Tag Archives: spring

New Beginnings

Apple Blossom 1

Haiku 280

Gnarly old branches

Every spring surprising me

With new beginnings

.

My ancient apple tree was here when we bought the house, eons ago.

Its trunk is lumpy and diseased, yet it still somehow manages to regenerate each year.

Apple Blossom 2

Every time I walk past this tree I check it for new growth. First there were a few new green leaves.

Then finally, one day, I spot what I’ve been waiting for. The first apple blossom.

Now it is spring!

 

Advertisement

Golden Flower

Yellow Freesia 1

Haiku 212

Like a Buttercup

A tiny drop of sunshine

Cradled in petals

.

Yellow Freesia 2

Early morning sunlight is caught by my solitary freesia in a pot on the stoep. Such a cheerful bright spectacle.

I’ve mentioned recently that the garden centres were shut due to Lockdown earlier in the year, when I wanted to replenish my dwindling supply of bulbs. For once I had remembered at the right time of year! Coming from England I still think Spring is in April and you plant your bulbs in September.

Yellow Freesia 3

But of course, that is topsy-turvy down here, like everything else. You have to plant in April for your Spring bulbs to pop up in September. Year after year I only remember in September, that I should have planted them in April. Oops!

What can I say? I have found my formative years to have a huge impact on my life.

Oh well, this, along with so many other things, will have to wait until 2021 – which is going to be the Best Year Ever!

Photos taken with my new Galaxy A50.

 

Uninvited Guests

Freesia Fly 1

Haiku 72

On close inspection

I see some guests have arrived

Who invited you?

.

Freesia Fly 2

My freesias are coming along nicely. There are some in full bloom while others are just starting out in green.

Freesia Aphid 1

It was only upon editing my photos that I found these uninvited guests!

Freesia Aphid 2

A fly on the yellow flower and a little family of aphids on the green flower.

Isn’t the teeny world fascinating?

 

Very Nearly Spring

Freesia 1

Haiku 67

Eager to appear

Start your journey in winter

By jumping the gun

.

Freesia 2

Sprouting between the dead twigs of my (resurrected) asparagus fern, my spring freesias are just about ready to open. Though they are still a little green, it won’t be long now.

Funny how Nature decides when it will be spring.

By my calendar it should be 21st September!

 

Snowflakes

Snowflakes 1

It does not snow in Cape Town, apart from occasionally on top of Table Mountain, so these snowflakes are about as close as it gets. They are summer snowflakes, or Leucojum aestivum.

Snowflakes 2

The sun was so bright that the tiny white flowers have little halos around them.

And here is Little Monkey modelling the flowers.

LM and Snowflakes 3

I had to whistle to get her to look my way. She was far too busy checking out the neighbourhood!

LM and Snowflakes 4

I didn’t crop the above photo as I thought you might be interested to see what the streets look like in my area. Sometimes there’s a footpath, mostly it is just grass verge.

LM and Snowflakes 5

People may wonder why the wall of this property, which runs in a straight line around the perimeter for metres on end, suddenly does a little detour here and indents for the width of a panel.

LM and Snowflakes 6

The reason is that there used to be a very large tree right here, in the property line. When the old neighbours put up their wall, instead of chopping down the tree, they detoured the wall around it. I loved to walk past and see this heart-warming little act of kindness.

Well, the tree got old and died, and eventually had to be removed; leaving a wall departing from its line for no apparent reason.

LM and Snowflakes 7

I guess at some point one of the owners must have planted these bulbs.

I love that these snowflakes have appeared and thrive in this little nook, despite never having been watered.

Hello Spring!

.

post script: Spring might as well come now. It seems we had all our winter rain in May, so if it’s not going to rain any more, let it Spring!