A New Book...

Pull up a chair and I'll tell you about this ever so lovely recipe book that my very generous and thoughtful friend Cathy gave me earlier this week. ( A treat for looking after Cathy's cute little goat Barbara while she is away enjoying the sun and surf.)

"At Home with Magnolia" by Alyssa Torey is a beautifully presented cook book packed full of delicious recipes that are simple to prepare and full of fresh ingredients....just what I like.

She has included pretty pictures throughout the book, not only of the food she has cooked but also of her lovely home and garden.

I can't wait to try some of the recipes!

I've been busily working away in the garden again this week and I guess, this is where I will spend most of my time creating. Oh it's been so good since it has rained to watch plants grow and flower instead of watching them deteriorate as the drought worsened.

I found this old tub at a secondhand shop recently and planted it up with Lavender "Kew Red" and English Lavender. I painted the lattice behind it and planted some sweetpeas and blue rescue. I think it will be lovely when it all grows and it will add a bit of zing to an area of the garden that has been in desperate need of a makeover.

Every year I look forward to this very hardy species tulip coming up....Tulipa saxatalis. It's from the Middle East I believe and so it can take a lot more heat and dry than the normal species. It also spreads under the ground and so the clump is slowly getting bigger. I don't ever water or feed it and up it comes every year without fail...THAT is my kind of plant!

Nature's Artwork...

There are remnants in our garden of the ancient forest that once covered this area. Huge stumps of trees that once towered overhead. I feel very privileged to be the custodian of these beautiful pieces of nature's art. I love the texture of their weathered surface.
Within the crags of this beautiful stump there is new life springing forth.

There is a myriad of life in and and around the stump...insects, lizards, the odd snake and possums. And, I am quite certain that if one was to be very quiet and wait for a while the odd fairy might be seen. (Or should I say, a fairy or two, not an "odd" fairy as such.) When my oldest son Isaac was a little fellow, he would check the stump regularly for fairies. Then one day...no he didn't find one...but a spider had spun a shiny silvery web just outside the "fairy door"entrance. As the sun shone on it, it was bejewelled in a rainbow of water droplets....a sure sign of fairy dust...or so it seemed to anyone with a modicum of imagination.I also love the texture of the bark on the gum tree next to the old stump. Its girth has almost doubled since we have lived here and, if I have anything to do with it, will hopefully grow very old and become an ancient tree itself.

For now it is loved for its sculptural form, its shade and habitat and its branch that is just perfect for a swing!

Enjoying Life!

What can I say? The bees are buzzing....

the flowers are blooming....

the weather's been beautiful and

there are birds everywhere!

Including in my lounge room! When silly season comes around (spring) and the birds are in hot pursuit of each other, we have a constant supply of birds flying full pelt into closed windows. Needless to say, it doesn't really agree with them and they spend the next few hours

in a state of stupor! For a fortunate few, we hear the bang and run to the rescue. There is a bright side to this tale of woe and that is that we get to get up very close and personal with them. It never ceases to amaze me just how tiny and light some of them are...you can't even feel them in your hands.

To anyone who has been feeling a little sad of late...I hope the bluebird of happiness is on it's way.

And to anyone in blogland who has been feeling not-so-well...I hope you are on the mend.

Happy days to all...