(Cancer) Garden journey day by day

Bark, shoots and birds ...

2026-02-23T16:55:21Z

Winter rains and gloom have seemed relentless. I have hunkered down, in scrutiny mode. Days of waiting, as is so common with cancer, as we wait for results of tests, scans and the next appointment. Even the garden seemed to get bored...(read more)

Not counting, but watching: surveillance

2026-01-18T17:20:33Z

January brings a new phase, now post-chemo, some welcome healing as side-effects from Capecitabine slowly ease, but it's now a matter of being monitored and self-awareness of my own body. It's a gradual detachment from the wonderful clo...(read more)

Dawn light, new morning, "happy" new year

2026-01-02T16:36:33Z

A new year for us all. I was greeted by ethereal light as the sun shone through the cold frosty morning mists. A pigeon perching: just another day for a bird. Stunning beauty to see off 2025 and greet 2026. For those of us on a "cancer journey&...(read more)

A festive note in the garden and good wishes

2025-12-24T17:15:01Z

On the eve of Christmas, a small attempt to introduce a festive note in the garden, and a Christmas wish from a very tame robin (confession: this was not taken in my garden!). Whatever we're all going through, I send supportive and warm wishes to...(read more)

Christmas colours: green

2025-12-24T16:56:17Z

Green is a predominant colour of any garden, but here I have focussed on greens which represent colours and textures that add to the garden's diversity, from the bright green spongy moss (that makes up most of the lawn), to the glossy g...(read more)

Christmas colours: red

2025-12-23T10:31:42Z

Daily garden photos over recent December weeks have caught festive Christmas colours, which just brighten the mood. What might look like a dull garden outlook on a grey day can still produce delights when you look more closely. First it was the...(read more)

Bark, but not woof!

2025-12-22T13:11:37Z

A few weeks since my last post: blame Christmas madness, but still time to step into the garden each day to find a focus. It is a calming process. Earlier in my chemo cycles, the capecitabine pills decided to go for my feet, causing them to beco...(read more)

Winter yellows - Bee surprised

2025-12-02T17:57:13Z

The winter garden is so different from the summer garden, with autumn passing by on the way. My chemo began in summer's heat and drought conditions, parched lawn and plants struggling, an uncertain time ahead, and now it's the beautiful monochrome of...(read more)

Blue sky inspiration

2025-11-23T15:20:50Z

Look up, what is the sky today telling you? It's bright, it's blue (the mood-lifting one, not "the blues"), it's brilliant and inspirational. First, a vapour trail created what I imagined as an ethereal centipede, it's little legs carrying it upward...(read more)

Morning glories

2025-11-19T21:26:49Z

The cancer journey was always going to track the changing seasons; now it is really showing, always in the most beautiful and surprising way. Waking up each morning, after I've wriggled fingers and toes and stretched the limbs, it's time to draw the ...(read more)

Remembrance and a rose

2025-11-11T19:14:03Z

The last few days have focused on remembrance. Always poignant. I decided to use the autumn lawn to place my token of remembrance. Somehow it felt very natural and right. The garden is so closely linked to health, our psychology and emotions. I also ...(read more)

Counting, counting

2025-11-06T13:17:45Z

When I started this blog, the theme has been counting: counting down the days and chemo cycles, all mirrored by what is going on in the garden. It's been a while since I last posted, as this time, I've been captivated by the falling leaves, w...(read more)

The colour red

2025-10-31T11:58:36Z

The colour red: capecitabine had a sting in the tail for me this cycle; all had been reasonably OK until the last few days of the tablet fortnight. That nasty palmar-plantar side-effect seems to get me every time: sure enough, the colour red began to...(read more)

Head held high

2025-10-28T18:43:04Z

I love this picture, nature's beauty of a dahlia at a time of seasonal transition. It holds its head high, withstanding the winds and rain - keep strong everyone! (read more)

Seasons turning, counting continues

2025-10-28T18:14:28Z

Clocks change and autumn has kicked in. An important turning point in my journey. My daily photos are marking the counting of chemo days and cycles, helping me through it all. My chemo started when it was hot and dry; now, though, as I approach the m...(read more)