golden wattle

  • Browbeat By Bugs And Feeling The Heat, Yet Still Done To A Tea(tree)

    All sorts of life events have come into play to prevent complete dedication to loves like cycling and gardening, but I have neglected the latter in particular over the past year. Nonetheless, despite the garden being beset by bugs and another blistering summer, pockets are thriving including the cute blossoms on the teatree. The teatree is a little special, as along with the silver wattle, it’s the first Aussie native plant we bought. It has thrived since we planted it in the ground about three-and-a-half years ago. But not quite as well as other trees, notably the two wattles–one golden and the other silver–that stand either side of it. So…

  • Cherry Bomb!

    Cherry blossoms have started to bloom in Tokyo’s suburbs. For the most part, flowers have yet to reach peak bloom along my most-traversed part of the Tama River. But in some of the areas where the flowers are at their best, the view is lovely. It was a bonus to be able to see them in flower this morning as I had presumed the entire weekend to be a washout. It rained incessantly yesterday. It gave me time to do some much-needed study for work, which is paying me to take the course I’m doing. I should be putting in a bit more effort on my studies than I am….

  • Springing Into Inaction

    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, I was stuck inside. But my consolation came by being…

  • Seeing the Light

    It’s getting darker in the mornings, already much more noticeably than before the equinox, which was still less than a month ago. But there is some sort of light on the horizon, literally and figuratively. Although we haven’t seen much of it this week, the sun shines over the horizon at certain photogenic points along the Tama River, enabling some pretty impressive photo opportunities. For an instant, too, it seemed like the long wait for new hope on the career front had finally arrived, too, but it doesn’t seem to have turned out how I had sought. But the rainy season is over in Tokyo. Already the skies are bluer,…

  • Mini Miracle

    One of the tiniest, daintiest, cutest little creatures I get to deal with has a back story of incredible strength and resilience, having bounced back from the brink of death to literally be thriving. I’m referring to our dwarf wattle, who is blooming brilliantly in what is proving to be a remarkable journey testifying to the power of nature. The wattle, a miniature shrub version of the better-known acacia trees like the golden and silver wattle, was grown from seed that I brought back from Australia. The dwarf wattle seeds initially sprouted extremely well, but I made the mistake of adding them to tiny terracotta pots that gave them virtually…

  • Bouquets!

    Mrs. Kangaeroo never ceases to amaze me with her brilliance in whatever she turns her hand to (the sole exception being her choice of men, but let’s not point out that one too much!). Today, it’s bouquets to her. Or, from her, to be more accurate. Our wattle trees are finally starting to bloom thickly, if not quite spectacularly, but Australia’s national flower still looks wonderful as it signals the onset of spring in Kangaeroo Corner from its silver and golden varieties. Early this morning, Mrs. Kangaeroo instructed me to bring her a couple of branches, and I acceded immediately. Within minutes, she had made them into a glorious bouquet….

  • Garden of Weedin’

    Spring has sprung (for today) at least, and the garden at Kangaeroo Corner looks resplendent thanks to early morning weeding, a mow and planting plenty of new plants. Weather helped, too, with delightful sunshine and warmth as the temperature topped 20 for the first time this year. I had planned to transplant some plants bought over the winter next week, when we have a holiday, but circumstances conspired against me and I won’t be able to do it that day, so things turned out perfectly by forcing me outside from just after dawn. With last year’s lawn woes in mind, I have been letting the grass grow longer this year…

  • Bloomin’ Slow to Flower

    Argh, the wait for the spring blossoms to bloom in Kangaeroo Corner is proving to be annoyingly long. As noted yesterday, my gut feeling is that this year has been dark, even if it was a warmer than usual winter. And the bleak, cloudy nature of many days has, in my opinion, delayed the onset of flowers and blossoms in the garden. My unofficial Fountain of Strewth Meter attests to this feeling. The solar-powered fountain spouted consistently over the winter last year. It’s performance was sporadic this year, though. I thought it had something to do with the motor, but it actually works perfectly when the sun’s rays hit it….

  • Budding (and Blurred)

    Spring can’t come quick enough, not just for me, but also for the blossoms in Kangaeroo Corner. For weeks now there have been signs of flowering in the garden. The silver wattle (acacia dealbata) has shown signs of budding since at least the middle of February, looking to repeat its wonderful bloom from last year when the tree turned into a series of puffy, yellow flowers. Next to it, the golden wattle (acacia pycnantha) seems poised to burst forth in a blaze of aureate befitting its third year in the garden and flying the flag as Australia’s national flower. Also pleasing is the prospect of seeing hardenbergia come forth in…

  • Glistening…

    Today greeted me with the pitter-patter of raindrops (and a hefty dose of demotivation), so I spent the predawn hours vegging out with the idiot box on and gazing into the garden, appreciating the raindrops glistening on the leaves. In days of yore, I wouldn’t have been deterred by the not-quite-drizzle level of the rain and just gotten on the bike. I should have done it today, too. But I am struggling to see and have lost my nerve, particularly when cornering or riding on potentially slippery surfaces. It was enough to keep me sedimentary. So was a demoralizing public shaming in the workplace yesterday. So out of touch with…