Tag Archives: Rain

Newbies in the Garden

5 Sep

Recently, unbeknownst to me, hubby bought fig trees for the garden. I didn’t think much of it when he said he was going out to collect them from the seller. After all, he’s always buying something for the garden.

When he got home, boy, was I surprised! He bought four trees. It’s interesting to have this in our garden, something new that is edible if taken care of properly.

Figs are small trees or indoor plants by classification. And they do well under the hot sun with lots of space to grow and proper drainage. Given that our weather can be rainy most time, we will have to find a suitable spot for them. Otherwise, they will be indoor house plants.

Let’s see how successful this new endeavor is for the newbies in the garden to thrive. I can’t wait for the first harvest as two trees are starting to fruit already!

Latest acquisitions for the garden, and fruiting!

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Rain, Rain, Go Away

5 Aug

The weather has changed again! It has been wonky and unpredictable. Whenever I check the Weather app on my iPhone XR so that I can plan my schedule if I am doing laundry or going out, it does not seem accurate at times, unfortunately.

On Tuesday, I had a morning golf game at a golf club some distance away. I checked ahead to ensure the weather would be nice for a pleasant outing. The app showed that it would rain only by noon, after which we would have completed our round of golf. But it rained when I left the house and continued to rain before we could tee off.

We ended up playing in the drizzle for the first nine holes. The course was beautiful and challenging, the greens fast, but the condition was most undesirable. We were wet, irritable, and did not enjoy the damp condition! But when we crossed over, the drizzle subsided and was cloudy, so everyone’s mood changed for the better.

With the change in the weather these days, planning is not easy. If you have something to do and the weather is hot and dry, do it. Don’t plan too much in anticipation of the oncoming rain, if any, because plans will go awry, and it can be time-wasting.

But for golf, if it rains before or after teeing off, we either wait it out or play in the rain. Worst case, we have to abandon the game. Luckily, we did not have to do this on Tuesday. I hope the weather will be kinder for my next golf game.

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A Fairy Tale Setting

6 May

It looked like a scene from a fairy tale fable. It was not too late when we came back from dinner earlier this week. The frog was sitting so upright and rigid in front of the tree. Three mushrooms were growing next to the tree trunk, making the scene more fabled. I think the street light played a role in the dreamy scenario.

My feeble attempts with my iPhone XR

The frog did not even flinch when hubby crouched so close to it to take its picture. He managed to capture a few spectacular shots with his Samsung phone. I did not go as close as I was afraid the frog would jump. My photos taken with my iPhone XR pale in comparison to his attempt.

Hubby’s shots with his Samsung phone
Night and day difference for the three mushrooms

Once in a while, it is okay to appreciate a frog if they could sit there quietly, and create a surreal fairy tale scene, instead of being in the garden choir ensemble.

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The Garden Choir, Part 2

3 May

There is another group of the garden choir that works during the day. Unlike the frogs performing live at night on rainy days, these birds perform in the morning. And they sure are just as annoying!

The shrill at a sharp pitch is a constant irritation. I do not know why people say birds chirping is soothing and therapeutic – this is the opposite! Occasionally, the tree shrews join the ensemble with non-stop clicking noises that are more argumentative than melodic.

On top of these irritations, the new neighbor behind our house is another strange creature. They have been renovating their house for the longest time ever. They could not do much when the pandemic broke, as renovation activities were not allowed within the estate. It was peaceful for the last two years. Lately, their renovation is in full swing as these activities are permitted again.

Their constant daily drilling and hacking have been driving us up the wall! Let’s not even go into the dust that we have to endure. Between these critters, noise and environmental pollution have become a constant in our lives. Sigh.

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A Symbolic Growth, Part 3

15 Apr

So the mini pineapple was left on the kitchen counter to ripen, and it did. It took a few days for this process, and during this time, we could smell its fragrance in the kitchen. What a lovely smell! We were looking forward to savoring it.

The mini pineapple

When we finally cut it, it was not as sweet, unfortunately. A day or two more on the stem would have been better. But it was weakened by the excessive rain and water – we had to harvest it. Otherwise, the squirrels would get to it before us. Oh well. Let’s hope the next pineapple will survive the wet weather.

