Sensory delight!

My pride and joy, what Mother called the George lily, and which is more commonly known as the Scarborough lily, is currently bearing 51 blooms. This bulb likes to be crowded in a container and multiplies prolifically. I started off with about 10 bulbs, the original stock having been passed on to her some 60 years ago by her mother-in-law, Dad's mother (obviously). I don't know how long she had them before that.
To say that they are happy in their location is an understatement. They are in semi-shade as the bars of the railings shade them in summer and winter, and they receive the full brunt of the winter storms. This is of no consequence as they consist of a few strappy leaves, no longer than 20 centimetres. I give them a sprinkling of water every day for no particular reason other than they are among the other pot plants, yet it is pure unadulterated water from the heavens that they need to bloom. At this time of year, within a few days of a rain shower, buds will appear almost miraculously before my eyes, and I rush out a few times a day to see how many have appeared. This year has been its crowning glory and I hope it will continue into the future.
It's something Mother would have loved to see and I know her spirit is rejoicing.
But the best thing about this mass display is that, when I go out onto the balcony at night for a last look at the stars, I am assailed by the most incredible fragrance which pervades the air. I had no idea it even had a scent as it is not apparent during the day. No perfume could smell as sweet. It is wafting through the doors as I write this.
Another treat for the senses from this most rewarding of indigenous bulbs!

Lying on the lawn

Whenever the council workers arrive to trim the verges and the public spaces, they spend a considerable time lounging on the lawns under the trees along the roadside. It all looks very companionable and inviting, and so today, while waiting at the top of the driveway for the nursery delivery truck, I thought I would also lie on the lawn under the gum tree and see what the attraction was.
The attractions were quite considerable. I have always enjoyed lying on lawns rather than sitting in those uncomfortable garden chairs that proliferate in the suburbs. It's a way of connecting with Mother Earth - I go barefoot as often as possible - and seeing things from a smaller perspective. There are so many insects running about in the grass, carrying bits and pieces of sticks and grains of sand, and no doubt body parts of other decaying insects. The grass has interesting seeds in various configurations and they scrape off quite easily between fingernails - an opportunity to work on fine motor skills, which are fast disappearing with the constant tapping on keys and keyboards.
I could observe how many cars actually stop at the stop street - not many. I saw the security vehicle cruising by on his daily patrol - he waved at this strange woman lying on the grass under a tree, and must have decided I did not need apprehending.
The local dog owners had to take evasive action as they came past the hedge, expecting to bring Lassie round the other side to make a deposit that didn't get picked up. They pretended they weren't heading across the lawn, but having picked my spot carefully amid previous deposits, the game was up and another spot would have to be chosen. I got a great sense of satisfaction from this.
It was quite delightful lying in the shade, a gentle breeze blowing up from the direction of the lighthouse, where I could here the crashing of the waves - a heavy onshore swell sent up from down South today. I totally understood why the council workers indulged in the occupation so frequently.

Puppy class

Puppy training class No. 1 successfully completed. I am now fully trained in how to present and give treats in return for appropriate behaviour. I know when to look away and when to say: Good girl!
You would be surprised how tiring it is to learn all these new things, and when we sat down (can't remember why!), I was so busy listening to the teacher that I didn't notice that Cleo had her entire head in the belt pouch where all the chicken biltong was! So that was a week's worth in a gobble. No wonder she felt like a snooze after that.
On the way, I was concerned that she might bounce all over the car and so tied her lead to the headrest with enough length for her to lie on either the back or front seat. She sat chewing away quietly (always a bad sign, I have now learned) for the half-hour trip, and I naturally thought she was being terribly well-behaved and chewing on her toy. I should have been alerted by the odd crunching sounds, but didn't crane my neck as I had no desire to ride off the side of the mountain. When we reached our destination, I found it was my Spanish hand fan, souvenir of my nephew's Marbella wedding, that had been on the receiving end of those sharp little teeth. Oh well.
The best thing I learnt today was that she should be getting iced treats to sooth her sore little gums with all those nasty shark's teeth pushing their way through, and I have to say that since implementing this useful bit of information, she hasn't chewed on anybody today, and not even Monty's tail. Let's hope it continues.
I now have homework to do, so enough of this blogging for today...

