The Golden Age of Semi-Madness...
Golden Yellow Daisy
Some thoughts regarding semi-madness (or eccentricity, if the 'mad' word is too much of a worry). For I consider I have arrived at the Golden Age of Semi-Madness. It is the perfect time of my life to go a little peculiar.
Wednesday 18th January
If I was still working I could lose my job. If I was still mothering, I could (eek!) lose my children. A decade or two older and I could get thrown into a home. The Golden Age of Semi-Madness allows me to be as free, silly, random and eccentric as I like without fear. If I fill my spare room with teddy-bears, having knitted and sewn little outfits for them, nobody can write me off. Yet. If I decide to collect garden gnomes, ditto. And it just so happens that a dishevelled group of eight gnomes have popped up on the online auction site. Eight more - ooo, I'm tempted.
Ah! It's another wind-free day, with the garden moist from overnight irrigation, and my mind overflowing with energetic ideas. So why am I here listening to Handel (an oddly unsymmetric bloke) writing my journal? Who knows. I should threaten myself with housework if I'm still here in ten minutes time, hee hee...
The Driveway Garden
OK, OK. I need to zoom to the supermarket first. Little Mac the tree-climbing kitten has run out of pet milk.
Kitten up a Gum Tree
Much Later...
I worked my way around the Driveway Lawn, weeding, planting pockets of daffodil bulbs, and watering the shrubs. Even with the big irrigation everything in this garden needs more water in mid-summer - one of the joys of free-draining soil.
Thursday 19th January
Oops. I didn't write anything down today. But I remember weeding over in the Stumpy (AKA Willow Tree) Garden, planting bulbs, clearing paths, and generally poking and scratching around. I also found lots of lovely new little Campion plants. Grr...
Friday 20th January
Eek! Brahms's piano concerto (in B flat major) is playing, and the musical passion of this work is making me all wide-eyed and shivery. My goodness - how can my first gardening task (a clean-up of gum bark from yesterday's wind) compare with such an emotionally charged start to the morning? The Eucalyptus trees (lovely things) have shed again on my house lawns, emphasising the futility of ever striving for garden perfection.
Thinking About Brahms...
Why didn't I try playing that Brahms piano part when my fingers were youthful, spritely, and non-dodgy? Blast! Thinks - does the Music Minus One Series do Brahms? Karaoke Concerti? As long as the orchestra can be slowed down...
Two Hours Later...
Aha! I've finally tested my 'new' five dollar mini-stereo system. It does go, and has a really big sound, so I've set it up to boom out the patio doors. So I've been doing Brahms-Concerto Gardening. Wow! Why haven't I ever done this before? I'm more used to tinkering around accompanied by the tiddly little piano pieces - intermezzi, ballades, and the like. Amidst the grand emotion Little Mac the kitten has been chasing Rusty the dog's 'pouff' tail. Oops - down to earth with a giggle.
Rusty the Dog's Pouff Tail
Actually there's more with respect to Rusty the shaved dog. He must be feeling the cold, for I am forever catching him 'sunbathing'. After ten minutes he goes very pink, so I'm thinking of wrapping him up in one of Non-Gardening Partner's shirts.
Layla Tidy Tips
And it's the start of seed-collecting time. The dining table is covered with Omphalodes, blue Cornflowers, and the yellow daisy Layla. Aren't I good? No need to answer that...
Kitten in a Basket
Saturday 21st January
Phew! It's been hot gardening in the sun. The wind is nicely breezy, though. I've been nipping suckers in the Island Bed, weeding, and thinking about a serious garden make-over in here - perhaps in the autumn. The iris confusa doesn't get enough shade and looks summer-tired. Non-Gardening Partner half-chopped down that ghastly Viburnum which makes me sneeze and cough - unfortunately fluffy debris from the chain-sawing is scattered all over the top of the garden. Atchoo!
Little Mac the kitten has been in there with me - when he gets tired he flops on one of my feet, and I have to be very careful when moving. Kitten-gardening is such fun, though.
Now I'm going to watch some tennis (the Australian Open) and have a cup of hot tea. If I can't stay awake I'll have another shower and wash my hair. If that doesn't work, a large glass of wine should finish me off nicely.