“Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.” ~ Try to Remember lyrics by Tom Jones.

I believe that September may very well be my favourite month of the year, a month when the cooler days of winter are almost over, the nights are pleasantly cooler and comfortable for sleeping and the garden is springing back to life after a few dormant months.

Having said how much I enjoy the month of September, I may contradict myself by proclaiming another month to be my favourite at a later date! It all depends on how I have spent that month in question, and I have to say, I have found something delightful in every day of this month, especially in the garden.

The new plants in my garden are growing beautifully, most looking as if they have been well established in their positions for months, even though they are very young.

I’m not much of a shopper, but let me loose in a garden centre and that’s a whole other story! Over the years I have had to teach myself some discipline, only buying plants that I know I have the room for in the garden.

On my most recent shopping trip for plants, I actually took a shopping list with me, just as I would if I were going to the supermarket. I’m very pleased that I had a place prepared for every plant I came home with.

Tomatoes are one of my favourite edible plants. Shop bought tomatoes lose their flavour after being stored in the refrigerator; not so with home-grown tomatoes, which can easily be picked when needed and enjoyed at room temperature.

Poinsettias are at their best, with equal amounts of light and dark throughout a twenty-four hour period, and last Saturday, the day of the Spring Equinox, my potted poinsettia looked stunning!

One thing I’m not looking forward to as the weather warms is flies! I’ve spotted the odd one or two, but not too many just yet. I did find one though, unexpectedly, perched on the petals of one of my newly planted flowers!

During the late mornings and early afternoons, the birds have taken to singing the most joyful spring songs, high up on the branches, among the thick foliage of the tallest of the trees! I’ve zoomed my camera in on a few birds that I didn’t recognise, and have discovered that we have had a few unusual visitors lately.

One of the birds, a Spangled Drongo, has tail feathers which look like a fishes tail! He seemed to be alone when I spotted him, dangling from an unopened palm leaf.

Other new visitors, known as a Figbirds, arrived in their multitudes! I only managed a decent photo of the female Figbird, although their were males here also. The main difference between the two was the red ring around the male’s eyes.

My faithful regulars, the Magpies, have a nest nearby and when the adults collect food and fly to the nest, I have often heard the tiny cheap-cheap sounds of the baby birds! I’m looking forward to meeting the new babies, when mama and papa bring them to visit, as I’m sure they will do eventually.

As I feed the adult birds, I wonder if they are he same baby birds I have become familiar with in previous years, who have grown up, losing their mottled black and white feathers, and now having the developed their predominant shiny black feathers.

The little Noisy Miners have already brought a baby or two to visit. I love the soft, downie feathers of the baby birds. Imagine how soft those spring baby feathers must be.

This month has also seen the arrival of some bright green frogs! I really, really enjoy the sound of the croaking frogs when it rains! They live in the rock walls around our house and I love catching a glimpse of them every once in a while. They are rather shy creatures though. I think this one that I found, sitting among my new plants, must have been a grandfather frog! He was one big froggy!!

Another sign of the changing season has been the sugar cane fires and the harvesting of the sugar cane. I managed to zoom in successfully on a cane truck the other day, way down in the valley, where the fields of cane had been harvested and the trucks were being loaded with the cane, ready to head off to the sugar cane mill in nearby Condong.

Another bonus of the warmer weather is being able to sleep with the windows open! The warmer nights of September have allowed us to leave some windows open, and the fresh and gentle scents of the outdoors are wonderful, wafting in on the nighttime breeze. Miss Tibbs, however, prefers to sleep outdoors, under the foliage, when the weather permits.

The swimming pool is ready for us to jump into when the hot summers days reach us. None of us have been brave enough to try the water this early in the season, although my two boys did go to the beach last weekend. They didn’t stay too long though, and came home with stories of the surprisingly warm water for this time of the year.

I think that the last word for September should go to the Kookaburras, those happy little chappies who laugh all year ’round, no matter what conditions the weather brings!

“Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.”