Prickly Heat

 

    The weather here in Tenerife has been on the hot side the last few weeks, today for example nearer forty than thirty degrees Celsius. Trying to keep the plants on my terrace alive has been near impossible as the heat has been relentless.

    It’s not a huge area by any manner of means, but it is nice to surround yourself with a little greenery. So, the other day we traveled 7 kilometers to our nearest garden center.

    To be honest the center itself isn’t so different from the ones there are in the UK. Lots of accessories for around the home as you enter. Including rugs, throws, mirrors and terrace furniture. Not forgetting seasonal items, Halloween and Christmas are the stars of the show at present.

    Leaving the homeware behind you enter a vast area filled with all kinds of plant life. The air is humid and very warm, some of the plants and trees have shade others just love to soak up the sun.

    After walking around for a good hour or so, I still didn’t make my mind up. However, I have decided that cacti and other succulent plants are best for my outside space. 

    Until we head back to the garden center I’ll just have to make do with the local park and other beautiful areas that are in my community.

   

Hope In The Heart

 

 

 They cram together sometimes one hundred or more,

In search of another shore.

They have said their farewells,

And risk the ocean’s perilous  swells.

A mixture of races including African and Asian,

Longing for a safe haven.

Seeking shelter from dangers and distress,

With a heartfelt hope of protection and even success.

It’s All In The Way We Say It

     

 

     Language is complicated, many words have multiple meanings and of course, some words are different but sound the same (homophones).  

     Everything can change when we use an incorrect term in a sentence. That one wrong pronunciation can change a simple turn of phrase into something vulgar or uncouth. 

    This I have learned to my detriment when speaking Spanish. I’ve asked all sorts of strange questions over the years, some have been answered politely, others have received a quizzical look.

    On Saturday night my partner and I went out to eat, my bulging waistline is a testament to that. The restaurant was busy and we were seated close to the next table, where two English ladies in their senior years were seated. They had finished their meal and were in the process of getting their bill. 

    When the waiter arrived with the itemized check, one of the ladies looked it over and questioned an item. The waiter who spoke perfect English answered clearly and with precision. However, the lady didn’t quite understand and after some discussion, both became a little frustrated. Wanting to put her at ease he asked her if she would like him to copulate it again. At this point, my ears pricked up. 

    Initially, I thought I had misheard, but after he repeated the sentence 3 or 4 times over, I realized I hadn’t. Of course, he had meant to use the word calculate. Yes, a slight faux pas on his behalf. I'm ashamed to say I did chuckle at the time and I still am.  

    Do you think after a few gin and tonics, the word may become a homophone?

    Cheers folks have a great week!

 

Seeing Nature's Gold

     

 

    OMG, where has the year gone? It’s Autumn already. The colors of the flora and fauna don’t change a lot here in the south of Tenerife as the seasons change. That's because our climate doesn’t fluctuate as much as it does in other parts of the world. However, when the sun disappears early in the day we know Autumn has arrived.

    While I was never a lover of the plummeting temperatures and rainy days in Scotland, I miss the changes in the color of the flora when Autumn arrives.

     I've included some photographs from Scotland that capture those Autumn moments and a short poem by, American poet, Robert Frost. 

     I would also like to thank the loyal readers of my blog which is celebrating its eleventh year this month. THANK YOU.

     Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour,

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Robert Lee Frost 1874-1963

   

Saving our World

   

   
In the last few years, the world has suffered many major ecological disturbances. Here in Tenerife for example this year we have experienced the worst forest fires in 40 years. 

    In 2021 the lives of our neighbors on the island of La Palma were turned upside down when the volcano, Cumbre Vieja erupted. It had been nearly 50 years since another one of the island’s volcanoes, Teneguía had spewed lava over the islanders and this new eruption came as a surprise to the islanders. It was known Cumbre Vieja was active as the old ridge groaned and moaned regularly, similar to my old spine. However, it never was imagined that these threats of eruption would come to fruition.

    Many of you reading this may have experienced a natural ecological disturbance first-hand in the forms I have mentioned above, or caused by ocean currents, and in the Earth’s  orbital changes.

 

    Then again we also now know that many disturbances are brought about by us humans ourselves. Whether, through industrial development, deforestation, and pollution we now know that certain actions are destroying the atmosphere around us.

    Today September 16 is International Day For the Preservation of the Ozone Layer the theme this year is, fixing the ozone layer and reducing climate change.

     

   I want to finish today with an extract from the poem, There Will Come Soft Rains by, Sara Teasdale. She wrote this poem with the Great War in mind but I believe her words are pertinent today.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,  

If mankind perished utterly;

 

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn  

Would scarcely know that we were gone. 

   

   

Little Treasures

 

 

    Here in the Canary Islands, potatoes play a huge part of the everyday diet. Due to high tourism and local love for these little treasures, the island’s locally produced supply can’t keep up with the demand. 

     Therefore, 80-90% of this versatile vegetable, the King Edward variety to be exact, is supplied from Kent, England. Unfortunately, imports have had to be suspended because of a plague of the Colorado beetle having been found recently. 

     Meaning, that to a nation of spud lovers there is now a shortage, caused by a potato rush. Of course, these greedy profiteers have been buying in bulk, which has now led to supermarkets and wholesalers limiting purchases.

     Hopefully, new trade deals will be made and new imports will begin soon, but this quote from Louisa May Alcott says it all, ‘Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on without it any more than we can without potatoes.’

 

 

 

    

Magical Moments

  

    When I lived in Scotland, for many years I worked in Edinburgh. For me, it was anything from a twenty to fifty-minute commute each way by train, to earn my daily bread. By car, hmm, how long is a piece of string?

     Yes, it could be quite a drudge to get to and from work. However, in the months of August and September each year, the daily trip never seemed so bad. That was because, the Edinburgh Festival which attracts huge crowds to the city, enlivened the streets and I found being there exhilarating.

 

     The city has celebrated this International Festival since 1947 and draws in excess of 4 million visitors to the city each year. There is something for everyone there, whether you’re interested in films, books, art, culture, or just want to tap your toes to the sounds of an army pipe band at the Tattoo, it’s the place to be.

    

No, I can’t be there this year but I can trawl through some old photographs to relive the magical moments.