Watch Out For Falling.... Trees!

Last week one of the 6 huge cypress trees lining the edge of a neighbor's property came down - and landed right on the house! There were two people inside the house at the time, but fortunately nobody was hurt.

Strangely, Stephen and I walked right by the place twice after it happened and didn't notice - mostly because there was so much overgrown brush and weeds that the whole thing was camouflaged.  But on Friday the tree removalists came and started the process of cutting up the trunk and hauling it all away (as well as removing one more of the cypress trees - one which looked particularly threatening).

Afterward the owner hammered plywood sheets to cover where the walls were flattened and draped plastic tarps over the roof (shown above).

I'm used to the idea that our gum trees sometimes come down - or will drop huge limbs from high up in the forest canopy. But I don't really think about other trees - although there was a huge oak that fell on a house along Monbulk Road a little over a year ago.

Saying "Goodbye" to Mom

No post this week. I haven't had the energy.

A week ago today, I learned that my mother passed away. She was 84.

I'm grateful for all the kind and loving words from my friends and my cousins (who have shared quite a few lovely memories with me, made me laugh and smile a bit). Their support has made this a time of gentle reflection, a time to be quiet and call up happy memories of a woman I loved very much.

Pictures from the Book: Page 26

When I started this blog back in 2011, I intended to periodically share color versions of some of the photos from the book. I haven't done that for a while so here's a couple from page 26.

Here's "Blue" - the canary. In this photo he's sitting on top of Laka's cage (notice the super-thick bars). He'd gotten out of his own cage (not something we encouraged...) and went for a happy flight around the first floor of the house, finally settling here. Not exactly a great choice of landing spots but, thankfully, Laka paid no attention to him at all.

I love the "attitude" expression on his face - he seems to be saying "HAH!  Catch me NOW if you can..."

And Here's Ned and Kelly indulging in a little allo-preening.

I bumped into Ned and Kelly's new owner earlier this year. She told me they are both doing fine - as cheeky and feisty as ever. I'm glad to know she still has them and has managed to deal with their aggression.

Peggy Possum

We know the possums are around - we find "possum poo" on the driveway all the time - but we haven't actually seen one close to the house for almost four years. Something has been pulling the fruit off of my potted Tahitian Lime, and I was suspicious it was a possum, but didn't find any scat in that area, so there's no proof. That all changed recently when "Peggy" showed up one night on the deck rail. Here she is!:

Isn't she sweet? We were having a candlelight dinner at home, so it was dark inside - and here she came, padding silently across the rail, looking for a handout. We were delighted to see her, and although Stephen ran quickly for his camera, she was gone before he could get it. So we put a little pile of rice out for her, and she came right back (hadn't gone far, obviously).

And... hm.... I'm wondering now if the mystery about what upset Laka so much recently is now solved. Yes... I think it's entirely likely that Miss Peggy was galloping across the roof and THAT is what had Laka coming unglued.

I adore seeing Peggy - and hope to see more of her. She may be wreaking havoc with my lime tree, but I can buy limes at Safeway.