My Bright Field

  Coming back from the shops in Penrith last week I was surprised to see this billow of smoke. It turned out to be a grass fire in the industrial estate, not buildings on fire. It's was timely reminder we are in bushfire/grassfire season.  There have been total fire bans for the past two days because of the high winds and continuing dry weather.  This has had me over at our bush block for the past couple of days raking up the leaf litter from around the buildings. There is an astounding amount of it, so not yet done. With all those years of rain, bushfires were hardly as risk so I didn't clean up, now I have to.

  I know it is flowers again this week, but it's spring and I so much love the roses. The only one I planted myself is this climber on the corner of the garage, it is getting taller and going so well this year. I find it almost impossible to get a good photo showing the rose garden at the font of the house. This panorama captures most of them but not the feeling of Wow I get when I open the bedroom blinds each morning.

  I had a wonderful surprise this week.  I discovered a flower stalk on the orchid that had been out on our balcony for a year after the previous flower faded. A couple of days later this flower opened. It is my first success in getting an orchid to reflower.  How about you, do you get orchids to flower again?

My husband's eyesight makes it less safe for him to drive and I refuse to tow the caravan so it is currently grounded at our bush block.  This week we went out and stayed there enjoying a camping experience anyway.  It was lovely even though it was made quite cold and damp by the arrival of the much awaited rain.  In our shed there is a wood fireplace and fortunately I had gathered plenty of dry firewood before the rain came down. When we are there it is possible to imagine that the block next door is the sea or a lake and just relax as the sun goes down.

  I love the wildflowers that pop up of their own accord without any planting, weeding or feeding by me.  Paper daisies are currently in flower at our bush block. And wild poppies are beginning to appear in our Kandos garden.  This particular one popped up in the veggie patch, hence the water sprinkler droplets enhancing the image.  It is very dry at the moment so we are all hanging out for the rain promised later this week.