Spring!

Spring has sprung! Willy wagtail nest  at the Post Office

Despite the weirdest spring weather ever (it swings from heatwave to cold snap in the space of a working day) Mother Nature is working her magic in the garden and all around me. The fan-tailed cuckoos have been trilling ceaselessly in their quest for a nest; the willy wagtails at the Post Office have built a daring home on the (very exposed) stairs of the Postmistress’ residence. Birds of all sorts are travelling in pairs – from mighty wedge-tailed eagles to tiny superb fairy wrens… Galahs canoodle on the telephone wires and at the top of my weather-vane. Love is definitely in the air.

Duck family at the main wharf - Daddy Duck is striding ahead to shoo away the seagulls

 Over the back fence, kangaroos graze peacefully. Tiny joeys lean from the pouch to peer at the new world all around them. Sometimes, when mum bends low to nibble at the grass, joey leans out too, giving the very comical impression of a two-headed kangaroo. Sometimes, a little joey forepaw sneaks out of the pouch, and the baby roo appears to be slouching against the lip of the pouch, much like a teenage boy slouches elbow-first against the wound-down window of his first car. Very cool.

And my garden is flowering. Oh, how it is flowering! Waratahs, azaleas, roses, my one and only rhododendron… the clematis I planted earlier this year.. the grapefruit tree…

 

Some of the many roses that, pruned in winter by my sister in-law, Jayne, have gone absolutely berserk!

 

two different types of waratah

I must say that the scent of grapefruit blossom is one of the most exquisite garden scents ever! I don’t have words to describe that heavy heady perfume – it smells clean and clear, creamy golden and velvety smooth, sort of syrupy and perfectly round, if that makes any sense at all. If it were music, it would be probably be that purring flute music towards the bottom of the instrument’s range – or perhaps the clear sweet notes of a clarinet.

I wish you could smell these grapefruit blossoms!

 I have come back to life after a winter of pain. Doing less cleaning has given my aching joints a bit of respite. After several years of exhaustion and debilitating stress, I’m getting healthy again. I sleep well(!) am losing weight and feel FABULOUS. Oh, and I’ve started writing again; nothing much – just a dabble now and then – but it feels so good. Crikey, at this rate I’ll be back on the Harley soon as well – wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!