A new year begins

January and February 2018

The year begins quietly and sedately. I'm still not allowed to drive, relying on friends to take us places and help with various things.

Five weeks after the operation, I was told I could now start driving again. It is only short drives to start with as sitting for any length of time is very much an issue. But to be able to take the dogs for their walks is wonderful.

I am still only able to do very light chores with lots of rests in between. Going round taking pictures is easy enough though.

My little lemon tree which had lived in a pot and been moved indoors and out to keep it safe had finally been planted into the ground in the new vegetable enclosure. It had already set some fruit by then, and now they are ripening nicely.

In the long bulb bed, these beautiful lilies are out in their full glory. The scent is quite heavenly.

In the new garden bed by the bedroom wall, the sunflowers have come out. The grass seeds I had dropped in there have resulted in some good tufts of grass.

By the back fence, the Budleia bush is looking the best it has ever been. I thought it was on its last leg, but obviously not.

When I came out of hospital, the red flowering little gum tree was absolutely ravaged by coddling moths and there wasn't a thing I could do about it.

Normally, you cut all the affected branches off and carefully dispose of them to give the tree a chance to recover. 

It seems that this tree didn't need my help. Here it is towards the end of February, sporting some lovely flowers. That really makes my day!

Meanwhile, the sunflowers have ripened nicely and are bursting with seeds. The hens will love these as a treat.

Speaking of hens: For a few days in a row, Hanny comes to the back gate at bedtime and asks to be let in. I haven't been finding any eggs from her in the nest boxes and automatically assumed she had stopped laying.   It is Teepee who finds the nest Hanny has made in the bulb bed down by the fence. The cheeky girl. But she is also quite clever. Once I have taken the eggs away from there, she gets the hint and lays them again in the nest box where they belong.

I am getting quite keen to be doing something in the garden again although I have not yet received green light for any such activity.

But I can get plants and look forward to planting them.

Here are some Gazanias and some herbs. 

And a whole lot of little natives for a special project.

Meanwhile, this little succulent is happily brightening up the window sill with its big flower.

My doggy friend Jill introduces us to a lovely coastal track in Verona Sands I didn't know existed.

And so end the first two months of the year. In just a few more days, I'll see the surgeon again to hear what he has to say.