There's been two occasions this week where I've had to engage in conversations before I've had coffee. Both were reminders that I am naturally not connected to society or my community. Thankfully, caffeine helps me get by.

The hairdresser of the two asked me if I wore headphones a lot. Apparently she can tell what's on my mind better than I can. I was thinking, yes, noise cancelling ones, I basically only take them off for sleeping and haircuts.

For five years the tree was a centrepiece of my life. When I woke up in the morning and poured a glass of water, tree was there through the window. Working from home, standing up during a call, I'd look out my study window and see the top of trees.

Lunch time, I'd prepare a salad or heat leftovers or make a sandwich and eat it out the back looking at the tree (or my phone). Evenings. BBQ. Peripheral tree. Bedtime, take the dog out to toilet, she would do it beneath the tree.

Why did I like tree so much? The main difference between the house and the previous house was the location. But the main difference between the houses was the tree. And what a difference a tree makes. Especially when COVID shutdowns demand that you spend all day in your house. Sometimes on hot days I would go and stand in the shade of the tree just for something to break up the day.

In spring you could eat mulberries off the tree and in summer you could be sheltered and in late winter you could see the first buds of green on the spindly branches to give you optimism and cheer.

In autumn you could pick up lots and lots and lots of leaves. Which was good in a manner; an unavoidable reason to reconnect with nature and touch grass.

Maybe I liked tree because I knew that as long as it was upright it was adding like $50k to the value of my house... That's why I felt beholden to prune it, water it, fertiliser it, to keep it green. Maybe that's why we grew close.

Tree is not at my new house. In the mornings I drink water looking at the pool. Nash shits on a small strip of grass by the fence. When I look out my window from the study, I do see tree. Some previous genius planted a couple of lilly pillies directly in front of the western facing windows and they block out the harsh afternoon sun quite nicely. Lorikeets like eating half the fruits and dropping the other half.

Those trees aren't tree though. It was windy yesterday, autumn skies. I had the shutters pulled aside because I needed to catch a delivery van pulling into the driveway without leaving my computer. I heard knocking, but it wasn't at the door. It was on my window. The lilly pilly branch was swaying and tapping on the glass. "Let me in, Brad", it seemed to be saying.

No, I won't let them in. They are not tree. Goodbye tree. Hopefully soon I'll receive that $50K in my bank account. I'll put it towards pool maintenance. I hope the tree brings the next owners as much joy and centring as it did me.

A collection of cameraphone photos from Summer 24-25.

A little strawberry left over from spring.

Blooming agapanthus on a morning stroll through North Adelaide.

Golden Hour at the beach.

Red hot chilies for a red hot summer day.

Up before the sun on another hot morning.

Nash doing her best Jaws impression with one of her takeaway sausage rolls during the Christmas bakery shut down.

Road trip wind turbines.

Family moments near mountains.

Victorian high country.

Not rain, sprinklers.

Up early for cheap fruit and vegetables.

Another day drifting closer to the sun.

Nash enjoys sunbaking.

Frangipani

Sand snail eggs reflecting the hot sun's fading light.

A joyous moment on a cafe visit before work and heat.

When the last week of spring hit 37° and the forecast showed December bringing with it an early taste of 40° it felt like the inevitable and familiar return of summer. Days of leaves at the front door, numb fingers trying to assemble breakfast, cravings for sun to penetrate clouds, all were forgotten. It was summer again. The fifth I would live through at my current address. I could already see the next few months spreading out before me. Early morning walks. Blocking out the sun with whatever I could. Air conditioning. Smoothies. Salads. Emerging into the air after dinner for beach walks or sunset beers. Summer Again. I saved my playlist with that name ready for the weeks ahead.

Summer provided all of that. And it provided injuries, stress, Christmas, family, house stress, and new music.

It's now March 19, and forecast for 33° tomorrow. Every day I wake up and think, Summer Again. But today at least one long lingering stress from the end of summer has been resolved. So it feels appropriate that I should post my summer playlist now, in the hopes that after this the drought might break and it will actually rain again.

Specific summer memories must include:
Cooking a lot of olive oil, salt, herbs and chicken.
So many cheap berries from Saturday morning markets strolls with Vanessa.
Enjoying the tiny difference that roller shutters made to the house temperature.
Floating in a pool.
A family dinner as sunset light filtered in from across the mountain tops.
Nash eating/drinking pup-a-cinos.
Doing a lot of holiday planning.
It almost never, ever raining.

Tram into the East End after finishing work. Hot. Beer with J at various locations before reaching Gluttony for drinks by the duck pond, a massaman curry. Caught the tram back west and walked home shirtless.

Saturday, coffee trip with Vanessa and Nash. Already 30 degrees at 8am. House Open prep, including the inevitable trip to big box hardware. Killed ants.

Open time, 40 degrees. Strong winds. Took Nash to bakery for lunch but without much shelter. Waited in the car the rest of the time under a tree. Played I-Spy briefly. Neither Vanessa or Nash guessed "bark".

Open over, threw the dressings into the right storage, had a nap, then took the tram back to Gluttony for Gus' 40th. Good catch up, good AB for dinner. Some nice wind came across the duck pond for a while, then the wind died. I thought wistfully about a shirtless walk home. Left but missed the tram by 1 minute so caught the train instead. Saw Ryan after a brief wait in the air conditioning of Tim's carriage.

No rain overnight, but cooler air in the morning. Took Nash back to the bakery for the sausage roll she missed out on. Then food shopping. Vanessa had a massage while I worked out with tunes at home. Then some shopping before visiting my newest nephew who cried in my arms and slept in Vanessa's. Returned home, made bulk curry, saw mother briefly to collect a monitor, then a walk around Woodville before basketball at Timezone. I won the first game but lost the next two.

Quite a bit of stuff to remember forever...