Someone sounds happy thinking it is spring
Vivid blue skies in the vault above

But wait

There are underdressed roses trying unsuccessfully to hide behind the Big red pelargoniam who are showing off in pots.

So too, the wiry skeleton trees rattling their bones not able to hide at all.

All too bare and so very cold looking without their finery

…”No matter, I shall sing” warbles the hidden Black bird. But now I think it is a Cardinal bird
“There is sunshine, so I SHALL sing”

This was the beautiful sound and sight I enjoyed this morning with a cup of steaming tea hastily placed on a brick wall allowing me to video. Earlier I had heard this happy song in the back yard but was not quick enough.

When merry bird started again I just happened to tracked him down to my sun and colour filled spot, cup of tea and all.

I was chasing some sun to stand in on a cold and frosty morning….school bus was iced up, that I know!

What a precious and beautiful start to my day.

Our lovely visitors had been sadly waved off for their long drive home interstate.

We had enjoyed a relaxed cooked breakfast of bacon, eggs and toasted muffins.
We also tested out the new silicon egg rings. A resounding two thumbs up was the verdict…
As the foods cooked we chatted, savouring piping hot coffee, tea or orange juice.

Silicon egg rings from Kmart

A lovely interlude shared but now back to reality for everyone and the everyday machinations of a home.

The sun is out, so quickly let’s get some washing done…the heavy stuff. Towels, hand towels , face washers galore from numerous visits of precious little grandchildren. Large towels which had been used to hide under and play all sorts of adventure games.

Out I trot with the wash baskets and happily peg them up in the brilliant sunshine. Cold but refreshing.

This corner is always a sun trap and home to my large pots of succulents.

Today they make me smile.

Then the sun disappeared and with it the warmth. I have persevered drying the laundry outside but inevitably the towels are finishing off in front of the gas heater as we warm our house this cold winter day.

Always Safety First when drying laundry. No children about.
Do NOT leave open fires untended.

Winter we have here in Australia but by and by we shall find Spring.

Even as this blossom testifies.

Seize that moment
A tiny impromptu video on my Facebook page of my happy but hidden friend singing

{Lightfoot at morgueFile free photos }

So a little chicken talk turned into a story, which goes to show how much is involved if one chooses to keep these feathered friends….

This is how I ended my last post, but on further reflection with a rested and refreshed mind there is so much more that can be gained from these memories and ideas.

As with everything in life we need to investigate, learn and prepare …and learn Spanish…shall we??

Life can be an adventure….

… I am thankful for the many different life happenings I have experienced from a young age, for they do teach us many, many things….how to care, to be thankful, to be patient, to try again, to understand others, to try new ways, to listen to the young also cause they can teach us a thing or two, not to judge-hard to do cause it’s in our nature, to make do, to re-use…and so the list goes on.

We don’t need an online education for the above. We have life skills….

Hand washing country style by jdurham at morgueFile.com

…As I stand here with my iPad on the kitchen bench looking out the back door and pretending to have a rural vista, I see blue sky, freshly washed laundry on the line, a green lawn of sorts edged with a newly established Lavender hedge atop a rock wall and I think …

What are life skills…let’s look it up on the internet with mr Google. The first item that comes up is this

noun
plural noun: life skills
1.
a skill that is necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life.
“sharing with a sibling can help children learn important life skills”

So, returning to the scene at my back door, there are quite a few life skills even in the everyday taken for granted scene.

O.K…even my iPad, I had to learn how to use this tool and am still learning as there is so much new technology and older brains take longer to process and take it all in and grasp the concept. Yet a younger child who is using this new technology all the time is quick to grasp the workings and can show her grandma a thing or two without any fuss, but I have to remember for next time….practise, practise grandma.

{Monosodium at morgueFile.com}

Then there’s the laundry freshly washed. We do it all the time without thought except that we keep an eye on the weather, how full is the wash basket, what needs special stain treatment, hot wash or cold wash, washing sorted into light and darks, by country- just joking, fluffy away from darks, TISSUES OUT OF POCKETS, is all the dirty washing out of the children’s rooms, delicates washing, uniforms needed for the morning…quick quick. Yet give it to a child with no experience and see what happens.

Now a lawn needs some looking after. Depending on the time we have to spend and how fussy or particular we are there are many steps to learn. The real basic ones are that Lawns need water, especially in our hot Australian summers. They need to be cut and the edges done either by hand shears or an edger like a whipper snipper. Lawn trimmings need to be disposed of. Prickles in the lawn need to be poisoned off or pulled out so children can play on it with bare feet in summer. Then there’s the need to feed lawn if you have time. All these are learned skills through necessity so you can have a lawn of sorts. Ours gets cut and watered and has to survive. It still gives a space to enjoy, a buffer from neighbors and respite from the heat rather than having bare concrete.

{Kaparti Gabor at morgueFile.com}

My new lavender hedge needed lots of preparation to get to where it is now. Maybe over a year as I had the time,to research and to propagate and grow many cuttings from the main lavender bush. Over the years I’ve done gardening, learnt and observed from my mother since I was a child. It is something that is enjoyable and brings desirable results. The lavender hedge garden was at one time a mish mash of plants and creepers that were growing old and needed a replacement that was easy to take care of as we approach retirement.The old plants had to be dug out or poisoned and wait for the poison to work. Patience and energy and perseverance. It was hard but I got there!

So lots of life skills are part of the everyday, but at the beginning needed to be learnt, understood, practised, nurtured and just done cause they are part of what makes our life happen….and passed on!

{handl at morgueFile.com}

So what new skill have you had to learn or master, passed on or just worked at in a different way.

Make a hard job beautiful by looking forward.

Alexa

Thank you to morgueFile.com free photos