Christmas Trees

Their real name is Poinciana... But I think they are Aussie Christmas trees...

I need to practice taking photo's of trees... Its a bit more than point and shoot (well, you know), but i took a bunch and not one came out as i had hoped... But you get the general idea... They're very Christmassy...

They are everywhere, which i love... Every street corner is blanketed with red from the fallen flowers and the trees themselves, are all completely in bloom like the ones at the top.

More practice necessary... But that's what the blog is for...

My Favourite... So beautiful! Merry Christmas! xx

Beautiful

I've been a bit busy... Ok... A lot busy, and Im not through the worst of it yet unfortunately. Nearly.

But I've checked on this orchid a few times recently, and not even downloaded the photos, as my priorities have been elsewhere. 

But tonight I did, and ah, wow... 

My new years resolution this year was that I wanted more flowers in my life. I was thinking in a vase... But I quite like the compromise.

Wandering Dew

Saturday morning I woke up to a cat looking like this...

The first time it happened, I completely freaked out and raced him to the vet, thinking the baby kitten has scratched him... Thankfully, she hadn't, because that can be a world of bad (think infection causing blindness)... He's allergic to a weed called Wandering Dew... And really, as he only gets this, this one time of year, so I think it must be flowering or seeding or whatever weeds are doing right now...

But it makes for one unhappy Mosey.

ET!

Ever read the email titled "How To Give a Cat a Pill"? 

Bathing a cat's eye with warm salty water, is not a job for one. The towel does give me a fighting chance though. And to be honest he is pretty tolerant, I think it must feel a bit better after. 

Miss Gardenia

Over the past few days Miss Gardenia, whom I have had in a pot for the past 12 months, has finally finally started to flower! Two so far, but both of the flowers were already browning when i saw them, which made me think they must open at night... Maybe? In any case, there are a lot of flower buds all over the little Miss, that look like they are at the 'very close to opening' stage...

So this morning I saw a bud that looked close, and made a mental note to check on it over the next couple of days... 

 I half expect this one to be open in the morning!

Only a few hours later when i was back outside, i saw this...

So quick!

I've popped out every couple of hours to see how she is going...

And she smells so pretty!

Cudos to my camera here... These last few photo's were taken after sundown, with just the porch light in the background. I had to override the flash as it washed everything out.

And there she is! My little girl is all grown up!

Red and green must never be seen

I just spent some time with a memory... Completely out of the blue... But it was nice to be paid a visit.

Just under 15 years ago we lost a childhood friend. It was expected, and we said goodbye and all the things that we needed to say...

But it wasn't fair... And we all carry part of her with us always.

I now live in the city she first chose to be her home. So far away from the home of our childhood.

And just now I was washing the dishes, and Pandora played her favourite song, and all of a sudden i could hear her big belly laugh and her huge smile was right there... And i was back, at age five wearing her red bikini with the fluffy worm on the front that I secretly coveted, playing under the sprinkler... And then as adults, three sheets to the wind, walking to the next pub, laughing so hard as someone carried her leg and someone piggy-backed her when the booze / leg combination got too much. 

Still makes me smile. Thanks for the memories... Still miss you girl. xx

Wildlife Photography

The weather this weekend has been absolute perfection! The sky is big and blue, the humidity low, and the breeze is light and warm. It doesn't get much better...  Yesterday there was even champagne in the afternoon for a special friend's (almost, but not quite the big one) birthday! 

This is when our city throws open windows and doors,  dusts off balconies, checks the chlorine levels in pool water and starts hunting for the sunscreen. This weather ends our (somewhat woosy) Winter hibernation.  In fact Bellow and Roar plus One the kids next door (5 year old twins and their three year old sister) did indeed christen their backyard swimming pool. The noises of kids jumping in and out of a pool is really the melody of the Australian summer - don't you think??? I do quite love those noises as memories from my childhood... In fact those girls added their own soundtrack - they yelled (almost in tune) the entire ABBA back catalogue word for word... In fact Dancing Queen made multiple appearances. Its very cute the first time. But ABBA? 

Anyway, the cats did indeed notice the open windows and warm breezes and there was nearly mutiny in our household until I caved in and let them spend a good while back in the out of doors... Now, last weekend I was apoplectic when Mr Smartypants climbed the tree, but this time when he did it again, I figured he's a cat and cats climb stuff, so I can't really stop him from being cat like.

So I let him...

I can just as easily picture his tree climbing relative the leopard looking just like this... Though being ten  times the size and dragging some form of formerly living animal up with him to munch on...

There was no munching on purpose bought snacks, there was however, some posing for the camera...

So yes, he can get up and down. Point made. The baby kitten has been more interested in grasshoppers and butterflies than trees... Thankfully. Though all of those photo's just end up a blur - I haven't gotten to that part of the camera manual yet!

(And i promise to not post about the cats every week).

A great many orchids

I share a garden with my upstairs neighbours.  They love their plants and have a particular fondness for tree-ferns and orchids - which are absolutely everywhere! I quite like to try to garden though time and talent constrain me... Generally my potted attempts wither and die. Recently, I have been having significant success with succulents (read - they are still alive)... I pointed this out to the neighbours, who noted that succulents can survive without regular watering... Ahem.

But back to the orchids. I would conservatively estimate that there are around 100 plants of various sizes and ages snaffled around this garden.  The plants themselves are pretty darn ugly uninspiring, but when they flower, well I'll let the pictures of those in bloom today do the talking... 

The cats...

At first there was just one, and he grew up in communal living with a great many dinner parties and visitors for him to charm... But our lives changed and it was just him and me, and the move made him so lonely and it made me feel so incredibly guilty. I talked with the family vet (and she really is family which makes it all the more awesome) and she said Burmese are companion cats and they need regular company... 

So then along came the baby kitten...Who isn't so much a kitten anymore, but still small in comparison to him. 

(She saw me taking someone else's photo and stalked over to steal the limelight!)

I was nervous about her addition at first, having been warned off a second cat by well meaning friends who hadn't had the best experience doing that same thing. And he was very betrayed and hurt for a few weeks (he once tried to pull her out from under the couch by her tail - in his mouth), but he came around... I think he quite likes her now... 

They're still learning to love my new camera however... 

They are a little more tolerant since I learned to override the flash... But in the beginning, they were fairly unimpressed to be my first subjects...

The big one is not in my good books today.  He has figured out how to open the screen doors and if I forget to lock them, he is able to jump up and hook each paw around the handle and uses his bodyweight to pull the handle on the way down. He let himself out twice today while I was in and out with washing (they are allowed outside, but with supervision - Burmese are meant to be indoor cats only, as they are wanders with no street sense).  He then decided today was the day to climb his first ever tree and he picked the 30 meter high mango tree in the backyard, which led him straight onto the roof of the shed. He rolled in something that turned his coat black and then wouldn't come down... Until i gave up and decided to take some photo's for this blog... Then he was right down like a flash and all i got were these...

He was pleased with himself for the rest of the afternoon... The little one, not so much, as she had been locked in the house for his whole tree expedition. Though, the excitement seems to have worn off, as they are both now doing what cats do best...

Yes that's my pillow, she's never done that before either...

The eve of spring...

Its been quite a long winter for this temperate land... Cool winds and crisp nights have prevailed right to  the very end. But tomorrow we leave August behind, and welcome spring... I've been fantasising of walking along the beach in bikini and sarong with warm sand squishing between my toes for weeks now, but those days are still a while away I think... The trees on my walk are still looking winter bare...