Our garden, Kangaeroo Corner (even though it’s not a corner), is unabashedly at its best in the spring, though it also thrives in places during the other seasons. Flowers are blooming now, bringing immense delight. Flowers I grew from seeds–hardenbergia and kangaroo paw now, a dwarf wattle that briefly flourished last year before I killed it through neglect, and hopefully some banksia–bring a special kind of joy. Having said that, the garden hasn’t provided the comprehensive delight it had brought at times in previous years. Part of the reason is that it hasn’t needed to. For the few years up…
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Arthritis is taking over my body, seemingly joint by joint, with my left foot in particular so painful it’s becoming a struggle to walk, even as the spring makes the prospect of doing so ever more appealing. Arthritis runs in my family and I often teased my mother over her crooked fingers which had been warped badly by the affliction. I’m laughing from the other side of my face now as my digits are pained and twisted. It’s creating something of a dilemma because it has severely hampered my cycling, which had been instrumental in maintaining a semblance of good…
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I’m in a mad rush today because my customary morning riverside bike ride continued for almost twice as long as usual despite being roughly the same length as I was mesmerized by the spectucular blooming of spring flowers, which mostly means cherry blossoms. I was waylaid by the sights on a number of occasions. One beauty trap lured me along a river I rarely traverse. I was rewarded by a whole series of breath-taking views. The upshot was that I was late getting home. And didn’t shower until half an hour or more than my usual time. Which meant I…
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Nothing really remotely related to the lyrics, except the hardenbergia has bloomed beautifully and I am loving the dainty violet flowers popping up in the garden. And I am even happier because I grew the flowers from seed, which is an accomplishment I had never imagined possible (despite its mundaneness), and one that brings immense delight. Work is a little bit crazy at the moment, and I am also supposed to be studying, so I have little time on my hands. Added to that, the new fiscal year starts today and for the next 12 months I will be serving…
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With the onset of spring, I finally took action and planted seeds in the hope of bringing more, longer-lasting flowers into the Aussie garden we call Kangaeroo Corner. I planted some banksia, grevillea and eucalypts, using a variety of different methods. I put seeds into growth pods in three types of planter box. Two of these were to be lit 24 hours, and the other left to get light when it could. Two were also soaked in water, and the third wettened, but essentially to remain dry. The seeds are supposed to sprout anywhere from one to three weeks from…
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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…
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Spring in Tokyo is always a delight for me, particularly as I age and the cold makes it harder to get active and the winter seems to linger endlessly, but sometimes it’s hard to see the silver lining in the clouds and today is a case in point. I’ve got meetings all day today, so I got up early to head off on a quick ride to give myself some spark, but it was pouring rain. With my wet weather bike with disc brakes and thicker tires stolen, I don’t have an option to ride on days like today. So,…
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As the tiny yellow blossoms slowly starting to open on the wattle trees in our garden are showing, spring is gradually inching closer to realization, but it can never happen fast enough. Cold seems to linger for an inordinately long time at the end of every winter, especially as I advance further into old age and the chill’s effects deepen. But that’s usually because I expect too much of March, having the false impression of it being a month where things warm up despite decades of experience proving that to be the contrary. One highlight of March for me, though,…
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Life is good now, and that’s not something I’ve been able to say easily, nor come to terms with, and the feeling is strangely and surprisingly spectacular! At the core of my contentment are the people in my life. I’ve always been surrounded by good people. Unfortunately, I rarely recognized it. My current colleagues are backed by a corporate culture that is clearly aimed at maximizing the abilities of every employee. One upside is that one of my greatest workplace motivators now is the thought of what actions I can take that enable my colleagues to excel and achieve a…
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It’s been a whirlwind week, not because of the speed that it has passed, but the tumultuous time it has been. That’s not to suggest it was a torrid affair. In fact, it was anything but. Work was a generally great time. Monday I had been expecting to receive notice that my trial period was over. It didn’t happen. But I was informed on Tuesday! I’d forgotten that Monday was a holiday in Australia for Australia Day. My boss is based in Melbourne. Moreover, my employer bent the employment rules. Instead of giving me a contract to the end of…