Southern Star Party at Bonnievale

Where does the time go? Three weeks since the star party and I still haven't put pen to paper. To give those who have never attended such an event an idea of what it's about, here is the lowdown:

1. You must be able to stay up all night.
2. You must be able to get up early to see the planets rise above the horizon before 5am (helps if you achieve 1).
3. You must not turn on a light or light up a phone screen or even a candle (!) or a torch after sunset, unless it has a red cover. This red cover must be so thick that if you turn on the torch in daylight it will not show a red mark on your hand. About 8 layers of cellophane should do it.
4. Once you have the red light in place, do not expect to be able to read anything with it.
5. Memorise all the star charts pertaining to the areas of the sky you will be looking at, because of 4.
6. Do not wear high heels. You will be moving between telescopes on a lawn in the dark.
7. Don't push to the front of the queue to look through the eyepiece. The object will still be visible (although in  different parts of the sky) for at least 6 hours.
8. You can go to the back of the queue for another look.
9. A flask of coffee or your favourite tipple (can result in seeing double the number of stars) and a big chocolate will go a long way to adding comfort to your viewing.
10. You will be in the company of some seriously intelligent people. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
11. Be prepared to be amazed and awed by the vastness of what is out there.
12. Don't worry if you can't remember the names of any of the stars or constellations. Just enjoy the view.
13. Do try to identify the planets. There are only a few to remember and you are already standing on one of them.

The event was tremendously enjoyable, the company scintillating and stimulating, the weather at night absolute perfection. Ready to do it again!

Still setting up telescopes - about 10

Entrance to s/c accomm Oppikoppie

Just beautiful

Nightfall

Twilight. The sky turns from a deep orange glow on the far horizon in gradations of indigo and violet to the purple-grey umbra of the earth's shadow in the upper atmosphere. Loose strings of birds make the trip back to their roosts, while a small flock of night herons rises silently on snow-white wings from their daytime perch on the ancient milkwoods at the shore and pass their daytime cousins as they head for the feeding ground beyond the lighthouse.
The sissing of the waves wafts in on the evening drift of cool air as the change from day to night reverses the offshore breeze, with an occasional sharp crack as a perfect break traps the air and explodes in a splatter of spume. Night birds call from the rocks, an eerie, echoing song.
It's dark now. The pink glow has faded. One by one the stars twinkle into being - Sirius, the brightest star, followed by the familiar outline of Orion the Hunter, with Rigel and Betelgeuse appearing first, to the south, Canopus - and soon too many to count - ever-constant guides for travellers since time immemorial.
Night settles. All is quiet as the daytime creatures take to their burrows, nests and cosy corners. Humans retreat into their houses. Lights go out. The night belongs to the nocturnal.
My cats head out of the door.

Rejuvenating the garden

With mild autumn weather and the soil being bone dry after a long, hot summer, it's the ideal time to dig up the lawn (what a misnomer) to plant shrubs and hardy ground covers. We've never actually needed a lawn, as no one has played soccer or cricket in the garden, nor have we had garden parties - they take place on the bricks and even then are few and far between.
Indigenous is the way to go as far as possible, although some of the Australian aliens can be attractive and easy to grow and shouldn't be shunned purely for parentage. They are inclined to self-seed and pop up all over the place, so careful control should be exercised while enjoying their flowers and foliage. I've planted bauhinia and sutherlandia, geraniums and plectranthus. The central part of the lawn is to become a large bed of different varieties of agapanthus, both tall and miniature, pale to intense blue. Most of this will be a rearrangement of the existing garden, as the plants have multiplied over the years and need thinning anyway. The shade lovers, clivias and bromeliads, are now so abundant that I can double their existing coverage, which will take care of large portions of bare sand, which is all they have to grow in here next to the sea. It would be stretching it to call it soil.
Aloes also take up quite a few gaps and are very rewarding as they grow new plants all the time and make a spectacular show in winter when the rest of the garden is fifty shades of green.
Gardening is very therapeutic. You can solve the problems of the world while digging or watering, or let all the things that worry you play through your mind, and somehow it all seems totally insignificant as you take care of the simple things. And if you nurture your plants, feed and water them, encourage them to look their best and grow nicely into strong, healthy plants that will proliferate and reproduce themselves for future generations to admire and enjoy, it will give you the idea that perhaps this is how we should treat all living things, including our fellow man. Fancy that.

Walkies!

