The Boys Next-door

 

Four friendly lads have moved in, to be our new neighbours. They are friendly, but don’t say much. Reserved, a  little shy at first, but now talk over the fence every day. No loud parties, no alcohol, not even a speeding car to be seen. Into bed early at night, and up at sunrise.

How lucky could we be, to have friends like this.

Biggles and Gatsby arrived a few weeks earlier, checked out the accommodation, and told the other two lads to hurry up and come.

Their names will be posted when I remember them???

Alpacas  are highly socialised, and need other alpacas for company, and these four show that so well. The  wethers that arrived a few weeks after the two  boys, have made  up this wonderful group.In the hot afternoons, they  all lie in a shady spot, not far from each other, and are so tame, you can feed them by hand . In a photo below, Orlando had just finished his meal, not Tip Top Ice-cream, but at a guess , alpaca nuts. They are allowed 1/2 cup each day.

   

 

 

See, I am just as pretty from behind!!!

If you hover the  mouse arrow on each photo, a title will show. The boys all hum, and hummm and hummmmm when I go and talk to them, Maybe a video one day when they are vocal.

Quotation of the day, author unknown,

The Alpaca Motto “ Where you go, I’ll go too”

Greetings from Jean

We are ready for cold days in 2014

 

The firewood has been split, and stacked, thrown onto a huge pile, to dry out before going into the shed…we did not take any shortcuts this time!!! The smaller pile nearest the big tree is chippy wood, smaller, and will dry sooner.This little firebox heats the hot water, and all the hallway too.

The next photo was taken in the late afternoon sunshine, west is to the right hand side of the pile of wood.

Beautiful colours in the flowers this week.           

Quotation of the day,from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I hear the wind among the trees
Playing the celestial symphonies;
I see the branches downward bent,
Like keys of some great instrument.

Greetings from Jean

Another Ginger Boy

 

No photos yet, we have a wandering boy??( not identified as such yet) at our place. Large, Ginger and white, and very fluffy. He comes in at 10.30 p.m. samples left -overs on Felicity’s plate, wanders to our bedroom, nibbles her biscuits, then strolls out again.Hugh thinks we should adopt him.

I wonder what Tom would think, as he adopted us, and strolled in and out for some years.

Quotation of the day, from Charles Dickens

“What greater gift than the love of a cat?”

Greetings from Jean

Birds of Paradise

 

 

 

  For all you bird lovers, this is a video with the most amazing photos. The link was on the “ Ugly Hedgehog ” photography forum. Photos courtesy of the internet.  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/REP4S0uqEOc

Quotation of the day, from Victor Hugo

  “The soul has illusions as the bird has wings:

it is supported by them.”

Greetings from Jean

Weather Warnings!!

This morning on our TV, photos showed huge snowfalls, hazardous driving conditions and plummeting temperatures. Warnings of all kinds, from west to east, and all places in-between.

Take care, all my friends in the North, wrap up warmly, drive safely, keep those fires burning.

Quotation of the day,author unknown

“ No matter what the weather,

friends will always bring sunshine to your day”

Greetings from Jean

My Entry has gone in!!

 

Today was a little like sitting an exam, spell check, word count, photo collage, and then I didn’t manage to get each of your photos in  , there was a limit to the size,  I hope no-one will be too disappointed at that.   One photo you might not recognize from any of our blogs, MT Shooter in his motorbike gear, he is a friend on the “ Ugly Hedgehog” photography forum!! He lives in Montana, and YES, has  a shop with  cameras and accessories for sale. So a “must visit”..And I could not write  about  every place, with only 500 characters, I had to edit and re-edit,  I  finally squeezed in  with 500!!!

Many thanks to each of you who sent emails with a photo attached.There are so many exciting entries, maybe thousands, or more , I didn’t see a number anywhere.

To be truthful, I would be happy to win, but scared at the same time.Is that possible? I think I have had enough excitement here for one week. Firewood took a well earned rest, friends came, we talked to the friendly male alpacas who live  behind our back fence, I hummed, they hummed back, we stood and laughed at their curiosity . Enjoyment for the day, on both sides of the fence.

__________________________________________________________

“ Friends at all Compass Points”

From a dream to reality, from NZ to Alaska, to Florida, and all in between. My blog friends and I share so much, the written words and photos; to meet them, see the wonderful scenery, and the wildlife, would be the most exciting experience of my life. Alaskan snow, Yukon landscapes, Colorado Mountains, Nova Scotia coastline and scenery, Kentucky ranches, and more, wait for me and the GoPro team, to visit and capture on video and camera. This is a tantalizing glimpse of my dream adventure.

________________________________________________________

Quotation of the day, by John Bunyan

“You have not lived today

until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”

Greetings from Jean

The Firewood is in the Shed, Hip-Hip-Hooray

 

At this time of the year,  trees are felled, cut into rounds, then split, dried, and stacked away in the shed for the next year’s fires. This is the way it should be done, all in good time, not rushed in a single day!!!

 

Today, Hugh took one almighty shortcut, saving many hours of the work involved.

The tree is in the shed.  do you see that BLUE air above? It fell the wrong way, Hugh ran to safety, we all heard the loudest crash, and  suddenly, the wood is  in the shed, the roof is demolished, as well as part of the back wall.

There is a huge mess to clean up, some building repairs, and plenty of firewood.

Spring flowers continue to bloom with bright colours, sending hearty cheer to those in  the far north.

A red poppy, pink day lily, dark red Alstromeria, and a very tall foxglove,  which is over  3 metres ( at least 10 feet) tall.

  

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“ True friends walk with us in sunshine,

and in the shadows of the tall trees”

Greetings from Jean