July 4th Weekend

I slept in late on Saturday and lay listening to the birds and relishing the fact that I could hear no traffic, no sirens, no shouting, no thundering on stairwells, no car doors, nothing except the melodious sounds of nature. I was truly relaxed. But eventually the master of the house insisted that I rise up and at least fill his bowl with breakfast and open the door so he could take his morning preamble around the garden. Undaunted I slowly sorted out Kota, made a cup of tea and then went back to bed to read and ready myself for the day.
I eventually made it out the door to go buy provisions for a BBQ. MJ and Martin came over for the first time and Rob came up also. MJ & Martin both loved the house and I think MJ will bring her camera on the next visit. We had a great feast which luckily we chose to eat inside as while we were still eating the heavens opened and a monster storm rolled around the area. It was wonderful to just sit and watch while we chatted and had dessert.
I took no photos during the whole day or the next but once Kota and I were on our own again we took a stroll back down to the pond, a routine we've got into most evenings, and the camera came along.

The fish in the pond have got used to their visitors so much that when people arrive they come close, knowing that there's a container of food in a nearby tree that will be opened when folk arrive. I couldn't believe this chap who for a moment I thought was going to climb out on to the bank and get the container himself.

 

A stink bug. When I moved in to Meadow House, I had been warned that these bugs would be prolific but I haven't been as repelled as I thought I would. I've had a few in the house, vacuumed one up by mistake but have not experienced 'the stink'. i know in some areas they cause a lot of distress. I'm lucky not to have that problem.

Kota once again insisted on being carried some of he way home, especially up the hilly part. He's got it made, he really has, but I'm very relieved that he's settled in so well and seems to love his new terrain. We both do.