Sad to see isolation in a crowd

The first time I saw this gentleman was a few weeks ago whilst I was wandering around one of the many small, city gardens in Maidstone. 

It was raining and he sat on one of the benches staring nowhere. He looked lost and somewhat forlorn but engaged in no eye contact as I passed.

His energy felt sad and drained reflecting the dampness of the weather.

Today, whilst enjoying a lunch of udon noodles and tofu, I saw him again.

The two ladies arrived after him and even though he looked towards them and offered a smile, they failed to engage in chatter. 

The image became even more sad (in my eyes) when two more ladies came along and spotting those seated, stood and had an animated conversation filled with laughter.

On several occasions he looked across but was never included or even acknowledged. 

Loneliness in the elderly. How sad.

Tulips, greenfly and sparrows

It's always good to see the tulips coming out and I must admit, of all the early flowers, this is one of my favourites. 

They have such gaudy colours and some, have eccentricities bred in, such as my double headers with a mass of petals resembling peonies more than their own kind.

I have fluted ones, stripped ones, tall ones and short ones all vying for attention and with the number of bees in the garden, they've certainly had that.

Dandelions abound and spread their golden colour to all that will forage amongst the fine petals for sweetness and a dusting of pollen.

But the one I love the most? The unexpected one which pops up?

A small, but exquisite Tibetan orchid.

The downside to all this beauty are those small, green insects which have a taste for tender leaf sap - greenfly.

I have one rose which is very susceptible to them so I spend time most days squeezing the leaves together and squashing the greenfly between my fingers. 

Fortune shone when I saw a pair of sparrows. They were hanging off the tips of the rose bush, picking greenfly and flying back to the nest.

Let's hope their offspring develop a love for this juicy morsel.....there are plenty more to come back for I can tell you.

Its 2pm and I'm hungry...

You know those days when the wind gusts at 50mph and the rain is more like horizontal shards which sting your face and freeze you to the core? Well today is certainly one of those days. The sounds of planes coming in low to avoid the worst of the weather as they prepare to land at Gatwick have all but fallen silent.

The corrugated roof on the burnt out house opposite rattles with intent and the plastic sheeting, so carefully attached to the scaffolding rips itself free from its shackles, flapping freely. The noise is horrendous, but more importantly, I'm hungry.....

I open the fridge...

Not a lot is there? Carrots, broccoli, tofu,  two tomatoes and lactofree mature cheddar (which I've grown allergic to) and two containers of Thai red curry. I really need to visit the shops but.....

I look out the window.

Sheets of rain are making their way up our road, trees bending in the wind......

🤔 I think I'll improvise for today..... ooh, just spotted the last of the pak choi now that gives me an idea 🥰

She's not mine, but.....

Nose pressed against my top, she pads away at my stomach. All kitteny she quietly purrs.....

.....then all of a sudden as if she's got ants in her fur, she leaps up and trots off into another room.....

.....curled up in a tight bundle she's fast asleep......

......my top is now washed and hanging on the line so as to get rid of the fishy smell of dribble she covered the area with.