When we had delayed flights, it was very often due to the late arrival of the aircraft.
Maybe our now delayed Spring is due to the late arrival of this past Winter.
As well as all those false starts we had weeks ago!
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It’s possible we didn’t feel the earth shake yesterday because the driver suddenly shot off on a dirt road and we were bumping along through mud and potholes.
Though I would probably have put it down to the cats knocking things over.
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We came upon a loud disagreement.
“Rape! Pillage!”
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The perpetrator decided not to stick around.
“She’s all yours mate!”
The cad!
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It’s been so long since I witnessed an English Spring which seems to me the nicest time to see the country.
Spring flowers are special. They represent life re-awakening but they are also amongst my favourite flowers.
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On the West Coast I always knew Spring was coming when trillium appeared on the slope behind my house.
While I lived near Seattle the weather really didn’t change much from season to season.
The whole time I was there, I never wore more than a jacket and despite what people say, I never thought we had all that much rain.
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For brief periods in summer it could be very hot.
Before I lived there I went once on a work assignment and was almost prostrated by the heat.
Generally though, the climate suited me.
Then.
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My shady patio had many wild visitors.
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The windows were covered, at some expense, by bird screens which was a challenge to photography.
The pileated woodpecker was impressive.
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In those days I didn’t know possums liked peanuts but they came to snack on cat kibble that I put out for stray and needy animals.
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The hill was mostly covered in ivy but there were many lovely ferns and I persuaded some heather to grow.
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The clematis was one of my rare success stories though I did rescue a tiny rose that got crushed when the old maple tree came down.
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Father’s Day, June 18th 2011.
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It was an impressive stump.
But I was very sad to lose that tree.
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The raccoon kits wore their mum out.
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The top of the bird bath soon got put on the ground, since that’s where it would have ended up anyway.
The raccoons lived up one of the tall trees beside my bedroom window and they provided endless entertainment.
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With the shade of the maple gone, these ferns and other things grew out of control.
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The hill was a terrible tangle.
There being a busy road nearby, the walkers were strictly supervised.
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“M” had once escaped through a cracked window, jumping 15 feet to the patio and taking himself walk-about.
So he went out on a lead.
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At a fundraiser one year I bid for a lemur encounter at the Cougar Mountain Zoo.
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The lemurs were delightful.
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You could buy a tiger encounter too.
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But no, you didn’t get to feed them.
This is as close as you got.
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The Cougar Mountain Zoo is tiny but the animals are very well looked after.
Those tiger cubs were so beautiful.
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After Panther died I thought a memorial brick would be a good tribute to the cat I loved so much.
Suitably, it is part of the paving in front of the cougar enclosure.
Far too much snow! Hope these aren’t recent.
Oh yes. They are! But it’s gone again now.
That’s a lovely memorial, and being in with the Lemurs must have been very enjoyable.
Best wishes, Pete.
Well, you definitely had pretty flowers in your previous garden. Maybe you inherited some ‘green fingers’ from your mother after all. And you were also always surrounded by animals – that’s amazing. The tiger is quite impressive … but I think I also prefer the smaller critters like lemurs. Oh, and love your memorial brick in honour of Panther – what a beautiful thought.