No fox?

I am very cross with Gail.

Yesterday I overheard her telling our friend and neighbour Kirsty that she'd seen a fox strolling down the road, bold as brass in broad daylight, when she took me for a late afternoon walk around the block earlier in the week. 

GAIL SAW A FOX AND SHE DID NOT TELL ME!

I hope that when you are getting on in life, and have lost your hearing and a good part of your sight* your human will not take advantage of the fact to keep you in ignorance of certain very exciting encounters when you go for a stroll together.

Anyway, I insisted Gail take me out again, same route, same time, and introduce me to the new local resident and maybe get his photo, but I'm afraid all I have to show you from that walk is some of the flowers in our neighbourhood front gardens.

Which frankly is not nearly so interesting as a fox, but will have to do for this week.

Fuchsia

Japanese anemone

Sweet pea

Hydrangea

Dahlia

Potentilla

Happy Nature Friday friends! And thanks once again to Rosy and the rest of the LLB Gang. Enjoy their blog hop.

*Gail says: I'm afraid Bertie has reached the "He is deaf and three parts blind" verse of Rudyard Kipling's poem 'His Apologies".

Neighbourhood Christmas news in 2020...

So on Sunday afternoon I accompanied Gail on her annual short walk around the neighbourhood to deliver local Christmas cards. I donned my Nordic pullover in an endeavour to inject some (Gail said much needed) festive cheer into the proceedings.

It worked! A few paces up the road we ran into our friend Yvonne's daughter Leah. She stopped and admired my attire. I take this as a high compliment 'cos Leah is these days a very chic young lady,  home for Christmas from her Paris-based job. Leah looked puzzled when Gail expressed hope that she would get back to France OK in the New Year. We think she'll by now have heard the news about the new Covid variant and the borders closing.

Just around the corner, we handed a card to our elderly friend Martin, who was twiddling with the fairy lights in his front garden. Martin's wife has a lung condition and has been shielding all year, and this sociable pair will not be hosting their usual Hogmanay party. Neither will anyone else it seems, at least not legally. 

A little further on, we felt a bit sad to pass the entrance to the house which used to belong to Max and Ros, a lovely couple who moved away to Ilkley in Yorkshire earlier in the year. By now it was 3:30 pm and getting dark. The new residents have done a fine job with their decorations (that's the house pictured above) but we miss Max and Ros. Gail had hoped we could visit them back in the summer. Maybe 2021...

Finally we saw a neighbour whom we won't name. He was loading up presents to deliver to his two beloved grandchildren who live about 150 miles away in Peebles. He shouldn't really be doing this according to our latest restrictions, but he assured Gail he was handing over the presents in his daughter's front garden, and would not enter their house. 

It took well over an hour to complete this newsy half mile walk, and on returning home we reflected on the odd times in which we now live.    

Rudolph the Red Nosed Tesla

Gail and I are thinking you might like to see how the Festive Season is shaping up in our neck of the woods. 

Let's go for a wee stroll around the neighbourhood.

Aberdonians are not in general given to ostentatious display. Here, the low key but lovely tradition is to put a Christmas tree in one's bay window, so it can be admired from the street. 

 

Of course, there's always one household that doesn't quite grasp the concept of the modest and tasteful display.

And what did we find right next door to this extravaganza? Oh dear, I fear someone might be feeling rather deflated, having been outshone by the competition...

The local paper shop has made a bit of an effort. Gail says anything to distract from content of the newspapers this year is probably a good idea...

Further along the street, we see a practical illustration of the proposition that in the UK, worship of the Health Service has become the national religion.

Gail and I are both rather fond of this cheerful reindeer fellow, all poised to greet visitors to the house a few doors up from ours. He may not be aware that household mixing is banned right now.

Nearby, another reindeer, rather a pretty one, is shyly prancing behind net curtains in an upstairs window. 

And finally, we are proud to present our new close neighbour, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Tesla, surely the coming thing in environmentally friendly present delivery. 

Sadly, he appears only to have one antler.