I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky, and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. Still looking for the tall ship.
It's been a while since I took regular walks down to the lighthouse, as I let life pass by in mistaken conventionality, but I have broken with the tradition of always being in the kitchen at sundown and am taking Cleo for walks as the sun casts its last rays on the ocean and rocky shore. Such a sensible thing to do! She is walking very nicely in her harness and has been very sociable with all the dogs she has met along the way, but this evening a large French poodle barked playfully in her face and she is no longer sure she likes such tall dogs!
Puppy classes start on Sunday and I suspect they are more for the owner than the puppy. Let's see how quickly I learn! I really hope to cure her of chewing on my hands as I currently look like I've been through razor wire, and anyone who is on Warfarin had better give her a wide berth. I've been told to give her half her breakfast so she is eager for treats, but as a rescue doggie, there just is no such thing as never being ready for food! She literally vacuums up whatever she sees, and is particularly partial to mushroom compost and other vegetable matter, sampling nearly every plant in the garden and eagerly devouring the coprosma and milkwood berries with some startling results a little later in the day. I have read up on what's poisonous and hope she never finds the oleander in the far corner.

It was balmy and just too magnificent down at the rocks this evening and I took so many photos but will only post one here. Cleo sat perfectly still while I sat on the bench and seemed quite content to watch the sunset with me. I'm sure I'll have many years of devoted companionship from her.

A stylish visitor

The V&A Waterfront was at its most alluring today, with wind-free yet deliciously cool conditions, and a view of Table Mountain unimpeded by wild-fire smoke or smog, every rock of its majestic cliff faces in vivid relief. Pleasure craft, a naval frigate, chunky little tugs and freshly painted fishing vessels in primary colours made it postcard perfect, and the restaurants and excursion boats were pleasantly full without that frenetic holiday crush.
An unusual sight was a raft of gulls sitting in the water, filling almost the entire docks, pecking idly away at what must be trillions of moving animals just below the surface, smaller than the tiniest fish, and unidentified by us as we are not marine biologists. Perhaps krill? Whatever it was, the gulls were feasting and we weren't the only ones taking photos of the phenomenon.
But the greatest treat of all was admiring a truly beautiful motor yacht moored alongside the Table Bay Hotel jetty. Sleek, immaculate, stylish - a yacht I could call my own! The crew were busy with maintenance and refuelling and victualling for what must be a world cruise for the fortunate owner, who may well have swapped a life on the ocean wave for a short stay in the hotel, although it's anyone's guess as to which would be more luxurious!
The helicopter zipped up in its snugly fitting coat raised a smile on a day that was a real pleasure outing overall.

Somnolent afternoon

It's another glittering day in Kommetjie; sparkling sea sliced by the smooth sailing of ships across the surface, barely a bow wave in sight. No sound from the tumbling breakers as the breeze is slightly offshore, but the sky is filled with sounds - the incessant droning of a small aircraft putting in some airtime overhead, a pass by the Dakota appearing low overhead without warning, a gyrocopter taking a trip along the coastlne, barely 10m above sea level. What an awesome day for such activities!
A jackal buzzard disturbs the pigeons, flying close by but without any serious intent - perhaps just enjoying a wheel in the thermals. Flocks of small birds flit about, gathering in the last of the berries and grass seeds as they prepare for the cooler months ahead.
A bank of puffy clouds, encouragingly grey in places, pretends to be bringing some relief from the dry conditions, but we aren't holding our breath. The shadows are welcome and the sunset is sure to be glorious.
Our menagerie is taking it very easy, with little activity in the day and a lot of sleeping going on. I feel a snooze coming on myself.

Spectacular late summer's day

A gentle touch of autumn crept over the Peninsula today. That subtle change in the light; the swing in wind direction to the south, bringing the suggestion of an Antarctic chill on the breeze. Gannets flocked over the sea, while oyster catchers flew in fits and starts from rocky perch to rocky perch, as we strolled along the boardwalk to the lighthouse in a midday sun that even mad dogs and Englishmen would have enjoyed. Well, we didn't encounter any of those, just a fair number of German tourists, who seem quite sensibly to enjoy this time of year the most for a holiday in Cape Town, and nobody had their dogs with them at that time.

