As the Borders and Walls close in ...

I sit between mine on the deck. They are not of concrete, patrolled or barbed. Instead they are snowy and flaky and full and I mean full of the most colourful butterflies and bees having a field day. They are my patrols and they will sting you if you disturb them so they do their job well and this lilly pilly wall is indeed impenetrable by the likes of us humans. They stand profusely tall and scattered on both sides of the deck and now, they are at their most attractive, inviting all to admire and benefit from them. They are of course a tree known to Aboriginals over the years, and their fruit is used to make a form of jam or jelly. Parrots and other wild birds love the fruits as well, which you can see in the last photo here unusually at the same time as the pods and flowers are on the tree.

So within the confines of my bursting borders I am staying home and saying bye to this week. Write and tell me how the week has been for you. 

Discoveries with Dougall 18- As social as a ...

Butterfly - I have to say I was in excellent company with them today out with Dougall. Cabbage whites, Monarchs, green spotted triangles, moths oh my goodness they were everywhere. So there are two bright spots today you lucky ones out there.

Aren't the colours of this leaf stunning?

And the second bright spot on our walk was this:

Eerie calm in the neighbourhood and yesterday in the city. No lingering. No stopping for a coffee and a chat. We have to take this virus seriously. Today back from the walk windows flung wide open, sitting on floor going through my bookcase, this one.

Having pulled them all out and given them a good clean some were assigned to the Give Away pile while others were lovingly placed back on the shelf. Next it was the turn of the shells and rocks. That meant a quick clean of each one before putting them back and a much longer think about the beach, the rock face or the corner of the planet from which they came from. A good exercise for the grey matter. 

And finally this morning a bit of a Before and After for you. I always remember my housekeeper Kumari who would sit crossed legged on the floor and sing Nepali songs while polishing away. 

I will spare you the joy of listening to me singing anything ! 

Coronavirus and my plans.

As we read and hear the spread of coronavirus world wide we cannot help but feel some anxiety and concern not only about our ability to manage our own lives but for the safety of family and friends especially elderly relatives and people with a chronic condition or suppressed immunity system.

Each country has responded individually. Italy shutting down, the UK still staying calm and drinking cups of tea, and Australia a mix of both, some messages encouraging life as normal, while others cancelling everything. The GrandPrix in Melbourne this weekend with fans literally waiting outside the gates, were not amused by this turn of events, and Paniyiri in Brisbane cancelled for the first time in 44 years. So there is a lot of upheaval and a lot to worry about as we steer into uncharted territory and feel a little rudderless and windblown. 

Nature, however is not a threat and being out in it is a balm and a joy. So I will continue to head out with my neighbour's mad dog Dougall where we rarely meet another soul.  I will polish the silver, long overdue, I will read more of the pile of books sitting by my bedside. My friend Catherine Nelson Pollard introduced me to the Japanese word of Tsundoku - the art of buying more books than we actually read, so all you masters of Tsundoku, and I know there are lots of you, make a start. 

I will reflect on where I am in my life and what I want from it. Keep up with the family by skype and whatsapp and savour the contact, and work remotely when I can. I will treasure companionship with my partner, competing with Sudoku,  (which is actually not Japanese but originated in Switzerland  and ended up via America back in Japan.) my husband's preferred form of engagement. 

I will write and research more and I will indulge in some slow cooking and preparing simple meals of goodness relying when I can on some garden produce.  Awful as the start of this decade has been it may end up giving us some valuable alternative ways of living our lives and that can only be a good thing. Now all we need to do is survive it all. 

Only in Australia

Neighbour: Hey guess what, the cleaner found a 3m snake making out with the hose of my Dyson Vacuum cleaner.
Me: Where?
Neighbour: Vacuum Cupboard - where else?
Me: Oh no, the snake got into the house and the cupboard and found her mate. What did the cleaner do?
Neighbour: She screamed of course. I was downstairs. I think the snake came in from the ceiling through an opening at top of cupboard that I built 30 years ago.
Me: So what did you do?
Neighbour: Opened the front door and showed it the way out.
Me: Oh great and which part of my garden do you think it escaped to?
Neighbour: haha
Later in the day here is what I found in my garden:
Next few days I might be on heightened alert.

International Women's Day 2020

For my mum, my aunts, my mother in law, my sisters, my cousins, my nieces, my sons' wife and girlfriends, my school mates, my bookclubs, my friends and all the fabulous females I have met throughout the years, celebrate your sex today with confidence and flair.
Sending you a natural heart of maturing hues and feathers for your flights of fancy.

Bushfire Parade through Brisbane City.

Today was the bushfire parade in Brisbane city when the volunteer firefighters, State emergency services, Rural fire service, National Parks, RSPCA, The Salvation Army, Red Cross  and LifeLine, and the Defence Forces  paraded through the streets of the city ending up at Brisbane city hall where the keys to the city were going to be presented to the volunteer firefighters. 

To my surprise I was moved and tearful seeing this small parade of honourable people. I listened to the MC at Brisbane City Hall reminding us of their sacrifices and their efforts, whether individual or collective to save lives, property and wildlife and it brought back the devastation and the helplessness I remember feeling during that time. The parade and ceremony were heartfelt ways for the city and its citizens to say thank you. An even larger part of what moved me was the realisation that this was now my home and my city and I was privileged to have been welcomed into this lucky country which I can call my own. Australians look after each other and the rest see this and never forget to give thanks. 

Discoveries with Dougall 17 What season are we in?

It's the second day of autumn, it feels like summer, 35C, nature and butterflies think it is spring and the sky is winking a welcome blue for winter. So what season are we in? Greedily I might reply, all of them.

We walked down to the creek and the wildflowers are creeping onto the verges and the water is turning a tannin brown. It's still cool and flowing and Dougall loves to jump in.

We tried a new walk and saw an abundance of butterflies and birds and then even went into Koala country. We are less than 20 mins away from the Central Business District and we are in beautiful bushlands which meander round the suburbs.
I so wanted to catch one sleeping in the fork of an eucalyptus tree but got only the blue, blue sky you see, so I really could not complain. It was magical and energising. Dougall was beside himself being free, sniffing, jumping and running into the stream.

We saw a lorikeet checking us out from his little home.It was magical and energising.
I looked out for coronavirus but nature seems unsullied and unperturbed. So I shall venture out again tomorrow and know that it will not be the same, and that is the biggest joy.