Monday Message:

On a Tuesday…  again.

Same same but different.  Stay home, stay safe.  Shop local, shop sensible.

This is a still a weird old time.  The Monday Message is on a Tuesday because we had a public holiday on Monday and I try…  in normal times to not work on weekends and holidays so I get to enjoy my family.   So even though they Mondayised an important holiday, it still felt strange to be having a day off when one day doesn’t seem any different than any other day.  But I took the holiday, and spent some time binge watching landscape design shows.

The garden looks so familiar but so different to what it was just a few months ago.

The holiday, wasn’t one to celebrate, it was to remember – ANZAC day.  All those young folk who lost their lives for my freedoms.  It becomes even more apparent what they did when our ‘freedoms’ are temporarily suspended for the greater good.  I say freedoms loosely as this isn’t a time to get all snippy about me me me.  Collectively as a community we all need to work together for the greater good, like those brave folk did.   Fortunately, this time our sacrifice (which to be honest isn’t that great in the scheme of things) has saved lives, and so ANZAC day was a great opportunity to reflect on loss and the community spirit within our nation, but also appreciate our efforts now.  We had to get creative to mark this point in our calendar that calls us to account each year and due to circumstances this occasion was marked even louder and prouder than normal, just in different ways.  Ya gotta love kiwi ingenuity.

Lest we forget

And this week is also marked by another weird thing.  We have after just over four weeks made the step from level 4 to level 3.  Yesterday there was only one new person ill, but we mustn’t become complacent and take back our ‘freedoms’ too hastily as the day before 9 ill folk were reported.  We need to stay at home a little longer, but the designated shopper in your bubble can buy a few more things and we can do a bit of online shopping in our PJs.  But supporting local business is important if we want to step back out into a world we recognise when they finally say we are truly free.

To take care of the disease that has ravished my tomatoes all season and reduce the chance of it coming back I have burnt every last trace of tomato that was in my garden this season.

As for me and my garden, change is slow.  I have taken down the tomatoes finally and burnt their disease ridden remains in our fire pit as the sun sunk into the ocean and the stars in the heavens punctuated the sky in a magnificent display.  Before the lockdown I got some new glasses, it was a clear night and for the first time in ages I was able to see that the stars were amazing!   I can’t believe I’ve missing something so spectacular for so long.

Whatever happens there is always something new waiting to take the place of something old

There are a multitude of seedlings in the garden that are ready to be planted out for the winter season and the beds are mostly ready to receive them.  A job for this week I suspect.

Come again soon – It seems like this week is a good week for a bit of change. 

Sarah the Gardener  : o)