Here comes the sunshine.

Driving through the rocks in Yosemine National Park California

Young Stag  seen on Bear Mountain Tehachapi



27^th September

It will be the 1st October this weekend and we are having a mini heat wave, its been cold and wet,  horrendous rain most of September and now the sun is beating down. The weather is just crazy . It hasn’t taken me long to fall into my usual routine, and meeting up with friends and neighbours it's nice to know that I have been missed. I eventually gave up on the garden it was totally beyond me, it seemed to get more overgrown every time I looked out. I blame the jet lag but never the less I don’t regret seeking out a gardener who has worked wonders and will be coming every fortnight to lovingly tend both my gardens. No more will I be a slave to the ever growing, green green grass of home, it feels truly liberating.. I really can’t recall what I have been doing these past weeks since I got home as I developed a nasty cold soon after getting home. Someone on the plane had a rather persistent cough that apparently passed on to me. Spent most of the first week in bed dosed up with cough syrup and flue remedies.Thankfully I am much better now and the coughing has stopped. It’s such a relief to sleep right through the night and not wake up feeling rough. I have been out enjoying the sunshine today, shopping and lunch. Nothing has changed much in the town, apart from a couple of major shops being renovated, which is good as too many empty shops around town makes the place look rather sad. The economy is still precarious, jobs are hard to find and Bolton Council are still deliberating on the cuts to public services to save £50 million in the next five years. The European Common Market is in turmoil again, Greece is bankrupt for the second time in as many years and wants bailing out again, I am so glad we didn’t adopt the Euro. Ah well it will soon be Christmas and all that retail hype starts again, Christmas cards are already in the shops.
I  am looking forward to  going up to Knaresborough this weekend to see Stue and family it seems ages since I saw them ,I hope its still sunny so we can take Bob for a walk by river.
Bye for now
Love you all.

The River Nidd Knaresborough

Yosemite National Park

Gee up

Chilling out



Gosh where does the time go, four weeks ago I was preparing for my trip to California and now I am back home after spending another wonderful visit with my dear friends Leslie and David in Tehachapi . I was over there in 2006 and little has changed, the people are as generous and welcoming as always. Leslie and David are so special I miss them already. It was good to be in the sun for a while but boy it can get hot, since coming home they have been under threat of fires and evacuation. Thankfully this threat has  now past, but will always be a present danger during these hot dry summers throughout California. Stayed a few days in Oakhurst a town outside Yosemite National Park in a superb summer home ideally set in the area of mountains forests and streams, kindly loaned to us by their friends Barbara and Rick. Yosemite is very impressive with huge, I mean gigantic, rocks, forests and streams, a wonderful area of wilderness to explore, loved it. Another brilliant memory will be, me on a horse for the first time. I was amazed how easy it was after years in fear , I will certainly be looking around for another horse to ride.
Soon after I arrive home its  back to reality, it has been  raining persistently for weeks but my garage roof is looking good, no more leaking roof  thats one nightmare over. My apples look good they are a deep red  and seem to be hanging in there, not as many falling this year. Because some are so high in the tree, without help I have to wait until they fall to gather them but with this heavy rain its been impossible to harvest them, ah well most of them will be for cooking and freezing anyway. The grass is knee high too but I am not fazed as it’s a common thing in this weather the grass just loves the rain. I am just about at one with the various digital equipment around the house, it takes me a while to remember and be comfortable with the many different codes required by TV, recorder, phones, computer, microwave and alarm system and I expect others are hidden around the house, its an age thing… as much as I love going away, its always good to be home.