MY LITTLE PATCH OF SKY

Where I sit in our living room gives me a limited view of the outside world but there is a little patch of sky that tells me so much, particularly about the weather. Quite often it is a brilliant blue and then little wisps of white cloud drift by which then form into quite large clouds and my comment then is "could be rain or even storms over the ranges today". Last night there was a really beautiful golden cloud with blue sky above it. It was just on sunset and I watched as this patch of gold gradually faded into nothing and it was very beautiful to watch.

The reason I don't see a lot of the outside world from where I sit is owing to the large amount of trees and shrubs outside. This particular little patch of sky is framed by a very tall King's Park Special bottlebrush, a jacaranda tree and an extremely large hawthorn bush in next door's garden and even a huge cyprus in a garden across the road. Our carport makes up the top part of the frame.

I am not a nosy person who really wants to know what other people are doing so find being surrounded by all this greenery, and at flowering time other colours, extremely restful. When we moved into our little old house in 1974 (these days they call it a cottage compared with those large, sprawling houses they build now) we were desperate to find a home of our own and money to borrow was almost non-existent. An agent found this house for us and we viewed it early one morning. We knew the house would be suitable for our needs and we were so lucky to be able to finance it through the then Home Building Society and in fact obtained the very last loan available. The lady in the Cottesloe branch worked really hard on our behalf and we have been ever grateful to her for her efforts. I think their funds were then frozen for quite some time before lending began again.

When we moved in there was virtually no garden...a couple of apple blossom hibiscus and a cotoneaster in the front garden and two cape lilacs in the back yard and let us not forget the prickly pear which I eventually managed to get rid of much to the horror my of OH. He really did like that PP but I was always worried one of the grandchildren just might brush against it so it went. After a short while I began planting (but possibly not planning as well as I should have) and now we are surrounded by trees and shrubs so there are really no signs of other houses very much at all. A glimpse of a roof here, a carport there and then very little other than greenery. (the very first plant was a French lavender bush by the front verandah and so you know we now have lavender popping up here and there and have about a dozen bushes which are all self-sown. The same with the duranta...one bush and now we have a number of them as well.

Of course, now that I am unable to do a great deal in the garden (practically nothing very useful) things have become a little rundown and I can't expect my dear OH to help in the house and keep up with the garden as well. We are so lucky to have had assistance in gradually restoring at least our back garden into some semblance of order and for that we will be eternally grateful. I am now planning on planting again but this time it will be a little better planned with water-wise plants many of which will be native species in the hope of attracting birds and even butterflies perhaps.

Seems our next five-year plan is looking at endeavouring to stay here, at least for the time being and while we are still able to do so. Who know what tomorrow will bring so one can only hope for the best and nothing more than that.

Now I will pop back into the living room, enjoy a cuppa with my OH and check on what is happening in my little patch of sky.