The Dawn of 2024

How blessed am I to live in such a spectacular part of the world.  Our beaches are beyond amazing with cool refreshing waters, sometimes calm, sometimes rough with low and high tide where I can dive beneath the waves.  Most of summer we have had very low tide when I just immerse myself where possible. One very low tide with the pool full of sand and the new showers out of order, I decided to try North Beach.  I was able to walk all the way along the rocky coastline north for about half a kilometer to a swimming area.  The beach here doesn’t have the outer protection of reef and has a lot less rocks, still you need to be aware of hidden rocks beneath the surface.  As I arrived I met one of the local Hamersley Pool swimmers, we had not formally introduced ourselves till now and were amused to find we were both Sally’s.

I do so love my walks to the beach so early in the day, it avoids not only the heat but also the many who have found our very special spot at Hamersley.  It can get quite crowded after 7am especially on weekends or holidays!  Coming early I often meet up with the regular swimmers, some stay to exercise with laps up and down the pool close to the beach, others venture into the deeper pool formed by the rocks or further out into the open sea where the dolphins and larger fish are.  Still others arrive with their snorkels to explore the submerged rocky shoreline or hunt for the elusive crayfish. Some like myself are ‘tea bag’ swimmers or should I say quick dippers just in and out after a few minutes of delight in the waters close to shore.  Some come to exercise on the sand or stroll along the shoreline from beach to beach. Then there are those who only come three times during the summer for the abalone.  I call these guys the reef wreckers as they trample across the rocks with no thought for the life below the waves except for that which they have come to hunt.  What an amazing God we have to provide such a wonder for all to enjoy.

I’ve been rearranging bits of my garden throughout the month, pulling out daffodil bulbs, which once the foliage dies down leaves the bare ground looking rather unsightly (so my neighbours tell me).  In their place I planted four kangaroo paws which were very root bound having been potted up over a year ago.  It’s probably not the right time of the year to plant them and I’m not sure if they will survive having been so restricted but we’ll see. There are four more which have circumnavigated their saucers, sending roots down into the soil.  It’s probably why they look so lush while still in their pots.  I think I’ll replant these towards the end of autumn where they are as they look so lush. They should have a better chance to survive when it’s cooler.

One day walking to the beach I noticed water running off someone’s veranda, en route home I saw the owner and went over for a chat.  We introduced ourselves and chatted about how dusty it was living near busy roads.  He explained that the black dust was from car exhaust and tyres which were slowly wearing down on the roads, turning to dust.  I hadn’t thought of it like that before.  Our conversation eventually came around to gardens, of course. I knew the Lord was in our conversation as Joe offered me a cutting of his desert rose.  I was surprised at his offer and delighted as I’d been wanting one for years.  I wouldn’t have bought one as I already have too many plants and this one needed lots of sun to flower well.  His specimen was stunning.  Lush green foliage and bright pink flowers.  That evening I dug up more of the daffodils to make room for my new plant.  The second cutting I will allow to dry out before potting it up so I can move it around to a sunny spot throughout the year.

Another thing I’ve been meaning to get on to is re doing some of the paving through my upper garden under the NZ Christmas tree.  Here many of the bricks have become uneven and partly buried making them a possible hazard when accessing this area.  I managed to do the job over the cooler days and hope they will not need to be done again any time soon.

January saw my very first Breba figs ripen. Breba are the fruit that are the first crop produced from last year’s branches.  Due to cutting the tree back severely in August there weren’t many last year’s branches to produce these fruits.  I’m delighted to see the pruning has increased this season’s branches and fruit production.  The grafted branch has grown exponentially although as yet has not produced fruit.

I’ve trimmed back and tidied up the citrus trees, cutting off all the dead branches and tying back branches to keep it espaliered along my back fence.  I can’t see any oranges, they must have all fallen off as they did the previous years.  There are a few mandarins which I pray will remain on the tree till ripe and of course the lime continues to produce fruits although most of them fall off too before they are mature.  I think the foliage spray that I’m now applying fortnightly (when the weather is cool) is beginning to help.

