Other Stuff

Looking over my side fences

I took my camera (Fujifilm FinePix A607) outside this evening to try to get a photo of our resident blue wren. It taunted me by flitting about by the back door. I forgot the dog would rush out the doggie-door if she thought I intended to go out, so missed out.

I wandered up the backyard to see what I could see. The sun sets on the right when I’m down the back. Nothing spectacular about this image, unless you count the sheep.

overmybackfenceright

looking over my right side fence

overmybackfence

looking over my left side fence

We don’t actually have a back fence, since the side ones complete our triangular plot. I love the way the sunlight flings about over my left fence. The highway is on the other side of those gum trees lining the paddock.

I had some bad news a few days ago. My mum rang and told me my brother had died on the 15th. She rang after the funeral (27th) so I had no option of going. I’m a bit annoyed as she could have rang me as soon as she found out the day before. Bernie was 53, having dialysis a few times a week. His heart gave out. He is the one who had schizophrenia. My sister Carol was 53 when she died, too. Mum has four kids left now.

To-day, we went to Ballarat to watch a grandson play junior football. They won by a point right before the final siren. Straight into the grand-final in two weeks. I really enjoyed the four-hour round trip – the scenery was amazing. Sorry I didn’t stop and take photos. I should have!

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you all have a good week.  🙂

Standard

27 thoughts on “Looking over my side fences”

    • Warm thanks Barbara. ❤ I expect his ashes have been scattered, but I'll ring the funeral parlour this week and find out. Mum didn't want to go, I surmise, and she made sure I couldn't take her. She said she sent flowers on our behalf.

      Like

  2. Hi Christine, so sorry about your brother. I didn’t know you are a grandma, congrats for his good job. You have a lovely backyard, and you capture the light so nicely, you should post them in the IG. Hugs to you!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Warm thanks to you, Elizabeth. ❤

      I'm 60 and have long been a grandma, though the step-children got the ball rolling in that department. Still, those grandchildren are my blood relatives because Mr R and I turned out to be 6th cousins. My own daughter has four children and my son has two. All growing fast.

      I've got the Instagram beta app on my mobile, now, but never have my password when I decide to send a photo. [okay, before I posted this comment I actually sent a photo direct – while it was in mind]

      Oh, I should point out that I'm looking 'out' over my back fences. No doubt the rural setting is gorgeous. My yard is very messy, the outbuildings dilapidated. LOL. I should do another post looking in from those same spots. 😀

      Like

  3. I think you have both the eye and the ear of a poet: the eye as evidenced by your photographs; the ear as evidenced by this line: ” sunlight flings about over my left fence. ” My condolences on the loss of your brother, Christine.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Oh Christine, i’m so sorry to hear about losing your brother. How sad that he’d been ill for so long, too. But I do think your mum could have thought to ring you so you could make it to the funeral. It seems odd that she didn’t. Didn’t she ring any of her children (your brothers and sisiters, I mean)? We all need to say our goodbyes. The sunlight looks perfect as it plays on that hedge.

    Liked by 1 person

    • We aren’t a close family, Millie. Mum said she only found out that Bernie had died when her best friend saw the funeral notice in the paper, but I’m pretty sure she would have known in time for me to get there – it’s only 10 hours away and the funeral wasn’t until 3 pm. No, she had her own agenda. I’ve been with her when she’s made up fibs to tell people to make herself look blameless, so I know how her mind works. I haven’t spoken to other family, but she led me to believe they hadn’t been told either.

      I’ve been to Adelaide twice since I last saw Bernie and didn’t visit him. Five years ago, I should have been the one to tell him when our sister died, but we decided to let his social-worker do it. I chickened out when mum told me Carol hadn’t told him she had cancer. The news would come out of the blue. And when I was in Adelaide a few months ago, I spent most of my time with another brother closest to my own age who hadn’t been well, not long diagnosed with diabetes. I didn’t make time for Bernie.

      Now, I better make time soon to travel to the back blocks of New South Wales to visit with the one I haven’t seen for – geez – over 25 years! I’ve spoken on the phone a few times though and every year think I’ll make the trip.

