Genji

*

The Tale of Genji

 

In the Christmas parcel,

from my daughter 

who lives in Tokyo,

amongst other edible treats

was a packet of 'Genji Pie'

  

The packet claims,

in that quintessential Japanese way ,

that Genji Pie

are heartwarming

  

Each little biscuit,

individually wrapped,

is heart shaped

and bears no resemblance

to a pie of any sort

  

Crunchy and sugar topped

they make a nice sweet accompaniement 

to my Earl Grey tea

  

 From this angle 

they look a little like

looking up a gum tree 

at a koala butt

  

Why not make your tea time

more delightful

with Genji-Pie

  

Now Genji Pie

must take it's name from

this novel -

'The Tale of Genji'

a medieval Japanese novel

claimed to be the oldest novel in existence

The Tale of Genji

written by Murasaki Shikibu,

celebrated it's 1000 year birthday last year

  

Here is the dashing hero himself

the Shining Prince

now commoner Genji

a man of great talents

and irresistible charms

  

The Tale is over 1100 pages long

which creates quite a feat to read

and also trying to hold the hefty tome 

when in bed reading

Genji has many amorous adventures

through which we learn of life 

in the imperial court,

the intricate and beautiful apparel worn,

the poetry and music

and the customs

of 10th and 11th century Japan

  

You may remember

when I was boot bound

last winter

with the irrascible ankle

I received a number of books

from Amazon

including this one

Geisha

written by Liza Dalby

Liza Dalby was an American anthropologist

who lived and worked in Kyoto

in the 1970s 

as a Geisha in training

Liza Dalby

has also written

The Tale of Murasaki

based on the life of Murasaki Shikibu

the writer of Genji

I read this novel before tackling 

The Tale of Genji

and it helped to set the scene

for the epic adventures 

of our indefatigable hero

  

At the same time I ordered these books

Friko offered us

some passages

from Sei Shonagon's 

Pillow Book

No, nothing to do with bedtime,

it is a book of court life

in the same time period

which expresses the personal thoughts

and feelings 

of a court gentlewoman

and reknown poet

of the day,

Sei Shonagon

 

I think I shall now

sit an enjoy 

another risque adventure

of the handsome and irrepressible Genji

whilst nibbling 

my heartwarming 

Genji Pie

*

Fifty Ways to Sleep....

*

Fifty ways to sleep

in a fork

of a gum tree....

 

Speckled Butt

sat in the tree fork

for his daytime sleep

uncomfortably...

a little squashy

perhaps...

when I returned at lunchtime

I noticed he had moved

to the tree adjacent

  

and appeared very relaxed

  

 although the toes

on his upper limbs

seem to have a good grip

on the tree trunk

  

he sleeps in the full sun

in his fur coat

oblivious to the 32C of heat

  

he faces the ocean

  

takes a yoga pose

stretches his limbs

  

and sleeps on...

  

until night fall

*

Walking in the Garden

*

Garden Walk

 

Let's continue our walk

through the new coastal garden

  

Old dwarf date palms

form a sentry line at the lawn's edge

Phoenix Rubellini

are elegant palms

  

with beautiful notched trunks

  

but wear, 

at the base of the leaves

a nasty armour

of spines

which prick and poison

with a vengeance

I have been told

 that they were used to line Booby traps

in the Viet Nam war

  

watch your footing here

see the pink ribbon

don't trip on that buried metal stake

  

under the palms 

I have planted native Gingers

  

In my clearing 

I found this glossy graceful palm

which appears to be a cycad

remember those ancient plants 

from dinosaur days...

but a different cycad 

to the one I am familiar with

this one -

which the moths are also very familiar with

they lay their eggs in the leaf nest

and the larvae munch through the leaves

I don't like to spray

so I have left them to it...

  

the many old gardenias

that I found

gangley and metres tall

are now leafing up again

after a harsh prune

  

when I removed 

a blanketing maze of vine

from the old trees

I found a row of frangipani trees

which are deciduous here

once cleared of vine and watered

they put on a show

  

White and pink flowering varieties

coloured the gardens 

and dropped their ornamental blossoms

on the road beneath

 

the insidious vine

seemingly pretty and green

that covers my garden floor

and latches on any woody surface

to begin

its heavenward climb

  

along the road edge 

I found one of my most loved flowers

the agapanthus

so I have been filling in spaces and corners

with more pots of blue agapanthus

and lined the driveway with white ones

  

Blechnum

is a new fern to me

a native, it will grow in semi shade

to about two foot tall

 

One variety of Blechnum
has new fronds emerging in a brown tint
Unfortunately the caterpillars
love the tender new fronds
and strip them
I am hoping
they will tire of their over indulgence
soon

 

The old palms

are patterned by lichens

  

and the glorious Australian tree fern

creates a lacy shade over the rockery

The tree fern produces millions of tiny spores 

which cover my tiled deck

with a carpet of fine dust...

A small price to pay...

I can hear the water 

lapping over the edge 

of the infinity pool

which suggests to me

that it is time we took a break

and had a dip to cool off...

Happy walking...

*

Friendly Neighbours

*

Our New Neighbours

When we first moved

into our new abode

we noticed an amiable old fellow

ambling up the road

at dusk one evening

a little wobbly

on his legs

the traffic stopped to allow him

to slowly mount the crest
taking numerous small stops

along the way.

We named him Grey Butt

This morning

while eating my muesli

in my nest

I noticed a movement

in the gum trees

across the road

and thought I recognised the neighbour

But if you look closely

at the markings

and colouration on his butt

you will see

that today's neighbour

is not Grey Butt

It's Speckled Butt

I think

I will just sit here a while

and enjoy the song of the ocean

*

Time for a Walk

 *

Time for a Walk ...

It's high time we went for a walk

But as its 35C today

we'll make it an easy one

We'll go for a stroll

around my new home

If you walk up from the beach

I'll meet you at the entry gate

In the planter box,

below the screening

adjacent to the wall

I planted foxtail palms

with atrovirens,

a smaller feathery palm

 

 

as you came up the steps

you would have seen

the native lilly pillies

with colouful crotons

 

We could detour here

down the pavers

to the other apartment's pool area

but we won't

In the stair wells

we have a beautiful Solitaire Palm

surrounded by Raphis palms

beneath which I have yet

to fill in with Spathyphyllum

 

Here we are at our front entry

 

Where the friendly welcoming Buddha

has found his niche

 

Opposite the entry

is a terrace

where cool breezes blow

which cool us and also

dries laundry on my temporary lines

and the garden has spots for my

Bromeliad collection

 

which need to have their pups removed

and replanted

 

a good late summer job ahead

 

 Come down these steps

to my front garden

where I have been busy

with new plantings

and with some major pruning back

The previous home,

demolished for this building

was over 60 years old

and the tropical gardens

had become a jungle

fortunately the existing palms

have provided a wonderful skeleton

upon which to recreate gardens

Gardenia perfume wafts up to our living areas

from the many bushes and prostrate gardenias

I have planted in the rockery

and around the lawn edges

One of the many surprises

in the gardens

was to find this tree,

a crepe myrtle,

which flowered on Christmas day.

 I almost hacked it down

in my pruning frenzy

The blue behind the trees

is the waters of Laguna Bay

and the hinterland beyond

Let's take a break now,

have a cool fruit juice

and continue shortly

and I'll tell you more about the plants

in these tropical gardens...

*