29th May 2024 . It is unusual for us to go out late in the day and on every such occasion I exclaim that we should do this more often. Afternoon light is so very different, so very enjoyable. . Even more rare is for me to go anywhere w…
It is unusual for us to go out late in the day and on every such occasion I exclaim that we should do this more often.
Afternoon light is so very different, so very enjoyable.
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Even more rare is for me to go anywhere without a camera and suddenly we had a perfect view of the splendid flame azalea.
IPhone was activated.
Just in time, judging by the carpet.
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Is it not a shame that after just a couple of glorious weeks, such plants return to being just another green bush?
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Wednesday's late outing was unplanned.
Weeks ago I received notice of an adjusted property assessment. These notices arrive yearly and although you are invited to contest them, I wouldn't even know if there was a reason to.
However, the farm up the hill is a large property which has been re-assessed very much higher, with worrying tax repercussions.
Upon checking, the owner found that the assessments in our small community were excessive when compared to similar properties nearby.
So it was suggested that we attend the dispute meeting as a group, to show solidarity.
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Our neighbour would do all the talking and she had a list of "comparables", so of course, what was there to lose?
We all traipsed down to the Town Hall and sat in a room with a dozen or so other people and waited to be called up to present our case.
It is a very long time since I dealt with government officials but these were just local people elected performing one of the tasks they are elected for.
It was all very friendly.
While I was there I was given a couple of leaflets that explained the means by which property taxes are calculated. I am no better enlightened.
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When she came down to talk to me, our neighbour brought me a bunch of peonies from her garden.
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Generally I don't like cut flowers because cats do awful things to them and because I prefer to see them in a garden, but I must say I am enjoying watching these exquisite flowers opening in stages.
Strangely I don't remember my mother ever having peonies or even saying anything about them.
People sometimes have aversions to certain flowers. My sister-in-law hated lilies and my brother refused to allow them at her funeral.
Our neighbour Ed has a garden full of gorgeous lilies
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There is a flower I am not keen on. The name escaped me, so I searched online, scrolled through lists to no avail.
Hard put to describe it, I tried drawing it from memory.
This said to me: donut or doughnut.
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Whereupon: Calceolaria
Yes, that's them. I still don't like them.
It's the shape, largely, but also the colours.
Yellow and red together.
The combination is something I can't look at, the way I can't look at certain patterns or anything that is too busy.
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My father liked them a lot. Perhaps he remembered them from his mother's flower garden. I think you could call them old-fashioned.
When Dad lived in Washington, before he became ill, he had some boxes of those flowers on his patio.
Dad loved his calceolarias and they gave him much pleasure. One day when I went round he was very downcast because his flowers had been stolen.
They may have been the last thing he really cared about. Despite the complications of our relationship, he was my father and I felt sad for him.
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Scrolling through that list of flowers, I saw all sorts of fancy blooms. I suspect many of them have been genetically altered. They certainly don't look natural.
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