The sea takes on a particular glossy pale blue colour at the time of the year and as the breakers fold over they turn palest peppermint green, a true reflection of the icy temperatures - probably around 10 degrees at present. Colourful fishing boats chugged by, just too far out of the camera lens's reach, reminding me of those beautiful watercolours of Guy Todd that featured these boats back in the 70s. How I wish I had made a small collection of those - as a school kid, pocket money didn't stretch to buying paintings!
This evening the setting sun caught on high clouds wisping overhead and reflected their stunning glow on the mountains - again, something to be appreciated in real life rather than through the camera, and a day never goes by that I am not grateful for living in this tiny corner of paradise.

On a lighter note...

Cleo continues to grow apace. We have no idea what she will grow up to be, so for the moment she is a borderline collie with a touch of toy pom but maybe something else as well. She has a mouth full of teeth like razors and chews on everything in sight, mainly fingers and poor old Monty's tail and undercarriage - a painful experience as you can well imagine. I have taken to carrying the antibacterial spray with me as I suffer frequent puncture wounds from retrieving disallowed items or just brushing my finger against a tooth and the incisions are at least a millimetre deep. I don't encourage babies or small children to be near her!

She can now jump up onto the couch and the bed so there is no escape for the other dogs, whose refuge was height, and so a good deal of the day is spent trying to discipline her. Not what I am good at, so I fear it will be puppy school one of these days. The last hurdle is the stairs - she can come up them, but can't go down, but once that has been overcome I can see I will be spending a lot of time chasing around the garden trying to separate the dogs. Her legs get longer every day and her fur is starting to curl. Her jaw has a grip like a vice and she runs like the wind.
Sounds like a good dog all round!

Oh dear! Another one of those

It's been a week of punishing heat, intense work, sudden cooling rain and showers of unexpected but most welcome abundance. Which goes to show that hard work, good choices and responsible behaviour do pay off, all in good time and when it so pleases the universe. A positive outlook, concerted effort to treat others as you would have them treat you and a willingness to accept every situation and just carry on is highly recommended if you want any kind of peace.
Of course, being human does not allow us to be perfect and so it is sometimes a bit of a slog to view the world and its various inhabitants in a charitable light, but we must persevere as there is no purpose in living if we do not strive for self-improvement. Those who choose to live by violence, hatred and destruction will find that there is nothing at the end of that road, yet that is their choice and it is for them to find out. There is nothing like experience as a teacher.
Social media plays a great part in spreading awareness of the less desirable aspects of society and fuels the frenzy of vitriolic posts and tweets from the trolls (a very apt word) who have little or nothing to offer the world. This is a great learning tool - practice non-reaction. It means nothing to them that they have upset your equilibrium, and only you are affected. You are not responsible for changing the world, but you can change your own life simply through the way you react to each event.
Change your thoughts and change your life.

Clumsy?

My son tells me I am the clumsiest person he's ever met. I would prefer to call it accident prone due to the great speed at which I move - after all, is not every multitasking woman just Superwoman without the cape and hotpants over her tights?
I will admit that I have tripped up flights of steps more times than I care to remember, but I have never fallen down - surely that is some kind of achievement? I do have trouble going through a doorway without hitting my shoulder against the jamb, but not on every occasion. And I have often removed a hot dish from the oven without the aid of oven gloves. You'd think that the resultant burns would be a painful reminder not to do that again, but apparently not.
My worst trip was not a multi-stopover international flight, but an encounter in a dark garage with the heavy metal step that is used to climb up into a caravan. That entailed about half an hour of rolling on the floor holding my shin in absolute agony, with nobody around to carry me to a couch and administer soothing poultices and hot tea. It was really close to the bone and took about six weeks to heal, leaving a dent in my shin forever. In fact, the healing was so slow that I decided to stand in the sea for half an hour to partake of its healing properties. I went down to the bay and stood knee-deep in the icy Atlantic. Within minutes, all sense of feeling had disappeared and when I clambered ashore, a whelk had bored into my foot and needed to be forcibly removed. The subsequent bleeding left a scar that took weeks to disappear.
I have on two occasions failed to untangle my feet from my ever-so-comfortable ergonomic kneeling chair, resulting in a narrow escape from knocking out my two front teeth (took out one as a child) and further permanent scarring on my shins.
I've always thought I was pretty well-coordinated. I can catch the car keys when tossed from an upstairs window with one hand. But on reflection, maybe he's right!

