Pondside morning coffee after summer rain:

We are currently in a weather pattern known for producing wet summers. It is indeed proving to be so, with 120mm so far this month and the household water tanks full.

With this much rain over the last month, the whole forest has become denser with new growth. Sitting by the pond for morning coffee, one feels enclosed, held by the forest, its new growth and its vibrancy.       

So, sitting here is like being within a sound and light show, as patches of sun pass through the trees and the shadows dance on the water. During moments like these I become conscious of a profound connection to this place and mindful that the culture of our indigenous people, for 60,000 or more years, is based on such connection. And here we are on a hill, which is known for its aboriginal ceremonies and artefacts.

We have our coffee, enjoying the stillness and the silence, feeling grounded and connected.

Alternating days of rain and cloudiness and hot summer sunshine, cloudy closeness and open summer skies, with evening thunderstorms, have given us the spectacle of new growth, new leaves which, according to their species, are of different colour and form; the result is almost as intense and colourful as the spring flowers, only different. Somewhat subtler, but perhaps more interesting.

However, there are flowers too, some examples where spring flowers are being repeated as if they have been tricked into believing it is spring again. Add to this the story of sepals which remain after petals fall or a blown by the wind, sepals which colour spectacularly in the case of the Australian Christmas bush, but less so with the Gray Myrtle. So here you have a Gray Myrtle with coloured new growth and remnant sepals and an example of Australian Christmas Bush.           

After coffee, there was a time for a little local Landcare, some weeding and freeing plants from vines that have taken off with recent rains.    

There are so many seedlings around some we like, and will retain others we will ‘pot-up’ because they are too close to each other or to existing trees and others which are weeds and will be dispatched forthwith.                                       

In addition, as the eucalyptus grow, their trunks expand and their bark is shed in colourful strips, creating what I call “bark art”.                     

Indeed, such a privilege to be able to occupy such a space and play a humble role in curating this wild garden, this regenerated forest space.