Roses

Our roses are out in bloom!!

From the standard red rose to the exquisite orange-pink "lotus" coloured rose, the delicate white rose to the fragrant pink garland rose, the little bouquet rose and the gorgeous, pristine yellow rose (obviously my favourite)...........

Of course, its only the start of the rose season. Soon, much of the green rose bush will be hidden by the enormous numbers of flowers. Already, the sweet smell of spring has been enhanced by a hint of rose fragrance, especially near gardens which have heaps of roses. Within the next few weeks, all the rose bushes will be in full bloom and the spring air will smell of roses.

And then, the germaniums are just beginning to bloom. So are the wierd purple flowers which grow on the vine that has parasitized our frangipani tree and the other purple-flower tree. The oleander, hibiscus, chrysanthemum, gardenia and jasmine plants are yet to flower this season.

Blogspot once again refuses to upload my photos, so please go to photos.yahoo.com/xyztgh/ and click on "roses" if you want to see some (poor quality) photos of the roses in our garden.

Vineyard Creek Reserve

Whilst I've known for years that this little patch of bush 5 minutes walk from my house exists, I've never actually bothered to walk through to whats there. Seeing that today was such a perfect spring day in Sydney, I decided that the time had come to explore the Vineyard Creek Reserve.

On the way there, I noticed that the theme for this spring must be pink-purple because all the gardens were aflush with white, pinksh-white, pink, purple and violet coloured flowers. It was amazing to see how many gardens, despite differences in landscaping and plant choice, were full of white-pink-purple flowers. There were of course, plenty of yellow weed flowers, as in natural in spring, and the odd rose bush (the lady two houses down with her gigantic 2.5m tall rose bushes!!!). The only plants that didnt fit were the multitude of dark orange orchids which were also featured in every third or fourth garden. As I walked down to the reserve, I thought I would take photos on the way back; as it turned out, my phone battery went dead when I was down by the creek....

Its quite amazing that in the middle of a residential suburb is hidden this quiet, green and surprisingly unlittered patch of forest can exist. On the peripheries, the noise of day-to-day life, domestic squabbles, cars and kids playing can intrude on the calm, but a bit deeper in, the only sounds one can hear are those of nature.

The song of the birds, the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze, the slow flow of the creek, the scampering of lizards (snakes, perhaps?? who knows...) and of course, the buzzing of bees, the most recognizable sound of spring.

I even found a nice little cave to sit in; its actually just an overhanging rock with erosion underneath, but still, its the perfect spot to sit and think, or contemplate, or just daydream.

At the halfway point, down by the creek, I was lamenting the dearth of wild flowers; the only I'd seen were some small fluffy white ones hanging down from a tree. But almost as soon as this thought came, I came upon a clump of yellow wattle. When I tried to take a photo, my battery died! After this, I walked past dozens of flowering bushes. Cursing my luck, I came upon the overhang that served as my cave, and I took a little break, thinking about what a wonderul evening I had out in the radiant spring sun.....

[I tried to post some photos but blogspot wont let me for some reason...]

Everybody Hurts, by R.E.M.

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone