The war of the roses

I love my roses. To live on my property, you have to love roses, there are dozens of bushes, and that means a lot of pruning and spraying, and caring.

At the moment I am at war to protect my roses!!!!

I don't mind the usual enemies, things like black spot, or aphids, I know how to fight them, and currently I am winning these battles, as my gold bunnies attest.

But there is a more sinister enemy out there that is trying to decimate my bushes.

These beautiful native rainbow lorikeets are everywhere here in the hills, and they are extremely destructive, orchardists have to net their fruit trees to stop them eating their crops.

This is what they do to my precious roses:

Before:

After:

Again, before:

and after:

I'm sure you would agree this is very disturbing, as they are simply being destructive, sucking the sap out of the new shoots, leaving the flowers to wilt, and the plant with no new growth.

Here is an example of their work......

so I have declared WAR on these monsters of the sky!!!!

They strike, when I am at my most vulnerable, using guerilla tactics, usually swooping before dawn. Now, I have been through an exhaustive investigation of the tactics available to me and here are my findings:

1. I could run around flapping my arms in my PJs at 6am to scare them off, but that really doesn't appeal to me, and could be a bit embarrassing if I am spotted by the neighbours.

2. I could hang CD discs from the bushes to scare them off. This has been tried by others with limited success but I like to listen to my CDs, and besides I think a garden full of shiny discs hanging from bits of string looks a bit naff.

3. I could put nets over the bushes, but what's the point of having them if I can't see the flowers?

4. So this is my preferred method of attack:

I boil up a mixture of these potent ingredients, and spray them on the bushes!!!!!!

The poor little birdies don't like the taste and go away!

And if this doesn't work my gardener has some really foul smelling stuff that is my last line of defence.

Chemical warfare .............as a last resort!

Be afraid pretty little birdies, be very afraid!

Please be aware that the aim is not to harm rainbow lorikeets at Elmbrook simply to stop them from ruining my roses!

Lions of Singapore..... and other things.

Lindy and Gus invited me to share their family trip to Singapore which was part holiday and also an opportunity for them to connect with Gus' sister and her family there.

The children coped well with the flight, and arrived ready to greet the Lions of Singapore.

First were the statues in front of the Takashimaya shopping mall....

We were much more interested in the interior of the shopping malls, but that had to wait!

Then we saw the Merlion.....

Miss P had just been harassed by a group of Japanese tourists who wanted to take her photo, and she was a little un-nerved by the experience so we have the back of her head!

We then discovered these cute little versions on our way to the Marina Bay complex...

The Marina Bay Sands hotel is simply mind boggling!

and as we walked through the mall we discovered this lion was coming to town!

Lindy and Gus had dinner at the top of the hotel to celebrate his sisters birthday... I declined the invitation to join them to mind the children, and to avoid having to go to the top of that building,

however....

a ride on the Singapore flyer was the next activity!

[you can see it in the distance in the photo of the hotel, it doesn't look very high but it is nearly as high as the hotel}

Can you see the cars on the freeway? we were only half way up!!!

C was also a little anxious, and at about this point, he strapped himself into the stroller for protection.

No-one had the heart to tell him the facts of gravity and strollers, and very great heights, after all he is only 5!

We visited the zoo, the lions there were asleep with their backsides pointing at us, so I didn't bother with a photo shoot, but C fed the elephants with his cousins.

We then had a morning at the childrens' science centre ,

Miss P played the chimes

And C served his head on a platter for us

It was a wonderful time with this dear family doing all the things that little people enjoy. But I did see some of the arcades with the amazing array of designer boutiques and even dropped in on a fashion parade!

The highlight of the week for me was really rather simple. I had time with Belinda just the two of us, something that is in short supply, as she is busy young Mum, with many responsibilities. She is a woman with great general knowledge, and can talk on many different topics, and I loved having time with her discussing history, politics and our christian walk.

Her Dad would have loved being in these conversations.

I can't finish this blog without including one last Lion.

I shared my room with C and he was a wonderful room mate.

But if I needed to have a little "Grannie" time I would turn on the TV to the Singapore cartoon station and he would happily watch Tom and Jerry.

So this lion became an integral part of our days, roaring at the start of each cartoon.

The same cartoons were probably playing 23 years ago when Wayman and I took our family to Singapore for their first overseas holiday

A holiday in Singapore

Tomorrow I head to Singapore for a week with Belinda and her family.

I have packed my bag, and am ready to go. Having flown to Nashville to see Cassie and Nathan in August, I am not feeling anxious about going without Wayman.

But there is something about this trip that has made me realise how much my life has changed.

With Wayman we always managed to fly premium economy or business class on long trips. He had the FF statis to be able to obtain upgrades whenever he needed to.

Now I am on my own, I haven't got that pull. It has made me realise how much we can take for granted a position of privilege. This time there is no extra baggage, or leg room, no priority boarding, and no white cloth on the meal tray. It is a humbling thing when these extras are removed.

Why am I telling you this?

This tiny inconvenience has made me think about how much Jesus gave up. His position as king was put aside so he could become a man, and not a man of privilege, but an ordinary man.

He would not have had priority boarding, or a white cloth on the meal tray, he would have had an economy class seat.

And he did it to give me a way to have a relationship with him.

I am humbled, and repentant of my sense of loss, and expectation that privilege is my right.

I am grateful that my family want me on this trip, and I will enjoy the really important things.