Life goes on

Wide awake in the early hours again and ready for work! This is no good - must be because the moon is nearly full. While I have no objection to being awake and up and about, it doesn't suit the rest of the household! All is quiet in the kitchen without Felix - she used to come straight in if I got up at night, always on the lookout for a snack or a drink of water; she only drank from a running tap, so I always had to wait until she was finished before going back to bed.

Sent a few emails. That will surprise some people, if they look at the time sent. It must be the peaceful silence in the house that is encouraging me to do long-outstanding matters. A pile of ironing beckons...

The last few days have been absolutely beautiful here in Kommetjie. Birds abound - in the shrubbery, in flocks overhead, wheeling in the thermals or heading to feeding grounds, or simply pecking away on the rocks - there are so many species to be found if you just keep looking. The surf has been small lately, flattened by the very strong south easter that has brought an autumn chill to Cape Town. Large gum trees have split in half, giving up the years of fighting the onslaught, and highlighting how dangerous it is to have these huge, shallow-rooted and weak-limbed trees growing near roads and houses. They really are best left in the far outback of Australia, where they come from. The tree in front of my house has a new lease on life, after showing signs of dying this summer, except for the large branch overhanging the driveway, which is most definitely dead and will one day crash down, hopefully not while I am driving underneath it.

All the feeding and watering has paid off this year, with the lawn green and no patches of sand for the first time in 30 years. The indigenous buffalo grass has finally taken hold and is covering the kweek and kikuyu at a satisfying rate. This means that the lawn will not need so much water or mowing in future. The bromeliads have made an excellent showing throughout the year, and the Scarborough lilies are spectacular, lasting for more than a week.

The garden has become a veritable jungle and self-propogation of the clivias and agapanthus means that I can fill in every empty space when I eventually get a chance to spend a day in the garden, without having to spend much at the nursery. How I long to have a gang of labourers move in and dig up lawns and lay paved areas and interesting pathways into secret gardens! There's plenty of space for a total re-landscaping, but it requires vision and planning, and I don't seem to have too much of that in the horticultural line.

Ah well! Something to work towards...