HAPPY NEW WEEK!
I hope everyone has a joyful week. The Brood X cicadas were screaming today on my patch. About a week ago, I noticed some big holes at the bottom of my trees. Various critters dig holes in my yard, so I didn't think much about it. Since then, I've seen articles about some of last year's Brood X cicadas popping up this year. Apparently, some of the bugs, called "stragglers," decided to sleep in, and they're appearing this year instead of last year. In most cases, it's because our soil didn't warm up to the required 64 degrees Fahrenheit until too late to wake them up in 2021. So, some of the noisy screechers decided to hit their snooze alarm and climb out this year instead!
Morning all: Not much to report here. I did watch the jubilee festivities and can understand why the Queen at her age decided to stay home for some of them. The Sky broadcast of the parade was okay but it seemed spotty (the broadcast) in that the sound wasn't great and they were talking about things they weren't showing and I could've lived without the celebrity interviews on the buses. Still, the early parts, with the uniformed services and the horses was as usual the very best along those lines. When they all went in from the balcony, they must've been thinking 'Thank God that's over!" I wonder how long it takes the Queen to get ready (make up, dressed, etc.) for all her appearances. That alone would wear me out.
Oh yes, forget to say that I have a sticker of the rear passenger window of my car of the Queen waving.. It's getting smiles from people and the other day a man came over to me in the car park and said his daughter is the nanny for Harry's and Meghan's kids. He said she was in London for the festivities and though working hard, was having a wonderful time.
Rusty: Do hope you have a good trip north and that you'll be able to make it to Loch Garten.
Lindybird: God that ride up the coast of Scotland sounds awful. Thanks for the info on suite location on board! I'll remember that for my next cruise. :-))
OG; What's the next step for J re his eyesight?
Did manage to spend a lot of time on light-ish garden work and at least I don't cringe when I go out front now. We're having to cut back on water usage so we're back to small buckets in the sink to catch rinse water, etc. Was really hot yesterday but - hurray! - I see the marine layer is creeping in which should keep things cooler.
Next Instalment: I promise it will be less grim from now on!
After a (rather forgettable) day at sea on the Friday, Saturday 28th May dawned. Literally, as I staggered out of bed at about 4.30am! and muttered to my OH "We've arrived!" as I could see the first bits of land for a while. We had seen ghostly outlines of North Scotland for a bit the day before, then it became just endless sea.
We were just at the beginning of a massive fjord, which eventually was visible on both sides of our window. I dozed for a bit, then we made some tea- they supplied a kettle and mugs, and I'd packed our favourite teabags and some dried milk powder as we hate that awful UHT stuff they give you.
The first waterfall we saw, pic taken through a damp window.
It's the Nordfjord, which I guess is Norwegian for 'North Fjord' . We were told it was 11 degrees C.
It drizzled a little at breakfast. But I loved the tiny hamlets we passed. They looked peaceful and clean, somehow. We arrived at about 7.00am and looked excitedly to see where we were. We weren't booked for an excursion and just wanted to walk around and get some fresh air! It had stopped raining.
We found a tiny road train, that is, a sort of tractor with two carriages which promised to take us down the tiny local roads and around a small lake, with good views and a guide who would describe local life and history. He was excellent. This is a famous church which was on the site of a very ancient church indeed. He said that he had once been to a funeral service there in winter when it was 30 degrees below freezing - there was no heating in the church and they were so cold that their breath made a misty cloud in the church, and he could hear the sound of the ministers teeth rattling!
Going past the lake.
So peaceful.
We stood on a modern bridge, and everyone wanted a picture of this really old, disused bridge across the river which fed the lake.