      Anyway, sorry to rave on here! Warm thanks for your kind thoughts. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      • I’m very happy to read your raves,
        Christine. We have very few chats nowadays. the year’s just passing so quickly, and there’s always so much to do.
        As for families, Nick’s family are like yours (my husband). He hasn’t seen or heard from one of his brothers for at least 40 years, and has no intentions of looking him up. Another brother he hasn’t seen for almost 30 years – and no one has ever told him his mother died. We found that out accidentally! So your family isn’t the only one like that. My siblings are more closely-knit, but not in each other’s pockets. We don’t live near to each other, but do get together a few times a year and phone every few weeks. Our parents died a long while ago.
        You have summer on the horizon, so things should be looking up over there for you all. We’re about to head into autumn, and then the winter – which I don’t feel ready for, at all, because we’ve had such a poor summer. Can’t win!
        Keep in touch, and let me know how your books are going.

        Liked by 1 person

        • You’ll be one of the first to read my book, Millie. Though you cannot do a review on Amazon for me, I’d appreciate your opinion of the overall flow (or lack thereof) of the story. About three weeks, I reckon and it will be ready for testing. I’ll call for volunteers. I’m writing the ending today! And then I’ll start over – yet again. I’ve done nothing but fiddle about this last month. Well, I suppose that’s not true – I have been improving it … I think … I hope. 😀

          Anyway, as to my little family drama, I’ve moved on from my upset with mum. I daresay she thought she was doing me a favour, since we had not long been to Adelaide. Thanks for the lovely chat. 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          • I’ve been wanting to read your book for a long time, Christine, so of course you must let me know when it;’s ready to read. Why can’t I do areview on Amazon? Is that because you reviewed mine on there? Your book can only be getting better with all your efforts and rewrites. I’m ready to read it as soon as you say..
            As for families…they can be flippin’ hard work at times! I just take a big breath and say ‘Patience…’ to myself. Talk agin soon… 🙂

            Like

          • I can still review your book on Goodreads, and on my blog, Christine. It’s a shame about Amazon. Are you putting your books with any other online retailers, by the way? I’m considering taking my books off Amazon Select so I can put them on Smashwords. I’m just waiting until Book 3 is finished before I do, though.
            Looking forward to reading your book. We’re away for a while in a week’s time, but will be here after the 19th September. Happy writing. 😀

            Like

  6. Hi Christine, I’m so sorry about your brother. And more so that you didn’t get the option to go and say goodbye. Families are terrible beasts, capable of bringing the greatest comfort and the most terrible heartaches. Love your second shot btw; the light is lovely.

    Liked by 1 person

    • A warm thanks Su. Brings to mind the old saying – you can pick your friends but not your family. So true. It’s going to be an incredible feat for me to bring us together for mum’s 80th birthday next January. ❤ Glad you liked the photo.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Good luck! My mum turns 80 next year too, and I’m trying to persuade her it makes more sense to have a party in the UK (where she and most of my family live) than for her to come to NZ (where I am) and annoy my siblings, etc. And I won’t even start on how dysfunctional my partner’s family is!

        Liked by 1 person

    • Many thanks, Effy. He was fortunate to have lasted this long. I almost lost him six or seven years ago when his kidneys shut down, but they were able to bring him out of it. He’d been on fairly heavy medications for his schizophrenia since he was a teenager, so that’s no wonder they packed it in. I visited him in hospital and was stunned to see him still smoking! Barely said hello and he was escorting us outside for his fag. I smile when I think of that. He made the best of his lot. ❤

      Like

  8. Carol Ann says:

    First, condolences for the death of your brother. Losing a sibling is a trauma no matter the distance and time. Be sure to say your own private goodbye in a moment of quietude and comfort. You will feel lighter for it.

    Even in seemingly happy families, if you look behind the smiles there are resentments and lingering sadness that belie the habits of good manners. Families are the hardest dynamics of all, harder than marriages to analyze and find the source of ‘problems’. I had no brothers or sisters and after I was older, I often thought it would be so satisfying to have that understanding in common with another person my age with whom to talk over the ‘Whatever shall we do with mother?’ issues. But then, I was also fully aware I was idealizing the prospects of siblinghood.

    It is good you are getting your remaining family together for what may well be the last tribute to your mother. She may not have been the ideal mother you would have like her to be, but you turned out to be a sensitive and loving woman capable of bringing joy to the lives of others. So, appreciate her for the gift of life and your opportunities to thrive. Here you are, at mid-life, about to finish a novel, sharing wonderful pictures and words that are making you friends around the world and in relatively good health. Whew!!! I’d say you have a successful life because you have cultivated the ability to find happiness in the beauty of ‘things’ that are really important. Mourn your unfortunate brother, then go celebrate his life and yours with your mother and siblings and their families. You have a great heart, Christine. I love you for being real…for being ‘You’.

    Sincerely,
    CA

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.