LEO THE LEAPER

 After I'd written that title, it occurred to me that it could be confusing... the word leo can be traced back to both Greeks and Romans as meaning lion.

Also from Latin and meaning leaper is salmo, which, when we add an 'n' we get the fish, known for its prowess in battling currents to swim upstream to mate.  

Still with me? I'll leave ancient languages and get to the story...

Leo, our cat, was given the moniker by RSPCA staff when he was  trapped. Hunger and pain finally saw him caught and when the RSPCA veterinarian saw him he said amputation of the fractured front leg was the only option.

So, back to us calling him "Leaping Leo." My god! That cat can cover some ground at speed. And he can, indeed, leap. But the landing can be a bit bruising as he found out when he didn't have the grip to "stick the landing" when he tried to leap onto the kitchen bench!

But he has found a work-around for everything he needs to do, even litter box needs.

The work-around that astounds us most is that he washes his face using a back foot! He snugs into a corner of a big old arm chair, hugs a back leg up to his face, licks it and wipes it over his face. And it's a proper wash, not just a lick-and-a-promise.

Of course, I couldn't manage to get a photo of this, could  I!

But here he is...

A couple of pics from the garden...

French lavender and basil

An abutilon, encroaching from a neighbouring garden; I'm not discouraging it!

The showery weather continues and the laundry piles up. Good reading weather!

ABOUT INAPPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR...

The matter has been/continues to be a somewhat prickly issue for some of us. 

I'm talking about the devil-spawn things called crocs that come off the assembly line with HOLES in them. Big holes. Totally inappropriate for garden wear. 

My choice for crossing the lawn to hang laundry or pick fruit or flowers? Clogs! I did have two pairs of proper clogs, made by a proper Klompenmaker, which saw me through many years of gardening.

My current clogs are not made of wood, but they slip on easily and are a very ladylike pink. So there! 

Here's James Hay clogging along...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT9naCq0fdE

We had a few blustery days (and nights) which is to be expected around the Equinox. The freesias were blown flat on their long, straight stems! So that's another reason to find some old-fashioned ones! The main reason? Their scent.

I don't have much to say; domestic issues are priority. Oh! And essential shopping...cat food, wine, people food, hair cuts...(and there will NOT be photographic evidence of that!)

I'll leave you with the plum tree, leafing-out now and scattering her white confetti over the laundry...

WHAT WERE THE "GOOD OLD DAYS" ?

 I'm serious! 

I've heard some people say this when they're referring to last year's sports team or the early "James Bond" movies. Back in the mid 1960s there was a song about them good ol' days...

https://www.google.com/search?q=RA-RA+RUMBLE+SEATS+AND+RUNNING+BOARDS

I can't speak with authority on dime-a-dance girls, but running boards? Oh yeah! If you don't understand you can go to that bottomless pit of knowledge https://www.google.com/search?q=pre-war+running+boards 

Whenever I stayed on a family farm it was a squabble between us kids for the right to ride the board and jump off to open-and-shut gates. And a running board was the ideal tea-pot stand at picnics. I'd bet a sizeable chunk of the house-keeping money that kids don't even consider that these days.

Moving on from running boards...something else that became popular in the 50s/60s was record clubs. If you didn't have access to music shops you could sign-up to monthly selections from a club. Most outfits that hopped on this money-wagon were pretty good in that they offered modern music and well-known artists.

My father and I were members of the same club and, between us, we built quite a comprehensive collection, from classical to popular. 

Of course, this collection of 12" LPs required a fair bit of space. Dad built a writing desk with storage for LPs in a double-cupboard below the desk. It didn't take long to fill that!

So then Dad bought a radiogram. (stereo console or hi-fi cabinet in North America.) And that space didn't last long either! About the same time he extended the sitting room by about 10x12 '  and bought a newer, bigger radiogram; this one also featured a reel-to-reel tape recorder which could be disconnected from the main unit and taken elsewhere (eg. my bedroom!)

The next "Big Thing" to come was, wait for it, wait for it....

Television! We lived in a district that did NOT have good reception; images shuddered, there was more "snow" than image and when you did finally get a reasonable picture it was some god-awful soap opera, with more advertising than entertainment!

So, back to this post's title...were they really good days? I'd hazard a guess that most of us oldies would answer "sometimes."  

Oh, I've just remembered something else that has changed...back then, there was NO SUNDAY broadcast. 

And now, for a complete flip of the switch...newspapers, TV, radio broadcasts over-the-fence chit-chat is mostly taken up with politics. We have a General Election coming up...I'd better find something more cheerful...!

  

 

THE SEASON'S CHANGE...

Sometimes, when the rain is sleet-y and the wind does its best to rip your clothes off, you wonder if winter will ever bugger off...

And then, there are days like today, when the sun shines enough to make the wind feel just "brisk." And, despite the meteorologist's forecast of rain, you go ahead and do some laundry, taking a punt on the sunshine.

I snapped a few pics, too...

The magnolia's last hurrah...now more leaf than petal

...and some plum blossom buds

And a daffodil

Not a lot to tell you as I'm sure you don't want the minutiae of domestic stuff! 

Last week a chap came and installed a new FM aerial on the roof (no, we didn't tackle that...at 80+ years that job's best left to the fellow with the insurance cover!) and bro-in-law has just been here with his hi-fi radio which we connected and proved that that part of the system is working. Next? Probably take our radio to an expert for fixing. And fingers are crossed that it will be fixed as it is a part of the whole system and it would bug me if we had to muck up the "look" of things!

Now, while the sun's still shining I might nip down to the library...and The Man tells me the wine is getting low!

STILL STUMBLING ALONG...

...but maybe making some progress!

Because we've had some nippy frosts, I thought I'd better brave the elements and snap some pics before Ol' Jack bit things.

A lovely red pelargonium (geranium to many of you!)

Some pretty "weeds"

A lone hyacinth...

One Dutch iris...

Agapanthus

Some pretty weeds...

A basket of pansies I abandoned in ferociously hot and windy weather...they done come back, ma'm! 

I have a few daffs, but they're in shade at the moment...maybe I'll update this later with more pics...

I'VE HAD ANOTHER MOVEMENT!

 Yes, I'm back where I started. It takes too much mental energy to figure out what Wordpress is up to these days! (And I suspect that my mental energy tank is draining faster than I like!)

But I think I'll pootle along here and see how we manage.

For a winter's day we are having some fabulous sunshine. The Man's brother scored a bagful of orchids when a house site was being cleared. He just politely asked the chap on the bulldozer if he could have the orchids. Obliging 'dozer man switched off his engine and said: "Go for it!"

Several have flower spikes so who knows what will appear!

Not a lot to tell you so I'll get the laundry in and think about tonight's supper...

MY SINGULAR FOXGLOVE

 

This is my only foxglove...but I'm hoping to have more next year! In the in-between times, pop across and drool over our mutual friend's offerings. sigh...even if they are behaving badly!

https://inexplicabledevice.blogspot.com/2026/07/foxgloves-behaving-badly.html

Mr J. Frost has paid us a couple of visits, just to remind us that we are no longer in the tropics!And not a problem to the giant Magnolia towering high above the spa!

    Nor the old lemon stalwart...

Today I bought some Maori  potatoes; the Big Store didn't have a full range of the varieties, but these should do us nicely
                                         
                                                    

These have purple-y skins and creamy flesh; good for roasting, according to the label. And while I was there, I also bought a gro-bag, which should be easier on my elderly muscles when it comes time to harvest the spuds! 

                                             

So that was the morning's outing. Hopefully Ol' Jack will be headed well north by August so we might have Christmas spuds!

And that's about it for now.