It was a revoltingly hot October and November, thought by many to be the hottest in years. “Oh everyone thinks every October is the worst,” scoffed the hubby one evening. “That’s why it’s called suicide month.” I shifted the ice pack from my feet to my thighs and gave him an eye roll. “Well in the seven years I’ve been here, we’ve never had two fans running in the TV room and me patting myself down with ice.”
Thankfully the rains started light and patchy in mid-November and in no time at all the brown grass was a glowing hue of green.
This dragon fly was a bit of a nervous Nelly and flew off a few times but kept coming back to the aloe vera plant where I was waiting patiently for snaps.
I was given this aloe plant by a lady who brought hers over from Italy some decades ago! At first I had it in a shady spot as she specified but it was languishing away, so I moved it to a full sun spot. At first I worried I had done the wrong thing as it went a bit iffy and yellow, but after a few weeks it picked up. It is now a flourishing parent plant with half a dozen pups (and another half dozen that I’ve potted up for other people already). I blitz the aloe gel together with aqueous cream and essential oils in my Nutribullet to make a lovely light body moisturizer.
Maverick idly checking the garden for birds.
The rain lilies that my friend Charmaine gave me last year have multiplied considerably and are looking glorious! An enraptured bumble bee was frolicking about in them the other morning and didn’t mind me with my camera at all (I’ve been chased around the garden a few times by grumpy, anti-paparazzi bumble bees so this was surprising).
The Pottering Housewife 