Aren't they gorgeous? This beautiful pair were making short work of my sunflowers this summer - I wonder if they were the same pair who visited the flowers the previous summer? Nothing like coming back for a good feed! Fortunately there was plenty for them and it's well worth losing a few kernels to have these beauties visit every day.

Girl's best friend...

our little fellow...hard to believe this is just before he turned 6 months old. "Such a gentleman" was what the breeder said, and he is. Very gentle, well-behaved and intelligent - but still able to raise merry hell when he feels like it (like spending 2-3 weeks entertaining himself by demolishing 1 pot a day over that period. Admittedly, they had been sitting in the garden for 2 years, empty apart from old soil, and I HAD been meaning to throw them away, but I'm sure he didn't know that!).

He's slipped into our lifestyle so easily, and apart from missing us like crazy when we're at work (which hopefully he'll adjust to as he gets older), he is no trouble.

We wouldn't be without him.

Summer Rains

There's something special about summer rains, whether it's a light sprinkling or a full downpour with serious intent to get everything wet. And something about the size of the droplets conjours up particular images. My favourite is the large fat drop that makes a splodge when it lands. Nothing can compare with standing out in the midst of it, and letting cold drops fall on warm skin...