is!) link  http://tolweb.org/Tetragnathidae/2799. Known by a common name of “long jaws” for good reason, these cute lil guys have a courtship technique not unlike snogging in the back row of the Gaumont Cinema.

This is a macro shot that I did manage to get. Not the best, but neither was the weather! Clicking should make it a little clearer.

 

 

Now that I’ve managed to educate you on   scare the tripe out of you, I’m off to the purveyor of plonk. A girl can work up a navvy’s thirst just to plant a few ferns, y’know!