Tag Archives: flowers

Australia, Collector, NSW

The Garden

I’ve been watching the plants & trees in the garden over the last few weeks as they have slowly started to flower and come into leaf. We have a huge number of fruit trees and some well established roses. One of the roses in particular has my attention because the flowers start off yellow and quite quickly go scarlet red before going an even deeper red. The result has been that we have a rose bush that is multi coloured.

Elsewhere in the garden, there is a beautiful rose with a delightful scent that is covered in tiny yellow flowers.

The various, as of yet, mostly unidentified fruit trees had flowered and are now starting to form fruit. Most flowered before coming into leaf but one did the opposite.

At the bottom of the garden the red hot pokers flowered quietly, largely unnoticed.

One tree I think I have identified is an almond tree. Currently we have green almonds which are apparently considered to be a delicacy though I haven’t worked out why yet. Saving any from the cockatoos or rosellas which we hard work.

The lemon and fig trees are all doing well.

F

Finally, the lace hydrangea (?) is also flowering and the garden is pretending to be green for a few days at least!

Melbourne, VIC

So it’s been a while

But I have a good reason. Honest.

I’m in hospital again. Planned but it’s still going to be a long stay. And we’re away from home, in Melbourne of all places.

So whilst I was looking back through photos, I came across the photos I took one night when the was an amazing moon halo. The halo was complete. I can’t remember now why I was out so late, it may have just been for a meal out, but I watched that halo for hours. It was simply amazing. The planet Jupiter was also out (I believe) and despite the full moon, it was very visible.

I don’t know how well the halo can be seen in this picture but it is just by the tree line. I’ll also see if the ones on the phone came out any better.

So, hospital. Yep. Lousy health again in afraid. Specifically my cervical spine. C5-C6 and C6-C7 have got issues, more accurately had issues. The discs had to be replaced but the joint also fused, both of them. And there was a slight complication with one of the 3 vertebra involved. It was partially removed and reconstructed, then put back in. Or some version of that order. And I have spinal stenosis as well, so the nerve root canals had to be widened or cleaned out. 4 of them were very bad. Bad enough to be affecting my arms both in sensation and strength. Hopefully one everything stoked down and heals there will be no lasting unwanted paralysis. I then went straight into ICU before being transferred to a ward for recovery and now find myself starting inpatient rehab.

The good news is that spinal stenosis does explain some of the issues I’d continued to experience that were not consistent with my lower back issues. The main one being related to my balance. Spinal stenosis at C5-C7 explains it. Sadly I have also acquired the spinal spondylosis, just another way of dying that my spine has age related degeneration 2 decades earlier than it should have. Yippee.

Stuart’s work have very thoughtfully sent me some lovely flowers which have brightened up my 4th room in a week no end. Thank you.