Thursday, December 26, 2013

Readings


I came across an old tattered Bible bookmark from my youth. I see the date on it is 1972. I am going to toss the bookmark but feel reluctant to toss the writings on the back. It is in tiny, teenager font, in faded pencil, which I can barely read. The only way to free myself from this bookmark is to type up the writings .....(OCD!)


The Lord God: Gen 1: 1- 12; Ex 33: 12 - 23; Job 38: 1-13; Ps 86; Ps 97; Is 40: 10-31

The Holiness of God: Ex 3:1-6; Ps 99; Is 6:1-7; Eph 5: 1-18; Heb 12:14-29; 1 Peter 1: 13-25; Rev 1:8-18


The Wisdom of God: Ps 104: 1 - 24; Jer 10: 10-16; Job 28: 12-28; Prov 8: 10 - 36; Rom 11: 25-36; 1 Cor: 17-31; Eph 3: 1-12


The Power of God: Gen 1:24-31; Job 37:5-24; Ex 14:13-31; Ps 107: 21-43; Dan 3: 8-28; Nahum 1: 1-7


The Law of God: Ex 20:1 - 17; Deut 4:1 - 13; Mat 5:17-37; Luke 6:27-38; Luke 10:25-37; Luke 18:18-27


The Judgement of God: Gen 6:5-13; Gen 7:1-4, 11-24; 1 Kings 21: 1-20; Dan 5:1-9, 17-31: Acts 4:32 -5:11; Luke 13:1-9; Rev 20:11-15


The Mercy of God: Gen 9:8-17; Numb 14:11-20; Deut 30:1-9; Ps 103; Ps 106:32-48; Ps 136:1-12, 23-26; Jonah 3


The Love of God: John 15:4-21; Rom 5:1-11; Rom 8:28-39; 1 Cor13; Mat 6:25-34; 1 John 3:1-11; 1 John 4:7 - 21


The Grace of God: 2 Cor:9





Saturday, December 21, 2013

Champagne Days

After a few weeks of South Easter wind blowing the summer in, we have had two lovely days of sunshine and cool breezes - Champagne Days.

I strolled through the garden to see how things are growing.  
Agapanthus time has arrived and blue heads are nodding.


This is the third year that I have grown baby Agapanthus to sell. It will probably be the last year that I do it because sourcing soil to fill the pots is a problem and I don't want to pay for soil when I sell the plants so cheaply.


I have also grown some pomegranates from seed.  I had planned to plant them all along a fence up at our plot but recently we were told that we had planted too many trees on our ground up there, so we have decided to draw the line. These will just have to grow here to a decent size and then perhaps I will sell them too.


I have not seen a loquat tree for years but recently came across one in a garden and have grown a few from seed. Who knows where these trees will eventually end up. Certainly not in this garden as I don't think the leaves enjoy the salt air.


A friend grew two Elderberry trees for us from cuttings. 
I need a new, empty garden to fill!


Some plants to disguise an ugly neighbouring wall are starting to expand.


 The driftwood will hopefully support a creeper. We are just waiting to see whether the neighbour is going to plaster the wall as they have done on their side. Notice the Wild Camphor on the right which we transplanted when we moved the retaining blocks. It seemed to have died but after a couple of months, has decided to give it another go and sprouted some new tentative leaves.



Do you remember what this little archway looked like after the retaining blocks were re-positioned? This mint scented fine-leaved plant grows like a weed and as you brush past it....mmmm...


I have promised Roy that I will harvest the seed from this fennel so as not to allow it to take over the garden. We once lived for two years on top of Simon's Town mountain where the fennel had taken over completely and was like an impenetrable jungle.


Little Oak-leaf lettuce offspring are coming up all over the garden - super!



Our neighbour across the road had a disastrous side-walk for about three years while the neighbour in front was renovating. After final completion of  all the messy work  recently, we redesigned the side-walk for him as a surprise on his recent arrival for summer from his home in Europe. He was ecstatic! The soil is incredibly sandy and dry.  Once the plants expand over the rock mulch, it will look great. We planted easy growers like daisies, agapanthus, mint. 


These Dragon Fruit plants have been growing from seed for the last 2.5 years. I am going to sell them now because they need to be planted in a suitable garden or hothouse, I think. I usually have to bring them into our sunroom in the winter and it is becoming a nuisance due to size and prickles.


We are in a quandary about this Norfolk Pine tree that was given to us about 25 years ago. This was in the days when we were ignorant of indigenous plant concerns. We deliberately kept it starved of water so that it would not grow too quickly but it has finally breached what is left of our view of the sea and now, what do we do? To chop it down completly seems too heartless and besides, the donor passed away a few years ago, so there is that sentimental link. Trim it, and in the process, create a deformed shape? Or leave it to grow into a giant and then let it be somebody else's problem when we downsize from this house ? 



The Baboons have been kept out of our village so successfully recently that we dared to hang up a bird-feeder in the tree again. 



We await popular feathered patronage!