Autumn days have a special feel to them. The morning starts off cool, just a bit on the cold side and although the forecast may be for a clear day, you can never be sure…..
It’s the day after the second blue moon for the year. Two full moons in January and now 2 in March. Birdsong is punctuated by the drone of the police helicopter as it does laps of the parkland at the bottom of the hill.
It’s harder to get up in the mornings now with the darkness, which will ease slightly when day light saving finishes over the Easter weekend. Once the equinox has passed the days seem to draw to a close very quickly.

Sweeping up the leaves that have changed colour and dropped and pausing to remove the cobwebs festooning the windowsills and nooks and crannies around the downpipes. Drifts of leaves in corners of the verandah and against the borders of the garden beds. Shoots from winter bulbs starting to poke up through the soil and must remember to replant the tulip bulbs that have been in the vegetable crisper. The tree ferns have finally given up trying to exist. They were burnt to a crisp last year on Black Saturday when the temperature reached 47C. Another year of drought has finished them off, so the stumps will come out soon and the garden outside my clinic room will be re-done.
New soil will be put down to level out the garden bed. Drought tolerant plants will do and I will trim the ivy back along the fence, which I will also extend by a metre or so, with a screen to improve privacy in the clinic.