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The Garden Choir

12 Apr

Whenever it rains, the garden suffers. It will flood because the water is too much for the drainage to handle. Some plants survive, but some suffer too, like the pineapple.

Occasionally we suffer too when the frogs come out! They will croak throughout the night, causing sleeplessness as their choir ensemble is too loud. Sigh.

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A Symbolic Growth, Part 2

8 Apr

The weather has been wonky the past few months. On days when it’s not supposed to rain, it pours. And when we expect rain, there isn’t any, and it’s so hot.

The pineapple tree in the pot had some hot sun at the beginning of the year. But during one stretch, it rained a lot, so hubby moved the pineapple to a warmer spot in the garden. And the weather changed again, raining cats and dogs!

So much so that it affected the stability of the fruit, weakening the stem of the pineapple tree. We had no choice but to harvest the fruit, small as it was, instead of letting it go to waste. Despite its size, the fruit still has a chance to ripen, and we may still get to enjoy it. Fingers crossed.

Not big but edible. Only time can tell

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It’s a Small World

29 Mar

When we went to Forest City Golf Resort, we thought we had the perfect getaway from it all. Little did we know, we would bump into two golfing friends who were also there for golf. It’s a small world!

The first encounter was a brief one in the pro shop when the friend was heading out as we were walking in. A quick chat was all we had. The second encounter was equally brief, but we made plans to meet up for dinner as the friend had just checked in.

On Friday afternoon after our morning tee-off, M1 and I decided to visit Legoland, located not too far from the resort. Hubby opted out since he had work to do. So the arrangement worked out well.

Both of us spent the hot and humid afternoon wandering through the attractions at Legoland. The Day Pass ticket was not cheap. But we were upgraded to an Annual Pass as the theme park is trying to retain or attract visitors. So would we visit again with the Annual Pass? Perhaps.

No crowd, no queue, it was ideal

The plus side of a semi-post-pandemic situation is no crowds in a theme park. There was no queue at all the rides, not many wailing kids to contend with, and no icky arms close to us because everyone had to maintain the one-meter social distancing. It was perfect save for the humid weather.

The mini wonders at Legoland
Sealife at Legoland

After completing the outdoor attractions and rides, we moved indoors to Sealife aquarium. I think we enjoyed the air-conditioning more than the attractions! The rain came down when we came out from Sealife. It was a short drizzle, and the umbrella came in handy as we headed to the car.

That evening, we had dinner with our friends in the next township from Forest City, followed by a bottle of lovely French wine in the hotel lobby. It was a good getaway for us to rejuvenate and reset to face our daily routine.

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Oh, Silly Me!

8 Mar

The badge in the Fitness app showed the International Women’s Day challenge, and I wanted to attain it to add to all the other badge challenges that I have accumulated. So I went for my morning walk. And I clocked in more than the minimum required, which was 20 minutes or more.

But I did not get the badge. I was puzzled.

Why am I not awarded what I achieved? Is there something wrong with my AppleWatch? Is it not syncing? I even unpaired my watch with my iPhone XR to fix the issue. Hmm, something’s wrong.

Sigh, oh well, a missed opportunity.

This morning, the badge was still showing in the Fitness app. And a friend sent a Happy International Women’s Day wish. It is today, not yesterday! Oh, silly me. I met the challenge a day too early! Hahaha. Well, when the rain lets up, I will claim the badge today, the rightful day to celebrate International Women’s Day. Have an incredible day today, ladies!

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On a New Mission, Part 3

7 Mar

The daily walk routine is not very daily on non-golfing days. The weather has not been kind and disrupts the schedule. Thank goodness, on golfing days, the rain comes down only after the game.

Despite the disruptions, my mission to lose all that fat gained during Chinese New Year has been encouraging. Maybe it’s not just fat but water retention, and I should sweat it out?

Whatever it is, this morning’s walk showed some encouraging numbers as I have lost almost two pounds. Another three to five pounds to shed would be ideal. I have to keep it up, rain or shine, to complete this mission.

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