Summer Days Already!!!!!

It is 3.25pm and all is quiet here in the Lucas household....Larkwood life has come to a standstill for the interim.  NiQi has gone to have an afternoon sleep, Johan is at a training session at work, the horses are taking advantage of the shade under the scantily clad trees, the dogs are resting on the cool kitchen floor, the cats are napping under the fan in the bedroom and the birds are under cover away from the hot beating sun.  I am taking this opportunity to rest in front of the laptop.

Wilfred has almost finished with the massive task of slaughtering the rabbits and the freezer is nearly full to the brim with farm fresh produce.  We took some of our blessings down to family over the weekend so that they too will be able to enjoy the fruits given to us.  It will be a while before we will need to slaughter anything else and for that we are grateful.  The children have grown up knowing that what we produce we eat and have no qualms at all about where it comes from.  When they were younger they soon learned not to name our animals, although that has not been easy I must say....most of our sheep and pigs were named in the early days and became tame as pets do, which meant that when it came time to culling, we would have to do more than one at a time so that we would not know who was in the pot that night.

Yesterday both Johan and NiQi slept for the majority of the day, with Johan still not feeling too well...he started with a scratchy throat last week Thursday and masked how he felt very well over the weekend.  Once home though he just crashed and decided that a day at home in bed would probably help him to recover properly.  This morning he decided that after more than 30 missed calls on his cell phone, he should return to work today.  NiQi just slept because she can....and to replenish her energy that she expended over the weekend.  Her oxygen machine doesn't seem to be working as well as it should which also isn't helping with the way she is feeling, so I must phone and ask if it can be checked and possibly serviced if need be.

This morning it was laundry time again and after lunch I started to watch some DVD's my mum has lent me on The Queen.  Anything 'Royal' and I'm in so to speak.  I guess it must be my British heritage and growing up with English parents.  Even after emigrating to South Africa in the the 70's, we remained an English family....as they say, 'it's in the blood'.

                                                                   The Queen DVD's

So we are just passed the middle of September....springtime normally....but we have been introduced to summer with a bang.  Not having enjoyed even an inkling of winter this year, we are already suffering with the heat.  Ceiling fans have been turned on and normally during times like this, we would open up the windows and doors at night time to allow the cool breeze to waft through the house.  This we can't do as yet, not until we have had our first rains and the dust has settled and there is a lot more ground cover growth. Just a few more weeks and then it can rain to it's hearts content.  I pray that God will bless us with plenty of rain this summer to see us through next winter....that will be just awesome.  As for when it is really summer...well we will have to see next year February/March what temperatures we will have to endure. 34 Celsius today makes me wonder!!!!!