Tag: postaweek2012

Australia · gardening · summer · Tweed Valley

It’s Red-Hot in the Garden Today!

Joanne4 Comments
Red-Hot Chilies

Mother Nature has been extremely kind to my garden this summer.

By February, the red chilies, in their red container, are usually withered and dried out by the extreme heat, but not this year. Milder temperatures have kept them looking good enough to eat (almost!)

Red Foliage

As I wandered mindlessly around the garden today (my favourite way to wander!) with camera in hand, red foliage jumped out at me from everywhere. I hadn’t realised before just how many red plants I have.

Red Strawberry Flowers

I even found a tiny red strawberry flower, hiding in among the foliage.

Red Flowers

Our recent deluge of rain has been a blessing to the plants, bringing out flowers by the dozens. It has been worth being almost flood-bound for two weeks, just to see the beauty the rain has helped to create.

With the humidity at only sixty-six percent today (according to Google Weather) the heat of the thirty-degree temperature of the day wasn’t too bad at all. I don’t mind hot days, minus the humidity.

Red Dianthus

Dianthus are an incredibly easy plant to grow. Even during times of neglect and extreme heat, they stay strong and constantly reward me with beautiful little flowers for most of the year.

Well, it WAS red!

Today I ventured right down the back of our property, almost as far as the back fence, looking out for Eastern Brown Snakes, which are one of the deadliest snakes in the world, and yes, we have had them in our yard! I even walked close to the old shed, as the colour red yet again caught my eye…well, this old ride-on mower used to be red. Now though, it’s seen better days.

Mower fuel, kept in a red container

Even the red container holding the mower fuel jumped out at me today. As I general rule, I don’t even notice it in the shed!

Red Centred Hibiscus

Inside the pool area we have a row of hibiscus, each plant with a different coloured flower. Last year, I was rather later than I should have been with pruning the hibiscus, although Mother Nature has also been late with providing summer heat. I really don’t think the hibiscus have been too perturbed by mine and Mother Nature’s bad timing. They are now out in flower and this beauty has two different shades of red at her centre.

Red-dy for a Cool Drink

Beads of sweat ran down the centre of my back during my mindless-garden-wander, but I enjoyed my time outside, in the heat of the middle of the day. What is the saying?…“Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”. Well, my background is English!

Black Beauty

And my wise and perfectly sane dog stayed indoors. 🙂

Footnote, added 10.10 pm ~ The “red-heat” of the day was even more intense than I had realised. The temperature today reached thirty-seven degrees celsius (or 98.6 degrees fahrenheit). And it’s still hot, hot, hot!

 

Australia · Changes · gratitude · happiness · summer · Tweed Valley · vision

Sunrise Through the Misty Morning

Joanne4 Comments
6.30 am

 “In the morning, everything is new.
The day’s blank slate lies before me,
ready for my writing.
May it be words of beauty I write.
May it be deeds of grace I do.
May it be thoughts of joy I think….
As I go through the day,
keep my eyes open wide.
May I not miss beauty.
May I not miss joy.
May I not miss wonder.
Keep me awake and aware of the world.
It is my privilege to perform my morning prayers.
It is my honor to do what should be done.
As I rise with the morning, fog lifting slowly for my mind,
I pray not to forget these truths”.  ~  Ceisiwr Serith

Usually at this time of year the heat of the day is so intense that working, or any chore carried out, even one as simple as walking to the kitchen for a glass of water can be a major task. Beads of sweat drip down the centre of our backs, forming into tiny streams of water which feel for all the world as if a spider is running along our skin.

Night time brings hardly any relief to the heat of the day. Temperatures may drop by a few degrees, but the humidity remains. Sleeping becomes a problem. Our diet usually consists of meat cooked outdoors on the bar-b-que and dishes of tossed salad. And water. Glass after glass of precious, hydrating liquid.

Psychological relief from the rising temperatures can usually be found by imagining time spent in the snow of the northern hemisphere as I lap up image after image of snow-covered roads, trees and buildings. It helps, temporarily.

This summer has been a different story though. Snow photos from friends and family in the northern reaches of the world are few. Feelings of spiders running down my back are even fewer.

Usually, as the days begin to cool by late March or early April, pockets of mist can settle into the valley below us, forming oceans of mist. These “oceans” can appear at any time throughout the cooler weather, depending on how far the temperatures rise during the day.

This year, here it is, early February, and the misty mornings have already begun. What a delight to behold! The misty mornings are eerie, quiet and magical. And good for the soul.

7.30 am

 “When in the fresh mornings I go into my garden before anyone is awake, I go for the time being into perfect happiness.”~ Cecilia Thaxter

Changes · freedom · summer

We are Becoming…..

Joanne4 Comments

“You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” ~ Jim Rohn.

The month of January is often a challenge for me, in many ways.

With children home from school for most of the month, it is difficult to find any time to be peaceful, when they have music playing constantly in the house. I look forward to the house becoming quiet for a change, and hearing the sounds of silence yet again.

And there is always the heat issue, including our rainy season in the sub-tropics, which contributes to the humidity. Funnily enough, though, this summer has been unseasonally cool, an unexpected luxury which I am revelling in! While I have expected the heat to arrive I realise, with huge amounts of delight, that with each day of little heat, we move one day closer to autumn, when the weather will become cooler again. Ah…bliss!

None of us has any control over summer school holidays or the weather, so we might as well accept the inevitable and find the pleasure in each moment of every day. We can’t change these things.

It is incredibly easy to find the pleasure behind the noise in the house all day. The noise tells me that my children are still young enough to live at home. I can enjoy their company and they are indeed very good company!

And the warmer days allow myself and the rest of my family the freedom to enjoy our swimming pool, finding relief from the humidity of the days.

What we are becoming, on a personal level, is a matter in which we do have some control over. We have the choice of how we allow the people who we interact with throughout our lives to affect us.

Everyone we meet can, and does, influence our behaviour at the time of our meeting. They may also shape our future thoughts and feelings, unknowingly painting a picture of the person we have become, who we are constantly in the process of becoming.

The month of January has given me the opportunity to ponder the question of who we are becoming, taking my mind off the few days when it has been warm and when I have missed my solitude, and it is with much pleasure that I have written these thoughts in my article at the Calm Space this month, “An Infinite Work of Art ~ You”.

 

 

 

Australia · gratitude · Mount Warning · summer · Tweed Valley

Summer’s Stunning Sunset

Joanne2 Comments
Brilliant Summer Sunset

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore.

Summer has made a very late appearance in my part of the world this season. It is only over the last few days the temperatures have risen to the expected thirty degree mark. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Just noting.

This is the summer in which I have declared that I will appreciate the summer season for what it is and summer has cooperated brilliantly. Firstly with lower temperatures than the usual. Secondly, with this magnificent sunset over Mount Warning last night.

How can I possibly not appreciate such a glorious sky-show?