ROUND LIKE A CIRCLE

The windmills of my mind have been spinning over the past few days – hence the paucity of my posts – as I have been caught up in the splendid celebrations for my husband’s eightieth birthday. All is back to normal now, yet I still find the spiralling of thoughts relating to things done and the many tasks which still need to be tackled. The lyrics of the song, The windmills of your mind still resonate. Some of you may remember the opening stanza at least:

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that’s turning running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

It was with that earworm in mind that I took notice of the circular knob on my sewing machine:

Once outdoors, I nearly tripped over our extra-long hosepipe:

While I was on my way to check on the gradual deterioration of this old wagon wheel:

I turned my attention to the garden and admired this daisy:

The newly planted petunia vied for my attention too:

In the meanwhile, the pelargonium leaves gently reminded me that they fit into circles too:

… oh, those circles that are found in the windmills of my mind!

 

MY INDIGENOUS GARDEN IN MAY 2024

It is wonderful to celebrate how well this purple Osteospermum has recovered from the brink of a drought-induced death:

The Aloe ferox in our front garden is doing well:

A Zizyphus mucronata seeded itself close to the above aloe (you can see it in the background above) and now bears a lot of seeds which are being enjoyed by birds, especially the Speckled Mousebirds:

This is the time of year when we are blessed with aloes in bloom. Here you can see such a flower emerging from between the whorl of spiked leaves:

Speaking of spiked leaves, these come from Euphorbia ingens:

Lastly, an interesting find in our garden recently is this abandoned paper wasp nest that has fallen from the eaves:

INDIGENOUS AUTUMN GARDEN FLOWERS

Autumn is a beautiful time of the year here: clear blue sky, sunny days, crisp air and the blooming of some interesting indigenous flowers in my garden.

The White Paintbrush Lilies are coming into bloom and will look their best in a few days time. Soon after they will probably be covered by ants seeking their nectar. This plant arrived unannounced in a shady part of my garden many years ago and is gradually multiplying.

One of the more attractive, I think, species of Bulbine. The plain yellow ones are common around here so I treasure this one.

I planted a Forest Pink Hibiscus from seed decades ago and am still surprised by their delicate pink flowers that brighten the forested section of our garden every year.

When I planted a slip of Scarlet Pelargonium, I had no idea it was going to grow to be so tall and spread as quickly as it has. It is seldom without flowers that brighten this corner of the garden.

This Osteospermum has battled its way through several drought years and, after early autumn rain, is looking particularly bushy and beautiful at the moment.

Lastly, a flower one cannot ignore at the moment is canary creeper. I have featured it before as it is so prominent – draped over bushes and climbing up trees. Once it has flowered, I shall have quite a task cutting it back.