Friends and verandahs

We have an amazing verandah which hugs two sides of the house. Even though it is covered, sometimes it is too hot to sit on it. This weekend it was perfect, even if it was just for a "Friends" shot.

So, we had 10 friends for a pot luck lunch. Pot luck was good to us, and we had a delicious mix of savoury and sweet, and recipes were exchanged.

The first photo was photo bombed by our huge ginger cat, who is every inch an extrovert. As someone wittily put it, he did a cat walk followed by a cat scan!

Having taken this photo, I realised a few folk were missing, so had to take another, only to discover that one lady was missing. We did eventually find her, but not in time for the photo.

And finally, our decorations are finished, and got the ginger seal of approval. The "boy" sniffed the wallpaper in our office and promptly fell asleep, much to my relief. I have had one cat who was a wallpaper shredder of some fame. Mango appears to be underwhelmed by it.

A farm view

We have a friend who lives on a hill just around the corner from us. He keeps cattle and a goat called Whitey.

Last night we enjoyed watching the sunset from his living room.

The Empress Tree

The blossoms don't last long and the smell is intoxicating. At dusk you can stand underneath and listen to the bees exploring every last bell.

Feathered visitors

When we moved into the house almost three years ago, there was a very messy nest in the corner of the verandah containing very vocal house martens. Last year, they passed us by, this year they have returned.

This morning our very large ginger cat jumped a good 6 feet in the air, from a sitting position, trying to catch them as they swirled around his head. It would appear they have checked Trivago, and our accommodation is a price they can afford

Said ginger has parked himself on the verandah to watch, or perhaps I should more accurately say doze in their direction. No more 6 foot jumps today.

And as health issues have precluded us from mowing the lawn recently, we are being treated to daisies everywhere.

The continuing saga of the dog in the Post Box

We are losing. This morning's contribution to the post box was actually woven and weaved around the tail and back leg of the dog!

Another bag load of twigs, grass, sheep wool and moss has been evicted. It feels mean, but we don't mind the birds anywhere else on our property, just NOT post box. We have three families of birds nesting under our tin roof, including Harry Hobnail boots, who I suspect is a cousin of Percy post box.

The saga continues.....

On bereavement

I recently commemorated the third anniversary of my Dad's death. It was hard. Today, I heard that a good family friend, who was very good to my dad and mum passed away aged 90.

I feel like another anchor has gone. As I age and my parents generation dies, it as if the anchors that held me safe through the storms and buffeting of life have been raised and part of my soul and memory is cast adrift on an ocean, and I don't know where it will lead me. This is not a lifeskill you are taught, just one that has to be navigated as best as you can.

So many friends have gone in the last two years, and not all of them have been elderly. For so many I have uttered the phrase "gone too soon".

I am sorry I will be on the wrong side of the planet to say goodbye to her, so I can only hope when yet another anchor is raised, something of the friendship will drift with my soul to a better place.

Dog in the mailbox

My "brilliant" idea of putting a stuffed toy in our mailbox appears not to have deterred the starlings. They have wiggled past him, and put down the first layer of straw for their nest. So much for that theory.

I have spotted a pink stuffed hippo in another charity shop. That may be the next cunning plan. Either that, or locking up Junior Ginger in the box.

And speaking of hippos, it is raining heavily. Once again the mountains are full of rain clouds and our river is about to burst again. This is summer folks, and just to prove it, here are flowers in a friend's garden.