I like that flapjack succulents are easy to grow from cuttings, their sculptural appearance and their colours which intensifies in direct sunlight.
Red and green must be seen
My great local is Morton Park;
For walking Stan and birds to hark
Smell the Oleander tree,
Flowers, palms and shrubs to see,
Tall gums, gingers, lilies too;
Sunshine, clouds and skies of blue.
Space for picnics and to play,
Shortcut home or sit and stay.
The shades of red and green
Can’t be missed, must be seen!
Coleus colour
My interest in growing plants was sparked in primary school, each winter we would plant bulbs, secrete them away in a dark place and wait in excited anticipation until the pointed, shiny green shoots began to appear through the black soil. This form of gardening is perfect for my personality as there is a concept, an expected result, a limited amount of follow up and the product is a thing of beauty.
I recall winning a book prize for growing a coleus as an assignment in one of the infant classes. The credit should have gone to my mother who tirelessly watered, turned and measured the growth of that plant.
In adulthood my fascination with plants remains, I took a cutting from a roadside plant about three years ago to produce this particular coleus. A ruthless pruning each year produces a colourful show. The small lime tree doesn’t seem to mind sharing a pot.
The coleus’ colour varies according to the light, from vibrant pink and red to purple and blue.
Malibu Martini Moment
Celebrate good times, come on! It is Tuesday, two Malibu Martinis, I’m in a warm and fuzzy memory loop. On this day 16 years ago the temperature at Birmingham International Airport was a chilly 6oC. We had spent the previous week getting our apartment ready to be rented out fully furnished and hosting a family day and a kitchen clearing party. Friends and family rummaged through our drawers and cupboards sadly filling carrier bags. We were greeted in departures by our close friends and too many tears.
KLM had a special offer on its business class flights, we had 96kg of checked in luggage plus double the 18kg hand luggage allowance. As we were moving to the other side of the world we took full advantage of the deal – camera bags, handbags, umbrellas, coats, briefcases, boxes of chocolates and yes, hats with corks; 12 pieces of cabin baggage each.
The expression on the face of the of the check-in staff was priceless, as you can imagine they did not know anything about the the offer so promptly took a copy of the KLM notification we had received. It was a challenge to relinquish our trolley before clearing passport control, thankfully the lounge had plenty of storage.
The other passengers did not have much carry on baggage and the cabin crew saw the funny side of our gargantuan predicament, they assisted us onboard, up the stairs and stowed our personal belongings. On this flight we were travelling light, the furniture, pictures and objet d’arts had left the UK two weeks earlier with Pickfords.
Cheers chink, clink here’s to 30oC in Singapore.
Miniature rose
If a rose arose from prose
T’would be poetry I suppose
Bud to bloom of words it grows
‘Tis escape from a world of woes
(C) Robert Jones All Rights Reserved
Plea for advice
Helter-skelter bark o’er limbs entwined
Twisting up, around and down to ground.
Memories of life and death enshrined
In branches, trunk, roots; barely a sound.
Majestic earthbound spirit of tree
Do me the honour, share thy stories.
I make this humble request of thee,
Let me now learn from past glories.
Hold me in thy rugged embrace here
To share wisdom and be enlightened.
Can we commune on life, death and fear,
Nature’s cycles and of peace strengthened?
Of man’s selfishness now and of old;
Magic talismans of power sought;
In keeping Earth’s balance be told,
The twists and turns of battles fought?
In struggles between darkness and light
Is there a part for me in this plight?
How can I help to make it alright?
What’s required to ensure future bright?
(c) Robert Jones 2014 All Rights Reserved
Steel Magnolias
Rainbow thinking
Having had my camera since October 2012, I am still learning how to use it. I have to confess to only opening the instruction manual one year after receiving it for my birthday.
This is the latest picture of the refracted light on the bathroom tiles.
Related posts:
Refracted light
Rainbow spiral
Jewel Bugs
When I first spotted these lustrous beetles going about there business on a tree trunk I thought they might be Christmas beetles. A bit of google research revealed their true identity.
According to the Queensland Museum website they are commonly known as jewel bugs. This particular species is the Hibiscus Harlequin Bug (tectocoris diophthalmus).
Females lay clusters of eggs around twigs and guard them until they hatch. The nymphs are often a different colour to the adults. The Hibiscus Harlequin Bug is found in coastal dunes, rainforest, open forest and gardens in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea and some Pacific islands.
Length about 15 mm. The body is rounded and convex. Its colour varies, from pale orange to heavily patterned with metallic green, blue and red.
Overcoming gravity
I have spent the last three weeks enjoying catching up with friends and family, chilling on the deck, walking Stan and bobbing around in the pool. What a shock I had this morning when I enthusiastically suggested going to the gym. The gravitational pull of the earth seems to have increased ten-fold.
I was exhausted after five minutes, persisting with my cardio workout on the cross trainer for another twenty was doubly challenging when consciously staying in the moment. This is definitely a time to let your mind wander and unconsciously let the minutes fly by.
I was thrilled yesterday to be able to capture this image of a lorikeet in a nearby bottlebrush tree, they deal with gravity with dignity and grace, I have a lot to learn
theINFP 