Dad's Valentine

For Dad

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle’s compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

 If this be error, and upon me proved,

 I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

A visitor to the vegetable patch

I have a Peter Rabbit in my garden, and he has eaten all the radishes!
I got up early this morning to give the vegetables a decent watering with the municipal water, it being Saturday and a brief allowance is made to keep the garden alive. As I opened the tap to get optimum pressure, a movement caught my eye and I apologised to Mango for wetting her. But it wasn't a cat, it was a beautiful pale brown bunny, with dark tufts on its ears and flufftail. I knew from whence it came, as its owner, the young lady next door of rooster and assorted chickens fame, had been calling it earlier in the week. It dashed behind the garden shed, as Peter Rabbit would do and I assumed that it was safely home.
A later conversation with my neighbour revealed that today was the day that Peter Rabbit and his companion, perhaps Flopsy or even Cottontail, would be relocated to a more suitable home at a nearby farm. It was an act of kindness, but, as with a cat who can never be found when it is time to leave for the vet's appointment, Peter Rabbit had sussed out the situation and taken the gap to the other side of the fence.
Later in the day, he darted out from behind some barrels under the deck and hared across the dead lawn, disappearing down the rabbit hole into safety beneath the shed. Hopefully he won't be discovered by the cats or dogs and will eventually find his way back to his hutch.
He really is a very beautiful bunny, and he can't reach the lettuces, as they are in the hanging garden, so he is welcome to the radishes!

What will the future garden look like?

I read today that the average humidity in Cape Town is 73% and Durban 77%. Silly me, I thought Cape Town wasn't humid, but somehow the excessive heat we are experiencing each summer and particularly this one is making life quite uncomfortable for those who don't enjoy humidity. An advert for turning air into water sparked enough interest for me to investigate what it was about, and it seems like a great idea in the current drought conditions, but nobody wants to publicise the price of the machine. This leads me to believe that it is beyond the reach of the common man. So I won't be getting one of those right now.
In the meantime, the dam levels are down to 44% with restrictions in place that will result in many suburban gardens losing their bloom, so to speak; for most homeowners, the garden is a source of joy and beauty, a place where they can engage their creative instincts, and certainly a place that can devour a large amount of cash to keep it looking its best. But without water, no amount of money can ensure the plants' survival. So only the wealthy will be able to have gardens as they can buy the water-from-air machines while the ordinary man will dig up the lawn and plant drought resistant vegetation to keep the sand down when the wind blows.
All of this is simply my version of a worst-case scenario if the weather patterns continue this way, but word has it in meteorological circles that we can expect floods next winter, and so none of this will be come to pass in the near future. But it's food for thought on future planning of our water usage. I predict a jump in sales of water tanks and drilling of boreholes. Alternatively, an awful lot of brick paving.

Pet dynamics

The fish are around again and this means that the Hout Bay fishing fleet is once more chugging past Slangkop lighthouse, a stone's throw from where I attempt sleep, at 3.30 every morning. Somehow the stillness of night carries the sound of the engines across the smooth waters, up the rocky shore, over the milkwood trees and through my open window, chasing away all hopes of sleeping in the few hours before the dawn.
Yet this is the best part of the day, as soon the early birds will be twittering in the twigs before catching the worm, the irrepressible sun birds will call family and friends together before setting off on a nectar seeking mission, and Mango and Biggles slink in after a night on the prowl, seeking kibbles for comfort rather than oft unpalatable geckos or mice.
The animal dynamics in the house since the advent of puppy Cleo have changed somewhat. The cats left home for a week when she arrived, but have slowly started to reassert their position, albeit from the comfort of the balcony. This might change in winter! Poor old Monty is constantly harassed by Cleo, whose greatest delight is to hang onto his tail as he runs out of the house, and blind little Susie cannot abide this pesky puppy who just wants to lie close to her. But Cleo is not to be put off in her attempts to interact with the other pets. She is yet to be identified as to her parentage, or growth potential, and even her age, but there is strong evidence of Border collie, and so I have decided to label her a Borderline collie, which will provide some dignity when asked about her ancestry! She is displaying typical collie behaviour in the body of maybe a Toy Pom! Her behaviour towards the dogs indicates that she is already instinctively herding the flock and she drops down onto her stomach in typical pose.
There is every indication that she will be a delightful companion, loyal and intelligent and ready to look after the household in years to come. And of course, such a cutie pie!

