Ducks, and how they live.

With friend...previously, Mama Duck would chase him away. One time he fell in the pond...

Beginning to fledge...

The ducks are becoming more amusing by the day. They demand food, rushing up whenever we appear - whether outside or even near a window. They dog - or is that 'duck' - my very footsteps, following so closely at my heels that I dare not make any impulsive movement lest I tread on them. Like the baby birds they are, they start screaming for feed, imperatively demanding: cheeping and chirruping, apart from one, the largest, whose plumage is beginning to darken and change colour - along with his voice. It must be somewhat disconcerting to discover that your cheep now resembles a quack.

So the four musketeers spend their days huddled in a group, or rushing across the lawn, or in frantic activity in the pond: ducking and diving, or skeetering across the surface as they chase insects.

They spend their days making me smile.

The Reluctant Entertainer’s Ten Commandments of Hospitality

Lovely title for the Reluctant Entertainer's blog. What great reminders these 10 commandments are! Though I have to confess to feelings of smugness: I have adopted these for years. Nevertheless, I break number 7 frequently and must remember not to do that: it's embarrassing for my guests.  Hmmm.

1. Hospitality is not about you. It's about making others feel warm and welcome.
2. Plan ahead, be organized, and know your recipe. Learn to delegate.
3. Set the mood. Keep ambience and the five senses in mind.
4. Avoid perfectionism. Put fear aside - it's a robber of anything good.
5. Share conversation. Foster friendships by keeping things real.
6. Demonstrate thriftiness. Buying things at cost or learning to pinch pennies makes entertaining attainable on a budget.
7. Don't apologize. It's okay to make mistakes. Learn to not bring them to light in front of your guests; it robs your guests of relaxation.
8. Be creative. Use what you have. Keep things simple.
9. Learn from others. Find mentors and learn to find a healthy balance and keep things real.
10.Life impact is everything. Experience intimacy and meaning in sharing a meal and gleaning from others' lives.

Of ducks, rabbits and other dog substitutes...

Mama and baby - one of eleven, originally...

...growing bigger...

and then there were four...

....beginning to fledge...

...with friend...

...bunny kiss...

Endless Eastertime entertainment...

Mpira

It is just over a year since Mpira died. I still experience the shock - it was so sudden. I suppose it was this week - I don't remember the exact date, save that it was a Monday, although even that has no particular significance. Why remember the date of loss? Better to remember those many days of gain...of love, of affection, of enjoyment, of laughter.

Anyway, we are experiencing spring in a different way without him. Nearly three weeks ago, a mother duck arrived in the garden, eleven tiny ducklings in tow. The numbers quickly diminished - she would take them on a walk, coming back with one or two less each time (cats? crows? just lost? who knows?) - until a week later there were only four.

But those four have stayed. And grown. They are beginning to look like miniature ducks now.

And because Mpira is not here to harass them, I spend my days gazing out of the window, fascinated as they rush across the lawn, between bird feeder and pond. Tiny rabbits eat daisies, barely hopping aside as I go backwards and forwards to the washing line. Tits, greenfinches, robins, chaffinches and goldfinches cluster around the bird feeder, jostling, maneouvring, LIVING...

And flowers have exploded.

Excitement!!

Now, this is just so exciting that I have posted this over on WordsFromGodforToday as well.  I have just stumbled across a tremendous Bible reference site - thanks, Bonnie!  It has parallel translations, cross-references, the context, chain references, commentaries and many different translations such as Bible Gateway has. It has all kinds of other study aids too which I can't even begin to understand!  Interesting that there are different web addresses - I've added them all on here. The author of the sites has many other useful references as well.

And here are more sites: Bible study for children, free online Bible study courses, Bible research...And then there is the largest online Bible study, apparently!

I'm always a little bit careful about what I read on the internet - testing the spirits, and all that - but this does seem to be OK. It looks SOOO exciting!

(Do I want to go back to work after Easter?  There just isn't enough time to do everything!)

A 'mean' day

After the amazing, marvellous, completely wonderful sunshiney weather it's strange to be back to a 'mean' day, as Catharine used to refer to the grey days of a Nairobi August, when temperatures were as low as 14 degrees and we wore sweaters...

But it has had its advantages. 

I've immersed myself in blogs - and blogging. (Most of my blog entries these days seem to be over on WordsFromGodforToday). It's been a good catch up - or the beginning of one, anyway. I'm not done yet.

I've still been outside - a little. Planted out the tiny lettuce and spinach seedlings into pots in the greenhouse, ready for succulent salads in another couple of weeks. Been for a short bike ride, combined with shopping - friends coming next week, so I'm slowly stocking up on things I think teenage boys might like to eat. How satisfying: exercise and saving energy - and time - all in one go!  I love it.

And I've caught up on some school work, which would have been hard to do on an amazingly marvellous sunshiney day.

Thank you, 'mean' day!

Sweet photos

Not sure how to get these off facebook - so here's the link to some wonderful photos from a few years ago. Sweet.