The gremlins

I read on a couple of other blogs that the requirement for word verification to leave a comment has been appearing on their blogs.  Turns out the gremlin has visited me, too.  Nice to know I haven't been left out I suppose.  I checked and word verification is definitely turned off but I tried what Tabor suggested and the comment goes through if you just ignore the verification thingy.  

I slipped my little Canon Powershot camera into my pocket yesterday, just in case I saw something I wanted to photograph but not really expecting to.  To my surprise I discovered there were a few shots on it so just had a look.  Not having a good memory is not all bad news.  It means that sometimes you get a nice surprise.  Now I've seen the photos I remember that when I was in Australia in August it started to rain as I stood at the entry to my grandparents old home when I went "up the creek" from Laidley, up the valley where both my parents grew up, where my grandparents lived for so many years, the place I think of as my spiritual home.   

 I spotted Uncle George's old shed through the trees.  Old sheds always appeal to me and I often wonder how old they are, what purpose they served.  I know the purpose of this one years ago, it was a comparatively cool haven on fiercely hot days when we were sorting freshly dug potatoes; I know that much.  That was back in the days when children were expected to pitch in and work alongside their relatives.  Potatoes, pumpkins or onions were stored there until the truck arrived to transport them to the markets.  I don't know how old it is but it's been there all my life anyway.

I moved around to get a broader view to include Uncle George's old house.  That rain I just mentioned was gone in minutes, of no use whatsoever to that parched earth.

As well as the nice surprises that are sometimes revealed there are other total surprises and mysteries.   I have absolutely no recollection of this and no idea what it can be.  Pretty though.

 

 

Two weeks to Christmas, one week till I head off to Taranaki.  I'm all prepared but keep thinking there's something I've forgotten, I can't possibly be so well organised.  90% of my gifts I've made myself - being retired is fantastic!