A knock at the door and I opened it to a welcome, familiar face bearing an unexpected gift of a book about raising livestock and poultry. Our friend had been given this book some time ago and decided to pass it on to us as she doesn’t keep chickens. I gratefully took the book and ran to get a few jam tarts to give to her lovely other half who has a sweet tooth.
Back in the summer some friends of ours came to stay bearing a gift of what they (native New Zealander’s) called yams. We planted them in a large tub and they are growing well. Just now I was in the garden and called J over to the yam tub where I had spied pretty yellow flowers
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As we were admiring the flowers a WhatsApp came in from the mother of the family who brought us this gift. She and I rarely exchange emails or messages! She mentioned a photo of the autumn garden that I had blogged last week and hoped that the yams were thriving. Wow! I called her to remark on this strange coincidence. She doesn’t recall ever seeing her yam plants in flower either here or on the other side of the world. By the way these yams have several names. See below.
Oxalis tuberosa is a perennialherbaceous plant that overwinters as underground stem tubers. These tubers are known as uqa in Quechua,[1]oca in Spanish, yam in New Zealandand a number of other alternative names.
Dear Lucy the goose is safe and happy living in the duck run with her best friend Lola and the four other ducks
During the First Lockdown my niece stayed here for 12 weeks. She’s been here since then and it’s like a second home for her, I hope.
Just opposite the Jubilee Hall where, in 15 minutes, Tai Chi begins. It’s a peaceful place to walk and sit on a bench in the mellow autumn sunshine.
In between sunrise and sunset I had a good visit with mum. Some old friends want to visit her and asked for her permission. She agreed and would love to see them. I had many greetings for her and she was pleased that I keep in touch with her cousins and friends. As always we had some laughs and discussed the family. Then it was lunchtime and I got on the road once more. I’ve just put the animals away for the night and fed the geese. They’re such a noisy bunch. Click below
