Beautiful Bees

Such a beautiful day to go in search of bees.

©Violet Ashes 2016

Tadpoles

I have known Violet for a very, very long time. Some might say, I have always known her. She will always be a part of my life, whether I ever physically meet her, or not.
 
There are times, like now, when the house is quiet & there is nothing to do that I can almost hear her, calling me from the backyard pond, covered in mud, ankle-deep in tadpoles with a daisy chain in her hair… “Mum…!”

Tea With Faeries

Riot Grrrl sent me this pin today & instantly my mind flew back to my childhood. Of many hours spent in my Grandma’s garden chasing faeries. Rioty, of course, knows this as we have spent time chasing faeries together – you know a girl will be a friend forever if she will chase faeries with you. It makes perfect sense to me even as an adult.
 
 The photo was taken in a garden on Woodside road in a town called Chester in the UK. Upon reading this I knew the photo was special, for reasons of my own.Coincidences are everywhere at the moment.

It is a beautiful sunny day today & the air is just moving enough to knock the white & pink petals from the almond trees onto the ground. It looks like a blanket of snow – but the warmth that makes my skin tingle tells me it is not winter. As I spent time cutting back the nearly flowering Jasmine on our front hedge I remembered all the gardens I have spent time in, first as a child & as an adult. I have never been far away from one & they are still my favourite places.
 
I found this photo of me as a kid in our garden; the sun on my hair is just like today & my smile has not changed. It was taken by my Aunty JB & it looks like I was looking to host a very big tea party – I remember that tea kettle – it spent many years on my arm while I chased faeries & drank tea with Grandma.

There Is Always Light

It is raining here again & I love the sound of it. It is so peaceful & makes the whole house so dim & smoky but not pitch black, just a comfortable dark. Like being underwater in the Murray River. If you look up, there is always light.
 
 I think about Harry in his grave, the small streams of water sliding over the freshly turned earth. A glistening makeshift headstone.
 
 My niece & nephew came to pay respects last night. Maximus says,
   ‘I’m sorry you died Harry’ as he bends down, rubbing the stone that marks his grave.
 My sister says to Bella,
   ‘At least he’s not in pain now & he can sleep.’
 Bella stops in her tracks, puts her hands on her hips, looks up at her Mum & says,
   ‘He’s not sleeping! He’s dead!’
 
 She is so right & the statement made me smile at her 5 year old wisdom. What a mind that kid is going to have. I am so proud.

Cycle

I cannot explain my close attachment to the Blue Tongued Lizard that has lived in our garden for 3 years but he is important to me nonetheless. I found him today bent over in the garden, looking not-quite-right. It is only 10 degrees here today & far too cold for a lizard to be trying to sunbake. I noticed he has been coming out to bake for a few weeks now, in winter, & thought it odd. I picked him up & gave him a bit of a rub to warm him up, his belly stirred but his eyes did not open. It did not feel right to leave him lying out there to get picked off by a cat or a bird, so I picked him up & took him inside. I made him a makeshift home in my nephew’s toy box with some rocks & dirt from outside & put on a strong lamp to help warm him up a bit.
 
He did stir some more once he warmed up a little. I added a lid of water & some cherry tomatoes which were always a treat for the lizards that Leo raised when we were growing up. He has not touched either one. I spoke to Leo who said to drip some water in his mouth, if he was thirsty he would react – which he did.
 
He keeps doing these deep sighs from inside, curling up a little & then he flattens himself a bit to get more warmth. The sighs hit me in the chest every time, like a series of last breaths. I hold my own breath each time, I am quiet & hopeful that he will keep going.
 
I wish there was more I could do.
 
He has not moved for an hour now & I am too afraid to put my hands in, in case he has died. I am going to wait for Leo to get here & take a look at him. I do not think the news will be good.
 
