Paws Before Thinking

April 22, 2024

Kangaroo paw waiting to be delivered to mates

Times are tough and Mrs. Kangaeroo implored me to tighten my belt to cope with rising prices and crippling wage cuts, but I don’t think she was too impressed by my belt tightening efforts involving gargantuan eating practices and getting fatter.

It’s been a gloomy year in many ways so far, including literally, which has had an effect on the plants I’ve been growing in Kangaeroo Corner, and which are providing incalculable amounts of joy.

As I’ve mentioned before, I got to realize how little sunlight we’ve received in western Tokyo this year because of the performance of our solar-powered Fountain of Strewth.

And this taught me of the importance of sunshine in the flowering process of plants, with notable blooming failures coming from our cherry blossom, wisteria and the largest of our grevillea so far, with the jacaranda keeping us waiting with bated breath.

One of the ways I’ve been trying to drag myself out my malaise has been to share my gardening joy around to others (hopefully in a way that’s welcomed and not just forcing myself on them).

One of the greatest delights that gardening has provided me over the past few years was the chance to grow some plants from seed, and having had kangaroo paw sprout, which meant so much to me, has allowed me to spread the joy by giving plants away to friends and neighbors.

Last weekend, punctuated by trying to help an ailing Mrs. Kangaeroo, who’s stricken with a debilitating bug that has weakened her to an extent I’ve never seen before (and sparked all sorts of co-dependent and existential fretting), I traveled around to various mates to hand out kangaroo paw plants rather than sitting around home and pondering over the bleak outlook for the future.

One of the mates was the operator of Punk Doily, an Australian cake and pie cafe in inner Tokyo that makes the best Aussie pastries in Japan, among other treats. I was delighted to find that he is growing a wollemi pine in his dining area! It was the first time I have seen one of the fossilized trees in Japan. (And now I want to grow one myself, but we have no space left.)

It was nice to ride around and at least be motivated by the thought of bringing happiness to others. Part of the reward was getting a little roadside break where I could look at my phone and coincidentally was presented with fond memories of Queen performing at Live Aid back in the day.