If I concentrate, I can still make out the shape of a crocodile in the wood panelling of my old bedroom at my parent’s house. If I stare long enough, other animals begin to emerge from the graininess like nocturnal creatures yawning back to life 

Sipping tea in the front yard, I marvelled at our nectarine tree. Its swollen week-old buds had unfurled like tiny palms to reveal pink starbursts of colour. As I realised the tree was abundant in potential fruit, I stood back and admired it like a