Did you know that bobtails can kind of hibernate during summer?  Mamma hid herself in amongst some of my pot plants and didn’t move. I mean didn’t move an inch!  After two days I was a bit concerned, after three days I prodded her.  She gave me a look moved her head slightly but didn’t move away. I thought she was stuck so I moved the pots a little but she’d been in and out climbing all over my pots in the past so I couldn’t see why she might be stuck now.  After a week, I contacted my friend who had given her to me, she reassured me all was ok, that they often became inactive after the breeding period.  Mamma hadn’t bred this season as she had been kept away from any adult males and her offspring were too young.  Just before this inactive period she certainly did feed up so I’m sure she has an ample supply to sustain her and I suspect when she gets wet from the sprinklers she is able to lick up a bit from the saucers under the pot plants.  After three weeks I tempted her with some of her favourites, watermelon, banana and blueberries.  I didn’t want to give her too much so started with a little which I was very grateful she ate. Then four weeks to the day she moved. Came out from hiding and wandered around the garden. I was so relieved. The following day she was back amongst the pots, inactive again!

Two of our neighbours have moved.  Firstly Guillermo moved out but has been back occasionally for a visit to his favourite neighbours.  He offered, than came and cut my hair, he’s a bit of a jack-of-all trades.  Then Yvette sold her unit and moved to a bigger home north of us.  Kath and I visited her and were impressed with the minimalist home and garden.  Well I must admit it wasn’t my type of garden.  The front of the house was covered with white garnet stones and two dragon trees. The back was mostly paved with a pool and a few palms. The interior was very sparse, open planned living with no appliances or anything in fact.  A true minimalist home. I was impressed!  I certainly couldn’t keep my place so bare!  We were all surprised at how much she got for her unit.  It has a much smaller garden area as it is one of the central units unlike mine which is on the end of the row and has quite a large garden area.

Then in the middle of the month I saw my contrary neighbour walking towards my door.  First I thought he was visiting Ann next door, which is the norm but no, next minute I hear him at my door. He was very communicative wanting to get back into my good books.  He couldn’t stop complementing me on my garden saying that his friends also admired my garden and he’d like to learn from me.  I know I shouldn’t have been but I was very wary and quite surprised by his overly friendly interaction and thought I could smell alcohol on his breath. He thanked me for watering his garden (the native plants I was trying to establish at the top where he doesn’t water), asking if I could not water it during the day when his business partner might come (I think he was embarrassed that his friends saw me caring for his garden).  We’ve settled on a time to water before 9am.   He said I didn’t need to wait till he was out either.  I explained I chose those times so as not to disturb him.  We pulled out a few weeds in his native area before he took me for another look around his back garden.  I precipitated this with a quick look around mine. As we go forward with this renewed acquaintance I will continue to keep my distance and remain on my guard around him as he is so unpredictable.

Talking about unpredictability!  A week later he came over absolutely going ballistic, talking about how Sofia’s friends disrespected him and his daughter when speaking in Italian.  He said he and his daughter can speak Italian as well as Chinese (I didn’t ask which Chinese dialect). He wanted to know what to do.  Again I thought I could smell alcohol.  I suggested he speak with Sofia and her friends and try to sort it out.  He just wouldn’t leave me alone till I made it obvious I needed to go.  I then heard him going off his head on the phone about the same thing and how he was going to confront them physically.  I called Sofia who was out to warn her.  She came home a few hours later and was immediately confronted. Her friend Alex, was verbally abused and pushed several times but didn’t retaliate.  Kath our neighbour called the landlord who wasn’t very helpful.  Sofia reported it to the police so that they have an ongoing record of events.  Praise the Lord, things began to calm down and eventually they both shook hands.  We are all so cautious of offending or triggering another episode!  It’s not at all pleasant!

The last week of January my friend Janice came down from Newman and invited me to join her for a BBQ which she had been invited to at South Beach, Fremantle.  This was put on by a Tongan church group she had joined on zoom and had never met in person. Not only was it a BBQ but also a water baptism in the ocean.  It was lovely to meet fellow believers and to witness those dedicating themselves to Christ.  Janice stayed the night before flying back to Newman after catching up with her friends Frances and Bill at church.

I’m also pleased to say I’ve rebooked a trip to Bali again this May which I’m so looking forward to. It’s great to get that all booked and organised early and what a blessing that Gayle has welcomed me back for a second visit.

Photos: 1. Succulent about to bloom    2. Mamma comes out of hiding    3. Water lily which hasn’t bloomed for two years due to being in the shade    4. Ocean baptism

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for all His wondrous works, for His mercies that are new every morning.

Pray with me for all our families and friends, for neighbours and those around us who are yet to know His love.  Pray for His peace to be known by all people especially for those who live in despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.

Please pray for my neighbour that he will find help for the challenges he faces and that he too will come to know Christ.

Please continue to pray with me for world peace both in the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia.  Pray with me for the hostages and refugees who are caught up in the suffering that both these wars have caused.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.