Welcome Wagon - Happy to be Here

Since moving to the 'country' -- (yes, yes, I know I've said it's only 5 mins to town), little things pop up regularly that make me happy to be here.

For example, it's pitch black at night.  Our last house in town had a streetlight right outside our bedroom window.  In Montreal, the house I lived in overlooked a freeway.  I can regularly see stars at night -- well, as regular as it doesn't rain.  There was a full moon last night and it was just picture perfect above the forest in front of the house.  Unfortunately my photography skills are not up to scratch (Add 'master night shot settings' to my 'To Do' list).

The other morning we saw two hares in our yard.  And they didn't just scamper off, they jumped around the backyard for a bit, chased each other, moved back to the side of the house and then finally took their leave.  Alannah was delighted.  I think she thought they were cats though.

And we have a lovely view.  The house is on a little hill and we're the first house on the road so our living room windows have an unobstructed view of the green hills and farms in the distance.  I am caught up in the daily habitual movement of sheep wandering up and down 2 farms I see in the distance.  And I've become fixated on comparing the amount of rain and angle of direction of the drops each time I look out the window when it has been raining (and it has rained a lot since we moved in!).

The last thing I want to mention are the neighbours.  We've had a real lovely welcome from a lot of people living on this road.  Perhaps it helps that we know some of them or know of many of them from around town but we probably know or have met as many people on this road in the last month than we knew in our estate/subdivision in town (and we lived there for seven years!).  Two ladies from down the road dropped by to with the most wonderful welcome basket (and what a basket!) and flowers, I just had to take pictures.

 Gorgeous hydrangeas cut from her garden.  Everyone loves hydrangeas, don't they?!  And she has a lovely varitey that have a pretty blue centre on the white petals that I've not seen before!  And of course in neighbourly fashion, she's offered to make a cutting, set a plant, and give it to me when it's ready for planting (well down the way of course but how kind!)

 Bottle of white wine, homemade coffee cake (DELICIOUS -- thankfully, the walnuts were just decorative and I could eat every bit of the rest of it!), homemade gooseberry jam, and fresh picked veg from her garden.

Selection of veg:  yellow courgettes (even Stephen ate them in the pasta dish I put them into), purple peas, french beans, and garlic.  Let me tell you -- fresh garlic is something else!  So easy to grow and SUCH a difference in taste and freshness!

I am itching to start our own garden now!

And a gorgeous orchid too!