No.2

The vasculum - object of my desire

The second of my brugmansia blooms is unfurling, despite the wintery weather. Whether it completes it's development and goes full-bloom, I can't know but there's every chance it will, judging by the performance of the first. That gorgeous bloom, btw, is lying flat out pressed between sheets of blotting paper in an effort to preserve the original most-southerly moonflower for posterity. I've read they don't dry well, so it's a risk but I like to live dangerously. I noticed, on arriving back from Arrowtown, that all of the leaves have fallen from the silver birch that grows outside of out lounge window - not a leaf is left hanging. If I'm to make some wreaths from the twigs this year, I'd better get on with it or they'll brome too brittle, if they're not already.There were plenty of toadstools around Arrowtown and in some of the smaller towns between here and there, especially where there were mature European trees such as pines, larches, birches and oaks growing (yes, I know radiata is from America). There were boletus and amanitas and various others that looked interesting but not appetising. I saw lawyers' caps last week, but didn't pick them, to my later regret. Strike while the iron's hot, I say, but I don't always follow my own good advice. I spent much of today working on my RMA assignment for the Local Government people who seem determined to know how much I know about hearings and the trappings thereof. I found it quite enjoyable, reading for meaning then choosing best answers for the questions posed. I'll not know tip I get the results back, whether I'm in the running for councillor of the year - no, hang on, I'm not, so there'll be no long and anxious wait for that one. The Steampunk festival is getting closer and closer by the hour and my expectations are climbing to unreasonable heights - I hope they've gone all out up there in Oamaru, for my sake. I expect I'll have to settle for what's happening, though there do seem to be a lot of potentially enjoyable activities on the 'menu', not the least being the absinthe evening, intriguingly named and evocative. I'm determined to see a green fairy and will put in the hard yards to be sure that I do, though if the absinthe costs as much as the whiskey did, I'll be stopping well short of lift-off. I need an image to accompany this post and don't want to be too predictable, so I've chosen this for your edification and amusement/bemusement.