Irish Summer Greetings

Saturday 3July’10

Good day to all family and friends!
After a month of the best summer weather ,the driest June in 50 yrs, according to records, we are experiencing somewhat milder weather and showers, temperatures still in the low 20s but more humid than during June!
The garden is a feast for the eye! Every rose bush has the optimum flowers on, the tiger lilies are bursting to open, the ‘Jacob regops’(African ? I forget the English name) are bright and beautiful with their yellow and orange flowers! The petunias are not fond of rain and suffers a little but still beautiful all the sweet peas are in full flower, and the tomatoes are as big as plums! We only have 7 apples on the one tree after it was covered with blossoms, 2 trees have no fruit and of course the pear trees only have leaves!
The swallows fledged on Tuesday and have taken shelter in the turf shed away from the noise of the geese! They fly around during the day but all still get together at night to sleep!
The red robins which were growing underneath our noses in a tucked away nest on the electrical pole have also fledged and are being fed by mommy with vigour!
We were very sad and nature can be very cruel but the eggs that were laid by the pigeon were stolen by the magpie, there is no evidence of life in the nest when we realised that the pigeon is not flying in and out anymore, Barry took the ladder and looked!
For those who did not understand the Afrikaans letter last week we can with great thankfulness say that 2 of the grafts done 15 yrs ago for Barry, is patent only 1 is 70% blocked but a complimentary branch is feeding that part of the heart at present and after nuclear studies, which will be done soon, the cardiologist will decide on the next step, in the mean time he has been taking his medication regularly! And feels fine!
Haya could you let us know how Kobus is getting along! Our thoughts and prayers are also with Nanette whose son is very sick in ICU Milpark hospital! Brandon is continually in our prayers! Nadia , we hope that you and the little bit is keeping well!
We have been very busy at the hospital and have now come to the stage where the salary cuts will have to be reviewed! In liaison with the unions and the Labour Relations Court there will be a ballot taken, 9th July, on 5% cut from original hours worked before the recession hit us so hard and will continue until 2014 which means that I will never go back to my original earnings in my working time as I will be retired before that becomes a reality! BUT God has been wonderful and always remains faithful and in spite of recession and lower wages we are still able to cope well and have something left over!
Our grandson Lukas is ever so gorgeous, grows by the hour and is 10 weeks old! A constant joy to his parents and of course his grandparents!
Birthdays coming up! Haya on the 5th and Hessie on the 6th! Congratulations! May the year ahead be filled with great things!! Lots of surprises and joy!
For those who are on holiday enjoy it! Those waiting on results, everything of the best!
The next few paragraphs will contain geese news and those who could not care Exit now if you have not done so already!
It is with great JOY and Jubilations that we can announce that we are the foster parents to 7 gorgeous little goslings!!!! They hatched successfully on the morning of 30th June and are 5 days old today!!! They all survived and Madam is a model mom!
They are all perfectly formed, run after her and eat grass as well as the supplement food we are giving! 1st it was our mixture but this morning we purchased chick crumbs with the correct amount of nutrients and minerals! It is so difficult to tear yourself away from them but life goes on and we have to live our own lives as well, we found that hours goes by watching the wonder of nature!
We do have a problem with Ruthie, the hen who just could not raise her 2 sets of chicks! She is desperate, cries out all the time if she cannot see the little ones and just wants to get in with them, at present we are keeping Madam and chicks separate, Prince Scruffy is very protective of the little ones and he and Ruth are patrolling the camp on the outside like foot soldiers. They hardly graze or go for a swim, hiss like venomous snakes if we just come near the camp!
Naomi and Mary are both broody, Naomi more so than Mary, Mary is still somewhat restless, she was the last hen to lay an egg there in late April. But Naomi has not moved off her eggs since Tuesday! We are not sure what we are going to do with all these geese children but if all go well we might feed them up and get them ready for the butcher for Christmas! Terrible thought but our place is not big enough to keep 100 geese run around and they cannot be covered by their paternal farther, therefore they will have to go eventually! Some of the nurses have booked to have 2 or 3, but we will just wait for the 2nd and 3rd lots to be out before starting to give away or sell!
The feeder we bought this morning will prevent the mother from walking all over it and give the little ones a change to eat in peace! Water needs to be clean and we will wait until they are a bit bigger before we get the watering gadget! Barry gives them clean water 2x a day! I include a photo of the goslings!
Now it is time to say goodbye, always lovely to hear from you!
Thilo and Trish How are you?
Take care, the grandparents in England can send an updated photo of their most beautiful granddaughter!
Have a blessed Sunday
Midsummer July greetings from Cranleymore!
The Dunnes