Don't settle for mundane

It's been nose to the grindstone and shoulder to the wheel since I returned from my brief stargazing jaunt, more of which will follow in due course. Long outstanding matters are being attended to, decluttering is ongoing, dealing with unpleasant bureaucracy is being faced. Without getting rid of baggage, we can never move forward into a new phase of exciting prospects and creativity.
I listened to a talk today where we were told that we spend 95% of our lives on the mundane, the repetitive motions of getting up, eating, showering, going to work, shopping, cooking, etc. and only 5% on creative living, experiencing something new. How sad that life has come to this, and it is probably true for most people. I think a conscious effort should be made to introduce new things into life - drive a different route to work, visit a new shopping centre, take a short road trip that won't need planning or a huge budget.These things may not sound exciting, but you don't know what you might discover, or who you might meet just by expanding your horizons. Take a red bus tour of your city, sit on a park bench and watch the passing parade or read a book. Smile at strangers. Talk to your neighbour. Do random acts of kindness.
Step out of your comfort zone and live life. Don't settle for mundane. We are all worth so much more.

Road tripping to a Star Party

I love a road trip. This weekend I set off for Bonnievale (cheese and wine country) in the foothills of the Cape fold mountains to attend the Southern Star Party, a gathering of astronomy experts and amateurs alike for a few nights of looking up in a dark sky area. I haven't done a long trip in my half-a-loaf-of-bread and this was going to test its mettle.
I soon found myself enjoying (much like Toad of Toad Hall) a life on the open road. I paid no heed as faster, powerful cars zoomed into view in the rearview mirror. I prudently pulled over (I am aware how irritating it is to be held up by slower cars) to let them disappear into the distance while I chugged uphill and down in a pattern which soon became familiar. Turn off aircon to get uphill at 80, then turn it back on for the downward side at a respectable 100kph.
A shiny blue Megane swooped down on me and I obliged, but the Mean Little White Car in front of me, a self-appointed traffic cop, was having none of this politeness and stubbornly chugged along at 100 instead of 120. I could almost see the steam coming out of the windows of Midnight Blue Megane, until a T-junction hove into view and it took the gap, overtaking in a dangerous manoeuvre on the left-hand side. I didn't see it again.
The uphill/downhill, aircon off/aircon on rhythm continued awhile, when suddenly my foot gained some weight and we sped past Mean Little White Car and maintained a good 110 after that. There are some things that no self-respecting wannabe rally driver can tolerate. I reminisced fondly on the days of my 7-series Beemer that used to take us to Knysna many years ago on cruise control at a steady 130-140, gathering fistfuls of speeding fines along the way. No fear of that now. Although I have to say that the cop setting up his camera on the main drag through the little town of Riviersonderend did come as quite a surprise!
Almost as much of a surprise as the turnoff from the N2 to Bonnievale, which appeared with only 100m warning, totally insufficient distance to decelerate to a manageable turning speed and especially a 110 degree corner. It was a close thing as the not inconsiderable contents of my handbag were strewn all over the car and under my feet.
Despite Google maps, I didn't take the turnoff onto the gravel road as it just didn't look like the kind of road I wanted to go on and so ended up in Bonnievale, adding 30km to the trip. This is why I allow four hours to travels 200km.

Taking a gap

It's February and already the days are noticeably shorter, especially in the morning when the sun is rising closer to 6.30 than 6, and my early morning picture of Table Mountain gets later and later. We've had plenty of practice for February's heat during January, and perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised and find it a little cooler. We eye every cloud to see whether there is any prospect of a drop or two falling down onto our parched gardens, the lawn crisp underfoot and the sandy patches like walking on hot coals if you are like me and cannot bear shoes in summer.
I've decided to devote some time to myself from 2016, most notably for the purpose of peace and quiet to get my brain back into gear to finish my novel, which has been neglected for far too long, and I am beginning this 'me time' with a trip out to Bonnievale this weekend for a star party with a large group of enthusiasts. I have visions of walks along a dusty farm road with the smell of the thorn trees and warm breeze sweeping the foothills during the day, and balmy evenings gazing out into the heart of the galaxy where millions of stars will shine their starlight on a group of people who are prepared to sit there all night just to enjoy it. I doubt whether I will make it much past midnight, but being an easygoing person, I will go with the flow and maybe just have a snooze. After all, nobody will know, as no lights are allowed.
Let's hope things don't fall apart on the home front - they can manage for two weeks without me but short-term is not taken seriously enough to even water the potplants. But they're going to have to practice, as there are plenty of places to go, things to see and stuff to do!