Corsmor & I live in a little wilderness haven here & enjoy watching all the wild creatures come & go as they please. They are remarkable & motivating. Life is inexplicably going on around us. I have watched Sparrows swarm over the bread crumbs Corsmor throws to them, Black Birds couple up, build nests & eggs hatch into the quickest growing babies I have ever seen. I have awoken to the sounds of Kookaburra’s singing in our Jacaranda tree & fallen asleep to the sound of frogs in our back yard pond. What I failed to realise is that death is going on all around us at the same time. It is taking those beautiful things away from us. A cycle I had never really thought about.  & here I am sitting next to it, with a glimmer of hope & hopelessness all at once. There is nothing I can do but wait.

Garden Friends

Arrived home today to find our little friend Harry Potter (so named as he was born under a pot) basking in the sun on our doorstep. It’s good to have friends 🙂

Wood Rainbow

This form of eucalyptus tree grows in Maui, Australia rainforests where the bark peels back to reveal a gorgeous range of colours. It’s absolutely real & so beautiful, there are truly some unusual & surprising things in nature.

Carnage

Overseeing a garden is a strange business. This summer so many friends have withered, even those that seemed the strongest & the healthiest were stricken with the unrelenting heat of summer. Brought smiles to my eyes when I saw Jac standing tall & blooming her way through December though. She can always be depended upon. Tall & strong.
 
Next year such carnage in the garden will not be tolerated. I will be prepared.

Mood: Melancholy

 

Love to Bring You Down…

I tried to explain to Violet today that her feet would be much better planted firmly ON the ground instead of IN it but she would not have a bar of it. She eats an unhealthy amount of gherkins & I think it has turned her blood into vinegar. I cannot seem to find any of the sarcastic warmth in her that she used to bounce back at me. Just pure acid. I am not entirely sure how much to be concerned…

Garden of Unearthly Delights

Chewy, Chesty & I made our way down to the Best of the Fest (www.neilwardpublicity.com.au/BESTofFest.html) at the Adelaide Arts Theatre last night. 3 comedy acts for the night, though I am pretty sure the 2nd guy, who looked more like an ageing criminal from Trainspotting than your average stand up, would have been totally screwed without the audience heckling shit at him all night. Picked up his Geordie accent as soon as he opened his mouth & wondered what a night we would be in for…
 
Last guy was better, from the US but still he was a little scared of the audience, considering it is well known us Adelaidians are all serial killers & eat hitchhikers for breakfast, not to mention gay US comedians who make fun of our footy game…
 
Tripped it on down to the East End where the Garden of Unearthly Delights (www.gardenofunearthlydelights.com.au) was set up for the month. Chesty noted it was more a contest for who could look the weirdest while still standing than a festival… Beautiful lights everywhere, that’s what captured me. Being the space cadet I am I couldn’t help but stare into the purple & turquoise trees while we tucked into a cone of hot chips appropriately smothered in tomato sauce & mayo.
 
Chewy bought some horrid looking savoury pancake, ate the whole thing – not that I am surprised – but it did make me wonder how he could put that in his mouth but has such trouble with the good old tomato.
 
Finished off the night with a latte  in a little cafe,good end to an interesting evening…

Garden of Unearthly Delights

 

 

Faery Garden

I have an essay due tomorrow but needed to get my brain together.

 
I Stood Against The Window
 
I stood against the window
And looked between the bars.
And there were strings of fairies
Hanging from the stars;
Everywhere and everywhere,
In shining, swinging chains;
The air was full and shimmering,
Like sunlight when it rains.
 
They kept on swinging, swinging,
They flung themselves so high
They caught upon the pointed moon
And hung across the sky.
And when I woke in mooning,
There still were crowds and crowds
In beautiful bright bunches
All sleeping in the clouds.

This poem is by Rose Fyleman from ‘Fairies & Chimneys’. I used to get lost in the land of fairies a girl. I still think of them as I walk around my garden at home & hope they will come out of hiding. They must still be there – & I still believe. I like to think of them as protection. I think Ric has found them & that’s why he loves it so much in the fern garden. When the sprinklers go on he sits in there for hours. He comes out shivering but he seems to love it. I think he thinks it is rain because he always runs around in that too.

Picture from Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book – Brian Froud