Mexican munchies for lunch

Saturday lunchtime is a much neglected time in which to entertain....Yesterday was such a day.


El viejo was still mopping the floor, grumbling about the new sponge head not picking up enough grubby water, as they started to arrive. Renu beautiful with her amazing black hair. A kohl eyed goddess wrapped around in scarlet. The walls tremble and the floor pulls itself together so that she may pass. A vision of Indian comeliness. All bow before her. She only has to point her red tipped finger and chickens leave their roost, clouds divide and rivers return to the springs that bore them.

Damian fresh faced and beaming in a pea green sweater dreaming of pigs and carrots, peppers for his bride and garlic. Bunches of wild ramsoms spill from his pockets and he brings spring tumbling to us. He carries the health of the nation in his breast pocket. When he tells you to go buy groceries you'd better just do it. There'll be a reason coming...a screaming storm of a reason with its mouth full of nails and hard things. It will spit in your eyes with venom.

Then comes Marisa dancing a samba, twirling and laughing. The guitars of central america serenade her as she crosses the room. The sun come out and light floods the space. Mice run for they know she is avenging. She does not hesitate and is very, very fast.

Michael in his rainbow glides without effort. He is the pot of gold and his dance is a jig wihout compare. When he roars the traffic regrets.

Luckily all of these godly types like to eat and are happy if fed well. I can cook so know how not to anger. They deemed the floor acceptable and took up their seats. The room rocked to their laughter and ice cream calmed the ending.

They left and there was no slaughter. They will come again. Another day.

Winter honeysuckle has flowers

The rain was lashing us this morning when we woke...and the garden birds seem grumpy..
An enormous puffed up bullfinch has winter honeysuckle flowers daubed around his beak like a mucky toddler. The blue tits are keeping him well away from their suspended coconut shell packed with suet and seeds. It's funny as he is three times their size and seems tremendously shy. They on the other hand are like little hiphop dancers leaping from twig to twig with great gusto and energy.
I'd always thought that robins were extremely territorial but they are far less pushy than those bolshy little tits. I mix meal worms in especially for them...I hope they appreciate them.

Chooks update

Well, today my girls went walkabout...I eventually found them gardening out front. They had been very busy scratching up a storm of slugs and snails that had foolishly been trying to sleep the winter out...bit silly to choose flowerpots and crevices within the reach of the girls manicured talons...I heard them all before I saw them...chattering away amongst the bamboo. Then once they saw me...carrying their breakfasts in a dish, they came rushing out to tell me what they had been doing and how well they had done it..then they formed a helter skelter rush to escort me back up to their little house where they threw them selves onto the corn. Three wonderful brown eggs lay in amongst the yellow straw....cheese omelets for lunch..yum.

Keeping chickens is far more rewarding than I thought it was going to be.
When my parents bought 500 of the little darlings back in 1972 they were a complete nightmare...seriously ykk. Hen pecked is a real expression....and well observed. They were beastly birds all with evil in their eyes..Alfred Hitchcock would have loved them. Murderers everyone of them....apart from the victims...who died gruesome deaths. The job lot came with the small holding and we all naively thought they would be fun! Hah.....Not one solid path was there to push the wheelbarrow of feed along...only knee deep mud and my poor little mum was only 5'2".....she'd practically disappear. We moved in on December 6th and it rained everyday for about 6 weeks.

That first Christmas morning my father went down to collect the eggs and found one solitary offering. This he placed in his pocket and you guessed it...as soon as he got back in the kitchen he sat on it. At least it was cause for mirth. A little later that same Christmas day we had all settled down for the traditional festive lunch when the calm was shattered by a phone call to let us know that all of our horses...knewly moved to the pasture, had found gaping holes that had previously remained hidden..everyone of the had trotted off down to the village to explore...Ahh happy days.

But my three little lovelies are a constant delight and so affectionate. They are called after three other lovely thespian ladies. Helen, Meryl and Judy...and they are such characters...the bossy one is Helen.

There's a new bird on the branch...

Very stylish in black, grey and white.....the tits don't seem to mind sharing. It's a coal tit....
periparus ater don't you know. It's 4.50pm and still light enough for them all to be singing away.

Another

Oh god...yet another distraction!!!!