October 12. Day 286. The colour purple

There is nothing as beautiful as a Queensland spring when the jacarandas are in bloom. There is also nothing quite as terrifying.
Students across the State know that the saying is that when the jacaranda blooms final exams are in sight.
By the time the fallen blooms carpet the lawn it's too late to hit the books.
It's been a long, long time since I've had to worry about sitting an exam but that doesn't mean I can just enjoy the colour purple which now dots the skyline.
As someone whose job - when not writing purple prose - is to lecture university students you know that marking follows assessment just as night follows day.
As the pretty purple carpet turns sort of brown and soggy so will my mind.
But this morning I could enjoy the trees down by the river at West End.
For the moment I'm still having a purple patch.