Got the sad news yesterday that I will not be receiving a visit from my friend Sandy MacKenzie. Will miss him, but hope he has a good time in Japan and Thailand.
My front yard continues to evolve. I thought that I had the bank problem pegged with the rats, but wrongo rodent breath. I was letting the cat out a couple of weeks ago around 1900. As I turned to come back into the house, I saw something moving in the drainage ditch. It stopped and hid under the door step. I just caught sight of the back and the tail. A HUGE f**ing bandicoot. It was as big as a muskrat. The tail alone was about 2 feet long and as thick as two of my fingers put together at the base. I am in fear for my cat as the thing is almost bigger than she is. However, after the spotting and I jumped up and down on the step to really freak it out, it seems to have disappeared. Keeping my fingers crossed.
We had a beautiful vine growing on the wall between our house and the neighbour's garage. It gives off lovely bunches of fuzzy tri-leaved white flowers and had lovely big fuzzy leaves. It had spread over the roof of the garage where it was quite lovely. The neighbour lady got it into her head that she should cut off the stuff growing on her garage roof. She did. Happily, she gave us the flowers she had cut down.
One vase for the kitchen
The flowers up close
The vine
One vase for the entry hall
One bowl of flowers for the front room
Some for my bedroom along with a ginger flower
One flower
On Thursday, I came home after a long day of a movie at Deanne's, lunch at the Amaya Hill Hotel, picking up my printer, buying wine, going to the bank, picking up my new iPad, paying bills at Food City, picking up laundry at Mahaweli Reach Hotel (after waiting interminably), to find that the whole vine had fallen down. The top had been so weakened by the part on the garage being cut, that the whole thing had collapsed. Really stupid idea on the part of neighbour. Not only is our wall now ugly, but all you see of her garage roof is the hideous asbestos. Of course, it had to be cleaned up. My landlady and I were angsting about how we were going to get that done. Luckily, she managed to glom onto a workman I see around a lot to come and do it.
Jaywardene knee deep in vine
The wall looks really bad now the vine is gone. The ivy will grow back rapidly though, and I have a lot more light in my kitchen.
I got tired of having to change the water in the vases for the flowers, so it put them dried into the hideous old aquarium in my verandah.
Can't really see it, but believe me it looks a lot better than before.
On that note, my verandah is finished. Of course, it took longer than expected, but they did a great job. My friend Jayanthi's husband, Anand acted as the contractor and was great. Now instead of a leaking asbestos roof, I have a dry tin one. We have had two good downpours to test it out and happily, no leaks. Next Friday, October 7 will see the verandah inaugurated with a lunch.
Now all the hammocks are out
The dining area
The bar with my office behind it
The aquarium
My breakfast area
The Crested Serpent Eagle has made my mango tree a regular home. I don't know if it is male or female, but in any event there is now a baby. I can hear the parent(s) calling to the baby from the nest across the paddy field. You may have to zoom in to see these pics, but it is worth it.
The snakes continue to invade. Always a crate and a small one at that. I did find out from Clare that there is a non-poisonous snake that looks exactly like a crate. Who knows which one these are, but if they show up, they are dead.
This one was under the cabinet at the front entrance
Swimming is back on track after about a 10 day absence due to having to be home to oversee the verandah work. This was the view a couple of days ago.
Fishing on the Mahaweli Ganga. I wouldn't eat that fish if you paid me. Apart from being a vegetarian, the river is far too polluted.
Went for the monthly fur/claw maintenance. We really ventured out of the box on the hair tattoo this month.
What the hell. It is only hair and will grow back. This is the only tattoo I will get.
