After a good deal of thought, Marcia
and I have decided that the time has come to downsize and move a bit
closer to civilisation (using that word in the loosest of
definitions). The problem is that buying and selling property is
right up there with divorce and bereavement when it comes to stress.
And then, right out of the blue, some long standing friends of ours
(we have known them for about twenty-five years) on hearing of our
thoughts told us that the tenant in a property they own had just
left. The property was about to be completely redecorated and would
we like to rent it while we sorted ourselves out?
There is only one sensible answer to
such a question and so we put this place on the market. Whether or
not we shall sell it I have no idea (it is not the best of times to
be selling property) but it went on the market on Wednesday and we
have had two couples come to view it: fingers crossed. Then we can
draw breath and decide on what we want to do.
Yesterday a parcel of books arrived:
five copies of The Summer House as published in the US by Tom Dunne
Books (an imprint of St Martin's Press). They are truly beautiful.
Once again the Americans have used a painting by Vitali Komarov on
the cover. Marcia likes his work so much that we bought one of his
originals. If you want to check out his work he has a web site:
http://www.komarovart.com/
THE TADPOLE TIMES
Last week I said that 'things are on
the move'. It turns out that was a vast understatement. Once these
fellows started to grow legs and turn into proper little froglets,
there seems to be no holding them. Most have now been released back
in the top pond and about a hundred are still with us – including
the tiniest of all.
I have no real idea why it should be
but we do seem to have had more fatalities this year than is usual.
Even so, I reckon the exercise was well worth doing as at least
eighty per cent have survived and that is far, far more than would be
case had they been left in the pond.
I suspect this will be the last tadpole
times for this year – the others will have gone within the week. As
to whether we shall be talking about them again next year I have no
idea: it will depend entirely on where we are when the time comes.
