My Manna gum
The image above is of a branch from the manna gum that I love to stand beside when I visit my family. It is a really comforting tree for me . I love to see its messy, layered bark. Manna are so far from clipped and tidy. This tree stands in a pile of its own bark – all those lovely curled and harmonious strips of warmth.
Manna gums are favoured by koalas and bees and bats. They also exude a red gum which people say is sweet and edible. I haven’t tried it myself but maybe that is because I have heard it is mildly laxative too. Our friendly manna is growing fast, even in the drought and with the severe frosts it has endured. Gorgeous tree.
I guess it is not surprising to say that I am struggling to blog at the moment. I look around at all the bloggers I visit and admire and find them poring forth with so much creativity and activity and what am I doing…not blogging.
I admit that I am very busy at the moment, and I have taken on a few extra projects which are pushing me and straining me around the edges. I love being challenged and I get swept up in things but I really miss blogging and my blog buddies when I drift off for too long. I look around the blog world and I just know everyone else is busy too but so organised that they can still keep blogging with dexterity between working, socialising and living their lives. Man, I have to find a routine again that works for me.
At the moment I am also suffering from country withdrawals. I have been very city bound of late. My country explorations make me feel more balanced and able to cope with things. I have to head out and find a quiet corner to recharge.
Filed under: life, uncategorized
i love your tree. and i love that bees and bats love your tree!
i won’t deny i miss seeing your posts, but…i know you’ll be back with regular posts soon.
i can totally affiliate with what you’re saying about country withdrawals and not have much to post about. sometimes i stand in my back yard with my canon going, “is THAT interesting?’, or…”i’ve already snapped that.” but…you’re the blogger with a post that combined flip flops and kangaroos. you have to share again soon!
Ah, reminded me of when I ate sap from a tree when I was a kid. Good enough for the Aborigines. Blogging should be a pleasure thing. Like so many before you, you have proved yourself already. We will all run out of inspiration or desire at some point.
goodbear,
Thanks for the encouragement. It does help a lot to hear that prolific bloggers like yourself have days where it is tough to find something to talk about. I don’t want to stop blogging – it has taken a real place in my life and I really enjoy expressing myself and sharing the lives of my blog buddies.
Lol kangas and flip flops was a strange combination. I hope you can get out into the country soon. I am convinced that I just work better when I have been out in the bush.
Thanks Andrew,
Wise and comforting words. I know that it is not an easy task to keep a blog going for a long period of time. And blogs do tend to run their course. I still love blogging though and I don’t feel like the journey is over yet. I just have to learn not to stress over it.
Lol, yes I remember tasting a certain grass when I was a child that had a sweet tasting stem and I think honeysuckle flowers …I don’t think anyone should take my word for it on the honeysuckle though because it is a vague childhood memory and it could have been a completely different plant.
I know what you mean about struggling to blog. Despite being pretty busy I usually find some time to blog in my breaks or just before heading off to bed. But sometimes I question whether blogging is even worth it and what the hell my direction is. I guess those are the moments to take a break. Breaks are good. Just make sure you don’t do it indefinitely.
http://thisdevilsworkday.wordpress.com/
“Organized”???? Hmm…
If you bop on over to your neighbour Alyson’s “Laugh in the Sun”, you’ll see lots of evidence that for some of us, blogging doesn’t fit in with real life (e.g. housework), it replaces it. I was looking at the dirty dishes this morning, wondering if I should photograph them. They are at least three days’ worth — and there are only two supper plates. The rest is all dog and cat dishes and dog food and cat food tins. We’ve been eating take-out or grilled cheese sandwiches since bringing home the puppy on Saturday. Blogging for me is a delicious escape, a friend-making sanity saver.
Feeling better?
Thanks TD Workday,
I still think it is a worth while thing to do and I really enjoy reading your take on things, so I hope it will stay worth while to you too. It is interesting trying to pin down all the benefits of blogging and I am sure they vary from person to person. I love that you can communicate with people from your own backyard and from all over the world.
Thanks lavenderbay,
Yes, that does make me feel better, lol.
I think you are doing really well because you do have a gorgeous new bub in the household. I couldn’t even think of dishes with that kind of exciting event.
My house is weirdly tidy at the moment so it must be true that blogging is a housework replacement. I agree, blogging is a great way to make new buddies and I have been missing you all.
Missed your great posts, LiD, but happy to wait for when you’re back in your blogging groove
Hi LiD, we have a lot of gum trees in South Africa and we call thm either blue gums or eucalyptus trees. I have never heard of a manna gum before. This of course leads me to my question – are there many different varieties? They all look the same to me over here.
Don’t feel bad if you run out of steam to blog. Do it for yourself and don’t feel pressurized or the need to have to apologise. We all run out of steam from time to time. If you miss a few days or weeks, so what – we call always catch up later.
Thanks Jayne,
Lol, I’m hoping I can get back into the blogging groove with bells on soon.
Thanks Max-e,
I appreciate those wise words. I do put pressure on myself sometimes and it kind of sneaks up on me. I started blogging for myself and I will take your advice (and the advice of my other blog buddies) and be more comfortable with taking breaks when I need them.
Lol, yes there are heaps of varieties of Eucalyptus in Australia. I am not sure exactly how many but heaps. I love them but still have trouble telling many of them apart. I have promised myself I will get better at that one day.
I enjoy their names too- names like Blue-leaved Stringybark, Black Gum,White Gum,Black Peppermint, Ironbark, Bogong Gum, Candle Bark gum, Fuzzy gum, River Peppermint and Scribbly Bark just to name a very short selection.
That is a gorgeous tree! I want to hug it. And I can understand your reluctance to “eschew” the red gum.
Hang in there with all your projects. If you can type with one hand, maybe you can blog during meals, but watch out for crumbs in your keyboard.
“organized…” heh-heh-heh! I know you don’t mean me.
Lol, The AgedCat and thanks for visiting!
It is a gorgeous tree and very, very huggable. I will give the Manna a hug for you when I go and visit it again.
I love the blog and eat suggestion. I just won’t eat pasta or anything that will strain the friendship between me and my long suffering keyboard.
Also thanks for your encouragement. I feel disorganised but it is good to know that other people feel the same and can still keep their blog going.
Yes, pasta could be bad. Especially if it requires slurping and that whip-action thing a noodle sometimes does on it’s way in.
I’m considering starting a mini-blog (meant to be short-lived?) called “The Big Dig” It’ll be about getting my apt & projects organized.
TheAgedCat,
Sorry for the late reply. See I might need to read that new blog of yours. Oh yes!
I am a messy pasta eater so the monitor would probably get that ”whip-action” spatter as well. I can’t wait to read “The Big Dig” if you start it. I am very open to new ideas on kick starting projects and keeping things orderly.
Thanks for the info in the gums. I will try and get some literature and see how many different types I can Identify.
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo