Our genes are the basic unit of heredity. They hold the key to many of our characteristics: the shape of our nose, the colour of our eyes, and whether we have curly or straight hair. But do they carry more than physical characteristics – traits such as creativity? This is a question that Kate Forsyth […]
Archives for January 2021
My book of the month: January 2021
There are plenty of writers of Australian rural romance these days – the genre has boomed in recent years. I remember writing a blog post about it in 2014, after observing in my library that the numbers of authors writing in this genre were increasing. Since I wrote that, there are many new authors now […]
On Australia Day
I am a descendant of a First Fleet convict man and his convict wife, who arrived in the British colony in what is now Australia 13 years after him. I would not exist if they had not met here. The British had a history of colonising countries other than their own but this time they […]
In My Garden: January 2021
Ooh! My latest garden column has been published in my local newspaper – such a thrill. We’ve had plenty of rain here over the past month – 291 ml since the beginning of December, according to our rain gauge. That’s helped many plants look lush (including the weeds) but hasn’t been good for my roses. […]
Let’s do the bossa nova!
It’s easy to fall in love with a plant that has blossoms as pretty as this Begonia boliviensis ‘Bossa Nova’, with its white flowers tinged with blush pink. I think they look a little like large fuchsia flowers, don’t you? It has a trailing habit and looks fabulous in a hanging basket, so that the […]
Stepping gently into 2021
We’ve slipped quietly into another month, as summer progresses. Thankfully, there is no blistering heat here, just plenty of gentle rain. My garden sends its thanks by thriving. Growth is luxuriant and we are surrounded by green. Simple acts sustain us. Tending the garden, recording the levels captured in our rain gauge, reading, watching stories […]