Angus is up at five to talk to folks in Palo Alto. The G7 meeting is over. Everyone will call it a triumph but quite how the leading democracies could fail to come up with a suitably strong condemnation of the Uyghur genocide is less than reassuring.
Conversation over Sophie arrives in the kitchen. She would say hello but this morning she's wondering if there's anything on the kitchen counter that might be edible . In particular she'd like to know what's happened to last nights roast chicken. She makes it quite clear where my attention should be focused.
We have a start of day croissant and coffee in the drive thru bakers car park. It's already 18 degrees and its only six am. I park the big Volvo in the shade and quickly pop into the greengrocers. At the cheese counter a plaster model of a lamb is advertising a special on sheeps cheese. Sadly, the plaster lamb has lost an ear which gives it a doleful air. The plaster lambs coat is really quite spectacular and is worthy of a work of art. What a wonderful piece of advertising . Beauty and mundanity combined.
Todays pineapple selection comes from Togo, Benin, Kenya, Ghana and La Reunion. The La Reunion ' Queen Victoria' pineapples are delicious but are half the size and double the price of the others. The problem is once you've tasted this variety anything else is just a pineapple.
Down in the valley a group of onion pickers are up and about. Usually at this time of the year the fields are solid with agricultural workers from Senegal and Morocco. This year, for the second season in a row, they are notable by their pandemic induced absence. The full ramifications of this disease , economically and politically, have not yet been felt.
A new bird feeder for the sparrows in the garden :https://www.twentytwentyone.com/products/silo-bird-feeder-2020
8 comments:
That plaster lamb reminds me of Charlie's coat when he's wet. He likes to be wet as often as possible and is enjoying the rainy season far more than the rest of us. He's also just realized that we water the plants twice a day in the summer and that he, too, can be "watered". It's an amazing coat - he gets soaking wet but doesn't drip and then he's dry in a half an hour. I spent my lunch time watching the PON and toy poodle finals at the Westminster dog show. I always feel a bit sorry for the PONs, as it is not their nature to be spotless and flowing. Thank you for linking the Israeli national anthem. I've also never heard it before, but it felt quite appropriate to the moment.
I used to live near Thika, a big pineapple region. Nothing can compare to truly fresh pineapple. To find a good one, don't bother with picking off a leaf; instead it should smell good. Use the leaves as a handle while trimming it.
Hari OM
I hear ya about the pines... same with mangoes. Once you've eaten an Alphonso, all others are insipid. (And here in the UK - I despair...) The lamb's adorable. I'd give it a home, but then I think about the dust-collecting nature of that very fine 'wool'...8~[] YAM xx
The plaster lamb looks as though it has been to the hairdresser for a curly perm - in fact Inca doesn't look too dissimilar after her shower this morning!
Fresh pineapples have suddenly disappeared from my usual supermarket, and all we're left with is ready prepared in a plastic container from the chiller section. Very easy and better than tinned, but they just don't taste the same. Pineapple is one of my favourite fruit, so I have to make do.
The greengrocers also has pineapple in plastic containers but it seems to be covered in a thick syrupy preservative that would put you off pineapples for life. It is one of those fruits that is incredibly good for you.
How wonderful to have a dog that doesn't 'drip'. I can't believe the radio played the Israeli national anthem because of the change in Prime Minister ... but, hey, who knows ?
In Scotland stick it outside in the garden for ten minutes and the wind would scour it clean of dust.
...LOL - and the rain woud sort the rest!!! Yxx
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