Another lovely autumn day. The builders are busy next door making a duplex, which replaces a family home, lovely cypress pine and a swathe of green streetscape. There was nothing I could do to stop the development, or prevent destruction of a lovely, healthy tree.  The other downside is I’ll be looking out my kitchen window onto a black brick wall. Ouch! There is one plus:  the new structure will shade my carport in hot, summer afternoons.

I do have plans to reduce the negative impact. When the fence goes up, I’ll top it with lattice, and plant a flowering vine to give myself something pleasant to look at.

Sadly, Joy, the lady who used to live in the now demolished house next door, lost her battle with the black dog, a couple of years ago. If you have depression issues, see your doctor, contact Lifeline or Beyond Blue. Don’t think you’re alone; many, many people suffer from varying degrees of anxiety and depression. I’ve been there and am aware that it’s a devastating illness. But when it runs its course,  life regains both meaning and delight.

I’m in the process of preparing soil for a rose garden, as Joy’s wonderful old roses must be transplanted – otherwise, they’ll just end in land-fill. There’s a deep red, with splendid perfume, likewise a pink and white striped one, pretty bright pink, white and another one.

It wasn’t easy to move my Century Plants to new locations, in order to make space for the roses. They have tough, fibrous roots and were determined to stay put. However, as one gets older, low animal cunning replaces strength and energy. Having exhausted the garden fork, spade, saw, and my back, I used water to loosen up the soil. Boy! Did it make my task easier.

Now my  little forest out front has a new scattering of birds nest ferns, Century Plants,Aspidistras – plain and variegated – clivia, Chinese Jade plants etc, among my natives.  Some trees have died so they need replacing. A camellia growing in the shade isn’t  happy so it’s soon to join the others.

Now back to editing my poems, which is fun and I’m learning a lot in both my Critique Groups.