Aaaarrrrrkkk-k-k!

yikes! the new property manager for the real estate agent is a conscientious young man who just did an inspection of this beautiful but fragile old house. He is worried that it’s unsafe for me to be here & is going to send a builder and structural engineer over to make an assessment…
Aaaaarrrrkkkk! Roderick xmas 2013
PS have been looking for a cottage to rent in the Blue Mountains since late February, have formally applied for four light, dry places with good heating & wild gardens but have been pipped at the post every time… competition is fierce, the good ones get snapped up in 2 days.
X fingers the next one will be mine!

Honesty

Rod just took this photo of Honesty in our garden, we are trying to enjoy every minute of whatever we have of this time together ! He’s back home from hospital, diagnosed with liver cancer, will start the treatments next week, his spirit is strong and he’s looking so well…
The crows were so funny out the front of the hospital yesterday, it was like a pantomine, three of them were making totemic shapes on the architectural features of the grand old sandstone entrance, then flew off playing and swooping all around me, flying up to the top of the the big old gum tree, jumping up and down shaking the ends of the branches with so much wild arrrkkking. They entertained me for a good hour, one of the best plays I’ve ever seen and very reassuring. The magic is always there when we just take the time to slow down and see!

• 

listen to Wild Things © Rod Morgan 2011
illustration by Mo Orkiszewski for The illustrated lyrics of Old Man Crow

how to make a plant burrito

the vertical garden in this courtyard needed new plants for spring and has lost a lot of the original potting mix over the years. I have some vintage stockings from the 60’s and they make the perfect plant burritos!

the old nylon is so fine yet strong, it will last for quite some time!

filling the knotted stocking with a bit of potting mix and a viola

easing the plant burrito into place

it works, will add more plants along the top next month now that I know how to to it!

a red Belgian hybrid Clivea

Neomarica aka Brazilian Walking Iris

the deconstructed kid gloves are becoming a new pair with thoughts of Honesty being fragile and in need of being handled with care

feeling so much lighter!

We have lived here in our old lady of a house for nearly 13 years. A lot of stuff has gathered in that time as well as dust so I am busily cleaning and clearing everything down to the smallest scrap of cloth, sorting the buttons & beads, feathers & sticks, stones & bones, books & journals, old sketches and drawings, artworks and tools etc etc and feeling so much lighter!

will get started on the dining room next as I have to wait til the sun comes up to vacuum this corner where I type on the computer and keep the business records, it’s already sorted as our two 11 year old printers died when I was preparing the tax earlier this month.

We are still in lockdown here in Sydney but allowed to go for walks within 5 kilometres of home, Sydney Park wetlands is keeping us almost sane

and garden maintenance is deemed an essential service

we miss seeing our friends and Rod is looking forward to going for a beer at the local pub, the Covid variant D restrictions will start being lifted when 70-80% of the population are vaccinated but we have a long way to go!

a garden is a spell we cast within the world

working in one of our favourite gardens this week, it’s so good to have Old Man Crow back on deck!

the gardener’s perquisite

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Old Man Crow is back on deck with this photo of a Cymbidium orchid in full flight at one of our gardening jobs this morning!

more flowers on the Queen of the Night !

a spectacular flourish of 12 flowers at midnight!
the finale the next day
there’s two more buds getting ready to dance with the Full Moon next weekend!

Queen of the Night is flowering again!

On Tuesday we counted 21 buds getting ready to open on the Queen of the Night
the first flower opened on Wednesday night
then three more bloomed tonight
and a fourth bloom
with so many more getting ready!
Magic Days!

Queen of the Night Singing the Moon

the Blue Full Moon in Gemini at 8:30pm the Queen of the Night Singing the Moon at 2am
her flowers getting ready in the late afternoon
opening in harmony
“the time is gone, the song is over…”
encore

gruntled

feeling gruntled with the world this morning when I found my eye glasses hanging off a recently transplanted Bromeliad  out in the garden, searched the house and garden last night after dinner looking high and low and was not a happy camper when I went to bed…
the iMac is feeling gruntled too after its visit to the Genius Bar and an overnight upgrade to OSXI aka Big Sur, our internet connection is not stable enough to to do any of the Apple updates thanks to our governments appallingly implemented National Broadband Network, have had to pull the plug on it so many times since I bought it last xmas when it has frozen whilst trying to update the operating system
picked up Too dark? from Glebe Picture Frames, Tom did a great job, x fingers will get a better photo next week in the gallery!
Too dark? Mo Orkiszewski 2020
H 36.5cm x W 36.5cm D 5cm
black glove leather, black leather cord, papier maché, grape vine tendrils, linen & silk thread embroidered text on vintage black suede over board