Crack A Jaca For A Cracker Jaca

After months of being covered up to ward off the cold, I spent the morning removing the insulating materials draped over our jacaranda tree, unleashing the tree beneath the bright spring sunshine in the hope that we will get a full blooming tree by the early summer.

It was good to crack open the tree again after months of a huge bag dominating the garden and being an eysore for the neighborhood.

In theory, covering the tree in insulation material over the winter will make it more likely to bloom in the summer.

Our jacaranda bloomed in the first year the tree was in our garden, which was now three summers ago.

Today, almost precisely three years to the day that we set up Kangaeroo Corner, it was great to see our iconic tree again as the garden emerged from the winter, albeit slower than last year.

I’m praying we’ll see some cracking flowers pop up when it warms up.

We got a reminder of warmth on the spring equinox holiday.

Getting hit by the direct sunlight was very warm, though otherwise it was chilly in spite of the sunshine.

In addition to the jacaranda, I did a few more things to spruce up the garden.

I planted a banksia I grew from seed.

I’d kept it potted for about a year after moving it outside.

I have now planted it in the hope it will produce our first genuine banksia flower.

Our pin cushion banksia partially bloomed last year, but it was a feeble flower.

Hopefully, it will thrive, but we haven’t had a good record with banksia.

I pruned a few bushes, diid some weeding and mowed the lawn, keeping the grass at a high level in the hope that it will build up enough strength to survive the summer.

It was a glorious day, so after a bit of lunch I got on the bike for a ride.

It’s hard to believe that we had heavy snowfall in Tokyo yesterday.

It was delightful watching the snow come down from the lofty heights of my office.

Our normally closed blinds were opened to enjoy the experience.

Amazingly, by the afternoon, we were blessed with glorious sunshine.